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Top 10 Favorite Robot Masters

It’s no secret that I love the Mega Man series, but who doesn’t? During the glory days of the NES there was one king of jumping and shooting, and that was Mega Man. My entire online persona was based on my favorite robot master of all time, Wood Man, who will be excluded from this list. Nevertheless, Mega Man is one of the greatest series of all time.

There were six fantastic games on the original Nintendo, one on the Super Nintendo, one on the Playstation/Saturn, and finally two released for download on current gaming consoles. I beat them all.  Sure there are dozens of spinoffs and other Mega Man series, but I’ll just be looking at for this list.

 

So that’s it, I’m finally going to count down my favorite robot masters of all time.

 

10.) Napalm Man

Let’s begin this list with a rolling tank, covered in weapons from head to toe. Napalm Man made his debut in the forgettable Mega Man 5 for the NES. He was one of the coolest designs to come out of that game which is probably why he made several other appearances in other Mega Man games, comics, and even the cartoon.

 

According to the official Mega Man wiki, and the Robot Master Field Guide which I’ll be referring to a lot during this list, Napalm Man is a weapons specialist. He was designed to protect a secret weapon facility but spent the majority of his time scrounging the facility for parts in order to upgrade himself. This is what I love about him. He’s already a walking weapon, but wants to keep upgrading and getting more powerful. Because of this he has a large missile launcher on his head, homing missiles on his shoulders, and napalm launchers on his hands.

 

Also what’s a robot master without a little controversy? Many people believe his stage is a reference to Vietnam since it’s a jungle, full of tigers, and spike traps. This would be very offensive to the Vietnamese since during their war with the US, numerous napalm bombs were used.

 

9.) Blade Man

What’s cooler than a robot made out of guns? Well how about a robot made out of swords? It is a fact that swords are cooler than guns, and Blade Man is cooler than Napalm Man.

 

Blade Man made his official debut in Mega Man 10, however this robot master has a shaky past. There was another Blade Man in Mega Man 3 (PC) and when Nintendo Power had a contest where fans could create robot masters for Mega Man 6, Blade Man was one of the submitted designs.

 

Besides the fact the he’s purple, Blade Man is cool because he is literally just made of swords. His head is one giant sword, and his arms are swords as well. He’s like a Swiss army robot. In addition, he has one of the most useful weapons in the game. When defeated, Mega Man will be able to fire three blades on an angle that can go through platforms. It’s a great design choice and a great weapon.

 

8.) Snake Man

Now I originally hated Snake Man, and for good reason. I played Mega Man 1 and 2 when they came out. I loved them so much that I had a notebook full of fan-made robot masters.  One design I was particularly proud of was a reptilian/snake robot I called him Cobra Man. Then just a little bit later, I rent Mega Man 3 from my local video store and what do I see? Snake Man!!! Give me my money Capcom, I know you don’t have much, but I want some money.

 

Nevertheless, Snake Man was a robot originally designed to traverse difficult landscapes and search narrow areas. Wily saw that Snake Man could be useful so he converted him into a combat robot. Snake Man is a quick robot master, with an awesome weapon that climbs walls in search of the enemies.

 

Besides his weapon, and backstory Snake Man is just one of the greatest designs of Mega Man 3, I’m glad I thought of him.

 

7.) Metal Man

Godfather of the Mega Man series, Keiji Inafune actually hates Metal Man because he’s too easy. Metal Man can be taken out easily with the Mega Buster but he can also be taken out by his own weapon in just a few shots.

 

Metal Man made his debut in the second Mega Man game and is one of the scariest designs ever. He has a large saw blade on his head, he throws saw blades, and he has red eyes. Anyone with red eyes is evil. However, Inafune is right, Metal Man is a pushover.

 

Metal Man isn’t on this list for any of those reasons, he’s on this list because of the power you get from defeating him. Once, defeated Mega Man will get the Metal Blades. These are quick blades that quickly kill numerous bosses and enemies. The best thing about them is that they can be fired in all 8 directions. These weapons make the game ridiculously easy, but also quite fun.

 

6.) Nitro Man

Imagine if a robot master was combined with a Transformer and Evel Knievel. That’s what Nitro Man is. Nitro Man made his debut in Mega Man 10 and while he wasn’t the first robot master that could transform, he was one of my favorites.

 

Nitro Man is a robot master who’s obsessed with stunts of all kind. He can transform into a motorcycle, and drive at intense speeds. He uses this ability to perform stunts of all kinds regardless of the dangers. Therefore, Nitro Man performs his stunts for legions of adoring fans on TV and in films.

 

I’m not sure, but this might be the first celebrity robot master. Also, his weapon is a spinning wheel of death that can climb walls and destroy baddies.

