Capcom: 'Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 + 2 – Robot Recap Vol. 2'

Toad Man, Skull Man, Gravity Man and more.

☆ NintendObs Weekly – Monday, March 26, 2018 – Sunday, April 1, 2018.

Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 + 2 – Robot Recap Vol. 2

MAR 29

Between both games included in Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 + 2, there are a whopping eighty-one Robot Masters for you to defeat across the original Mega Man through Mega Man 10, including DLC stages! Another eight ‘bots are joining the ranks when Mega Man 11 launches late this year, so let’s take another look back at some of the best, weirdest, and just plain memorable Robot Masters from Mega Man’s history with memories and thoughts from fans from the community and from right here at Capcom USA!

Weapon: Rain Flush

Weakness: Drill Bomb

A farming robot made to bring about rainfall on set days. You can’t dodge his Rain Flush, but you can prevent it.

Brett Elston – Associate Brand Manager

There’s a sort of cruel duality to Toad Man in Mega Man 4. On the one hand, he’s probably the easiest boss in the entire history of Mega Man, and one of the easiest bosses in gaming history. On the other hand, his stage comprises an almost completely uninterrupted series of physics-altering terrains, so it is by no means an easy starting point.

To get to the easy boss, you’ve got to brave a particularly challenging platforming gauntlet, with jump-nerfing wind gusts and destabilizing sewer currents. For the few brief moments that the terrain isn’t actively trying to kill you, you’re either locked in deadly battle with giant eyeball snails, or dodging robo-fish hell-bent on knocking you into instant-death mines. Oy gevalt!

Adam “Heat Man” Anania – Formerly of The Mega Man Network

Poor, poor Toad Man. In exchange for an unavoidable attack, he got a battle routine that makes him easily manipulated. He can be a fearsome opponent if you’d just give him a chance! Maybe stop shooting for a bit. Let him get off a couple of Rain Flushes, just to make him feel better. Watch him do his funny dance!

I do recall Toad Man’s stage being one of the hardest to get through when I was a kid, though. Most times I got done in just trying to jump across platforms in the rain! When I finally got into the sewers, it was almost startling. “Wow, the stage changed so much! This is cool!” And then of course I had to fight gigantic snails that shoot their eyes at you. And then spikes after that!? In hindsight, I’m a little thankful Toad Man turned out to be so easy.

Keisuke Mizuno – Character designer for TruForce

I like his design. I think this character is the reason I came to think skulls are cool.

I often revisit Skull Man’s stage to replenish my items before heading into the final battle. You can grab three E-tanks in one run. Thanks to that, his stage theme also sticks out in my mind.

David Oxford, The Mega Man Network and Mega Man: Robot Master Field Guide

The first Mega Man made me a fan; the second made me a lifer. So beyond that, it gets rather difficult to pick favorites out of the 46 different Robot Masters who made the Nintendo Entertainment System games of the series so memorable — and more difficult still if you look at the series in its entirety!

That said, one that always stuck out to me was Skull Man. The very concept of a Robot Master with a skull motif just screams “Wily,” yet his involvement with the macabre ‘Master is practically minimal. One almost has to wonder if Dr. Cossack didn’t design him as a subtle clue as to who was really behind the entire Mega Man 4 caper.

In the game, he balances a Buster like Mega Man’s with a defensive Skull Barrier, making him fairly formidable. Then again, his Buster isn’t quite like Mega Man’s, seeing as the Blue Bomber just received an upgrade allowing him to charge up more powerful shots. As such, more’s the pity that he doesn’t have the shotgun-loaded ribcage given to him in Hitoshi Ariga’s Mega Man Megamix when he fights you in the games!

Weapon: Gravity Hold

Weakness: Star Crash

He can control gravity, albeit within a limited range. Attack him when you fly past each other!

Kazuhiro Tsuchiya – Producer, Mega Man 11, Mega Man Legacy Collection 2

When it comes to my favorite Robot Master, I think the most memorable one for me would be Gravity Man from Mega Man 5. The reason why is that he has the ability to flip gravity within the stage. When you’re fighting against him, he’s able to flip the position of himself and Mega man between the ground and ceiling.

From a gameplay perspective, that was really new and fresh to see a boss that had the ability to flip gravity. I remember thinking, “Whoa, what is up with this boss?!” He’s very memorable in offering a new level of gameplay.

Takekuni “Ucchy” Uchida – Rockman Unity Administrator

It’s not the character himself so much as his entire stage that I love! I’m guessing all our readers have experienced it for themselves, but the first time I played that stage and the gravity reversed on me, I was so surprised!

“Am I falling up?! Am I rising down?!” Next thing I knew my neck hurt from twisting my head upside down while playing. I even tried holding the controller upside down. (Between you and me, I even tried playing while doing a headstand! It makes you lightheaded though, so I don’t recommend.)

In any case, it’s super-fun, and that’s why I love Gravity Man(‘s stage). The Super Famicom (SNES) had already come onto the scene at that time, but Gravity Man’s stage showed us that even without the increased capabilities of new hardware, there was a lot that could be done with ideas and innovation alone.

Brett Elston – Associate Brand Manager

Gravity Man may have a cherub-esque face but his battle capabilities make him (on paper at least) one of the most formidable Robot Masters in the series. Throughout his stage you’ll be flipped and hurled around as gravity reverses, then returns to normal… and then inside his chamber, he’ll use this very power to flip around the room.

Being able to alter gravity, even in a small field around you, is a pretty cool power. But when you beat Gravity Man and obtain the Gravity Hold, this power is visualized with a flash… presumably symbolizing the crushing weight of gravity?

