Mega Buster, known as the Rock Buster (ロックバスター Rokku Basutā) in Japan, is a powerful buster that is the main weapon of all of the main characters carrying the name of Mega Man (Mega Man, Mega Man X, Model X, Mega Man Volnutt/Trigger, MegaMan.EXE, and the Mega Man from the Mega Man Star Force series).
Mega Man
Concept art of the Mega Buster
Mega Buster
The original Mega Buster, originally called simply "P" (possibly standing for "power" or "player") in early games, also known as Arm Cannon and Plasma Cannon outside Japan, is Mega Man's main weapon used in the early Mega Man games.
The Mega Buster is an ambidextrous arm cannon created by Dr. Light. It can fire several "Solar Bullets" (ソーラーブリット), energy bullets made of highly compressed solar energy[1][2] at a time that, with the exception of the remake Mega Man Powered Up, can pass through walls. In Mega Man 4 onward, Mega Man can charge energy up to two degrees, firing charged shots. In Mega Man 9 and Mega Man 10, Mega Man can no longer charge his shots, suggesting that it has reverted to the original version. However, he regains the ability to charge shots again in Mega Man 11 .
The Game Boy games allow for charging starting from Mega Man III.
The original Mega Buster is a powerful weapon capable of puncturing steel and destroying boulders. A single, uncharged Solar Bullet can blow a five foot diameter hole in a wall of solid stone (as seen in Super Adventure Rockman Episode 3).
New Mega Buster
The New Mega Buster (ニューロックバスター Nyū Rokku Basutā, New Rock Buster) is an upgrade made in Mega Man 4. Mega Man can now charge solar energy to increase the power of his shots, attacking with a Charge Shot. The buster can be charged to two different levels: The first charge shot is bigger than normal shots, but causes the same amount of damage, although it can rip through enemies that it defeats (compared to standard shots, which dissipate even if they destroy an enemy). A fully charged shot is bigger than the first, and deals three times more damage than normal shots.
Super Mega Buster
Super Mega Buster (スーパーロックバスター , Super Rock Buster) is a modification made by Dr. Cossack in Mega Man 5. The charge shot gets more power having a larger projectile and shorter charge time, but if Mega Man suffers damage while charging a shot, the charged energy will be lost and he will need to charge again.
In Mega Man IV, Mega Man doesn't lose charged energy when hit, but the fully charged shot causes recoil, throwing Mega Man backwards a small distance from his current position. If the player gets a game over several times in the same stage, Dr. Light will give an enhancement that will make it charge energy faster. The recoil is also present in the opening scene of Mega Man V, where the charge shot couldn't harm Terra.
Mega Arm
The Mega Arm, known as Rock'n Arm (ロックンアーム) in Japan, is an upgrade of the Super Mega Buster done by Dr. Light in the Game Boy game Mega Man V to help Mega Man in his battle against the Stardroids. Unlike the Super Mega Buster, it doesn't have recoil from charge shots, and the charged energy isn't lost when hit. It can charge energy to fire Mega Man's fist like Hard Man's Hard Knuckle.
There are three enhancements for the Mega Arm:
MH (マジックハンド, Magic Hand) - Can grab items from far away with Mega Man's hand. Costs 90 P-Chips.- CL (ロックンクロー, Rock'n Claw) - Can grab and attack the enemy over and over. Costs 100 P Chips.
- Turbo Accelerator (パワーアップパーツ, Power Up Parts in Japan) - The Mega Arm fires and charges much faster. Obtained by getting a game over four times in a row in the same stage. Can be upgraded up to two times. It's not saved by passwords, but it can be obtained again at any time.
When Mega Man has the Super Adapter from Mega Man 7 equipped, Rush replaces the Mega Buster with a variant of the Mega Arm. Unlike the actual Mega Arm, it needs to be fully charged for to be shot. Also there is only one upgrade for it available, the Hyper Rocket Buster, which allows Mega Man increased range and the ability to home on enemies.
