Mega Man 8
| Mega Man 8 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Capcom |
| Publisher(s) | Capcom |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation, Sega Saturn |
| Release | PlayStation
Sega Saturn
|
| Genre(s) | Action / Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Mega Man 8, known as Rockman 8 Metal Heroes (ロックマン8 メタルヒーローズ, Rokkuman Eito Metaru Hīrōzu) in Japan, is a video game released by Capcom in 1996 and 1997 for the PlayStation and the Sega Saturn. 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.
Story
In the year 20XX, two robots battle each other in the depths of space, the ultimate outcome of which leads them plummeting 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 traveling 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, 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."
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 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 (and use) 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. Mega Man also has the ability to use his Mega Buster at all times, even when equipped with a Master Weapon.
Another significant addition to the gameplay in this game is the use of a rocketboard in certain levels. At certain points, Mega Man jumps onto a rocketboard, which gradually accelerates as it proceeds across the level. Mega Man must jump or slide at various points to avoid falling or getting stuck as the screen scrolls to the right; an indicator appears on-screen with a visual representation of a jump or slide, accompanied by a vocal reminder that repeats two times ("Jump, Jump" or "Slide, Slide").
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 return as Robot Masters once again in Mega Man & Bass, though they behave differently and the weapons received from them are also different. Cut Man and Wood Man (from Mega Man 1 and 2, respectively) were bosses in the Sega Saturn version only.
| DWN # | Image | Robot Master | Weapon |
|---|---|---|---|
| 57 | Tengu Man | Tornado Hold | |
| 58 | File:Rm8 as.PNG | Astro Man | Astro Crush |
| 59 | Sword Man | Flame Sword | |
| 60 | File:Rm8 cl.PNG | Clown Man | Thunder Claw |
| 61 | Search Man | Homing Sniper | |
| 62 | Frost Man | Ice Wave | |
| 63 | File:Rm8 gr.PNG | Grenade Man | Flash Bomb |
| 64 | File:Rm8 aq.PNG | Aqua Man | Water Balloon |
| 03 | Cut Man (Sega Saturn only) | none | |
| 16 | Wood Man (Sega Saturn only) | none |
Fortress bosses
After defeating all the Robot Masters, Mega Man is forced to face what are considered to be the final bosses.
| Boss |
|---|
| Quad Pod |
| Rocket Winger |
| Bass |
| Green Devil |
| Dr. Wily - Wily Machine 8 |
| Dr. Wily - Wily Capsule |
Ports
Mega Man 8 was later released on the Sega Saturn. However, both versions were not identical. The Sega Saturn version had the following differences:
- A Bonus Mode was included, which includes official and fan artwork, voice test, music test, and a secret animation test for the cutscenes.
- Special water morphing effects were added; the water flowed and moved more realistically.
- Special lighting effects and a flashing siren during Duo's mini-stage (which stop only at the first screen and in boss fights).
- Some additional enemies in many of the stages.
- Some of the Robot Masters in this game are slightly tougher in the Saturn version.
- Cut Man (from Mega Man) and Wood Man (from Mega Man 2) make cameo appearances as one-time mini-bosses in Duo's mini-stage (Cut Man) and Search Man's stage (Wood Man). Defeating each earns Mega Man a Bolt. While Cut Man's Bolt was present in the PlayStation version, Wood Man's Bolt was previously found in Sword Man's stage.
- The music is slightly different in the Saturn version. Two notable examples are Aqua Man's Stage, which is moodier and has a wider variety of instruments, and Tengu Man's Stage, the only level in the game which had an entirely different tune. Also, because of Cut Man and Wood Man's appearances, their respective themes are played in the Saturn version when players battle them; both are remixed to match the sound of the rest of the music. The Saturn version uses PCM encoded audio, while the PlayStation version uses the internal MIDI system of the console.
- The cutscenes in the Saturn version are compressed using Cinepak compression, which causes artifacting and slight blockiness, whereas the PlayStation uses its native M-JPEG encoding[citation needed].
Despite the more "complete" Saturn version, the PlayStation version was ported in the Anniversary Collection (for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox), due to the ease of porting PlayStation games over Sega Saturn games. However, it is plagued with technical issues, such as slowdowns during boss battles, and audio issues with some of the Robot Masters' voices sped up and improper music looping.
According to an interview with Keiji Inafune, conducted by Chris Bieniek (Editor-in-Chief, Tips and Tricks Magazine) for G4's 'Legends' show, which was later also included in the GameCube version of the Mega Man Anniversary Collection compilation (a collection in which none of the bonuses from the Sega Saturn version appear), Mega Man 8 was originally intended to only be for the Sega Saturn, but Sony demanded the game, fearing it would give an unfair advantage to its then-rival.