Video Game / Mega Man Unlimited

If you didn't know it was a fan game, you'd think it was Capcom's.

A fan-made Mega Man (Classic) game built by a team put together by Philippe Poulin (aka MegaPhilX). The game was released on July 14, 2013. It has been programmed inside the Mega Man Engine which was designed around Multimedia Fusion 2. The project started out as a simple Flash project, it eventually became a real game, which is being created with a C++ programmed gameplay engine. As with Mega Man 10, it, too, uses an 8-bit art style that's meant to imitate the style of the NES/Famicom games. Unlike 10, however, only Mega Man is playable, and he can use the slide. In later versions, a charge shot is also available.

Here is a link to the news and update site. There is also a Facebook account for the game, where all the latest updates are being posted.

In the year 20XX, the world comes under attack by Dr. Wily's latest Robot Masters, but he claims that they went out of his control. Upon hearing his plight, Dr. Light accepts his assistance. Both scientists discover that an unknown force is controlling them. However, Mega Man suddenly gets attacked by a mysterious robot, which kidnaps Dr. Wily afterwards. As such, Mega Man sets out to stop the Robot Masters' rampage, rescue Dr. Wily, and take on the enigmatic robot responsible for these misdeeds.

Another Mega Man fan game (and possible sequel) under the Working Title of Mega Man Unlimited 2 is currently in development, with updates periodically given out through MegaPhilX's Twitter account.

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Examples:

• 13 Is Unlucky: There are precisely thirteen shutter doors that separate Mega Man from the prototype Zero in the final stage of the game.
• Action Girl: Comet Woman.
• All There in the Manual: According to the Maps and References and Fun Facts sections of the official site, the bosses of the first two Wily Stages are named Elecrab and Octo, and the second phase of Dr. Wily is called the Wily Capsule Mech.
• Always Accurate Attack: Jet Missile, when locked-on, will fire a very fast aimed projectile at the locked-on foe which is stated to have a 95% chance of hitting.
• Antepiece: Every one of the levels has a gimmick unique to it, with some returning in the fortress levels, and the first instance of these gimmicks is always presented in a safe or near-safe manner.
• Anti-Frustration Features:
  • If you gets a game over on a fortress level, you can save which one you're on.
  • Since Prototype Zero operates on Cast from Hit Points, some of his attacks have an Energy Absorption element to them so he doesn't get completely destroyed if you end up having horrible luck with energy drop rates. He can also get a few things like Yoku letters earlier than Mega Man since he doesn't require Robot Master weapons to get into those areas. He also gains a Double Jump, which makes certain areas far easier.
• Arc Welding: The ending sets up a bridge between the Classic and X series.
• Armor-Piercing Attack: Nitro Blast can pierce through certain enemies that are otherwise shielded against attack, which explains how Nail Man got his weakness to it.
• Author Appeal: MegaPhilX is a well-known, virulent fan of Shampoo; it's even stated in his Twitter bio. She will rarely and randomly show up in the shop.
• Bag of Spilling: Mega Man loses ALL of his weapons, Mega Buster included, when he loses to Zero.
• Barrier Warrior: Nail Man's weapon is a shield, like other shield-based Robot Masters.
• Beat the Curse Out of Him: How the fights with both Proto Man and Bass turn out.
• Bittersweet Ending: Mega Man survives his battle with Zero, but Dr. Wily escapes to improve his new creation. Bass has possibly pulled a Heel–Face Turn and the Robot Masters have been stopped, but the virus could come back and Proto Man is plagued with guilt and doubt over the fact that he wasn't strong enough to resist it. As the only one immune to Dr. Wily's virus, Mega Man may have to overcome this new challenge alone...
• Boring Yet Practical:
  • The Nitro Blast is a set of three explosions, yet can burst through shielded enemies, which is always a bonus.
  • The Yoku Attack isn't flashy, but it homes in on any enemy onscreen for damage and also picks up otherwise irretrievable items that are out of reach.
  • The Rainbow Beam is extremely useful against enemies that have small weak points.
  • The Glue Shot can immobilize enemies, allowing you to slaughter tough foes like Crushers with the Mega Buster.
• Boss Remix:
  • The music for the battles against Proto Man and Bass are heavily arranged versions of their normal character themes.
