< Mega Man

Mega Man/YMMV


Series as a Whole

  • Alternative Character Interpretation: Quint is probably the absolute king of this trope, as he is almost so vague, people are bound to interpret him completely differently. MS Paint Masterpieces, in particular, depicts him as a Knight Templar.
  • Anticlimax Boss: Given his backstory, Quint should be one of the most epic bosses in the series... but he ends up being completely and utterly pathetic.
  • And the Fandom Rejoiced: The inclusion of the Mega Man Killers in 10 as DLC Bosses, including the option to obtain their weapons.
    • And just to clarify, that means that once you've beaten them, you start with their weapons in every single file you begin with Mega Man.
    • Proto Man's first turn as a full alternative to Mega Man (a la Zero) in 10 already has the fanbase fired up.

"I don't think you'll be able to do this alone."

    • For the Archie comic book adaptation, the planned introduction of Time Man and Oil Man (from Powered Up) in the second arc was cause for celebration.
  • Awesome Music: So much that it has its own page. It would almost be easier to list the music that ISN'T awesome, to be honest.
  • Non Sequitur Scene: In the Japanese version of 7, these events happen, courtesy of Auto. Complete with puns and a Shout-Out to Strider Hiryu!
    • In 3, we're introduced to Shadow Man, who, according to source material, is possibly alien in origin and was used as a basis to build the 7 other Robot Masters. Never before has an alien concept been played with, and it wasn't seen again until 8, which seemed completely unrelated.
  • Broken Base/Fan Dumb: The Mega Man fanbase in general is littered with series loyalty wars. The wars are very noticeable on sites that report on all kinds of Mega Man news, and conflicts most often start when believable rumors of a new Mega Man game arise. Some of the more noticeable ones at the moment include:
    • Fans of the Classic Timeline games tend to regard the Network Timeline as an utter failure, as well as accusing it of being a Mega Man version of Pokémon, because they're RPG-based instead of Platformers. Some Classic Timeline fans will even say they are hardcore gamers, while claiming that fans of the EXE Timeline are Casual and that the EXE games are Hobby-style.
      • Possibly some of the criticism is also due to the fact that the games are essentially a new Mega Man for a new generation. Everyone who knew Mega Man from the starting game would be an adult by the time Battle Network began, and many of the new players recruited to Network hadn't been around to experience the original games. So in a sense, the base is less "broken" and more supplemented by a new branch that's inherently separate from the old.
      • Of course, provided players don't deplore RPG gameplay, there isn't much to legitimitely complain about in the Network series, which keeps the same fundamental focus of fighting variously-themed cyberpunk characters utilizing collected weapons. Indeed, most of the characters in Battle Network are tributes to those in the classic, most-iconic, phase of the original timeline, so in a sense it feels more familiar than Mega Man games from X-onward.
    • Some EXE fans dislike Ryuusei/Star Force mainly due to changes to the battle system that put a greater emphasis on luck and stats rather than strategy. Ryuusei fans that equally dislike EXE argue that getting rid of the code system allowed for more fluid folder customization. There are times where some fans of one or both sides will make it apparent that they absolutely loathe each other.
      • The recent announcement of an EXE/Ryuusei crossover game in the works ignited some hot controversy on all sides of BOTH the above conflicts.
    • There are even wars within some of the individual fanbases. The first half of the EXE series versus the second half (or EXE 4 versus the rest of the EXE series), the first half of the X series versus the second half, the Classic debates over 8-bit graphics versus other graphic styles (mostly brought up by the 9th Classic game), and so on.
    • There's also the fights that start whenever a new Capcom vs. Whatever game is announced. People argue back and forth over which Mega Man should make it in.
      • Or Zero, or Proto Man, or Roll, or Bass, or Axl, or Wily...
    • On a more general note, most fans don't really care whether it's Mega Man or Rockman, only slightly preferring whichever one they were introduced to first. You wouldn't know it to look at any dedicated fan site, which are convinced that their translation (usually Rockman) is better, and everyone else are uncultured morons.
    • A more recent example... with series creator Keiji Inafune leaving Capcom and Mega Man Universe being canceled, the Chicken Little style Fan Dumb has begun to sneak its way in, claiming the series is being phased out entirely.
      • Sadly, this is gaining more ground, thanks to Mega Man Legends 3 being cancelled as well, coupled with the lack of Mega Man (X) as a playable character in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and the company citing "lack of fan support" as the reason for the former.
      • As of now—November 2011—it's gotten really, really bad. Nothing short of making Mega Man (X) a playable character in UMVC 3 and restarting work on MML 3 (and let's face it, even that wouldn't work) is going to satiate the now-rabid fanbase. At this point, either the Vocal Minority are really vocal, or it's actually the sensible ones that are the minority. All the cameos, references, tidbits, (and the X alt for Zero) in UMVC 3 are Capcom "trolling" the fanbase. No games in development mean Capcom has abandoned the franchise—never mind that it actually takes time to pick up and get a new game started, especially after cancelling something already in the works—and all posting over at such sites as The Mega Man Network devolve into "God I hate Capcom" rants. And this behavior is being noticed and commented on by other fandoms. In just a few short months after an admittedly bad year, the Mega Man fanbase has actually become more notorious than the Sonic fanbase (this last point not helped by the fact that while the Blue Bomber seems to be spiraling in a downward tailspin, the Sonic series has been making an incredible comeback).
