| Not to be confused with Castle Wily from Mega Man Battle Network 3. |
Wily Castle (ワイリー城), also known by other names such as Wily Fortress, Wily Stages, Skull Castle and Wily Tower, is the common name used for Dr. Wily's several fortresses with skull motif that appear as the final stages of most games from the original Mega Man series, though not all of them have names. They often have several hazards, mazes, strong enemies, a rematch against the Robot Masters, and a final fight against Wily inside one of his machines, like the Wily Machines and Wily Capsules. The amount of stages vary depending on the game, having from one to six stages.
Description[]
Wily Castle is typically portrayed as a giant mechanical stronghold, featuring a prominent skull motif, common of Dr. Wily, his signature emblem, several bones or rib-shaped structures, tall buildings adorned or complemented with equipment, most typically antennae, radars, cannons, and anti-air artillery.
Due to comprising the last stages of the respective game, Wily Castle is often a labyrinthine maze with dastardly tricks, dangerous hazards, and significantly harder platforming that results in easy damage or potentially instant death. Earlier entries of Wily Castle had segments which required Mega Man to use his alternate weaponry in order to advance, a practice that has been largely left out in later installments, although the use of said weaponry to facilitate navigation has more or less remained a staple.
The beginning of Wily Castle is always preceded by a cutscene of Dr. Wily flying on his signature UFO, which briefly opens to show him confidently moving his eyebrows or laughing, before flying away and fully showcasing his fortress. An usually more sinister theme will play for a brief moment, before the castle is adorned by a series of dots and a skull, which disclose the stage count, and a highlighted point revealing the player's position in the overall castle. A line or series of lines will connect the two respective dots, displaying the stage layout before the player can actually start their run. In some cases such as in Mega Man 3, the laterality of the stages will not match as it's shown with the stage position, even if the overall structure of the lines is still generally correct with that of the stage. The "Skull" level is generally very straightforward and short, and usually reserved for matches against Dr. Wily himself, often times preceded by the signature Boss Rematch segment. The battles against Wily might or not necessarily lead to the actual final battle of the game. Fake "Skull" levels have also been featured whenever the conclusion hasn't been reached, which will cause the true final level to be revealed upon entering the stage transition.
Although the Wily Castle is a staple of the original Mega Man series with all games featuring one of Wily's fortresses, the second game debuted the actual structure and associated traditions that go with it. In some games such as Mega Man 4 to Mega Man 6, a fake fortress will precede Wily's base and is utilized by the game's secondary antagonist. Ever since Mega Man 7, however, this practice has been largely abandoned.
Main series[]
Mega Man[]
Dr. Wily's Robot Manufacturing Plant from Mega Man.
Wily's base in the first Mega Man game is actually named Dr. Wily's Robot Manufacturing Plant, but it is called Castle Wily in the remake Mega Man Powered Up and Wily Castle in the Mega Man comic series by Archie Comics. It consists of four stages with Yellow Devil, Copy Robot, CWU-01P, and the Wily Machine 1 as the main bosses.
Mega Man 2[]
Wily Castle from Mega Man 2.
The first Wily Castle to appear in the series. It consists of six stages with Mecha Dragon, Picopico-kun, Guts Tank, Boobeam Trap, the Wily Machine 2, and the Alien as the main bosses.
Mega Man 3[]
Wily Castle from Mega Man 3.
The Wily Castle from Mega Man 3 consists of six stages with Kamegoro Maker, Yellow Devil MK-II, Holograph Mega Mans, a boss rush, the Wily Machine 3, and Gamma as the bosses.
Mega Man 4[]
Wily Castle from Mega Man 4.
The Wily Castle from Mega Man 4 that Mega Man invades after defeating Dr. Cossack, located in an area with snow. It consists of four stages with Metall Daddy, Tako Trash, the Wily Machine 4, and the first Wily Capsule as the bosses.
Mega Man 5[]
Wily Castle from Mega Man 5.
The Wily Castle from Mega Man 5 that Mega Man invades after defeating Dark Man 4. It consists of four stages that has Big Pets, Circring Q9, the Wily Press, and the Wily Machine 5 (followed by Wily Capsule II) as the bosses.
Mega Man 6[]
Wily Castle from Mega Man 6.
The Wily Castle from Mega Man 6 that Mega Man invades after Mr. X revealed himself as Dr. Wily. It consists of four stages with bosses like Mechazaurus, Tank CSII, and the Wily Machine 6 (which turns into a new Wily Capsule).
Mega Man 7[]
Wily Castle from Mega Man 7.
The Wily Castle from Mega Man 7. It consists of four stages with Guts Man G, Gamerizer, HannyaNED², and the Wily Machine 7 (followed by a new Wily Capsule) as the main bosses.
