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"My name is Mega Man. And I'm still rocking it for ten years..."note 
Electrical communication!
Erases sense for imagination!
You can't escape the battlefield!

Spark up the Rock action!
Four-dimensional revolution!
Unravel the circuits binding the future!
— "Electrical Communication" English lyrics

Mega Man 8 is a PlayStation and Sega Saturn video game, released in 1997*. It was made to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Mega Man series, as well as give the old school formula a new coat of 32-bit paint.

The plot begins when a duo of fighting alien robots crash-land into Dr. Wily's island base. Mega Man promptly arrives in time to save one of them, while Wily steals a strange source of energy from the wreckage of the other robot. After mowing down four of Wily's latest Robot Masters, Dr. Light finishes repairing the alien robot, named Duo, who soon after escapes, leading Mega Man in chase, only for him to nearly be killed by one of Wily's mecha, although Duo saves him in time. He reveals that Wily has been using "Evil Energy", a corrupting source of energy that he acquired from the robot Duo was fighting earlier, and that it must be destroyed lest it corrupt the Earth in its entirety.

Robot Masters:

  • DWN-057: Tengu Man, weak to Ice Wave, gives Tornado Hold
  • DWN-058: Astro Man, weak to Homing Sniper, gives Astro Crush
  • DWN-059: Sword Man, weak to Water Balloon, gives Flame Sword
  • DWN-060: Clown Man, weak to Tornado Hold, gives Thunder Claw
  • DWN-061: Search Man, weak to Flame Sword, gives Homing Sniper
  • DWN-062: Frost Man, weak to Flash Bomb, gives Ice Wave
  • DWN-063: Grenade Man, weak to Thunder Claw, gives the Flash Bomb
  • DWN-064: Aqua Man, weak to Astro Crush, gives the Water Balloon

All in all, Mega Man 8 was a modest hit both critically and commercially (even being re-released as part of the PlayStation's "Greatest Hits" label), although it didn't get the same attention as Mega Man X4, which released later that same year. The game would then receive a Super Famicom spin-off/interquel called Rockman & Forte in 1998, which would be ported to the Game Boy Advance in 2003 for international audiences as Mega Man & Bass. A true Classic Mega Man continuation would not pop up for many, many years, finally surfacing as the retro-styled Mega Man 9 in 2008. Mega Man 8 would also be re-released as part of two separate compilations: the Mega Man Anniversary Collection in 2004 and Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 in 2017.

A fan-made 8-bit remake of this game also exists, and can be found online.

Not to be confused with Mega Man 8-Bit Deathmatch or "Rockman 8."


Tropes:

  • Affably Evil: Sword Man. Right off the bat, he tells Mega Man that there's nothing personal between him and the Blue Bomber (he's simply following orders from Wily), that he's not going to hold anything back in battle, and that he expects a fair fight. In battle, he even takes his time to commend Mega Man, uttering an "Impressive" if Mega Man successfully dodges his Fire Slash. On top of this, he plants his blade into the ground and leans upon it as if it were a cane, and, if that weren't enough, the dub tries to reinforce this image by giving Sword Man a polite, sophisticated Australian accent. And when you defeat him, his last line is "Nice shot."
  • The Ahnold: Frost Man evokes this one in the dub due to his accent. Or tries to, at least; sometimes he just comes across with a plain "Dumb Muscle" accent.
  • Alternative Foreign Theme Song: The game uses very different instrumental opening and closing themes in the English version. Compare to the original Japanese themes, "Electrical Communication" and "Brand New Way."
  • Amusement Park of Doom: Clown Man's stage, which looks fun and colorful, but in reality is quite difficult, with dangerous train rides (with two oncoming trains crashing into one another over a bottomless pit at one point) and, as the level's main gimmick, a bell ringing in the background that will determine different things happening to you if you stand on boxes with an O (you're safe), an X (you take damage), a skull (you fall through to your doom), or a question mark (which teleports you elsewhere in the level).
  • Armor-Piercing Attack: The Laser Shot, purchasable from the shop, allows a Charged Mega Buster to fire a laser capable of piercing shielded enemies like Mets and Sniper Joes.
  • Artificial Outdoors Display: In Astro Man's stage, during the boss fight with him, the room you're in projects imagery of the moon's surface. The projection stops after he's defeated. It is implied that the stage's backgrounds are all artificial as well, tying in with Astro Man's illusory powers.
