"I am more than a robot!!"
Article by: Alex Stuart (Linearity)
Pictured from: Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes
Created by: Capcom
First appearance: 1987
Bio
Mega Man is the protagonist of the seminal platforming game of the same name and its large series of sequels. He was designed by Keiji Inafune.
In the first Mega Man game Dr. Thomas Light, a pioneering robotics engineer in the 21st century, builds a robotic assistant for himself that can perform household duties autonomously. Dr. Light, along with his colleague Dr. Albert W. Wily, creates six other highly advanced robots to supervise the operation of less intelligent robots. However, Dr. Wily reprograms these "Robot Masters" and employs them in a campaign to take control of the world.
Upon learning of this campaign, Dr. Light's mechanical aide asks him to refit his metal body for battle against Dr. Wily and the Robot Masters. Dr. Light accommodates this request, and his assistant becomes Mega Man, sporting a new helmet and a plasma cannon in his arm called the "Mega Buster." Mega Man thereafter makes it his duty to foil Dr. Wily's plans for world domination, and he does so time and again throughout the original Mega Man series.
Mega Man's characteristic ability is that of copying the technology from a defeated foe's weapon into his own arsenal. That is, whenever he defeats a Robot Master, he can thereafter use that robot's primary weapon system against his enemies. His abilities have also expanded since the original Mega Man (in which he can only run, jump, and shoot small plasma bursts at shoulder level) to include sliding, charging the Mega Buster for more powerful shots, and fusing bodies with his robotic dog Rush.
Selected game appearances
NES
- Mega Man (1987)
- Mega Man 2 (1988)
- Mega Man 3 (1990)
- Mega Man 4 (1991)
- Mega Man 5 (1992)
- Mega Man 6 (1993)
Genesis
- Mega Man: The Wily Wars (1994)
Super NES
- Mega Man 7 (1995)
- Rockman & Forte (1998)
PlayStation
- Mega Man 8 (1996)
Arcade
Game Boy Advance
- Mega Man & Bass (2002)
Wii
- Mega Man 9 (2008)
- Mega Man 10 (2010)
References
- www.capcom.com - "MegaMan"
- The Mega Man Home Page
- Wikipedia - "Mega Man (character)"
- Mega Man instruction manual