  • A remix of "X vs. Zero" from Mega Man X5 plays during the battle against Prototype Zero.
• Boss Rush: Like every Mega Man game, there's a boss rush at the end. However, this time, there's a twist: you must go through mini-stages made up of enemies and platforming gimmicks from the Robot Masters' respective stages before fighting the Robot Masters themselves.
• Bottomless Pits: These are a Mega Man staple, often in conjunction with spikes.
• Brutal Bonus Level: Yoku Man's stage is easily the longest level in the game, and features the disappearing blocks, a weird looping maze, and is just generally hard.
• The Brute: Tank Man, hands down.
• Call-Forward: Prototype Zero's moves and mechanics are near lifted straight out of the Mega Man X series. He can dash, dash jump, and has a wide variety of powers that come directly from the many X games he was playable in.
• The Cameo:
  • Hammer Man was originally intended to be an actual Robot Master but was reworked into a Mini-Boss for the final product.
  • Rarely, in the shop, Shampoo (MegaPhilX's favorite character) will take the place of Roll.
• Cast from Hit Points: Prototype Zero's main gimmick in the 1.3.0 update. He is Purposely Overpowered, with him being near invincible, blocking enemy shots, and possessing a wide variety of powers and techniques, but, being a Flawed Prototype, a vast majority of them require energy directly taken from Zero's health bar to use. This makes it a risk-reward situation, as spamming said attacks recklessly will end up killing you quickly.
• Catastrophic Countdown: The Escape Sequence at the end of the final stage. In fact, they're an indicator of how much time you have left before Wily's castle explodes. The more frequent the explosions, the less time you have.
• Cephalothorax: Nail Man has his face on his torso.
• Checkpoint Starvation: One of the most frequently stated complaints about the game, though in most cases it's not the lack of checkpoints so much as where they are. For example, the checkpoints in Yo-yo Man and Trinitro Man's stages are set at about 1/3 of the way through the stage, while the checkpoint in Glue Man's stage is considerably further than halfway through the stage.
• Chest Monster: Yoku blocks are annoying enough in any Mega Man game, but Yoku Man's level has fake Yoku blocks that try to attack you.
• Climax Boss: Proto Man.
• Continuity Nod: At the end of the fight against Prototype Zero, he slices Mega Man's arm off, just like a flashback cutscene in Mega Man X4 shows the real Zero doing to Sigma.
• Cool Plane: Jet Man is a cross between one and a humanoid robot.
• Cosmetic Award: As of Version 1.2.2, beating the game on Insta-Death Mode will unlock a new title screen.
• Crosshair Aware: A crosshair appears on Mega Man before Jet Man fires his Jet Missile.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: None of Mega Man's attacks do anything to hurt Prototype Zero, and the fight ultimately costs him his arm.
• Damn You, Muscle Memory!: There are lots of little inaccuracies with the Z-Prototype Mode that will throw off fans of the Mega Man X, Mega Man Zero, and Mega Man ZX series. The Double Jump isn't avalible by default, you can't do it out of a dash, and dashing off a ledge doesn't preserve your momentum; these will throw you off the first time you start playing. Conversely, those used to using the down plus jump controls for slide as Mega Man may have difficulty adapting to only being able to use the slide button to activate Prototype Zero's dash.
• Darker and Edgier: Your first clue that this game is darker is the fact the intro screen has Mega Man's severed Mega Buster arm, and the game takes its plot more seriously than Mega Man (Classic) tends to. The fact that it's a Call-Forward to Mega Man X probably has something to do with it.
• Dark Reprise: The boss music against Proto Man in Captured Wily Stage 3 is a reprise of his theme from the ending of Mega Man 3. The song that plays during the fight with Zero is a remix of his boss fight with X from X5.
• Death Ray: All over the place in Rainbow Man's stage, with an additional twist in enemies that redirect said death rays, as well as prisms that spread out the death rays. Glue Shot helps here, as it can neutralize these enemies.
• Death Trap: Quite a few of them.
• Deflector Shields: Nail Shield seems to do this.
• Demoted to Extra: Hammer Man was originally intended to be one of the main bosses, but his inclusion alongside Nail Man took away from the variety of the Robot Masters because their gimmicks were too closely patterned after one another, so the developers made him a Mini-Boss instead.