  • Assist Character: The Rush Jet levels, where power-ups can summon Eddie, Beat, and (for the first, and so far only, time he's ever gone out into battle) Auto to your side to provide additional firepower.
  • Beneath the Earth: Where Wily's latest Skull Castle resides.
  • BFS: The sword outfitted on Sword Man was stolen from an ancient museum in a heist by Wily. However, it was so heavy that Wily had to implement an anti-gravity device on Sword Man's upper half, allowing both parts of his body to function separately of one another. This is how he is able to perform Fire Slash.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Duo saves Mega Man twice from getting killed by Wily.
  • Big "WHAT?!": Bass lets one of these out every time he takes damage in his battle against Mega Man in Wily Tower 3.
  • Blackout Basement: One room in Sword Man's stage is dark and Flash Bomb can light it.
  • Blade Below the Shoulder: Sword Man's sword is built into his right arm at the wrist.
  • Boss Banter: As the first main title in the Classic series with voice acting, 8 adds dialogue during the Robot Master boss fights. They speak before the battle begins, while performing certain attacks, when taking damage, and after being defeated.
  • Boss Rush: As per usual, the final stage requires Mega Man to defeat all eight Robot Masters a second time before he can confront Wily. The BGM for the stage is even a remix of the Robot Master pre-fight theme.
  • Calling Your Attacks: The Robot Masters do so in this one. In a half-subversion, Mega Man will sometimes yell "Power Shot!" when firing off a Charge Shot. Other bosses like Duo and Bass, while not name-dropping any of their attacks, will utter phrases and give other tells signifying their next move.
  • Cerebus Rollercoaster: On one hand, Mega Man 8 is very much Lighter and Softer compared to its predecessor. The game has a much brighter and goofier tone, and Mega Man doesn't try to kill (or rather, "threaten" to kill) Dr. Wily again. On the other hand, this is the first game in that Rush almost dies, and Mega Man himself nearly doesn't survive as well.
  • Close Up On Head: We get a close up of Bass's face in the opening cutscene during his Inner Monologue.
  • Clown-Car Base: Astro Man can fit inside his ball-shaped ship despite being bigger than it.
  • Cold Sniper/Friendly Sniper: Search Man. It's a bit hard to tell.
  • Colony Drop: Astro Man's Astro Crush, which summons a swarm of meteors to annihilate everything on screen.
  • Compilation Rerelease: The PlayStation version was featured in both 2004's Mega Man Anniversary Collection and 2017's Mega Man Legacy Collection 2.
  • Conjoined Twins: Search Man is a dicephalic parapagus robot. According to official lore, Wily thought that a two-headed sniper would be better than a monocephalic one.
  • Continuity Cameo: The intro movie is one huge Shout-Out to all of the previous games in the series, with numerous Robot Masters and fortress bosses from 1-7 making an appearance.
  • Continuity Nod:
    • The rotting remains of the Mecha Dragon from Mega Man 2 can be spotted in the intro stage.
    • Cut Man and Wood Man, who appear in the Saturn version as additional bosses, are believed to be other Robot Masters stolen from the Robot Museum alongside Guts Man in Mega Man 7, as possibly hinted by the two shattered glass tubes in the boss room.
    • Although the Rush Coil is absent, it makes a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance in the game's opening anime cutscene when Rush uses it in jet form to bounce Mega Man upwards.
    • Clown Man's stage contains toys of Cut Man, Ice Man, Guts Man G, and Stegorus. The background also has giant plushies of Moby and VAN Pookin.
  • Cool Bike: This game introduces the Rush Bike, which turns Rush into a motorcycle Mega Man can ride. The Rush Bike increases Mega Man's movement speed and can fire shots.
  • The Corruption: The "Evil Energy" is an energy source that takes the worst emotions from humans and robots alike. According to Duo, Evil Energy runs risk of magnifying and multiplying if its host is sufficiently evil enough, with this exposition accompanied by an image of Dr. Wily.
  • Costume Evolution:
    • Dr. Wily replaces his lab coat with a villainous cloak, as well as adding a skull-shaped belt buckle and a loose bow tie. This look would stick around for Mega Man & Bass before being retired to his usual design in Mega Man 9 and Mega Man 10.