        • And now Bad Box Art Mega Man (A middle aged looking loser with a beer belly) is in Street Fighter X Tekken. This is something that almost ANY OTHER YEAR would have gotten almost universal laughs out of the fandom, but with the current climate...well...let's just say that's not the case...
  • Complete Monster: While Wily is pretty much a typical mad scientist villain as far as the classic series is concerned, Ra Moon from the spinoff game Super Adventure Rockman more than meets the mark. This guy was willing to annihilate all life on earth in order to supplant his own robotic creations! While Wily loves his robots, Ra Moon doesn't understand love as a concept at all.
    • If you want to talk about Complete Monsters as a whole, each series with the exception of Legends has at least one: there's Magma Dragoon in the X series, Dr. Regal and PlantMan.EXE for the Battle Network games, King as well as Joker and Gemini for Starforce, and Dr. Weil for Zero and ZX, given that Model W is basically him reincarnated. The cartoons also give us Slur for the Battle Network anime as well as good old Albert Wily himself for the Ruby-Spears series.
  • Ear Worm: The classic series is renowned for its excellent soundtrack, with many tunes that WILL stay stuck to your head for days.
  • Ensemble Darkhorse: Proto Man, full stop.
    • Though nowhere nearly as popular as Proto Man, there's a reason why Roll has been making so many appearances as of late.
    • The Mega Man Killers. As if the fangasmic explosion of cheers when they were revealed as Bonus Bosses in 10 wasn't enough of a hint. Inafune himself considers Punk to be one of his favorite characters from the classic series, and drew up the design for the Battle Network incarnation of the character.
    • If Dr.Cossack (and/or his daughter Kalinka) appears in any adaptation, especially outside of the game he actually was in, the fans WILL cheer.
      • Double points if Kalinka finds her way into a work based around Mega Man X. But not if she builds Axl.
    • There is also Zero, the Bonne family, and Harpuia.
    • Splash Woman is quite popular. I think you know why.
    • The Robot Masters in general tend to get a lot more love than the majority of oneshot bosses like Gleeok or the Armos Knights. It's probably their interesting designs, which ooze with character, and their catchy stage themes, which inevitably get associated with the Robots themselves. The 2 and 3 Robot Masters are especially popular, in accordance to their respective games.
    • I CAN'T DEFEAT AIRMAN!
    • Time Man is far more popular than Oil Man. When it was announced he'd appear in the Archie comics adaptation, there was much rejoicing.
    • Out of the Mavericks from the X series, Magma Dragoon is popular for having a larger role in the story than most Mavericks.
  • Epileptic Trees: The Bonus Boss of Mega Man X guarding the Light Capsule seems to slightly resemble Auto...
    • That Capsule Guardian also possesses the registration number RT-J 55. Keep in mind what Auto's name is in Japan...
    • People keep trying to link 9 and 10 to Mega Man X's Maverick Virus.
      • Ditto goes for the Evil Energy shown in 8.
  • Even Better Sequel: 2 is considered one of the textbook examples in gaming history. It took everything that was great about the first one and improved them, and took out the things that didn't work or didn't matter. It was also less difficult, providing a difficult but not frustrating challenge.
    • Well, there were a FEW Guide Dang Its. Then there's the Fake Difficulty (goddamn Buebeam Trap!).
    • About half the fandom believes 3 is even better than 2.
    • Some fans consider 4 to be the most balanced entry of the NES games, even compared to the above.
  • Fanon: Theories abound for what happened to the classic characters before the X series, the most popular (and Jossed by a Japanese Sourcebook and Word of God) being that Zero killed 'em all. Other fanon includes Mega Man being an idiot and Dr. Light being an alcoholic. All three of these (particularly the latter two) originate with the Web Comic Bob and George. There's even a Fanon Wiki!
    • Female Robot Masters—more prevalent in fanfiction and fan games than in the actual games, as the only canon ones are Roll (DLN-002) and Splash Woman from 9 (DLN-067) -- are commonly referred to as Robot Mistresses.
  • Fanon Discontinuity: Many fans disregard all the entries not produced in the 8-bit style (meaning 7, 8, and Mega Man & Bass). Some of the more hardcore fans prefer to think that Dr. Wily got fatally crushed in 3 and so ignore everything from 4 onwards. Of course though, there are plenty of fans who choose to include all the games as canon and love them whether they're 8-bit or not.
    • On the spin-off side of things, Rockman & Forte: Challenger From the Future and both PC entries are often ignored, due to questionable Robot Master designs (most infamously in the former), poorly-written stories (even by the series' standards), and being all-around mediocre games.
    • Just try to tell some fans that Quint isn't a copy-bot like they insist.
  • Fridge Brilliance: The Wily Capsule schtick. Just think back to what almost happened to him at the end of 3.
  • Game Breaker: Beat in 5, where he pursued any and all enemies until they were dead.
    • So much that he had to be toned down and have his functions changed up in later games.
