Mega Man 8

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Mega Man 8
Developer(s)	Capcom
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Release date(s)	December 17, 1996 February 27, 1997 November 1, 1998
Genre(s)	Action / Platform
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone
Platform(s)	Sega Saturn, PlayStation
Media	1 × CD-ROM

Mega Man 8 (ロックマン8 メタルヒーローズ, Mega Man 8^? Rockman 8: Metal Heroes) is a video game released by Capcom in 1996 and 1997 for the Sega Saturn and the PlayStation. It was the only game in the classic series to be released on a CD-based console by itself. Upon its release, Capcom reached the franchise's 10th anniversary, and some limited edition copies of the game were packaged with a color history booklet, celebrating one decade of the series.

Mega Man 8 is the second of four games in the entire series to feature anime-style cutscenes. The video quality of these full motion videos are considered by many to be quite good. Unfortunately, several fans found the voice acting of the American version laughable, comparing its bad quality to some of Capcom's other voice-scripted games like the original Resident Evil. The voices themselves are often ridiculed as well, such as Mega Man's "effeminate" tone (he was voiced by a woman) and Dr. Light sounding akin to Elmer Fudd.

Contents 1 Story 2 Gameplay 2.1 Robot Masters 3 Fortress bosses 4 Ports 5 Trivia 6 External links

[edit] Story

In the year 20XX, two robots battle each other in the depths of space, the ultimate outcome of which leads them plumetting to a blue planet known to its inhabitants as "Earth"...

Meanwhile, Mega Man and Rush are battling their rivals Bass and Treble, when Dr. Light calls Mega Man to investigate strange energy readings on a nearby island. On the island, Mega Man finds Dr. Wily, flying away with a strange purple orb. Before chasing him, he sees a damaged robot and asks for Dr. Light to pick it up and try to repair it. Dr. Wily then releases 4 new Robot Masters to combat Mega Man. Each time he destroys one, he receives a purple orb like the one Dr. Wily had. Each of the Robot Masters are empowered with a new energy that is unlike any that Mega Man has faced yet, and it seems that this power comes from the new energy cores that Wily has enfused within them.

After Mega Man defeats all four, he returns to the lab and Dr. Light tells him that the robot he found should be fine if he rests for a while. Additionally, he tells him that the strange new energy cores that they have found contain great power and that they must not fall into the hands of evil. After Dr. Light and Mega Man leave the lab, the robot wakes up, sees the purple energy, becomes enraged, and flies off into the distance. Mega Man follows suit on Rush. Mega Man finds him in a mine shaft on the other side of the globe, and after battling the robot, Proto Man shows up and tells Mega Man that Dr. Wily's new fortress, "Wily Tower," is just ahead. Mega Man goes ahead, but is captured by one of Wily's giant robotic creations. The robot saves him, introduces himself as Duo, and explains what his purpose is. He then quickly dispatches the gigantic machine.

Duo then explains what the energy is, calling it "Evil Energy." He says he has been travelling the universe tracking down this energy and trying to destroy it. Moreover, he says that they must destroy it as soon as possible or it will engulf the entire world. However, "Wily Tower" has a barrier around it that prevent him from taking out the source. Duo tells Mega Man to destroy the four other Robot Masters that hold the key to the barrier while he collects and extinguishes the rest of the world's Evil Energy.

Once the Robot Masters have been defeated, "Wily Tower's" barrier is lifted and Mega Man makes his way through it, defeating the hordes of robotic henchmen inside, including Bass and Treble, and ultimately, the evil doctor himself.

In the end, the "Evil Energy" is destroyed before it is allowed to spread throughout the world, and Wily's newest compound is destroyed... with Mega Man inside, as he trapped by the Evil Energy. We later see Mega Man on an open field, knocked out. Duo arrives, examining Mega Man and determining that he's corrupted by the Evil Energy, and that it's killing him. He attempts to help Mega Man recover, searching his thoughts to see if his mind is taken over by the evil. Fortunately, it hasn't been taken completely, and Duo seemingly destroys the last of the Evil Energy on Earth. Leaving Mega Man in the care of Proto Man, Duo leaves Proto Man with a message to give him when he wakes up: "Thank you."

