MEGAGRAMS

    1) I’ve considered it, but most of them aren’t even remotely done, and some aren’t really written out—just bits and pieces—so it’d be somewhat difficult. We’ll see. By the way, the Quote of the Day still exists; it’s been moved to the Series Subsite (appropriately enough).
    2) Alternate universe of the Mega Shows perhaps.
    3) I rather agree with you. They’re much better off seperate.

Mandi,
    I was outraged when I read what you said about Mega Man Legends in the last set of MegaGrams. (That is, that is would be possible on the Nintendo 64.) What is with Capcom?? It’s the same situation with Mega Man Battle & Chase. It’s a pretty good game, but if it had benefited from the Nintendo 64’s superior graphical capabilities and analogue control, it would have been a much better game. There’s no F.M.V. in it, so you wouldn’t think there’s a problem. I think it’s about time Capcom got their heads together and started working properly. I mean, look at their first Nintendo 64 game: Mickey Mouse Tetris! A completely 2D, sprite-based game that easily could have gone on the Playstation.
Although... I guess we can only hope they were experimenting with the N64’s 2D capabilities for Mega Man 9 or Mega Man X 5...
    - Pete Jenkins

I heard rumors that Capcom USA wants to make N64 games (I mean besides Tetris) and are badgering Capcom of Japan about it. So there’s hope yet. Unfortunately Capcom of Japan holds all the strings.

Dear Mandi,
    After all the talk about manual art, I just couldn’t help but wonder why anyone hasen’t complained about the first covers. Take a look at the first Mega Man Box. Dosen’t that just look freaky? I mean, beyond outer space Ann Rice marries Steven King and have Edger Allen Poe like child freaky? And look at Number 2. Why, is that a pistol in his hands? And why is Dr. Light (At least, I’m presuming it’s Dr. Light.. ) cowering behind Crash Man? And why in the world do all the robots have muscles?! (AGH!) Finally, we get a somewhat better looking Mega Man. He’s outfits a bit odd, and his cheeks look like thier swelling, but it’s not TOO super deformed and mutated. (But Spark man is just Silver and Top Man is just Green? And what is Rush doing with Top Man?) MM4 is MUCH better, but Pharaoh Man looks gigantic, ethier that or he’s standing on toy castel. MM5 looks good, But it has Gravity Man fireing these werid bolts out of his hands, and If Mega Man can block bolts that easily, why dosen’t he do it in the games?! Mega Man 6 finally got rid of the swelling cheecks (Sorta) and looks better. Mega Man 7 looks nice, but Mega Man has robot muscles! (AGH agian!)Mega Man 8 looks good.. BUT NOW HE HAS SUPER HUGE BOOTS!...
... Guess you can’t trust Capcom with everything, huh?
    - Tracy Man

The box covers were re-done when the games were sold to American audiences. Apparently Capcom felt that the English speaking crowd would like a more serious appearance than the cartoony look of the Japanese covers (see the BookList). And looking at the Mega Shows, I’m not so sure they were wrong. So they contracted someone to draw totally new covers for the English games. Apparently these artists knew little to nothing about the games themselves. As the series became more popular, evidently the artists began learning more about what Mega Man actually looks like, although they still threw in their own little twists. For Mega Man 8’s cover Capcom just gave up and used a piece of Japanese production artwork for the cover. It’s still different from the original Japanese cover however.

dear whoever is there,
    wouldn’t you agree that the makers of those robot masters is running out of ideas for names? they used the good ones all for the nintendo games! now they have things like “Burner Man” and whatever. they’re just pulling them out of thin air! pick a noun, add man to the end. i did like it when they stoped just being man and used animals, but they need a new catch! why not just give them real names? agggggg.
    - Dr Light

For every game beyond Mega Man 2 the Robot Masters have been chosen from robot design contests, much like the one Nintendo Power held for Mega Man 6 except all of the others were open only to Japan. So if you’re going to blame someone for the awful Robot Masters, you’ll have to blame the fans.

