Mega Man 3

aka: Mega Man III, Rockman 3: Dr. Wily no Saigo!?, Rockman 3: Dr. Wily's Time to Die!?, Rockman Complete Works: Rockman 3: Dr. Wily's Time to Die!?
Moby ID: 1558
NES Specs
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Description official descriptions

Mega Man 3 is a traditional side-scrolling platformer: you jump from brick to brick while avoiding pits and shooting robots. It's quite similar, in all respects, to other Mega Man games; however, this is the first time that you get a sidekick. It's also the first time you're allowed to slide instead of merely walking.

Rush is your dog who helps out by offering other modes of transportation when you need it. He starts out with the 'Rush Coil' ability to launch you to the top of the screen like a springboard; later he acquires the 'Rush Jet' ability to turn into a guided, floating platform to carry you wherever you need to go; and he also gets the 'Rush Marine' ability which is a submarine that works just like the jet except underwater and with the added ability to hop around out of the water (you can actually jump while on the jet but the jet continues to hover beneath you whereas you stay inside the submarine). All of these abilities function just like boss weapons.

When you defeat the boss at the end of a level you gain his power - or at least a similar power. You may pause the game at any time and switch to any single power you have. It supplants your regular Arm Cannon with a limited - but superior - ability. The weapon ammo is displayed next to your energy meter. There are eight of these, corresponding to the eight main levels, even though there are twenty-one levels in the entire game.

Enemies will often supply you with both energy and ammo refills. You can also collect Energy Tanks which can only be used once but will entirely restore your health. You start the game with three lives. Other features include Surprise Boxes lying around for you to find. There are infinite continues and a password feature to resume play at the beginning of any level.

Spellings

  • ロックマン3 Dr.ワイリーの最期!? - Japanese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (NES version)

60 People (21 developers, 39 thanks) · View all

Needle Man Design
Magnet Man Design
Gemini Man Design
Hard Man Design
Top Man Design
Snake Man Design
Spark Man Design
Shadow Man Design
Character Designer
Sound Compose
Programmer
Planner
Sub Planning
Special Thanks
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 86% (based on 38 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.1 out of 5 (based on 126 ratings with 6 reviews)

Mega Cool

The Good
Mega Man 3 takes everything that was great about the first two games and improves upon them, creating one of the best Mega Man games in the franchise as well as one of the best games for the 8-bit Nintendo. The graphics, music and sound effects have all been improved without losing the original look and feel of the game. The game itself is longer, with a more complex story, that develops the characters. Mega Man not only has his trusty laser cannon, but new weapons and devices to use on his large, science fiction, anime themed quest. The ability to slide is highly helpful as is your new robot dog.

The Bad
Mega Man 3 suffers from a few minor complaints that were typical of even the best of 8-bit games. Getting hit by a minor enemy frequently pushes Mega Man back, sometimes into the instant death of spikes or a bottomless hole. While the storyline was a great improvement from the previous games, no self-respecting gamer could believe that evil Dr. Wily was reformed.

The Bottom Line
Mega Man 3 demonstrated the full hardware power of the 8-bit Nintendo, as well as the ability of Capcom to produce a superior sequel.

NES · by ETJB (428) · 2010

Arguably the best Regular Nintendo Mega Man

The Good
The Graphics have slightly improved over previous Mega Mans as in good amount of scrolling finally introduced.

The memorable music such as Sparkman's stage and Shadowman's Stage

This being the longest Mega Man in the Nintendo Saga

Memorable Bosses

Introduction of Rush and Proto Man

The Bad
To be honest nothing except maybe the game was too easy.

The Bottom Line
The best Mega Man in the entire nes set. The game has the perfect balance and is the longest Mega Man in NES history. The music in many cases is superb and there is many memorable moments to be had in Mega Man 3. The amount of improvements was vast compared to every other Mega Man game in the NES history and has innovated the most. Rush, Protoman, The revelation at the end of the game.....

In other words this is THE Pinnacle of The NES Mega Man series in my opinion. If you just love platform games with running, jumping and gunning then look no further then Mega Man 3!

NES · by Mr. Huh (105) · 2004

One of the best NES games ever, and the best of the NES Mega Man games.

