The Megaman series is definitely one of the most renowned video game franchises of today. In America it was known as Megaman but prior to that the original name of the game and its lead character was Rockman. Rockman was created by Keiji Inafune for Cap Com and the game was released for the Famicom in Japan in 1987 and was released months later for the NES in America. The small game then would become a booming franchise.

 

The fictional universe of Rockman takes place in the year 20XX set into the future. The brilliant scientist Dr. Thomas Light was the first person to assimilate a humanoid machine with artificial intelligence. The creation was similar to a cyborg having physical and facial features of a person but with a mechanical body. The robot was named Rockman by Dr. Light and he would simply become a robot to help people. Dr. Albert Willy who was a former colleague of Dr. Light grew envious of his achievements. So Dr. Willy along with another cyborg created by Dr. Light Protoman or Blues in the Japanese version went off to steal Dr. Light’s other robot inventions. These robots were supposed to be used for environmental and social aid but Dr. Willy turned them into wrong doers. Naturally it was up to Rockman to stop these machines then called as Robot Masters.

In terms of game play is similar to 2D side scrolling games. However the objective wasn’t simply to save a captured princess but to stop each Robot Master. After defeating each Robot Master, Megaman would absorb their powers and can use them for himself. When using these powers his color would change from his trademark blue color. After all Robot Masters have been defeated the showdown with Dr. Willy was unavoidable and after his defeat the game would be over and the player would have won. The same type of formula repeats throughout all the main Rockman games in the series. It involves facing a number of Robot Masters then defeating Dr. Willy and has never been more complicated.

 

The games are very hard but with a bit of problem solving and patience you can defeat each game. There are a total of 10 games under the main Rockman series using the 2D 8 bit formula. There are other titles under the franchise but these genres have strayed apart from the main series. Despite being different each title enjoys a certain achievement and criticism along the way. To mention some of these sequels, spin offs and stand alone titles would include Rockman X, Battle Network, Legends and Star Force. They all bear the Rockman title but with a different feel to it except the X series which is a direct sequel. It’s a shame that no more new games will be released under the Rockman title due to Cap Com burying the series however fans can only wait and dream for its return.