Mega Man 7

Mega Man 7 is a 16-bit action platformer developed by Capcom for the SNES. Released in 1995, it marks Mega Man's full transition to the Super Nintendo with larger sprites, CD-quality audio, and an expanded storyline following the events of Mega Man 6. The game introduces new mechanics like the Energy Balancer and hidden collectible bolts used for upgrades.

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Release Date

January 1, 1995

Developer

Capcom

Publisher

Capcom

Players

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Story

Taking place in the 21st century (the ambiguous year 20XX), Mega Man 7 begins directly 6 months after the events of Mega Man 6 . Thanks to the efforts of Mega Man and his friends, Dr. Wily was finally brought to justice. However, Wily had always known that he might be imprisoned one day, and so he had constructed four advanced models of Robot Masters as backups in a hidden laboratory: Burst Man, Cloud Man, Junk Man, and Freeze Man.

If they did not receive any communication for six months, they would activate and begin searching for their master. 6 months later, the robots activate, round up an army, and go on a rampage throughout the city in which Dr. Wily is being held. Mega Man is called into action.

Upon driving into the city with Roll and Auto , he sees that it is in ruins, and that he is too late to stop Wily's Robot Masters from liberating the evil scientist. Mega Man gives chase, but is stopped by Bass , a robot with capabilities much like Mega Man's own, and his robotic wolf Treble . After a brief skirmish, Mega Man is informed that the two of them are battling Wily as well. Bass and Treble then take off, leaving Mega Man confused, but convinced that he has new allies and determined to again stop Dr.

Wily's plans. After Wily's Robot Masters are defeated, he dispatches four more to combat the protagonist: Spring Man, Slash Man, Shade Man, and Turbo Man. In one of the locations, Mega Man encounters an injured Bass and sends him to Dr. Light's lab for repairs.

Mega Man defeats the remaining Robot Masters and goes back home, learning upon arriving that Bass had betrayed him, as he had berserk and had torn up the lab, escaping with parts for new enhancements that Dr. Light was working on. Wily appears on the video monitor and mocks reveals that Bass and Treble are actually his own creations, and that they only gained his trust in order to steal the parts, mocking him for falling for it. Bass' apparent ambition is to best Mega Man in combat and prove himself as the strongest robot in existence.

Enraged, Mega Man makes his way to Wily's fortress and defeats Bass and Treble, and then Dr. Wily himself. As usual, Wily begs for mercy, but after giving him six chances to change his ways, Mega Man is fed up, and threatens him with his Mega Buster with the temptation to kill him. Terrified, Wily explains that as a robot, Mega Man is prevented from harming humans ; Mega Man counters that he is "more than a robot" (In the Japanese version, Mega Man stops and stands in silence).

Before Mega Man could do anything, he is interrupted when the fortress begins to self-destruct, and Bass and Treble arrive to rescue their creator at the last moment. Before escaping, Bass taunts Mega Man for his hesitation ("He who hesitates is lost"), vowing that he, Wily, and Treble will return to get their revenge. Mega Man then escapes the collapsing castle, contemplating the events that transpired, and returns home to his family.

Gameplay Systems

Gameplay in Mega Man 7 is similar to the six previous games in the series. The player, as Mega Man, must complete a series of side-scrolling platform levels [ failed verification ] that typically end in a boss battle with a Robot Master. Destroying the Robot Master earns the player its special Master Weapon, which can be selected and used in all future levels. Each Robot Master is weak to a specific Master Weapon.

Unlike the first six Mega Man games, only four new Robot Master stages (Freeze Man, Junk Man, Burst Man and Cloud Man) are selectable at a time. After beating them, access to the other four Robot Masters (Spring Man, Slash Man, Shade Man and Turbo Man) are unlocked. Mega Man 7 uses many of the same conventions introduced in previous installments, such as sliding along the ground, being able to charge the Mega Buster for more powerful shots, and calling on the hero's dog Rush to perform various tasks. One unique feature is Rush Search, which causes Rush to dig up useful items wherever the player is standing.

Certain levels contain the letters "R-U-S-H", which, when collected, will grant the player access to the "Rush Super Adaptor", a combination of the two enhancements introduced in Mega Man 6 with a powerful rocket-arm attack and jetpack for flying short distances. Defeated enemies found throughout each level can give the player extra lives, items which refill health and weapon power, and special bolts. The player can visit " Eddie's Cybernetic Support Shop" from the level select screen, which is run by Dr. Light's new lab assistant, Auto, and where these bolts can be spent on items and power-ups, a feature that originally debuted in the Game Boy Mega Man titles.

The use of bolts and the purchase of items at a part shop would become a standard for the core titles starting with Mega Man 7 . Other gameplay elements also exist, such as the player being able to obtain the robotic helper bird Beat and Proto Man 's trademark shield. If the player enters a certain password (which is listed in the ending) and presses the L and R buttons after entering, a secret fighting game mode is available to play, though it must be played with another player (single-player is not available in this mode). In the mode, two players can control Mega Man or Bass in a fighting arena, where the goal is to defeat one another, similar to Capcom’s Street Fighter franchise.

Mega Man and Bass can use various special moves, some of which are not in the base game.

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