Dear MegaGrams:
    The reason that he wasn’t called “Rock Man” over here was due to a copyright/trademark dispute. “Rainbow Man” was just stupid. “Mega Man” fit the bill right nicely. I remember that from the one Mega Man special from an ancient Nintendo Power... I can’t recall offhand which one.
    In a similar fashion, the game wasn’t called “Pocket Monsters” due to a conflict with the now-worthless “Monster in my Pocket.” Therefore, the Japanese slang term “Pokémon” was used.
    Hope that helps!
    - MSTies Anonymous Poobah

It couldn’t have been because of a trademark in Rockman’s case. Capcom owns the trademark so they can use it however they please. It was obviously just a conscious decision someone made. Names get changed from Japanese to English all the time. It’s not especially unusual.

I’ve got a idea for your webpage. Why not make a stage discription section? I’ve seen many webpages that are deticated to certain games and they have stage discriptions in them. I’ve looked at other mega man sites and not a single one has a section for stage discription for this series. Since you have the biggest MM site on the planet why not do it?
    - Sailor Phoenix

You mean like walkthroughs? Hmm, it’d probably be easier to just post maps. Technically the Mega Man 3 novel is a walkthrough which I get divided feedback on: most people think it’s boring, but a few actually use it to beat the game!

I love the classic Mega Man games for NES, and I recently started looking at all the websites about them. One thing I find really weird is that every one of them says that Crash Man (MM2) is very hard without the air shooter. Well, has anyone but me consistently beaten him without getting hit? I can’t do it all the time, but I always start with him, becuase Crash Bombs are so useful. I could try to explain the pattern if someone wanted it but it would be pretty hard. Just seeing if anyone else knows or wants this pattern.

I made it a challenge for myself at one point to attempt to defeat every Robot Master in every Mega Man game with just the arm cannon. When I did Mega Man 2 I was surprised to find that I had the most troubles with Crash Man (I was expecting Quick Man to be the most difficult but I found him rather simple). Now mind you, any battle can be simple with the proper fighting pattern; I suppose perhaps Crash Man’s pattern is a little more obscure. At any rate, after a few tries I did finally beat him, so he’s certainly not impossible.

Hoooooooowdy ho!
    I heard somewhere that, in Mega Man 8, if you hit Frost Man with his own weapon(Ice Wave), it would give him energy. Remember the thing about how you wished the Exchanger would work the other way around, Mandi? How does the weapon energy turn to working energy? Maybe Wily knows something about these physics and incorporates them into the Robot Masters for an edge. What do you think?
P.S.-great site.
    - Break_Man

It probably works the same way working energy can be turned into weapon energy. Not to mention it’s possible that what is a bane to one robot is the working energy of another...

    1. I have been searching for Megaman stuff, and heard about a stuffed Data (The Save Monkey From MMLegends.) Have you heard of them?
    2. I think MMX4 is good but they could have made it better if they would have added all the items like in MMX3 and better endings. What’s your opinion?
    3. I have seen those Megaman Sculptures you can get when you buy MM8?
    Thank you!
    - Slash a.k.a. Katar Slasher

    1) Yeah. I think you were supposed to be able to get it after buying Mega Man Legends or something. I never did.
    2) I think it needed less plotholes. Zero was fun to play though.
    3) Is that a question or a statement?

There’s several things I don’t understand about MM8.
    (1)Why do those big things over Bass’s ’ear thingys’ change shape when he combines with Treble?
    (2)Do you think a logical reason could be put to some of the mistakes in the game? (Ie. Mega Man pronouncing Bass’s name the way the name of the fish is pronounced. As an intended insult, perhaps? By logical reason, I mean mistakes that could be put in the story, not just left as a recurring nuissance.)
    (3)Any idea what the connection between Duo and the Dark Energy robot he fought might be? Beyond being enemies?
    (4)Could the fact that I wish the Homing Sniper moved slower be connected to the fact that Astro Man screams like a baby when it starts to home in on him? =)
    - Dalek-Man

