Wily Stage

A MM25: Mega Man & Mega Man X Official Complete Works. UDON Entertainment. 2013. is a recurring type of stage in the Classic era. They are the final stages of the game, taking place once all of the Robot Masters have been defeated. While they vary in name and appearance, they are all fortresses used by Dr. Wily as bases for his operations, and are the settings of all his showdowns with . They share a common theme, incorporating a giant skull design, Wily's signature "W" insignia, and often a random pipe sticking off the side. The most common type of Wily Stage is the , though Wily has used a variety of fortresses.
Wily Stages are almost always the final stages visited by the player, sometimes preceded by another set of penultimate stages. There are usually four Wily Stages, each with a boss or Boss Attack, though the exact number of stages varies between games. Wily Stages always must be played in a sequential order, in contrast with the Robot Masters that can be chosen from the Stage Select, and are sometimes displayed on a map showing progress through the fortress. Beating Dr. Wily triggers the game's ending, which often shows the fortress exploding.
==In the Games==
===Mega Man===
In the first , the Wily Stages are located in Dr. Wily's Robot Manufacturing Plant, known as in Japan. It is indicated to be a factory rather than a castle, though its exterior is never shown in the game and it is only referred to as "the final stage" in the game's English manual. It is accessed by selecting Dr. Wily on the Stage Select screen after defeating all six of the Robot Masters, leading to a short cutscene of Wily in his Wily Capsule before Mega Man teleports to the factory. Like many later Wily Castles, it is divided into four individual Wily Stages. It also notably requires the Magnet Beam from to conquer, which can be missed, making the stages impossible to complete.
The score bounty for completing the fortress is always set at 200000, unlike the randomized scores for beating the Robot Master stages. Its ultimate fate is unknown, as it is not shown to be destroyed following Wily's defeat in this game.
In the remake Mega Man Powered Up, it is instead called Castle Wily in the English version.
Stage	Description 	Boss
 	A stage that starts outside and continues inside the fortress. The Magnet Beam is required. 	Yellow Devil
 	A tower that features rematches with Cut Man and Elec Man near the beginning. 	Copy Robot
 	A sewer stage. 	CWU-01P
 	A stage ending in rematches with Bomb Man, Fire Man, Ice Man and Guts Man before the boss, who must be fought in a set order.	Wily Machine 1
===Mega Man 2===
The Wily Stages in Mega Man 2 are set in the very first Wily Castle. It is the first game to display a map before each stage, with stages indicated by dots and the apparent final boss marked by a skull. After beating it, a previously hidden second skull-marked stage appears on the map for the true final boss fight, a tradition kept by later fortresses.
Stage	Description 	Boss
 	 	Mecha Dragon
 	 	Picopico-kun
 	 	Guts Tank
 	A stage with fake floors and a revisit of mechanics from . 	Boobeam Trap
 	A teleporter room with Robot Master rematches before the Wily Machine. 	Wily Machine 2
 	A long drop and ominous corridor with harmful liquid dripping from the ceiling, leading to the true final boss fight.	Alien
===Mega Man 3===
In Mega Man 3, the Wily Stages are in a new Wily Castle. It is unlocked after beating all of the Doc Robot stages and Break Man. After a cutscene at Dr. Light's lab that reveals Wily stole the peace-keeping robot Gamma, Mega Man heads straight to the fortress to defeat him.
Stage	Description 	Boss
 	 	Kamegoro Maker
 	 	Yellow Devil Mk-II
 	 	Holograph Mega Mans
 	A short stage introducing Junk Golems, followed by a teleporter room with Robot Master rematches.	Teleporter room
 	A small room with weapon refills before dropping down to the Wily Machine. 	Wily Machine 3
 	A small room with weapon refills before the final confrontation with Wily, now piloting Gamma. 	Gamma
===Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge===
In Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge, the Wily Stages are divided between a Wily Castle on the ground and a new in outer space, which would go on to become a theme in the Game Boy games.
Stage	Description 	Boss
 	A long stage ending in a teleporter room. The teleporters lead directly to boss fights with Quick Man, Bubble Man, Flash Man and Heat Man instead of being rematches with the Robot Masters previously fought in the game. Beating all four unlocks a fifth teleporter, which leads to Enker.	Enker
 	Another long stage set on a space station hovering above the fortress rather than the fortress itself. 	Wily Machine I
===Mega Man 4===
In Mega Man 4, Mega Man proceeds to the Wily Castle after beating all the Dr. Cossack's Citadel stages and the cutscene revealing Wily as the true villain. The environment around the fortress resembles that of the earlier citadel, suggesting that it may be located in Siberia just like it, but this is never made clear. It is also located near train tracks, which Mega Man uses to return home after the fortress explodes, a callback to the train ride seen in the intro of the game.
