Mega Man & Bass

Mega Man & Bass is a platformer game in the Classic era. It follows Mega Man 8, though it is not officially numbered and can be considered a spin-off. Initially released exclusively in Japan as Rockman & Forte (ロックマン&フォルテ, Rokkuman ando Forute) for the Super Famicom (Super Nintendo Entertainment System) in 1998, the game was ported to the Game Boy Advance in 2002 and released internationally in 2003, coinciding roughly with the franchise's 15th anniversary.
The game reuses many elements from Mega Man 8, including basic gameplay, art style, most of its enemies and two Robot Masters, though these elements were ported down from a 32-bit system to a 16-bit one. New and central to Mega Man & Bass is the character selection, allowing players to start the game either as or Bass, who each use different abilities to take on the game's stages and new robot villain, King.
== Story ==
A mysterious robot named King has issued a threat to steal the data from the Robot Museum to construct an army, declaring that robots are superior to humans and should rule the world. King has also ransacked Dr. Wily's laboratory, forcing to evil doctor to stay at Dr. Light's lab. Mega Man and his rival Bass, Dr. Wily's robot, are sent out to investigate the threat.Mega Man & Bass English Instruction Booklet, "a declaration of crime... ...from the criminal!".
Arriving at the Robot Museum, Mega Man (or Bass) finds King already there, being confronted by Proto Man. King reiterates his views of robot supremacy and Proto Man attempts to stop him, but is badly damaged. King escapes with the data, leaving a Green Devil behind to fight Mega Man/Bass, but the hero destroys it and starts the journey to take on King's Army.
Spoiler Warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
After defeating King's eight Robot Masters, including two that he recruited from Dr. Wily's numbers, Mega Man/Bass uses their weapons to gain access to King's palace, where he confronts the King Tank, King Plane and finally, King himself. King initiates a battle, which at first appears futile due to King's impenetrable tower shield, but Proto Man shows up, intent on settling the score. Realising his normal attacks are not enough, Proto Man uses all his energy for a powerful "Big Bang Strike" that destroys King's shield, but exhausts Proto Man, who urges Mega Man/Bass to finish the battle.
After King is defeated, he reiterates his beliefs in robot supremacy, but begs for Mega Man/Bass to end his misery and helps Proto Man evacuate, not wishing to see his fellow robot destroyed. However, when Bass questions him or Mega Man offers to take him back to Dr. Light, King reveals that he was built by Dr. Wily, who promptly appears on a monitor screen and commands him to keep fighting. When King hesitates, Wily uses a device to boost his "brainwashing level", overwriting his programming. King retreats, but summons the Jet King Robo, a giant mecha comprised of the King Tank and Plane, which he pilots. After the mecha is destroyed, King comes to and realises that his palace is going to explode, urging Mega Man/Bass to escape and ensuring him that he will follow. However, after the hero has left, King reveals that he has no means of escape and is seemingly engulfed in the explosion.
Mega Man/Bass pursues Dr. Wily to his newly built fortress, where he refights the eight Robot Masters and destroys the and Capsule, sending the doctor tumbling to the ground in his defeat.
=== Mega Man's ending ===
After the battle, Mega Man returns home, where he is welcomed and congratulated by his friends and family. He feels sad and guilty that he could not save King, but his sister Roll shows him a letter that King sent to them, indicating that he survived the blast. In it, he reveals that he has seen the error of his ways and intends to use his power for world peace, looking forward to meeting Mega Man again in the future as a friend.
=== Bass's ending ===
Held at buster-point by Bass, Dr. Wily claims that he built King and had him fight Bass not to deceive him, but rather to test his strength, and recognises that by defeating King, Bass has proven that he is the mightiest robot in the world. Bass does not believe him, but Wily reveals that he has plans for a new model, "King the second", and proposes that this new King and Bass can work together. However, Proto Man enters and destroys the computer with the blueprints, foiling these plans.
Dr. Wily commands Bass to destroy Proto Man, but he hesitates, and Proto Man reminds him that he is strong and able to act on his own rather than having to follow Wily's orders. However, he explains that Bass has not been able to defeat Mega Man because he only fights for himself. After Proto Man has left, Bass denounces his statement, declaring that he will keep fighting solely to destroy Mega Man.
