More manual madness, with Mega Man 2.
Similar to the first Rockman manual, this one is also a fold-out instead of a booklet. It’s also heavy on the reds and blues. There’s a lot of things I’d like to point out on this one, but first things first…
ROCKMAN 2 Mystery of Dr. Wily™
©CAPCOM
CAP-XR
User Instruction Manual
At this time we’d like to thank you for purchasing this Capcom “Family Computer Cassette: ROCKMAN 2 (CAP-XR)”.
Please read this Instruction Manual carefully before operating to ensure correct handling and use of this product. Additionally, keep this Instruction Manual stored properly in a safe place.
Operational Warning:
(Nope, still not doing it. If you’re sticking your cartridge in the freezer, using it as a cutting board or to prop up the leg of your dinner table, you’re out of luck. ~#20)
CAP-XR CAPCOM®
Story
Thanks to the efforts of the super robot “Rockman” created by Dr. Right, the mysterious scientific genius Dr. Wily’s mad desires of global domination were halted and peace was restored to the world.
However, in spite of the massive blow he received, Dr. Wily has sent out 8 terrible robots to once again challenge “Rockman” in a brand new battle……
How to Play
When starting the game, each stage (stage 1~8) is represented by one of the 8 boss characters displayed on the screen. The player can select any stage from 1~8 to begin. To select a stage, move the cursor and press the Start Button to begin that boss’ stage. The player (as Rockman) begins the game with one weapon. Furthermore, after defeating the boss of each stage (for stages 1~8), the player obtains the weapon the boss was wielding. In all, there are a total of 9 usable weapons.
About the Password
Whenever the player reaches a Game Over or after a Stage Clear, a password like the one on the left will appear. The weapons and items obtained by defeating each of the stages will be saved by recalling the corresponding location of the chips on the grid. To input a password, use the Directional Key Pad to move the cursor and place the chips in the proper location. Place a chip by pressing the A Button, and to remove a chip press the B Button.
Using the Controller and Navigating the Screen
B Button – Attack
A Button – Jump
*Controller II is not used.
- Press the A Button to let go of a ladder and enter free fall, or press up and down on the Directional Key Pad to grab hold of the ladder again.
- The Start Button brings up the Weapon Select menu to allow for changing out weapons at any time.
Weapon Energy Gauge
Life energy Gauge
Enemy Energy Gauge
Weapon Indicator
Player Count
Character Design Prize-Winners Announcement!
(I’m not translating these either. Your name is probably not on there anyway. ~#20)
40 names above (titles withheld)
Many thanks for all your submissions!
Characters Appearing in “ROCKMAN 2”
ROCKMAN
“Rock”, the first humanoid robot developed by Dr. Right. Built as a prototype robot, Rock was reborn into the battle robot “Rockman” in order to stop the evil ambitions of Dr. Wily.
(Using this template for the design winners: “First then Last name, followed by City/Town, and Prefecture/Region… because that’s how my American brain works ~#20)
No.009 METALMAN
Masanori Satou
Tsuchiura-shi, Ibaraki-ken
No.010 AIRMAN
Youji Kanazawa
Ichikawa-shi, Chiba-ken
No.011 BUBBLEMAN
Takashi Tanaka
Kokubunji-shi, Tokyo-to
No.012 QUICKMAN
Hirofumi Mizoguchi
Kagoshima-shi, Kagoshima-ken
No.013 CLASHMAN
Akira Yoshida
Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido
No.014 FLASHMAN
Tomoo Yamaguchi
Nakano-ku, Tokyo-to
No.015 HEATMAN
Toshiyuki Kataoka
Sasebo-shi, Nagasaki-ken
No.016 WOODMAN
Masakatsu Ichikawa
Kamakura-shi, Kanagawa-ken
Please understand, the submitted characters’ names and designs may have been changed somewhat. (Titles withheld)
(I’m not listing all the enemy names this time, so refer to the Mega Man Official Complete Works page below. ~#20)
- Life Energy
- Weapon Energy
- Life Energy is completely refilled
- 1UP
Special Items
There are three items which are used in a similar way to the weapons.
For rising in the air
ITEM #1
Up to 3 of these can be used on the screen at once. Each use consumes 2 units of energy.
For horizontal movement
ITEM #2
Only one can be used on the screen at a time. Consumes 1 unit from the energy gauge for each half second of use.
For scaling walls
ITEM #3
Only one can be used on the screen at a time. Consumes 1 unit from the energy gauge for each half second of use.
