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Mega Man 5

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Title Screen

Mega Man 5

Also known as: Mega Man V (US)
Rockman 5: Blues no Wana!? (JP)
Developer: Capcom
Publishers: Capcom (JP/US), Nintendo (EU/AU)
Platform: NES
Released in JP: December 4, 1992
Released in US: December 31, 1992
Released in EU: November 18, 1993


CodeIcon.png This game has unused code.
GraphicsIcon.png This game has unused graphics.
DebugIcon.png This game has debugging material.
RegionIcon.png This game has regional differences.


PrereleaseIcon.png This game has a prerelease article
DCIcon.png This game has a Data Crystal page

Proto Man has gone crazy! Go beat him up.

Sub-Page

Read about prerelease information and/or media for this game.
Prerelease Info

Debug Mode

Palette debug with recoloring.

Use Game Genie code ATUKGUOZ for the Japanese and US versions or ATUKZUOZ for the European version to activate a spiffy little debug mode where you can do some neat stuff.

Controller 2:

  • Left: Freeze/unfreeze the game.
  • Up: Pass through obstacles. Be careful, as you can fall through the floors and die with this too.
  • Right: Open the palette editor. Use controller 1 to move the cursor and change values.
  • B: Allows Mega Man to touch spikes and pass through enemies without taking damage. However, if he falls in a pit while this is held, he'll be trapped there until you release the button.

Controller 1:

  • Select: Exit the palette editor. This also restores your energy and gives you every weapon in the game, including Beat.
(Source: Tony Hedstrom)

Unused Debug Code

At NES address $E43B (ROM address 0x3E44B) is another debugging routine that is not called anywhere in the game's code. This particular routine would have allowed you to press Down on controller 2 to reverse Mega Man's gravity, or A to advance to the next stage. It also checks whether Right is pressed, though the associated functionality no longer exists (it performs a BEQ $00); it's possible that it was removed when the palette editor was added to prevent a conflict.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unused Graphics

Main Objects

Sprites Description
I object! A little developer's note that's found below the title screen graphics in the Japanese version. The tiles being pointed to are the right edge of the "N" in ROCKMAN, and are duplicated in the sprite (OBJ) graphics. This part of the logo was converted into a sprite to work around palette limitations. Interestingly, the J here differs from the one in the game's standard font.
NO ENTRY A traffic cone. Japanese sample cartridges of Rockman games (such as Rockman 4 and Rockman 7) often used these in place of unfinished Robot Master portraits, and this game was probably no exception.
Look, I know it's a tentacle, okay? I'm not making that joke An unused attack from Octoper OA. This tentacle was originally meant to rise up-and-down with Octoper OA, slightly narrowing the field of the battle and adding another obstacle to hurt the player.

The tentacle is still visible in Octoper OA's official artwork.

(Source: Toad Titan and the Rockman Corner)
Old man yells at lack of cloud This cloud should have appeared on the first screen of Stone Man's stage, but doesn't.
Early Final
Not shiny enough! I demand more shine! Thank you, I'm blind now
The first half of Stone Man's stage has an unused version of the metal platform tiles seen in the second half of the level. They appear to be an earlier design of the tiles that were never updated. The final platforms are shinier, and the middle of the platform juts out a bit more in the older version.
StoneMan unusedbgtiles.png Unused background tiles from Stone Man stage. An earlier version of them can be seen in some pre-release material.
Girders! These tiles are taken from the second half of Stone Man's stage. They're probably from an earlier design of the metal platforms.
MegaMan5 UnusedGyroManSprite.png This unused sprite was intended to be used for Gyro Man's throwing animation. It seems they accidentally used the same foot sprite for both frames of the animation.
In-game Intended
MM5StarSword2.png MM5StarSword1.png
One tile from this piece of scenery is never used. The "tip" of this in-game uses a repeated tile.
Umm Whatever these tiles are supposed to be, they're not used.
It's, like, a window to your SOUL, man Part of some kind of a window. These tiles are loaded during the interior segment of the train.
MM5NapalmUnused.png An unused missile is found alongside Napalm Man's graphics, right after the missile used in the final game. Its size and shape seems to match the shoulder missiles on Napalm Man's sprite.
MM5NapalmFiring.png
MM5NapalmFinalMissile.png
Strangely, while Napalm Man's missile firing graphics show effects coming from his shoulders, the missile used in the final game more closely matches the head cannon. This animation oddity may be related to the unused missile.
(Source: Original TCRF research)
MegaMan5 UnusedCrystalManSprites.png Sprites for an unused running animation for Crystal Man.
Protomancastle unusedbgtiles.png
Protomancastle unusedbgtilesgold.png
An unused platform found in the graphics bank used by Proto Man Castle 4.