The Good
The graphics were clean and pretty amazing at the time, with little slowdown. Mega Man still had his same old animation for running, gunning, etc. but with a new slide thrown in for good measure. Sound-wise, the game's music shines as being the best Capcom's put out for the NES. It's amazing how much they could coax out of the NES for the sound. Gameplay is the typical Mega Man game: choose a boss, fight it out with the boss, get the boss' weapon, use the boss' weapon on another boss. Lather, rinse, and repeat. Granted, Capcom made a nice swerve after beating the initial eight robot masters (why didn't they do something like this in later games?). The game's challenge rating falls somewhere between moderate and easy, though one particular boss (Rockman aka Yellow Devil) is a pain if you don't know what weapon to use.

The Bad
Probably the fact that this was the last really good Mega Man game, and that those that followed were cookie cutter made (you knew who you were up against all the time, in reality), with some truly strange choices for robot masters. As for Mega Man 3, the disappearing platforms that Capcom loved to throw in throughout the Mega Man series rear their ugly heads again, and can become annoying if you don't know the pattern. Plus, one sequence does require the use of the Rush Jet for an extended period, and if you mess up and have to restart with a less than full energy meter, you're in for a world of hurt.

The Bottom Line
Simply put, the game is one of the best the NES offered, and truly was Nintendo's 'other' NES mascot. While Mario might be the king of action/adventure for the NES, Mega Man was right up there as well. Grab this game and don't let go.

NES · by CaptainCanuck (1062) · 2005

[ View all 6 player reviews ]

Trivia

Legacy

Rockman 3 marked the appearance of nearly every standard to the Rockman formula: Rush the dog, Rockman's slide, Blues, and the occasional reappearance of old Wily Robots. Just remember though: that's most of the standards. Others like the Teleporter Room (go through eight teleporters and beat all the Wily Robots again) and Rock Buster appeared in Rockman 2 and Rockman 4, respectively.

Music

Harumi Fujita was originally hired to compose the sound for this game, but could only compose the Gemini Man and Magnet Man themes and part of the Staff Roll theme before dropping off the project (and eventually leaving Capcom) to give birth. Her husband Yasuaki was then hired to complete the project. Harumi is credited in Special Thanks as "Mrs. Tarumi".

NES version

In the original NES version of this game, players could access secrets by plugging in a second controller. For example, if the player holds right on the second controller and presses A on the first controller, Mega Man will do a super jump, and if the player holds right on the second controller when falling into a pit, Mega Man won't lose a life. However, these codes cannot be used in the Rockman Complete Works, Mega Man: The Wily Wars, and Mega Man Anniversary Collection versions. The reasons are unclear, but it is likely that this was because a sort of debug mode was accidentally left in the final NES version.

Sales

According to publisher Capcom, Mega Man 3 has sold 1.08 million copies worldwide since its initial release (as of June 30, 2016).

Awards

  • Electronic Gaming Monthly
    • October 1990 (Issue 15) - Best Sequel to an Existing GameInformation also contributed by Alexander Michel

Analytics

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Related Sites +

  • Howard & Nester do Mega Man 3
    A regular feature in Nintendo Power magazine, Howard & Nester was a comic strip about two game whizzes who would one-up each other, while disclosing hints and tips, in the settings of various recently-released games for the NES platform. In Volume 21's two-page installment, our heroes defend themselves (and Rush, the robot dog) from evil clone-robots, thanks to the Needleman boss' weapon.
  • Mega Man Central
    Information on all Mega Man games, including little known titles such as the PC series and Japan only games.
  • OC ReMix Game Profile
    Fan remixes of music from Mega Man 3.

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 1558
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Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Warlock.

PSP, PlayStation 3 added by GTramp. Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, Arcade added by Michael Cassidy. BlackBerry, iPad, iPhone, Android added by Sciere. DoJa, J2ME added by Kabushi. Wii added by gamewarrior. NES, PlayStation added by Satoshi Kunsai.

Additional contributors: Zovni, Satoshi Kunsai, Jeff Koerner, Alaka, Alexander Michel, gamewarrior, Pseudo_Intellectual, formercontrib, TheAlmightyGuru, CalaisianMindthief, Thomas Thompson, ryanbus84.

Game added June 6, 2000. Last modified November 24, 2023.