    • Roll now wears a long-sleeved black shirt under her dress, has red knee-high boots instead of shoes, and her hair is styled with spikier bangs. Like Dr. Wily, this look would persist into later games and spinoffs until Mega Man 9, but it still makes occasional reappearances (including in the aforementioned 9).
    • Super Bass now has eagle-esque wings and spiked headfins (as opposed to the smoother, curved wings he had in Mega Man 7), which he retains for the rest of the series.
  • Cowardly Lion: Astro Man seems utterly terrified of engaging in direct combat with Mega Man and panics when the Blue Bomber enters his room. That being said, unless you have the Homing Sniper (which renders his battle a complete joke) he's one of the toughest bosses in the game.
  • Cutscene Boss: On his way to Wily's new lair following his battle with Duo, Mega Man finds himself up against the Giant Gori-Three in an FMV. He can barely scratch the thing, but fortunately Duo arrives to help.
  • Defeat Equals Explosion: Every Robot Master will pose painfully for a few seconds, then starts exploding consecutively all over their bodies. Clown Man will have a unique defeat pose as he doesn't show it until he gets defeated.
  • Death from Above:
    • Astro Crush, one of the more destructive special weapons the Blue Bomber has picked up from a collateral damage perspective.
    • Rush Bomber, obtained by defeating Gearna Eye (the Mini-Boss of Sword Man's stage), has Rush fly in from off-screen in his Rush Jet form and carpet bomb the surrounding area for a set period of time.
    • In an inversion, the Rush Charger option, obtained from Gorone in Aqua Man's stage, serves a similar function — only Rush is dropping life and weapon energy recovery items instead.
  • Demoted to Extra: Bass. Mega Man fights him briefly during the opening cutscene, but he's not seen again until near the end of the game, showing up as a mini-boss of the third Wily level, after which he disappears from the game entirely. This gets stranger when you remember that Bass used a container of Evil Energy — which Duo came to Earth to eradicate — to augment his Treble Boost.
  • Desperation Attack: Most, but not all, of the Robot Masters have overdrive attacks they initiate when they're low on health.
  • Deus Exit Machina: Duo isn't really allowed to do much in the story despite being shown as one of the strongest robots to date in the Classic series if not the entire main timeline. He spends the first half of the game out of commission, can't do much more than track down Evil Energy in the second due to barriers around Wily's fortress that Mega Man must disable, and only appears at the finale to save Mega Man's life twice.
  • Disney Death:
    • Rush is almost crashed by the Giant Gori-Three.
    • Mega Man at the end, where he is unconscious due to being infected with Evil Energy, but Duo manages to cure him due to Mega Man's Justice Energy.
  • Double Jump: The Mega Ball, in addition to its use as a Hyper-Destructive Bouncing Ball, has a secondary function that allows Mega Man to jump off the ball and use its explosion to gain extra height compared to a regular jump. As demonstrated here in this recap/review of the game by Power Guy, this trick is not limited to the ground and can be exploited in midair to serve as an impromptu double (or even triple) jump with enough skill.
  • Down the Drain: In an optional sidepath in the intro stage. You'll find two bolts hidden here (one of which is easily accessible) if you bother to traverse it.
  • Dub Name Change: Tengu Man's "Yama Arashi" move (or "Kamaitachi"; see Gratuitous Japanese below) is actually named "Kamikaze" ("godly/divine wind") in the original Japanese version and shouted out as such when used by him.
  • Dumb Muscle: Frost Man can create big ice barriers and is strong enough to make ice blocks from a machine fall as well as push them, but he is otherwise dumb.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: Contrary to popular belief, Duo did not debut in this game, but first popped up in the arcade game Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters, which pulled a Remember the New Guy? to generate buzz for his chronological debut here.
  • Electric Torture: Wily's Giant Gori-Three lackey uses this to try and kill Mega Man.
  • Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors: As usual for the series, but similar to Mega Man 3, this game has the Robot Masters in two weakness cycles instead of one (Tengu Man → Clown Man → Grenade Man → Frost Man → Tengu Man, and Sword Man → Search Man → Astro Man → Aqua Man → Sword Man).
  • Elmuh Fudd Syndwome: Dr. Light suffers from a very thick lisp in the English dub.
    Dr. Light: When we fine dat meteah, we'ww fine Doktah Wahwee! Translation
  • Eternal Engine: Grenade Man's stage.