Mega Man 8[]
Wily Tower from Mega Man 8.
This Wily Castle is actually named the Wily Tower, and is Dr. Wily's underground fortress in Mega Man 8. It consists of four stages with Atetemino, Bliking, Green Devil, and the Wily Machine 8 (followed by Wily Capsule Great) as the main bosses.
Mega Man & Bass[]
King Stages from Mega Man & Bass
Dr. Wily was planning to use a Wily Castle for his comeback, but he was ousted from it by King before Mega Man & Bass. Later on, Dr. Wily was able to get back into the castle as it was revealed that he was actually the mastermind behind King's revolution. It consists of three stages with bosses like Atetemino Proto, King Tank, King Plane, Jet King Robo, King himself, and a new Wily Machine that turns into the Wily UFO.
Mega Man 9[]
Wily Castle from Mega Man 9.
The Wily Castle from Mega Man 9. It consists of four stages, holding Spike Pushers, Mega Mech Shark, Twin Devil, and the Wily Machine 9 (followed by a new Wily Capsule) as the main bosses.
Mega Man 10[]
Wily Castle from Mega Man 10.
The Wily Castle from Mega Man 10, which has a giant tower that extends all the way to space. It consists of 5 stages, holding bosses like the Weapons Archive, Crab Puncher, Block Devil, a Wily Machine, and a Wily Capsule duo encountered in the final stage in space.
Mega Man 11[]
Gear Fortress from Mega Man 11.
The Gear Fortress is Dr. Wily's stronghold in Mega Man 11. Besides the skull motif, it features a gear motif to tie in with the Double Gear System. It consists of 4 stages, holding bosses like Yellow Devil MK-III, Mawverne, and the Wily Machine 11.
Other fortresses[]
Dr. Wily also built Proto Man's Castle in the name of Proto Man in Mega Man 5, and Mr. X's Castle as Mr. X in Mega Man 6. Dr. Wily also coerced Dr. Cossack to use Dr. Cossack's Citadel in Mega Man 4.
The bases of Lord Wily, Dr. Wily's counterpart from the Mega Man Battle Network series, are called WWW Research Facility and Castle Wily.
Mega Man World series[]
Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge[]
Wily Castle from Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge.
The Wily Castle in Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge. It consists of a single stage with five bosses: Bubble Man, Flash Man, Quick Man, Heat Man, and Enker.
Mega Man II[]
Wily Castle from Mega Man II.
The Wily Castle in Mega Man II, which isn't really a stage at all, is visited after Mega Man defeats the first four Robot Masters, who are all from Mega Man 2. A short cutscene plays where Mega Man enters and finds Dr. Wily. The scientist slowly backs up in shock, but as Mega Man runs at him, the floor collapses underneath him and drops him into a teleporter room, which has four teleport hatches that lead to the stages of Needle Man, Magnet Man, Hard Man, and Top Man, though there is no indication for which teleporter belongs to whom.
The placements are:
- Top left (Hard Man)
- Bottom left (Magnet Man)
- Top right (Top Man)
- Bottom right (Needle Man)
After completing the four stages, Mega Man faces Quint and goes to the Wily Station afterwards.
Mega Man III[]
Wily Castle from Mega Man III.
The Wily Castle in Mega Man III that consists of 2 stages holding the Giant Suzy and the second Mega Man Killer, Punk.
Wily Station[]
The Wily Station (ワイリーステーション) in the first four Game Boy games, and Wily's final base in the first three games. It is a space station in the first two games, a sea fortress in the Mega Man III, and a forest fortress in the Mega Man IV.
Mega Man IV[]
Wily Battleship from Mega Man IV.
The Wily Battleship is Wily's final base in Mega Man IV, it is a large battleship.
Mega Man V[]
Wily Star from Mega Man V.
The Wily Star is Wily's final base in Mega Man V, it is a star class base.
Other games[]
Mega Man: The Wily Wars[]
Wily Tower from Mega Man: The Wily Wars.
The Wily Tower is Wily's fortress in Mega Man: The Wily Wars. It consists of 4 stages, holding Fire Snakey, Iron Ball, Buster Rod G, and an unnamed machine as the bosses.
Mega Man's Soccer[]
Wily Castle from Mega Man's Soccer.
Wily's unnamed fortress in Mega Man's Soccer has the last three fields from the Capcom Championship mode, the Enker Field, Blues Field, and Wily Field. In the game's unused ending, it is destroyed after Wily's defeat.
Mega Man: The Power Battle[]
Wily's fortress from Mega Man: The Power Battle.
A unnamed fortress in Mega Man: Power Battle.
Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters[]
Wily's fortress from Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters.
A unnamed fortress in Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters, appearing to also double as a giant robot.
