Mega Man 5
Encyclopedia
Mega Man 5, known as in Japan, is a video game developed by Capcom
for the Nintendo Entertainment System
(NES). It is the fifth game in the original Mega Man series and was originally released in Japan on December 4, 1992. It saw a release during the same month in North America
and in 1993 in Europe
.
The plot takes place after the fourth defeat of the evil Dr. Wily
at the hands of the heroic robot Mega Man
in the year 20XX
. Mega Man's brother and ally Proto Man uncharacteristically leads a group of menacing robots in attacks on the world and kidnaps his own creator Dr. Light, leaving Mega Man little choice but to take up arms in a fight against his once trusted sibling. Mega Man 5 carries over the same graphical style and action
-platforming
gameplay as the four preceding chapters in the series. The game introduces a new character, Beat, which the player can use as a weapon once a series of eight collectable letters
are found.
Mega Man 5 was met with an average to fairly positive critical reception, with the one major complaint being its lack of originality in either its plot or gameplay. Like other NES games in the series, Mega Man 5 has been re-released in Japan on the PlayStation
, PlayStation Network, and mobile phone
s; in North America as part of the Mega Man Anniversary Collection
; and in both regions on the Wii
Virtual Console
.
, when the mad scientist Dr. Wily
once again attempted to take over the world. Proto Man, brother and once ally to the world's greatest hero Mega Man
, leads an army of robots in a series of destructive attacks on the world. To cripple the world's defenders, he kidnaps his own creator, the genius scientist Dr. Light. Mega Man wonders why his brother is doing this, but with little choice left, he sets out to stop him.
Mega Man prevails over a new group of eight powerful "Robot Masters" working under Proto Man: Star Man, Gravity Man, Gyro Man, Stone Man, Crystal Man, Charge Man, Napalm Man, and Wave Man. Mega Man then makes his way to Proto Man's fortress and confronts his fellow creation, who nearly kills the protagonist in the process. However, a second Proto Man arrives in the nick of time, revealing the first as Dark Man, one of Dr. Wily's newest robots. Mega Man vanquishes the impostor, then pursues Wily to his newest hideout, defeats him, and saves Dr. Light. Wily manages yet another retreat in the end.
-platform game
that is very similar to previous titles in the series. Gameplay revolves around the player using the central character Mega Man
to run, jump, and shoot one's way through a set of stages in the order of the player's choosing. If the player takes damage, Mega Man's life meter can be refilled by picking up energy capsules scattered about each level or from fallen enemies. Mega Man's default Mega Buster arm cannon can be fired an unlimited amount of times. The Mega Buster's charge feature, introduced in Mega Man 4, has been upgraded to allow its powerful, charged shots to encompass a slightly wider area. Each stage ends with a boss battle with a Robot Master; destroying that Robot Master lets the player copy its special "Master Weapon", which can be toggled and used throughout the remainder of the game. Unlike the Mega Buster, Master Weapons require weapon energy to use and must be replenished if it is depleted in the same selected stage.
After completing certain stages, the player can also call on Mega Man's faithful dog Rush to reach higher platforms or cross large gaps using his "Coil" and "Jet" transformations. These abilities require refills with the same weapon energy that Master Weapons use. Extra lives, "Energy Tanks", and a new "Mega Tank" (which fully refills health and all item power) can also be as well. Some of the level designs in Mega Man 5 are unique up to this point in the series. For example, in Gravity Man's stage, the gravitation
is reversed from the floor to the ceiling, while in Wave Man's stage, the player drives a water craft
from the halfway point to the boss room. Each of the eight Robot Master stages contains a collectible, circuit board. Gathering all eight of these boards (spelling "M-E-G-A-M-A-N-V") will give the player access to a robot, bird friend by the name of Beat. The player can then call on Beat to attack any onscreen enemies.
. Artist Keiji Inafune
, who had major involvement in the development in all prior Mega Man games, worked under a new project leader for Mega Man 5. As with past entries in the series, Inafune used his experience to guide his supervisor and the other team members. He did this in order to avoid making an what he considered to be an "unreasonable game, [...] an affront to the players". As a result of this leadership, Inafune felt Mega Man 5 turned out with a lower difficulty level
. The team already felt they had accomplished all the gameplay they could with the release of Mega Man 4, so they decided to simply "introduce powered up versions of everything", such as the Mega Buster. Hayato Kaji, who worked diligently on the fourth installment of the series, was called in to help out during the middle of Mega Man 5' s development. The game was "taking a while to come together" at that point according to Kaji. Inafune summarized his work on Mega Man 5 as being fun, but he admitted having trouble with some of the designs, balance, and colors.