 

5.) Skull Man

This robot master is absolutely morbid, but kind of a pansy. Skull Man made his debut in Mega Man 4. He was a robot master specifically designed to be a balanced combatant. He is supposed to have great defense and offense.

 

When fighting Skull Man, he will be defensive by activating a skull shield that is practically impenetrable. In addition he has his own version of the Mega Buster that’s similar to Mega Man’s. Since Skull Man was designed to fight, he’s a tactical robot master. He won’t move or attack until Mega Man does. He waits for his opponent to make the first move.

 

Skull Man is one of my favorite robot masters purely because of his design. It’s a fact that skulls can make anything badass. Skull Man looks like he is covered in bones, has skull shoulder pads, deploys a shield of skulls and he has a skull helmet on his head with an image of a skull on it.  There are so many skulls on this robot master that it’s threatening. Unfortunatley, the skull barrier you get from defeating Skull Man takes away some badass points.

 

4.) Galaxy Man

Similar to Nitro Man, Galaxy man has the ability to transform. However, there are a few things that put Galaxy Man above the Evel Knievel robot master. Galaxy Man was designed to oversee the space station. He can perform calculations with ease, and was designed to calculate the trajectory of rockets. In his mean time he discovers new stars and names them. So, he’s a space nerd.

 

Galaxy Man was introduced in Mega Man 9, and he’s one of the easiest, but also one of the most fun. His stage is quite fun with gravity screwed up, and portals everywhere that leads to some high flying fun.

 

The best thing about Galaxy Man is the weapon he leaves you. After you defeat Galaxy Man you get the Black Hole Bomb. This slow moving purple bomb of death floats slowly in the sky for a short period of time. It sucks all enemies in then slowly implodes on itself. Any robot master that can control black holes deserves a spot on this list.

 

3.) Shadow Man

Shadow Man is a mysterious robot master. He was introduced in Mega Man 3 and is one of the coolest designed robot masters ever. At first glance, Shadow Man looks like a ninja robot master with the ability to throw the Shadow Blade, a large Shuriken. However, there is much more that makes Shadow Man awesome.

 

While he looks like a ninja, there’s something mysterious about Shadow Man. His metal body, and the metal shuriken he uses as a weapon are made out of a material not found on Earth. As it turns out, Shadow Man is the first and only robot master made by an alien species. His alien creators deactivated him and sent him to Earth where he was found by Wily and turned into a killing machine.

 

Besides being an alien/ninja/robot, Shadow Man has some amazing ninja abilities. He’s one of the few robot masters who can slide, he can create a shadow clone of himself, summon robot frogs, and when attacked he can replace his body with a log.

 

2.) Pharaoh Man

Normally I believe that skeletons are more badass than mummies, but Pharaoh Man is far superior to Skull Man. Pharaoh Man was introduced in Mega Man 4. He was originally designed to resist the harsh conditions and dark of pyramid tombs so that he could explore them. He then was modified to be stronger and faster to fight Mega Man.

 

Pharaoh Man is tough. His weapon, the Pharaoh Shot is a chargeable solar powered attack that can be fired in six directions. In Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters, Pharaoh Man has his normal attack, a Pharaoh Wave, the ability to levitate, and a shield. Also in Mega Man 4, if you don’t have Pharaoh Man’s weakness or a few E-tanks prepare to die.

 

I think Pharaoh Man’s toughness is what I like about him the best. In the Mega Man cartoon, when Mega Man took a robot master’s power they gave up or got their ass kicked right away. However, when Pharaoh Man got his power taken… well things were a bit different.

 

1.) Ice Man

Now I know this isn’t the most badass robot master, but Ice Man is my absolute favorite (except for Wood Man but he’s being excluded from this list). Ice Man was introduced in the original Mega Man game. He was the obligatory ice/snow themed robot master, but also the original.

 

Ice Man was designed by Dr. Light to perform human-like tasks in freezing conditions. Ice Man’s body can survive subzero temperatures and his special attack can freeze anything below 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

I like Ice Man for many reasons. First off, I generally enjoy ice types the most in any game (whether it be Pokemon, Mortal Kombat, or Mega Man), Ice-types are just cool (pun intended). In addition, Ice Man is just so damn cute. He’s one of the shortest robot master, and his design isn’t threatening at all. However, he’s just a little cute Eskimo. Despite being so cute, Ice Man is deadly. He’s the first robot master with a mental disorder. As it turns out, Ice Man has a split personality and schizophrenia.

 

Ice Man shows that being cute and being deadly at the same time, is ultimately badass.

 

 

Well I hope you all enjoyed the list.

Next list will be something to celebrate the season.

 

Also do yourself a favor and play some Mega Man today.