    • The Metal Blade in 2; once you acquire it, you can pretty much replace your normal weapon with it. It has lots of ammo (it takes four of them to deplete 1 EP!), and it is one of the few that does not deny Mega the ability to fire diagonally.
    • Also, 3's Rush Jet: Due to the mechanics by which it drains energy, you can make it last absurdly long by repeatedly jumping. Plus, unlike later incarnations, you have full control of its position, rather than auto-scrolling.
    • Bass in 10.
  • Goddamned Bats: Many, many, many enemies, including Mets. Not to be confused with the baseball team. See also The Goomba and Invincible Minor Minion.
    • Ironically subverted by the actual bat-like bots in most games. They are nearly always a reliable source of health and weapon capsules.
  • Good Bad Bugs: The "pause glitch" in 1, which will become your best friend if you're a first-time player. Continuously pressing the Select button would reset a fired shot's damage, making it possible to make short work of an enemy. The Thunder Beam was especially effective, as it was the strongest weapon in the game. In fact, it's not uncommon for fans to complain whenever it is removed from ports.
    • It's still in Anniversary Collection, but the timing required is different and ultimately results in fewer hits.
    • Less famous but frequently abused by those who know of it, is that Mega Man's Mercy Invincibility could be extended in earlier games if the RAM for the NES was overloaded, causing flicker. This made the Quick Boomerang the go-to weapon against Mecha Dragon in the first part of Skull Castle in 2—just get hit in an area where you won't be killed, and abuse the rapid firing of the Quick Boomerang to cause flicker and become invulnerable until it's finished. Worth noting that Capcom fixed this one with a vengeance in Anniversary Collection—attempting this maneuver there causes the enemies to go berserk, likely wiping out Mega Man in seconds.
      • The Quick Boomerang is still the best weapon against Mecha Dragon, though.
  • Hell Is That Noise: When combined with the NES Game Genie, the music in 1 and 2 becomes totally distorted and glitchy and all warped. This music glitch in the Game Genie is fixed in the remaining NES Mega Man games, though.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight: This scene is from a game that never came out of Japan, depicting Quick Man saving Mega Man's life by taking a shuriken in the back; later in Japan, nearly the exact same thing happens in the first issue of Naruto. What makes this even more hilarious is that Quick Man died from some relatively small shuriken, while Iruka survived a really big one in his spine.
    • The Better Than a Bare Bulb Mythology Gag bonanza that was 9, which came after the Retraux a minigame of ZX Advent.
    • Proto Man is voiced by Ryotaro Okiayu from 8 onwards. What makes it funny is that this was the same seiyuu that voiced Zero in the X series, when there was a prevalent fan theory in the old days that Proto Man is Zero.
    • Thanks to One Steve Limit by issue of Dub Name Change, fans used to speculate that Drs. Wily and Weil are one and the same person. Now, with the most recent Classic games, the developers are trying hard to make sure that Wily is characterized a lot differently from Weil.
  • Holy Shit Quotient: Bass's ending in The Power Fighters 2; Wily gloats to Bass about a robot he's working on that will surpass Bass and destroy Mega Man, and lowers the blueprints for Bass to see. It's Zero.
  • It Was His Sled: "Who is Proto Man again?" If you're asking yourself that, why are you on this page in the first place?
  • Memetic Badass: Air Man, due to the frustation he's caused players worldwide, tends to be portrayed by fans as pretty badass. In fact, his toughness inspired the catchy project-Delta song "Air Man ga Taosenai" ("I Can't Beat Air Man" among other varying translations).
  • Memetic Mutation: It's Dr. Wily yet again?!
  • Misaimed Fandom: There are still fans out there who believe that Proto Man was a villain in 5. Anyone who actually made it far enough in the game would know that it was Dark Man, not Proto Man, who kidnapped Dr. Light. Dark Man wasn't even the real villain. He was a Disc One Final Boss in yet another Wily scheme, and Proto Man shows up during an encounter with the aforementioned Dark Man to point out which robot is the impostor to his little brother. The fact that Proto Man actually was a villain in the TV show did not help his case.
  • Most Annoying Sound: Some of the sound effects—such as an energy bar filling up or the constant sound of your Mega Buster charging—that overlap some channels used for the music in the NES games, due to a lack of sound channels. And of course, if you're relatively new to the series, or games in general, the death sound effect will drill itself into your memory banks.
    • JUMP, JUMP!! SLIDE, SLIDE!!!
    • The soundtrack for the Game Boy version of Mega Man II suffers from excruciatingly high-pitched instrumentation in just about all of the background music. It's proven to be a popular subject for remixes over the years, and most of these have actually been very well-received by fans, with the common consensus being that while the game's composer might have known what he was doing from a musical standpoint, he did an absolutely terrible job of executing it.
  • Most Wonderful Sound Hilarious Sound: Sneezing Mega Man in 10.
  • Nightmare Fuel: Has its own page.
  • Porting Disaster: The images featured in the ending credits of the seventh game were missing in all three versions of Anniversary Collection because the developers (Atomic Planet) couldn't figure out how to properly emulate the Mode-7 features of the SNES. The Game Cube version of Anniversary Collection also received flak for switching the shoot and jump buttons. Regardless, the ports of these games are still very playable, and it was nice to not have the music get muddled by certain sound effects, as well as removing the sprite flickering. Having an actual save feature for the first seven games instead of a password system was also appreciated.