There are two versions in the backgrounds data, each with a different palette. The gold version can be seen in pre-release material.

Wily2unusedtiles.png
Wily2unusedblock.png
Unused background detailing for Wily Castle 2. It appears to be a bolt. Even though the tiles are nowhere to be found during gameplay, they are also in the game's 16x16 background blocks data, showing that they were meant to be part of the metallic slab:
MM5 wily3 unusedBGtiles.png Unused background tiles found in the graphics bank of Wily Castle 3. Purpose unknown.

Enemies

Design Differences

Impressively, nine unused enemy designs are present in the ROM. Less impressively, about half of these are early designs for enemies that appear in the final game. Unfortunately, despite some of these graphics being loaded into memory alongside other enemies that are used, none of these enemies have any programming left over.

Early Final
MegaMan5 UnusedEarlyBombierSprites.png MegaMan5 FinalBombierSprites.png

An earlier, slimmer version of the Bombier enemy.

Early Final
Just a mere dot... Detail, at last!

A less detailed version of the Giree enemy, the only real difference being the size of the dot. Despite never being used, they are loaded alongside the Toss Machine enemy's graphics.

Early Final
Walking Bomb? More like FLYING BOMB, am I right?! A more original, yet less distinct design.

An early design for the Jet Bomb enemy, which greatly resembles the Walking Bomb enemy from Mega Man 3. Despite never being used, they are loaded alongside the New Shield Attacker and Asteroid graphics.


Early Final
His poor back must be killing him... Ahh, much better!

An early version of the Metall Cannon, boasting a smaller and overall less detailed design. Notable differences include a thinner foot, no shielding on the cannon, and no backrest to provide the poor little guy some much-needed lumbar support.

Early Final
MegaMan5 UnusedEarlyTondeallSprites.png MegaMan5 FinalTondeallSprites.png

An early version of the Tondeall enemy.

Unused

Sprites Description
It could be hanging above your head RIGHT NOW!! A robot that would hang from the ceiling and try to stab Mega Man. While there's nothing concrete that places this enemy in any one stage, it's possible it was meant for Gyro Man and/or Stone Man's stages, due to the former's stage being referred to as the "Hanging Garden" and the latter's stage being in close proximity to said garden. A different enemy based on the bagworm concept, Minoan, appeared previously in Mega Man 4.
Someone sure lost their head, eh? A small, head-like robot with a jet booster on the bottom. Presumably would've flown out of pits in order to knock Mega Man into them.
blink blink blink blink blink Mega Man 5 is the only title in the classic series without a Gabyoall-esque robot, but it looks like one was planned. Judging by the turned-over sprites, it can be reasonably assumed that Mega Man would've been able to knock them over, either with a fully-charged Super Mega Buster shot like the Pooker enemies from Mega Man 6 or with one of his special weapons.
STOP! Hammer time! A simple hammer robot. Despite never being used, it's loaded alongside the Metall Swim enemy's graphics. The concept of a hammer enemy would later be revisited with the Kao ga Mehda enemy in Mega Man 8.

Regional Differences

Japan International
Rockman 5 - Blues no Wana! (Japan) 001.png Mega Man 5-title.png

The options, copyright text, and Proto Man's scarf have been moved down to accommodate the taller Mega Man V logo.

Japan International
Rock on Have a mega good time?

To fit the game's international title, four of the Beat plates were changed to spell "MEGA" instead of "ROCK". The one in Crystal Man's stage was also changed from a number 5 to a Roman numeral V. The "5" was left as-is in Mega Man Anniversary Collection, however.

Revisional Differences

Mega Man Anniversary Collection

  • During the post-battle cutscene after Mega Man has defeated the fourth Dark Man, the text speed is significantly faster than it was in the original.
  • Oddly, the song that originally played in the escape sequence during the ending cutscene was removed and replaced with the credits theme. It's most likely an error and not a deliberate change, as the theme is still present in the game's files.