Mega Man 3
Mega Man 3 | |
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Mega Man | |
Platform(s) | Nintendo Entertainment System, PlayStation, Mobile phone, Android, iOS |
Release | |
PlayChoice-10 |
Mega Man 3
An
Following the success of Mega Man 2 released two years earlier, Mega Man 3 has sold 1.17 million copies and has been positively received in critical reviews. Its presentation and gameplay has been especially praised, although many sources found the game to be too
Plot
Mega Man 3 takes place during an unspecified year during the 21st century (20XX). 2-3 months after Mega Man 2, the mad scientist
Gameplay
Mega Man 3 retains the
Mega Man 3 is the first Mega Man game to feature the slide maneuver, which lets the player slip under enemy attacks and low-level barriers.
Development
Development on Mega Man 3 began at Capcom over a year after the release of Mega Man 2. Akira Kitamura, the lead supervisor for the first two games quit his job at the company during that gap of time.[2] Artist Keiji Inafune, credited as "Inafking", considered Mega Man 3 as one of his least favorite entries in the series due to "[...] what went into the game and what was behind the release of the game."[17][19] He had "preset notions" about successful development because of the team's good experience with Mega Man 2 and found that his new superior "didn't really understand Mega Man the way his predecessor did".[2] During the game's production, the developers lost the main planner, so Inafune had to take over that job for its completion.[19] Inafune recalled the final two months of development as particularly turbulent, when he had to take responsibility for assessing and dividing up tasks among the team members who were not meeting deadlines.[2][20] The team was forced to put Mega Man 3 on the market before they thought it was ready. Inafune concluded, "I knew that if we had more time to polish it, we could do a lot of things better, make it a better game, but the company said that we needed to release it. The whole environment behind what went into the production of the game is what I least favored. Numbers one and two – I really wanted to make the games; I was so excited about them. Number three – it just turned very different."[19]
Mega Man 3 brought new characters and gameplay mechanics to the franchise. Though Inafune considers the gameplay to have lost some of its simplicity, he felt Mega Man's slide ability was successfully implemented to enhance the player's control while battling enemies.[2] Mega Man's sidekick dog Rush was designed by combining the functionality of three support tools from Mega Man 2, which would ease the player's navigation of stages.[2] In addition to the Marine and Coil modes, Rush was originally intended to have a "drill" mode that would allow Mega Man to tunnel underground.[21][22] Another new character, Proto Man, was introduced in a way that the player would be unable to tell if he was an ally or an enemy to Mega Man.[2] His design was influenced by anime, and he was given both a scarf and shield to make him appear "tougher" than Mega Man.[2] The design team wanted Proto Man to sport uncovered hair, but they instead opted for an open-faced helmet illustration for both the television commercials and instruction manual.[21] Proto Man's original Japanese name, Blues, was changed by Capcom's North American division despite Inafune's protests. Capcom did this not only to be consistent with Rockman's English name, but because they thought that the name Blues made no sense. Inafune attempted to defend it due to the name's musical connotation to character names in the series.[23] Though Rush and Proto Man were created solely by the developer, Capcom sought ideas from fans for the creation of the game's Robot Masters as they had done with Mega Man 2.[22] The team received around 50,000 design submissions for Mega Man 3, only eight of which were used in the game.[2][24] Harumi Fujita, credited as "Mrs. Tarumi", was the initial composer of the game, but she only completed a few songs before giving birth and having to drop off the project.[25] She composed the songs ‘Needle Man’, ‘Gemini Man’ and ‘Staff Roll’.[26] Capcom composer Yasuaki Fujita, also known as "Bun Bun" was then assigned to complete the soundtrack and created the majority of the score.[8][9]
Reception
Publication | Score |
---|---|
AllGame | [27] |
Dragon | [28] |
Electronic Gaming Monthly | 9 out of 10[29] |
Eurogamer | 9 out of 10[30] |
Famitsu | 23 out of 40[31] |
GamePro | 24 out of 25[32] |
IGN | 9.5 out of 10[16] |
Mega Man 3 has enjoyed a positive reception from print and online sources. Lucas M. Thomas of
Some critics found Mega Man 3 to be excessively difficult.[30][31][37][38] GamePro contributor McKinley Noble comically stated that actions such as "pulling teeth, lifting a car over your head or performing open-heart surgery" are all significantly easier than beating Mega Man 3.[38] Whitehead noted, "Leaps must be precise, enemies must be dispatched rapidly and accurately, and there's a constant state of delicious near-panic as you wait to see what vicious demands the next room will place on your platforming skills."[30] The Lessers additionally saw considerable flicker when too many sprites appear onscreen at once. The writers mentioned that it detracted from the normally crisp graphics the few times it was noticed.[28]
Since its 1990 release, Mega Man 3 has sold over one million copies worldwide, making it the 48th best-selling Capcom game.[39][40] EGM listed Mega Man 3 as "The Best Sequel to an Existing Game" in its 1991 Video Game Buyer's Guide.[41] The readers of Nintendo Power voted it the third-best game of 1990 in the magazine's "Nintendo Power Awards" for that year.[42] The publication listed Mega Man 3 as the 11th best NES video game in their 20th anniversary issue in 2008.[35] IGN included it at number 16 on its "Top 100 NES Games of All Time".[43] Finally, GamePro ranked Mega Man 3 as the third-greatest 8-bit video game of all time.[38]