As with previous titles in the series, the eight Robot Master bosses in Mega Man 5 are a result of fans sending in their own designs to Capcom. Capcom received over 130,000 character submissions for the game. Inafune recounted having a difficult time getting approval on the chosen bosses, having had to re-illustrate them several times. However, the artist had little trouble in designing Beat, whose first draft was accepted by Inafune's superiors. The idea for Beat originated in the development of Mega Man 3
, where the concept support robots included a dog and bird. The team chose to keep the dog character as Rush for this earlier game, while the bird would serve as the basis for the character Beat in Mega Man 5. The musical score of Mega Man 5 was composed by Mari Yamaguchi. She would later collaborate with other composers of the core franchise for Mega Man 10
in 2010.
's Lucas M. Thomas holds Mega Man 5 as one of his favorite entries in the series and, because of its lowered difficulty compared to its predecessors, considers it the easiest of the bunch to casually pick up and play through. IGN lists Mega Man 5 as the 84th best game on the NES.
Like other sequels in the Mega Man series, Mega Man 5 has suffered criticism for its lack of innovative gameplay and storytelling. GamePro
summarized the game as "déjà vu all over again for disciples of the series" and that "Capcom must get some kind of cash rebate for recycling video games". 1UP.com
's Jeremy Parish painted Mega Man 5 as "a painfully phoned-in episode lacking not only innovation, but pretty much all the polish and balance that made the earlier games so enjoyable".
In 1999, Mega Man 5 was re-released for the PlayStation as part of the Japan-exclusive Rockman Complete Works
series. It featured a helpful "navi mode" for beginners, arranged music, encyclopedia modes, and artwork. A port of this version with fewer extras was released in North America for the PlayStation 2
and Nintendo GameCube
in 2004 and Xbox
in 2005 as part of Mega Man Anniversary Collection
. Another port of the game was released in Japan in 2007 for mobile phone
s compatible with Yahoo! Mobile
and EZweb applications. Finally, in 2011, the NES version was made available on the Wii
Virtual Console
service in both Japan and North America, and the PlayStation Network in Japan.
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
(NES). It is the fifth game in the original Mega Man series and was originally released in Japan on December 4, 1992. It saw a release during the same month in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and in 1993 in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
The plot takes place after the fourth defeat of the evil Dr. Wily
Doctor Wily
, full name Albert W. Wily, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the original Mega Man series of video games. Designed by Keiji Inafune, he appeared in the first Mega Man video game and later in promotions and other media related to the series...
at the hands of the heroic robot Mega Man
Mega Man (character)
Mega Man, known as in Japan, is a cybernetic video game character, and the main protagonist of what has been referred to as the original Mega Man series developed by Capcom since 1987. The pixel art for the character was created by the designer of the original game in the series, credited under...
in the year 20XX
21st century
The 21st century is the current century of the Anno Domini era or the Common Era in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. The century began on January 1, 2001 and will end on December 31, 2100. The years from 2001 to 2010 are historical; the years from 2011 to 2100 are subject to futurology and...
. Mega Man's brother and ally Proto Man uncharacteristically leads a group of menacing robots in attacks on the world and kidnaps his own creator Dr. Light, leaving Mega Man little choice but to take up arms in a fight against his once trusted sibling. Mega Man 5 carries over the same graphical style and action
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
-platforming
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
gameplay as the four preceding chapters in the series. The game introduces a new character, Beat, which the player can use as a weapon once a series of eight collectable letters
Letter (alphabet)
A letter is a grapheme in an alphabetic system of writing, such as the Greek alphabet and its descendants. Letters compose phonemes and each phoneme represents a phone in the spoken form of the language....
are found.
