History YMMV / MegaMan3

* ThatOneLevel: The second visit to Needle Man's stage has a very long {{Bottomless Pit|s}} that can only be crossed with the Rush Jet, so pray you don't run out of weapon energy [[ItemFarming lest you take up the life of a farmer]].

* GameBreaker: [[GameBreaker/MegaMan Shares a page with the rest of the franchise.]]

* ThatOneLevel: The second visit to Needle Man's stage has a very long BottomlessPit that can only be crossed with the Rush Jet, so pray you don't run out of weapon energy [[ItemFarming lest you take up the life of a farmer]].

* BetterThanCanon: The ''[[http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/992/ Mega Man 3 Improvement]]'' and ''[[http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/4773/ Revamped]]'' [[RomHack rom hacks]] fix a lot of the game's issues and even provide an original intro cutscene, leading fans to consider them the definitive version.

** A few of the Doc Robot battles. Namely, Doc Quick Man; while Quick Man was a FragileSpeedster in ''VideoGame/MegaMan2'', the Doc Robot using his program data is a LightningBruiser, able to not only deal a lot of CollisionDamage, but his larger size makes him much harder to avoid. This is also an issue with the Doc Robot mimicking Flash Man; due to the fact that you fight him on stairs, he's very difficult to jump over as a result.
*** It doesn't help that [[FanNickname Doc Quick]]'s AI pattern has actually changed from the original Quick Man's; instead of a three-jump pattern that happened to bug against the outer walls (which could sometimes keep Quick Man from throwing boomerangs), Doc Quick jumps a ''deliberately'' random number of times and is more guaranteed to throw boomerangs.
** There's also the larger, harder-hitting Doc Wood Man (whose size also makes his ''Leaf Shield'' bigger), and Doc Air Man which throws tornadoes in unavoidable patterns on occasion (that said, the slide still makes him much easier than he was in ''2'').
*** Additionally, most Doc Robots lack a weapon that can four- or even two-shot bosses like in the [[http://megaman.wikia.com/wiki/Mega_Man_2_Damage_Data_Chart original game]]. The ''3'' [[http://megaman.wikia.com/wiki/Mega_Man_3_Damage_Data_Chart damage chart]] for the Doc Robots fairly closely resembles the Japanese version of the game, however.

* ThatOneLevel: Pretty much every Doc Robot stage. Being little more than "hard mode" retreads of older levels ([[DifficultySpike that are harder than the Wily Castle stages]]), having to fight two bosses (at least one of which acts as ThatOneBoss) per stage, suffering from CheckPointStarvation, ultimately gaining no reward like extra weapons and [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment being insignificant in the overall plot]], it's no wonder that players usually use passwords to skip them entirely. Needle Man's stage is probably the worst of them, thanks to a very long BottomlessPit that can only be crossed with the Rush Jet, so pray you don't run out [[ItemFarming lest you take up the life of a farmer]].

* HypeBacklash: Downplayed in a sense, but the game is still considered by some as the best of the series, even compared to its predecessor. This is even considering how rushed the game was, which has only become more well-known over time, with filler stages, a missing intro cinema and less impressive power-ups among the complaints before and since. Even so, it's at worst been considered disappointing by comparison, and better than anything since, barring 9.

* PowerupLetdown: The Rush Marine is one of the most useless items in the entire series, being effectively identical to the Rush Jet, except that it can only be used underwater. The problem? There are only a few specific rooms in the game that contain water, and all of them can be flown over easily with the Rush Jet.

** None of the bosses in the Wily Castle are anywhere near as difficult as the Doc Robot fights, with the possible exception of Yellow Devil Mk. II. Gamma's second phase stands out in that it can be destroyed easily with just a single Top Spin, even though it's the ''final boss''.

* GameBreaker: The Rush Jet is ludicrously useful in this game, making a platform that can move in any direction and only using energy when Mega Man's feet are touching it. With a trick, you can get it as early as the second stage. The weapon is also so broken it can break certain boss patterns (such as Doc Bubble) and trivialize others (such as Doc Wood). It gets severely {{nerf}}ed in subsequent games. It does become somewhat of a necessity, however, as the energy pellets collected to fuel the jet across wide gaps (such as in Needle Man's stage revisit) aren't restored if you lose a life.

