My Tribute To Megaman

Ever since Megaman 2 hit the Nes I've been absolutely crazy about the Megaman series. As I am a huge retro game enthusiast I decided to focus on collecting 1 series of games rather than focusing on 1 games system and what better choice than my favorite series of games ever?

While I buy all my games to play, I simply love the presentation on each of the boxes and manuals which prompted me to exclusively collect complete copies of each game. This has proved to be a challenge in itself as many of the games are extremely hard (or next to impossible) to purchase with the box and manual intact (Megaman V and the Gamegear release took months each to locate and cost a pretty penny when I did find them). However I had been lucky in a few instances where I simply stumbled upon games I never even knew existed such as the Chinese only Rockman Strategy, the Megaman 3 Playchoice cart and the PAL release of Megaman 5.

While most of my purchases have come from eBay and the Yahoo Japan Auctions I have also had help from members of the retrogamer.net forum who helped set me up with complete copies of Wily Wars, Xtreme 2 as well as several of the rarer PAL Playstation releases.

So here is my collection!

The German release of Megaman X for the Snes. The box for the German release is slightly different to the UK release in that it comes packaged in a Black box where as the UK release came in a Blue box.

 

 

My 2 latest big (expensive!) purchases - the PAL releases of Megaman X2 and Megaman X3 which are extremely hard to come by, even harder to get complete. X3 is probably the rarest game in my collection (that got a commerical release) and without a doubt the most expensive by a mile!

 

My latest aquisition and one of my favourite pieces of my collection. This is a little known PC doujin (fanmade) game called Rockmen R. The basic concept is exactly the same (beat 8 robot masters then go through Wily's fortress) however this time you play as Roll (who plays exactly the same as Rock always did!).

The game is a great homage to the original Nes games, both its look and feel mimic them perfectly and as a result its an absolute joy to play through. It also features the traditional difficulty of past Megaman games!

 

One of my most prized pieces. All 7 Famicom Rockman games, complete and in good condition. The art on the boxes and in the manuals are much better than those featured on the USA and Euro releases.

An amazingly well done unofficial conversion of Megaman the Wily Wars for the Sega Genesis. It perfectly resembles what the Genesis version may have looked like should it have gotten a physical release, better yet it fully works on an American console and the battery backed saving even works so you can play the Wily Tower levels!

Another new arrival - This is a Bandai handheld released in the 90's that sported a touchscreen much like the Game.com and Nintendo DS. Various bundles were released (including a Street Fighter one) but I was obviously more interested in this Rockman X3 bundle. It includes the handheld and 2 game cartridges. The actual game seems to be a simple touchscreen turn based RPG but it is still a very nice item in my collection!

 

One of my personal favourites, my 20th anniversary Rockman figure.

One of my other personal favourites - my limited edition Megaman figurine. There was only 1000 of these made (this one is 266)

My other favourite, my Playchoice 10 cab, currently playing Megaman 3.

Me, just about to take on Shadow Man (Just for the record, he beat me 3 times in a row!)

Where it all began, my PAL (Euro) copies of Megaman 1-5. I didn't discover MM5 had even gotten a PAL release until a year ago!

Megaman 1-6 USA versions. Megaman 6 is my favourite since it never saw a release in PAL territories that I'm aware of.

 

My Megaman 9 press kit in all its glory. It is one of my favourite and most treasured Megaman collectables that I managed to aquire recently.

Megaman 2 for the Nes. This is the German version which got a completely different cover to the UK/French version for some reason. I especially like the shot of the Gutsdozer flying!

My European collection of all 5 Gameboy games. 1-3 were not to difficult to track down, it was IV and V were the tricky ones to get hold of complete.

My collection of all 5 USA Gameboy games. Again, it was IV and V that were the most expensive to get complete though I did have a hard time tracking down a copy of Megaman II!

Both the Original and Players Choice version of Megaman for the Gameboy.

Both the Original and Players Choice version of Megaman II for the Gameboy.

All 5 Rockman World games for the Gameboy. I personally prefer the boxart of these versions to the Euro/USA versions.

Megaman 7 as well as Megaman X 1-3 for the Snes.

 

Another complete part of my collection, here are all 4 PAL Snes Megaman games - Megaman 7, Megaman X, Megaman X2 and Megaman X3.

Megaman Soccer for the Snes, despite Soccer being extremely popular in Europe this game never got a release there for some reason!

Rockman and Forte for the Super Famicom, Megaman and Bass for the GBA and Rockman and Forte for the Wonderswan. Despite sharing its title with the Super Famicom version the WOnderswan release is a completely original game with brand new bosses (such as the amazing Compass Man!)

Super Adventure Rockman, Rockman 8 and Rockman X4 Special Limited Pack for the Sega Saturn. X4 also comes with an exclusive Ultimate Armor X figure and is another favourite part of my collection.

