Mega Man 6

Mega Man 6
Mega Man 6
Megaman6 box.jpg
North American boxart
Developer(s) Capcom
Publisher(s)
Producer(s) Tokuro Fujiwara
Artist(s) Keiji Inafune
Composer(s) Yuko Takehara
Series Mega Man
Platform(s) Nintendo Entertainment System, PlayStation, mobile phones
Release date(s) NES
PlayStation
Mobile phone
Genre(s) Action, platform
Mode(s) Single-player
Media/distribution 4-megabit ROM cartridge, CD-ROM, download

Mega Man 6, known in Japan as Rockman 6 Shijō Saidai no Tatakai!! (Japanese: ロックマン6 史上最大の戦い!!?, lit. "Rockman 6: The Greatest Battle Ever!!"), is a video game developed by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It is the sixth installment in the original Mega Man series and was originally released in Japan on October 5, 1993 and in North America the following March. It was included in the Mega Man Anniversary Collection released in 2004. As of 2011, it has never been released in the PAL region.

The story of Mega Man 6 opens during a competitive robot fighting tournament with entrants from all around the globe. A villainous figure known as "Mr. X" announces he has reprogrammed the eight powerful contestants with intent to use them for taking over the world. The game's robotic protagonist Mega Man, who was sent to oversee the tournament, springs into action to foil X's plot. A standard action-platformer, Mega Man 6 plays nearly identically to its five predecessors with a few added features such as stages with alternate pathways and new Rush adaptors.

Mega Man 6 is the first game in the series to receive character design input from fans outside of Japan. This late-era game was also the last in the series released on Nintendo's 8-bit console. Due to the declining support of the NES and the growing presence of the newer and more powerful Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), Capcom decided not to publish Mega Man 6 in North America. The North American version of Mega Man 6 was released by Nintendo of America instead. Critical reviews favored the game's comparable presentation and use of the established gameplay model from preceding chapters in the series, though nearly all judged it a redundant sequel.

Contents

Plot

Mega Man 6's story takes place after the events of Mega Man 5. The first annual "Robot Masters Tournament" is held in order to test the designing capabilities of the world's greatest robotics engineers.[5] The tournament is hosted by a man known only as "Mr. X" and many strong Robot Masters participate. Dr. Light, a pacifist, decides not to enter the competition, but sends the robotic hero Mega Man to supervise it. Near the end of the event, Mr. X announces that he has reprogrammed the eight finalist robots to do his bidding in taking over the world: Blizzard Man, Wind Man, Flame Man, Plant Man, Tomahawk Man, Yamato Man, Knight Man, and Centaur Man.[6][7] Dr. Light immediately orders Mega Man to put an end to Mr. X's plan. Mega Man destroys the eight Robot Masters, then makes his way to Mr. X's fortress. The villain is beaten and quickly removes his disguise, revealing himself as none other than Dr. Wily, Mega Man's arch nemesis.[6] The evil scientist flees to a new fortress stronghold where Mega Man pursues and defeats him again. The game ends with Dr. Wily finally brought to justice and sent to prison.[8]

Gameplay

Using one of two adaptors, Mega Man combines with Rush to propel through the air.

The gameplay in Mega Man 6 is largely similar to its five NES counterparts.[6][9] The player takes control of Mega Man to complete a series of side-scrolling platform stages littered with smaller robot enemies and occasional larger mini-bosses. The player's primary method of attack is the "Mega Buster" cannon, which can be charged for more powerful shots. At the end of each of the initial eight stages is a boss battle, where the player inherits that Robot Master's unique "Master Weapon" if successful.[5] These eight levels can be completed in any order, although all Robot Masters are weak to a specific Master Weapon, adding an element of strategy to the order chosen by the player.[6] The player's health is represented by a gauge that can be refilled by picking up energy pellets. Extra lives, reserve energy tanks, and pellets that refill Master Weapon power can also be found throughout each level. Mega Man 6 introduces the "Energy Balancer", which automatically refills the weapon with the lowest energy when picking up Master Weapon power.[5][10]