  • Evil Counterpart: The unnamed robot* from which the Evil Energy originated mirrors Duo's original body in appearance, right down to sporting The Right Hand of Doom as opposed to Duo's giant left arm.
  • Evil Is Not a Toy: The Evil Energy possessing Mega Man in the finale wasn't a part of Wily's schemes; in fact, you could argue that he was genuinely surprised when it happened.
  • Fanfare: The classic "Boss Selected" music pops up again, as does the victory jingle.
  • Fighting Clown: Clown Man takes this to a logical, as well as literal, extreme.
  • Fire, Ice, Lightning: Sword Man, Frost Man, and Clown Man respectively fight using a flaming sword, waves of icy spikes, and electric shocks coming from his hands.
  • Flaming Sword: Sword Man's weapon, the Flame Sword. Mega Man can acquire it after defeating Sword Man, and use it to ignite certain flammable obstacles.
  • Giant Enemy Crab: The boss of the tutorial level is Yadokargo, a large Wily Bot modeled after a hermit crab with a seashell-shaped carapace. To defeat it, Mega Man has to hit the face when the carapace isn't protecting it, which typically requires stunning Yadokargo with a sufficiently powerful attack (a Charge Shot, the Mega Ball, most Robot Master Special Weapons) and attacking it while its defenses are down.
  • Graceful Loser: When you defeat Sword Man, true to his unfailingly polite personality, he compliments Mega Man one more time by saying "Nice shot" as he explodes.
  • Grappling-Hook Pistol: Aside of attacking/stunning enemies and reflecting Grenade Man's Flash Bombs back at him, Thunder Claw allows Mega Man to swing across chasms using designated grapple points. These usually come in silver, with bronze-colored varieties often indicating grapple points that correctly lead Mega Man out of the current area or guide him to extra goodies like bolts.
  • Gratuitous Japanese: One of Tengu Man's attacks, the Kamaitachi (a ball of razor wind), is called out in Japanese, with confusion in English-speaking circles over whether he's saying "Kamaitachi!" or "Yama Arashi!"* This might sound like gibberish at first, but it's actually a Bilingual Bonus either way: the kamaitachi is a weasel-like yokai from Japanese folkore (much like the tengu) capable of producing winds that were strong enough to cut, while the yama arashi is a well-known judo throw, one associated with legendary judoka Sanshiro Sugata and whose name ("mountain storm" or, more loosely, "wind/tornado descending from the mountain") fits Tengu Man's elemental affinity.
  • Guide Dang It!:
    • You can actually kick the Mega Ball at a higher angle if you hold up while kicking it. The game never tells you this, and it makes fighting the first Wily boss a whole lot easier (if he shows up on one of the inner two parts, standing in the middle and kicking it upwards will hit him every time, as opposed to trying to get it to ricochet the right way).
    • The Tornado Hold can be used to gain extra height if Mega Man enters the tornado after firing it. The game does not explain this when acquiring the weapon, but this technique is required to collect some of the bolts.
  • Happy Circus Music: Clown Man's stage, a colorful carnival-themed level, is accompanied by an upbeat theme on music box, strings, and drums.
  • Homing Projectile: Homing Sniper. It is one of a select few Special Weapons in the original series that can be charged, although this simply allows Mega Man to lock-on to more targets.
  • Humongous Mecha: Wily Tower is initially guarded by Giant Gori-Three, a giant gorilla-like robot large enough to wrap its hand around Mega Man. Mega Man doesn't stand a chance against it, necessitating Duo to come in and save him.
  • Hypocritical Humor: Sword Man's CD file in Mega Man & Bass states that he hates faulty swords. Sword Man's sword has no edges. (This is, however, a case of poor translation. In the original Japanese CD data, he hates chipped blades. While his blade lacks sharpness, it is certainly pristine.)
  • I Fell for Hours: The mid-boss battle in Aqua Man's stage, against a Gorone, takes place on a waterfall. When it first appears, it destroys the bridge Mega Man was standing on, thus forcing him to jump on logs to fight it while constantly falling down the waterfall. The entire fight therefore is in a state of near-continuous freefall. Only after he defeats the Gorone, however long it takes, does Mega Man reach the bottom of the waterfall.
  • I'm a Humanitarian: Robot example in Frost Man. Upon facing Mega Man, he claims that he's going to turn the Blue Bomber into a popsicle (kakigori in the Japanese version).