== Characters ==
=== ===
"This outstanding example of the robot race was developed as a kind household robot that lives a serene existence working as Dr. Light's assistant. However, in order to stop evil Dr. Wiley's plan of world conquest, this peaceful metal man requested Dr. Light to modify him into a battle robot."Mega Man & Bass English Instruction Booklet, "good guys".
Mega Man serves as one of the playable characters in the game. His story is largely the same as Bass's, with differences in gameplay and ending.
=== Bass ===
"Bass is a "special Wiley numbered" war robot, one of a battalion created by Dr. Wiley. His life's work is to defeat Mega Man with his own hands. But, in order to defeat King, the self-proclaimed "world's strongest robot", Bass had to make peace with Mega Man... temporarily."
Bass serves as one of the playable characters in the game. His story is largely the same as Mega Man's, with differences in gameplay and ending.
=== King ===
"A robot that plans to take over the world and create a total robot supremacy. He stole the robot creation data from Dr. Light and Dr. Wiley and used it to generate an army of evil robots. He likes chess, but considers himself so good that no one can give him an even match."Mega Man & Bass English Instruction Booklet, "bad guys".
King serves as the primary antagonist for most of the game, whose fortress must be stormed after defeating his Robot Masters.
=== Dr. Wily ===
"Albert W. Wiley was Dr. Light's classmate at robot engineering school, and has become his rival in professional life. He became involved in creating evil robots in his bid for world domination. Wiley was attacked while developing a new fortress and now lives in Dr. Light's research center."
Dr. Wily's name is spelled as "Wiley" in the manual, similar to Mega Man 3, but as Wily in the game.
=== Rush ===
"A support robot that Dr. Light made for Mega Man. Possessing an excellent sense of smell, Rush is outstanding at sniffing out hidden items."
Rush can be summoned by Mega Man using the store-bought Rush Search weapon.
=== Dr. Light ===
"Number one in Robot Engineering and Mega Man's creator. He goes all out to create robots that help mankind in peaceful ways. Whenever he sees someone in trouble he's the type of guy who just can't stand by and watch."
Dr. Light appears on the CD Data Base screen, urging Mega Man or Bass to find the missing robot data.
=== Roll ===
"An assisting engineer robot created by Dr. Light, Roll is loaded with practical advice for Mega Man and Bass. She's always ready to assist the mission with helpful hints."
Roll can be talked to using the Transceiver (or Com System) item, allowing her to give hints about the stage, the boss, and how many CDs still need to be found.
=== Auto ===
"An assistant robot that helps Dr. Light with his research and in developing power-up parts."
Auto operates the Shop in this game and can craft items for Mega Man and Bass out of the Bolts they find. He is referred to as Lightott in the manual, a rendering of his Japanese name.
=== Eddie ===
"An item transport robot that Dr. Light created. It now has the ability to fly and can transport items rapidly."
Eddie can be called by Mega Man using the store-bought "Eddie" weapon. His name is spelled "Eddy" in the manual.
=== Beat ===
"A support robot bird that Dr. Kossack made for Mega Man as a present. It is currently being modified to perform crash attacks as well as transport items."
Beat can be called by Mega Man using the store-bought "Beat" weapon. Unlike other appearances, he does not fight for or carry Mega Man, but merely drops a damage-absorbing shield on him.
=== Treble ===
"A support robot that moves with Bass. Gospel can transform as well as form one unit with Bass."
Treble can be called by Bass using the store-bought Treble Boost weapon, which allows him to fuse with Bass into a super form. He is referred to as Gospel in the manual, his Japanese name.
=== Proto Man ===
"Dr. Light's first attempt at making a humanoid robot. He moves of his own free will. He attempted to foil King's plot but was defeated."
Proto Man appears only in story cutscenes. His name is given as Blues in the manual, his Japanese name.
