MEGAGRAMS

The characters are just me, having fun. People seem to enjoy it and that’s the entire point of the MegaGrams, after all. Which reminds me, I need to drag another character in here sometime...
    I don’t have an HTML chat, but there is a #megaman channel on EsperNET on IRC (see the poorly-named Events page). I’ve considered creating a Mega Man message board, which I have the capability to do, but I think a couple already exist, and anyway, such a service is provided pretty nicely already by the Mailing List. I might still create one if I decide to however.
    I do have a characters page and a Robot Masters / Maverick page section goes into more detail than the characters page. If you want personalities of the main characters try The Series Character page.
    Who am I? It’s a secret. ;) Just kidding. I’m just your resident Mega Man webmaster, otherwise known as Phaelin on IRC. Which means “Keeper of Secrets” appropriately enough—see, I told you it was a secret!

Hello,
    I have been viewing your awesome site and these Mega-Gram thinies for a while, so I thought I’d give one a shot, now that I have some decent questions: I recently (today, actually) purchased the original Mega Man for the NES, and I have some questions regarding it.
    1. I did not receive the instruction manual with the game, so I have a question regarding a confusing aspect of the game play. What are those little red, orange, and blue spheres that enemies give you if they don’t give you life or weapon energy? I can’t seem to figure out what they do, besides make a cool beeping noise.
    2. Is it just my game, or do the robot masters’ point values vary? I have seen Fire Man’s points range from 50,000 to 70,000 to 100,000, and from the looks of what I have read about the game, it seems that the masters should have a preset point value. Did I misinterpret?
    3. It seems like every other Mega Gram has a question that is just for the heck of it, so here is mine: If you had to choose a master weapon to defend yourself with on the streets of New York for a night, which one would you choose? Um, I think I’m done now. Thanks for reading this.
    - Greg

    1) Points. They only count if you actually finish the stage, however. If you die, you also lose whatever point pellets you’d gathered up to that point.
    2) It’s random. According to the manual, you earn from 50,000 to 100,000 points per victory. So your observation was on target.
    3) Thunder Beam. *thinks* No, that’s just my favorite weapon to bash Mega Man with. I’d probably prefer something like the Lightning Bolt which hits an area. Or maybe the Tornado Hold so I could blow people away (sorry, bad pun).

Hi. I just want to say what an awsome site this is and have a couple of questions/comments:
    1) I read somewhere that you were drawing/writing a magna based on your books. I think that’s great! Any chance we’ll be able to hear progress on it?
    2) You also mentioned that it’s getting lengthy. Mabe you should try on splitting it into a miniseries format.
    3) In MM3 novel how come Dr Light dosn’t recognize Break man’s costume? (This fact alone made me think Break and Proto were 2 seperate people for years!)
    4)The art in the RM Megamix is very different from the games, are there any plot differences?
    That’s about it. I read in another column that Sailor Phenoix wanted pictures of the MMPC guys. They can be found at http://sac.uky.edu/~elclin0/mega_man.htm (their probably not the actual ones from the manuel, but they match the sprites from the game, so their good enough). Take care!
    - Gauntlet

    1) Actually, I haven’t worked on either comic for about three years now. However I’ve tossed around ideas of doing a different manga with a totally new plot...
    2) Good idea... If I ever finish them...
    3) In the novelization, Dr. Light never saw Break Man until the end, where he did identify him instantly.
    4) Yep. Even the manga that are based directly off the games tweak the plots to suit their own purposes (and to make it more interesting I suppose). For instance, Rock fights Tengu Man while holding a Met attached to a rope (don’t ask).

Dear Mandi,
    I have been pondering(The same thing we do every night, Pinky!) about how almost every game after Mega Man 3 lost that ’feel’ the first three had developed. I know, I like all the games, but it seemed like every one after the third kinda lost the nostalgic trend of Mega Man. There are a few reasons I have developed:
    -Notice how most of the early games were set mainly to interior areas? Note that not all were,(Gemini Man’s stage is a good example) but most it seemed chose to have a level inside.
    -Graphics. The later graphics seemed to try and add so much detail to the backgrounds and level that it seemed sorta...flat I guess. It’s tough to describe. Try playing Mega Man (1) and you’ll notice there are mostly no clouds, but in later games, there are all sorts of stuff in the air. (A little side note, I have thought the cover to Mega Man 1 looks like something the producers of Captain N did. And while I’m on that topic...)
    -Captain N: The Game Master. If you’ll look at some of the shows, you’ll notice that it brought in elements of all Mega Man games up until 4. For Mega Man 1, Cut Man was in one show(though they pretty well botched him). For Mega Man 2 The N-Team played a football game against all the robot master from that game. And for Mega Man 3 Mega Man and Captain N fought Top Man once, and Mega Man used a Hard Knuckle on him I believe(Correct plot device!) Okay, I wanna side-track a second. Mega Man had the Hard Knuckle, right? So to get it, he would have had to complete Hard Man’s stage. SO...Where is BREAK MAN?!? He should have encountered him somewhere! Captain N would have been a lot better with the red raider!
    Back on topic, the shows stopped production before Mega Man 4, so it wasn’t in them. The show had that good nostalgic feeling like I stated a second ago, and I think that is what the later games are missing. Again, I do like all the games, but I also have my favorites, and they are the ones with the nostalgic touch to them.
    Finally, I love your books a bunch. I have them all printed off(Had to kill a redwood, but it was worth it) and gave them covers in my room. The Mega Magic trilogy was best.
    Sorry about this whole 20 questions thing, I sound like I’m writing a report.
    Bye! Love ya!
    - Break_Man