[edit] Gameplay

The layout of Mega Man 8 is similar to its predecessors: Mega Man can run, jump, slide, shoot, charge his Mega Buster, and change weapons (either in-game or while paused). Like Mega Man 7 only four robot masters are available during the first half of the game, as mentioned in the Story section. Auto's part shop from the last game also reappears in the form of Dr. Light's lab, where Mega Man can buy new abilities from Roll in exchange for special bolts found throughout the levels. However, due to a limited number of bolts and powerup slots available, the player must carefully decide which powerups to choose.

Unlike the others, however, the game includes two storyline introduction stages, one before each set of robots. In previous games, Rush Adaptors were obtained along with certain robot master weapons. In Mega Man 8, the adaptors are won by fighting mid-stage minibosses. Mega Man can also swim this time around, which is particularly useful in Aqua Man's stage. A noteworthy addition to the gameplay - exclusive to Mega Man 8 - is the ability to display multiple weapons onscreen simultaneously. Likely the result of the improved game consoles, this change introduces a unique way of using weapons strategically. For example, Mega Man can place a Tornado Hold, jump into it and swing the Flame Sword while rising with the air current.

[edit] Robot Masters

Like several other games in the series, the Robot Masters used in the game were picked from design contests in Japan. Tengu Man and Astro Man, however, were created entirely by Capcom instead. It is also worth noting that both Astro Man and Tengu Man are regular Robot Masters in Mega Man & Bass, though they behave differently and the weapons received from them are also different. Cut Man and Wood Man were bosses in the Mega Man 8 Sega Saturn version only.

DWN #	Image	Robot Master	Weapon	Weakness
57		Tengu Man	Tornado Hold	Ice Wave/Mega Buster
58		Astro Man	Astro Crush	Homing Sniper
59		Sword Man	Flame Sword	Water Balloon
60		Clown Man	Thunder Claw	Tornado Hold
61		Search Man	Homing Sniper	Flame Sword
62		Frost Man	Ice Wave	Flash Bomb/Flame Sword
63		Grenade Man	Flash Bomb	Thunder Claw
64		Aqua Man	Water Balloon	Astro Crush
03		Cut Man (Sega Saturn only)	none	Mega Buster
16		Wood Man (Sega Saturn only)	none	Flame Sword/Mega Buster

[edit] Fortress bosses

After defeating all the Robot Masters, Mega Man is forced to face what are considered to be the final bosses.

Boss	Weakness
Quad Pod	Mega Ball
Rocket Winger	Astro Crush
Bass	Mega Buster
Green Devil	Thunder Claw
Dr. Wily - Wily Machine 8	Astro Crush
Dr. Wily - Wily Capsule	Flame Sword

[edit] Ports

Mega Man 8 was released on both the Sega Saturn and PlayStation around the same time. However, both versions were not equal. The Sega Saturn version had two extra bosses (Cut Man from Mega Man and Wood Man from Mega Man 2), a Bonus Mode including sound and FMV tests, special water morphing effects, and a different tune for Tengu Man's stage, all of which the PlayStation version lacked. The PlayStation version was ported in Anniversary Collection, due to the ease of porting Playstation games over Sega Saturn games. According to an interview for the Mega Man Anniversary Collection, Mega Man 8 was meant to only be for the Sega Saturn, but Sony flat-out demanded the game, fearing a bit of an unfair advantage to their currently direct rival.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Trivia

• Mega Man 8 was included on the Mega Man Anniversary Collection compilation for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. The version used is the PlayStation version, so none of the bonuses from the Sega Saturn version appear.

• The opening theme for the Japanese version is called "ELECTRICAL COMMUNICATION" and the ending theme is called "BRANDNEW WAY" (occasionally mistranslated as "BLANDNEW WAY"). Both songs were performed by Ganasia, and were reused for the 'Choose Your Own Adventure' styled FMV-game Super Adventure Rockman.

• The first Mega Man game to use Japanese artwork rather than US artwork on the package. In previous games, Mega Man 3, 4, 5, and 6 in particular, Mega Man is depicted as a muscular type figure. The Japanese artwork in Mega Man 8 depicted Mega Man as a youthful boy robot

[edit] External links

• Perfect Memories Bonus Mode Sega Saturn article.
• GameFAQs entry for Mega Man 8 (PS1)