== Gameplay==
Mega Man & Bass is a platform-shooter game similar to most other Classic series games and especially Mega Man 8. The player controls a character who jump, shoots and climbs through eight Robot Master stages, selectable from a stage select screen, in order to take on a set of fortress stages in the end - beating each Robot Master awards a version of his signature weapon for use within stages, with each boss being particularly weak to another's weapon. Unlike most games in the series, only three Robot Master stages can be selected from the start, though others need to be unlocked gradually by completing these (see Stages).
The biggest change to the formula is the choice between two playable characters, the eponymous Mega Man and Bass, who can be selected when starting a new game, but cannot be switched later on the same file. Each character plays through the same stages and acquires the same weapons from bosses, but has a different set of base abilities, as shown in the table below:
Mega Man 	Bass
Attacking 	Attacking
Shots deal normal damage and can be charged	Shots deal half damage to most enemies and cannot be charged
Shots go through walls 	Shots do not go through walls, but can be upgraded to do so
Can only shoot straight forward 	Can shoot in any direction except straight down
Moving 	Moving
Can walk while shooting 	Cannot walk while shooting, but can jump
Can slide under obstacles 	Can dash forward
Limited jumping ability 	Can double-jump and jumps further after a dash
Like in Mega Man 7 and Mega Man 8, the player character can once again collect Bolts, which drop randomly from enemies as they did in 7 rather than being hidden in limited numbers. These Bolts can be traded in for items and upgrades at Auto's between stages, some of which are only available to one of the two characters (see Shop items). Unlike some other games, no upgrades can be found in the stages themselves, and the game lacks Energy Tanks, removing the option to easily refill energy during boss fights.
A secondary objective, though it provides no gameplay benefits, is the completion of Roll's CD collection, which contains data about Robot Masters and other robot characters from this and previous games. A total of 100 CDs can be found in the Robot Master stages, usually hidden or buried out of the way. Once found, the CD's data can be viewed regardless of save file, and as some CDs require a specific character's abilities, obtaining all of them requires visiting the stages as both Mega Man and Bass.
== Enemies ==
=== Minor Enemies ===
Note that regular Bass Buster shots deal only half a point of damage to most enemies.
Name	Sprite	Description	HP	Damage	Stage(s)
=== Minibosses ===
Name	Sprite	Description	HP	Damage	Stage(s)
King stage 2 contains two encounters that are treated differently from regular minibosses, as they use the King/Wily boss music, feature lengthy battles and cause the player character to teleport out of the room after the fight; however, as they do not mark the end of the stage and have no health bars, they can be considered minibosses rather than bosses.
Name	Sprite	Description	HP	Damage	Stage(s)
=== Bosses ===
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==== Robot Masters ====
Each of the eight Robot Masters grants his weapon to Mega Man/Bass after his defeat, and is weak to another Robot Master's weapon, with many becoming briefly stunned if their weakness is used against them. Once defeated, the Robot Master will no longer be present if his stage is revisited, though all Robot Masters must be fought a second time in the final stage.
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==== Fortress Bosses ====
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== Weapons ==
Mega Man or Bass can acquire various weapons throughout the game, which can be selected from the pause screen (or by pressing L/R for Special Weapons) and usually require Weapon Energy to use. Both characters obtain the same weapons from Robot Masters and they act identically, though their appearance may be different.