    I personally think the extra details in the graphics made each successive game look more and more impressive. I don’t play games for their graphics but they are certainly nice to have. It’s all personal opinion though however. I will admit that graphics that are too detailed become confusing and indistinguishable.
    Yeah, Break Man never shows up in the Captain N shows, which makes you wonder why, since apparently they played Mega Man 3 before writing at least the third season shows...

Here are a few questions I thought I’d throw at you:
    1: Who do you think it the most powerful Robot Master? Stardroid? Maverick? Fortress Boss (one for each series)? Other?
    2: What is the HARDEST Mega Man game you’ve played? Mega Man X game?
    3: Do you know where I might find Mega Man: The Wily Wars?
    4: Why didn’t Capcom draw Mega Man 7 like the X games?

    1) It depends on how you define “powerful.” If you mean the hardest to defeat... Dynamo Man. Actually he probably isn’t really the hardest, but he certainly wins the award for the most annoying. The hardest Stardroid is more difficult to choose; probably Saturn is the toughest to beat, although none of them were overly frustrating with the right weapon. Same deal with the Mavericks—though ones that aren’t repetitious such as Slash Beast seem to be more tricky to defeat. Fortress bosses...while there are certainly a lot of them, I think the elephant boss you get if you destroy Bit and Byte in X3 nears the top of the X series list. Other annoying bosses? Can we say: Disappearing Saucer Routine!!
    2) The Best of Mega Man for Game Gear wins my instant vote for the original series. That or the PC games (if you count them). The X series is harder to say; I’d probably go with Mega Man X3.
    3) No. Except maybe eBay.
    4) That’s what I’ve been asking for years. I wish they had.

From Neko-chan:
    I think your ideas of what MegaMan are close to what I had in mind. I happen to like the idea of MegaMan as a living thing-a machine with a soul. I decided to make MegaMan series idea that centered around the twin robots Rock (who is not named until later) & his so-called “brother” Blues, who each gained souls from a the components of a highly dangerous circuit, of which the final, smaller half was put in Roll, causing her to gain somewhat under-developed human traits. This makes Roll somewhat oblivious & child-like, yet I do include Dr. Light designing her with not only her Roll Blaster, but the body to execute powerful fighting techniques. I will admit that my favorite MM game is MegaMan Legends, in which my favorite characters were the Bonnes, & MegaMan Juno. My take on the Legends story is that MegaMan, who I just think should be called Rock in this series, is one of several bio-mechanoid organisms (MegaMen) grown to do the biddings of Mother, the great operational system that controls the underground complexes.
    I was wandering if you would consider these requests-(1)How about a MegaMan story where he encounters characters from Lum*Urusei Yatsura. (2)Why don’t you write MegaMan X stories? (3)How about MegaMan Legends stories?
    I also have some questions-(1)I have a friend (let’s call him D-chan) who claims MegaMan, Roll, & ProtoMan were once human, eventually becoming household robots, & he says this is the official Capcom story-what do you think? (2)Where do you think the Reaverbots came from, & why do you think they’re called Reaverbots? (3)Do you think Tiesel, Bon, & Tron Bonne are really brothers & sister?-I mean Tron’s 14, Tiesel’s looks like he’s in his 50’s, & I guess Bon got mechanized as an infant.
    Thank you for your time—
    the cat has spoken

    1.1) I’ll write one if I ever dream it up.
    1.2) See the FAQ.
    1.3) Same reason as #2, above.
    2.1) According to the games, this is not the case. They were all built as robots.
    2.2) Actually, I haven’t a clue. That’s one thing the game was very vague on. My only guesses tie into the answer of #3, below.
    2.3) Legends is strange because there really seems to be no differentiation between robots and humans at all in that game—in fact, I don’t remember either the word “robot” or “human” even being used. It’s as if everyone in that game is the same thing—a sort of combination of human and robot, or perhaps cyborg. Robotic-like creatures are interchanged without explanation with organic-style qualities. They all eat, sleep, grow, die, and fossilize. They have emotions, brothers and sisters, and are apparently born like any human. The game is very vague and confusing in this matter. It’ll be interesting to see what the sequel reveals, if anything.

