data/claims/mega-man-3-history.yamlMega Man 3 (history and reception)
Game: Mega Man 3.
Mega Man 3 came out in Japan on 28 September 1990, as Rockman 3, and in North America in November 1990. mega-man-3-history/release
p. 40, release table — the book's tables give the Japanese release date under the console's name, as its 12/17/1987 does for Mega ManNES 09/28/1990NES Games (Nintendo of America release list) · PDF p. 8 — Nintendo of America's NES list, the North American release month, Capcom as licenseeNovember 1990Platinum Titles (Capcom IR site, English) · entry 125, Mega Man 3Release : Sep 1990Cited by: Mega Man 3
Mega Man 3 starts on a screen of eight Robot Masters' faces, where the player picks which one to fight. mega-man-3-history/stage-select
p. 5 (PDF 4), Getting Startedyou're surrounded by mug shots of the 8 Robot Masters. Use the control pad to choose your opponent.Cited by: Mega Man 3
The manual advises taking the Robot Masters in an order that gives the player each weapon before the battle it helps in. mega-man-3-history/weapons
p. 15 (PDF 8), Nuts and Bolts for Winninggo after the Robot Masters in the right order to get the weapons you need for the next battle.Cited by: Mega Man 3
Besides the eight Robot Masters' stages, the game has four bonus stages that refight the bosses of Mega Man 2, and Dr. Wily's own stages. mega-man-3-history/structure
1990, Mega Man III, Gameplayyou got to play through four bonus stages and fight the bosses from Mega Man II over againThe History of Mega Man · 1990, Mega Man III, GameplayAdd on top of that the eight normal stages and a Wily stage or threeCited by: Mega Man 3
Mega Man 3 adds a slide, which the manual gives as the control pad Down and Left or Right, then A, and which Keiji Inafune describes as both an attack and an escape. mega-man-3-history/slide
p. 7 (PDF 3), Controlling Mega ManSlide left or rightMega Man 3 Instruction Manual (NES, North America) · p. 7 (PDF 3), Controlling Mega Man — the whole instruction reads "Press the control pad DOWN and LEFT or RIGHT, then press button A."; the OCR breaks it with stray charactersRIGHT, then press button A.MM25: Mega Man & Mega Man X Official Complete Works · p. 41, Inafune on slidingStarting in '3', we added the sliding action.MM25: Mega Man & Mega Man X Official Complete Works · p. 41, Inafune on slidingsliding was an action that had a good balance between being an offensive and defensive tactic.Cited by: Mega Man 3
Mega Man 3 gives him a robot dog, Rush, who turns into a springboard, a submarine, or a jet. Inafune says Rush took Mega Man's helmet and the colors of Mega Man 2's Items 1, 2, and 3, which had no character of their own. mega-man-3-history/rush
p. 11 (PDF 6), Rush to the Rescue!RC- Rush turns into a springboard for high jumps.Mega Man 3 Instruction Manual (NES, North America) · p. 11 (PDF 6), Rush to the Rescue!RM - Rush's submarine keeps you alive underwater.Mega Man 3 Instruction Manual (NES, North America) · p. 11 (PDF 6), Rush to the Rescue!RJ - In Rush's jet, the sky's the limit.MM25: Mega Man & Mega Man X Official Complete Works · p. 41, Inafune on RushItems 1, 2, and 3 had some interesting capabilities, but they really had no life to them.MM25: Mega Man & Mega Man X Official Complete Works · p. 41, Inafune on Rushwe took Mega Man's helmet and mixed in the color scheme from Items 1, 2, and 3 to come up with Rush.Cited by: Mega Man 3
Mega Man 3 introduces Proto Man, Mega Man's brother, whom Inafune wanted players to read as either a rival or a comrade. mega-man-3-history/proto-man
1990, Mega Man III, The BasicsThis game marked the debut of the mysterious Proto Man - Mega Man's brother.MM25: Mega Man & Mega Man X Official Complete Works · p. 41, Inafune on Proto ManWe wanted people to be unsure whether Proto Man was a friend or foe.Cited by: Mega Man 3
Leaving Capcom, Mega Man's planner Akira Kitamura asked his successor not to change the game's systems and to add Proto Man and Rush; he later said he created the two. mega-man-3-history/kitamura-ideas
excerpt, on Kitamura's talk with his successorKitamura asked Kurokawa not to change any of the fundamental gameplay systems.Mega Man 3 (Boss Fight Books) · excerpt, on Kitamura's talk with his successorWhen asked directly by Hitoshi Ariga if he was the creator of Proto Man and Rush, Akira Kitamura admitted yes.Pane adds that whether Kitamura drew them is unknown; Inafune's account of Rush's look (rush) is of the design, not the idea.
Cited by: Mega Man 3
After Kitamura left, Capcom put Masahiko Kurokawa, a programmer credited as Patariro, in charge of Mega Man 3. mega-man-3-history/kurokawa
excerpt, paragraph beginning "When Akira Kitamura left Capcom"Capcom selected not series veteran Keiji Inafune to helm Mega Man 3, but Masahiko Kurokawa, a talented programmerMega Man 3 (Boss Fight Books) · excerpt, paragraph beginning "When Akira Kitamura left Capcom"Capcom enforced its pseudonym policy on Kurokawa who chose the moniker Patariro.MM25: Mega Man & Mega Man X Official Complete Works · p. 40, Inafune on Mega Man 3our eternal leader quit his job. We got a new leader for '3'Pane notes that Kurokawa later worked as Masayoshi Kurokawa, which has left fans unsure of his first name. English sources call him the director; Inafune, quoted by Pane, calls him the main planner. The staff roll would settle the title.
