From The Mega Man Universe

Mega Man 8 Rockman 8: Metal Heroes
Game Info
Developers	Capcom Co., Ltd
Publishers	Capcom Co., Ltd
Designers	Keiji Inafune
Release date	February 27, 1997
Platforms	PlayStation Sega Saturn

Welcome to The Mega Man Network's coverage for Mega Man 8, the eighth installment in the Mega Man Classic saga. Here you'll find a brief overview of the game, its plot, and links to our guide and various resources.

Story Summary

Deep in the far reaches of space, two mysterious robots battle fiercely. As they each pummel each other with powerful blows, one strikes the other with such force that it sends the both of them hurtling towards a small blue planet called Earth... Meanwhile, Mega Man is fending off attacks from Bass when he receives word from Dr. Light that a strange meteor has crashed to Earth, and that he needs to get to the mysterious island before Dr. Wily, who has undoubtedly seen the same readings. Mega Man speeds to the island to uncover the secret of the meteor and mysterious energy signatures.
Main Article: Mega Man 8 Analysis

Game Overview

Mega Man 8 plays pretty much identical to Mega Man 7, with a few tweaks to the gameplay. For one, Mega Man can swim in the water levels (press the Jump button repeatedly), and secondly, your number of Bolts is limited, forcing you to pick and choose what items you customize Mega Man with.

Characters

• Mega Man
• Dr. Light
• Bass
• Duo
• Roll
• Proto Man
• Dr. Wily

Robot Masters

• Grenade Man - He jumps around a lot, making it difficult to hit him. Use Mega Buster shots the first time, and use the Thunder Claw later on.
  

• Frost Man - The Flash Bombs stun and interrupt just about every attack, so fire them away whenever you have clear shots.
  

• Tengu Man - Tengu Man hovers in the air just out of range most of the time. Fire charged Buster shots when he dips, and use the Ice Wave on him when he comes to the ground.
  

• Clown Man - Clown Man swings on a trapeze for most of the fight. When he's swinging around on it, use the Tornado Hold to mess him up.
  

• Aqua Man - Aqua Man's a pain in the neck. Use the Mega Buster while slipping through his varied repertoire; later on use the Astro Crush.
  

• Sword Man - The Water Balloon will interrupt his attacks, but you still need to watch for his top half to move. Slide under it when it spins toward you.
  

• Search Man - The real Search Man hides behind some grass in the stage, so use the Flame Sword to burn all the foliage so you hit him.
  

• Astro Man - Position yourself in between one of his two floating orbs, and jump up while nailing him with the Homing Sniper for an easy finish.

Boss Strategies

These boss strategies detail how to beat the major bosses in the game.

Yadokargo (Intro Stage) - Just use the normal Mega Buster on it instead. Fire a charged shot at the eyes to make it open up, then fire a shot or two inside to do some more damage. Slide away from it as it leaps high into the air, then turn and repeat this strategy until you have defeated it. Alternately, try kicking the Mega Ball at its mouth.

Duo (Mid-Stage) - His pattern is relatively easy to gain an understanding of, so you shouldn't have too many problems. Duo for the most part just hops around, but be sure to jump his dash punch attack; if you get caught in a corner, Duo can follow up with a hurtful combo attack. Use Flash Bombs to stun him.

Cut Man (Mid-Stage, SATURN VERSION ONLY) - The Mega Buster will work fine on him; but he changes his pattern up from the first game. Here he tends to stay farther away and chuck his Rolling Cutter at you while jumping. Flash Bombs will stun him, allowing you to defeat him easier.

Wood Man (Search Man's Stage; SATURN VERSION ONLY) - You can use Flash Bombs to penetrate his Leaf Shield, or just wait until he tosses his protection away and toast him with the Flame Sword. It deals damage to him in a manner that the Atomic Fire did in Mega Man 2.

