Fridge / Rockman 4 Minus ∞

Fridge Brilliance

• While Shadow Man's multiple appearances could be chalked up to Author Appeal, there is a reason for it. In the official materials, Shadow Man is described as Wily's bodyguard/right-hand man. It would make sense if Shadow Man himself does the field job. One encounter even has him maintaining Pharaoh Man's level.
• In the credits, Wily Stage 2 has the subtitle "Rushed-Out Products". That would explain why all the enemies are colored gray during the first half of the stage (where Mega Man gets rushed by just about every kind of minor enemy from the game): They were rushed out and had no time to be painted a different color.
  • On a more technical level; the enemies were given a monochrome color due to the NES' four three-color palette limit for sprites. Mega Man himself takes two of those palettes (one for his skin/eyes, which is shared by other common elements/objects also colored cream/white, and the other for his armor, which affects the colorization of items and what weapon he's currently using), leaving the other two palettes left for use by enemies/objects, which in this case are both grey.
• Regarding boss weaknesses:
  • Dive Man is weak against Spark Manbow because the ocean depths are very dark, and thus any light entering Dive Man's eyes damages him tremendously.
  • Skull Man is weak against Recycle Inhaler because his materials are easily recyclable.
  • Pharaoh Man is weak against Drill Torpedo because drills dig through excavation sites.
  • Toad Man is weak against Pharaoh Shotgun because the move uses the power of the sun to kill things. Toads can't stand the heat.
  • Bright Man is weak against Spark Manbow because it causes a massive power overload.
  • Bright Man is weak against HCR Boomerang because it causes his lightbulb to short out.
  • Ring Man is weak against Hell Wheel because it lets Mega Man move faster than him.
  • Wave Man is weak against Hell Wheel because it is a contact-based move like Charge Kick.
  • Drill Man is weak against Water Cutter because drill tips need to be in good shape when digging through the earth. The water rusts Drill Man's drills, causing more damage through wear and tear.
  • Crash Man is weak against Recycle Inhaler because it is a wind-based weapon like Air Shooter.