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Mega Man 8
North American Sega Saturn boxart
Developer(s)	Capcom
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Designer(s)	Director Hayato Kaji Producers Keiji Inafune Yoshinori "Bamboo" Takenaka
Composer(s)	Shusaku Uchiyama
Platform(s)	PlayStation, Sega Saturn
Release date(s)	PlayStation JPN December 17, 1996 NA February 27, 1997 PAL November 1, 1997 Sega Saturn JPN January 17, 1997 NA February 27, 1997
Genre(s)	Action / Platform
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone
Media	1 × CD-ROM

Mega Man 8, known as Rockman 8: Metal Heroes (ロックマン8 メタルヒーローズ, Rokku Man Eito Metaru Hīrōzu ^?) in Japan, is a video game released by Capcom in 1996 and 1997 for the PlayStation and the Sega Saturn. It is the only game in the original series that was released on CD-ROM. 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.

Mega Man 8 was followed by Mega Man 9, which changed the style back to its 8-bit appearance with gameplay similar to the first six installments.

Story

In the year 20XX, two alien robots engage in a climactic battle in the depths of space, the ultimate outcome of which causes them both to plummet towards Earth, critically injured.

Meanwhile, Mega Man and Rush are battling their rivals Bass and Treble {Forte & Gospel in Japanese, named after the musical types Forte and Gospel}, 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 infused 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

Mega Man travels through Clown Man's stage

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. Auto's part shop from the last game also appears 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 buy.

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. This is also the first game in the series in which Mega Man can swim. A noteworthy addition to the gameplay is the ability to display (and use) multiple weapons onscreen simultaneously. 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 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 repeated vocal reminder ("Jump, Jump" or "Slide, Slide").

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. It is also worth noting that both Astro Man and Tengu Man return in Mega Man & Bass, though they behave differently and the weapons received from them are different. Cut Man and Wood Man (from Mega Man 1 and 2, respectively) appear in the Sega Saturn version only.

Ports

Mega Man 8 was also released on the Sega Saturn. However, the versions are not identical. The Sega Saturn version has the following differences:

• A Bonus Mode with official and fan artwork, a voice test, a music test, and a secret animation test for the cutscenes is included.
• Special water morphing effects were added; the water flows and moves 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) were added.
• Additional enemies appear in many of the stages.
• Some of the Robot Masters are slightly tougher.
• Cut Man (from Mega Man) and Wood Man (from Mega Man 2) appear as mini-bosses in Duo's stage (Cut Man) and Search Man's stage (Wood Man). Defeating each earns Mega Man a Bolt. While Cut Man's Bolt is present in the PlayStation version in Duo's mini-stage, Wood Man's Bolt is found in Sword Man's stage instead.
• The music is slightly different. 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 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.
• The Sega Saturn version was not released in PAL regions.

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 Chris Bieniek (Editor-in-Chief, Tips and Tricks Magazine) which appeared in a Mega Man-related installment of G4's 'Icons' show and is also included in the GameCube and Xbox versions of the Mega Man Anniversary Collection compilation, Mega Man 8 was originally intended to only be for the Sega Saturn, but Sony allegedly "demanded" the game, fearing it would give an advantage to its then-rival.

External links

• RockmanPM's Bonus Mode Sega Saturn article.
• GameFAQs entry for Mega Man 8 (PS1)

From StrategyWiki, the free strategy guide and walkthrough wiki

Mega Man 8
Developer(s)	Capcom
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Release date(s)	December 17, 1996  February 21, 1997  November 1, 1997
Genre(s)	Action, Platform
System(s)	PlayStation, Sega Saturn
Players	1
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Kids to Adults
Media	1 × CD-ROM
Input	Controller
Preceded by	Mega Man 7
Followed by	Mega Man & Bass
Series	Mega Man

Mega Man 8, known as Rockman 8: Metal Heroes (ロックマン8 メタルヒーローズ, Rokku Man Eito Metaru Hīrōzu ^?) in Japan, is a video game released by Capcom in 1996 and 1997 for the PlayStation and the Sega Saturn. It is the only game in the original series that was released on CD-ROM. 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.

Mega Man 8 was followed by Mega Man 9, which changed the style back to its 8-bit appearance with gameplay similar to the first six installments.

In the year 20XX, two alien robots engage in a climactic battle in the depths of space, the ultimate outcome of which causes them both to plummet towards Earth, critically injured. 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.

US PlayStation cover art.

Japanese Sega Saturn cover art.

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