The boss character contest (ボスキャラ募集 bosu kyara boshuu, roughly "boss character application") is a contest held by Capcom where fans send ideas for boss characters to appear in a Mega Man game.
Contests and characters
Rockman 2 boss character contest
Mega Man 2
The first boss character contest, which had 8370 entries and decided the eight Robot Masters that appear in the game. 10 participants received a "staff only" blouson, 100 received a Rockman 2 Original Music tape, and 500 received seals.[1] Besides the eight winners, forty participants were listed in the game's Japanese manual.[2]
As the game had a strict deadline, the staff couldn't wait until after the submissions had arrived and selected the winners to start development. Instead, work was made on the stages and enemies, and the staff had a loose idea of what kind of boss would be needed for each stage (wind and electric themed boss characters for the air themed stage, animal and nature themed bosses for the forest, etc). They selected the motifs they found most interesting from the many submissions, Keiji Inafune cleaned them up and redesigning them as necessary, and they selected one of the designs.[3]
| Boss | Designer |
|---|---|
| DWN-009 Metal Man | Masanori Satou (佐藤 正徳 Satō Masanori) |
| DWN-010 Air Man | Youji Kanazawa (金沢 洋治 Kanazawa Yōji) |
| DWN-011 Bubble Man | Takashi Tanaka (田中 隆 Tanaka Takashi) |
| DWN-012 Quick Man | Hirofumi Mizoguchi (溝口 博文 Mizoguchi Hirofumi) |
| DWN-013 Crash Man | Akira Yoshida (吉田 晃 Yoshida Akira) |
| DWN-014 Flash Man | Tomoo Yamaguchi (山口 智雄 Yamaguchi Tomō) |
| DWN-015 Heat Man | Toshiyuki Kataoka (片岡 稔幸 Kataoka Toshiyuki) |
| DWN-016 Wood Man | Masakatsu Ichikawa (市川 雅克 Ichikawa Masakatsu) |
Mega Man 3
All 50,000 entries for Mega Man 3.
The contest decided the eight Robot Masters. Had 50,000 entries. Some runner up entries received a pencil case and ID card as prize.[4] Some participants also had their names listed in the special thanks from the ending credits.[5]
Similar to Mega Man 2, the staff could not wait for the submissions to start development, so some placeholder bosses were used while planning out the stages. When early designs from the game were compiled for R20 Rockman & Rockman X Official Complete Works in 2008, Keiji Inafune didn't remember which of the unused bosses were designed as placeholders and which ones were part of the contest.[6]
| Boss | Designer | Submission name |
|---|---|---|
| DWN-017 Needle Man | Nobuhiko Akatsuka (赤塚 信彦 Akatsuka Nobuhiko) | Iron Man |
| DWN-018 Magnet Man | Nagashi Kii (紀井 長 Nagashi Kī) | Magnet Man |
| DWN-019 Gemini Man | Yoshihito Hattori (服部 嘉人 Hattori Yoshihito) | ? |
| DWN-020 Hard Man | Kazuhiko Oguro (小黒 一彦 Oguro Kazuhiko) | Press Man |
| DWN-021 Top Man | Yasushi Konjiki (近喰 康史 Konjiki Yasushi) | Top Man |
| DWN-022 Snake Man | Yuhjiro Ishitani (石谷 裕二郎 Ishitani Yūjirō) | Snake Man |
| DWN-023 Spark Man | Mikihiro Suzuki (鈴木 広 Suzuki Hiroshi) | Spark Man |
| DWN-024 Shadow Man | Takumine Yoshida (吉田 拓峰 Yoshida Takumine) | Ninja Man |
Mega Man 4
Rockman 4 contest promotion.
The eight Robot Masters.[7] Had 70,000 entries. The winners from this game's contest received a golden Rockman 4 cartridge.[8] Everyone that participated received the booklet Rockman Character Collection, and towels were also given as a gift.[9]
| Boss | Designer | Submission name |
|---|---|---|
| DWN-025 Bright Man | Yoshitaka Enomoto (榎本よしたか) |
Pearl Man[note 1] |
| DWN-026 Toad Man | Atsushi Ootsuka | |
| DWN-027 Drill Man | Masayuki Hoshi | |
| DWN-028 Pharaoh Man | Takayuki Ebara | Miira Man (Mummy Man) |
| DWN-029 Ring Man | Hiromi Uchida | Ring Man |
| DWN-030 Dust Man | Yusuke Murata (村田 雄介 Murata Yūsuke) |
Dust Man |
| DWN-031 Dive Man | Suguru Nakayama | |
| DWN-032 Skull Man | Toshiyuki Miyachi |
- ↑ Named after a Japanese lamp brand.
