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Be The Robot Master In The Mega Man Legacy Collection
I distinctly remember popping Mega Man 1 into my NES for the first time and being overwhelmed. Unlike many games of that era, which followed linear paths, Capcom gave players the freedom to take on the game’s six robot masters in whatever order they saw fit. The catch was that some bosses had specific weaknesses to certain weapons – weapons that our hero only obtained by defeating their owners. Figuring out the proper order was one of the fun parts of the game, and I still look back on those games with fondness (and a little frustration).
Capcom has compiled the first six Mega Man games in The Mega Man Legacy Collection, so I thought I’d offer a helping hand to people who are either new to the series or haven’t revisited them in a while. Even if you find your own paths later on, these should at least get you started on your Mega Man journey. Good luck!
Mega Man
- Fire Man
- Bomb Man
- Guts Man
- Cut Man
- Elec Man
- Ice Man
Fire Man and Bomb Man are easy to take out with Mega Man's default Mega Buster. Once those guys are defeated, it's a matter of using your new weapons in order to run through the bosses. Use Bomb Man's Super Arm on Cut Man, Cut Man's Rolling Cutter on Elec Man, and the Thunder Beam on Ice Man.
Mega Man 2
- Air Man
- Crash Man
- Flash Man
- Quick Man
- Metal Man
- Bubble Man
- Heat Man
- Wood Man
Mega Man 2 introduces a pair of handy items, appropriately named Item-1 and Item-2. Air Man drops the second one, and it makes Heat Man's level much easier. Once again, you can simply run through the bosses one after the next, using the weapon you most recently unlocked against them, starting by defeating Crash Man with Air Man's Air Shooter.
Mega Man 3
- Top Man
- Shadow Man
- Spark Man
- Magnet Man
- Hard Man
- Snake Man
- Gemini Man
- Needle Man
Level order becomes a little more fluid here. Bosses follow predicable patterns and can be taken in any order if you're persistent enough. The Mega Buster is effective against Top Man, which makes him a solid place to start. Then you can simply run down your newest weapons one by one as you make your way through to the next boss.
Mega Man 4
- Toad Man
- Bright Man
- Pharaoh Man
- Ring Man
- Dust Man
- Skull Man
- Dive Man
- Drill Man
This one's quite self-explanatory. After beating Toad Man, do what you've been doing before – use your shiny new weapons against the next boss in the line.
Mega Man 5
- Star Man
- Gravity Man
- Gyro Man
- Crystal Man
- Napalm Man
- Stone Man
- Charge Man
- Wave Man
Consider this a big choose-your-own adventure. Star Man and Wave Man are both vulnerable to the Mega Buster. Wave Man's level has a twist: You can't use any of your fancy robot-master weapons in the stage. You can tackle each one whenever, but I like the idea of leaving Wave Man last as a little treat.
Mega Man 6
- Wind Man
- Flame Man
- Blizzard Man
- Plant Man
- Tomahawk Man
- Yamato Man
- Knight Man
- Centaur Man
You can jump right in and take out Mr. Flame first, but he's easier with Wind Man's weapon. Wind Man himself follows an easy pattern, so he's a good place to start. Either way, things quickly fall into place once those two baddies are out of the way.
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