• Dénouement Episode: The escape sequence after the Post-Final Boss.
• Doppelgänger Attack: Yoku Attack.
• Drill Sergeant Nasty: Tank Man is stated to be one in his data card.
• Double Jump: Prototype Zero earns this ability by beating Glue Man.
• Energy Absorption: Prototype Zero's main attack absorbs life from enemies, offsetting its nature.
• Escape Sequence: Downplayed. Mega Man has to slowly make his way to the exit at the very end of the final stage.
• Everything's Better with Rainbows: Rainbow Man's Rainbow Beam and shiny color-trippy level.
• Expy:
  • Trinitro Man was intended to be this for all bomb-thrower Robot Masters, like Bomb Man, Crash Man, Grenade Man, etc.
  • Most of the Robot Masters are expies of others, like Yo-Yo Man is to Top Man (gimmicky weapon and stage), Tank Man is to Napalm Man (weapon factory and artillery), Jet Man is to Dive Man (deadly level and homing missiles), and Rainbow Man is to Cloud Man (cloud vanish trick and weather-themed), though Rainbow Man's stage is an expy of Quick Man's (Force Beam dodging), similar to the first Zero Space stage in X5. Which may or may not be coincidental given Wily's surprise involvement in that game and Zero's surprise appearance in this one.
• Fake Difficulty: While the Omega Bosses are supposed to be really, really hard, common consensus is they ended up being hard for all the wrong reasons. While doing more damage is understandable, their attack patterns being exaggerated and much quicker movements make them rack up the damage too quickly, and they often force you into situations where you just flat-out cannot avoid taking damage. Quite a few of these come down to how generous the RNG feels like being, especially in regards to Nail Man's nail rain attack, which was upgraded to look like something out of Touhou Project.
• Fake Longevity: Caused by an incredible difficulty level and long stages, among other things. MegaPhilX attempted to justify this by saying that he wanted to make the wait for the game worth it, and not have players beat it quickly.
• Flawed Prototype: Zero may be able to shrug off all of Mega Man's attacks, but he's clearly not finished, and suffers a breakdown after cutting off Mega Man's arm. As a playable character, every attack is Cast from Hit Points.
• Foreshadowing:
  • The title screen shows Mega Man's dismembered Mega Buster. In the final stage, the Prototype Zero slices off Mega Man's arm.
  • The Robot Master's Serial Numbers are SWN-002 to 009, continuing from Bass, hinting at his involvement with the Robot Masters in this game.
  • The main villain's icon on the Captured Wily Castle map is a skull. Sure enough, it's Dr. Wily once again.
• Four Is Death: Captured Wily Castle Stage 4, which can easily qualify as the hardest stage in the entire game after Yoku Man's. Death spikes everywhere before you even get to the boss rematch room? Check. Fights against all Robot Masters (including the aforementioned Yoku Man) preceded by mini-stages? Present. An entire three-phase fight with Bass and Dr. Wily? Oh yes.
• Fragile Speedster: Subverted with Comet Woman, but Jet Man apparently runs into things often.
• Gaiden Game: According to MegaPhilX, the game takes place any time after the events of 7. It was originally going to occur after 9, then 10, but the possibility of Capcom making more sequels forced Phil to adapt. Due to Mega Man being unaffected by Wily's virus, it can be reasonably assumed that the timeframe occurs before 10.
• Gameplay and Story Segregation: According to her bio, Comet Woman cannot reach her maximum speed in the atmosphere because she would burn up. In the game, she's actually faster when there is gravity in the rematch.
• Giant Space Flea from Nowhere:
  • If you didn't clear his stage beforehand, Yoku Man can come off as this in the Boss Rush.
  • Prototype Zero at the end.
• Glowing Eyes of Doom: Yoku Man.
• Gravity Screw: An alternative route in Trinitro Man's stage and Captured Wily Stage 3 features gravity-switching as a gimmick, much like Gravity Man's stage in Mega Man 5, though much more evil. Also, see the Space Level example below, for a different type.
• Guide Dang It!: Combined with a bit of Damn You, Muscle Memory!. Prototype Zero has a dash instead of a slide like Mega Man; however, being a Mega Man (Classic)-style game where the slide usually does nothing for jump length, it is sometimes hard to remember that unlike Mega Man, he can dash jump. This will be needed to get through certain areas if you play as him, as unlike Mega Man, Zero's basic attack doesn't have unlimited range like Mega Man's Mega Buster, making getting around certain Ledge Bats difficult if you don't realize this.
