# Mega Man: The Power Battle

Mega Man: The Power Battle is a 1995 fighting game developed and published by Capcom for arcades. A spin-off title for the Mega Man series, it was released in Japan in 1995 and was followed by a sequel, Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters, the following year. Both games—which were the first and only arcade titles ever to exist within the Mega Man franchise—were ported to home consoles in North America in 2004 as part of the Mega Man Anniversary Collection for PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox and in Japan during the same year as part of a two-game compilation titled Rockman Power Battle Fighters (ロックマン パワーバトルファイターズ), also for the PlayStation 2. An adaptation of both games for the Neo Geo Pocket Color, titled Rockman Battle & Fighters (ロックマン バトル&ファイターズ), was also made. Both games were later re-released as part of the Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium compilation in 2022.

## Plot

The story of the game is simplistic; the evil Doctor Wily has rebuilt some of his Robot Masters, with which he is trying to take over the world, forcing the heroes to stop him.

## Gameplay

The game allows the player to choose between three playable characters: Mega Man, Proto Man, and Bass. Two players can play the game simultaneously as different characters and team up to defeat the bosses.
The game plays similarly to the main Mega Man games - the player uses one button to jump, and one to fire the character's arm-mounted energy weapon. Holding the fire button charges the weapon in order to release a stronger blast. Holding down while pressing the jump button makes the character perform a dash, the appearance of which varies between characters.
After selecting a character, the player chooses between three "stories", with each one having different Robot Masters from various games. The "stories" are Mega Man 1-2, 3-6, and Mega Man 7. Upon choosing a "story", the game quickly pans through the various levels, letting the player choose one roulette-style.
A level is largely different from the mainstream Mega Man games; instead of going through an entire stage and fighting the Robot Master as a boss at the end, the player faces the Robot Master immediately, in a fight reminiscent of Capcom's Street Fighter series. Defeating a Robot Master earns the player their weapon, which can be switched to by pressing a button. Like in most Mega Man games, each Robot Master is weak to another one's weapon, so the player can fight through them in a "rock-paper-scissors"-style.

## Music

The Rockman: The Power Battle (ロックマン　ザ・パワーバトル) sound track was released on December 1, 1995 in Japan Sony Records. Its soundtrack contains arranged pieces from previous Mega Man games by Setsuo Yamamoto and Hideki Okugawa, and performed by Alph-Lyla.

## Reception

Hardcore Gaming 101 praised The Power Battle for its graphics and two-player support but criticized its "simplistic nature" and difficulty, writing: "Each boss adds nothing more than a longer health bar, and they all try to whittle the player’s health down with the same attack patterns. Once the correct fighting order has been figured out, the game becomes rather easy to clear with one or two credits." The site said that The Power Fighters was more challenging and "a more fleshed-out diversion compared to the original arcade game."
GameSpot, in its review of the Mega Man Anniversary Collection, said that The Power Battle and The Power Fighters are "pretty light on gameplay or lasting value, but they're certainly worth checking out."
Four reviewers for the Japanese publication Weekly Famitsu scored the PlayStation 2 compilation of the two arcade games a total of 22 out of 40. The fan site Rockman Corner said the two-game compilation did not have "enough content to warrant a purchase" by the average gamer but was "something collector's [sic] might want on their mantle."