MegaManAyla - Mega Man

Release Date: Japan: 1987 USA: 1987 Europe: 1987	Developer: Capcom
Systems: Nintendo	Genre: Action

Game Specs:
The game that began the saga, Mega Man on the original Nintendo Entertainment System. As the first ever Mega Man title, most of the game's aspects are fairly basic, with Mega Man's abilities limited to firing his Mega Buster and jumping - no slide move or charged shot are available. In this first installment, Mega Man's mission is to take down the evil Dr Wily and his six Robot Masters. You'll have to battle through six areas where the Robot Masters hide out before tackling Dr Wily's castle for the final showdown. Once each of the six bosses are defeated, Mega Man will draw their energy into his body, creating extra special weapons for his arsenal, each boss has a certain weakness to a particular weapon. No energy tanks are available, making this game a very tough one indeed.

Story:
Rock was created by the brilliant Dr. Light to be a lab assistant and a son. But when Dr. Light's partner, Dr. Wily, stole their six new Robot Masters and tried to use them to take over the world, Dr. Light remodeled Rock into the warrior known as Mega Man.
This game is the story of Mega Man's very first battle against the infamous Dr. Wily.

The Magnet Beam Trick:
Only consume energy when you first press the fire button. As you hold it, the platform gets longer and longer. You can also build staircases by creating multiple platforms at once.

Special Features:
This was, of course, Capcom's first crack at this game series, and apparently it went over very well. The graphics, mechanics, and play control were superb for its time, setting it apart from the other titles around. This game is also unique from other Mega Man games in several ways:

- It is the only one to have a score.
- It is the only one that doesn't tell you the names of the weapons you acquire (though other games, such as Mega Man I, the Power Battle, and the Wily Wars, give us - the names).
- There is a pause function in this game (press SELECT).
- When you revisit a stage, the Robot Master comes back too (all other games, the Robot Master room is empty when you reach it).
- Energy that is found lying around in stages can be gathered infinite times in this title. Just grab it and scroll it off the screen and back on, and it'll be back.
- Water does not make Mega Man buoyant here (he doesn't jump any higher underwater).
- Mega Man is invincible for a few moments after he takes damage, but this invincibility does not apply toward spikes in this game.
- It is the only Mega Man game that doesn't have eight Robot Masters. Here there are only six.

Bomb Man:
Guide: This Robot Master is really easy to beat. He'll mostly bound around the room throwing bombs at you with precision accuracy, so you'll want to keep moving. Just blast him with your Arm Cannon while he's jumping up and down to take damage on him. If you get too close, he'll leap across the room and throw a bomb at you, but this shouldn't be too much of a problem. Keep up the rapid-fire to deal more damage to him than he can to you and this battle will be over very quickly.
Weakness: Fire Storm.
Weapon Received: Hyper Bomb.

Guts Man:
Guide: He's probably the easiest Robot Master in the game. Keep in mind that the Hyper Bombs are time-delayed, so try to predict where he'll land so the explosions catch him. Other than that, avoid his jumping attack and his rock chucking and you'll beat him.
Weakness: Hyper Bomb.
Weapon Received: Super Bomb.

Cut Man:
Guide: Another easy boss, Cut Man tends to stay on the offensive rather than the defensive. If you have the Super Arm, you can chuck the blocks in the room at him for an easy victory, otherwise you'll have to stick it out with the Arm Cannon. Just make sure you watch out for his Rolling Cutter as it's pretty tough to avoid (it boomerangs), and he's difficult to clear with your jumps when it's attached to his head. He shouldn't give you many problems though.
Weakness: Mega Buster.
Weapon Received: Rolling Cutter.

Electric Man:
Guide: Of the initial six, Electric Man is the hardest. Be sure you have the Rolling Cutter before taking this one on, as only three hits with the Thunder Beam are required before you're toasted. Your best bet is to rapid fire the Rolling Cutter at him before he can hit you with his weapon. If you don't have full energy prior to this battle, make sure that you have a life in reserve and kill yourself at Electric Man's hands; this gives you a better edge in fighting him. Be very cautious in this battle.
Weakness: Rolling Cutter.
Weapon Received: Thunder Beam.

Ice Man:
Guide: This one's another tough boss. His pattern is rather predictable, however, his speed makes it difficult to hit him. He jumps in the air, and slowly float back down, all the while firing Ice Slasher attacks at you, which are rather difficult to avoid. The key is to electrocute him with the Thunder Beam (a good idea is to use the Pause and Resume trick here) as it destroys him in but three hits.
Weakness: Thunder Beam.
Weapon Received: Ice Slasher.