Previous Mega Man games typically allowed the player to call on the transformable dog Rush or use other support items in order to traverse difficult or otherwise inaccessible parts of a stage. Mega Man 6 instead features a pair of "Rush Adaptors" that fuse Mega Man and Rush into special forms. The first, "Jet Mega Man", lets the player fly upward or hover for a brief period of time, but prevents the use of charge shots. The second, "Power Mega Man", utilizes a powerful, short-range punch attack for destroying large blocks.[5][6] The player cannot slide when using either adapter. Mega Man 6 also presents less linear ways to complete the stages than in previous entries in the series. There are two pathways in many of the stages that lead to boss rooms, but the player is often required to use one of the Rush adaptors to begin an alternate route. Although either one will clear the stage, only one of them will give the player a letter circuit board for assembling the helper bird Beat.[6][11] Collecting all four parts will allow the player to call on Beat to attack enemies.[5]

Development

Mega Man 6 was developed at the same time as the franchise's first spin-off, Mega Man X for Nintendo's newer console, the SNES. Series artist Keiji Inafune stated that having a video game franchise with six titles is very rare, and one of the advantages to this is that players expect certain aspects of each game to be repeated in the next.[1] After having implemented so many different mechanics to the gameplay of past entries, Inafune thought that Rush adaptor assembly was inevitable. The artist struggled with the adaptor designs and ultimately found them to be unrealistic. According to Inafune, "If you think about it, they shouldn't be able to combine like this. It would be awkward if parts of Rush like his neck were left over after they combined, so what was I supposed to do?"[1]

The Robot Masters featured in some of the previous Mega Man games were the result of design contests held in Japan, in which fans of the series would submit their character ideas to Capcom. Keeping with the tradition, Japan held a design contest for Mega Man 6. After the release of Mega Man 5, the magazine Nintendo Power held a similar contest in North America.[1][12] Only eight out of the more than 200,000 worldwide character submissions for Mega Man 6 were accepted for the game.[1] Six of the Robot Masters were designed by Japanese fans, while the remaining two (Knight Man and Wind Man) were designed by North American fans who entered the Nintendo Power contest.[6][10][11][13] Inafune admitted that it was stressful when the last characters being designed for the game were not meeting with the development team's schedule.[14] He concluded, "For having hit a lot of roadblocks, I feel like we got a lot done for 6. The theme for our designs was 'The world is our stage,' and I really enjoyed bringing what I felt was the unique flavor of different countries into the game."[1] Yuko Takehara composed the musical score for Mega Man 6.[15] Takehara collaborated with several other composers for the follow-up Mega Man 7 in 1995.[16]

Mega Man 6 is the last title in the franchise to be released on the 8-bit NES. A few months after the publication of Mega Man 5, Capcom announced the sixth installment in the original series, as well as Mega Man Soccer and Mega Man X for the SNES.[17] Capcom chose not to publish the game outside Japan. Instead, Nintendo of America published it in March 1994. Such a late release on the aging NES ensured its relative commercial obscurity among concurrent releases.[13][18] The game was showcased alongside Mega Man X at the 1994 Winter Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.[19] Mega Man 6 was re-released for the PlayStation in 1999 as part of the Rockman Complete Works series exclusive to Japan.[3] This version of the game features a number of extras including remixed music, artwork galleries, and a "navi mode" to help guide players.[20] A port of the Complete Works edition was released on the North American-exclusive Mega Man Anniversary Collection for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube in 2004 and Xbox in 2005.[21][22] Mega Man 6 was released on Japanese mobile phones via the i-mode service in 2007.[4]

Reception and legacy

 Reception
Review scores
Publication Score
Electronic Gaming Monthly 6.8 out of 10[23]
GamePro 4.5/5 stars[9]
Nintendo Power 3.65 out of 5[24]
Game Players 88%[25]

