Mega Man 4

The game's story takes place after the third defeat and supposed death of Dr. Wily in Mega Man 3, and features the Earth coming under threat from the mysterious Russian scientist Dr. Cossack and his eight "Robot Masters". Fearing the worst, Dr. Light sends Mega Man to save the world once again. 4 carries on the same action and platforming gameplay as the first three games, in which the player completes a series of stages in any order and adds the weapon of each stage's boss to Mega Man's arsenal. One notable added feature is the "New Mega Buster" (often shortened to "Mega Buster"), an upgraded arm cannon that lets the player charge a regular shot into a much more powerful blast. The development team was mindful that this innovation would change the overall feel of the game. Similarly to its predecessors Mega Man 4 was remade for PlayStation in Japan. In later years it appeared on mobile phones and as part of game compilations, including Mega Man Anniversary Collection. The emulated versions were also released through PlayStation Network and Virtual Console. The game received positive reviews overall, with critics praising its tried-and-true gameplay formula, but feeling that it was not as good or innovative as its predecessors. A sequel, Mega Man 5, was released in 1992.

• Title — Mega Man 4 • Developer — Capcom • Director — Yoshinori Takenaka • Designer — * Yoshinori Takenaka • S. Kobashi • Keiji Inafune • Producer — Tokuro Fujiwara • Programmer — Tadashi Kuwana • Artist — * Keiji Inafune • Hayato Kaji • Kazunori Tazaki • Composer — Minae Fujii • Series — Mega Man • Genre — Platform • Modes — Single-player • Platforms — * Nintendo Entertainment System • PlayStation • Mobile phone • Android • iOS • Released — Famicom / NES'PlayStationOctober 28, 1999Mobile phoneSeptember 1, 2005Android, iOSJanuary 5, 2017

Mega Man 4 takes place in an unspecified year during the 21st century, described as the year "20XX". One year after the events of Mega Man 3, a mysterious Russian scientist, Dr. Cossack, unleashes an army of robots with the intention of world domination, much like Dr. Wily before him. Concerned over the situation, Dr. Light calls upon his own greatest creation, the hero Mega Man, to go after Cossack's Robot Masters, who have seized control of eight cities. He also creates the support robot Eddie and equips Mega Man with the New Mega Buster, an upgrade for his Mega Buster. Upon defeating the eight Robot Masters — Toad Man, Bright Man, Pharaoh Man, Ring Man, Dust Man, Skull Man, Dive Man, and Drill Man — Mega Man makes his way to Cossack's icy fortress. However, in the middle of his battle with Cossack, Mega Man's brother Proto Man teleports in with Cossack's daughter, Kalinka. The girl begs Mega Man to stop fighting and explained that Dr. Wily had kidnapped her, forcing her father to build an army of robots and antagonize Mega Man as ransom. With Wily's plan undone by Proto Man, he steps out of the shadows, furious for his betrayal. Mega Man pursues his nemesis and fights through the scientist's Wily Castle, but Wily manages to escape in the end. Mega Man escapes as the fortress begins to self-destruct, and rides home on the top of a passing train, where he is greeted by Roll and Rush.

• Illustration — Mega Man fires a Mega Buster blast at Toad Man. Holding down the firing button charges the arm cannon to release a powerful shot. Mega Man 4 features similar gameplay to the previous three games. The player must complete a series of eight stages in an order of the player's choosing. The protagonist, Mega Man, is able to run, jump, shoot, and climb his way past obstacles and enemies; the game also retains the slide ability which debuted in Mega Man 3. At the end of each stage is a Robot Master boss. Upon defeating a Robot Master, Mega Man gains the Robot Master's signature weapon, which can then be used by the player in subsequent stages. Once all eight Robot Masters are destroyed, two separate sets of linear stages must be completed to finish the game. One major addition to the gameplay in Mega Man 4 is the "New Mega Buster", an upgraded version of Mega Man's arm cannon. By holding down the firing button, the player can now charge a shot, resulting in a blast far more powerful than the standard shot. This feature was later used in subsequent incarnations of the franchise. The hero's dog Rush makes a return from Mega Man 3 with the ability to transform into "Coil", "Jet", and "Marine" modes for navigating different environments. Aside from Rush, two additional support items called the "Wire Adaptor" and the "Balloon Adaptor" also aid the player in reaching areas not normally accessible. However, these hidden adaptors must be found in the stages rather than being awarded for defeating a Robot Master. Like the Master Weapons, the three Rush modes and the two adaptors are each limited to an amount of weapon power that drains when in use. The character "Flip Top" Eddie is introduced in Mega Man 4. Eddie, who went on to appear in later Mega Man games, provides the player with a random item (such as health, ammunition, or an E-Tank) at designated points in some of the levels.

Mega Man series artist Keiji Inafune, credited as "Inafking", stated that the development team had very few problems while working on Mega Man 4. Inafune designed Dr. Cossack and Kalinka as two new storyline characters for the game. Cossack, who was originally named "Dr. Vice", was made much younger than Dr. Light and Dr. Wily. Inafune also considered giving him American traits, but decided upon influences from Russia instead. Kalinka was created because so many male characters already existed in the series at this point. However, Inafune did not intend for players to compare her to Mega Man's sister Roll. The idea for Eddie originally came about during the development of Mega Man 2. Eddie was designed as a supporting character that "would behave like a lottery", either pleasantly surprising or disappointing the player with the item he gives Mega Man. Mega Man 4 was the first game in the series for Hayato Kaji, credited as "K. Hayato", a prominent designer for many later Mega Man games. Kaji was responsible for the chargeable Mega Buster, a gameplay mechanic that would become a staple of the series. "We knew adding a two-level or three-level charge would change the whole flavor of the game in some respects, and we were very mindful of that," Inafune explained. The Robot Masters in Mega Man 4 are a result of a design contest for fans held in Japan. With over 70,000 character submissions, the development team spent an extended period of time narrowing them down to only eight bosses. According to Kaji, the team was very satisfied with many of the chosen designs and almost no changes were made to their original illustrations. They were so impressed with Skull Man that they scrapped an entire level being created just so they could restart it and devote it to that Robot Master. The winning eight contestants of the design contest were each issued a special "golden cartridge" edition of Mega Man 4. As there are only eight of these cartridges in existence, they are extremely rare and fetch a large collector's price today. The musical score for Mega Man 4 was composed by Minae Fujii, credited as "Ojalin", while the sound programming and sound effects were handled by Yasuaki Fujita, credited as "Bun Bun", who had composed the soundtrack for Mega Man 3 the previous year.