• Harder Than Hard: The Insta-Death difficulty. If you thought the game was already difficult before...
• Hard Levels, Easy Bosses: While the levels are quite hard, the bosses themselves are, for the most part, less so.
• Hartman Hips: Comet Woman.
• Heel–Face Turn: The ending strongly implies that Bass has pulled one.
• Hell Is That Noise: On Yoku Man's stage, the disappearing block sound is even incorporated into the music on top of all the numerous block sequences, so expect it to be ingrained into your eardrums.
• Hijacked by Ganon:
  • Averted. Wily really wasn't behind the robot attack, or at least not directly. That doesn't stop him from getting the best of his captors and taking over the position as the Big Bad once again. And, in a similar vein to Mega Man V for the Game Boy, he's not the last boss, either.
  • This even extends to his Dr. W logos. For most of the game, all his logos are damaged, right up until his involvement with the plot is revealed in Captured Wily Stage 4. Then, in the following stage, all the Dr. W logos are perfectly intact.
• Hopeless Boss Fight: The battle against a prototype Zero in the final stage. He deflects every attack and doesn't even have a life bar, leaves Mega Man on the verge of death and slices his Buster arm off, but he breaks down and Wily carries him off.
• HP to One: As a consequence of the above, forcing you to do the second half of the final stage in this state. Fortunately, Spike Tellies and Shield Attacker 'S'es are the only real dangers to deal with, and there are health pickups.
• Improbable Weapon User: Yo-yo Man's razor-tipped yo-yos. ^note It's not that improbable since yo-yos were originally developed as weapons, though they were intended for hunting rather than warfare.
• Infinity +1 Sword:
  • The Yoku Attack can only be earned by clearing the optional Brutal Bonus Level, it is very ammo-friendly, it homes in on enemies, and it grabs items. Its only weakness is that it makes you flinch if it hits a shielded enemy, though it does not damage you. And no bosses outside of Yoku Man are weak to it.
  • The Water Cannon also counts as of the 1.2.0 update, making it a Lethal Joke Weapon. It has the same range as the Nitro Blast, but can be held to rapid fire like a machine gun. It's a tad bit weaker than the Mega Buster, but the rapid fire easily makes up for it, shredding through anything that doesn't have Mercy Invincibility to it. As such, since most mini-bosses lack that, it makes a lot of them much easier to deal with.
  • In Version 1.2.2, if you kill the Omega version of a Robot Master in Challenge Mode, the corresponding boss's weapon will use up half the weapon energy that it normally would in the main game.
• Intentional Engrish for Funny: Some of the enemy names, such as Ripurakon, the leprechaun enemy, and enemy-disguised-as-a-disappearing-block Feiku Burokku.
• Karma Houdini: Dr. Wily's never actually defeated after the Wily Machine is destroyed, and he leaves with Prototype Zero.
• Killer Yoyo: Yo-yo Cutters, of course.
• Logical Weakness: Nail Man is weak to the Nitro Blast, the only weapon that can penetrate the Nail Shield, while Nail Shield is effective against Tank Man, like anti-tank spikes.
• Lethal Joke Weapon: The Water Cannon, given to you by Whirlpool Man as of the 1.2.0 update. It's a cannon that shoots water. What makes it lethal, though, is unlike other weapons, the attack button can be held down to hold it, allowing it to rapid-fire enemies. Since mini-bosses in this game lack Mercy Invincibility, the water cannon can be used to shred through a good portion of them rather easily, and has a high ammo rate to boot. It can also be used to block the shots of the Sniper Joes of the game. The only downside to it is that it can't be used while in water.
• Magikarp Power: Prototype Zero starts off weak, but instead of gaining weapons from beating Robot Masters, he gains abilities. To start, he only has a short-ranged attack that can pierce shields. Over the course of the game, his attack range gets massively increased, he gains the ability to deflect shots if standing still, gains a massive speed increase, can eventually Double Jump and air dash, and eventually becomes powerful enough to completely bend Unlimited's legendary difficultly over and give it a massive spanking. Even Yoku Man's stage is a complete joke with him. A rather fitting reward, considering you have to have already beaten the game on original or instant death to unlock him.