Hyper Mega Buster
Hyper Mega Buster (ハイパーロックバスター , Hyper Rock Buster) is a modification from Mega Man 6. Like the Super Mega Buster, Mega Man loses the charged energy if hit by an enemy, needing to recharge to fire a charged shot.
From Mega Man 7 onward, Mega Man's main weapon is only referred to as the "Mega Buster" and functions identically to the New Mega Buster, using a similar charge effect (in terms of color and flickering pattern) and projectile behavior (the shot is a narrow, fast-moving projectile instead of the wide, medium-speed shot produced by the Super and Hyper Mega Busters) and does not lose charge upon damage.
Double Mega Buster
The Double Mega Buster (ダブルロックバスター Double Rock Buster) is the Mega Buster used on both arms. The Double Mega Buster was only used by Mega Man at the end of Super Adventure Rockman in order to defeat Ra Moon, charging a large amount of energy in both busters, which he then fires simultaneously to generate an incredibly powerful charge shot. However, it is too dangerous for Mega Man to use regularly, as it drains his energy much faster than he can normally replenish it, also causing him to overheat.
In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, Mega Man will transform both of his arms into busters when using Flame Blast and Spark Shock, with a similar effect of having to vent heat from them afterward.
Power Ups
Besides its default setting, Mega Man can use the Mega Buster to fire Special Weapons. It can also be enhanced with additional power up parts.
| Item | Appearances | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Balancer (エネルギーバランサー) |
Mega Man IV-V Mega Man 6-11 Mega Man & Bass Rockman & Forte: Mirai Kara no Chousensha |
When Weapon Energy items are picked, Special Weapons with low energy are refilled even when not equipped. |
| Energy Saver (エネルギーセイバー) |
Mega Man 8, 11 |
Reduces the amount of energy used up by Special Weapons. |
| Damage Absorber (ダメージアブソーバー) |
Mega Man & Bass | Damage is converted into energy for Special Weapons. |
| Hyper Shot (ハイパーショット) |
Rockman Complete Works | Normal shots move faster. |
| Hyper Charge Shot (ハイパーチャージショット) |
Rockman Complete Works | Charge Shots move faster. |
| Power Shot (パワーショット) |
Rockman Complete Works | Increases Mega Man's attack power. |
| Counter Attacker (カウンターアタッカー) |
Mega Man & Bass | Increases Mega Man's offensive power when his health is low. |
| Turbo Accelerator |
Mega Man IV-V | The Mega Buster charges energy faster. |
| Hi-Speed Charge (ハイスピードチャージ) |
Mega Man & Bass | |
| Hyper Charge (ハイパチャージ) |
Rockman Complete Works | |
| Auto Charger (オートチャージャー) |
Mega Man & Bass | The Mega Buster is charged automatically. |
| Auto Charge (オートチャージ) |
Rockman Complete Works | |
| Auto Shot | Mega Man 8 | Mega Man can rapid-fire, but Charge Shot is disabled. |
| Shooting Parts | Mega Man 8 | The Mega Buster becomes able to fire five bullets at a time. |
| Arrow Shot | Mega Man 8 | The Charge Shot becomes an energy arrow that splits when it hits a target. Both the normal and split attacks cause the same amount of damage as a fully-charged shot. |
| Laser Shot | Mega Man 8 | The Charge Shot becomes a large laser that causes the same damage as a partially-charged shot, but is able to pierce through multiple enemies. |
Mega Man X
The X Buster (エックスバスター) is the Mega Buster Mark 17[3] used by Mega Man X, his primary weapon in all games from the Mega Man X series. Like the original Mega Buster, it can be used in any arm and fires highly compressed blasts of energy, which can be charged up for extra power.