Rockman X4 Special Limited Pack for the Playstation. This was even harder to track down than the Saturn version but I finally managed to find a copy on Yahoo Japan Auctions. Its essentially the same as the Saturn version save for the box colour and number of screenshots on the back of the box!

Megaman 8 and X3 (PAL versions) along with Megaman X5 and X6 (NTSC Versions)

Megaman X4-6 PAL versions

Megaman Legends 1 and 2 and the Misadventures of Tron Bonne for the Playstation

Megaman Legends 2 (PAL version) along with the never released in America Megaman Battle and Chase for the Playstation.

Rockman Collection for the Playstation. This includes all 6 complete works versions of the original games as well as Rockman X7 for the PS2

A second picture of the collection box showing off all 7 games.

 

Megaman X7-8 and Command Mission for the PS2

Megaman Anniversary Collection, Megman X collection and Megaman Network Transmission for the Gamecube

The Players Choice version of Megaman Anniversary Collection for the Gamecube, the Xbox version of Megaman Aniversary Collection and Rockman X Command Mission for the PS2

2 more Gamecube games - USA Megaman Network Transmission and PAL Megaman X Command Mission

Megaman Maverick Hunter X and Megaman Powered Up for the PSP along with Megaman ZX for the DS

The PAL version of Megaman Maverick Hunter X for the PSP.

Megaman the Wily Wars for the Mega Drive, Megaman for the Gamegear, Rockman Power Battle and Fighters for the Neo Geo Pocket Colour and Rockman EXE for the Wonderswan.

Megaman 64 for the N64 and Rockman EXE N1 Grand Prix for the Wonderswan Colour.

 

Megaman Battle Network 1, 2 and Battle Chip Challenge Euro versions

Megaman Battle Network 3 White and Blue Euro Editions

Megaman Battle Network Red Sun and Blue Moon Euro Editions

Megaman Battle Network 5 Team Protoman and Team Colonel Euro Editions

Megaman Battle Network 6 Cybeast Gregar and Falzar Euro Editions

Megaman Zero 1-4 for the Gameboy Advance

Megaman 2 and 3 Tiger LCD handheld games

Rockboard for the Famicom, a boardgame kind of like Monopoly featuring characters from the Megaman series

The Megaman 1 and 3 PC games, which were completely different from the Nes versions and featured all new levels and Robot Masters

Another game I accidently stumbled upon while searching on eBay, my boxed copy of Megaman X for the PC including the free Gamepad.

The Megaman animated series soundtrack and Megaman X4 for the PC, which were freebies that came with MMX for the PC.

 

Another of my very lucky eBay finds: A complete PAL copy of Megaman X3 for the PC.

3 different versions of Megaman/Rockman X3. The far left version is a boxed and complete copy of Rockman X3 (only version I've come across that is boxed so far), the centre Rockman X3 has an entirely different manual cover but the manual contents are the same and the one to the far right is a complete USA copy of Megaman X3.

I finally have a complete PAL release of Megaman X4 for the PC. I've had a hard time tracking down the various big box PC releases as they only pop up once in a blue moon.

 

A complete USA copy of Megaman X4 for the PC. Its seen better days but I was just happy to finally find a complete copy!

A boxed USA copy of Megaman X5 for the PC. Again the box is squashed but I'm just happy to own a boxed copy at all!

Megaman Legends for the PC. Unfortunately this copy is missing its big box but apart from that its perfect!

Rockman Dash for the PC. The image to the left is the original big box release of the game while the one on the right is a budget re-release in a more modern DVD style case.

Budget releases of Rockman X5 and Rockman X8 for the PC, as well as "The Best" budget release of Rockman EXE Network Transmission for the Gamecube.

Rockman X, X3 and X4 for the PC. These are various budget releases of the 3 games.

A big box (case?) release of Rockman X for the PC.

The Chinese PC release of Rockman X4

The Big Box release of Rockman X5 for the PC

To the left is the Otaku release of Rockman X5 for the PC, the centre game is a complete copy of the sourcenext selection version of X5 (this one has the cardboard slip on case that was missing from my previous copy) and to the right is the Otaku release of Rockman Dash 2 for the PC (I'm still searching for an original big box version)

To the left is a complete sourcenext selection version of Rockman X8 for the PC, middle is the original boxed copy of X8 and to the right is the Euro PC release of X8

 

The Chinese PC release of Rockman X6

The Manual and Disc for Rockman X6

The back box to Rockman X6

Quite possibly my favourite boxart for a Megaman PC game - the Chinese release of Rockman Dash 2 for the PC. It comes in a really nice big box with some fantastic front cover art.

 

The Rockman EXE 2 special edition which comes with a custom designed Gameboy Advance as well as a copy of Rockman EXE 2.

Rockman EXE 4 double pack, which includes both Blue Moon and Red Sun and an exclusive E Reader Card

 

Rockman EXE 4.5 with Battle Chip Gate

Both Rockman EXE 4 Red Sun and Blue Moon Limited Edition GBA SP Bundles. Each copy comes with...

