Jump, shoot, and slide. These were the tools that Mega Man had in his early 8-bit adventures, taking down 46 Robot Masters across six games – and that’s not even counting the handheld titles! After so many adventures, the Blue Bomber was still going strong, but new technology meant that it was time to leap into a more powerful era of consoles with an evolution of the classic Mega Man franchise!

Mega Man’s jump into the 16-bit era

Need to know what made Mega Man 7 such an important entry in the series? Look no further than our recap video!

Amazing art from UDON Entertainment

As part of the celebration of Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 and this milestone in the franchise’s history, we have some excellent art created by Jeffrey “Chamba” Cruz from UDON Entertainment!

Framing the game’s intense action perfectly, this wonderful homage to Mega Man 7 features Mega Man throwing himself straight into battle against Slash Man, Cloud Man, and Shade Man, with Bass ready and poised to strike in the background. You can grab it in wallpaper format for your phone or PC over at the official Mega Man website !

Capcom’s Favorite Robot Masters

To celebrate the variety of mechanized bosses in Mega Man 7, I asked Capcom staff to share their personal favorite Robot Masters. Be sure to share your favorites in the comments; we want to hear your picks!

Tim Turi (Associate Brand Manager): Halloween is my favorite holiday, I love Ghosts ‘n Goblins, and Draculais my favorite novel. Obviously, my favorite Robot Master in Mega Man 7 is a robot vampire. Shade Man’s stage kicks off with classic horror drama – Mega Man gazing up at an ominous full moon as dark clouds part over the robot graveyard.

Shade Man himself oozes classic cartoon vampire, with Bela Lugosi’s popped collar, pronounced fangs, and a gloomy aura of aristocracy. After a cordial bow, Shade Man makes use of his Noise Crush weapon, bouncing sonar blasts off walls and back towards him to power up a deadly aural attack. In classic folk horror style, the robo-vampire can also petrify Mega Man with strange beams from his eyes. But finally, my favorite (and most feared) Shade Man attack is when he uses his giant bat wings to fly into the shadows at the top of the boss room. Should Mega Man flub one slide dodge, Shade Man swoops from above, seizes him in his metallic talons, and sucks the Blue Bomber’s energy from him – restoring his own health bar. Shade Man is classic vampire with a decidedly Mega Man flair, and I adore him for it.

Kazuhiro Tsuchiya (Producer, Capcom Japan): I like the irony that despite it being a Robot Master that controls explosives, his character trait is that he’s afraid of explosives.

Patrick Kulikowski (Customer Support Representative): I’d have to go with Burst Man simply for his amazing, fast-paced music. Plus, his Danger Wrap, which encased Mega Man in a bubble that sent him straight up into a ceiling of deadly spikes, always kept me on edge throughout his entire fight. Shade Man is a close second, though. I love his purple getup, spooky castle and moody stage music.

Kellen Haney (Social Media Specialist):  My personal favorite of the bunch has gotta be Junk Man. As his name suggests, he’s made out of scrap metal and parts of other robots, all held together with electromagnets. You’d think he’d be a bit stiff and slow considering his size, but he’s constantly on the move, making him a tough target to hit! Junk Man is tough as nails too. It makes sense, as there’s probably more than a few nails that make up his body.

I always thought Junk Man was a pretty intense Robot Master. Just look at the guy! He probably spent weeks perfecting that sneer in the mirror. Combine it with the patchwork body and the mismatched eyes, and you know you’re in for a world of hurt if he gets his hand on you. Junk Man always feels worthy of a Mega Buster duel: he has a tough-but-fair attack pattern, which relies mostly on reflexes and careful movements. Adding to this threat is how Junk Man uses his magnetized arm to seemingly pull pieces out of the environment to slide a cube of electromagnetic pain your way, which adds a nice touch to the overall theme of his scrap-filled boss room.

If the going gets too tough, you can always bring Thunder Bolt with you – it’ll make him literally go to pieces each time it connects! Taking him down also provides you with Junk Shield, a great weapon to have with you when you’re navigating tricky platforms with enemy swarms all over.

That’s a wrap on our look back at Mega Man 7, but next week we’ll be making another technological jump (jump, slide slide) with our reflections on Mega Man 8! And don’t forget, Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 is coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC on August 8th, 2017! Grab some great wallpaper and pre-order the game from your favorite retailer at the official website !