Video Game / Mega Man 10

"I'm Mega, He's Proto, and we're putting a stop to the flu."^note L-to-R: Sheep Man, Nitro Man, Commando Man, Solar Man, Blade Man, Pump Man, Strike Man, and Chill Man

The tenth installment of the Mega Man (Classic) series. Like its predecessor Mega Man 9, it continues the trend of revisiting the series' roots with 8-bit graphics and music.

In the year 20XX, an outbreak of a robotic virus known as "Roboenza" runs rampant across the globe. Roll becomes infected with the virus, and the situation becomes worse as time passes and a cure is not found. Several robots become berserk and attack cities across the world. One day, Dr. Wily's damaged UFO is caught from crash-landing by Mega Man outside Dr. Light's lab, and the scientist says that Roboenza-infected robots attacked him and stole the parts of a medicine-making machine he had been working on to cure the virus. Mega Man agrees to retrieve the stolen parts from the eight Robot Masters. Before he begins, Proto Man arrives to help Mega Man, believing the job to be too big for just one of them, and the two join forces to acquire the cure. Meanwhile, Bass sets out on his own to challenge these new robots.

Originally released for WiiWare, the PlayStation Store, and Xbox 360, the game is currently available through Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 for PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

Robot Masters:

• DWN-073: Blade Man, weak to Commando Bomb, gives Triple Blade
• DWN-074: Pump Man, weak to Thunder Wool, gives Water Shield
• DWN-075: Commando Man, weak to Wheel Cutter, gives Commando Bomb
• DWN-076: Chill Man, weak to Solar Blaze, gives Chill Spike
• DWN-077: Sheep Man, weak to Rebound Striker, gives Thunder Wool
• DWN-078: Strike Man, weak to Triple Blade, gives the Rebound Striker
• DWN-079: Nitro Man, weak to Chill Spike, gives the Wheel Cutter
• DWN-080: Solar Man, weak to Water Shield, gives Solar Blaze

Do NOT confuse this with Mega Man X, which came out well before this game.

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Tropes:

