Mega Man
Also known as: Rockman (JP) Developer: Capcom Publisher: Capcom Platform: NES Released in JP: December 17, 1987 Released in US: December 17, 1987 Released in EU: December 13, 1989 Released in AU: December 29, 1987 Released in KR: December 15, 1990 This game has unused code. This game has unused graphics. This game has regional differences. This game has a bugs page

Mega Man is one of the great icons of the NES and a game that would go on to found a number of basic principles for 2-D sidescrolling action. These principles would be better refined in sequels and offshoots, but this is where a little blue robot first set out to stop Dr. Wily and collect all sorts of neat weapons.

It's also considered to be one of the hardest games on the NES.

Unused Code

The Game Genie code PEXPIIAA (all versions) re-enables a strange bit of unused code: hold A on controller 2 while landing on the ground, and Mega Man will act as though he's been stunned by Guts Man's earthquakes. The purpose of this code is completely unknown, though it may have just been for testing purposes.

Unused Sprites

Sprites of Dr. Light talking and pointing upwards while wearing colored pants (the used sprite has white pants). They would have fit best in the ending, but really could have been anywhere.

Unused Copy Robot Behavior

The Copy Robot boss in Wily Stage 2 has some unused behavior.

Normally, the boss room is a completely flat plain with nothing in the way of either the boss or the player. However, if the room is modified to include solid obstacles (as in the image), the Copy Robot boss will go to its "jump" script, when blocked. This jump script is the same one used when the player presses the Fire button, which makes it hop randomly to the left or to the right.

It's also of note that if the player presses Fire while Copy Robot is falling from a higher platform, the "jump" script will still trigger, making it appear as though the Copy Robot is jumping in mid-air.

Regional Differences

Title Screen

Japan	USA	Europe

Probably the most recognizable change. Aside from the obvious complete overhaul, the American and European versions were given a logo that remained a staple of the series outside Japan up until Mega Man 8.

The sound effect that plays when selecting a Robot Master also plays when pressing Start in the Japanese version, with Mega Man and the borders also flashing gray and white. The US and European versions silently flash the "PRESS START" text.

Sound Effects

In the European version of the game, two sound effects are noticeably different from their US or Japanese counterparts.

The firing sound effect for the default weapon is supposed to play an upward-scaling set of eight notes, but in the European version, only five of these notes play while the other three are replaced by a sequence of five notes being played at the lowest possible key. The end result makes it sound like the Mega Buster is buzzing every time it fires.

The landing sound effect also sounds quite different from the international versions. It actually bears a close similarity to the landing noise heard in the first two Game Boy games, though that might just be a coincidence.

Bizarrely, the European versions of these sounds ended up in the Rockman Complete Works version of Mega Man on the PlayStation and the version included on the PlayStation 2/GameCube compilation, Mega Man Anniversary Collection!

Ending

Japan	USA	Europe

The "Presented by" in the North American version contains an out of place comma due to having omitted INC. for some reason.