.png "MM4 Bright Man submission (comment).png (103 KB)")
.png "MM4 Toad Man submission (comment).png (113 KB)")
.png "MM4 Drill Man submission (comment).png (104 KB)")
.png "MM4 Pharaoh Man submission (comment).png (106 KB)")
.png "MM4 Ring Man submission (comment).png (112 KB)")
.png "MM4 Dust Man submission (comment).png (105 KB)")
.png "MM4 Dive Man submission (comment).png (107 KB)")
.png "MM4 Skull Man submission (comment).png (104 KB)")
Mega Man 5
A pile of entries for Rockman 5
Like previous contests, it decided the eight Robot Masters. Had 130,000 entries.
| Boss | Designer |
|---|---|
| DWN-033 Gravity Man | Yukiko Nori |
| DWN-034 Wave Man | Hideyuki Monno |
| DWN-035 Stone Man | Kenta Oonishi |
| DWN-036 Gyro Man | Katsunari Oguri |
| DWN-037 Star Man | Tatsumi Saegusa |
| DWN-038 Charge Man | Toshiaki Sugiura |
| DWN-039 Napalm Man | Shinichirou Seki |
| DWN-040 Crystal Man | Yusuke Murata |
Mega Man 6
The only contest from the original series with non-Japanese winners, with a contest being held by Nintendo Power. Had 200,000 entries. One of the non-Japanese winners, Daniel Vallée, recalled that, besides his winning entry of Knight Man, he had submitted enough Robot Master designs to fill eight whole games, with names including Wave Man and Samurai Man (the former of whom had coincidentally had a shared name with an unrelated Robot Master in Mega Man 5).[10]
Wily Prize:
| Boss | Designer | Submission name |
|---|---|---|
| DWN-041 Blizzard Man | Hirofumi Ogawa | |
| DWN-042 Centaur Man | Kazuki Kidoguchi | |
| DWN-043 Flame Man | Noritsugu Kurokawa | |
| DWN-044 Knight Man | Daniel Vallée (written as Daniel Vallie in the game's credits) |
|
| DWN-045 Plant Man | Nobuhiro Hoshino | |
| DWN-046 Tomahawk Man | Yoshinobu Suda | Geronimo Man (ジェロニモマン) |
| DWN-047 Wind Man | Michael Leader | Wind Man |
| DWN-048 Yamato Man | Rai Ichikawa | Musha Man (武者マン, lit. "Warrior Man") |
Japanese Light prize:
| Boss submission | Designer |
|---|---|
| Whip Man | Saori Tsubaki |
| Puzzle Man | Tsuyoshi Shinoda |
| Mirage Man | Tomoaki Hirose |
| Splash Man | Miki Kawashima |
| Oil Man | Satoshi Sakamoto |
| Saboten Man ("Cactus Man") | Tomoko Miyamoto |
| Smoke Man | Mitsumasa Nagaya |
| Box Man | Tomohiko Sato |
| Hook Man | Waka Maeda |
| Fish Man | Kenji Tsujimoto |
| Ōedo Man | Takako Asami |
| Tank Man | Yasuko Watanabe |
| Rope Man | Seiichi Honma |
| Screw Man | Shigeharu Kagawa |
| Quake Man | Akio Ofuji |
| Yamato Man | Kenichiro Ueda |
| Ship Man | Katsuki Mugishima |
| Alo Hameha Man | Yuichiro Haruyama |
| Pair Dancer Man | Aya Hattori |
| Ganesha Man | Shunji Terauchi |
International Light Prize:
| Boss submission | Origin | Designer |
|---|---|---|
| Cord Man | Canada | Luc Miron |
| Artillery Man | America | David Dunn |
| Lance Man | Spain | Pol Santamans Bacart |
| Chain Man | Italia | Nicolas Fels |
| Virtuose Man | Australia | Marco Varga |
| Shock Man | America | Nathan Campbell |
| Flame Man | Sweden | Pelle Lövholm |
| Wolf Man | America | Juson Soule |
| ????? | Korea | Shin Kyung Bong |
| Ball Man | Germany | Aron Bundels |
| Saw Man | America | Lee Konstantinou |
| Korten | France | Patrick Ruefeuillat ("Patrik Nahon" in the game credits) |
Mega Man 7
The eight Robot Masters. Had 220,000 entries.
| Boss | Designer |
|---|---|
| DWN-049 Freeze Man | Shigeaki Sakamoto |
| DWN-050 Junk Man | Jun Akiba |
| DWN-051 Burst Man | Keishi Tsuchiya |
| DWN-052 Cloud Man | Isao Nakagiri |
| DWN-053 Spring Man | Akira Ito |
| DWN-054 Slash Man | Yoichi Amano |
| DWN-055 Shade Man | Tetsuya Watada |
| DWN-056 Turbo Man | Takashi Kino |
Mega Man 8
For this contest a template was given for three of the six bosses that would receive the Dr. Wily Prize: one boss character with a sword (the winner being Sword Man), one with extendible arms (Clown Man), and one with two heads (Search Man). The other winners were Frost Man, Grenade Man and Aqua Man. Tengu Man and Astro Man were made by Capcom. Besides the six winners, some submissions are displayed in the game's credits and the Sega Saturn's Bonus Mode,[11] and some participants are listed in the credits as part of the Dr. Light Prize. Some participants won a Mega Man themed calculator.[12] Had 110,000 entries.