• All the Worlds Are a Stage: Wily stages consist mostly of elements and enemies from the Robot Master stages, all mashed together. These stages frequently combine something from one stage with something from another to make a more difficult combination.
• An Offer You Can't Refuse: Once Wily obtains the means to provide the cure for Roboenza, he announces to the world that any infected robots who want the cure must work for him.
• Anti-Frustration Features:
  • After its absence from 9, the quick weapon switch returns from 7 and 8, but with a handy additional feature: pressing left switch and right switch simultaneously changes back to the player character's default buster without having to cycle through all the weapons between the current one and the buster.
  • Similarly, Weapon Tanks make a return from 7.
  • The massive dearth of collectable Energy Tanks in 9^note Only two E-Tanks are available in the Robot Master stages, with a few more strewn around the Wily Castle was met with certain derision by players. 10 rectifies this by having at least one Energy or Weapon Tank, or both, available in all of the Robot Master stages, and two Mystery Tanks being available in the Wily Castle stages.
  • While Proto Man is still a Glass Cannon susceptible to double damage, he no longer suffers the double knockback. In addition to that, his Proto Shield is bigger, which allows to take more advantage of its defensive or reflective properties.
• Astral Finale: The final level is set in Dr. Wily's latest fortress, which was built in outer space and can only be accessed through a massive elevator.
• Athletic Arena Level: Strike Man's stage takes place on a baseball field. The enemies include Cargou Qs, ball cages that fire different kinds of sports balls, Dockalockers that open up and fire at your character, pitching machines that throw baseballs named Mecha Pitchans, and a miniboss built into a giant soccer goal, known as The Keeper.
• Attack Reflector: The Mirror Buster returns from Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge, and can "reflect" shots by absorbing them and firing a shot out. Unlike its original appearance, however, it doesn't fire in the direction of the original shot.
• Batman Can Breathe in Space: Wily is able to breathe perfectly well in the space-bound top of Wily Castle.
• Big Fancy Castle: Blade Man's stage takes place in a medieval castle full of spike traps.
• Blackout Basement: Commando Man's stage has a section with periodic sandstorms that not only push you and enemies back (or forward) but also produces this effect in essence, just with sand instead of darkness - completely covering everything but you, enemies and powerups with sand.
• Bouncing Battler: One of Strike Man's attacks has him curl into a ball and bounce toward the player.
• Bubble Shield: Acquired from Pump Man, the Water Shield protects the user by surrounding them with a ring of water bubbles that block attacks.
• The Bus Came Back:
  • After being completely absent in Mega Man 9, Bass returns as a playable character that can be unlocked by buying DLC.
  • After his last appearance in Mega Man V, Tango returns in Auto's shop if the player is Proto Man.
  • The Mega Man Killers from the Game Boy games return as the bosses of three DLC Special Stages.
  • Reggae, Dr. Wily's pet bird, also returns in Auto's shop if the player is Bass.
• The Cameo: Tatebos from Mega Man 6 make an appearance in Blade Man's stage, in addition to a Bunby Catcher from Mega Man 9 holding a monitor detailing Dr. Wily's announcement that he created the Robozena virus.
• Call-Back:
  • Suzak and Fenix are pretty much flying versions of Heat Man, having roughly the same attacks as him.
  • The Sequential Boss of the first Wily Castle level is the Weapons Archive - a series of capsules containing the Special Weapons of various Robot Masters from 1-9; Elec Man, Wood Man, Gemini Man, Ring Man, Napalm Man, Flame Man, Slash Man, Frost Man, and Tornado Man.
  • The third Wily Castle boss is a cross between the familiar Devil series of Wily bosses and the Picopico-kun from Mega Man 2.
  • Wily Castle Stage 1 has Dark Man (or at least a similar looking robot) appear among some of the scrap. And he appears four times in the stage.
  • The music for Special Stage 3 is titled "Farewell to Ballade", referencing his sacrifice at the end of Mega Man IV.
• Call-Forward:
  • It's no secret that Mega Man's storyline eventually leads to Mega Man X, where a virus causes Reploids to go Maverick. This game depicts Wily's first experiments with a computer virus that causes peaceful robots to go berserk, though it's not something to make Zero, his last creation, a more obedient follower.
  • The game's Wily Castle has a large tower going all the way up into space, similar to 21XX's Jakob Orbital Elevator, which doubles as its last level.
  • Wily's decoy in the second Wily Capsule at the end of the game has a red triangle on his forehead, identical to how Reploids are identified in Mega Man ZX. Considering IntiCreates developed both ZX games and co-developed both 9 & 10 with Capcom, it makes sense.
• Ceiling Cling: Blade Man's attack pattern consists of him clinging to the arena walls and ceiling to fire projectiles at MegaMan while staying out of reach of the hero's signature Mega Buster.
• Challenge Run: The Book of Hairstyles returns from Mega Man 9. As before, it does nothing but remove Mega Man's helmet, which increases the damage he takes until he loses a life.
• Chekhov's Gun: After four Robot Masters are defeated, Dr. Wily manages to produce a prototype cure. When Mega Man succumbs to Roboenza himself, Roll gives the cure to him so he can stop Wily. Cures are also given to Proto Man and Bass in their pathways.
• Computer Viruses Are Computer Illnesses: Roboenza is a computer virus that makes infected robots display flu-like symptoms. As the disease progresses, the host eventually loses all sanity and becomes dangerously aggressive.