  • Inner Monologue: Bass in the opening cutscene, complete with Close Up On Head.
    Bass: "Don't run away, coward. You'll pay for this insult. I'll be back."
  • Jerkass Has a Point: In Wily Tower Stage 3, Bass taunts Mega Man by saying he's naïve. He's right given the events of the previous game, wherein Mega Man let Bass — not yet revealed as The Mole for Dr. Wily — be repaired at Dr. Light's Lab... only for Bass to steal the parts/schematics for the Super Adapter, allowing Wily to create the Treble Boost for Bass.
  • Jungle Japes: Search Man's stage.
  • Just a Kid: Tengu Man dismisses Mega Man as such. This is despite the fact that Mega Man is, chronologically speaking, the second oldest Robot Master in existence, never mind the scores of Robot Masters the Blue Bomber has defeated up to this point.
    Tengu Man: "I did not expect my opponent is a kid...Don't make me laugh!"
  • Lovable Coward: While he was modified for combat, the easily flustered Astro Man is still not the most reliable of units. Provided you have the Homing Sniper in tow, he spends his battle suffering from an anxiety attack, whining as you whittle away his health, and, finally, exasperatedly proclaiming "Good grief!" upon his demise. However, it's a different story if you decide to fight Astro Man without exploiting his weakness.
  • Mad Bomber: Grenade Man, full stop. He cackles like a loon throughout the fight, he blows up the floor at one point, and he actually seems to enjoy being hit by his own bombs! Never mind him belting out "THAT FELT GOOD!" as he explodes.
  • Made of Evil: The Evil Energy.
  • Made of Explodium: Grenade Man's stage in a nutshell. Set in an Argentinian ammunition factory, the level is swarming with time bombs, grenade-tossing Joe Classics, and all other kinds of explosives, perfect for the Mad Bomber residing there.
  • Meteor-Summoning Attack: Astro Crush calls down a storm of meteors; Mega Man is invincible during the animation.
  • Multiple Head Case: Search Man has two heads, which speak to each other during his boss intro.
  • Not the Intended Use: Astro Crush is meant to be used for taking out large obstacles and clearing out screens of enemies. However, one auxiliary effect of using the weapon is that Mega Man hovers in place while the animation is taking place. Players that know about this use it to hover over gaps longer in the final snowboarding segment, where they can potentially save themselves from jumps they would have otherwise missed.
  • Object-Shaped Landmass: The first level of the game is set on a skull-shaped island. Fitting for his skull motif, Dr. Wily's based on this island before he gets away with the Evil Energy that just landed on it as soon as Mega Man crosses paths with him.
  • Oddball in the Series:
    • Mega Man 8 is the only numbered installment in the original Mega Man series not to debut on a Nintendo system.
    • It's the only game since Mega Man 2 to lack Energy Tanks.
    • The usual Rush adapters like Rush Coil and Rush Jet are absent, replaced with one-off abilities like the Rush Bike, Question, Bomber, and Charger, which never returned in later installments.
    • This game has more emphasis on Unexpected Gameplay Changes than any other Mega Man game, with certain stages including Shoot 'Em Up mechanics, fast-paced snowboarding, and non-linear mazes.
  • Oh, Crap!: Astro Man's reaction when you lock on to him with the Homing Sniper.
  • Only One Save File: The original PlayStation version, its Sega Saturn port, and its port in Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 avert this as they have multiple save slots for their respective ports. However, the version of the game included in the Mega Man Anniversary Collection for PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox only has one save file for the game.
  • Optional Boss: Cut Man appears as an optional mini-boss in the Sega Saturn version of the game. note 
  • Overly Long Scream: When Mega Man gets electrified by one of Wily's robots, Giant Gori-Three, he screams for a whopping 20 seconds.
  • Personal Space Invader: Rompers are found in Clown Man's stage. They're mostly harmless on their own, but will grab onto Mega Man, immobilizing him and draining life until they are shaken off. The Succubatton is similar, swooping down and trying the bite the player and latching on to drain more life.
  • Plot Tailored to the Party: Aside of the staple "one Robot Master is weak to another's Special Weapon" formula, the first half of Sword Man's stage specifically requires the use of the initial four Robot Masters' weapons (Tornado Hold, Ice Wave, Thunder Claw, and Flash Bomb) in order to proceed, with the corresponding rooms marked by stone inscriptions matching the weapon's general appearance or effect. Specifically...