Mega Man 5 was met with an average to fairly positive critical reception, with the one major complaint being its lack of originality in either its plot or gameplay. Like other NES games in the series, Mega Man 5 has been re-released in Japan on the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
, PlayStation Network, and mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s; in North America as part of the Mega Man Anniversary Collection
Mega Man Anniversary Collection
Mega Man Anniversary Collection a compilation of video games developed by Atomic Planet Entertainment and published by Capcom. It was released exclusively in North America on June 23, 2004 for the Nintendo GameCube and Sony PlayStation 2 and on March 15, 2005 for the Microsoft Xbox...
; and in both regions on the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
.
Plot
The fictional storyline of Mega Man 5 takes place during the 21st century (the year 20XX), about two months after the events of Mega Man 4Mega Man 4
Mega Man 4, known in Japan as , is a platform game developed by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the fourth game in the original Mega Man series and was originally released in Japan on December 6, 1991...
, when the mad scientist Dr. Wily
Doctor Wily
, full name Albert W. Wily, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the original Mega Man series of video games. Designed by Keiji Inafune, he appeared in the first Mega Man video game and later in promotions and other media related to the series...
once again attempted to take over the world. Proto Man, brother and once ally to the world's greatest hero Mega Man
Mega Man (character)
Mega Man, known as in Japan, is a cybernetic video game character, and the main protagonist of what has been referred to as the original Mega Man series developed by Capcom since 1987. The pixel art for the character was created by the designer of the original game in the series, credited under...
, leads an army of robots in a series of destructive attacks on the world. To cripple the world's defenders, he kidnaps his own creator, the genius scientist Dr. Light. Mega Man wonders why his brother is doing this, but with little choice left, he sets out to stop him.
Mega Man prevails over a new group of eight powerful "Robot Masters" working under Proto Man: Star Man, Gravity Man, Gyro Man, Stone Man, Crystal Man, Charge Man, Napalm Man, and Wave Man. Mega Man then makes his way to Proto Man's fortress and confronts his fellow creation, who nearly kills the protagonist in the process. However, a second Proto Man arrives in the nick of time, revealing the first as Dark Man, one of Dr. Wily's newest robots. Mega Man vanquishes the impostor, then pursues Wily to his newest hideout, defeats him, and saves Dr. Light. Wily manages yet another retreat in the end.
Gameplay
Mega Man 5 is an actionAction game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
-platform game
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
that is very similar to previous titles in the series. Gameplay revolves around the player using the central character Mega Man
Mega Man (character)
Mega Man, known as in Japan, is a cybernetic video game character, and the main protagonist of what has been referred to as the original Mega Man series developed by Capcom since 1987. The pixel art for the character was created by the designer of the original game in the series, credited under...
to run, jump, and shoot one's way through a set of stages in the order of the player's choosing. If the player takes damage, Mega Man's life meter can be refilled by picking up energy capsules scattered about each level or from fallen enemies. Mega Man's default Mega Buster arm cannon can be fired an unlimited amount of times. The Mega Buster's charge feature, introduced in Mega Man 4, has been upgraded to allow its powerful, charged shots to encompass a slightly wider area. Each stage ends with a boss battle with a Robot Master; destroying that Robot Master lets the player copy its special "Master Weapon", which can be toggled and used throughout the remainder of the game. Unlike the Mega Buster, Master Weapons require weapon energy to use and must be replenished if it is depleted in the same selected stage.
After completing certain stages, the player can also call on Mega Man's faithful dog Rush to reach higher platforms or cross large gaps using his "Coil" and "Jet" transformations. These abilities require refills with the same weapon energy that Master Weapons use. Extra lives, "Energy Tanks", and a new "Mega Tank" (which fully refills health and all item power) can also be as well. Some of the level designs in Mega Man 5 are unique up to this point in the series. For example, in Gravity Man's stage, the gravitation
Gravitation
Gravitation, or gravity, is a natural phenomenon by which physical bodies attract with a force proportional to their mass. Gravitation is most familiar as the agent that gives weight to objects with mass and causes them to fall to the ground when dropped...
is reversed from the floor to the ceiling, while in Wave Man's stage, the player drives a water craft
Personal water craft
A personal water craft , also called water scooter, is a recreational watercraft that the rider rides or stands on, rather than inside of, as in a boat....
from the halfway point to the boss room. Each of the eight Robot Master stages contains a collectible, circuit board. Gathering all eight of these boards (spelling "M-E-G-A-M-A-N-V") will give the player access to a robot, bird friend by the name of Beat. The player can then call on Beat to attack any onscreen enemies.