** While not that bad of a weapon overall, there can only be one shot from the Gemini Laser on-screen at any one time. If it misses, you can't fire another shot or even ''pause the game'' until the shot either leaves the screen, runs out of energy or hits an enemy, which is doubly problematic if you're fighting a boss and low on energy, since it'll temporarily prevent you from using any energy tanks that you have.
** Top Spin drains energy for every frame it's in contact with an enemy. This is why it drains to nothing so quickly when used on an enemy that's invulnerable to it, and one reason why it has to be used carefully against Shadow Man (who has MercyInvincibility). Learning how to avoid draining the weapon in this way is necessary to use it effectively.
** Rush Marine is frequently derided for not only being such a situational device (it can only be used underwater), but in this game especially being completely redundant as Rush Jet does the exact same thing except you can use it out of water as well. It doesn't help that the Marine drains energy so quickly, that it becomes risky to use in water sections with BottomlessPits like in Gemini Man's stage. ''4'' would change the Rush Jet so as to not make the Rush Marine obsolete, while none of the games after it have featured Rush Marine.
** Surprise Boxes, non-respawning containers found in some levels that are guaranteed to drop a random power-up when destroyed, usually located in hard-to-reach areas like 1-Ups and E-tanks are. Unfortunately, they pull from ''every'' power-up in the game, so while they can drop extra lives or E-tanks, the player could just as easily get screwed over with a small health or weapon energy power-up. Fortunately, the concept was refined in later games with the inclusion of Fliptop/Eddie, who's unable to drop small power-ups.
* ScrappyWeapon: While the Top Spin [[LethalJokeWeapon can be surprisingly effective when used properly]], the Spark Shock really is useless. Unlike the Ice Slasher, you can't switch to another weapon to lay on the hurt on a paralyzed enemy, or freeze another enemy while the current shot's sparks are onscreen.

** Rush Marine is frequently derided for not only being such a situational device (it can only be used underwater), but in this game especially being completely redundant as Rush Jet does the exact same thing except you can use it out of water as well. It doesn't help that the Marine drains energy so quickly, that it becomes risky to use in water sections with {{bottomless pit}}s like in Gemini Man's stage. ''4'' would change the Rush Jet so as to not make the Rush Marine obsolete, while none of the games after it have featured Rush Marine.

** This time around, it's practically a requirement to take on the Robot Masters in some sort of order, otherwise you'll find yourself having to slowly chip away at each and every one of their health points with the Mega Buster, while they whale on you with their own weapons...or if they want to ''really'' beat up on you, they'll just throw themselves at you non-stop and let their HitboxDissonance and insane amounts of collision damage finish you off even quicker. Making matters worse, whereas most of the Robot Masters in the last game had two major weaknesses, here it's usually one major weakness, maybe a minor weakness (i.e. two times Mega Buster damage) if you're lucky, with everything else being either completely useless or no better than using the Mega Buster. To make things more complicated, this is also the only game (except for ''VideoGame/MegaManV'') where the Robot Master weakness cycle isn't a perfect circle [[note]]Snake Man, Gemini Man, and Needle Man are weak to each others weapons, while the other five create another weakness circle[[/note]], meaning that you'll have to fight two Robot Masters without their proper weakness. Mitigated somewhat in the refights however, thanks to all the Robot Masters being weak to their own weapons.

** This time around, it's practically a requirement to take on the Robot Masters in some sort of order, otherwise you'll find yourself having to slowly chip away at each and every one of their health points with the Mega Buster, while they whale on you with their own weapons...or if they want to ''really'' beat up on you, they'll just throw themselves at you non-stop and let their HitboxDissonance and insane amounts of collision damage finish you off even quicker. Making matters worse, whereas most of the Robot Masters in the last game had two major weaknesses, here it's usually one major weakness, maybe a minor weakness (i.e. two times Mega Buster damage) if you're lucky, with everything else being either completely useless or no better than using the Mega Buster. To make things more complicated, this is also the only game where the Robot Master weakness cycle isn't a perfect circle [[note]]Snake Man, Gemini Man, and Needle Man are weak to each others weapons, while the other five create another weakness circle[[/note]], meaning that you'll have to fight two Robot Masters without their proper weakness. Mitigated somewhat in the refights however, thanks to all the Robot Masters being weak to their own weapons.

** This time around, it's practically a requirement to take on the Robot Masters in some sort of order, otherwise you'll find yourself having to slowly chip away at each and every one of their health points with the Mega Buster, while they whale on you with their own weapons...or if they want to ''really'' beat up on you, they'll just throw themselves at you non-stop and let their HitboxDissonance and insane amounts of collision damage finish you off even quicker. Making matters worse, whereas most of the Robot Masters in the last game had two major weaknesses, here it's usually one major weakness, maybe a minor weakness (i.e. two times Mega Buster damage) if you're lucky, with everything else being either completely useless or no better than using the Mega Buster. Mitigated somewhat in the refights however, thanks to all the Robot Masters being weak to their own weapons.

* HilariousInHindsight: This game introduces Doc Robot, who has a skull-shaped head and can use multiple abilities of other Robot Masters such as the ones from ''2''. Several years later in ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', we get [[BigBad All For One]], who has a skull-themed mask and uses stolen Quirks for his own.

** The infamous western boxart where it looked like Mega Man [[GroinAttack shoots Spark Man in the crotch]].

** Shadow Man is a BullfightBoss. On every third jump he will either fire the Shadow Blade (slide under this) or he will immediately slide towards you and then cancel it into a jump when he's right in front of you (properly time your jump over him). Basically you can beat him as long as you back away and give yourself enough time to twitch away when he does something, and control your distance. It doesn't help that Shadow Man's weakness is the Top Spin, meaning you have to be close to hit him. It also doesn't help that he's really, really fast (Not so much in ''Wily Wars'' where the speed of everyone is considerably slower, but that came with the cost of how you can no longer slide under his Shadow Blade). Trying to fight with the Mega Buster alone is asking for trouble (it can be done, but it's ''very'' hard). He's also considered probably the hardest boss in the franchise to fight in a NoDamageRun, thanks to his lack of telegraphing and aggressive fighting style.