  • Power Glows: Duo glows blue. His opposite number and those who draw upon Evil Energy (most notably Bass) glow purple/fuchsia.
  • Pre-Rendered Cutscene: Mega Man 8 features anime-style cutscenes that include full voice acting for the first time in the Classic series.
  • Production Foreshadowing: In the "Museum" of Mega Man Legacy Collection 2, an image of Mega Man with a different style was grouped with the Mega Man 8 images. It was actually a teaser of Mega Man 11; the artwork is for the Block Dropper weapon.
  • Punch-Clock Villain: Sword Man. He politely makes it clear to Mega Man that there's nothing personal between them and that he's only doing his job for Wily.
  • Red Boxing Gloves: Clown Man's stage has various boxes activated every time the bellringer hits the bell. The ones with the X can have a punch with a spring appear from its top.
  • Rise to the Challenge: In a later section of Astro Man's level, Mega Man has to ascend a collapsing tower steadily sinking into the sand.
  • Rolling Attack: Clown Man's Thunder Carnival. Doubles as Be the Ball.
  • Schizophrenic Difficulty: While the more traditional stages are fairly straightforward by Mega Man standards, the stages that experiment with mechanics not found in most other games tend to be spikes in difficulty. The rocket sled stages are fast-paced auto-scrolling levels with little margin for error, the maze segments in Astro Man's stage require you to pay close attention to the layout in order to avoid getting lost, and the Rush Jet stages require you to adjust to a completely different type of gameplay, that of an autoscrolling Shoot 'Em Up.
  • Shout-Out:
  • Shows Damage: Downplayed; like in 7, all Robot Masters barring Grenade Man will react negatively to their weaknesses, momentarily leaving them incapacitated. note  A lot of this falls under Logical Weakness, but not every case is readily apparent at first. For example...
  • Smug Super: Tengu Man. In his two of his four pre-fight quotes, he writes off Mega Man with either "It's Just a Kid. Don't make me laugh" or "Kid, you're almost not worth the effort." One of his taunts during battle is "Feel my power!" and his death cry is a mere "It's regretful." In fact, he's so boastful of his power that he comes back in the next game (alongside Astro Man, oddly enough) to settle the score. Tengu are known for their incredible martial arts skills and their excessive pride.
  • Speed Echoes: One of Grenade Man's attacks is a dashing tackle that gives off this effect, predating the use of afterimages for X and Zero's dashes in the similarly 32-bit Mega Man X4.
  • Spin to Deflect Stuff: Tornado Hold can be used as a makeshift barrier against certain attacks.
  • Spread Shot:
    • One of the items available for purchase from the shop is the Arrow Shot, a toggeable Buster upgrade that causes Charge Shots to splinter into a five-way shot upon contact with enemies.
    • Rush gets a three-way shot if you can catch his item during the Rush Jet segments of Tengu Man's stage and Wily Stage 1.
  • Temple of Doom: Sword Man's stage, combined with Lethal Lava Land.
  • Toggling Setpiece Puzzle: The Astro Man stage features two Wrap Around mazes whose corridors have color-coded walls that can be moved (whether upward or downward) by pressing the switches that match their color: Red and green. The catch is that, when a switch is pressed, the wall that is wired to it will move to make way for a passageway, but then obstruct the one it's moving to (for example, in the first maze, the exit is obstructed by a green wall that can be moved with a green switch, but the wall then moves downward and obstructs the passageway that would lead to the part above with the exit). In both mazes, Mega Man has to work around the toggling walls as well as the wrap-around mechanic to make way to the exit.
  • Tornado Move: Tengu Man has Tornado Hold, which throws a spinning blade that generates a tornado. If this gets Mega Man, it traps him and allows Tengu Man to follow up with a Meteor Move, whacking the Blue Bomber back to Earth with his blade.
  • Unexpected Gameplay Change: Frost Man's level and Wily Fortress 1 feature segments where Mega Man rides a rocket-powered snowboard. During these segments, the game turns into a fast paced auto-scrolling game where Mega Man has to jump and slide through obstacles with little room for error.
