Light Industries

Lore & Background

In the original story, Dr. Light created a humanoid robot named Rock as a housekeeping assistant. When his colleague, Dr. Wily, went mad and began building an army to take over the planet, Light repurposed Rock into a fighting robot. This new hero, Mega Man, utilizes his signature Mega Buster arm cannon to battle Wily's forces. A defining mechanic of his existence is the ability to copy the special weapons of any boss robot he defeats, allowing him to turn their own power against them. Alongside Dr. Light and various cybernetic companions like Rush, whose adapter assembly designs Inafune struggled with due to realism concerns, Mega Man traverses harsh environments to stop Wily's menace. The ultimate goal remains the achievement of everlasting peace for both humans and robots.

In Their Own Story

The narrative begins in Dr. Light's laboratory where Rock was originally built as a housekeeping assistant. When Dr. Wily turned against society, Light made the critical decision to convert Rock into a combat unit. During their early battles, Mega Man utilized a 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' gameplay mechanic to defeat specific enemies, a concept tied to his color-changing weapons programmed by lead programmer Nobuyuki Matsushima. As the series progressed through titles like Mega Man 3 and 4, new techniques such as the slide and the New Mega Buster charge shot were introduced to help him exceed level designers' challenges. By Mega Man 6, the team felt a Rush adapter assembly was inevitable, though Inafune noted the physical awkwardness of such combinations. In later entries like Mega Man 9 and 10, abilities were restricted back to original specs before the Double Gear System returned in Mega Man 11 to increase shot power and speed.

Reader's Guide

To succeed as Mega Man, one must master the weapon-copying system introduced in the classic series. The core strategy involves defeating eight Robot Masters, analyzing their elemental weaknesses, and utilizing the copied weapons against subsequent bosses who share that vulnerability. Players should note that while movement is generally restricted to horizontal sidescrolling even on modern platforms like the PSP's Mega Man Powered Up, new mechanics are vital; for instance, the slide introduced in the third game and the charge shot from the fourth are essential tools. In the North American localization, players might encounter a version of the hero firing a pistol due to cover art decisions by illustrator Marc Ericksen, who admitted he was told to add the weapon because the art director did not recognize the Mega Buster. Voice actress Ruth Shiraishi provided the vocal performance for both Rock and X in separate sessions recorded simultaneously, noting that her voice was altered slightly to sound older for X.

Did You Know?

• Akira Kitamura originally intended Mega Man to be colored white but changed it to blue for animation clarity.
• The name 'Mega Man' was chosen by Joe Morici of Capcom USA, likely due to trademark issues or cultural preferences rather than a documented personal opinion about the name's quality.
• Marc Ericksen painted a pistol into the North American box art for Mega Man 2 after being told the character must have one because the original Japanese box art showed Mega Man without a visible weapon.
• The color change mechanic when Mega Man changes weapons was present in the original Mega Man (1987) and is a well-known visual cue, widely attributed to Keiji Inafune for the early series.
• Ruth Shiraishi voiced both Mega Man and X in separate games recorded during the same session without knowing they were two different titles.