Atetemino (Castle)Your objective is to rebound the Mega Ball off the wall so it hits the pod on the underside (when the monkey-thing pokes its head out). Once you get the pattern down, it's just a matter of waiting for a clear shot, and this fight gets easy.

Buriking (Castle) - You'll be riding atop Rush Jet for the duration of this battle, and you must hit the parts of the Ship when they open up to fire upon you. Use either Flash Bombs and stand in the blast to protect yourself, or equip the Arrow Shot upgrade to have a better shot at hitting the weak points. For the most part, this is really simple, but the game sometimes scrolls you over, so you'll have to be quick to keep up with the camera so you don't get shoved into a collision with the Ship.

Bass & Treble (Castle) - This battle is pretty similar to Tengu Man's, except Bass hovers more in range. Constantly blast him with charged Mega Buster shots (the Arrow Shot upgrade helps out here) until he lands, then jump over his two Buster shots while continuously blasting him.

Green Devil (Castle) - Definitely come in here equipped with the Laser Shot; it rips up the Devil's structure pretty good. As soon as the Devil forms up, shoot a charged shot into the eye to create a hole, then repeat twice more to deal some significant damage. Keep blasting holes in the Devil to defeat it.

Wily Machine 8 - Equip the Arrow Shot and fire charged shots at the eyes to inflict damage, and spend the rest of your time dodging Wily's deadly attacks, which include cannon fire, energy orbs, a giant spinning wheel (which can either be jumped over or slid under), and a large cannon blast.

Wily Capsule Great - It's the old saucer routine again. Wily still appears and disappears randomly and he still uses orbs, but they're not elemental as they were in the last game. The optimum weapon is the Flame Sword since it inflicts the most damage; however, it is the most difficult weapon to use. As an alternative, equip the Arrow Shot and fire off charged Mega Buster shots at Wily whenever he's far away, and if you have the chance, slash at him with the Flame Sword only if he's in range.

Stage Enemies

Air Gapper 1
Aloha Dodompa
Ammoner
Batton M64
Batton Mommy
Big Telly
Botom 1 & 2
Bunby Tank DX
Bunby Top DX
Count Bomb CD
Count Bomb GEO
Crine
Crunchlun
Dodompa Cannon
Fire Metall
Gamball
Gearna Eye
Giant Gorisly
Gorisly
Gorone
Hannya Attacker
Hogale
Joe Classic
Kaizock
Kao de Kahna
Kao ga Mehda
Kao na Gahna
Kemumakin
Kikyoon
Metall SV
Metrenger
Monopellan
Muragattori
Omboobattan
Penpen EV
Petit Batton
Rabbiton
Rompers
Shellun
Shiriko da Gama
Shululun
Shuponpon
Sisi Roll
Spinning Gabyoall
Succubatton
Sulmecher
Sydecka
Telly R
Tencrow
Ululoon
Wall Teck

Mini Review

Though there were a few issues with the game, such as sometimes sub-par voice acting, and an unbalanced challenge level for more experienced gamers, the (thus far) last mainstream addition to the Mega Man saga became a great hit among Mega Man's fanbase, who were obviously the target audience of the game. Who says Capcom doesn't care about us fans?
Main Article: Mega Man 8 Review

Game Credits

Trivia

Special Features

• The first Classic series entry on a 5th generation console - Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation
• Exclusive to the Saturn version, Cut Man and Wood Man make cameo appearances as bosses
• First game to feature Robot Masters that would go on to appear in a direct sequel; Astro Man and Tengu Man
• Battle across 14 huge stages to face 8 devious new enemies
• Customize Mega Man with multiple weapon upgrades
• Vivid graphics, incredibly fluid animation
• Intense Japanese anime intros and cinema scenes
• The last main entry of the Classic series until Mega Man 9 eleven years later

Related Resources

• Mega Man 8 Manual
• Mega Man 8 Script
• Mega Man 8 Story Analysis
• Mega Man 8 Review
• Mega Man 8 Game Guide