• Marathon Level: All of the levels are very long, which is made worse in that there's only two checkpoints per level.
• Menacing Stroll: How Prototype Zero approaches you if you don't spam attacks or jump. Even more eerie is that Prototype Zero will not attack immediately and will stop just right in front of Mega Man and size him up, literally looking down (or nodding), as if he's daring the Blue Bomber to give him his best shot.
• Mind Screw: In Yoku Man's stage, the song incorporates the sound effect of the blocks to try to throw your timing off. Moreover, an enemy type drops fake platforms onto the screen and it's easy to forget which is which if you're too focused on shooting. Furthermore, there are enemies that disguise themselves as disappearing blocks before attacking. Also, there's hologram machines that hide the level with a psychedelic pattern. To say nothing of the really weird looping maze and its illusory platforms.
• Morton's Fork: In terms of game progression. Don't want to deal with Yoku Man and his stage? It's optional, so you can skip it. But he and his stage gimmicks are in the Boss Rush, so you'll have to get past him no matter what.
• My Name Is ???:
  • Dr. Wily when he appears during the final battle.
  • Yoku Man's serial number is listed as "???-???".
• Mythology Gag:
  • The patterns seen in the cutscene after four Robot Masters are defeated may look familiar to some. They're directly taken from the virus stages of Mega Man X5.
  • The upwards-bent pipe that's been featured on almost all of the Wily Castles returns once more.
  • The Wily stages thrive on this. The first boss is a Giant Enemy Crab who is fought in a similar vein to Mega Man 2's Mecha Dragon. The third boss is a battle against a corrupted Proto Man, similar to both the Optional Boss fight in Mega Man 7 and the X vs. Zero fight in Mega Man X5.
  • A perhaps unintentional one to the Ruby-Spears cartoon: Prototype Zero is able to shrug off anything Mega Man throws his way before thrashing him in short order. A similar gulf in power between the robots of 20XX and 21XX was demonstrated in the episode "Mega X" — Vile and Spark Mandrill prove impervious to Mega Man and Wily's attacks, and X himself is similarly invincible when confronted by Wily's Robot Masters.
  • The enemies are all listed in the credits, just like Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge.
  • The 1-Ups used in the Z-Prototype mode take after their Mega Man Zero design.
• No-Gear Level: The final escape sequence is weaponless, since Zero tears off the Mega Buster during the fight.
• No OSHA Compliance:
  • Nail Man's level is a half-finished skyscraper.
  • Also, Trinitro Man's stage includes nitroglycerin falling from the ceiling, tanks of nitroglycerin that explode merely when touched, and enormous pools of nitroglycerin.
• Non-Standard Character Design: Some enemies' designs shift from cutesy robots to colder machines that look like something out of the X series.
• No-Sell: Regardless of what weapon you use to try and hurt Prototype Zero, none of them damage him.
• Nostalgia Level:
  • An earlier design of a Jet Man's level looked very similar to Guts Man's level in Mega Man.
  • One of the areas in Endless Attack mode in Version 1.2.0 is built around rooms from official Mega Man (Classic) games, including snippets of Elec Man, Crash Man, and Magnet Man's stages, and even features statues of Capcom's robot masters in the background.
• Not Me This Time: Dr. Wily insists that his robots are acting of their own volition and that he has nothing to do with the current crisis. Although he's lying about having nothing to do with it, he actually is telling the truth about the robots. All of them, including Bass, have turned against Wily due to a virus he created that worked a little too well. It's the Zero Virus.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: Dr. Wily. Not only are his robots much stronger than usual (putting aside the fact that they're infected by a virus he made), he's also prepared an extremely powerful Wily Machine, his latest castle is deadly to navigate through even after being damaged, and he created a prototype of Zero that almost managed to destroy Mega Man before shutting down.
• Ominous Walk: Zero either counters or deflects every attack you throw at him. If you do nothing, he slowly walks towards Mega Man, stops near him, and does nothing but analyze his opponent for a while before attacking.
• One-Hit-Point Wonder: The Insta-Death difficulty setting added in Version 1.1.0 turns Mega Man into this.
