Mega Man

1987 · Platform / Action · NES

Overview

Mega Man (1987) is Capcom's NES action platformer: pick any of six Robot Masters to fight, and take each boss's weapon for the next.

Deep Dive

Mega Man must stop Dr. Wily's rogue robots. A stage select lets players tackle Cut Man, Guts Man, Ice Man, Bomb Man, Fire Man and Elec Man in any order, and each defeated master gives up a weapon that is especially effective against one of the others. The order becomes part of the puzzle. Designed by Akira Kitamura, with the character designed by Keiji Inafune, it sold modestly but launched one of Capcom's most enduring series.

Developer Story

Mega Man was designed by Akira Kitamura at Capcom in 1987. The core innovation was the stage-select screen allowing players to tackle six Robot Masters in any order — each defeated boss surrendered their weapon, usable against other bosses with specific vulnerabilities. Kitamura designed each Robot Master with a clear thematic identity (Cut Man, Bomb Man, Guts Man) that communicated their attack patterns visually.

Did You Know?

Players could complete the six Robot Master stages in any order — a non-linear structure rare in 1987 action games.
Each Robot Master weapon was specifically effective against one other Robot Master, creating a rock-paper-scissors chain that rewarded discovery.
The first game sold modestly, and Capcom agreed to a sequel only if the team made it alongside their other work — Mega Man 2 went on to make the series one of Capcom's biggest.
Mega Man's visual design — blue colour, arm cannon, helmet — was created by Keiji Inafune, who went on to become the series' creative director.

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