Mega Man: Battle & Chase[]
Wily Fortress Course (ワイリー要塞コース) is the last course in Mega Man: Battle & Chase, where the player races against Dr. Wily in a course with several hazards. His fortress can also be seen in the background of Bass' Base Course.
Mega Man[]
The gate to Wily's lair in Mega Man for PC
Dr. Wily's fortress from Mega Man is never seen from the outside, but the gate leading to it is.
Enemies
| Image | Enemy |
|---|---|
  |
CRORQ (final boss) |
 |
Dyna Man (boss 3) |
 |
Volt Man (boss 2) |
 |
Sonic Man (boss 1) |
 |
"Frogbot" |
 |
"Met" (unique) |
 |
"Mosquito" |
 |
"Spydroborg" |
 |
"Sentry Bee" |
 |
"Sniper Joe" (unique) |
There are no valuable goodies in this stage.
Mega Man 3: The Robots are Revolting[]
Wily's castle from Mega Man 3 (DOS).
Dr. Wily's fortress from the DOS game Mega Man 3. It appears to be on a mountain and looks identical to the Wily Castle from the original Mega Man 3. It only has one stage.
Enemies
| Image | Enemy |
|---|---|
  |
"Wily Machine" (final boss) |
 |
CRORQ (boss 7) |
 |
Torch Man (boss 6) |
 |
Blade Man (boss 5) |
 |
Oil Man (boss 4) |
 |
Wave Man (boss 3) |
 |
Shark Man (boss 2) |
 |
Bit Man (boss 1) |
 |
"Laser Turret" |
 |
"Orb Turret" |
 |
"Toxman" |
|
"Met" |
|
"Sniper Armor" |
Rockman Panic Fire[]
The game is set entirely inside one of Dr. Wily's bases, having 40 main maps and one bonus map. It was destroyed by several copies of Fire Man that went out of control.
Chokkan! Rockman[]
Dr. Wily's Hideout
The game begins in Dr. Wily's Hideout (Dr.ワイリーのアジト Dr. Wairī no Ajito) with Dr. Wily plotting to conquer the world, but Mega Man appears to stop him. However, that's a fake Dr. Wily, and the real Dr. Wily tries to crush Mega Man with his newest machine. Mega Man avoids the machine and Wily releases several bombs from his machine to destroy the hero, exploding his hideout. Mega Man survives by teleporting away and returns to face Dr. Wily's machine in the wasteland (荒野) that the hideout was located.
Only one room from the hideout appears, which is similar to a room from the Wily Castle in Mega Man 4. Also, in Mega Man 4 Wily sets his base to self-destruct, and Mega Man escapes by teleporting out.
Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes[]
Dr. Wily's Military Base
Dr. Wily's Military Base is one of the game's stages, featuring Dr. Wily walking back and forth in the background while yelling to the competitors with a megaphone. In the background it is possible to see Metall Potton, several Metalls three Baccones, Dark Man 1 (absent in the PlayStation version), Mad Grinder, giant Killer Bombs, and a skull shaped machine (possibly a Wily Machine).
Other appearances[]
Some Wily Castles reappeared in other games, specially the Wily Castle from Mega Man 2, examples including it being a stage in the Super Smash Bros. series and a DLC race track in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. See their individual articles for additional appearances.
Other media[]
Wily Castle appeared in several Mega Man related media, including the Mega Man animated series, Captain N: The Game Master, the Archie Comics Mega Man comic book series, Mega Man Megamix, the Rockman manga series, Rockman & Forte, and Rockman 10 -Extra F-.
The Worlds Collide crossover event in the Archie Comics Mega Man series saw Dr. Wily combining elements of his Wily Castles with Dr. Eggman's Death Egg concept. The two briefly argued about what to call it-Wily favoring "Wily Flying Fortress" while Eggman preferred "Death Egg 3"-before compromising and dubbing it the Wily Egg. The Mega Man Powered Up adaptation also featured a workshop in Mega Man #7 and #8 that was originally used to test the Robot Masters before Dr. Wily, Time Man, and Oil Man took it over as their lair.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Mega Man 10 marks the first instance of (at least part of) Wily's castle being in space. Until this point, the only fortresses in space were the stations and battleships in the Rockman World series for the Game Boy. This is also the tallest building in the series, preceding other buildings like the Jakob Orbital Elevator from Mega Man X8 and the Neo Arcadia Tower from Mega Man Zero.
- Interestingly, almost all of the Wily Castles and other fortresses have a pipe-shaped chimney-like detail on the right side. This detail also appears in Dr. Light's lab from Mega Man.
See also[]
- Lanfront Ruins
- Dr. Cossack's Citadel
- Proto Man's Castle
- Mr. X's Castle
- WWW Research Facility
- Castle Wily
- Dr. Wily