• One of the Boys: Comet Woman. Besides being as physically strong as her fellow Robot Masters, her bad point is specifically listed as "tomboy", and she dislikes down-to-earth robots.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Dr. Wily doesn't even attack you with a backup vehicule this time around, and opts to sic the Zero prototype on you instead.
  • Bass in the ending is uncharacteristically somber not resenting being defeated by Mega Man but instead feeling dejected thinking Wily deems him useless now that Prototype Zero proved to be more than a match for Mega Man. It doesn't help that Prototype Zero came extremely close to destroying Mega Man, something that Bass never did.
• Optional Boss:
  • Accessing Yoku Man's level requires finding four secret items hidden in alternate paths of four of the regular eight Robot Master stages. Not only that, but to select his stage, you have to wait for his portrait to briefly appear in the middle space. He's included in the Boss Rush anyway.
  • Whirlpool Man in the 1.2.0 update is only found through the special option, but gives you a Robot Master weapon for the main game if you can beat him.
• Orbiting Particle Shield:
  • Nail Man's Nail Shield.
  • Comet Woman uses one as well, placing the shield around you instead of herself.
• Original Flavour: One of the main draws of this game compared to most fan games is just how much like an official product it is.
• Overly Long Gag: The fall through the final vertical shaft of boss doors in Captured Wily Stage 5 lasts several screens.
• Pet the Dog: In the ending, the Robot Masters are free from Dr. Wily's influence and go on to have idyllic lives.
• Post-Final Boss: When you beat Dr. Wily's Machine, you're likely to expect a battle with the Wily Capsule, but instead you struggle against an invincible Zero who shuts down before landing the finishing blow.
• Projectile Pocketing: The Yoku Attack's clones are essentially an extension of Mega Man himself, so they will collect any pickups they touch. On the flip side, if they touch any Invincible Minor Minions, Mega Man will actually take damage.
• Promoted to Playable: Prototype Zero in the 1.3.0 update.
• Real-Time Weapon Change: By using some controller commands, you can switch weapons on the fly.
• The Reveal: A prototype of Zero appears as the final boss, setting the stage for Mega Man X.
• Robot War: As usual, although Tank Man sees the concept more literally than most.
• Sailor Earth: The Robot Masters, though Comet Woman and Yoku Man are particularly obvious examples.
• Save the Villain: Dr. Wily gets kidnapped by a robot early on, so Mega Man's main objective is to rescue him. Subverted, as Wily managed to free himself just in time to claim responsibility for what led to the latest robot attack.
• Scenery Gorn: In direct comparison to the below trope, Dr. Wily's castle has seen better days. By the time you arrive, it's heavily damaged.
• Scenery Porn: While MegaPhil made the game in an 8-bit style, he didn't stick to all the restrictions that implies. This leads to some gorgeous levels.
• Schmuck Bait: That container of nitroglycerine on Trinitro Man's head seems to be a weak point. Hit it about four times and you both blow up.
• Schizophrenic Difficulty: The Z-Prototype gameplay is mostly fairly easy with Zero's expanded moveset... except for the areas that were built around having a projectile; many of the nitroglycerin block sections from Trinitro Man^note requries sniping blocks from a distance or the midbosses in Jet Man's stage^note its weak spots are barely within reach of your basic attack are ridiculously unforgiving; the power you get from Tank Man mitigates only some of this.
• Secret Character: Beating the game on Normal or above unlocks Prototype Zero as a playable character.
• Sequel Hook: One occurs during The Stinger. Judging by Dr. Light's words about "endless potential", it appears to be a hook for Mega Man X.
• Sequential Boss: Captured Wily Castle Stage 4 ends with a fight against Bass, then a two-stage Wily Machine.
• Ship Tease: Jet Man's bio specifically states that he likes Comet Woman.
• Smart People Play Chess: In the credits, Dr. Light is seen playing chess with Yoku Man.
• Smurfette Principle: Comet Woman is the only female Robot Master.
• Space Level: Comet Woman's level, which is set on a space station with little to no gravity.
• Spikes of Doom: These are even seen in checkpoint rooms of RM stages. Yoku Man's stage combines these with temporary platforms, making instant death spikes that appear out of nowhere.