Development
Mega Man 5 was developed by CapcomCapcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
. Artist Keiji Inafune
Keiji Inafune
is a video game producer and illustrator. He was the former head of Research & Development and Online Business and Global Head of Production at Capcom, best known as the illustrator and co-designer of the character Mega Man, as well as the producer of the Onimusha and Dead Rising video game series...
, who had major involvement in the development in all prior Mega Man games, worked under a new project leader for Mega Man 5. As with past entries in the series, Inafune used his experience to guide his supervisor and the other team members. He did this in order to avoid making an what he considered to be an "unreasonable game, [...] an affront to the players". As a result of this leadership, Inafune felt Mega Man 5 turned out with a lower difficulty level
Difficulty level
In general usage, difficulty level refers to the relative difficulty of completing a task or objective.In computer and video games, the term specifically delineates the ease or difficulty with which an average user may complete a game or a part of a game. Arcade games as well as many early console...
. The team already felt they had accomplished all the gameplay they could with the release of Mega Man 4, so they decided to simply "introduce powered up versions of everything", such as the Mega Buster. Hayato Kaji, who worked diligently on the fourth installment of the series, was called in to help out during the middle of Mega Man 5
As with previous titles in the series, the eight Robot Master bosses in Mega Man 5 are a result of fans sending in their own designs to Capcom. Capcom received over 130,000 character submissions for the game. Inafune recounted having a difficult time getting approval on the chosen bosses, having had to re-illustrate them several times. However, the artist had little trouble in designing Beat, whose first draft was accepted by Inafune's superiors. The idea for Beat originated in the development of Mega Man 3
Mega Man 3
Mega Man 3, known as in Japan, is a video game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the third game of the original Mega Man series and was originally released in Japan on September 28, 1990. The game localized in North America later in 1990 and in European...
, where the concept support robots included a dog and bird. The team chose to keep the dog character as Rush for this earlier game, while the bird would serve as the basis for the character Beat in Mega Man 5. The musical score of Mega Man 5 was composed by Mari Yamaguchi. She would later collaborate with other composers of the core franchise for Mega Man 10
Mega Man 10
Mega Man 10, known in Japan as , is a video game developed by Capcom and Inti Creates. It is the tenth main entry of the original Mega Man series...
in 2010.
Reception and legacy
Mega Man 5 has enjoyed generally positive reactions from printed and online publications. Many critics were complimentary of the game's graphics, music, play control, and challenge level. IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Lucas M. Thomas holds Mega Man 5 as one of his favorite entries in the series and, because of its lowered difficulty compared to its predecessors, considers it the easiest of the bunch to casually pick up and play through. IGN lists Mega Man 5 as the 84th best game on the NES.
Like other sequels in the Mega Man series, Mega Man 5 has suffered criticism for its lack of innovative gameplay and storytelling. GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
summarized the game as "déjà vu all over again for disciples of the series" and that "Capcom must get some kind of cash rebate for recycling video games". 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
's Jeremy Parish painted Mega Man 5 as "a painfully phoned-in episode lacking not only innovation, but pretty much all the polish and balance that made the earlier games so enjoyable".
In 1999, Mega Man 5 was re-released for the PlayStation as part of the Japan-exclusive Rockman Complete Works
Rockman Complete Works
Rockman Complete Works is a lineup of video game remakes released for the PlayStation in Japan of the first six games in the original Rockman series by Capcom...
series. It featured a helpful "navi mode" for beginners, arranged music, encyclopedia modes, and artwork. A port of this version with fewer extras was released in North America for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
in 2004 and Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
in 2005 as part of Mega Man Anniversary Collection
Mega Man Anniversary Collection
Mega Man Anniversary Collection a compilation of video games developed by Atomic Planet Entertainment and published by Capcom. It was released exclusively in North America on June 23, 2004 for the Nintendo GameCube and Sony PlayStation 2 and on March 15, 2005 for the Microsoft Xbox...
. Another port of the game was released in Japan in 2007 for mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s compatible with Yahoo! Mobile
Yahoo! Go
Yahoo! Go was a Java-based phone application provided by Yahoo! for users to access the company's products and services via their mobile phones or PDAs...
and EZweb applications. Finally, in 2011, the NES version was made available on the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
service in both Japan and North America, and the PlayStation Network in Japan.