List: Favorite songs from the Megaman franchise
Music has always been incredibly important to the Megaman franchise. Not only because of the obvious musical character naming theme (Rock, Roll, Bass, Treble), but also because Megaman has always been very narratively-focused, using music instead of cutscenes and words to deliver something greater than just a tune to the environment you’re at. This assertion might feel weird in 2017, since Megaman didn’t “keep up” with how much more narratively-driven games became — Yet Megaman 2 for instance, was definitely one of the most narrative-filled big action games for the Famicom at the time of its release. Every new Megaman game had a different story and “drama” to go along with it. Megaman 3 was about securing energy crystals in space bases for Dr.Light and Wily’s new joint invention, Megaman 4 was about storming the USSR to stop a new evil scientist, Megaman 6 was about a worldwide fighting robot tournament, bosses comprising of champion robots of their nations.
Music then, was a very important vehicle for the game developers to evoke the feeling that the world and characters of Megaman were more than just colorful excuses for the action of playing the game itself — that Megaman is this strong, colorful animated TV show that you can only experience by playing the games themselves.
Without further ado, here are my personal favorite tracks from the classic Megaman franchise. No X, EXE or Zero series because I feel like they’re completely different franchises and I don’t have as much experience with them as I do with the “vanilla” series.
13. Museum Stage (from Megaman & Bass)
This song, I think, single-handedly convinced me that Megaman & Bass was a good game. (It’s not, but this song is still really good!) I love the combination of piano and bass to the beat of the tune, and, among the other songs in this list that repeat their main chorus a lot, here it’s done expertly with how it builds it up and totally earns the climax at the end of the loop. However, a lot of the elements that I like about this song are thanks to the instrumentation that the NES/Famicom just wasn’t able to do, so I can’t in good conscience place it too high on the list — being that other songs in here couldn’t do some of the things Museum Stage does even if their composers wanted.
12. Tengu Man Stage (from Megaman & Bass)
This song really stood out to me when I was listening back to all the soundtracks for this list. It’s a very calm and serene tune and even a little bit sad. I’m sure the intent was to make something that sounded like calm aviation, but I can’t help but feel it’s slightly melancholic too. It’s really a quite unique track compared to the rest of the classic Megaman franchise. Something else that made me fond of it is this bit at the very end of the loop (40 seconds to 50 seconds). It’s very jazzy, it sounds straight out of Kaori Kobayashi — one of my favorite musicians.
11. Napalm Man Stage (from Megaman 5)
Megaman 5 has many songs that sound very similar, almost as if they’re following too closely a specific “formula” of Megaman music. This one is no exception, but it stood out to me in part because of the cool changes in tempo. It feels like the best execution of that “Megaman 5 music template”.
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Re-arrangement of choice: Napalm Man from Megaman 2.5D
I really appreciate when newer games that attempt going for the NES/Famicom aesthetic thoughtfully break some of the restraints of the system; Doing so in a way that captures everything that’s appreciated about the aesthetics that the restrictions of that system brings, while building over it — instead of breaking the restraints simply because it’s more convenient or easy to do so. This re-arrangement understands that Megaman is heavily associated with the 8-bit sounds of the NES/Famicom and uses it as a guideline to make something that sounds smoother and fresh.
10. Wily’s Stage 2 (from Megaman 9) “We’re the Robots”
This song is just plain cool. You’d think with Megaman 9 they’d put all of their efforts in the song for Wily’s Stage 1 to try to one-up Megaman 2’s, but Wily’s Stage 2 takes the cake instead by going for its own vibe. It’s another song that relies a lot on repetition of its main chorus like Museum Stage, but that slick break at 1:10 helps it from feeling tiring.
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Re-arrangement of choice: “We’re the Robots” from Rockman Holic
Very cool vocal arrangement of the song!
9. Wily’s Stage 2 (from Megaman 8)
This song is a representative of Megaman 8’s soundtrack more than anything — It has all the elements that I like about Megaman 8’s music. I love the synths, the bass, the beat, and the flute, even if its solo is a bit lengthy and simple. If the rest of the song was lengthier and it had a stronger and more elaborate melody it could have shot itself higher up on the list.