Mega Man Volnutt
Mega Man Volnutt's Mega Buster differs from most models in that it does not allow for charging; it instead allows for rapid fire, similar to the Bass Buster or Axl's pistols, only being able to charge in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. Mega Man's buster is modified by Mega Buster Parts. These modify four abilities: Attack, Energy, Rapid, and Range. Normally, Mega Man is only allowed to use 2 Buster Parts at a time, but upon obtaining the Adapter Plug, he can equip 3.
MegaMan.EXE
Throughout the Mega Man Battle Network series, MegaMan.EXE's Mega Buster goes through many upgrades and modifications.
Star Force Mega Man
The Mega Buster in this incarnation is, instead of a traditional buster, Omega-Xis's head. This version charges automatically, with automatic rapid fire added. Its stats and abilities are changed with various weapons. In the third game, as an effect of wearing the Hunter-VG, Mega Man's left hand is now normal, with a design similar to Omega-Xis. The Mega Buster is now more traditional in design as well. This version of the Mega Buster allows Mega Man to lock on and teleport to the enemy to use close range cards, known as "predation".
Other media
Mega Man (Ruby-Spears)
The Mega Buster functioned somewhat differently in the cartoon. It is a plasma weapon that fires plasma shots instead of solar powered shots, and was referred to as a "plasma cannon" and "blaster". Mega Man could only use in on his left arm, giving him an asymmetrical arm design. It was never show to have charging capabilities, but Mega Man was shown at least once to be able to manually adjust its power, as well as on a subconscious level depending on how angry he was. By touching a robot, Mega Man can steal that robot's power with his internal weapons converter instead of copying it, leaving the target defenseless.
Mega Man (Archie Comics)
Like in the games, Mega Man can utilize the Mega Buster. The Mega Buster was also the primary reason why he was named "Mega Man" instead of "Rock Man" or "Copy Man." However, he cannot use it when utilizing a Special Weapon, due to his Variable Weapons system only allowing himself to use one weapons system at a time. In addition, its power source was a chip. Removing the chip would disable the Mega Buster, as Sonic the Hedgehog proved during their fight in the Worlds Collide arc. Sonic, when continuing their fight in Mega Man's realm, sarcastically referred to the Mega Buster as a "lemon shooter" when arrogantly telling Mega Man that he can't fire his weapon and that he'll destroy Eddie, Rush, Tango, and Beat easily.
Spin Dash Blast
Prior to the fight with Sonic, Mega Man encountered the Roboticized Masters and learned that the charged shot of the Mega Buster was able to stun them in combat. After teaming up with Sonic, the charged shot combined with Sonic's Spin Dash caused a cascade failure in the robotization process with Tails Man, returning him to normal when his weapon data was downloaded. Later on, Tails performs an upgrade on the Mega Buster in mid-battle against Charmy Man, Espio Man, and Vector Man while Sonic distracts them, giving Mega Man's charge shot the same properties as Sonic's Spin Dash, creating the Spin Dash Blast[4] / Sonic Shot[5] which can deroboticize a target with a single clean shot, though Mega Man still needed to make use of Special Weapon weaknesses in order to get a clean shot in some cases. Later, Mega Man and Sonic, in super forms, used a giant charge shot with Super Sonic as projectile to destroy the Egg-Wily Machine X. Mega Man then charges Chaos energy in the Mega Buster to use Chaos Control, reverting the effects of the Genesis Wave in his world.
Mega Man later used the Double Mega Buster as a last ditch effort to stop Ra Moon, an act that came very close to destroying him.
In the off-panel for Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 248, Metal Sonic was outfitted with a Mega Buster, replacing his rocket torso. However, it sent him flying when he attempted to use it.
Gallery
References
| Busters | |
|---|---|
| Mega Man and Mega Man X series |
Bass Buster • Mega Buster • Proto Buster • X Buster • Zero Buster |
| Other series | Buster Shot • Mega Buster (MegaMan Volnutt) • Mega Buster (MegaMan.EXE) • Mega Buster (Omega-Xis) |