Mega Man 6 has enjoyed a favorable to mixed reception from gaming publications and websites. The graphics, play control, challenge level, and added power-ups were generally praised. GamePro was impressed with some of the newer enemies and larger mid-stage bosses, but was displeased with the game's recycling of Master Weapons seen in previous Mega Man games. Overall, the magazine described the graphics, audio, and level design in Mega Man 6 as standard fare for the franchise and called the game a "rock of reliable NES fun" in a series that is as "predictable as the tide".[9] Destructoid editor Tony Ponce considered Mega Man 6 the best game in the entire series. He argued that the game "was retro before retro was cool" due to Capcom's decision to develop it as a higher profile game on the NES during the era of fourth generation consoles. He also expressed appreciation for its music, introductions for each Robot Master, and the use of branching pathways in each level, among many other reasons.[26] Nintendo Power listed Mega Man 6 as the best NES game of 1993, stating, "His sixth NES adventure, in which he uses two new, Special Power-Ups, might just be his best".[27] Kaes Delgrego of Joystiq called Mega Man 6 the fourth-best game in the franchise because of its implementation of the Rush adaptors, the Energy Balancer, multiple pathways, and the challenge present in the final levels.[28] Craig Skistimas of ScrewAttack also appreciated these innovations and regretted missing out on the game when it was first released.[11]