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8. Cold Man Stage (from Megaman & Bass)
The melody here is great, the kind of sad, spaced-apart notes from the high-pitched keyboard appropriately convey the frozen aesthetics of the level — but the beat, the bass, and that sweet CPS2-esque Capcom guitar make the song feel energetic and cool. That tiny moment of the bass going absolutely ham at the end of the loop (57 seconds) is a great little touch too.
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Re-arrangement of choice: Cold Man from aroundhalf.info
7. Megaman 3 Theme
This song tells us a story all on its own. It starts off as a slow, contemplative ballad, and then picks up speed, as if the hero has decided to dramatically show up, finally culminating in a heroic, energetic tune. I really like how at 35 to 42 seconds, the beat alternates between a lower note and a higher note as if they were steps of the running hero. (Or maybe a really intense match of ping-pong?)
Re-arrangement of choice: “Title / Rockman 3” from MEGALOMANIA
6. Wily’s Stage 1 and 2 (from Megaman 2)
“Why so low?” — some of you may ask. “This is a legendary song!” I don’t know, maybe it’s just the combination of it being a tune that relies too much on repetition of its main chorus while also being incredibly overexposed, making it lose much of its impact on me. Still, I can’t deny it’s a really incredible tune. It exclaims bold, continuous charge, and there’s a reason why it became so popular and so well adapted into so many re-arrangements, it’s just that good.
Re-arrangement of choice: Dr.Wily’s Castle / Mega Man 2 played on Modulin by Wintergatan
A lot of re-arrangements of this song are really bombastic, but this one is refreshingly restrained in comparison — It sounds chill in a great way. Plus, it’s always amazing to see mundane things turned into great-sounding instruments and beats to a song. It’s also made by the band who did the absurd marble music machine, how cool is that?
5. Cut Man Stage (from Megaman)
Manami Matsumae’s best work, depending on who you ask, might arguably have been outside of the restraints of the 8-bit consoles; but the strong, dramatic melody she composed here is just perfect. It feels appropriate for an intense boss battle — but no, this is just a stage theme.
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Re-arrangement of choice: Cut Man Stage from Megaman Complete Works
One of the great things about the questionable Megaman ports for the Playstation are some of the amazing re-arrangements like this one.
4. Shadow Man Stage (from Megaman 3)
This song just goes places without ever losing its energy or its own identity… Though I’m not really sure what it’s trying to convey, as there is no clear discernible link between the song, the stage aesthetics, and the boss itself. Nevertheless, it’s hard to resist the captivation of this song though, it’s bursting with excitement.
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Re-arrangements of choice:
Shadow Man Stage from Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Shadow Man Stage from Megaman 2.5D
3. Air Man Stage (from Megaman 2)
While other songs like Gyro Man’s and Wind Man’s (and the previously talked about Tengu Man’s) stages portray the air as something giddy and happy, presumably because stages high up in the air are associated with flight and the freedom of being above the clouds, Air Man’s stage song gives it tension. Akita Kitamura (director of Megaman 2) has disclosed in an interview that his directions to the composer were more centered around what the player was doing at the stage and how the stage was paced, rather than aesthetic directions.
Kitamura: (The problem with) Tateishi’s (Megaman 2 composer) initial compositions was that they didn’t match the game in-motion, while you were playing. They didn’t match the movement speed or actions (jumping, shooting) of the gameplay, so despite the fact that they were very good songs, they felt too “laid-back” in the game.
He was going to have to re-write them. At that point, I decided to try giving him some new guidance.
* You’re floating in the water, everything is sparkling, but there’s danger!
* The excitement of being up in the sky, of teetering right on the brink, don’t look down!
* Hurry, hurry! Hurry hurry hurry!
* Concentrate, take your time and figure it out. Disappearing blocks.
* Keep moving along at a brisk pace… don’t stand in one place for too long!
* Smash, crunch, crash, clank! The gears are turning!