Fire Man:
Guide: Yet another easy boss, Fire Man will mostly stay run towards you trying to hit you with his Fire Storm. Use the Ice Slasher to cool him down. If you get too close to him, he'll recoil and jump backwards, but this shouldn't be too much of a problem for you. Beat him to gain the Fire Storm.
Weakness: Ice Slasher.
Weapon Received: Fire Storm.

Chill Penguin

Yellow Devil:
Guide: Use the Thunder Beam coupled with the Pause and Resume trick detailed in the Secrets and Tips section. If you're able to do it right, you can kill the Devil in one shot! The only thing you really have to watch out for is the Devil's disintegration technique. From the start, head to the far right and alternately jump over the blocks as they come flying at you. Then use the Thunder Beam to hit it when the eye opens.
Weakness: Thunder Beam.

Mega Man Clone:
Guide: This battle can be difficult given that your clone will switch weapons whenever you do, so it's a bit hard to get in hits without him doing the same to you. So use the handy Pause and Resume trick with the Thunder Beam for a slightly less hassling victory!
Weakness: Thunder Beam.

Chill Penguin

Submarines:
Guide: For one, don't be tempted to use the blocks in the room - you'll need them later. Start off by using the Arm Cannon on the first three submarines and use the Super Arm to chuck rocks at the remaining one. The submarines get increasingly faster as you progress, which is why it's best to save the blocks for the last one, as it moves really quickly. You can try the Pause and Resume trick here, but it didn't seem to work spectacularly for me.
Weakness: Super Arm.

Chill Penguin

Dr Wily:
Guide: Start off using the Thunder Beam and the Pause and Resume trick to destroy the shield on the front of his ship. Keep pounding it until it's gone, and on to...
After the shield is gone, use the Rolling Cutter to attack from afar, or use the Fire Storm if you want to take more damage. Try hitting Wily with the actual fireballs that orbit you to take a little bit more damage. Make sure you aim for the flashing part on the front. Keep at it until you defeat him.
Weakness: Fire Storm/Rolling Cutter.

Magnet Beam:
There is a special weapon hidden in Electric Man's stage enclosed by some unbreakable blocks. Use either Strength or Electricity to destroy the blocks to reach it. This special item will allow you to create floating platforms which Mega Man can stand on to reach higher areas or to traverse over large holes.

Mega Buster:
The Mega Buster is Mega Man's primary weapon. You will have this weapon from the start of the game. This weapon can cause damage to most enemies encountered in the game.

Rolling Cutter:
This weapon will fire out a boomerang-type weapon similar to the Boomerang Cutter in Mega Man X. The projectile will fire out in a circle and then return to Mega Man.

thunder Beam:
This weapon fires out three large bolts of electricity in different directions from Mega Man. It can be used to hit enemies who fly at you from above.

Ice Slasher:
This ice weapon fires out a large ice block which will fly across the screen until it hits a target. The projectile also has the ability to fly through some enemies and continue on to hit other targets.

Fire Storm:
The fire weapon will shoot out large flame balls that will scorch any enemies it hits. It can fly through several enemies at once and will disappear once it reaches a far point from Mega Man.

Hyper Bomb:
Mega Man will throw out a bomb that will land a short distance from him. After a few seconds it will explode, creating a small explosion that will damage any enemies nearby.

Super Arm:
This weapon will only work if a large boulder or large block is nearby. To use it, walk up to the block and press fire. Mega Man will lift the block and you can then throw it at an enemy to cause damage.

The Pause and Resume Trick:
Works only in the original NES version (No, the Complete Works remake and the Wily Wars remake don't include it). Press SELECT when you fire your weapon and rapidly hit it to put the game into slow-motion. While doing this, your weapon can actually "crawl" through the enemy, taking a hit with each step. It makes for easy defeats of Ice Man, the Yellow Devil, your clone, and Wily.

Ending:
I like this ending's music, even if it doesn't quite have the quality of later games. The tune is cool, and I just love how they use part of the same tune in the opening to Mega Man 2. I think that really ties the series together. Too bad they didn't keep it up.

This ending shows Mega Man heading home after the battle. (For some reason, after beating Wily he usually either walks home or hops on top of a monorail instead of teleporting. Guess he wants some time to think...) Anyway, the sun sets (well done on the NES, too...the Genesis version wasn't nearly as good) and Mega Man fades out and then in again, now dressed in street clothes. (I'm sorry, but pink is not his color! Luckily the Wily Wars version fixed this...) When he gets back to the lab, Dr. Light and Roll are waiting for him, though the game never does bother telling you who Roll is...