The Dr. Wily Prize:
| Boss | Designer | Submission name |
|---|---|---|
| DWN-059 Sword Man | Keigo Matsuo | Ancient Man |
| DWN-060 Clown Man | Hiroshige Sakai | Pierrot Man |
| DWN-061 Search Man | Yuuta Hata | |
| DWN-062 Frost Man | Akifumi Nomura | Yeti Man |
| DWN-063 Grenade Man | Kenichirou Komaki | Explode Man |
| DWN-064 Aqua Man | Morito Kuriki | Bio Man |
The Dr. Light Prize:
|
|
Mega Man Legends series
- The Misadventures of Tron Bonne: Although not a boss contest, the Servbot Borer (by べのむ) and the Bonne Bazooka were designed by fans.
- Mega Man Legends 3: Before being cancelled, the Devroom held events for fan content to be included in the game, including the bosses Donner Wels (by Kobun #46 CAPコブン) and Calamity (Servbot #2395 kankan) and the character Tinker (Servbot #1061 Espiownage).
Mega Man Battle Network series
Mega Man Battle Network 3 promotion with the character BakenekoMan.
- Mega Man Battle Network 2: GateMan by S. Satokawa.[13]
- Mega Man Battle Network 3: KingMan by K. Umegaki, MistMan by T. Kataoka, and BowlMan by A. Shimizu.
- Mega Man Battle Network 4: KendoMan by Yuta Koido, LaserMan by Yoshihito Nonaka, and VideoMan by Yosuke Shimizu.
- Mega Man Battle Network 5: CosmoMan by T. Namegaya, GridMan by H. Aoki, and LarkMan by S. Iwasaki.
- Mega Man Battle Network 6: CircusMan by Touya Hamanaga, ElementMan by Souhei Nakamura, and JudgeMan by Keisuke Takahashi.
- Rockman.EXE Operate Shooting Star: ClockMan by Gotou.
Mega Man Star Force series
- Mega Man Star Force 2: Kung Foo Kid by Kentaro Fujii.
- Mega Man Star Force 3: Moon Destroyer by Rikuto Mizuhara.
Rockman ×over
Two contests were held. In the first, the winner was Arcade Man, and he was included as a boss. Besides Arcade Man, three runner-ups (Tabletman, Zehr, and Daruman) were added as Battle Memory.[14][15]
The second contest had a Japanese motif, with eleven characters being selected to be redesigned in a Mega Man style, and two of them (Udon Man and Sudachi Woman) also being included as Battle Memory.[16]
Gallery
Trivia
Drill Man, an example of a Mega Man 2 submission redesigned by Inafune. A similar Drill Man would later appear in Mega Man 4.
- Due to the large amount of submissions, many coincidences could occur, with submissions having names and/or designs similar to others that would appear in later games. For example, a Drill Man was considered for Mega Man 2, and a Drill Man would later appear in Mega Man 4.[3]
- This could occur even in the same contest. In the Mega Man 4 contest, two submissions were named Pharaoh Man, but "Mummy Man" was selected and renamed as Pharaoh Man.[17]
References
- ↑ Rockman 2 magazine scans from Game Detective 198X [Chou Nosuke]'s Twitter: scan 1 (Famitsu), scan 2
- ↑ The Reploid Research Lavatory: The Rock Manual part 2
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 MM25 Mega Man & Mega Man X Official Complete Works pages 240-241
- ↑ Protodude's Rockman Corner: Rockman 3 Boss Contest Prize Up for Grabs
- ↑ Protodude's Rockman Corner: "Capcom World-News" Scans Part 1: 1989 – 1991
- ↑ MM25 Mega Man & Mega Man X Official Complete Works pages 244-245
- ↑ Chris Covell's website: Rockman 4
- ↑ GameCenter CX episode 17 (details)
- ↑ Yoshitaka Works: ロックマン4のおもひで
- ↑ The Mega Man Network: Interview with a Robot Master Creator
- ↑ Rockman Perfect Memories: Bonus Mode - Sega Saturn Only
- ↑ ひらた家具店のブログ
- ↑ Battle Network Rockman.EXE 2 official page (archive)
- ↑ Rockman Crossover Boss Character Contest
- ↑ Rockman-Unity: Rockman Crossover Original Boss Character Contest Announcement (archive)
- ↑ Protodude's Rockman Corner: There's a New Rockman Xover Boss Contest
- ↑ [https://twitter.com/gt198x/status/625247791636320256 お寿司大好き！まろやか倶楽部198X]