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Not content with the NES falling asunder without a fight in the scornful shadows of the SNES and the Sega Genesis, Mega Man was given one final hurrah in Mega Man 6, an affair that continued his legacy of quality gameplay while still adding interesting features into the mix. The most notable change was that Rush was no longer a summonable robot dog to ride: instead, he would appear as armor for Mega Man to don! With it, Mega Man could briefly fly or transform into a walking Mike Tyson (with his ability to punch, not snack on ear flesh). But besides that, it was a typical Mega Man game with wacky Robot Masters to confront, including the oddly named Yamato Man, who is based on a samurai warrior. The storyline was also weird and more transparent than a pair of dollar store underpants: a Robot Tournament, run by one Mr. X (with familiar bushy hair), goes awry when he suddenly claims he will use the best robots to take over the world. Wily should have spent a little extra money on disguises... if he has any money left from all those fortresses he builds.
Check out our Mega Man 6 review for a more in-depth look!
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The seventh adventure of our daring Blue Bomber was the first outside of his native NES habitat, instead appearing on the now common SNES console. Because Mega Man X had already been out for two years, Mega Man 7 had quite a significant act to follow. Unfortunately, it did not quite meet expectations. In Mega Man 7, Dr. Wily has finally been jailed for his crimes against humanity. Wily had anticipated this; after six months without contacting his robots, they were to automatically spring to life and search for him. Dr. Wily is broken free and now had eight new robots sent to take down Mega Man! Compared to Mega Man X, Mega Man 7 is a step backwards graphically. His character's proportions are quite different, too, making him look a bit odd! On the other hand, Mega Man 7 did introduce us to a few new characters: Wily's battle robots, Bass and Treble, who would appear in subsequent games, and Auto, Dr. Light's lab assistant and, in this game, proprietor of an upgrade shop. It is also notable for having a hidden battle game between Mega Man and Bass, accessible only through a specific password. Mega Man 7 is far from a terrible game, though; it has its own unique charm, but it also does not add anything significant to the series, even on a more powerful console.
Check out our Mega Man 7 review for a more in-depth look!
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To celebrate Mega Man's 10th anniversary, owners of both the Sega Saturn and the PlayStation were treated to Mega Man 8, the first Mega Man game of that video game generation. The game starts off with a cinematic of two robots fighting in space, with one of them, Duo, falling to Earth. As Mega Man investigates this phenomenon, Dr. Wily arrives, taking with him an orb of evil energy. After sending Duo back to Dr. Light's lab for repairs, Mega Man naturally chases after Dr. Wily, destroying his many Robot Masters in the process and following him to his new tower, where he plans to use the evil energy to his advantage. Mega Man 8 has a far more cartoon-based appearance and may be considered to be, literally, the most colourful of his adventures. Mega Man 8 was the first Mega Man game to feature animated video to aid in its storytelling; it's also well-known for having terrible voiceover work likely done by solely Japanese actors desperately trying to decipher English words. Dr. Light really should be able to pronounce his Ls a bit better (who IS Dr. Wah-wee?). The game also introduced new elements to the series, including shmup-style levels and the ability to use more than one weapon at a time. Auto's shop also makes a return, but bolts (used as currency) are in limited supply this time. Though some purists may denounce it as a far cry from its source material, Mega Man 8 is still a solid platformer that ought to be experience by any Mega Man enthusiast, even if it is a little cuter than expected.
Check out our Mega Man 8 review for a more in-depth look!
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It had been almost twelve years since the last officially numbered classic Mega Man game had been released, and all hope had been lost that the series would ever continue. But then, in the spring of 2008, a light was suddenly shed on the enigmatic Mega Man 9, long believed to never come to existence. Thanks to a bit of a leak on an Australian video game ratings website, the buzz spread extremely quickly that Mega Man 9 was finally on its way. Once Capcom confirmed it, a loud bellow of praise emerged. And even more interesting to hear, the game was actually based off of the design of Mega Man 2, graphics and all. That's right. It was 2008, and an 8-bit game was making headlines. Well, once it was released in September 2008, the cry was generally unanimous that the game was... good! Good, but very, very difficult. Mega Man 9 also was host to a number of trophies and other accomplishments, as well as bonus downloadable content to play as Proto Man.
Check out our Mega Man 9 review for a more in-depth look!
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Not to be confused with Mega Man X, mainly because X does not signify the Roman numeral 10, Mega Man 10 is, in fact, the tenth official game of the classic series! Mega Man 9 performed very well for Capcom, so Mega Man 10 was released with a similar 8-bit flavour. We're not sure how this happened, exactly, but robots around the world are becoming infected with the Roboenza virus, causing them to short circuit and do crazy things! Dr. Wily suddenly appears (as usual) and claims he was working on a cure but that his machine was stolen by a crazed robot. Mega Man then sets out to retrieve it from one of, coincidentally, eight Robot Masters that are causing the most trouble. Mega Man 10 also brings Proto Man in the mix right from the beginning, rather than as downloadable content. You can also star as Bass; this, however, requires purchasing extra DLC. To combat the spiked difficulty of Mega Man 9, Mega Man 10 introduces an easy mode that plants additional platforms into the stages for easier movement, simplified enemy patterns, and a reduction in overall damage taken. Additional downloadable content was also made available, including new challenge modes and stages starring the famed Mega Man Killers from the classic Game Boy titles.
Check out our Mega Man 10 review for a more in-depth look!
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