A copy of the game (Blue Moon or Red Sun depending on version, both include a Battle Chip for the Chip Gate) a shiny blue GBA SP and some stickers.

Rockman EXE Battle Chip Challenge for the GBA

Another very nice rarity, Rockman EXE 5: Movie Edition. This was only availanle in Japanese cinemas while the Rockman EXE movie was being shown. It is essentially just Rockman EXE5: Colonel Edition with a snazzy new cover, a Forte.exe card...

and a very nice mini calendar.

The back cover to EXE 5: Movie Edition

Rockman EXE 6 Deluxe editions each with a Battle Chip Gate

An inside look at what the collection includes. The game, Battle Chip Gate and Battle Chips.

Rockman Complete Works 1 and 2 guidebooks. Each have a walkthrough for the game as well as some really nice colour artwork. Each also comes with a copy of the game which is located in the back page.

The rare Rockman Strategy for PC which was only released in Taiwan. This game is a real time strategy game not to dissimilar to Final Fantasy Tactics and lets you control Megaman, Protoman, Duo, Beat, Fliptop and Rush among others. The bad guys this time are based on star signs (Cancer, Virgo etc.) along with many Robot Masters from Megaman 1-8 who also show up throughout the game. While nothing revolutionary the game itself is a blast to play and is fully beatable with little knowledge of the chinese language.

The back box to Rockman Strategy

A closer look at a few of the characters in the game. The character 3rd from the end is one of the main bad guys along with what can only be described as a crecent moon with legs! In grand Megaman tradition Dr Wily is still the final boss, this time his Flying Saucer boss fight looks like a Metroid!

 

Another Rare Taiwan only Rockman game, this is Rockman IQ Challenge. As the name suggests, its full of minigames such as a board game, puzzle game and a paint program.

The Back box to IQ challenge

The Manual and Disc to IQ Challenge

Rockman Dash: To Save the World for the PC. This is yet another Taiwan only Rockman PC game which consists of IQ/Puzzle based minigames.

Several more official Chinese PC releases: Rockman X3, 2 different versions of Rockman X5, 2 different versions of Rockman X6 and 1 copy Rockman Dash

 

Megaman Xtreme (again) along with Megaman Xtreme 2

Megaman ZX (again) along with Megaman ZX Advent for the DS

Ryuusei no Rockman Leo, Dragon and Pegasus for the DS

 

My Rockman Battle & Fighters Trial cart for the Neo Geo Pocket Colour. These were never on sale and were used in demo stations for the NGPC around the time of the games release. This is one of my most treasured Megaman pieces.

 

Megaman X3 for the Saturn and a Pirate Cartridge of Rockman X3 for the Sega Megadrive.

 

Megaman X3, X4, X5 is a Korea only compilation of X3-X5. It features a nice embossed cover sleave with some nice official artwork.

The Fabled Rockman Dash Beta for the Playstation. I got this totally by accident when I won it in a Yahoo Japan Auction for 260 yen (£2!). Also pictured is the CD case release of Rockman Dash for the PC

Rockman EXE 5 Team Protoman and Colonel Guidebook Editions. Each version comes with a copy of the game, an exclusive card and a guide to both games.

Megaman III for the Gameboy, which now completes my PAL Megaman Gameboy collection, as well as Megaman Starforce Pegasus, Megaman ZX Advent and Megaman Battle Network 5 Double Team Euro versions for the DS

All 3 complete Euro copies of Megaman Starforce for the DS.

The PAL releases of Megaman Starforce 2 Zerker X Ninja and Zerker X Saurian.

The German version of Megaman Starforce 2 Zerker X Ninja and Zerker X Saurian for the Nintendo DS. The differences between this and the above version are that this one has English, French and German game/manual text (The above have English, Italian and Spanish) as well as the big yellow warning sign on the front case!

Megaman X for the Snes (PAL Version) and a promo (review) copy of Megaman X8 for the PS2

A slew of Chinese knockoff Rockman games. The GB games shown here all contain either contain one of the Rockman World games on them or Rockman Xtreme games.

 

Some slightly more interesting pirate games. The centre game is a compilation of various roms across several consoles (I just like the big box packaging!). Rockman 99 include the infamous Megaman 8 GB game which features several game breaking glitches mostly causing platforms to disapear making it nearly impossible to finish certain levels. Rockman X3 is an unofficial Chinese Rockman game which plays like the Rockman X series.

 

Not much to look at but a joy to play, Rockman the Power Battle CPS1 arcade board.

Rockman the Power Fighters CPS2 arcade board, one of my favourite arcade games of all time.

My collection of Megaman 4-8 and Megaman X1-3 capsule toys. Amongst them are complete sets of Megaman 4, 8 and X2 Robot Masters/Mavericks. For their size (approx 2") they are very detailed and are a great addition to my collection.