• Continuity Nod: When playing as Proto Man, Auto runs the shop wearing a Met helmet to hide his identity. This is probably the same Met helmet he tried to offer to Mega Man at the beginning of Mega Man 7.
• Cool Bike: Nitro Man is a Robot Master designed to resemble a motorcycle. He can completely transform into one, during which he will try to run over the player and drive up the walls.
• Disc-One Nuke: With the Mega Man Killers' weapons, Mega Man can easily tear through several stages. The Mirror Buster can absorb and reflect enemy projectiles, the Screw Crusher arcs upwards and has a ton of ammo, and the Ballade Cracker is essentially an explosive Metal Blade that can't be aimed straight down. And once Mega Man has them, they stay with him even on new playthroughs.
• Denial of Diagonal Attack: As usual, neither Mega Man nor Proto Man can shoot any way except straight ahead, and the only weapons that can be aimed are the Ballade Cracker (which only Mega Man can use,) Commando Bomb, and Rebound Striker. Bass, however, can aim in seven ways, and is more than capable of shredding minibosses just by standing under them and firing upwards.
• Down the Drain: Pump Man's stage is an underwater level that takes place in the sewers.
• Dragon Their Feet: Although Dr. Wily is the main antagonist of the story, The Mega Man Killers are the last opponents Mega Man faces story-wise before his escape from Wily Castle.
• Dual Boss:
  • Suzak and Fenix are a pair of phoenix-like robots that appear as a MiniBoss in Solar Man's Stage.
  • The Final Boss is a battle against two Wily Capsules, though one of them is a fake that doesn't take damage.
• Easter Egg: When fighting Ballade in Special Stage 3, he has a random chance of appearing in his second form from Mega Man IV. However, the difference is merely cosmetic, and he still fights exactly the same as he normally does.
• Easy-Mode Mockery: Downplayed, the helpful objects that exist only on Easy Mode are obvious, stand out, and don't blend in with the stages at all. They're not particularly demeaning, but are a clear and constant reminder that you did, in fact, select Easy Mode.
• Enemy Mine: Mega Man and Dr. Wily team up to help solve the Roboenza crisis after the latter loses his medicine-making prototype to the Robot Masters. Once it's completed, however, Wily predictably ditches the gang and blackmails robots who want the cure into working for him.
• Evolving Title Screen: Bass appears on the title screen as soon as the player downloads him. In Legacy Collection 2, he appears after clearing the game at least once.
• Fire, Ice, Lightning: Solar Man, Chill Man and Sheep Man's weapons create a fiery shock wave, ice spikes and an electric cloud, respectively.
• Five-Second Foreshadowing: During the Final Boss, one of the ways to tell the fake Wily apart from the real one is that the latter may occasionally sneeze. After he's beaten, it's revealed that he's came down with an illness.
• Garnishing the Story: The Wily Machine of this game sports a pirate hat, for no other reason than Rule of Cool.
• Giant Enemy Crab: Crab Puncher, the second Wily Castle boss, is a giant mechanical crab that attacks Mega Man, Proto Man, and/or Bass by shooting its claws.
• Gretzky Has the Ball: Strike Man's level; a baseball-themed Robot Master, with Mecha Pitchans and Cargou Qs being just 2 of the enemies encountered.
• Gusty Glade: A section in Commando Man's stage has periodic sandstorms that push you and enemies back or forward depending on the direction they blow from.
• Honor Before Reason: After Wily is defeated once more, Mega Man takes him to a hospital rather than finish him off after Wily is revealed to have fallen ill. After recovering from his illness, Wily had unexpectedly left behind a stash of Roboenza cures, just enough to restore all infected robots, before escaping.
• Ice Palace: Chill Man's stage is a massive building whose floor and walls have been coated in slippery ice.
• Interface Spoiler:
  • The Robot Masters being listed under the DWN serial number should tip players off on who's behind the Roboenza crisis.
  • The achievement for beating the game, much like the immediate predecessor, is "Whomp Wily!", pretty much spelling out the already familiar plot twist.
• Laser-Guided Karma: After the Final Boss, its revealed that Wily, whose ploy to dominate the world with an engineered robot-virus, has ironically gotten sick with a virus for humans.
• Legacy Boss Battle: You get to fight Enker, Punk, and Ballade in the three Special Stages.
• Me's a Crowd: Yonbain, an otherwise weak enemy that appears in Solar Man's stage, as well as Nitro Man's stage on Hard Mode,^note In addition to the first and last Wily Stages, (Hard Mode for the latter only) as well as Special Stage 2 has the ability to multiply like a cell at regular intervals. Each copy will then track down Mega Man, Proto Man, and/or Bass, attempting to deal collision damage and potentially overwhelming them if left alone. However, 4 can only be present at a time.
• Multi-Mook Melee: Challenges #26-37 are a series of mini-stages where Mega Man must contend against different kinds of enemies. #26, titled "Fight On!"^note In the Japanese version, it was known as "Met All!!", consists of nothing but every variation of the Mascot Mook in the game. #27-28, the "Cannon Ball" series, feature projectile-based enemies. #29-30, the "Charge Force" series, consists of enemies relying on Collision Damage. #31-32, the "Air Force" series, are Airborne Mook attacks. #33-36, the "Special Force" series, use the enemies with unique mechanics. Finally, #37, "Jumping Force", has enemies that mainly move around by jumping.
