29/40

By Charles - March 17th, 2026

Mega Man 6 is the last NES Mega Man game, and you can tell how much Capcom learned over the 6 games. This is a very advanced game for the NES and is a lot of fun.

Mega Man 6

NES, 1993

~$1200 Sealed

~$82 Used

Other Releases:

Virtual Console

Mega Man Legacy Collection

Mega Man Anniversary Collection

Presentation

8

Mega Man 6 looks great and the music is awesome. The backgrounds are somehow even more detailed than in the last entry and add to the game's international theme. One interesting addition is that the colour palettes of some levels change if you play them a second time. This is a really neat feature since you may need to backtrack anyway. For some reason, the developers decided a fake-out villain was a good idea for the third time in a row, and each fort only has one level theme. This wasn't an issue in 5 since the tracks were fantastic, but these are annoying. They're good for one level but can't carry four. The purple shade of the menu is also extremely ugly.

There are a lot of neat boss designs.

Controls

8

One issue with the controls is that Mega Man can't jump out of a slide. However, I never noticed this issue as level design isn't very reliant on sliding. Instead, levels are built around the new feature - the Rush adaptors. The Rush Coil and Jet are gone and replaced with the Power and Jet adaptors. These are fantastic and provide a lot more depth to stages. Neither adaptor can slide, but you can punch enemies and blocks or have the ability to fly for a short time. Beat is back and is fairly useful, but the Special Weapons are terrible. They feel almost useless and the boss weaknesses barely make sense. How is "Wind" weak to "Centaur"?

The new Rush adaptors are the best addition.

Content

5

The Robot Master stages might be the best on the NES, containing tons of secret paths you can reach using the adaptors. There are even secret boss rooms where you fight the 'real' Robot Master and unlock one of four Beat parts. As mentioned before, you get to see a new colour scheme for the level if you missed the secret the first time. The stages are a bit easy but feel very fair. Unfortunately, the fortress stages are absolutely awful. They're extremely simple and easy levels and half of the bosses are terrible. X stage 2 is the worst, being one long hallway with the worst stage boss on the NES. It's still NES Mega Man, so it's still short.

One of the worst levels in gaming history.

Fun Factor

8

Mega Man 6 starts off as the best Mega Man game but fizzles out once you leave the Robot Master stages. The first 8 stages feel amazing and might be the best levels on NES. Unfortunately, it's all over once you reach Mr. X's Castle. Annoying music, lazy level design, weak bosses, and the worst twist villain in world history. The fact that Mr. X is just Dr. Wily with glasses would be fine if his boss fight was fun - but it just swings back and forth and dies in 10 seconds. The levels leading up to him were awful too. This is really a downer as the start of the game is 10/10 fun. Mega Man 6 really does feel like a global adventure that, at first, feels closer to Mega Man 9 than 5.

The back half of the game is hit-or-miss.

Worth the Time?

Worth the Money?

I might recommend playing the Robot Master stages and then putting this game down. They're fantastic and definitely worth playing. Just pretend that the end is fun.

Mega Man 6 is kind of a neat collectible as it's one of the last NES games with a neat publication history. I think it's worth the money if you have a NES collection.

Screenshots from [Mega Man Legacy Collection] © [Capcom], used for review purposes.