Stage	Description 	Boss
 	A Metall-themed stage, featuring all the variations from previous stages and ending in a large Metall boss.	Metall Daddy
 	 	Takotrash
 	A short stage and teleporter room with Robot Master rematches before the Wily Machine. 	Wily Machine 4
 	A short corridor with Imorms leading to the final boss. 	Wily Capsule
===Mega Man II===
In Mega Man II, the Wily Stages are again divided between a Wily Castle and a Wily Station.
Stage	Description 	Boss
 	Dr.Wily sets a trap for Mega Man, forcing him to beat four more Robot Master stages to progress. A teleporter room leads to Hard Man's,Top Man's, Magnet Man's and Needle Man's stages. Finishing all four opens up a hole in the ground, leading down to the Quint fight.	Quint
 	A strange stage full of melting clocks, alluding to the game's time travel plot. It ends in a final boss with three phases. 	Wily Machine II
===Mega Man 5===
In Mega Man 5, Mega Man proceeds to the Wily Castle after beating all the Proto Man's Castle stages and the cutscene revealing Wily as the true villain.
Stage	Description	Boss
 	TBA 	Big Pets
 	TBA 	Circring Q9
 	TBA 	Wily Press
 	TBA 	Wily Machine 5
===Mega Man III===
In Mega Man III, the Wily Stages are again divided between a Wily Castle and a Wily Station.
Stage	Description	Boss
 	TBA 	Giant Suzy
 	TBA 	Punk
 	TBA 	Wily Machine
===Mega Man IV===
In Mega Man IV, this time the Wily Stages are divided between a Wily Station and a .
Stage	Description	Boss
 	TBA 	Ballade
 	TBA 	Ballade
 	TBA 	Bridge
 	TBA 	Wily Robo Iron Golem
===Mega Man 6===
In Mega Man 6, Mega Man proceeds to the Wily Castle after beating all the Mr. X's Castle stages and the cutscene revealing Mr. X to be Wily in disguise.
Stage	Description	Boss
 	TBA 	Mechazaurus
 	TBA 	Tank CSII
 	TBA 	Boss Attack
 	TBA 	Wily Machine 6
===Mega Man V===
In Mega Man V, the Wily Stages are located in the Wily Star.
Stage	Description	Boss
 	TBA 	Skull Blazer
 	TBA 	Boss Attack
 	TBA 	Sunstar
===Mega Man: The Wily Wars===
In Mega Man: The Wily Wars, there is a new with challenges for Mega Man to face.
Stage	Description	Boss
 	TBA 	Fire Snakey
 	TBA 	Iron Ball
 	TBA 	Buster Rod G
 	TBA 	Wily Machine
===Mega Man 7===
In Mega Man 7, the Wily Stages are again set in a Wily Castle.
Stage	Description	Boss
 	TBA 	Guts Man G
 	TBA 	Gamerizer
 	TBA 	HannyaNED²
 	TBA 	Wily Machine 7
===Mega Man 8===
In Mega Man 8, the Wily Stages are set in another Wily Tower.
Stage	Description	Boss
 	TBA 	Atetemino
 	TBA 	Bliking
 	TBA 	Green Devil
 	TBA 	Wily Machine 8
===Mega Man 9===
In Mega Man 9, Mega Man proceeds to the Wily Castle after beating all the Robot Masters and the cutscene revealing Wily as the true villain.
Stage	Description	Boss
 	TBA 	Spike Pushers
 	TBA 	Mega Mech Shark
 	TBA 	Twin Devil
 	TBA 	Wily Machine 9
===Mega Man 10===
In Mega Man 10, Mega Man proceeds to the Wily Castle after beating all the Robot Masters and the cutscene revealing Wily as the true villain.
Stage	Description	Boss
 	TBA 	Weapons Archive
 	TBA 	Crab Puncher
 	TBA 	Block Devil
 	TBA 	Wily Machine 10
 	TBA 	Wily Capsule
===Mega Man 11===
The Wily Stages in Mega Man 11 are located in the , a rare instance of the castle being explicitly named in the game. As the name indicates, a number of large clockwork gears are used in its design and are visible both on the map and throughout the fortress stages.
Stage 	Description	Boss
Gear Fortress Stage 1	TBA 	Yellow Devil MK-III
Gear Fortress Stage 2	TBA 	Mawverne
Gear Fortress Stage 3	TBA 	Boss Attack
Gear Fortress Stage 4	TBA 	Wily Machine 11
===Battle Network era===
Although the Mega Man Battle Network games are set in a different timeline, the bases used by Lord Wily's criminal organisation, the World Three, pay homage to the original Wily fortresses, being split into multiple network areas and incorporating skull designs in their real world architecture.
==Other Media==
===1994 animated series===
In the , Dr. Wily's castle is known as the Skull Fortress, owing to the large, golden skull that makes up its entrance. Like the various machines used by Wily throughout the show, it is shown to contain a monitor system that allows him to watch proceedings and communicate with his Robot Masters.
==References==