    • The GBA port of & Bass made Bass's dash far more difficult to perform due to the lack of a dedicated dash button.
    • The European version of 4 was rendered near-unplayable due to severe PAL slowdown. The Virtual Console re-release fixes it somewhat, but it can still be noticeable when there are a lot of enemies on the screen.
    • There's also the Rockman Complete Works versions of MM1-4 available on PSN's "PS 1 Classics". Nothing was translated, so good luck navigating the menus or enjoying all of the bonus content if you can't read Japanese!
  • Recycled Script: 4, 5, and 6 have practically identical stories.
    • In so far as they have a "new" villain, with Wily hijacking the story at the last second. However, how they go about it is different. In 4, Dr. Cossack was manipulated by Wily when the latter kidnapped his daughter. In 5, "Proto Man" turned out to be a fake made by Wily, who then took over for the last dungeon. And in 6, Mr. X was Dr. Wily in disguise, who stole and reprogrammed the robots fighting in the tournament for his own use. Hilariously, he only builds his own robots in one out of the 3 games.
  • Ruined FOREVER: There's an Easy Mode in 10. Fans are pissed, never mind that it's completely optional.
    • Made even more baffling by the fact the easy difficulty level was said to be on par with 2, which, in addition to still being a challenge, ended up becoming the most popular game in the series.
    • 8 could be considered one as well; it doesn't help that the game feels significantly easier and somewhat slower, among other things. It practically almost killed the Classic Series forever, until several years later, when 9 was made... And even then they complained that it was Ruined FOREVER because they weren't getting uber cool graphics, which is a puzzler, considering that getting "uber cool graphics" was also one of the reasons people hate 8.
  • Scrappy Mechanic: The appearing/disappearing blocks. Many a controller has been thrown across the room in anger over these obstacles. The very distinctive "vooooom!" sound effect is enough to make hardened gamers seethe in anger and/or mutter "Oh, God damn it..."
    • In 5 and 6, if you get hit while charging your Mega Buster, you lose the charged up shot. In most of the other games, this wouldn't be a problem, since it's generally more worthwhile to just rapid-fire your weapon, but 5 and 6 feature a disproportionately large amount of enemies that are immune to anything but a fully charged Mega Buster shot, making it a major pain in the backside.
  • So Bad It's Good: The delightfully hideous US boxart for the first game, which was apparently drawn at the last minute before the US version was released. Capcom of America wanted a more gritty boxart for the US version because they thought that the Japanese's much cuter vision would not resonate with American gamers. The US boxart was more gritty alright, but Mega looked like a 59-year old Tron cosplayer—a terrible one at that—and appeared to be surrounded by metallic mushroom-heads and neon palm trees. The lulz-inducing power of this boxart is further intensified by the fact that the Japanese artwork could be found inside the instruction manual. The boxart would be given an homage with the promotional "boxart" for the US version of the ninth game, featuring an adult Mega Man once again—this time a little more faithful-looking but in black underwear—shooting with determination as a half-human/half-cyborg Dr. Wily watches from the sky.
    • Homaged again by the 10 "box art".
  • Stop Helping Me!: Eddie's very infamous for giving you the power up you don't need. Weapon Energy in a Robot Master level, which usually isn't long enough to warrant it, and a Health Pellet when you already have full health. The rare E-Tank or extra lives are always useful though.
    • You can counter this if he appears in a room you enter through a ladder. Just climb up and down the ladder to make him reappear until he drops something useful.
  • Surprisingly Improved Sequel: It's practically tradition for the second game in a series to be leaps and bounds better than a rather meh first, and successively improves (at least until the end of the NES era). The exceptions to this rule are Mega Man Star Force, which took until the third game for this to take effect, and Mega Man X, where the first is often considered better while the second and third installments being rather forgettable, with only the fourth, fifth and (possibly) eighth installments considered to be on the same level as the first.
  • That One Boss: The Yellow Devil in the first game, who is a major pain in the ass unless you know about the "pause glitch" (and by extension, have the original NES/Famicom version). The Buebeam Trap in 2 is also one of the most evil designs ever created, due to the cannons only having one weakness (Crash Bombs) and the fact that you need all seven to kill it, as well as creative use of Item-1 thru 3 to get to the cannons. Air Man also gets cited as this due to Memetic Mutation, but Your Mileage May Vary on how hard he actually is.
    • It really says something when every ROM hack of 2 this troper's ever seen that normally makes the game very hard (such as Rockman No Constancy) actually makes the Buebeam Trap easier.
    • To be fair, if you're good enough, it's possible to clear Yellow Devil without taking a hit (it's always the same pattern too). Air Man, not so much, because some of his shot-constellations are simply impossible to dodge. Fortunately, Air Man's attacks aren't very damaging and he isn't very durable, taking two points of damage from the Mega Buster instead of the usual one.
