Rockman the Robot War

"Atop the ramparts of Skull Castle, a vision of madness stood..."

Rockman: The Robot War is a novelization of the original Mega Man game, written by Ben "Maelgrim" Roberts. A stellar example of Adaptation Expansion done right.

After the Third World War, Dr. Light and Dr. Wily decide to create "androbots" to do the jobs human can't or won't do. However, Wily eventually decides that humans would be better without them...

The fic can be found here.

A sequel is currently being written adapting the second game. It can be found here.

Tropes used in Rockman the Robot War include:

• Adaptation Expansion
  • Also has a bit of decay, since Rock and Roll and Blues as they learn, have mental abilities akin to their youngest brother.
• Broad Strokes: The second story brings in some of the Legacy of Metal characters, albeit with some alterations. As Erico's and Magus' work (especially the latter, more so early on) drew so much from the original, it's quite fitting.
• Chekhov's Gun - Several
• Corrupt Church - The Human Supremacy League
  • James Walken could easily be considered a Knight Templar. His religious paranoia was such that he considered robots a sin, as well as homosexuals and working mothers, to the point neither of which he allowed in his army.
  • Like father like son. We learn that James' dad was a minister and terrorist. When his dad is killed while resisting arrest, from robots, James refuses to believe the charges listed, thinking the robot made a mistake.
• Combat Pragmatist - In the Iceman fight, Rock uses the Rolling Cutter to decapitate Iceman.
• Continuity Cameo - The sequel mentions plans for two undeveloped prototype masters, Kronos and Hades. Their description makes it clear that they are Time Man and Oil Man of Mega Man Powered Up.
• Cruel Mercy - Rockman spares Docman's life, condemning him to a slow and painful death.
• Darker and Edgier
• Dark Fic - Ohhh yes.
• Deadpan Snarker: Roll has certainly been blessed with a talent for sarcasm.
• Dead Person Impersonation: Rock isn't dead per se, but during his long sleep Dr. Light and Roll rig up a duplicate in the name of propping up world morale. Note to future generations: do not try this at home. Thankfully, they were smart enough not to give it free will or its own personality.
• Deconstruction - Many tropes from the actual games are explored and you come to realize just how bad things need to be so that humanity needs to build robots like the Robot Masters in the first place as well as why the world would need a little blue robot to save the world.
  • The sequel is also covering the fallout of the previous war. Dr. Light is on trial for supposed involvement with Dr. Wily's antics.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Aside from the chapter-opening quotes from Mega Man X and Mega Man Zero characters, the main supporting players have had a habit of appearing before their time.
  • While not named, both the first and second stories have introduced models of robots that will become future Robot Masters. Thus far, we've gotten references to Gemini Man, either Metal Man or Shadow Man, and Tengu Man.
• Enemy Mine: Despite differing opinions on robotics, Dr. Wily and Walken are willing to work together to prevent people from becoming over-reliant on robots. Of course, they plan to betray and kill the other to Take Over the World for themselves afterwards.
• Even Evil Has Standards: When James Walken is killed, Dr. Wily says a less than flattering farewell for the person that was arguably more twisted than himself.
  • Even Walken shows a moment of this. He recognizes that not everyone working with robotics would want to, but to feed themselves and/or their families. He also rationalizes that if such people die in an HSL attack, they'll go to heaven.
• Evil Luddite: The Human Supremacy League hates robots, although James Walken is far more extreme. They don't seem to have problems with other kinds of technology, although given the state of the planet, they may not have a choice.
• Frickin' Laser Beams: Laser weapons are used occasionally. Unlike their depictions in the games, the story states that lasers are invisible.
• Fridge Brilliance: The first story has a scene where Roll is surprised to see records that the machine being used in to install Rock's upgrades was used before. As of chapter three in the new story, Blues notices he has a plasma buster he had no recollection of being installed. He came home and used the machine to install the weapon.
• Freudian Excuse: Walken's hatred of robots stems from the childhood murder of his father. Said dad, George Walken, was a minister who had a similar but less extreme hatred for robots, was killed by robots that were originally sent to arrest him for illegal weapons sales, treason, and several other charges.
• Game-Breaking Injury: Iceman's virus.
• Hallucinations - Wily suffers from these, as does Rockman When The Virus takes hold
• Heroic BSOD - Rockman on multiple occasions
• Just a Machine: Most of the world agrees; Dr. Light, of course, does not, but then he has the privilege of living with the two most Ridiculously-Human Robots in existence.
• Lampshade Hanging
• Mad Scientist - Dr. Wily
• Mega Manning - The trope itself goes without saying, but it should be noted that the story actually subverts this twice. It isn't until Rock is dealing with Iceman, the third boss, that he actually gets his weapon copy ability. Also, the "Super Arm" Rock gets is just an upgrade to his hydraulics, not a weapon. So in all, he gets five weapons in the story.
• Mythology Gag - Many
• Psycho Electro - Elecman again
• Pyromaniac - Fireman
• Stay in the Kitchen - Lampshaded by Roll. She thinks Dr. Light wants to upgrade Rock and not her because she's a girl. Dr. Light replies they're both robots, but she has more damage to repair from the League's bombing attack on top of the upgrades, so Rock was just the smarter choice. She was going to receive them too, but her armor was stolen before that could happen.
  • Played straight with Walken, who doesn't allow working mothers in the League.
• Theme Naming - The Robot Masters' original names, as well as a few other robot names, come from Greek Mythology.
• "Three Laws"-Compliant: The Laws come up again and again. Their effect on Rock is explored throughout the first, while the sequel has so far placed focus on their frustration of Roll and Docman.
• Viewers Are Geniuses - Many of the literal mythology gags and a lot of the diction require much knowledge.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist - Dr. Wily first wanted to prove that humans were becoming too reliant on robots, so he joined the League to get the resources he needed.
• World War III - Happened long before the events of the story, as Dr. Light remembers serving at that time. It's described as being short lived, and ended when the nuclear fallout, combined with mass deforestation and pollution, killed 98% of all plant life. The fallout has also rendered the South Pole as the only place with drinkable water. Combined with all the radioactive rubble, human workers just aren't able to work effectively which is why Dr. Light invented the robot masters.