Name 	Sprite(s) 	Description 	Character 	Acquired from
Mega Buster 	 	Mega Man's standard weapon, which does not use Weapon Energy. It can be charged by holding the button, then releasing it to fire a charge shot that is bigger and deals triple damage. It can only be fired straight forward, but shots go through walls. 	Mega Man 	Start of game
Bass Buster 	 	Bass's standard weapon, which does not use Weapon Energy. It cannot be charged, but instead fires rapidly while the button is held, and Bass cannot walk while using it. It can be aimed up and diagonally, but not directly downward, and shots do not go through walls except with the H. Buster item. Standard Bass Buster shots do half as much damage as Mega Buster shots, except against bosses.	Bass 	Start of game
Bass Buster (H. Buster)	 	While the H. Buster item is equipped, Bass Buster shots are smaller, but can go through walls. These shots do the regular amount of damage. 	Bass 	
Bass Buster (S. Buster)	 	While the S. Buster item is equipped, Bass Buster shots are larger and do twice the amount of damage. 	Bass 	
Special Weapons 	Special Weapons	Special Weapons 	Special Weapons	Special Weapons
Ice Wall 	  	Summons an ice wall that can be pushed, bouncing back and forth between walls. It can be stood on to gain extra height or ride it safely across spikes. The wall cracks over time, then disappears. When used in water, it floats to the surface. 	Both 	Cold Man
Copy Vision 	  	Creates a temporary holographic copy of the user, which is stationary and constantly shoots forward. It can trick some homing attacks. 	Both 	Astro Man
Spread Drill 	  	Fires a giant drill forward that falls down after some time. It can be split into two smaller drills by pressing the button again, which can each be split into two even smaller drills. The drills can destroy certain ice or concrete blocks, which may contain items. 	Both 	Ground Man
Wave Burner 	  	Uses a flamethrower while the button is held, which undulates in a wave motion in front of the user. It can light certain fuses to destroy blocks, and destroy Spinning Gabyoall enemies. Underwater, it is replaced with a wave that pushes enemies away without harming them. 	Both 	Burner Man
Remote Mine 	  	Fires a floating mine forward, which can be steered up and down as it travels and will attach to the first enemy or wall it hits. Pressing the button again detonates it, with the explosion dealing damage repeatedly if the target remains inside of it. 	Both 	Pirate Man
Lightning Bolt 	  	Causes lightning to crash down all over the screen, hitting all visible enemies. 	Both 	Dynamo Man
Magic Card 	  	Throws a fast-moving card that returns to the user. It can be aimed upwards and can bring regular pick-up items (Energy, Weapon Energy, 1 UPs) back with it. If it is fired rapidly, the cards come out at slightly different heights. 	Both 	Magic Man
Tengu Blade 	  	Slashes in front of the user and then creates a cutter blade, which flies forward and can bounce off walls, gaining height in the process. Sliding or dashing with the weapon equipped turns the move into an attack. 	Both 	Tengu Man
Other 	Other 	Other 	Other 	Other
Rush Search 	 	Mega Man summons Rush, who digs at a spot in front of him, unearthing different items depending on where he is used. The items can be junk, pick-ups, or buried CDs. 	Mega Man 	
Beat 	 	Mega Man summons Beat, who flies by and drops a blue shield on him. The shield nullifies all damage except instant death, but drains Weapon Energy over time and drains it faster while absorbing damage. 	Mega Man 	
Eddie 	 	Mega Man summons Eddie, who provides him with up to three random pick-up items, draining the weapon's energy for every item he gives. 	Mega Man 	
Treble Boost 	 	Bass combines with Treble into a form similar to Super Bass. In this form, he can fly freely and fire powerful projectiles in three directions forward, but constantly drains the weapon's energy while transformed. 	Bass 	
== Stages ==
Mega Man & Bass uses a unique stage select model that differs from other Mega Man games. Rather than being able to tackle Robot Master stages in any order or unlocking them in batches, the player is sent to a branching stage map after completing the Robot Museum stage and given a choice between three Robot Masters. Completing any one of these stages unlocks the ones linked to it, resulting in either two or three additional Robot Masters opening up.
* 
Robot Master stages:
* Cold Man Stage
** Burner Man Stage
** Pirate Man Stage
* Astro Man Stage
** (Pirate Man's stage)
** Dynamo Man Stage
** 
* Ground Man Stage
** (Tengu Man Stage)
** Magic Man Stage
After beating any of the Robot Masters on the second column, a special becomes available. This stage contains eight separate challenges, each of which requires a different one of the eight Robot Masters' weapons, but they do not have to be completed all at once and reward the player with 100 bolts each to purchase items with. Once all eight puzzles have been finished, the fortress stages open up.
Fortress stages:
* King Stage 1
* King Stage 2
* 
=== Other features ===
Two other areas can be accessed from the stage select screen. These are not stages, but can instead be browsed via an on-screen interface. They can be visited at any time that the player is on the stage select screen, regardless of completion, and the Data Base can also be accessed from the title screen.
* - Also known as Light Research Center. Lets the player trade in Bolts for items.
* - Roll's CD collection. Tracks all the CDs found and enables viewing of their data cards.
