Mega Man III (1992 video game)

{{Redirect|Mega Man III|the third game in the Nintendo Entertainment System Mega Man series|Mega Man 3}}{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}

{{Infobox video game

| title = Mega Man III

| image = Megamaniiibox.jpg

| caption = North American cover art

| developer = Minakuchi Engineering

| publisher = Capcom{{vgrelease|EU|Nintendo}}

| producer = Tokuro Fujiwara

| artist = Keiji Inafune

| composer = Kouji Murata{{cite web | title=これまでの仕事 / Works | url=http://www.100v.jp/~yagiyama/works/index.html | publisher=Murata, Kouji | language=Japanese | accessdate=August 18, 2011 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902195232/http://www.100v.jp/~yagiyama/works/index.html | archivedate=September 2, 2011 }}

| series = Mega Man

| platforms = Game Boy

| released = {{vgrelease|JP|December 11, 1992{{cite book |title=MM25: Mega Man & Mega Man X Official Complete Works |publisher=Udon Entertainment |date=August 2013 |page=103 |url=https://archive.org/details/MegaManMegaManXOfficialCompleteWorksByKBG/page/n102/mode/1up}}|NA|December 1992{{cite web| title=Game Boy (original) Games | url=https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/gameslist/manuals/dmg_games.pdf | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615005225/http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/gameslist/manuals/dmg_games.pdf | publisher=Nintendo | archivedate=June 15, 2011 | accessdate=September 24, 2011}}|EU|1993}}

| genre = Action, platform

| modes = Single-player

}}

Mega Man III{{efn|Known in Japan as {{nihongo|Rockman World 3|ロックマンワールド3|Rokkuman Wārudo Surī|lead=yes}}}} is an action-platform video game developed by Minakuchi Engineering and published by Capcom for the Game Boy. It is the third game in the handheld series of the Mega Man franchise and the last to be published by Nintendo in Europe. The game follows the title character Mega Man as he fights the evil Dr. Wily. Along with foes from his past, Mega Man must contend with the next robot in Wily's line of "Mega Man Killers", Punk.

Like its two consecutive predecessors on the Game Boy, the game combines elements from two previously released Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) titles: Mega Man 3 and Mega Man 4. The game received positive reviews from critics.

Plot

The story of Mega Man III consists of the hero Mega Man battling the evil scientist Dr. Wily, who is using a converted oil platform in the middle of the ocean to draw energy from the Earth's core to power a new machine.{{cite book|title=Mega Man III Instruction Booklet |date=December 1992 |publisher=Capcom U.S.A., Inc. | pages=6–13 | id=DMG-W3-USA}}{{cite magazine |magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly | title=Review Crew: Mega Man 3 | issue=42 | date=January 1993| publisher=Ziff Davis | page=38 | issn=1058-918X}} After annihilating eight robots whom Wily had previously used, Mega Man makes his way to Wily's lab, where he encounters the mad doctor attempting to escape. A powerful robot designed specifically to destroy the hero, Punk, confronts Mega Man but is defeated. Mega Man chases Wily onto the oil platform (which emerges from the water as Wily's latest fortress) and halts his enemy's plans once again.

Gameplay

File:Mega man iii gameplay.jpg and Mega Man 4. Shown here is Snake Man's stage.]]

Mega Man III shares the action and platform gameplay set forth the NES Mega Man games. The player is able to choose between 4 stages that are immediately available.{{cite magazine | author=Nintendo Power staff | title=Mega Man III| date=January 1993 | issue=44 | pages=72–75 |magazine=Nintendo Power | publisher=Nintendo of America | location=Redmond, Washington | issn=1041-9551 | url=https://archive.org/details/NintendoPower1988-2004/Nintendo%20Power%20Issue%20044%20%28January%201993%29/page/n72/mode/1up}} Mega Man's primary method of attack is his "Mega Buster", which can fire an unlimited number of small shots or can be charged by holding the down the button and then releasing a larger and more powerful blast. Beating the Robot Master boss at the end of each stage allows the player to add its unique weapon to Mega Man's arsenal.

The player can also gain access to Mega Man's dog Rush, who can transform into a "Coil" mode to let the player jump higher or a "Jet" mode for flying large distances across the screen. Another companion robot, Flip Top Eddie, will appear in certain stages to randomly lend the player health, weapon power, extra lives, or storable Energy Tanks for completely refilling health. Mega Man III features four Robot Master adversaries from Mega Man 3 (Snake Man, Shadow Man, Spark Man, and Gemini Man) and four from Mega Man 4 (Dive Man, Drill Man, Skull Man, and Dust Man).

Development

Series contributor Keiji Inafune stated Capcom outsourced the development of Mega Man III (known in Japan as Rockman World 3) and the rest of the Game Boy titles to the same company that worked on Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge due to a bad experience with the one that worked on Mega Man II. "I decided to look at World 3 as a fresh new start, and I remember digging into it with renewed zest," Inafune claimed. "Punk, in particular, was a favorite of mine and I used my sway as the producer to have him included in Mega Man Battle Network."