    1) Flair.
    2) A logical reason can be put to just about anything. So yes, you could try to explain it away, if you wanted.
    3) I assume Duo hunted out the robot because of the evil energy, and the robot fought him because of it. Duo is, after all, trying to eliminate all of the evil energy, and that means going after anyone who might possess it.
    4) There’s always that possiblity. ;)

Hey Mandi! First off, you’ve got a great site and you should keep up the good work. Now, I’ve got some questions. Here goes:
    1) I’m sure you know that Rockman X3 was ported to the PlayStation in Japan. My question is, is there anything different about it from the SNes version, like anime cutscenes, or improved graphics/sound?
    2) What do you think are the chances of Rockman & Forte being ported to the PC for a US release? I mean, since the SNes is pretty much discontinued in terms of games, it would make sense, wouldn’t it?
    3) OK! This last question is PURELY HYPOTHETICAL. Let’s say Capcom is making a new 4-player MegaMan game (don’t ask why, they’re Capcom, sometimes they do crazy stuff) with (gasp!) 4 playable characters: MegaMan, BreakMan, Bass, and Roll (I know that isn’t logical, but hey, like I said, it’s Capcom). Since Roll doesn’t have an armor design, Capcom decides to hold a contest. They want people to submit their designs for Roll’s armor. My question? What would be your submission?

    1) The game had anime scenes, not many that had to do with the plot. They were mostly just filler. The graphics were the same, although letter-boxed. I didn’t notice the sound.
    2) Slim. After all, what has been ported so far? X games. There haven’t been any signs of abandoning this trend. But...I suppose you can hope.
    3) Most likely there wouldn’t be a submission from me; I’ve never submited anything to design contests like that in my life.

Hey. Some things just dont make sense.
    1) if he’s MegaMAN(hint hint keyword MAN) why is his voice done by a WOMAN???? GET SOME GOOD VOICE ACTORS!!! Get the guy who does optimus primem, he’d make an awesome light or bass or megaman!
    2) Why are there so many overlaps between MM8 and B&F? Obviously B&F was made shortly before the Famicon died out and MM8 was made shortly after it died out. Maybe thats why Megaman and Bass seem to have a much longer history in MM8, becuase several games happen between 7 and 8.
    3) Doesn’t it say in the MMX manual that Zero was Dr. Cane’s first reploid?
    4) Is it just me or did Zero and Sigma swithc places? Sigma was made to hunt mavericks and then became one...Zero was maverick and then started hunting them!
    5) Protoman is not evil. And I have seen a lot of people say he is really evil. This is stupid. He is just megamans borther and he is an introvert so he doesn’t hang around all that often.
    6) I bet if MegaMan actually used all his rescources correctly he could actually stop Bass and wiley. I mean, he’s got Auto, beat, rush, eddy, roll, and sometimes duo and protoman on his side...oh yeah and tango! and Dr. Light will have probably built a robotic chicken or guinea pig or some other robo pet for MM by MM9. All Bass has got is that stupid uggly dog and his cool yellow hair stuff.
    - RatKing

    1) They use a female voice actor in Japan so I suppose this sorta carried over to the English games.
    2) Overlaps? If you mean it looks like MM8, well, that’s because the art and many game concepts in Rockman & Forte were taken directly from MM8.
    3) No. It does, however, say that Sigma was one of Cain’s Reploids.

Do you think CapCom let Bass get Mega Man’s enhancements for reasons other than that particular game’s plot? An un-enhanced Mega Man could defeat an upgraded Bass. If Mega Man got these, Bass and Wily would have been all too easy to defeat. Also, that might have ended the series right there, because Dr. Wily probably wouldn’t have been able to create a robot capable of even seriously damaging Mega Man. Just a thought.
    - ShortCut

I don’t think Capcom put that much thought into it, but it’s a good point. On the other hand, it’s not like Wily has Mega Man severely out-numbered or anything to even the odds. -_^