* Slipping and sliding through an underground maze! This way, that way, this way, that way!
* Ascending the stairs higher and higher, climb, climb!I also told Tateishi not to focus on melodies like he had been. I said to try and let the changes in the rhythm express it. I think writing this way was much more difficult. I didn’t want him to think about the visuals per se, but rather stay focused on the fact that these were going to be used in a game. (laughs)
This is why Air Man’s stage theme, and many other Megaman 2 songs, feel so fitting — despite having no aesthetic indicators in them (like having a bossa nova-inspired track to indicate tropicalism, for instance). In other words, Air Man’s stage song is tense because it conveys the tension of the stage itself, of careful platforming high up in the air, almost as if it’s conveying acrophobia musically — It knows that there’s nothing calm about being so high up when you can’t fly. This is especially true on that break — it feels like you’re desperate, losing balance and falling down. Speaking of break, up to this point in the list, most songs either had a longer, more complex melody, or the melodies were short and repetitive, but the songs had a great break. Air Man’s stage song features the best of both worlds.
Re-arrangement of choice: “Airman Stage” from Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS
2. Megaman Ending Theme
No, this isn’t the intro to Megaman 2, it’s the ending theme to Megaman! A cool thing that a few Megaman soundtracks do is that they’ll occasionally reference a previous game’s main theme or ending theme in their introductions. This is a nice small touch that ties the games together and also recognizes how important music has always been to the Megaman games.
The ending theme to Megaman is just perfect. It starts off slow and calm, then picks up the pace, becoming giddy and happy as if to congratulate the player for a job well done. Then, in the middle of its happiness, it throws out these longer, drawn out notes that get slightly dramatic near the end, as if it’s recalling the toughest moments of your journey — only to end happily again, though slightly slower and quieter, ready to call it a day and pack it in. It does all of that neatly in a span of a minute thirty.
1. Megaman 2 theme
I’m using the credits theme version; it’s extended and doesn’t have the Megaman 1 credits theme bit.
This was made specifically as the theme to just Megaman 2, but listen to it — it’s so captivating and powerful, how could it not become representative of the entire franchise? It keeps marching forward at a fast pace, and the restraints of the NES/Famicom help here as those fast beeps add a lot to the aesthetics of the song. None of it would feel futuristic and robot-esque with an analog instrument. It does that while still having a lot of personality, strength and heroism, which I feel all defines the character perfectly — as a representation of Megaman, the series, and Megaman, the character, this song occupies the number one spot.
Re-arrangement of choice: Rockman 2 Title from We are ROCK-MEN!
This is exactly the sound of Megaman in my head : futuristic, cheerful and hopeful. The synths feel like the NES/Famicom chiptune without being too obvious about it.
Honorable Mentions:
In no particular order:
Spark Man Stage from Megaman 3
Re-arrangements of choice: (1) (2)
Wily’s Stage 2 from Megaman 4
Re-arrangement of choice
Snake Man Stage from Megaman 3
Re-arrangement of choice
Pharaoh Man Stage from Megaman 4
Re-arrangement of choice
Crash Man Stage from Megaman 2
Re-arrangement of choice
Protoman’s Theme/Ending from Megaman 3
The melody is really beautiful…. But the NES/Famicom whistle sound carrying it all the way through gets tiring and grating to me. Re-arrangements of it sound amazing though!
Closing Thoughts
I hope what I said in the opening paragraphs resonated strongly as you’ve listened to the songs in the list. I decided to do this list both for fun and so I had a chance to talk about how music is important in Megaman — It’s a fact that was neither lost on its fans or developers, seen in how much love and appreciation the original compositions relished in over the years from both official channels and fan works alike. This is also seen in the quality of music in mainline Megaman games: despite how many different composers it went through , the quality rarely faltered. When some songs or soundtracks were disappointing, they were so in comparison to the high standards of the franchise.
Did I include your favorite songs? Did you discover some song you really identify with but had previously overlooked? What are your favorite Megaman songs? Let me know in the comments!