    • The series is perhaps the shining example of how subjective this trope can be—the only bosses that consistently get cited for this are the original Yellow Devil, the Bluebeam Trap, and Dynamo Man in Mega Man & Bass (he heals himself mid-fight). Other candidates for it include the other incarnations of the Yellow Devil (though the version in 3 is widely considered the easiest of the four), the Wily Dragon in 2, Shadow Man in 3, any boss requiring use of the Wild Coil in 7 (note that this includes Wily's last form), Burner Man in Mega Man & Bass, and half the bosses in 10.
      • Not to mention that some bosses are That One Boss without their weakness, but once you know their weakness, they're considerably easier, and in some cases become a complete joke. The same can be said about attack patterns. If you know a boss's (and by boss, I mostly mean the Wily Devil bosses) attack pattern and how to counter it, they go from That One Boss to normal difficulty (and in some cases, a pushover, such as Blade Man).
      • On the other hand, some bosses are hard even with their weakness. Concrete Man can still easily hit you with his weapon, he takes a lot of punishment before going down, and his charge attack is unavoidable if you're frozen in concrete. Burner Man is most notable in that using his weakness can make him harder, and Dynamo Man's weakness isn't that much better than your normal weapon. Some bosses (such as the Mech-Dragon in 2[2] and the Mega Man Killers in their first appearances) also have no weaknesses.
    • 10 gives us a boss worthy of the Devil moniker, the Block Devil. It's the unholy fusion of the Yellow Devil and the Pico Pico Machine from Mega Man 2, combined with the fact that it's formed from the blocks that form the room, meaning Bottomless Pits. And if that's not enough, once you beat the boss, all the purple blocks disappear, meaning you'll die from a Kaizo Trap if you don't have Beat (or Treble's Bottomless Pit Rescue Service if you're Bass), or aren't on a pink block.
  • That One Level: Guts Man level. Moving, tipping Platform Hell.
    • Quick Man. The pain-in-the-assity of this level can be summed up in three words: Instant Death Lasers.
    • Another good contender is Plant Man. His level has the aforementioned Spring Hell, and then there are two Mini Boss battles. Don't expect a checkpoint to save you there, either; the checkpoint is right before the first Mini Boss, meaning that if you die, you have to fight both of them again.
    • And Turbo Man. Combining the Instant Death Lasers with the game's "giant sprite = reduced maneuverability" problem.
    • Heat Man's level isn't too bad for the most part—except for the fact that the entire last quarter of the level is taken up by the biggest "appearing and disappearing block puzzle" in the entire series. According to some accounts, the development team placed a wall halfway through the puzzle in order to prevent clever players from using Item 2 to bypass it, only to remove it when the playtesters complained that the puzzle was way too hard.
    • Frost Man's stage (and the First Wily Level) in 8. JUMP! JUMP! SLIDE! SLIDE!
  • They Changed It, Now It Sucks: Don't bring up how Mega Man's civilian name was changed from Rock (as stated specifically in the intro to 4) to Mega (Powered Up). Better yet, do not tell anyone that you liked the change. Capcom got the vitriolic message and quietly reverted back to Rock by the time of 9.
    • The classic series going 16-bit (and later 32-bit) tends to be regarded as this in retrospect. While most acknowledge that the 16-bit graphics weren't the cause of the entries in-between 6 and 9 being badly received, it's generally agreed that the well is too firmly poisoned for the classic series to ever use anything but NES style graphics.
  • They Just Didn't Care: Bass's dog is named Treble, but the Battle Network series version is called by his Japanese name, Gospel.
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Oh god, the second Game Boy game. Let's look, shall we? Doctor Wily stole a time machine, travels thirty years into the future, and kidnaps the future Mega Man, and reprogrammes him to a Mega Man killer named Quint. What does this brilliant paradox-causing plan amount to? His boss fight consists of him jumping around on a pogo stick/jackhammer. With no given explanation as to what happens after you defeat him, although he shows up briefly with the rest of the Killers in V. Although there is some good fan fiction speculating on whether this is an alternate timeline that was changed, or part of what caused all the Classic characters to disappear for the X timeline.
  • Uncanny Valley: As a general rule, Mega Man does not look good when realistically rendered, but since laughably ugly boxarts quickly became a beloved series tradition, Capcom has naturally rendered him so for kicks a good number of times. One "classic" example.
    • To be fair, at least Mega Man art is funny-ugly, not scary-ugly as most Uncanny Valley examples are. And seriously, how can you not laugh at Mega Man smiling mishchievously while shooting out an enemy's genitals?
      • Then again, Capcom does need to consider effects on sales when designing boxes. You can find genuine Nightmare Fuel in certain fanart. You need to register to see that; there is no known way to unsee it.
  • Unfortunate Character Design: Bright Man's noted to look a bit...fatter than most masters.
  • Unfortunate Implications: Oil Man's Japanese design in Powered Up, whose black skin, pink lips, and goofy dancing might be a little too reminiscent of blackface comedy for some. Thus, when the game was released outside of Japan, his skin was changed to dark blue and his lips orange to avoid controversy.
  • Villain Decay: Dr. Wily. Lampshaded in both 8 and 9, with the latter being hilarious.