Weapon: Charge Kick

Weakness: Power Stone

Greg “GregaMan” Moore – Former Capcom Community Manager

Yeah, I think we can all agree that steam locomotives are cool, but what if you made one that replaced those inefficient wheels with big, meaty legs, and gave it thrice as many cow pushers? Why, then you’d have Charge Man.

Now Charge Man is a pretty burly dude, so rather than devise some clever strategy to take out the Blue Bomber, he’s content to just “charge” at you full-force, striving ceaselessly to occupy the space you’re in. This can make for a frustrating fight, but carefully timed jumping and sliding will see you through it. Just watch out for when he spews flaming hot coals from his smokestack.

Weapon: Crystal Eye

Weakness: Gyro Attack

Greg “GregaMan” Moore – Former Capcom Community Manager

Every robot serves a purpose (yes, even Adhering Suzy), and Crystal Man is the financier of Dr. Wily’s nefarious operation, using his unique ability to generate artificial crystals. By the time Mega Man gets to him, however, he’s been designated for combat, just like all the others.

Once you’ve made it through Crystal Man’s eerily beautiful lair, a battle with the fiendish financier awaits. He will attack with volleys of crystal balls which bounce off surfaces. These can be tricky to dodge, but try to stay close to him to make evasion more manageable. Use Gyro Man’s Gyro Attack to make the going a little less tough.

Upon victory, Crystal Man’s mystical Crystal Eye weapon will be yours! Use it to shoot stuff.

David Oxford – The Mega Man Network

Part of Crystal Man’s entire reason for being is to help fund Dr. Wily’s ambitions by manufacturing artificial crystals. How cool would it have been, then, if you could put a damper on Wily’s entire operation by taking Crystal Man out first? Sort of a reverse-DuckTales ending scenario.

Then again, given how bouncy the gems produced by the Crystal Eye are and the fact they disappear after a few moments, maybe that’s why Wily sent him off into battle instead of keeping him safe?

That aside, Crystal Man’s appearance is pretty neat, with all the rounded crystals adorning his armor, including the two found on each of his forearms. While the mask makes him look like another ninja-styled robot, perhaps the intent was to evoke the appearance of a mysterious fortune teller, seeing as that’s one of his hobbies?

Weapon: Centaur Flash

Weakness: Knight Crusher

A robot based on the mythical creature. Try to fight him from the center of the arena as much as possible. If you stand to the sides, you’ll be hit by his spread shot.

Greg “GregaMan” Moore – Former Capcom Community Manager

Centaur Man! Centaur Man bears the noble distinction of being the only quadrupedal Robot Master evah. Yes, as the name indicates, Centaur Man is half centaur, half man, which I believe makes him three quarters man, one quarter horse. Actually, in the Rockman 6 manga, Centaur Man is revealed to be a woman. Not the point!

As told in myth of yore, Centaur Man bears the formidable power to distort space and time, and wields an arm cannon that shoots scattering, ricocheting blasts. Centaur Man’s quadruped design grants a notable increase in agility, but also makes Centaur Man one of the few Robot Masters unable to jump.

Kellen Haney, Community Manager

Centaur Man’s fight always struck me as that sort of “easy when you know how” fights. Centaur Man’s biggest problem is their inability to jump – as long as you stay towards the center of the arena and learn the patterns, it’s not too difficult of a fight. You just have to take the time to watch when this Robot Master is about to charge!

Calling back to earlier weapons such as Time Stopper from Mega Man 2, defeating Centuar Man gives you the powerful Centaur Flash, throwing away the laws of physics for a moment and bringing time to a stop. Sweetening the deal, you’ll also deal damage to nearby enemies when you use it, so be sure to time it carefully!

Weapon: Knight Crusher

Weakness: Yamato Spear

Designed with a medieval knight motif. His strong shield can block most attacks. Only the weapon that plays on his weakness can pierce it!

Greg “GregaMan” Moore – Former Capcom Community Manager

Knight Man, true to his name, is a chivalrous knight-bot who fights with a spiked flail. He also has a mohawk.

There’s something so expressive to me about Knight Man’s valiant jumping sprite. You can’t help but feel like he’s fighting by some noble code. Were it not for a slight twist of fate, we might have been allies, Knight Man.

Use Yamato Man’s spear to run Knight Man through and steal his flail.

Adam “Heat Man” Anania – Formerly of The Mega Man Network

With Quick Man, I talked about the “cool” Robot Masters of Mega Man. To be honest, with how the designs got increasingly detailed after Mega Man 4, it gets harder to distinguish who that “cool” guy is in the later games. But for Mega Man 6, I think it could be Knight Man. But cool in more of a stoic sense.

Here’s a Robot Master modeled after, well, a traditional, valiant knight. Carrying both a weapon and a shield, he seems more prepared for battle than the rest of his companions. And that shield makes him a bit tricky to face head on, unless you have his weakness weapon of course. Then he gets pretty easy.

Want to know something embarrassing? For years and years, I had no idea Knight Crusher was multi-directional! I didn’t know until I saw it on YouTube!

That’s all for today, but we’ll be covering Mega Man 7 through Mega Man 10 next time, highlighting the evolution and retro revolution of the series. Join us in celebrating the 30^th anniversary of Mega Man with games and activities throughout the year, including bringing Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 and 2 to Switch on May 14^th, all eight Mega Man X titles to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC later this year, and the Blue Bomber’s triumphant return with Mega Man 11 in late 2018! Stay tuned for more info, and keep an eye on Mega Man on Twitter and Facebook for all the latest news.

For part one of our Robot Recap, click here!

Until next time!

— Kellen at Capcom
Source: Capcom Unity.