Reception and legacy

{{Video game reviews

|GR = 82.67%{{cite web|url=https://www.gamerankings.com/gameboy/563280-mega-man-iii/index.html|title=Mega Man III for Game Boy|website=GameRankings|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209002824/https://www.gamerankings.com/gameboy/563280-mega-man-iii/index.html|archive-date=December 9, 2019}}

| Allgame = {{rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web | author=Huey, Christian | year=1998 | title=Mega Man III - Review | url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=11821&tab=review | publisher=Allgame | accessdate=September 24, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141115141624/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=11821&tab=review | archive-date=November 15, 2014 | url-status=live | df=mdy-all }}

| EGM = 8 out of 10

| Fam = 21 out of 40{{cite magazine|author=Famitsu staff| date=1992 | magazine=Famitsu | publisher=Tokuma Shoten | script-title=ja:クロスレビュー | trans-title=Cross Review | language=Japanese | url=https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title_review&title_id=13391 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324155250/https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title_review&title_id=13391 | accessdate=March 24, 2019 | archive-date=March 24, 2019}}

| ONM = 7.2 out of 10{{cite magazine |magazine=Nintendo Magazine System | publisher=EMAP | date=April 1993 | issue=7 | title=Review: Mega Man III | pages=46–7 | issn=0965-4240}}

}}

Mega Man III was given a positive review from the North American Electronic Gaming Monthly, which noted its use of familiar gameplay and a large amount of visual detail. In contrast, the United Kingdom's Nintendo Magazine System called it "a prime example of flogging a dead horse. Not really bad, but made unplayable by the sheer frustration level." Power Unlimited gave a score of 85% summarizing: "Of all the game series, the Megaman games are probably the most similar. The funny thing is that despite that, they are all very fun. You have to decide for yourself whether you keep playing them or whether you get bored with them."{{Cite web |title=Power Unlimited Game Database |url=http://www.powerweb.nl/database/index.php?&query%5border%5d=datum&ending=DESC&query%5bstart%5d=3980 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030827070312/http://www.powerweb.nl/database/index.php?&query%5border%5d=datum&ending=DESC&query%5bstart%5d=3980 |archive-date=August 27, 2003 |access-date=April 29, 2025 |website=Power Unlimited}}

The editors of GameSpot consider Mega Man III a rare find because it was never re-released in budget form likes the two games before it.{{cite web | author1=Nutt, Christian | author2=Speer, Justin | name-list-style=amp | date=November 6, 2003 | title=The History of Mega Man | url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-history-of-mega-man/1100-6076983/ | work=GameSpot | publisher=CBS Interactive | access-date=April 17, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131026090646/http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-history-of-mega-man/1100-6076983/ | archive-date=October 26, 2013 | url-status=live}} Mega Man III was made available on March 13, 2001, for the Nintendo Power cartridge service in Japan alongside the other four Game Boy Mega Man games.{{cite web | script-title=ja:ゲームボーイ用のアクション系ソフト：4 | url=https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n03/gb/npaction/page4.html | publisher=Nintendo | language=Japanese | accessdate=June 3, 2003 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20030203112653/http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n03/gb/npaction/page4.html | archivedate=February 3, 2003}} Capcom had planned to release a full-color compilation of all five Game Boy games on the Game Boy Advance in 2004, but the project was cancelled.{{cite web | author=IGN staff | date=February 4, 2004 | title=Mega Man Mania Change | url=http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/490/490142p1.html | website=IGN | access-date=June 1, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613194123/http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/490/490142p1.html | archive-date=June 13, 2011 | url-status=live | df=mdy-all }}{{cite web | author=Driker, Brandon | date=January 26, 2006 | title=Mega Man Anniversary Collection Cancelled | url=http://www.n-sider.com/contentview.php?contentid=2133 | publisher=N-Sider | access-date=January 29, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610220712/http://www.n-sider.com/contentview.php?contentid=2133 | archive-date=June 10, 2011 | url-status=dead | df=mdy-all }} A redesign of Punk was featured in the spin-off game Mega Man Battle Network 3.{{cite book |title=Mega Man Battle Network: Official Complete Works |publisher=Udon Entertainment |date=March 29, 2011 |page=74 |url=https://archive.org/details/MegaManBattleNetworkOfficialCompleteWorks/page/n75/mode/1up}} A stage featuring the boss Punk was part of the downloadable content for Mega Man 10 in 2010.{{cite web | author=Moriarty, Colin | date=April 28, 2010 | title=Mega Man 10's Second Wave DLC | url=http://ps3.ign.com/articles/108/1086639p1.html | website=IGN | accessdate=June 4, 2003 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100503025352/http://ps3.ign.com/articles/108/1086639p1.html | archive-date=May 3, 2010 | url-status=live | df=mdy-all }} In 2013, Mega Man III was made available on the Virtual Console of Japan's Nintendo eShop for the Nintendo 3DS on October 9, 2013, in Japan, in North America on May 8, 2014,http://www.nintendo.com/eshop/mega-may {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502013619/http://www.nintendo.com/eshop/mega-may |date=2014-05-02 }} Nintendo and in PAL regions on August 14, 2014.{{Cite web |title=Virtual Console update: GBA titles, Breath of Fire and more |url=http://www.capcom-unity.com/brelston/blog/2014/06/09/virtual-console-update-gba-titles-breath-of-fire-and-more |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809131059/http://www.capcom-unity.com/brelston/blog/2014/06/09/virtual-console-update-gba-titles-breath-of-fire-and-more |archive-date=2017-08-09 |access-date=2014-07-03}} It was also released on the Nintendo Classics service for the Nintendo Switch with its predecessors and sequels on June 7, 2024.{{Cite web |last=Romano |first=Sal |date=2024-06-07 |title=Game Boy – Nintendo Switch Online adds Mega Man I, II, III, IV, and V |url=https://www.gematsu.com/2024/06/game-boy-nintendo-switch-online-adds-mega-man-i-ii-iii-iv-and-v |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250523115614/https://www.gematsu.com/2024/06/game-boy-nintendo-switch-online-adds-mega-man-i-ii-iii-iv-and-v |archive-date=2025-05-23 |access-date=2025-05-23 |website=Gematsu |language=en-US}}