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In one of the few games in the entire franchise that doesn't heavily feature Mega Man himself, this Japan-only game has Dr. Light, Dr. Wily, Dr. Cossack, Roll, and Kalinka wandering around a board, looking for opportunities to gamble and shop for property, similar to a game of Monopoly. It also introduces oft-unseen Reggae, a robotic black bird, to Dr. Wily's bolted menagerie. This one never escaped the shores of Japan, likely due to its cemented roots in gambling and the fact that it was released so late in the NES's life cycle. It's still an interesting oddity in the Mega Man series.
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Now here's a strange spin-off if I ever saw one. I don't know who at Capcom decided that Mega Man and soccer should ever collide, but it happened. Set after the events of Mega Man 4 for the NES, Dr. Wily tries to get the last laugh when several of his Robot Masters burst into a soccer game. Mega Man is sent to the scene to try and control things... by challenging them to a game of soccer? ...R...Really? N... no, this isn't right. You (and a second player if you can find a friend that isn't guffawing on the floor in hysterics) can create a dream team of soccer players by choosing from a selection of Robot Masters with a variety of skills and take to the field in a deathmatch of British proportions! Interestingly enough, there's also an icon for Dr. Wily at the edge of the selection screen. Do we really want a senile mad scientist as a midfielder? To make matters worse, we never even find out if Mega Man is ever successful in defeating these humanoid hooligans! The game has no ending! Wh...I don't...
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As if Mega Man wasn't busy enough defending the world from Dr. Wily's seemingly endless onslaughts, he still has the time to take to the go-kart track for a friendly race. Ten playable characters can rock the tracks in their own unique-looking karts, usually based on their character (although occasionally it's not true: Roll rides in a kart shaped like Beat), across three different modes of play. The karts can also fire weaponry, plus charge up for an even more deadly blast. I imagine this game was created solely to capitalize on the popularity of Mario Kart and Mega Man in one fell swoop. Series co-creator Keiji Inafune admitted that he always wanted to have a Mega Man kart racing game, so that probably helped to push this product through the greenlighting process. But it's here, it was made, and it was only released in Japan and Europe (until it was made an unlockable in the Mega Man X Collection in 2006).
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Super Adventure Rockman is not so much a game as it is a series of episodic movies with brief interludes of interactivity. After discovering an extraterrestrial computer called "Ra Moon", Dr. Wily revives many of his old Robot Masters (pulled from Mega Man 2 and Mega Man 3). The computer also helps in shutting down all of the robots in the world through wave jamming technology. Only Mega Man, who is quickly reprogrammed to remain unaffected, can save the world from this dastardly plot. The game itself is a blending of animated scenes and pauses for making decisions from a list of options. Interspersed as well are short first-person shooter levels. All these aspects combined make for a bizarre Mega Man game. Series co-creator and producer Keiji Inafune has since apologized for the poor quality of this release and has lamented its inclusion of so many human deaths (plus the eventual death of Roll, for those who love spoilers). This is certainly one not-so-super adventure to avoid.
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