Mega Man

During development, titles such as Mighty Kid, Knuckle Kid, and Rainbow Man were considered. “Rainbow” was particularly relevant given the protagonist’s ability to change colors when equipping weapons, which was inspired in large part by tokusatsu (Japanese live-action television shows using an abundance of special effects—Ninja Captor in particular, a precursor to The Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers). The game in general drew influences not just from tokusatsu, but also from manga and anime—connections that would become less and less subtle as the series progressed.

Eventually, the name Rockman was chosen, as the game (and series) would go on to have numerous music-related references in its naming schemes. Rock’s sister, for example, was named Roll. Although Capcom USA renamed the character and the game to Mega Man for the Western release, Roll’s name was left intact.

It’s hard to imagine the series without the “Blue Bomber,” but Kitamura originally intended for the Mega Man 1 boss Cut Man to be the game’s protagonist. Despite losing his leading man status, Cut Man went on to appear in all 27 episodes of the original Mega Man cartoon series.

Another concept of Kitamura’s wouldn’t be fully implemented until over 30 years later in Mega Man 11. “In the beginning,” said Kitamura, “I imagined a character like Mega Man equipped with some kind of weapon, but when you transformed, your whole appearance would change. You know that little protrusion on the top-front of Mega Man’s helmet? When you changed weapons, it was supposed to change…and show a little symbol depending on the weapon’s element.” The now-iconic color change mechanic was conceived by the game’s programmer as a more viable alternative, yet the helmet idea was still carried out on certain bosses such as Cut Man, as well as Quick Man and Metal Man from Mega Man 2. The unused weapon display box at the front of Mega Man’s helmet remained part of his design, however.