Hey, whoever’s answering the letters this time! (Bass, I bow before you.) Just a couple (or a few) questions:
    1.) First off, a kind of silly one: Does Mega Man like cheese (that is, if he can even eat it at all)? Because... I like cheese...
    2.) What is Mega Man’s choice of music? How about Break Man’s and Bass’s. (I figger Bass, being the ever-cool guy he is, would appreciate any music. I personally follow the Beatles, the Monkees, the Rolling Stones, the Who, Bob Dylan, etc.)
    3.) A personal one for Mega Man: Who is the easiest (and I don’t just mean easy; I mean pushover, dead-weight, crappy-crap easy) Robot Master you’ve ever had the pleasure of destroying?
    4.) One for Mega Man and Break Man: Do you guys have to share your possessions like other siblings do? If there’s a fight, who ususally wins?
    5.) Bass- If you can hear me, give me a sign.
    Okay, that’s it. This is Baba O’Riley, Lord of Armenia City in the Sky, siging on (this paper).
    - Steve Cronen

    1) He doesn’t really eat, so I’m not sure if he can taste.
    2) That’s simple. Mega Man likes Rock, Break Man likes Blues, and Bass likes anything loud. (Sorry, just teasing there. Honestly, I haven’t a clue.)
    3) He says given the proper weapon, Metal Man goes down real quick. “Defeating him with one Metal Blade was probably the most fun I ever had fighting a Robot Master.”
    4) Hmm, I can’t say.. they’re arguing with each other over the answer!
    5) *sign edited for content by webmaster*

    1)I’ve got an interesting question for you,... could Dr. Light still be around somewhere, I mean how did he know about the battle between the repliforce and Maverick Hunters taking place in MMX4. Capcom better watch what they are saying cause this just seems to me like they were just using a sort of play along with the game. Although he was a genius(to say the least) and could have found some way to transfer his memory and spirit and self to a reploid or some kind of bioroid.Also the pods seem to be getting better and providing more powerful weapons in each game(Megaman X series), how could they keep getting better unless Dr. Light was still working on them?
    2)Where did the term bioroid come from?
    3)I am a firm believer in the Megaman is X theory.And am currently finding ways to support this theory.By the way in the manual it talks about X’s LONG HISTORY being a match for zero’s calm demeanor.He’s only been through 3 games, which is a lot but nothing in Megaman series terms.By the way notice how Megaman still has Naiveness and his OLD voice, yeah thats right X’s voice sounds just like Megamans, refer to MMX4 and MM8.His mind is still of Megaman’s although everything around him has gotten more ’cooler’(for lack of a better term).
    4)Last question, What are your complete thoughts on the Zero vs. X battle? Thats it thanx.
    - Dr. A. Light

    1) This is a common discussion among Mega Man fans, and the whole deal with Dr. Light’s hologram is often used as the root of jokes—because you’re right, there’s little way he could be dead, at this point.
    2) Mega Man: The Series.
    3) I don’t know at this point if Capcom even knows where they’re headed with the X series.
    4) I’m not sure it will even happen.

Dear MegaGrams,
    A very classic site. Very nice. Much better than you’re average site. I have a few questions I’d like to ask.
    1) Why does Bass hate MegaMan. What was the insult?
    2) Besides Metal Blade, name your top 3 weapons(original series only)
    3) Do you think Crash Man would make a good stand-up comic?
    Thank you for your time
    - Felix Unger

    1) Besides Wily simply programming such hatred into Bass (since the whole point was for Bass to destroy Mega Man), it’s hard to say, exactly. Bass does have a superiority complex and an ego the size of Texas. The fact that Mega Man has defeated him repeatedly grates on him and he vows revenge. Much the same as Wily, I suppose, except that Bass can fight hand-to-hand whereas Wily must use other machines. So it’s a bit more of a personal battle for Bass.
    2) Personally? Thunder Beam, for its range and the damage it ditches out; Crash Bombs, mostly for how they stick to walls; and the Tornado Hold, because it was insanely useful in Mega Man 8 (although if Rush had been around there wouldn’t have been need for it...). Assuming Rush had been there, I suppose my second favorite from that game would be the Flash Bomb. I also liked the Grab Buster from Mega Man V because it was just such a neat idea. Ah, but you only asked for three...
    3) Nah, he’d probably bomb.