Mega Man firing his weapon while in Shadow Man's stage from Mega Man 3 (NES). The Mega Man series is a series of video games from Capcom, usually starring the character Mega Man. The first series, now known by fans as the Mega Man Classic series, began in 1987 and over time has evolved to include several spin offs:
Background
Main article: Mega Man (character)
The Mega Man character was created in 1987 by Keiji Inafune at Capcom of Japan, then a small company eager to make a breakthrough with a new platform game.
In the story behind the original series, Rock is a robot created as a lab assistant by scientists Dr. Thomas Light and Dr. Albert Wily; following treachery by Dr. Wily, Rock was converted into a fighting robot to defend the world from Wily's violent creations. Thus he became Mega Man (Rockman in the Japanese original).
The timeline for the series and its spinoffs is somewhat complicated. According to Rockman Perfect Memories:
MegaMan Battle Network is not included in this timeline and seems to be an alternate universe retelling of the original series. It claims to be set in 200X.
Mega Man's designer, Keiji Inafune, decided to name him Rockman based on rock and roll. Some other names considered for the series include Knuckle Kid, Mighty Kid, and Rainbow Senshi Miracle Kid.
Mega Man on TV Mega Man once starred in a Saturday-morning style cartoon by animating company Ruby-Spears, which radically redesigned the cast of the games as musclebound teenage superheroes. The show was cancelled during production of its third season (only one episode from season 3 was completed); while it was appealing to little kids, it was not well-received by many older Mega Man fans, who were looking for something that more resembled the games. The pilot episode of the cartoon featured an anime-like style that more closely resembled the canon character designs; this episode and two others like it were released in Japan as OVAs. The three OVAs are now available in English as Mega Man: Upon a Star.
Characters loosely based on Mega Man, his robotic dog Rush, and mentor Dr. Light appeared in the cartoon series Captain N: The Game Master in the United States. Dr. Wily was a villain in the same series. Trivia:
- In the Ruby-Spears cartoon, Mega Man was voiced by Ian Corlett and Dr. Wily by Scott McNeil; in Captain N, the roles are reversed, with Ian voicing Wily and Scott voicing Mega Man.
- Though The Beginning is considered chronologically as the first episode (of Mega Man) in some states it was aired as the second episode, after Electric Nightmare.
Mega Man has also been featured in many comics and manga in Japan. The most popular of these by far is the Rockman Megamix series by Hitoshi Ariga, who later went on to provide character designs and artwork for official Capcom releases including the Super Famicom game Rockman & Forte (that game was later released in Japan and in North America for the Game Boy Advance, and titled Mega Man & Bass in North America).
There is also a long-running anime based on the Battle Network/EXE series. The first series was simply called Rockman EXE. The series is loosely based on the first two games, but also includes elements introduced in the third game (e.g. the "N1 Grand Prix" and the new PET design). The second series, Rockman EXE Axess, is also not directly based on any of the games but contains elements of the fourth game in the series. The third series, Rockman EXE Stream, continues the tradition of not directly following the plot of the games. A heavily edited version of the anime airs in the United States and Canada and is called MegaMan NT Warrior. The manga of Rockman EXE, which was written by Ryo Takamisaki, is also known as MegaMan NT Warrior in North America.
The various television series and manga, as they contradict the games, are not canon.
See also
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