* AntiClimaxBoss: None of the bosses in the Wily Castle are anywhere near as difficult as the Doc Robot fights, with the possible exception of Yellow Devil Mk. II. Gamma's second phase stands out in that it can be destroyed easily with just a single Top Spin, even though it's the ''final boss''.

* HilariousInHindsight: This game introduces an antagonist called Doc Robot, which has a skull-shaped head, is huge and is able to use multiple abilities of other Robot Masters such as the ones from ''2''. Several years later in ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', we get [[BigBad All For One]], who is a major antagonist to the heroes, has a large build, has a skull-themed mask and uses stolen Quirks for his own.
* ItWasHisSled: The reveal that Proto Man is Mega Man's older brother, Wily didn't reform at all, and the Doc Robot using the previous game's powers.

* GameBreaker: The Rush Jet is ludicrously useful in this game, making a platform that can move in any direction and only using energy when Mega Man's feet are touching it. With a trick, you can get it as early as the second stage. It gets severely {{nerf}}ed in subsequent games. It does become somewhat of a necessity, however, as the energy pellets collected to fuel the jet across wide gaps (such as in Needle Man's stage revisit) aren't restored if you lose a life.

* ItWasHisSled: The reveal that Proto Man is Mega Man's older brother. Also, Wily didn't reform at all.

* AccidentalInnuendo: Poor, poor Hard Man. The fact that his weapons involve [[RocketPunch fists]] does not help his case. Nor does the fact that one of his attacks is [[BullfightBoss lunging in with that giant phallic head and getting stuck in the ground...]]

** What is commonly assumed to be the moment Mega Man learns Proto Man is his brother, isn't. [[https://kobun20.interordi.com/2010/09/16/give-a-little-whistle/ It's been stated as late as]] ''VideoGame/MegaMan8'' that he doesn't know their relationship, and that ''3'''s credits are [[InternalReveal something only known to the audience]]. That many adaptations and mis-translations have Mega Man knowing Proto Man is his brother does nothing to curb this misconception.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Shadow Man is well-liked due to having a cool design (being the first ninja Robot Master helps) and a useful weapon.
* {{Fanon}}: Some hardcore fans like to assume that Dr. Wily actually died in the collapse of Wily Castle, considering ''3'' the final "true" game of the Mega Man Classic series, and [[FanonDiscontinuity ignoring everything]] from ''VideoGame/MegaMan4'' and beyond.

* MemeticMutation: The infamous western boxart where Mega Man [[GroinAttack shoots Spark Man in the crotch.]]

** Rush Marine is frequently derided for not only being such a situational device (it can only be used underwater), but in this game especially being completely redundant as Rush Jet does the exact same thing except you can use it out of water as well. It doesn't help that the Marine drains energy so quickly, that it becomes risky to use in water sections with {{bottomless pit}}s like in Gemini Man's stage. ''Mega Man 4'' would change the Rush Jet so as to not make the Rush Marine obsolete, while none of the games after it have featured Rush Marine.
** Surprise Boxes, non-respawning containers found in some levels that are guaranteed to drop a random power-up when destroyed, usually located in hard-to-reach areas like 1-Ups and E-tanks are. Unfortunately, they pull from ''every'' power-up in the game, so while they can drop extra lives or E-tanks, the player could just as easily get screwed over with a small health or weapon energy power-up. Fortunately, the concept was refined in later games with the inclusion of Fliptop[=/=]Eddie, who's unable to drop small power-ups.

** A few of the Doc Robot K-176 battles. Namely, the one in which he mimics Quick Man; while Quick Man was a FragileSpeedster in ''VideoGame/MegaMan2'', the Doc Robot using his program data is a LightningBruiser, able to not only deal a lot of CollisionDamage, but his larger size makes him much harder to avoid. This is also an issue with the Doc Robot mimicking Flash Man; due to the fact that you fight him on stairs, he's very difficult to jump over as a result.

*** There's also the larger, harder-hitting Wood Man Doc Robot (whose size also makes his ''Leaf Shield'' bigger), and the Air Man one which throws tornadoes in undodgeable patterns on occasion (that said, the slide still makes him much easier than he was in ''Mega Man 2'').
*** Additionally, most Doc Robots lack a weapon that can four- or even two-shot bosses like in the [[http://megaman.wikia.com/wiki/Mega_Man_2_Damage_Data_Chart original game]]. The ''Mega Man 3'' [[http://megaman.wikia.com/wiki/Mega_Man_3_Damage_Data_Chart damage chart]] for the Doc Robots fairly closely resembles the Japanese version of the game, however.

* MemeticMutation: The infamous western boxart where Mega Man [[GroinAttack shoots Spark Man in the dick.]]

* HilariousInHindsight: Years after this game, Mega Man would go on to fight [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Greninja]] in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'', who is essentially a frog version of Shadow Man (who himself fights with a frog in ''The Power Fighters'').