• Mythology Gag: There was a Blade Man in the infamous Mega Man 3 (DOS) for the PC, and both characters have a predominantly purple color scheme. That Blade Man's signature weapon, the Blade Launcher, also launched a Spread Shot of three blades, similarly to the Triple Blade.
• Nostalgia Level: The Special Stages each remake parts of the Wily stages from their bosses' original game.
• Not Me This Time: Wily claims he had nothing to do with the Roboenza pandemic. He's lying.
• Optional Boss: The three downloadable Special Stages feature Enker, Punk, and Ballade as bosses. Not only that, but if you defeat them, Mega Man can use their weapons in the main game. Originally, only Mega Man is available in the special modes, but Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 includes time trials that allow Proto Man and Bass to fight them as well.
• Overly Long Gag: The upwards trip towards Wily's Space Station. The map path goes up, and up, and up, eventually fading to black for some time while an extended map theme plays. The entire sequence alone lasts for a solid 20 seconds!
• Pet the Dog: After Mega Man finds out Wily has come down with an illness, he is brought to the hospital. The final scene of the game is Wily escaping from the hospital and leaving a metric ton of Roboenza cures on his sickbed.
• Pinball Projectile: Strike Man's Rebound Striker. On the third bounce, it heads directly for Mega Man. The weapon becomes stronger the more times it bounces off walls before hitting a target.
• Player-Guided Missile: The Commando Bomb can change directions in mid-air by pressing the appropriate direction (up, down, left, or right) up to two times after firing it.
• Pop the Tires: The reasoning behind Nitro Man's weakness against the Chill Spike is that its tires pop by running over the spikes - hitting him with a direct shot will freeze him, but deal less damage.
• Promoted to Playable: Proto Man is playable from the start this time, unlike Mega Man 9; this time, Bass, who was curiously absent in 9 outside of the ending, is available via DLC. He plays virtually identical to how he did in Mega Man & Bass, only without the Double Jump.
• Punny Name: Mini Bosses Suzak and Fenix are named after legendary firebirds Suzaku and The Phoenix.
• Quicksand Sucks: In Commando Man's stage, quicksand slowly pulls the player downwards.
• Rearrange the Song: The three downloadable special stages have rearranged versions of music from the games the stage bosses were originally from. Enker has a remix of the music from the Wily stage he was the boss of, Punk has an extended version of his Leitmotif, and Ballade has a new level theme that incorporates elements of his Leitmotif.
• Refuse to Rescue the Disliked: If Proto Man and/or Bass defeat Wily at the end of the game, they leave him to rot, though Mega Man would always save Wily regardless of the 2 characters.
  Proto Man: I should just leave you here...
  -> Bass: Well... see you around.
• Ridiculously Human Robots: The robots in this game can contract Roboenza, a disease that produces symptoms similar to a common cold. After being infected, Roll catches a fever, while Mega Man starts sneezing uncontrollably.
• Save the Villain: In the ending, when Mega Man discovers that Dr. Wily has become very sick himself, he decides right then and there to take him to a hospital. In apparent gratitude, Wily leaves behind enough medicine to cure the Roboenza outbreak when he makes his escape.
• Sequential Boss: The Weapons Archive is fought three times across Wily Castle 1, with each fight using three Special Weapons from three games.
• Schrödinger's Player Character: Despite the fact that Mega Man, Proto Man and Bass all go after the Robot Masters at the same time, only the one you play as will fight them (and none will be destroyed by one of the other characters before you get to them). Furthermore, a cutscene after Wily Castle 1 shows Mega Man and Proto Man in the castle together...but this is only seen if Proto Man is being played as. Bass never interacts with the two at any point, and after defeating Wily, only the character you play as is seen to have beaten him.
• Shout-Out: Sheep Man and his electric based powers, as well as his stage and the name of his theme ("Cybersheep's Dream"), are a reference to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, of which Blade Runner was adapted from.
• Space Station: Sort of — the top of Wily Castle looks and acts the part, but it is connected to the rest of the fortress via a tall tower. Noticeably, large tanks of Roboenza are on board.
• Spread Shot: The Triple Blade fires three long blades simultaneously. When on the ground, the blades spread upwards, but if used while jumping they spread downwards.
• Star Scraper: Wily Castle is a space station connected to the planet's surface by a ridiculously tall elevator that predates 21XX's Jakob Orbital Elevator.
• Transforming Mecha: Nitro Man can transform into a motorbike.
• Truce Trickery: When the Roboenza virus starts spreading across the city with Roll being infected, Dr. Wily arrives to help due to the robots attacking him. It later turns out that he was the one who invented the virus having used Dr. Light to help make a cure to blackmail the robots into working for him and has infected Mega Man to get him out of the way.
• Updated Re Release: The game was re-released as part of the Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 compilation.
• Utility Weapon:
  • Nitro Man's Wheel Cutter can be used to climb walls by holding it on the end of your Buster and pushing it into them.
  • The Commando Bomb is the only weapon that can destroy certain walls.
• The Virus: Roboenza is a highly contagious computer virus and its final stage causes robots to go rogue, akin to the Maverick Virus from Mega Man X.
• White Flag: After defeating the Tricastle Mini-Boss, it will humorously raise a white flag before exploding.

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