Fantasy Soundtrack: Mega Man
I’ve really been in a list mood, and this past month has been a good one for lists with the New Year’s predictions and Naughty and Nice. But I had the itch for just one more list post, and was inspired to make it a big one.
I’ve been thinking about Mega Man games lately after stumbling upon “ A Critical Look At Mega Man Stages,” which often mentions how good the music is. I, too, remember a lot of catchy tracks from the NES Mega Man games that weren’t hampered by the old consoles limited sound capabilities.
I then set out to put together my fantasy team of Mega Man music. A smash hit soundtrack collecting one of the best tracks across the 10(+1)-game mainline series for every occasion. This does not include Wily Wars, Mega Man Anniversary Collection, the Game Boy, Game Gear and Playstation versions or Mega Man Powered Up. You also won’t see Megaman & Bass, but that’s purely by coincidence; I include it in the mainline series, but not one song from the game made the cut.
Anyway, here’s what I drafted:
Prologue: Mega Man II
Title Screen: Mega Man II
Stage select: Mega Man IV
Stage selected: Mega Man V
Robot Masters (8): Mega Man (Cut Man, Fire Man), Mega Man III (Snake Man, Gemini Man), Mega Man IV (Pharaoh Man), Mega Man VI (Flame Man), Mega Man VII (Shade Man), Mega Man 9 (Splash Woman)
This mix of bosses would be a bit weird for an actual game, what with two fire robots and no ice or sky robots. I imagine the weakness chain going like Cut Man > Splash Woman > Flame Man/Fire Man > Shade Man > Pharaoh Man > Snake Man > Gemini Man. I strongly considered Blizzard Man for my lineup, which would have made an easier chain if subbed for one of the fire-themed robot masters: Cut Man > Splash Woman > Flame Man > Blizzard Man > Snake Man > Gemini Man > Pharaoh Man > Shade Man.
Boss battle: Mega Man III
Stage clear: Mega Man IV-VI
So this is where things get weird. Every game in the series except the first and third uses the same jingle for clearing a stage. However, II, 8, 9 and 10 have a hollow, diminished final note which drives me crazy compared to the strong, resonant ending tone of IV, V, VI and VII.
Weapon get: Mega Man III
Game over: Mega Man IV
Password: Mega Man V
Castle map (2): Mega Man III, Mega Man VI (real Wily fortress)
While many people know that the music files in Mega Man III for both Protoman’s whistle and the ending credits song based on it last longer than is actually heard in the game, few know the Skull Castle map music also gets cut off short. It’s plenty good for establishing mood as-is in normal gameplay, but the full track definitely delivers.
Dr. Wily stages (4): Mega Man II (Dr. Wily stage 1), Mega Man III (Dr. Wily stage 2), Mega Man IV (Dr. Wily stage 2), Mega Man 9 (Flash in the Dark)
Dr. Wily stage boss fights: Mega Man III
Not many of the games have separate music for the bosses in the Dr. Wily stages, so this was an easy pick.
Dr. Wily fight: Mega Man V
Dr. Wily defeated: Mega Man II
Ending: Mega Man III
Staff roll: Mega Man VI
Do you fellow Blue Bomber aficionados disagree with these picks? Let’s talk shop in the comments.
About The Author
Drew
Features Editor | Drew started behind the 8(bit)-ball in the video game world. He first became interested in anime by chance exposure on the Sci-Fi channel. Drew's the creative force behind blog-wide features, works the movie and food beats, and pioneered Damage Control’s entry into video, podcasts and streaming.
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I was wondering what this would be since I saw the title, and it’s a nice idea!
I’ve grown fond of Mega Man 3’s title theme over 2’s recently, likely because I’ve heard the latter so much. I’ve become a big fan of Mega Man & Bass’ soundtrack, too, perhaps due to how different it is compared to other soundtracks in the franchise. In addition to some of those, I’d also use some…
…geez, this is becoming a miniature post. Maybe I should do my own or something.
I do like Mega Man III’s title theme once it gets going, but It’s very hard for me to separate of the prologue and tile tunes from MMII.
I ran into the same problem with track selections as I had from the song “Let it Go” from Frozen: Many of these song were overdone in fandom (prime example being the first Wily stage music from MMII), but the adoration was legitimately earned by being a glorious piece of music.
There is a disturbing lack of Bubble Man on this soundtrack. Terrible robot master. Kickassingly terrific theme. Same for Cut Man, which you did include and I tip my hair net to you for it.
I’m also a fan of Junk Man’s and Mr. X’s stage music, along with the Game Over Screen music for Mega Man 3. Despite losing, it cheers me up. I’ve never played MM9 (I probably would have blogged about it if I had), but I’ve listened to Splash Woman’s theme enough times to confidently proclaim it as the best on the soundtrack.
You may want to check out the music from the crossover with Street Fighter. Nice mash-up tracks, and the OST is free (or rather, it’s “name your price”). I think a lot of older video game music would sound better well with some Mega Man mixed into it.
I rejected Mega Man III’s Game Over track mostly because it was a dead ringer for the Playskool Sounds Around jingle.
I’ll save you the trouble of counting. Here’s the top three contributors:
Mega Man III: 8 songs
Mega Man IV: 5 songs (if you include the stage clear)
Mega Man II: 4 songs
Bottom three:
Megaman 8, Megaman 10 and Megam & Bass, all with 0.