Mega Man: "Then that time! And that time! And that time! And that time! And that time! And that time! And that time! And that time! And that time!"

    • He may be a subversion, though, given that his actions cause numerous problems in the future. And his stages have gotten harder over time.
    • Plus, it's debatable as to whether he intended to trick Mega Man in 8, given his shock and horror when he noticed that the Evil Energy was trying to possess Mega Man.
  • What an Idiot!: In the ending of 9, if Mega Man had stopped to think, he would probably realize that the Dr. Light in the cage is a fake, the one used by Dr. Wily to make the video used to frame Dr. Light. Hmm? That's not so bad, you say? Well, Proto Man shows up, spells out exactly how the trick works, and Mega Man still fell for it. What an idiot! Oh well, at least Wily got away to be the villain again.
    • Mega Man figured it could well be a trap, but couldn't take the off chance that it was the real Dr. Light. Proto Man could well have acted while Mega Man fell for the trap, but apparently decided to let Wily go in the name of proving a point?
  • Woolseyism: A few instances, most famously in 7's ending.

Video Game Series

  • Director Displacement: While he was the lead artist on all the games up to 8, Keiji Inafune didn't actually become the head designer until partway through production of 3. The first two games were designed by Akira Kitamura, while the third was initially designed by Masayoshi Kurokawa, who subsequently quit during production, forcing Inafune to take over.
  • Harsher in Hindsight: Mega Man, as he often points out, wanted to "fight for everlasting peace". That...didn't go so well.
  • Misblamed: A lot of fans chastise Capcom for "running out of ideas" for later Robot Masters, without knowing that Capcom didn't make most of them. They're fan designs. If the fans have anyone to blame for the odd Robot Master choices, it's themselves.
    • But Capcom's still to blame in some degree. They choose the designs, so they could have chosen better ones, or polish a bit the ones the end picking up.
  • Narm: The voice acting for Mega Man 8 is just as hilariously bad as X4's. Mega Man actually sounds more like a girl than Roll, Bass' name is pronounced like the fish, and most infamous of all, Fudd Light.


Cartoon Series

  • Anticlimax Boss: Quick Man from Mega Man 2 is generally considered one of the more dangerous Robot Masters, as you could probably tell by his namesake. In this series, he is quickly defeated when Roll drops a bust on him at a museum.
  • Cliché Storm: Quite a few plots are ones you've already seen before in other childrens' cartoons.
  • Complaining About Shows You Don't Watch: Frequent victim thereof. Some are understandable even when the reasons for them are justified, like Protoman being on Wily's side (Bass wasn't yet invented and they needed a rival) and Roll's redesign (to make her a fighter like her brother). Others, like complaining that Mega Man is in his teens rather than being a kid; and that Woodman's Leaf Shield is an actual shield rather than leaves spinning around him; and the overall Americanization of the show, aren't.
  • Complete Monster: Dr. Wily. This incarnation seems to lack any sympathy for life, human or robot. For example, both he and his robots have no regrets about killing, he's made several attempts at outright destroying entire cities and twice attempted to wipe out the entire populace just to rule over the survivors. And if X's appearance is any indicator, he's still going to create Zero and the Maverick Virus at some point.
  • Ear Worm: DUN-UH-DUN-UH~! "SUPER FIGHTING ROBOT!" DUN-UH-DUN-UH~! "MEGA MAN!"
    • The German intro replacing the original music with fast paced techno and removing the battle sounds, is also catchy as hell.
  • Fan Dumb: Many fans of the games come down hard on the cartoon for not being like the games. A lot of the purists' complaints come off as incredibly petty and asinine. The Japanese-made OVA, which is also different from the games and is somewhat tepid to boot, usually gets off scot-free.
    • It's also quite common for them to accuse the writers of never finishing MM5 (a claim popularized by the webmaster of MMHP), while at the same time dismissing Darkman (a 'bot who was never named in MM5; they did use the earlier gray one, but the point remains). If not that, they complain about how Bass isn't in the show and that he should've filled Protoman's role. Too bad the show went into production before MM7's release (a fact that also tends to be ignored).
  • Fanon: Apart from RS-Bass, one of the most popular bits is Wily treating Proto like absolute crap. Sadly, it's not implausible.
  • Fan Yay: This scene from "Mega Dreams".
  • Foe Yay: Proto Man could get fairly possessive of his little brother...

Elec Man: I get a real charge out of beating you, Mega Man!

