The first time that I encountered the Mega Man franchise was the Battle Network series that were released for the Gameboy Advance which appealed to me due to its RPG mechanics. Only recognising Mega Man as Battle Network, I saw Mega Man X7 in a store one day and immediately wanted it. Upon getting it, you can imagine my surprise when I began playing and it turned out to be an action platformer game. When I eventually developed a renewed interest in the Mega Man franchise in 2017 with the release of the second Legacy Collection for the classic Mega Man series, that’s when I began to learn that the Mega Man franchise was much larger than I thought. Having played through Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 and 2, Mega Man 11, Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 and 2 and currently playing the Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection while also looking forward to the upcoming Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection, I thought it would be interesting to provide an overview of the various subseries that make up the Mega Man franchise.
Mega Man (Classic)
The original Mega Man series, sometimes referred to as Classic Mega Man, was the first incarnation of the franchise. Beginning with the original game, released in 1987 for the NES, this series is set in 20XX and sees Dr. Light develop robots with free thought. However, another scientist called Dr. Wily reprograms many of these robots to go on a destructive rampage, causing Mega Man to spring into action in order to defeat Dr. Wily. This series has spanned 11 games with several spin-offs but the basic gameplay has remained the same. An action platformer where you select levels to go to in a non-linear manner, the defeat of each Robot Master grants Mega Man a new weapon which also serves as the weakness of another Robot Master. Once you’ve defeated each Robot Master, you go to Dr. Wily’s lair where you must face several bosses, a boss rush of the Robot Masters and, ultimately, Dr. Wily himself. As the series went on, new mechanics were added to shake up the gameplay but these games remain the foundation of the franchise.
Mega Man X
The first Mega Man X game was released for the SNES in 1993 and the Mega Man X subseries serves as a sequel to the classic series. Set in 21XX, about a 100 years after the first series, a robot, referred to in Mega Man X as a reploid, is unearthed that had been developed and sealed away by Dr. Light. This reploid, referred to as X, ends up becoming part of the Maverick Hunters, an organisation whose task is to eliminate reploids who end up threatening humans, known as Mavericks. The core gameplay is quite similar to the classic series as you fight bosses in a non-linear manner, get their abilities which can be used effectively against other bosses and ultimately fight through the lair of the villain, in this case Sigma, in which you face off against some new bosses, a boss rush against the Mavericks you’ve defeated and ultimately Sigma. However, Mega Man X introduces new elements to make the gameplay more fast paced such as a dash and the ability to climb up and slide down walls. Additionally, collectable upgrades such as sub tanks, armour upgrades and boosts to health and energy are scattered throughout the levels.
Mega Man Zero
The Mega Man Zero games were originally released for the Game Boy Advance between 2002 and 2005 and follows Zero, a character who was introduced in the Mega Man X series. Set about 100 years after Mega Man X, Zero is woken up from stasis by a scientist called Ciel who informs him that she and the resistance are fighting against Neo Arcadia, a society that eliminates reploids who are either suspected or incorrectly identified as Mavericks. Interestingly, Neo Arcadia is led by X, the protagonist of the Mega Man X series and a close friend of Zero. The Mega Man Zero series contains similar gameplay to the Mega Man X series but emphasises the close combat swordplay that Zero uses. Similarly, there are other mechanics such as Cyber Elves, a simplified elemental system and grading each mission which, if you perform well enough, allows you to learn EX skills.
Be sure to check out the conclusion to this article in “An Overview Of The Various Mega Man Subseries Part 2“!
Thanks for reading and if you wish to seek any of the titles I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs! Also feel free to follow my curator page on Steam “JRPG Reviews” for thoughts and opinions on any JRPGs that I play and my YouTube channel “Victory Achieved Gaming” where I guide my friend through challenging games.