== Items ==
Mega Man or Bass can find and collect/interact with various items throughout the game. Many of these can drop randomly from defeated enemies, and these items can also be obtained from Rush Search or Eddie when playing as Mega Man. Energy, Weapon Energy and 1 UP items look different for Mega Man (left) and Bass (right), but function identically.
Name 	Sprite	Description 	Location
1 UP 	 	Awards an extra life. 	Random drops, Item Shop, various stages
Energy (small) 	 	Restores 2 points of health. 	Random drops
Energy (large) 	 	Restores 10 points of health. 	Random drops, various stages
Weapon Energy (small)	 	Restores 2 points of weapon power. 	Random drops
Weapon Energy (large)	 	Restores 10 points of weapon power. 	Random drops, various stages
Bolt (small) 	 	Awards 5 bolts to use in the Shop, up to 999. 	Random drops
Bolt (large) 	 	Awards 15 bolts to use in the Shop, up to 999. 	Random drops
Bolt (giant) 	 	Awards 100 bolts to use in the Shop, up to 999. Each challenge in the Teleporter stage causes one giant bolt to appear upon completing it for the first time; they cannot be obtained in any other way.	
Chest 	 	Can be shot at to open them, revealing a set item such as an Energy refill or a hidden CD. Some of them are Kamikamin enemies in disguise. 	Ground Man's stage, Pirate Man's stage, King stage 2
Party Ball 	 	Can be shot at to receive a large Energy pick-up. They only appear while the Item Presenter upgrade is in the inventory. 	Any stage
=== CDs ===
A total of 100 unique CDs can be found throughout the stages to complete Roll's CD collection. Though they grant no gameplay benefits, collecting them unlocks info cards in the Data Base, which contain pictures of and information about most of the Robot Masters and other major robot characters from the Mega Man series up to the game's original release. Data Base completion is global and not connected to a specific save file.
CDs can be found in each of the eight main Robot Master stages and are usually placed in hidden locations. Some require certain special weapons to obtain, while others are intended to only be accessible to either Mega Man or Bass, requiring the player to play through the game as both characters to unlock all of them. To faciliate finding CDs, a store item can be created that will allow Roll to analyse and inform the player how many CDs are currently left in the stage.
=== Shop items ===
By collecting and trading in Bolts (called screws in this game) in the , Auto can create items for the player to use. These generally come in three categories: single-use items, permanent upgrades, and equippable items. The last of these types grants an upgrade by equipping the item on the pause screen, but only one can be equipped at a time.
More rows of items become available in the shop after defeating 3 (2nd row) and 6 (3rd and 4th row) Robot Masters, and items may be different depending on whether Mega Man or Bass is the player character. In total, buying all available items in store costs 3180 bolts for Mega Man and 2680 for Bass (not counting single-use items, of which can be bought an unlimited number of times).
Rarely, Auto will have a bolt left over after creating an item. This does not affect the item's quality, but leaves the player with an extra bolt, which is typically meaningless as the smallest amount of bolts from other sources is 5 and all costs are multiples of 10.
