Mega Manis one of Nintendo’s longest running franchises and has spawned many different spin-offs with their own mechanics and expectations, such as theMega Man Xseries and Battle Network. The one that started it all was the original line of Mega Man games on the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System).
RELATED:Best Multi-Phase Boss Fights, Ranked
The games feature a plucky blue-colored robot tasked with defeating various evil robots that are under the control of Dr. Wiley. These evil robots are called Robot Masters and each one of them is weak to the power of a different Robot Master, whose power can be obtained once you defeat them. In Japan, Mega Man’s name is Rockman due to its meaning of Rock, Paper, Scissors of how you should beat an opponent with what they are weak to.
10Mega Man
This is the first game to feature thesuper fighting robot, Mega Man, and the game that started it all. A true old school, side-scrolling experience that was all about challenge and the feeling of accomplishment for overcoming a series of obstacles set forth by the developers.
A lot of gamers today would say the difficulty was far too hard, but that is just how games were back in the day; they were fun to play and hard to master. This game has seen many re-releases, adding new mechanics and elements to enhance the experience.
9Mega Man 7
A lot of amazing features were added with each Mega Man game along the way of the franchise’s lifespan. Mega Man 7 would shake up the formula used by the previous games of having 8 Robot Masters available at the start of the game.
Instead, players will play an introductory level, then be presented by 4 Robot Master Options. Upon their defeat, the players will have access to another set of 4 different Robot Masters. This feature would return again for Mega Man 8, before reverting to the old system of 8 Robot Masters to choose from.
8Mega Man 6
This is the Mega Man game that would introduce players to The Energy Balancer. This is a great feature for the game, resulting in the player being able to refill their weapon with the lowest energy whenever they were to pick up pellets for their special weapons.
In previous games, Mega Man’s dog, Rush, would provide aid to the player, but in this version, Mega Man and Rush would merge into new forms with special abilities players would not normally have access to.
7Mega Man 5
Mega Man 5 took the Chargeable Mega Buster feature introduced in Mega Man 4 and made it affect a larger area, making it more hit more often. In each stage of Mega Man 5, there are hidden items in the form of Circuit boards.
RELATED:Hardest Boss Fights In Gaming, Ranked
Some of the worlds have some interesting mechanics to navigate them, making this one of thebest side scrolling experiencesin the Mega Man games. These act as collectibles for the game, and once you have collected them all, you will gain access to a bird robot named Beat. Beat will be very helpful, as they are able to attack and deal damage to any enemies on the screen.
6Mega Man & Bass
Mega Man & Bass may not have a number, but it is still considered a mainline entry, making Mega Man 9 the tenth game in the series and forever causing a lot of players some minor confusion on the matter.
Players no loner have to play the game as Mega Man and are given the choice to select their character at the start, with the other option being Bass. Both have their pros and cons; Mega man is more mobile able to slide and shoot his arm cannon while running, while Bass is able to shot his arm canon in any direction and has rapid firing.
5Mega Man 10
This game offers you the ability to play through it as either Mega Man or Proto Man, each with their own unique traits that make playing as one more desirable over the other. Protoman received the features that Mega Man would get later in the games, such as sliding and the charged blast attack, but they also can block certain projectiles with a shield.
However, Mega Man receives less damage from enemies, is able to have an additional blast traveling on the screen, and does not receive as much knock back.
4Mega Man 11
Mega Man 11would release 8 years after the last entry in the franchise, and it is currently the latest entry in the original Mega Man series of games. In an attempt to pull the series more into modern gaming, the art style changed to using 3D models on a 2D playing surface.
This is also the return of Mega Man being able to slide and use his charged Mega Buster, which were previously taken out to make the games feel more like the earlier titles. This game also added the Double Gear feature, allowing Mega Man to slow down time or deal increased damage.
3Mega Man 9
After the initial change of having two groups of four robot masters, Mega Man 9 would steer the direction back to having 8 choices at the start of the game. Mega Man 9 draws a lot of inspiration from the earlier Mega Man games, and this game dropped some features such as sliding and a charged bust shot.
RELATED:Best Boss Fight Themes, Ranked
It did, however, still bring with it a some of more desirable elements of the more recent games such as collecting screws to buy items from a shop.
2Mega Man 3
Mega Man 3 was the debut appearance of Mega Man’s dog, Rush, which featured many different transformations throughout the game. Mega Man 3 was also the first game to introduce sliding as a mechanic, which would go on to become a staple of the series used to avoid damage and move through small spaces in levels.
Yet another staple that Mega Man 3 would add is the character Proto Man, designed to be the brother of Mega Man. Proto Man has been a heavily used story element and main character in many of the Mega Man games who aids in Mega Man’s growth and evolution.
1Mega Man 2
Mega Man 2 was not only a brilliant sequel — it would set a golden standard for all other Mega Man games going forward and be arguably the best in the entire franchise.This game added the item known as Energy Tank that could be used to heal up, as well as adding a Password System.
The password System was well-received and allowed players to write down a code after defeating a boss, allowing them to return to that point in the game. One of the reasons it was so well receive is due to Mega Man 2 having some of the hardest levels in the franchise.