• Spiritual Successor: The game is intended to be one for Mega Man 3. Similarities include the general lack of Robot Masters with elemental powers, the introduction of the slide maneuver, a plot involving Dr. Light and Dr. Wily working together, a mysterious 9th Robot Master fought before going to Wily's castle, and one of the Robot Masters having a ridiculous toy-based gimmick.
• Spoiler Cover: Most versions of the official cover art strongly imply that Bass is behind the hijacking of Dr. Wily, his castle, and his robots.
• Spread Shot: Tank Arsenal starts out like this. The bottom shot will crawl across the ground while the top obeys gravity like a mortar.
• Status Quo Is God: Averted. Zero appears as a prototype, Bass cuts ties with Dr. Wily, and both Dr. Light and Proto Man begin to ponder about the future and what will become of them all.
• Stealth Pun:
  • According to the character info, Nail Man was promoted over his rival Hammer Man because he was the more intelligent of the two. In other words, he's sharper.
  • The title "Unlimited" makes an odd amount of mathematical sense when you consider that Mega Man is divided by Zero.
• Sticky Situation: Glue Man's Glue Shot and the level with sticky floors you get stuck on.
• The Stinger: Dr. Light has an idea after the credits, leading into the X series.
• Storming the Castle: Once all the Robot Masters are defeated, Mega Man does this to Wily's castle, which had already been attacked at this point.
• Super-Speed: Comet Woman and Jet Man both have this ability.
• Suspicious Video-Game Generosity: Before fighting a particularly tough boss, there usually are some power-ups strewn about for the player to pick up at their leisure. The penultimate stage in particular has plenty of items. In the final stage, this ultimately turns out to be a Red Herring, since the fight with Zero is unwinnable no matter what you do, and the rest of the stage is fairly easy by the game's standards.
• Stuff Blowing Up: Tank Arsenal and Nitro Blast.
• Tactical Suicide Boss: If Dr. Wily didn't open his cockpit during the Wily Walker phase of his battle, he would be completely invincible.
• Taking You with Me: Trinitro Man can pull this off if you shoot the nitro in his head too many times.
• Tank Goodness: Tank Man, obviously.
• Temporary Platform: Yoku Man's namesake platforms.
• Took a Level in Badass:
  • Comet Woman in the rematch. The lack of anti-gravity makes her twice as fast, and it also makes her orbiting shot much more difficult to avoid. This makes her especially nasty if you're playing Insta-Death mode, as those players expecting the relatively slow, floaty Comet Woman of her own stage will be in for a surprise when she jumps around like a flea.
  • Each of the Robot Masters undergoes this with their Omega versions in Version 1.2.2's Challenge Mode.
• Trial-and-Error Gameplay: Some levels boil down to you learning the patterns and using muscle memory to get through.
• Trick Boss: Bass. You promptly get attacked by Dr. Wily afterwards.
• The Unreveal: On Yoku Man's profile, his bad point is not seen at all.
• Utility Weapon:
  • Comet Dash allows you to cheese jumps and can even get you through the vertical One-Hit Kill beams in Rainbow Man's stage. It's also good for dealing with Ledge Bats.
  • Glue Shot creates a temporary platform wherever it lands. Handy for crossing spikes, if you have enough weapon energy.
  • Yoku Attack can be used to grab distant pickups (except E- or W-Tanks).
• Victory Fakeout: After avoiding Yoku Man's spike attack, he explodes after you shoot him. Except not, because his body regenerates afterwards. Watch out, or he'll appear right on top of you.
• Video Game Dashing: The Comet Dash is an airdash. Not only it is useful as a tool for skipping tricky jumps, it grants Mega Man invincibility as well.
• Wackyland: Yoku Man's level with the Yoku Blocks and Spikes of Doom could count, but so does Yo-Yo Man's level proposal.
• Walking Spoiler: Prototype Zero.
• Wall Crawl: Yo-Yo Cutters will scale walls and ceiling, similar to the Plug Ball, but you can aim it.
• Weaksauce Weakness: Yoku Man has one. In a fashion similar to Metal Man, Yoku Man's own weapon kills him in two hits.
• Weather Manipulation: Rainbow Man works in a weather control station, crates rain clouds with thunder bolts, and can vanish into fog.
• Your Princess Is in Another Castle!: Those who thought Captured Wily Stage 4 was the end of the game should have seen this one coming. On the other hand, the true ending is quite different from what usually follows.

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