    • In "Future Shock", Metal Man inexplicably refers to him as "Megababe". Granted, it was probably just to mock him, but still.
      • This was sometime after he pinned Mega under a pipe, then leaned on it in preparation to slice his head off.
    • On the girls' side of things, the cosmetics robot in "Electric Nightmare" seemed a little too eager to deal with Roll. She also disliked Mega Man intruding.
  • Growing the Beard: There were several signs that this show was improving, such as the episode "Bro Bots". Who knows what could have happened had the show had that third season...
  • Harsher in Hindsight: In "Robosaur Park", Mega Man and Roll are de-evolving into cavebots, and Dr. Light only has enough antidote for one of them. Roll says Mega should take it; he refuses at first, but she says he's the one with the best chance of stopping Wily. He agrees and takes it, and is able to save the day. In 10, a similar scene played out, only sadder.
    • It was even the tenth episode. The only way this could be any more uncanny is if Slash Man appeared in 10 instead of 7.
      • He did appear in 10, in the Weapons Archive boss.
    • In "Mega X", X takes a liking to Mega Man, saying he's the most optimistic robot he's ever met. When you remember what happens in the X series, and how Zero is X's only friend...
    • Everything about "The Big Shake" in lieu of the Japanese earthquake.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight: In "Showdown at Red Gulch", Wily uses energy from a meteor to power up his robots; however, soon it leaves them drained and weak. In Mega Man 8, guess what happened?
    • The plot, however, was probably taken from the third game, which involved Power Crystals. But, the ideas were used in 8.
    • In "Mega-Pinocchio", Wily decides to make Light a Hero with Bad Publicity. So he reprograms his robots and sends them on a rampage, so Light is blamed for the attacks. In 9, he did essentially the same thing, though amplified by making himself a Villain with Good Publicity. Both scenarios even had a female reporter who was quick to blame Light for the misdeeds.
    • In separate episodes, this robot and this robot appear, respectively, Shade Man has a vampire motif, much like Dracubot, while the quarterback robot bears a big resemblance to GridMan.EXE from Mega Man Battle Network.
      • Strikeman from MM 10 could easily pass for the baseball equivalent of the aforementioned quarterbot.
    • In the Bad Future episode, a character named "Jet" appears; this was way before the concept involving little Joe was ever made.
    • In "Ice Age", both Ice Man and Air Man will not die. They're finally defeated in the last 2 minutes after defeating Mega Man, Roll, and Rush in every other encounter.
    • In "Mega X", Dr. Cain, rather than looking like his game self, looks like Gordon Freeman.
    • In "Future Shock", Wily has taken over the city in a span of thirty years and exiled Light and Roll because Mega Man wasn't around to stop him. In The Protomen, Wily takes over the city and exiles Light in about thirty years because there isn't a Mega Man to stop him.
    • In "Electric Nightmare", Mega Man stops an out-of-control soda machine by kicking it. In Mega Man Legends, kicking soda machines could get you free drinks and sometimes money.
    • In "Future Shock", the robot police have wolf-like robo-dogs with a purple color scheme. This was before 6 and 7 came out, the latter of which had the first appearance of Treble, Bass's purple robot wolf.
      • Was it after Mega Man X, though? Sigma had a purple robot-wolf, which may have been what they were referencing since, you know, the future.
    • In "Mega Dreams", Protoman refers to Wily as "Lord Wily" when they're in a medieval-related dream. In Battle Network, Wily's counterpart is called Lord Wily.
    • In "Electric Nightmare", Mega offers Roll a broom when she offers to go out fighting; she karate chops it in half rather than use it. In the Capcom vs. Whatever fighting games, classic!Roll uses a broom and only a broom as a weapon.
  • Ho Yay: If it's even possible, would Guts Man and Cut Man count?
    • Don't forget Mega Man and Brain Bot inexplicably sharing a bed...
    • Proto Man, while pretending to be a good guy, never freaking stops touching Mega Man.
  • I Am Not Shazam: The amusement park in "Bad Day at Peril Park" is called Fun World, not Peril Park.
  • Jerkass Woobie: Bomb Man and Cut Man considering how many times they are destroyed.
    • The robot masters in "The Day the Moon Fell" come off as this too if you think about it. You can tell that even they think Wily's plan to bring the entire planet to the brink of a full-scale apocalypse is completely bat-shit insane. Unfortunately, being Wily's robots, they're programmed to help him succeed and there's nothing they can do about it. You kinda feel sorry for them if you think about it like that...
  • Memetic Badass: Pharaoh Man wears a cape and punches Mega out of his Mega Manning. Well done, Pharaoh.
    • It's just like one person on YouTube commented, "Pharaoh Man: putting bitches in their place since 1991."
  • Memetic Mutation: "It's Gutsman!" DUN-DUUUUN!
  • Memetic Sex God: Roll in this version pretty much defines this.
  • Moral Event Horizon: Wily was willing to move the moon out of its orbit, threatening the WORLD, to prove he was better than Dr. Light. Hell, his robots questioned this; they went along with it, but they questioned this act as well.
    • Later, even Protoman was concerned about how close the moon is getting, pointing out that if he keeps this up there won't be much left of the world to take over. Wily's response was to laugh in his face and ask if he was getting nervous.
    • In "The Big Shake", he created earthquakes to force cities to surrender... And threatened to destroy them if they didn't.
      • Later in the episode, Wily discovered Light was working on a device to stop his earthquake machine. His response was to direct a maximum-powered earthquake directly at Light's lab in an attempt to kill them all. And after the deed was done, with Wily believing Mega, Roll, and Light dead? He stops celebrating in about two seconds and goes on to threaten the mayor.
    • In "Bro Bots", his plan involving Protoman as a Heel Face Mole crosses the line. While Protoman enacted the plan, it was Wily's idea, and when Protoman gave a hint to Mega Man about the scrambler chip, Wily ordered Protoman to destroy Mega Man.
  • Narm Charm: In "Bro Bots" a lot of the lines are overacted at times, but how are you feeling by the time the episode ends? Sad.
  • Nightmare Fuel: Has its own section on the page.
  • So Bad It's Good
  • They Just Didn't Care: Largely averted.
  • Unfortunate Implications: This video shows London is somehow still in it's Victorian era, and they can't seem to tell that the "Mummy" is a robot, not to mention the stereotypes. What's worse, later in the episode, they're carrying pitchforks and torches to fight the "Mummy", of course, there's always the theory that the episode was just a movie that was being filmed, but that doesn't really stop the implications.
  • Villain Decay: Wily, just like in the games, goes through this. Except it's a bit stranger, for one thing, filming your own crimes? Seriously?
    • Well, Wily is out of his gourd...
  • Visual Effects of Awesome: Some of the episodes were very well animated.
    • The plasma shots are done very well, usually adding shading if there isn't any already.
  • The Woobie: Mega Man in "Bro Bots."

