Mega Man (NES)/zh-hans

Mega Man
Also known as: Rockman (JP) Developer: Capcom Publisher: Capcom Platform: NES Released in JP: December 17, 1987 Released in US: December 17, 1987 Released in EU: December 13, 1989 Released in AU: December 29, 1987 Released in KR: December 15, 1990 This game has unused code. This game has unused graphics. This game has regional differences.

Mega Man is one of the great icons of the NES and a game that would go on to found a number of basic principles for 2-D sidescrolling action. These principles would be better refined in sequels and offshoots, but this is where a little blue robot first set out to stop Dr. Wily and collect all sorts of neat weapons.

It's also considered to be one of the hardest games on the NES.

Sub-Pages

Prerelease Info (untranslated)

Bugs (untranslated)

Unused Code

The Game Genie code PEXPIIAA (all versions) re-enables a strange bit of unused code: hold A on controller 2 while landing on the ground, and Mega Man will act as though he's been stunned by Guts Man's earthquakes. The purpose of this code is completely unknown, though it may have just been for testing purposes.

Unused Sprites

Sprites of Dr. Light talking and pointing upwards while wearing colored pants (the used sprite has white pants). They would have fit best in the ending, but really could have been anywhere.

Unused tiles found in Guts Man's graphics. Intended to be used when he squats down to jump. The image on the right shows how it would've looked.

Unused sprite for the Kamadoma enemy, showing it standing upright.

Unused sprite for the Pickel Man enemy. It's almost identical to it's used throwing sprite, except that it's shield is shifted one pixel forward.

Super Cutter has three unused sphere-like details with its tiles. Concept art shows that it was planned to have a large body made of spheres, with the cutter being the head. Under the tiles is a mockup of how it would've looked.

Unknown tiles located between the enemies Pickelman and Watcher.

Unused Background Tiles

An unused door that would have fit in the house from the ending.

(Source: The Mechanical Maniacs)

Unused tiles found in the graphics for Guts Man's stage. Vertical versions of the lift rails either used for the lifts to ride along, or to hold up the horizontal rails.

Unused tiles found in the graphics for Fire Man's stage. A giant fireball, presumably a sort of insta-kill hazard.

Unused tile found in the graphics for Wily 1. Purpose unknown.

Unused tiles found in the graphics for Wily 3. Purpose unknown.

Unseen Title Screen Details

In-Game	With sprite layer disabled

Normally, Mega Man's face on the Japanese title screen is a sprite overlay to get around palette limitations, just like on his actual sprite. However, removing the sprite layer reveals that an identical background version is present underneath, using the same palette as the rest of his body (And as such also flashes when pressing start). As expected, this isn't the case for the international title screen.

Unused Copy Robot Behavior

As the Copy Robot boss in Wily Stage 2 has the same behavior as Elec Man, it has some unused behavior.

Normally, the boss room is a completely flat plain with nothing in the way of either the boss or the player. However, if the room is modified to include solid obstacles (as in the image), the Copy Robot boss will go to its "jump" script, when blocked. This jump script is the same one used when the player presses the Fire button, which makes it hop randomly to the left or to the right.

It's also of note that if the player presses Fire while Copy Robot is falling from a higher platform, the "jump" script will still trigger, making it appear as though the Copy Robot is jumping in mid-air.

Leftover of Unused Wily Level?

Stage ID 0A, past all 10 of the game's normal levels, appears to contain some leftover data from a removed Wily stage, perhaps Wily 5. Use code 0031:0A or Game Genie code ZALAPE while on the stage select screen to access it. However, Mega Man teleports into a part of Elec Man's level instead; further cheats are needed to access the actual unused level data.

Unused Decoration Behavior

To do: Get a video showing this.

The animated electricity in the walls of Elec Man's stage is able to hurt the player. Technically this isn't unused, but normally you cannot trigger it.

Regional Differences

Title Screen

Japan	USA	Europe

Probably the most recognizable change. Aside from the obvious complete overhaul, the American and European versions were given a logo that remained a staple of the series outside Japan up until Mega Man 8.

The sound effect that plays when selecting a Robot Master also plays when pressing Start in the Japanese version, with Mega Man and the borders also flashing gray and white. The US and European versions silently flash the "PRESS START" text. While Mega Man Anniversary Collection still retains most of the international versions' changes, the title screen is no longer silent while pressing the "Start" button.

Sound Effects

In the European version of the game, two sound effects are noticeably different from their US or Japanese counterparts.

美国/日本	欧洲(60 hz)

The firing sound effect for the default weapon is supposed to play an upward-scaling set of eight notes, but in the European version, only five of these notes play while the other three are replaced by a sequence of five notes being played at the lowest possible key. The end result makes it sound like the Mega Buster is buzzing every time it fires.

美国/日本	欧洲(60 hz)

The landing sound effect also sounds quite different from the international versions. It actually bears a close similarity to the landing noise heard in the first two Game Boy games, though that might just be a coincidence.

Bizarrely, the European versions of these sounds ended up in the Rockman Complete Works version of Mega Man on the PlayStation and the version included on the PlayStation 2/GameCube/XBox compilation, Mega Man Anniversary Collection!

Ending

Japan	USA	Europe

The "Presented by" in the North American version contains an out of place comma due to having omitted LTD. Mega Man Anniversary Collection reverts this change back to the Japanese version.