Mega Man 6 was nearly universally criticized for lacking originality, particularly with regard to its plot. GameSpot editors Christian Nutt and Justin Speer labeled Mega Man 6 the "cheesiest" among the NES titles: "If you're looking for mega-laughs, you might want to try this one out."[29] 1UP.com contributors likewise found that the game's "inane" storyline and villains both insult fans of the series and outweigh the game's good soundtrack and interesting power-ups.[18][30] The four members of the Electronic Gaming Monthly review panel all voiced similar opinions regarding the game's familiar 8-bit presentation and its addition to the already repetitive nature of the series. One reviewer commented, "OK, Mega Man was fun and original back in the days when the letters 'N E S' meant something. Now the game is just getting redundant. Oh sure, Mega Man may learn a few new tricks here and there but this series has to end soon."[23]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Mega Man: Official Complete Works. Udon Entertainment. January 6, 2010. pp. 34–9. ISBN 978-1-89737-679-9. 
  2. ^ "NES Games" (PDF). Nintendo. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. http://web.archive.org/web/20101221005931/http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/gameslist/manuals/nes_games.pdf. Retrieved 2011-09-24. 
  3. ^ a b Mega Man: Official Complete Works. Udon Entertainment. January 6, 2010. pp. 104–5. ISBN 978-1-89737-679-9. 
  4. ^ a b "主要3キャリアで『ロックマン』を配信！ カプコン10月の最新アプリ情報をお届け" (in Japanese). Famitsu. October 1, 2007. http://www.famitsu.com/k_tai/news/1210918_1350.html. Retrieved 2010-04-22. 
  5. ^ a b c d e Capcom, ed (March 1994). Mega Man 6 Instruction Booklet. Redmond, WA: Nintendo of America. pp. 7–14. NES-G6-USA. 
  6. ^ a b c d e f g "Mega Man VI". Nintendo Power (Nintendo of America) (55): pp. 76–83. December 1993. 
  7. ^ Capcom. Mega Man 6. (Nintendo of America). Nintendo Entertainment System. (1993-10-05) "Narrator: The 1st Annual Robot Tournament was held with 8 of the world's most powerful robots. But... Mr. X, the sponsor of the tournament, took control of the robots and began to take over the world."
  8. ^ Capcom. Mega Man 6. (Nintendo of America). Nintendo Entertainment System. (1993-10-05) "Narrator: Triumphant at last, Mega Man arrested the notorious Dr. Wily and brought him to justice. Sentenced to prison for his crimes, Dr. Wily now rules over a prison cell. At longlast, the world is at peace."
  9. ^ a b c Slasher Quan (November 1993). "ProReview: Mega Man 6". GamePro (Infotainment World, Inc.) (52): pp. 146–7. 
  10. ^ a b Elston, Brett (June 30, 2008). "The ultimate Mega Man retrospective". GamesRadar. http://www.gamesradar.com/f/the-ultimate-mega-man-retrospective/a-2008062794557758069/p-4. Retrieved 2010-04-17. 
  11. ^ a b c Skistimas , Craig (August 4, 2008). "Video Game Vault: Mega Man 6". Game Trailers. http://www.gametrailers.com/video/video-game-screwattack/37931. Retrieved 2011-01-16. 
  12. ^ "Mega Man Robot Design Contest". Nintendo Power (Nintendo of America) (44): pp. 77–9. January 1993. 
  13. ^ a b Thomas, Lucas M. (February 16, 2010). "The 10 Steps to Mega Man 10". IGN. http://wii.ign.com/articles/106/1069184p4.html. Retrieved 2010-04-11. 
  14. ^ Inafune, Keiji (1997). "Rockman 10th Anniversary Celebration Plans" (in Japanese). CFC Style Fan-Book (Capcom) 3: p. 24. 
  15. ^ jgonzo (February 5, 2010). "Japanese Mega Man 10 Soundtrack Details". Capcom Unity. http://www.capcom-unity.com/jgonzo/blog/2010/02/05/japanese_mega_man_10_soundtrack_details. Retrieved 2011-03-01. 
  16. ^ Chris (May 2010). "Interview with Ippo Yamada, Ryo Kawakami, and Hiroki Isogai". Square Enix Music Online. http://www.squareenixmusic.com/features/interviews/ippoyamada.shtml. Retrieved 2011-03-01. 
  17. ^ "Super Mega Man ― So What's the Deal?". Game Players (Imagine Media) (26): p. 20. March 1993. 
  18. ^ a b Oxford, Nadia (May 17, 2007). "Mega Manniversary: Jumping the Shark Man". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3159529. Retrieved 2011-01-16. 
  19. ^ "'Showtime' for the Nintendo Booth at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show". PR Newswire. January 5, 1994. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-14671344/showtime-nintendo-booth-winter.html. Retrieved 2010-04-21. 
  20. ^ Nutt, Christian and Speer, Justin. "The History of Mega Man". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/features/6076983/p-7.html. Retrieved 2011-01-24. 
  21. ^ Navarro, Alex (June 21, 2004). "Mega Man Anniversary Collection Review for PlayStation 2". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/megamananniversarycollection/review.html. Retrieved 2010-04-21. 
  22. ^ Navarro, Alex (June 21, 2004). "Mega Man Anniversary Collection Review for Xbox". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/action/megamananniversarycollection/review.html. Retrieved 2010-04-21. 
  23. ^ a b "Review Crew: Mega Man VI". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (59): p. 40. June 1994. 
  24. ^ "Now Playing: Mega Man VI". Nintendo Power (Nintendo of America) (55): pp. 106–7. December 1993. 
  25. ^ "Reviews: Mega Man 6". Game Players (Imagine Media) (36). January 1994. 
  26. ^ Ponce, Tony (December 25, 2009). "Why Mega Man 6 is the best of the Mega Mans". Destructoid. http://www.destructoid.com/why-mega-man-6-is-the-best-of-the-mega-mans-158363.phtml. Retrieved 2010-04-20. 
  27. ^ "Super Power Club: The Top Titles of 1993". Nintendo Power (Nintendo of America) (55): p. 5. January 1994. 
  28. ^ Delgrego, Kaes (September 22, 2008). "Top 5: Mega Man Games". Joystiq. http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/22/4-mega-man-6/. Retrieved 2010-06-19. 
  29. ^ Nutt, Christian and Speer, Justin. "The History of Mega Man". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/features/6076983/p-7.html. Retrieved 2010-04-17. 
  30. ^ Parish, Jeremy (May 10, 2007). "The Mega Man Series Roundup". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=0&cId=3159344. Retrieved 2010-04-10. 

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