Overview
Mega Man is a tangential DOS entry in the Mega Man franchise. Capcom licensed the franchise to Hi-Tech Expressions for this US-only release. While the PC game is mechanically similar to the console counterparts, it was widely panned for difficult controls, poor level design, and a lack of music.
Despite poor reviews, a sequel was released in 1992, confusingly titled Mega Man 3 (another entirely separate game from the identically titled console release).
Gameplay
Stage SelectUnique in the franchise, Mega Man begins with an introductory stage. Notoriously difficult, the player must pass toll-booth checkpoint while avoiding a robotic dog to enter a building. Successfully doing so brings up franchise hallmark stage select screen.
The stage select screen consists of three stages (compared to 6-8 in all console releases) and are titled with the names of the boss characters from each stage. The boss characters are unique to this release.
Each stage requires the player to kill enemies, avoid traps, and navigate rudimentary environmental puzzles. Mega Man is initially equipped with the Mega Buster, but, in series fashion, may use the weapon of a dispatched boss character after a stage is complete. These special weapons have limited use, but can be replenished by killing enemies which randomly produce energy cells. Unlike other franchise entrants, Mega Man does not change color when equipping a special weapon.
After completing the three boss stages, the player faces Dr. Wiley in a mechanized walker. The endgame is a static screen with the names of the three people who developed the game.
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