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Sega must have cried foul tears in the mid-1990s. Nintendo was getting all of the Mega Man love, and none of it was in the works for their Sega Genesis with all its blast processing. Finally, in 1994, Capcom released Mega Man: The Wily Wars, essentially a remake of Mega Man 1-3 with updated graphics and sound, plus a bonus mission if you manage to complete all three. These remakes were released on cartridge in Japan and Europe, but for reasons unknown (we're not quite giving in to the "graphical problems" excuse just yet), it only managed to sneak into North America via download from the Sega Channel. Mega Man: The Wily Wars eradicated the ability to use passwords, opting for a slightly more novel save feature that kept track of which Robot Masters you defeated in each game. Sadly, these remakes also made some adjustments to the overall gameplay (including the removal of the neat Thunder Beam pause trick from the original Mega Man), creating a different and occasionally jarring experience overall.
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In Japan, all six NES Mega Man titles were ported to the PlayStation with each game on its own separate disc. Though the games are generally the same, they also have new features that may make them easier. Graphical upgrades in certain sports are a given (such as title screens), but a Navi Mode is included with all six games to provide hints on how to best proceed in a given stage. Mega Man 4 through 6 also received an updated soundtrack and ways to earn additional bodily enhancements to help you along in tough situations. A database function also gives you backstory about the games the more you play. Most of the improvements were also included in the Mega Man Anniversary Collection on PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox, meaning that those were simply ports with translations. Games from this collection have also appeared as Japanese PSOne Imports on the PlayStation Network.
Odd factoid: if you have the PocketStation add-on, you can use these discs to play a game of PokeRock, using pictures of Robot Masters from the game in a rock-paper-scissors-style match. It's not very exciting, but it's definitely an unusual bonus to have.
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The Rockman Collection Special Box is a combined package of all the games from the Rockman Complete Works set plus a copy of Mega Man X7, all for the PlayStation 2. No more, no less.
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In 2004, North America received an exclusive collection of Mega Man 1-8, plus the arcade games Mega Man: The Power Battle and Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters all on one wonderful disc as the Mega Man Anniversary Collection, released on his... 17th anniversary? Huh? The first six games are actually closely related to those versions released via the Rockman Complete Works set in Japan, as you can access the games' Navi Mode, which provides hints, an updated soundtrack, and more. Depending on which console the collection is for, you will get a different extra feature. The PlayStation 2 version includes the pilot episode for the Mega Man cartoon from the mid-1990s, while the GameCube version offers an interview with Keiji Inafune, the series' producer. The Xbox edition, released almost a year later, includes the interview and the premiere episode of MegaMan NT Warrior.
There was also to be a Mega Man Anniversary Collection for the Game Boy Advance, featuring all five of the Game Boy Mega Man titles, to be released concurrently with the home console editions. It was delayed several times, with rumours abound that Capcom did not have the source code to work with when preparing the games. Ultimately, this collection was cancelled.
Check out our Mega Man Anniversary Collection review for a more in-depth look!
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Remakes sure are all the rage! That's what Mega Man Powered Up is: a remake of the original Mega Man from the NES days. (Or, as this game is called in Japan, "Rockman Rockman". How innovative!) Mega Man Powered Up features a major graphical overhaul. You might call the style "Chibi Mega Man", as Mega Man and all the Robot Masters have really large heads by comparison to their relatively small bodies. Everything is far cuter than normally expected from a Mega Man game; even the sound effects are squishier than usual! You can play in the Old Style, featuring the original level layouts, or the New Style with new layouts accessible only by certain Robot Masters whom you can play as. Capcom also added two new Robot Masters, Oil Man and Time Man, as well as an easy-to-use level editor. Maybe it's more than a remake: more like a remodeling.
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