Film Version

  • Nightmare Fuel: Wily in his crazier moments.
  • Awesome Music: Have fun. (If you want it for free, just name 0 as your price.)
    • Particular note goes to "Wily's Castle", a pumped version of 2's Wily 1-2 theme.
    • There's also "Deep Blue" by Ladytron, a pumping electronic tune that kicks in when Skull Castle first rises from the ground.
      • And the song that plays soon afterwards. *whistle*
  • Fridge Brilliance: Why were Rock and Roll designed to look Japanese? Because Light's wife was Japanese!
    • Sounds more like Swiss Brilliance to me, This Troper figured it out as soon as he saw her picture for the first time.
    • The meta reason they both look Japanese is because Lebron wanted to pay homage to the fact it's a Japanese game series.
  • Fridge Logic: When Rock sits down to breakfast, Light explains that he can eat, and taste food, and feels hunger, but doesn't need to eat. Yes. He doesn't need to eat, but still gets hungry. Try not to think about that too hard.
    • It makes some sense, considering he wanted them to be as human as possible. Maybe it only kicks in when he's near food and kicks out when it's not around?
    • When Mega Man captures Wily, he states that the doctor could have used his talents for good. Even though Wily had been doing that for years and not getting credit, which was what led to this whole problem in the first place.
      • He probably meant something along the lines of, "You could've made your own robots to make money/get recognition legally instead of, you know, trying to take over the world."
    • How did Mega Man catch wind of that "you're just a useless toy" speech Wily gave? Or was that jab at the end just a coincidence?
    • How did Wily's floating death castle slip under everyone's radar until it ripped itself out of the ground and started blowing shit up? You'd think someone would notice a damn skull with a "W" on it!
      • For the same reason no one in the games notices it.
    • Also: Doc Light not only leaving military projects around in one convenient location, but keeping them stocked with ammo and power just in case someone wanted to use them again, even after deciding he and Wily wouldn't pursue military contracts anymore.
  • Holy Shit Quotient: The entire last half hour.
    • The Yellow Devil.
    • Copy-Rock.
    • Skull Castle being a floating war fortress.
      • And the Wily Stage 1-2 Music from 2 kicking in.
  • Moral Event Horizon: Wily, having captured Roll, torments her about her creation, giving her existential crises and causing the poor girl to cry.
    • And then he has Copy Mega Man throw her out of the Skull Fortress, which happens to be several miles above ground.
  • The Scrappy: Roll.
  • Special Effects Failure: While most of the CG is surprisingly good, there are a couple of bad spots; namely Wily's rather unimpressive war pod and the extremely fake looking smoke coming from Ice Man's chest.
    • There's also the crappy green screen effects and muted or non-present sound effects from time to time.


Archie Comics

  • Anticlimax Boss: Somewhat justified, seeing how they had to condense the defeat of over six enemies (including Gold Devil, evil Mega Man and assorted minions) over three issues, but the Robot Masters really don't come across as major threats since Rock can defeat most of them within two pages. Altogether though, all six of them are able to destroy the evil Mega Man.
  • Author's Saving Throw: Oil Man had originally gotten a lot of flak for his original design, particularly his lips, which were even recolored from pink to yellow in the American release of Powered Up. So what does Archie do when they include him? Hide his lips behind his scarf. Truth be told, Oil Man looks more menacing that way.
  • Tainted by the Preview: So far, the unveiling for the first original story arc (not adapting a specific game) has attracted many complaints.
  1. ↑ just see YouTube
  2. ↑ Some people claim the Quick Boomerang is its weakness, but it actually doesn't do any more damage than the pea shooter.
  3. ↑ Come on. It's not that bad.
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