Name 	Icon 	Description 	Type 	Row 	Cost	Character
Spare Body 	 	Awards the player an extra life. 	Single-use	1 	50 	Both
Energy Balancer (E. Balance)	 	Causes Weapon Energy pickups to refill the weapon with the lowest energy, if no weapon is equipped that needs recharging. 	Permanent 	1 	120 	Both
Exit Unit 	 	Allows the player to exit already completed stages by selecting the item on the pause menu, keeping any new items found in the stage. 	Permanent 	1 	50 	Both
Shock Guard (S. Guard) 	 	Protects Mega Man/Bass from dying on instant-death spikes once. When these spikes are touched, the character instead becomes briefly invincible and the item is consumed. Only one S. Guard can be held at a time. 	Single-use	1 	10 	Both
Transceiver (Com System) 	 	Allows Mega Man/Bass to contact Roll from the pause screen, who may give hints about the stage. Required for the E. Analyze and CD Counter upgrades. 	Permanent 	1 	100 	Both
Item Presenter (I. Present) 	 	Party Balls appear at certain points in the stage, which can be shot at to open them and receive a large Energy pick-up. It only affects the next stage, then it disappears. 	Single-use	1 	60 	Both
E. Analyze 	 	Allows Roll to give information about the boss's weakness when contacting her with the Transceiver. 	Permanent 	2 	50 	Both
S. Recover 	 	Energy pick-ups restore more health when collected while this item is equipped. 	Equippable	2 	200 	Both
C. Attack 	 	Mega Man or Bass's attacks deal 2 extra points of damage while the character has 7 or less health remaining. 	Equippable	2 	200 	Both
A. Charger 	 	Mega Man continuously charges his Mega Buster without having to hold down the button. 	Equippable	2 	50 	Mega Man
H.S.D. 	 	Bass can dash faster. 	Permanent 	2 	100 	Bass
Eddie 	 	Unlocks the Eddie "weapon", which summons him from the sky to supply Mega Man with up to three random pick-up items. Each item provided by Eddie drains the weapon's energy. 	Permanent 	2 	100 	Mega Man
S. Booster 	 	Bass can climb ladders faster. 	Permanent 	2 	100 	Bass
Rush Search (R. Search) 	 	Unlocks the Rush Search "weapon", which summons Rush to dig for items. Some buried CDs can only be acquired with this. 	Permanent 	2 	100 	Mega Man
Treble Boost (T. Boost) 	 	Unlocks the Treble Boost weapon, which allows Bass to fuse with Treble into a form similar to Super Bass. Bass can fly in this form and fire strong projectiles in five directions at once, but constantly drains the weapons energy while active.	Permanent 	2 	100 	Bass
E. Saver 	 	Weapon Energy costs are cut in half while this item is equipped. 	Equippable	3 	200 	Both
D. Absorb 	 	Taking damage restores Weapon Energy. The more damage taken, the more Weapon Energy is restored. 	Equippable	3 	300 	Both
S. Armor 	 	Damage taken is cut in half while the item is equipped. 	Equippable	3 	200 	Both
A. Recover 	 	Mega Man slowly recovers Energy while standing still. Charging the Mega Buster does not prevent this effect. 	Equippable	3 	450 	Mega Man
S. Buster 	 	Bass Buster shots are bigger and deal twice as much damage. 	Equippable	3 	300 	Bass
H.S.C. 	 	Decreases the time it takes to charge the Mega Buster. 	Permanent 	3 	150 	Mega Man
H. Buster 	 	Bass Buster shots are smaller, but travel through walls. They deal the same amount of damage. 	Equippable	3 	300 	Bass
Beat 	 	Unlocks the Beat "weapon", which summons Beat the bird to grant Mega Man a shield. The shield prevents all damage (except instant death), but drains Weapon Energy over time, draining more while preventing damage. 	Permanent 	3 	300 	Mega Man
CD Counter 	 	Allows Roll to tell the player how many CDs are left in the current stage when contacting her with the Transceiver. 	Permanent 	4 (Mega Man)3 (Bass)	100 	Both
CD Finder 	 	Allows Mega Man to see buried CDs that can be dug up with Rush Search. 	Permanent 	4 	300 	Mega Man
== Relation to Other Games ==
* Mega Man 8 - Many of the game's graphics, enemies, and two Robot Masters are reused from this game.
* , Mega Man 2, Mega Man 3, Mega Man 4, Mega Man 5, Mega Man 6, Mega Man 7, Mega Man 8, Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge, Mega Man II, Mega Man III, Mega Man IV, Mega Man V, Mega Man: The Wily Wars - Information and pictures of Robot Masters and other major robot characters from these games appear in the CD database.
* Rockman & Forte: Challengers from the Future - A pseudo-sequel released for the WonderSwan exclusively in Japan.
== Gallery ==
File:MM&B - Title Screen (SNES) J.png|Japanese title screen (Super Famicom).
File:MM&B - Title Screen (GBA) EU.png|European title screen (Game Boy Advance).
File:MM&B - Mega Man & Bass Art.png|Art of Mega Man & Bass posing together.
== References==
== External Links ==
* Wikipedia
* StrategyWiki
* Mega Man Home Page
* MobyGames
*
Category:Mega Man & Bass series games
Category:Classic era games