  • Unexpected SHMUP Level: In the vein of the first Wily Star stage from Mega Man V, both Tengu Man's level and the second Fortress level have segments where Mega Man rides atop Rush Jet, during which Rush can be moved freely around the screen in any direction. These segments automatically scroll forward, provide lots of enemies to shoot at, and feature unique power-ups that can summon Eddie, Beat, or Auto to provide extra firepower.
  • Updated Re-release: The Sega Saturn version, released shortly after the PlayStation version, added Cut Man as an Optional Boss in the intermission stage and Wood Man as a Mini-Boss in Search Man's stage, as well as a Bonus Mode featuring several bonus galleries.
  • Utility Weapon: The Mega Ball can be used to gain extra height (including in the air) by bouncing off of it. The Tornado Hold can be used to lift Mega Man up to a higher platform. The Thunder Claw can be used to grab onto bars. The Astro Crush can be used to destroy a section of Aqua Man's stage, causing water to fill the area. And as noted in Plot Tailored to the Party, the first four Robot Masters' weapons are required for certain sections of Sword Man's stage.
  • Verbal Tic: Downplayed in the Japanese version with Tengu Man, who uses the stock samurai tic of "de gozaru", but only in his "Boss Selected" introduction ("Tengu Man de gozaru!"lit.) and at no point during his mid-fight Boss Banter. He does, however, have other archaic speech patterns associated with samurai, particularly his use of "sessha" to refer to himself.
  • Video Game Cruelty Potential: Using the Robot Master's weakness against them can give...interesting effects. Use Tornado Hold on Clown Man as he's about to do his trapeze kick? Cue him getting entangled by his own limbs. (He'll even call out for his mommy, making you feel...a bit bad for doing so.) Use Astro Crush on Aqua Man? You'll shatter his glass parts. Use Flame Sword on Search Man as he's hiding in his Mobile Shrubbery? Cue Man on Fire.
  • Villainous Harlequin: Clown Man. Though his design edges into Monster Clown territory, his jokey mannerisms paint Clown Man as anything but, and this is before he cries out "Mommy!" when temporarily incapacitated by his weakness, the Tornado Hold.
  • Visual Pun: Unsurprisingly, Grenade Man was designed to resemble an actual grenade: the Mk 2, also known as a pineapple bomb. This is most noticeable with his lever-like headpiece and a torso with a similarly grooved surface.
  • Vocal Dissonance: In the English version, certain characters have voices that don't exactly fit their character's personalities. Dr. Light speaks with a particularly noticable lisp, while Mega Man's voice sounds more like a girl than the young boy that the actress was likely going for.
  • Walk, Don't Swim: The only (officialnote ) game that averts this by having Mega Man actually swim, although his jumping height and walking speed are otherwise affected in the same manner as other Down the Drain levels in previous titles (i.e. higher jumps at the cost of slower footspeed and lowered mobility in general).
  • Water Guns and Balloons: Aqua Man's main attack naturally involves shooting streams of water every which way from his Arm Cannon, either in water balloon-like spheres or in long, controllable jets. When Aqua Man is defeated, Mega Man receives the ability to shoot the water spheres, known as the Water Balloon.
  • We Will Meet Again: Both Bass's Inner Monologue recounted above and, arguably, the aforementioned "See you in my dreams!" from Clown Man. Bass actually makes good on his promise unlike Clown Man, unless one counts the usual endgame Boss Rush.
  • World's Strongest Man: In a sense. Duo may not necessarily be the strongest robot in the cosmos, but he is sufficiently powerful nonetheless (as evidenced by the fact that his clash with the unnamed "Evil Robot", aka Trio, ends with significant damage to what appears to be Saturn) and pretty much sits at Story-Breaker Power status the moment he arrives on Earth. Duo's Boss Battle, if it can even be called that, consists of him shrugging off all attacks from Mega Man while taking no visible damage until he realizes their battle is pointless, followed by Duo proceeding to steamroll the Giant Gori-Three that had Mega Man and Rush on the ropes. When Duo decides to focus on eradicating the Evil Energy around the world while Mega Man disables the barriers protecting Wily's fortress, one wonders why he doesn't just deal with the remaining Robot Masters on his own. The only thing that seems to slow him down is the Wave-Motion Gun of the latest Wily Machine (presumably because it's powered by Evil Energy), and while Duo is forced to sub out for the final battle, said Wave-Motion Gun is completely destroyed by Duo's Foe-Tossing Charge whereas Duo himself is only in need of mild repairs.

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