Dear Mandi:
    Hey, I have a few questions here for you:
    1. Recently I read a Megagram concerning X in an episode of the cartoon. What is this all about? X could only come into the shows if the writers suddenly got a sudden “plot accuracy” rush, thus I dont really dont belevie this, could you please tell me if you know the answer as to what this means?
    2. I also read a Megagram the concerned a somewhat sentimental meaning for a Mega Man game or character. Well I was wondering what yours was, I seemed to have forgotten. Also, my first Mega Man game was Mega Man X (talk about confusing, I got the Mega Man toys and was puzzled as to where they were from).
    3. What is your least favorite part in the Mega Man series and in the X series?
    4. Have you ever considered writing books about the X series? ( I have two out right now but your expertise is what I like to read :)
    5. Do you think Capcom will be releasing a Mega Man 9 or Mega Man X5?
    And last, 6. What series, Mega Man or X, do you think was the most original? And what is your favorite X character?
    Thanks for your time, bye!

    1) X was in one of the Mega Man cartoon shows (an episode called “Mega X”). But don’t get your hopes up too high about the shows suddenly becoming overly accurate.
    2) The entire original series is pretty sentimental to me, more or less depending on the game. Mega Man 2 was the first one I played.
    3) My least favorite part of the original series would have to be the FMV in Mega Man 8. The voice acting makes my ears hurt. The X series doesn’t really have anything glaring like that. X4 had plotholes, but was still a fun game.
    4) Considered it, yes, but nothing ever came out of it.
    5) Yes. When? No clue.
    6) Honestly, Mega Man 1 was probably most original, because it was the first one, so of course it was original, because nothing like it had been done before. The rest of the original series and the entire X series can be said to be copies of MM1, more or less (not that this bothers me, mind you).
    Favorite X character? I don’t know, really. Zero I suppose, although he seems a mite confused at present.

Ok, in your books it appears that a certain energy frequency causes ordinary robots to become living machines (like what happened to Protoman with the force field, and Mega Man in the robot cloning chamber in the prelude of Mega Man 2). It’s also apparent that the main reason Mega Man and Break Man manage to consistantly foil evil plots is because they have a spirit. (Even if their bodies are too tired or wounded to go on, the sheer will to survive enables them to endure more than an ordinary robot.)
    So why then has Dr. Wily not caught on yet? He’s a genius. He’s capable of whipping up 8 fully functional robot masters, an army of mechanoid servants, as well as a humungous castle in a matter of months. And he somehow does it without being noticed until it’s too late. Yet he doesn’t realize that a living robot is the only thing that can stop Mega Man and Break Man? It seems to be fairly simple logic to me that since robots can be cloned, why not clone about 3 dozen models of Bass, and pass the duplicates through various frequencies of force fields until one pops out alive.
    Is there any logic to this, or is Doc W really just a moron?
    And what’s up with him trying to control the world? Why not just drop a few hundred gallons of cyanide into the water table? Everyone would die of poisoning in a few weeks—it’s easy to take over a city when most of the people are dead.
    One more—if Mega Man rips the Master Weapons off of defeated robots, why doesn’t Dr. Light simply create weapon modules for him? Then maybe he could figure out a way to make them PERMANENT? Hey Doc Light, bring back the magnet beam! Nothing like an instant platform to save the day.
    - Blik

According to The Series (note, the following information isn’t really official, it’s just pieced together from the games), there are several reasons. One, creating a living machine is a random procedure and it won’t always work even with the same setup, so it’s not really that easy to do. Two, Dr. Wily hates living machines. He likes robots who will obey every order without hesitation—free wills really annoy him. So naturally he wouldn’t want to build something he detested. Eventually he did get a clue, however, that he needed to match Mega Man in order to defeat him. So the end result was Bass. I think you can tell where this is going...
    It doesn’t seem to me that Dr. Wily wants to kill everyone. He wants to rule them and their resources, so killing them would be detrimental to his plans. After all, who wants to rule a lifeless empire?
    No one really knows yet why the weapons cannot be made permanent, although I’m sure if there was a way, Dr. Light would do it.

Hello again, Mandi. I have a purely hypothetical question for you. (I figured you were getting sick of the same old things, so I thought I’d give you one to think about.) Ok, here goes (Remember, I’m not saying this will actually happen. I just want to know what you’d do.):
    You are offered to have the Mega Man book series made into an excellent anime-style video series, but only Capcom characters can be used (no Captain N, Zelda, etc.). Would you:
    A. Fight to get the Captain N characters into the series
    B. Make up new characters to fill in the roles of the missing characters
    C. Try and rewrite the series to eliminate the gaps (for the videos only, of course)
    or
    D. Refuse the offer entirely

C. There was a time when I would have chosen D (actually, I did, back when they offered to let me write ministories for the comic books) but I’ve since realized I could compromise. So what’d I’d really do is a variation of C. I wouldn’t be able to actually rewrite any plots where the N-Team plays a key role, so what I’d do instead is use only the stories where the N-Team already doesn’t appear (such as the later Books, and some of the Mini-Books), and I’d simply leave out the rest.