For comparison, I’ve once again scanned my copy of the US Mega Man 2 manual, but there are some things you should probably know. Firstly, I wreaked great damage upon it. As a kid, I loved to carry the NES instruction booklets around with me wherever I went. They have therefore accumulated a great deal of violent love as only a child can. The Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt/World Class Track Meet manual was my first NES booklet ever, and therefore the most utterly destroyed. Mega Man 2 comes in at a close second. The pages are bent and worn, and held together by Scotch tape. It has been traced over and written in with pencil and marker. One of the first 3 Mega Man games, I don’t even remember which one, came with a sticker… Well, I slapped that baby in the blank space right on the front cover. And even as much as I try to keep all my books nice and neat nowadays and preserve them for as long as I can, if I could go back in time… I’d probably do it all again. I loved that book. If I hadn’t, this blog wouldn’t even be here.
So let’s get to the play-by-play:
- The Japanese Famicom version of the manual contains a fairly short story section; the US Nintendo Entertainment System manual contains only what story bits you pick up from the other sections.
- Captain Commando version 2… I may have said Captain EO before, but he might actually remind me more of Top Gun…
- The controls are explained in some pretty rich detail in the NES version this time. There’s also this funny line “Unlike some super heros, Mega Man can shoot while he is jumping or falling.” I always wondered, is that some kind of dig? Who are those other “super heros” referring to? The FC version remains pretty close to the same as its predecessor.
- Recovery items: The FC ver. shows the E-can and what it does, but leaves it unnamed and its usage via the weapon menu unexplained; the NES ver. mentions an “Energy crystal” and explains how to use it, but doesn’t show what it looks like. Go figure. The life and weapon energy items have also received a makeover in the second game, but the NES ver. uses the same art from Mega Man 1 for these items… I’ve often wondered why they felt the need to change the way life and energy capsules looked after Rockman 1, but granted, I probably like the second version better than the first.
- Mobility items: The FC version has nice artwork of Rockman using the 3 Items, and specifics on how many bars they use from the weapon gauge. The NES version lacks this, but tells the player which bosses to beat to acquire each Item.
- The NES manual suggests advanced players start with Metalman, and novice players start with Flashman or Airman, and the booklet even contains a section titled “HOW TO BEAT AIRMAN”. (What? You can’t beat Airman!!) 4 pages long, it goes into pretty fair detail on what to expect in Airman’s stage and offers tips on how to clear each portion. Between that and the nerfed “Normal” mode, it seems like Capcom really thought the reason the first game didn’t do well in the US was because it was too hard. Of course, items like the E-Can and the addition of the password system also help to lower the difficulty across all regions as well.
- The NES ver. under the “WEAPONS” section shows the 8 bosses and names and explains their weapons. The FC version names the bosses, their numbered order, and the name and address of the design contest winners who are credited with creating them. The other region makes no mention that the contest existed, perhaps justifiably so since no one outside of Japan could have participated at that time.
- Enemy artwork: The FC ver. has all the minor stage enemy robots, while the NES version has an abbreviated list, but also has pictures of two Wily Stage bosses which the FC version does not. Many of these pieces are early versions which were not included in R20. Some are simply minor variations, while others are very different unpolished and off-model pieces of art. For reference’s sake, below is some collected artwork from 3 sources, the FC & NES manuals and finally from the Mega Man Official Complete Works book.
Of particular note, Ankou has different fins and a satellite dish instead of the globe on its lantern, Springer’s head is differently shaped, Tanishi had claws at some point then lost them, the Petit Goblin was redrawn (thank goodness) as was Pipi, Kerog, Claw, Shotman, Telly and a few others. And certainly don’t miss the original Neo Metall! This one was drawn with two separated eyeballs and brown work shoes. Outside of this piece, the best place to see how they were originally drawn is on the Rockman 2 box art itself.
Last but not least, some of the 8 bosses appear slightly differently in the Mega Man 2 manual. Mostly, Woodman. Why is his arm on fire? Why is he wearing that Leaf Brassiere? Sera “Ceramical Titan” of Tetukuzu Okiba gave his thoughts in the Rockman Kai Special Booklet.
Woodman (Rockman 2)
Woodman’s breastplate here has a leafy design that’s way different from normal…! And though fire should regularly be his weakness, he seems to actually be able to wield it here.
If this design idea had been used, I think Woodman might have been an even tougher boss. (Sera)
That wraps up what I want to say about Rockman 2’s manual. Did I miss anything? Let me know below.
I m loving it.. I want to see Rockman 3-6 manuals, please ? 😀
Agreed, this is pretty cool.
And I always wondered about the energy items, too.