The Blue Bomber
Mega Man - known as Rockman in Japan - is a run-and-gun action platformer series created by Keiji Inafune and Akira Kitamura at Capcom. Debuting on the NES in December 1987, the series ran six NES entries through 1993, branched to the Game Boy with five portable adventures, and evolved into the darker Mega Man X on the SNES in 1993. Its genius: a non-linear stage structure in which each robot master's defeat awards a weapon that grants advantage in another stage, creating a rock-paper-scissors web of interdependency.
"I wanted to create a game where players could feel the thrill of gaining a new ability and immediately wanting to test it against every other enemy." — Keiji Inafune, on the weapon acquisition design philosophy of the Mega Man series
Documentary & Interview
Series Retrospective
Creator Interview
Series Overview
NES Classic Series
6
Mega Man 1–6, 1987–1993. Six robot masters in MM1; eight became the standard from MM2 onwards.
Game Boy Series
5
Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge through Mega Man V (1991–1994), the latter introducing the Stardroids.
SNES Series
5
Mega Man X, X2, X3, Mega Man 7, and Mega Man Soccer on the Super Nintendo (1993–1995).