Mega Man (or in Japan known as Rock Man or ロックマン in Katakana) is an action-platformer video game series that was originally released in the States in December of 1987, and since then has spawned 6 spin off series as well as 11 entries in the mainline series - not to mention the official and fan comics dedicated to the series, the various animated adaptations, cameos, and more! Of the various branches of the series that I've explored, I've read the entirety of Hitoshi Ariga's Mega Mix/Giga Mix/Master Mix (this series was actually my first manga purchase that I made!) as well as all of the Archie series, I've played through a couple of the Mega Man classic series games, I've finished X1, and I've started the Legends series and Battle Network 3: White.

Mega Man has had a huge impact on not just my art, but my life! He is my silly little emotional support robot and will always have a special place in my heart ♥︎

With the Classic series being my favorite, I have a whole bunch of headcannons for that timeline. I like to think that the Classic timeline could be a great vessel to talk about mental wellness and trauma for men and boys, especially considering the idea that at least the first line of robot masters (the title for the bosses in the series) are considered 'siblings' of Mega Man.

The plot of the first entry is relatively simple - Dr. Wily steals Dr. Light's newest creations, the Robot Masters and reprograms them for evil. Robot Masters were originally created for the purpose of utilty in order to assist humans with jobs that would be considered dangerous. (For example, Bomb Man was created to assist with excavation sites, particularly for large-scale construction.) That being said, these robots being reprogrammed for evil deeds would be incredibly dangerous for humans. One of Dr. Light's lab assistant robots, Rock, volunteers to save everyone and stop the Robot Masters. Dr. Light then upgrades him, which turns him into the super fighting robot, Mega Man!

Here's the list of Classic series games that I have yet to complete

Mega Man Classic

Mega Man

Mega Man II

Mega Man III

Mega Man IV

Mega Man V

Mega Man VI

Mega Man VII

Mega Man VIII

Mega Man 9

Mega Man 10

Mega Man 11

Currently Playing

Mega Man 3

When I first started with Mega Man 3, I believe I was playing on a livestream. It's been a minute since I picked it up last. The last boss I left off on was Snake Man (my beloved ♥︎) and I remember struggling quite a bit with that stage in particular. MM3 is notorious for its lag which is unfortunate; I feel like it would be much higher on people's lists.

Mega Man 11

My mom gifted this to me for Christmas, and I still haven't finished it. Right now I have it shelved in lieu of other games that I'm currently working my way through. I also recently purchased the 30th Anniversarry Mega Man 11 guide/artbook which I am very happy about! Just because I like Mega Man that doesn't mean I'm any good at it, so that book is going to be of great use to me.

Normally I don't like playing favorites, however the Mega Man series is an exception I make. Outside of the blue boy himself, here are some of my favorite characters from the Classic series (in no particular order)!

Elec Man

Elec Man has been a comfort character for me since I first discovered the series! I've always loved his design and his characterization, and it inspired me to have a lot of confidence in myself when I had a hard time doing that. I even have an action figure of him that I've had since middle school. He sits on my shelf with all of my other little trinkets.

Snake Man

I LOOOOVE SNAKE MAN SO MUCH! He gives me huge gender envy, it's a shame I could never be him though on account of the fact that not only is he a fictional character, but he's a robot. I would kiss him on the mouth platonically I think. Unfortunately, he's one of the RMs that doesn't get as much merch so I got a custom airbrushed shrit. Maybe one day I'll make my own figure of him, too! I always imagined that Snake Man was more rough-around-the-edges than the other RMs in his line, always getting into trouble. Considering his weapon ability being the Search Snake, I also imagine that he's particularly nosy and pries into other people's business.

Proto Man (Blues)

It feels like such a stereotypical favorite, but Blues has always been such an interesting character to me and it's a shame that a lot of branches of the series don't really get the opportunity to expand on it - or when they do, they go in a completely awful angle. There's some debate as to whether or not Blues is considered the first Reploid, which was a type of robot introduced in the X series. To be a reploid, a robot cannot have a programmed purpose. This makes them similar to humans in that they can choose their own destiny. While one could assume that Blues has no inherent programmed purpose, an important point to consider about him is that he was the prototype Robot Master, hence the name Proto Man. A simple objective that could be well-suited to a prototype robot such as himself, in my opinion, would be existing. If Blues were programmed with the directive "to be", it explains a lot about his character, including his miraculous ability to continue surviving as long as he has. With no clearset guidelines for morals, social etiquette, etc., this also would explain the moral greys that we see him go through - like during Mega Man III for example, where he actively works with Dr. Wily (albeit in exchange for repairs to his body). I could continue going on, but this section might already be the longest overall so I'll just move on to the next character.

Star Man

Yet another crazy bozo. Ariga's interpretation of him is so charming and funny, I want to grab Star Man by the throat and pat him on the head aggressively. I've definitely based at least one character of mine off his design, which is incredibly swaggy might I add. The Robot Master Field Guide reports that Star Man is an "ardent romanticist" and wants to trabel the depths of space with a lover. This man is a hippie for sure. I could catch this man at Woodstock, or spreading the good word of peace and love on the city streets by handing out flowers to people. I suppose that in a way I also aspire to be like him, but if that's the case it's significantly less so in comparison to Snake Man.

Terra

Doing a full 180, Terra is basically opposite to Star Man. He's not technically a Robot Master, as he wasn't made on Earth. Terra is an alien robot known as a Stardroid. If I could make a comparison for a moment, Terra is like the Yoshikage Kira of Mega Man (at least in my opinion). Literal actual psychotic, and is also trying to take over the world. No way, befriending an alien species over the common goal of world domination ended poorly? That's crazy. I could never see that happening ever.

Figures I Own

This is under construction tbh. I have so many figures (2 plasmo kits i have are in progress too) so I'll probably get a pic of all of them together at some point. thank you for your patience pogchamps :]

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