Legacy
Mega Man 3 has seen releases on many consoles and other devices since its 1990 debut on the NES. In the United States, it was made into a stripped-down, handheld
Many of the features introduced in Mega Man 3 have been carried on by the series. These include the characters Proto Man and Rush, the player's ability to slide, and extra stages set between the initial eight Robot Masters and Dr. Wily's fortress.[59] With the release of Mega Man 9 in 2008, however, some of these elements and others implemented in the third through eighth installments were forgone in favor of the more basic aspects of Mega Man and Mega Man 2.[15][60] The producers of Mega Man 9 have referred to the ninth game as "the new Mega Man 3" because they wanted to surpass what they accomplished in Mega Man 2.[61][62]
The game was adapted into the Archie Comics Mega Man series over an extended period, with Gamma being introduced and having its power source stolen in the "Redemption" arc while the full adaptation takes place in "Legends of the Blue Bomber" and "The Ultimate Betrayal". One of the biggest differences was that Super Adventure Rockman was adapted into the continuity prior to this game; as such, the Mega Man 3 Robot Masters debut in that adaptation. This also results in Shadow Man's ruins of origin being made the Lanfront Ruins of Super Adventure Rockman and connecting his history to that of Ra Moon; a flashback featured in the "Legends of the Blue Bomber" arc reveals that his history is also connected with the mysterious robot who fights Duo in the beginning of Mega Man 8. Additionally, there is but a single "DOC Robot" featured in the game, equipped with the weapons and personality data of the Mega Man 2 Robot Masters.
References
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- ^ ISBN 978-1-897376-79-9.
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- ^ ISBN 978-1-897376-79-9.
- ^ a b Buchanan, Levi (October 27, 2008). "Mega Man 3 Mobile Review". IGN. Archived from the original on December 15, 2008. Retrieved January 1, 2009.
- ^ a b GPara staff (April 1, 2005). "ダンテ降臨!Vodafoneに『デビルメイクライ』出現" [Dante's Descent! The Vodafone "Devil May Cry" appearance] (in Japanese). GPara. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
- ^ Dotson, Carter. "'Mega Man' 1-6 Releasing for iOS and Android on January 5th". Touch Arcade. Archived from the original on December 31, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
- ^ from the original on September 30, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
- ^ a b Jeriaska (October 4, 2008). "Mega Man 9 music interview with Inti Creates' Ippo Yamada". Siliconera. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
- ^ "Capcom releases Lifetime sales numbers". May 23, 2008. Archived from the original on July 30, 2017. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
- ^ ISSN 1041-9551.
- ^ ISSN 1042-8658.)
{{cite magazine}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link - ^ a b c d Capcom, ed. (September 1990). Mega Man 3 Instruction Booklet. Capcom. pp. 6–12. NES-XU-USA.
- ^ Capcom (November 1990). Mega Man 3 (Nintendo Entertainment System). Capcom.
Dr. Light: Mega Man, you've regained consciousness. I found you lying here when I arrived. I wonder who brought you here... This whistle... It must have been Proto Man!
- ^ a b Thomas, Lucas M. (February 16, 2010). "The 10 Steps to Mega Man 10". IGN. Archived from the original on April 22, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g Thomas, Lucas M. (November 10, 2008). "Mega Man 3 Review". IGN. Archived from the original on August 17, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2011.
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- ^ Inafune, Keiji (1997). "Rockman 10th Anniversary Celebration Plans". CFC Style Fan-Book (in Japanese). 3. Capcom: 24.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-897376-79-9.
- ^ CBS Interactive. Archivedfrom the original on December 16, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
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- ^ Famitsu staff (June 22, 1990). ロックマン3 [Rockman 3]. Weekly Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 103. Enterbrain, Tokuma Shoten. p. 214.
- ^ Greening, Chris (August 15, 2015). "Harumi Fujita Interview: Ghosts, Goblins, and Gargoyles". Video Game Music Online. Archived from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
- ^ "Harumi Fujita". Brave Wave Productions. Archived from the original on January 7, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
- ^ a b Weiss, Brett Alan. "Mega Man 3". Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
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- ^ a b c d Whitehead, Dan (November 17, 2008). "Virtual Console Roundup Review". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on March 16, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
- ^ a b Famitsu staff (October 12, 1990). "Cross Review". Weekly Famitsu (in Japanese). No. 111. Enterbrain, Tokuma Shoten. p. 17.
- ^ Tobar the 8 Man (November 1990). "Nintendo ProView: Mega Man 3" (PDF). GamePro. pp. 78–80.
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- ^ Ishaan (March 7, 2011). "Mega Man 3 Slides To PsOne Imports This Week". Siliconera. Archived from the original on August 9, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
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Further reading
- Pane, Salvatore (September 26, 2016). Mega Man 3. Los Angeles: ISBN 978-1-940535-14-2.
External links
- Official Rockman website (in Japanese)
- Mega Man 3 at MobyGames