Mega Man Unlimited. A fan game made by MegaPhilX which took the gameplay style of the 8-bit Mega Man games and ampliphied it. Originally called “Mega Man 10”, the name was changed when Capcom released an actual Mega Man 10. MegaPhilX created something that cannot be described with words, and here I am, attempting to do just that.
The Story
MMU’s story involves 8 robots claiming to work for the notorious villain Dr.Wily wrecking havoc. But Dr.Wily, forced out of his own castle, swears that he didn’t intend for this to happen. Dr.Light (Mega Man’s creator) agrees to help find out what happened. While doing so a mysterious figure rushes in and kidnaps Dr.Wily, with Mega Man going after him as well as the rouge robots. After defeating 4 of the Robot Masters, Dr.Light discovers that some sort of virus is completely re-writing the code of the robots, and that said virus spreads the same way a common cold would. Mega Man races off to stop the other four Robot Masters, with Dr.Light wondering why Mega Man hasn’t been infected with the virus. Upon defeating the other Robot Masters, Proto Man (Mega Man’s elusive brother) contacts Dr.Light to inform him that he’s discovered where Dr.Wily is being held captive, but before he finishes his message, he is attacked. Mega Man goes to Proto Man’s last location, which used to be Wily’s new castle before he was kidnapped. Upon conquering most of it, Mega Man encounters Bass (Mega Man’s rival who was built by Dr.Wily), along with a defeated Proto Man. Proto Man, infected with the virus, tries to destroy Mega Man. Mega Man defeats him, curing Proto Man of the virus. Mega Man chases after Bass, who reveals that HE was the one who kidnapped Dr.Wily. Upon defeating him, something huge rams into Bass, and is being controlled by Dr.Wily. Dr.Wily admits that HE created the virus, but it backfired. Dr.Wily proceeds to fight Mega Man in his new Wily machine, but ultimately fails. Dr.Wily flees however, and Mega Man falls down a pit. Mega Man traverses a tightly sealed area, and finds a capsule containing a robot. The robot breaks out, and this is the point where any Mega Man fan squeals with joy, as the robot is a prototype Zero. Zero proceeds to challenge Mega Man, but Mega Man can’t even touch Zero, and Zero eventually wins. Mega Man’s arm is knocked off, but Zero collapses due to his incomplete state. Wily grabs Zero and leaves, leaving Mega Man behind as he sets the castle to self-destruct. Mega Man barely makes it out, but collapses right next to the exploding fortress. Bass, wanting to get revenge on Wily for claiming he had no purpose due to Zero, saves Mega Man. Dr.Light repairs Mega Man and everyone celebrates.
The Gameplay
MMU’s gameplay is widely based on Mega Man 3’s. This means Mega Man can slide, but can’t charge his buster. Everything else is what you would expect from a Mega Man game. There’s bolts, a shop, E-tanks, it’s all here. But what about the weapons? Oh how I love the weapons in this game. They’re so useful. The Nail Shield can take several hits, blocks projectiles, and it can be used as a shield piercing projectile. The Jet Missile is incredibly fast, and when charged up can home in on enemies. The Glue Shot creates platforms and can freeze enemies in place. The Comet Dash makes Mega Man completely invincible as he dashes through enemies. The Rainbow Beam does rapid damage and has a large radius. The Nitro Blast is incredibly powerful and pierces shields. The Yo-yo Cutter can fire in 8 directions and can run up walls. The Tank Arsenal fires 3 projectiles at once. They’re all great. As for the controls, they’re solid. I always feel like I’m in complete control, and that there was never a moment where I lost track of myself. I also really like how they handled the slide. You can still press down and jump to slide, but this game gives you the option to map it to one button. This allows you to slide repeatedly much easier. Gamepads are also supported.
The Music
As for the music, it’s top notch. Lot’s of great tracks, including an 8-bit remix of the X vs Zero theme from Mega Man X5. Just listen for yourself.
Secrets! Shhhhh!
Mega Man Unlimited likes to throw a few secrets at you. For one there’s a secret 9th Robot Master named Yoku Man. You unlock this stage by collecting the 4 hidden letters scattered throughout the stages. His stage is very hard though, as his stage is focused around the disappearing blocks (also known as Yoku blocks) the series is known for. Towards the end of the stage is a maze, and overall is very long. Yoku Man himself is also tough. He teleports around, makes Yoku blocks appear, and can spawn spikes. I recommend fighting him with the Nitro Blast, but DON’T use it when he’s on the ground next to spikes, as it won’t do any damage and you’ll waste weapon energy. You don’t need to beat Yoku Man to beat the game (however you do fight him in the boss rush, in that case use his weapon against him), but his weapon is awesome. The Yoku Attack sends out shadowy clones of Mega Man that home in on enemies and items, and in the case of items, it brings them back to you. There’s also a 3% chance when you enter the shop that Roll will be replaced by Shampoo from Ranna 1/2 according to MegaPhilX’s website. Sometimes the music on the title screen will change as well.
Overall Score
This is an awesome fan game. I’m surprised Capcom didn’t officially fund this like they did with Street Fighter X Mega Man. If I had to give it a score, I’d say a 10/10 overall. This is a masterpiece and I encourage you to play it yourself.
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