Cited by: Mega Man 3
Kurokawa left halfway through development, and Keiji Inafune took over his work, with two months to finish the second half of the game. mega-man-3-history/inafune-finish
excerpt, paragraph beginning "The collaboration between Kurokawa and Inafune"Halfway through development, Kurokawa abruptly left.Mega Man 3 (Boss Fight Books) · excerpt, paragraph beginning "The reason I said that", Inafune quoted from Nintendo Power 220 (2007)so I had to basically fill in that role to finish the game.Mega Man 3 (Boss Fight Books) · excerpt, paragraph beginning "The reason I said that", Inafune quoted from Nintendo Power 220 (2007)we had two months to finish the final 50 percent of the game.MM25: Mega Man & Mega Man X Official Complete Works · p. 40, Inafune on Mega Man 3I did the enemy settings, the specifications, and even worked on the maps.Cited by: Mega Man 3
Harumi Fujita wrote Mega Man 3's Needle Man and Gemini Man stages and its staff roll, then left Capcom mid-project to give birth, and Yasuaki Fujita took over from her. mega-man-3-history/music
Fujita on Mega Man 3I composed the Gemini Man and Needle Man stages, as well as the Staff Roll.Harumi Fujita Interview: Ghosts, Goblins, and Gargoyles · Fujita on Mega Man 3I had to drop out during the middle of development and leave the company to give birth to my child, so I ended up having Yasuaki Fujita take over for me.Cited by: Mega Man 3
Yasuaki Fujita composed most of Mega Man 3's music. mega-man-3-history/music-most
excerpt, paragraph beginning "Unsurprisingly, Masahiko Kurokawa"Yasuaki Fujita composed most of the tracks for Mega Man 3 but was assisted by Harumi FujitaCited by: Mega Man 3
The release kept a debug feature on the second controller. Holding right on it lets Mega Man jump across the screen, and holding it right as he falls into a pit drains his health but leaves him impervious to damage. mega-man-3-history/debug-mode
excerpt, paragraph beginning "Determined players"debug mode was activated by using the second controllerMega Man 3 (Boss Fight Books) · excerpt, paragraph beginning "Determined players"hold right on the second controller to give Mega Man a mega jumpThe History of Mega Man · 1990, Mega Man III, GameplayIf you held the second-player gamepad to the right, then jumped into a pit, Mega Man would lose all his health and become impervious to damage.Pane reads the debug mode as a sign the game was rushed out.
Cited by: Mega Man 3
Electronic Gaming Monthly scored Mega Man 3 9 out of 10. mega-man-3-history/egm-score
Value
{
"review": "Electronic Gaming Monthly",
"of": 10,
"score": 9
}excerpt, paragraph beginning "Like its predecessor"awarded the game 9 out of 10 pointsCited by: Mega Man 3
American magazines praised Mega Man 3. EGM named it the year's best sequel, and GamePro called it "A Mega-Hit!" mega-man-3-history/reception-us
PDF p. 64, Mega Man 3 reviewMega Man 3 is better than the first two putElectronic Gaming Monthly, issue 15 (1990-10) · PDF p. 64, Mega Man 3 reviewOne of my favorite of the year!Electronic Gaming Monthly, issue 15 (1990-10) · PDF p. 18, 1990 awardsBEST SEQUEL TO AN EXISTING GAME Capcom's MEGA MAN 3GamePro Video Game Greatest Hits (1991-08): Mega Man 3 ProView · PDF p. 24, closing verdictA Mega-Hit!Cited by: Mega Man 3
Nintendo Power rated Mega Man 3 4.5 for graphics and sound, 4.2 for play control, 4.2 for challenge, and 4.0 for theme and fun, out of 5. mega-man-3-history/power-meter
Value
{
"review": "Nintendo Power",
"of": 5,
"scores": {
"graphics and sound": 4.5,
"play control": 4.2,
"challenge": 4.2,
"theme and fun": 4
}
}PDF p. 91, ratings table of new NES releases, row for Mega Man III — the OCR reads the table's rules as bars; the columns are G, P, C, and T, the key's Graphics and Sound, Play Control, Challenge, and Theme and Fun1P/Pass| 4.5 | 4.2 4.2 4.0Cited by: Mega Man 3
Famitsu rated Mega Man 3 lower than Mega Man 2. mega-man-3-history/reception-japan
excerpt, paragraph beginning "Like its predecessor"didn’t rate it as highly as Mega Man 2Cited by: Mega Man 3
Mega Man 3 sold 1.08 million copies, by Capcom's count as of 30 June 2026. mega-man-3-history/sales
entry 125, Mega Man 3Units : 1.08 million unitsPlatinum Titles (Capcom IR site, English) · page headingPlatinum Titles (as of June 30, 2026)Mega Man 3 (Boss Fight Books) · excerpt, paragraph beginning "Like its predecessor"The game sold well over a million unitsCited by: Mega Man 3
Proto Man, Rush, and the slide recur in nearly every later Mega Man game, and GameSpot's retrospective calls Mega Man 3 perhaps the series' best. mega-man-3-history/legacy
excerpt, paragraph beginning "Like its predecessor"Proto Man, Rush, and the slide—have been adopted in nearly every Mega Man game that has followed.The History of Mega Man · 1990, Mega Man III, The BasicsMega Man III was quite possibly the pinnacle of the series.Cited by: Mega Man 3
Pane credits Mega Man 3 with settling Mega Man as Capcom's mascot and Inafune as the series' guiding figure. mega-man-3-history/mascot
excerpt, paragraph beginning "Like its predecessor"firmly cemented not only the Blue Bomber as Capcom’s company mascot, but Keiji Inafune as the series’s spiritual godfather.Cited by: Mega Man 3