Mega Man (Game Gear)

Mega Man
Box art.
Game Information
Developer(s):	Freestyle
Publisher(s):	U.S. Gold
Series:	Mega Man
Platform(s):	Sega Game Gear
Release date(s):	Sega Game Gear 1994
Genre(s):	Action / Platform
Rating(s):	ESRB: K-A (Kids to Adults)
Mode(s):	Single Player
Media:	4-megabit ROM cartridge

Mega Man is a video game in the eponymous series that was developed by Freestyle and released exclusively in North America by U.S. Gold for the Sega Game Gear in 1994. Despite the title, it is not a remake of the original Mega Man, but an original title that uses elements from Mega Man 2, 4, and 5 in the same vein as the Mega Man World games for the Game Boy. However, unlike the Mega Man World games, the level designs are taken directly from the NES games, with little alterations. It is also the only Mega Man game released for the Game Gear handheld system.

Story

Mega Man's mission is to overthrow Dr. Wily's sinister plot to destroy humankind. For that, Mega Man will need to crush Wily's humanoid henchmen to move on to the Formidable Fortress.

Gameplay differences

• Given the smaller screen size of the Game Gear, players often must do a leap-of-faith, hoping to land on another platform, as they often cannot see what is below. However, if the player holds the Jump button for a few seconds, they can move the camera position with the directional pad, allowing them to see any platform or trap that's otherwise offscreen.
• Unlike most other Mega Man games, Mega Man can only have two buster shots on-screen at once, instead of three. A fully-charged buster shot does 4 units of damage instead of 3.
• The Robot Masters act and move considerably faster and more aggressively than their NES counterparts.
• There are no continues if the player loses all of their lives. Therefore, if the players get a Game Over in the final stages, they'll have to restart over from Wave Man's stage again (assuming a password is used).

Bosses

Most of the weaponry obtained from the bosses in this game is simplified to "(One word of the weapon's name) Weapon" when obtained; for instance, the Napalm Bomb and Rain Flush are called "Bomb Weapon" and "Rain Weapon," respectively. Each boss takes 4 units of damage from their weakness.

Stage Select Screen

Model No.	Name	Weapon	Weakness
DWN035	Stone Man	Stone Weapon	Bomb Weapon
DWN025	Bright Man	Bright Weapon	Crash Weapon
DWN039	Napalm Man	Bomb Weapon	Bright Weapon
DWN037	Star Man	Crash Weapon	Stone Weapon

Fortress bosses

Model No.	Name	Weapon	Weakness
DWN034	Wave Man	Wave Weapon	Mega Buster
DWN026	Toad Man	Rain Weapon	Wave Weapon
-	Wily Capsule II	None

Screenshots

Title screen.

Opening cutscene.

Stage select.

Star Man stage intro.

Star Man's stage.

Mega Man battling Star Man.

Videos

Game Gear Mega Man Dr. Wily- Final Stage and Credits

Mega Man (Game Gear): Final Stage and Credits

Trivia

• The styling, but not the color palettes, of the Robot Masters and level tiles in this game is similar to that of Mega Man: The Wily Wars.
• Sliding into Bright Man at the beginning of the battle right as he uses his Flash Stopper move will cause Mega Man to be frozen, but will also make him invincible, leaving Bright Man hopping in place forever until the player restarts the game.
• Mega Man's artwork on the box is of him with the Salt Water weapon.
• Mega Man's helmet on the title screen is taken from Mega Man 4.
• In the stage select screen, Star Man's icon is miscolored green.
• The instruction manual says that Mega Man and Dr. Wily were enemies since 1985, and that Mega Man "has been saving the universe on console screens around the world for over ten years." However, the first Mega Man game was released in 1987.
• Wave Man has no weakness outside of the Mega Buster.
• Wave Man's theme was changed to Gravity Man's theme for this game. Oddly enough, Wave Man's actual theme can be heard during the Game Over.
• Even though the final stage is shown to be the Wily Castle from Mega Man 4, it's Dr. Cossack's Citadel (Wave Man's and Toad Man's stage) that's seen exploding at the end of the game.
  • Dr. Cossack himself is never mentioned.
• Wily Castle consists of Quick Man's stage and a hallway which leads to the final battle with Dr. Wily, as well as a small final Wily stage that was taken from Mega Man 5.
  • The lasers in the aforementioned Quick Man stage have been altered; the end of the laser deals only a little damage, but touching the beam itself is still an insta-kill.
• When Dr. Wily is defeated, Mega Man does a final move like he is getting a weapon even though the game has ended.
• Instead of Dr. Wily jumping out of his capsule at the end of the game's final boss, he explodes with the capsule itself. However, he does appear in the closing screen following the credits, panicking before Mega Man (on Wave Man's Stage).
• This is one of the few games in the classic series that can be played from start to finish with the Mega Buster only.
• While not released in Japan, code exists to remove the ™ symbol from the introductory Sega logo if the game detects it is being played on a Japanese Game Gear.
• Before the credits, the player watches fireworks and is presented with "Mission Perfect!"
• When opening the menu, the remaining weapon energy for each weapon fills up as if a W tank has been used each time, and to accompany the visual effect, the E tank filling sound plays.

External links

• Mega Man (Game Gear) on Sega Retro