Summary
TheMega Manseries has become synonymous with its bosses, not only because of how downright difficult some of them can be to beat but also because of how creative they are regarding their design and fighting style. Since there are eleven entries in the original series, it means that there have been many boss enemies that Mega Man has had to face during his adventures, but there’s a particular handful that have made quite a name for themselves.
For a boss to be both memorable and enjoyable to fight, he needs to provide the perfect challenge without going overboard in difficulty, along with having a very distinct design and personality that helps them stand out from their peers. Luckily, theMega Mangames haveplenty of unique bosseswho are a ton of fun to take on, with some even being considered to be among the best boss enemies in all of gaming by many fans. It should be noted that only bosses from the mainlineMega Manseries will be considered, so spin-off titles andMega Man Xgames won’t count.
Out of all eight Robot Masters who show up throughoutMega Man 4,Skull Manis not only the best-looking one in terms of design but also one of the most fun to take on because of his very peculiar fighting style. Rather than trying to rush down the player to catch them off guard, Skull Man will only perform certain abilities if Mega Man physically moves across the stage, meaning that if one remains stationary, so will the other.
He will then let out specific attacks depending on how Mega Man moves, so if he shoots while standing on the spot, for example, it will trigger Skull Man to start jumping towards the player. This can make the fight feel more like a puzzle than anall-out brawlwhich is a nice change of pace, and while he can be defeated pretty quickly by the Dust Crusher, his clever fighting style still makes him very memorable.
Considering that Capcom was still figuring out theMega Mantemplate at this point, it makes sense why some of the bosses in the first game seem a little forgettable or bland, but this certainly isn’t the case for Elec Man. Aside from his devastating Thunder Beam which deals a significant amount of damage with a massive hitbox, Elec Man is also known for his incredibly quick speed, which he isn’t afraid to show off during his encounter with Mega Man.
His design was inspired by theclassic Spiderman villain Electro, which can be a little too noticeable at times, but he still stands out for his iconic boss battle, which is extremely fun to be a part of, despite being on the shorter side. Mega Man’s best bet for cutting Elec Man down to size is tossing out a Rolling Cutter that will gradually melt away his health bar until he finally disappears.
The majority ofMega Manbosses will have a pretty clear backstory that explains why exactly they were created in the first place, butShadow Manworks a little differently. Despite popping up several times throughout the series, little is known about Shadow Man, but there are rumors that he was created by aliens as opposed to Mr. Wiley, a theory that seems probable considering that the metal covering his body cannot be found anywhere else on Earth.
This already gives him a very intriguing and unique aura that helps set him apart from other bosses in the series, but he’s also one of the toughest enemies in all ofMega Man 3who can take quite a bit of practice to defeat. His Shadow Blades are incredibly fast and difficult to avoid, along with his deceivingly strong slide attack, so it’s best to remain mobile to avoid his tricky attacks.
The most recognizable part of Slash Man’s design is his razor-sharp Slash Claws, which are intended forclearing out forestsrather than fighting, but this doesn’t mean that this menacing Robot Master is afraid to use them during combat. During the encounter with Slash Man near the beginning ofMega Man 7, the terrifying Robot Master tries and slowMega Mandown with red liquid to then finish him off with a flurry of Slash Claw swipes.
The fight isn’t too hard so long as players stay light on their feet and make good use of the Freeze Cracker special weapon, but a moment of hesitation can lead to an early game over during this battle because of how dangerous Slash Man’s weapons are. Pair this with an extremely creative and unique design, and it results in what many fans consider to be the very best boss enemy in all ofMega Man 7.
At first glance, Flash Man can simply seem like a bigger and more malicious version of Mega Man, but it’s clear upon fighting him that he is drastically stronger than his counterpart, and it’s all down to hisTime Stopper. This device allows Flash Man to freeze his opponent in place before launching a barrage of shots from his Buster Arm to finish them off, which is a pretty terrifying attack strategy that demonstrates just how merciless he can be due to his immensely powerful abilities.
He isn’t shy about using his Time Stopper to try and defeat Mega Man, which makes the fight very engaging since the player will need to be in the right position and jump at a specific time to avoid the blaster, with it being quite challenging overall. Flash Man has also been shown to have anextremely charismatic personality, often using his Time Stopper to play pranks on his allies when he’s not activating it in combat. Coming up against a boss who could freeze time back in 1988 was pretty incredible, but even today, Flash Man still stands as one of the most fun and creative bosses in the entire series.
The majority of the Robot Masters thatMega Manis tasked with defeating are designed byDr. Wileywho fits them with specific tools to help in their endeavors, but for Sword Man, he went above and beyond to make him as devastatingly powerful as possible. After getting his hands on an ancient blade that was stolen from a museum, Wiley eventually created Sword Man to wield the weapon for him, giving the robot anti-gravitational properties to ensure he could actually hold the sword, considering how heavy it is.
During his fight, Sword Man will swing the gigantic sword around with incredible accuracy, and can even set it on fire, which can turn Mega Man to a crisp if he isn’t careful. The plethora of moves at his disposal, paired with the fact that he uses new abilities as the fight goes on, makes his boss battle very fun and engaging, but what also makes Sword Man so beloved is his quirky personality. Despite looking like a hulking behemoth who could crush anyone in his path, the voice actor for Sword Man is very upbeat and quite humorous at certain points, which helps add a different layer to the character. Sword Man is a massive highlight fromMega Man 8who has made quite an impression on fans for his intense boss battle and unique personality traits.
The first Metal Man encounter inMega Man 2is one of the most chaotic, hectic, and fun fights in the entire series, and while Capcom did sneak in a few ways to defeat him easily, the regular fight still puts up quite the challenge. Metal Man’s primary weapons are his Metal Blades, which he will throw around the arena like nobody’s business in the hopes of damaging Mega Man, but because he’s so agile, it means that he is constantly leaping around the stage to find the best throwing angle for his deadly projectiles.
The reason he became so popular among the fanbase though, aside from his extremely inventive and eye-catching design, is the many rumors that spread about his boss encounter. The biggest one was that Metal Man could be taken down very quickly by using his weapon against him, something that turned out to be true when Capcom revealed that it had been added as a"secret method.“This added a pretty humorous side to an otherwise serious-looking villain and has even led to more theories about the character popping up due to how popular he eventually would become.
