Rockman 3: The Early Years

We’ve heard Mega Man creator discuss how Mega Man 3 is one of his least-favorite games in the series, due mainly to the team’s inability to do everything with it that they had hoped before the product had to ship. Nonetheless, development of the title still saw some interesting changes from its early stages to the final product.

Your Weekly Famicom has images and information from the early goings of Rockman 3, including some interesting rarely-seen screenshots and information about the title. Big Snakeys with a more metallic body, ringed planets decorating the background of Gemini Man’s stage, a different background for Top Man’s stage, and the Rush Drill are some of what the article reveals as the clock is turned back and we see what might have been before what came to be. And fortunately, site owner Chris Covell has taken the liberty of providing a mostly-translated .pdf version to make the experience more enjoyable.

Oh, and there’s one other image of note, in case anyone was wondering what 50,000 Robot Master contest entries look like.

There are also other such features, looking at early shots of Ninja Gaiden and Top Secret, the game which would go on to gain greater fame in the West as Bionic Commando. Check them all out here.