Mega Man covers and box arts have been amazing, surprising, and horrifying fans since the 1980s. Mega Man and Mega Man 2, especially, have infamously bad covers in both North America and Europe. Sure, the 1980s was a different time, but the regional variations in cover design continue to this day.
The anime-inspired Blue Bomber has been in a number of different series, each with its own unique aesthetic. The myriad designs and interpretations of Mega Man, his friends, and his foes continue to inspire gamers and artists alike. Moreover, it often gives players useful info on what separates a given Mega Man game from other titles.
10 Mega Man X6: What Could Have Been
Mega Man X6 might be one of the most controversial games in the series gameplay-wise, but the cover is nothing short of spectacular. It has a darker, grittier tone than any of its predecessors, and for good reason.
Spoilers: At the end of Mega Man X5, Zero was killed off. While fans were used to having to choose between X and his X Blaster or Zero and his Z Saber, the cover of Mega Man X6 showcased X wielding the deceased Zero’s Z Saber.
This gave long-time fans that OH MY GOD moment! Players were finally going to get to dual-wield the X Blaster and the Z Saber. It turned out that using the Z Saber with X was a huge letdown. Nevertheless, this cover still lets players imagine what could have been.
9 Rockman 8: Mega Man’s Here To Stay
Fans in the US got a pretty lame cover for Mega Man 8 featuring a blue-suited Mega Man shooting a blue blast in front of a generic blue background (It’s just way too much blue). The Japanese Rockman 8 cover was much more in line with past Rockman covers (showcasing Rockman and the robot masters from the game).
Rockman (Mega Man) 8 is also a less beloved entry in the franchise, but its cover was bright, beautiful, and filled with stuff to look at. If nothing else, it allowed fans to see that classic Mega Man wasn’t going anywhere.
8 Mega Man 7: Blending Aesthetics
Mega Man 7 was the only SNES entry in the original series and made some bold changes. The cover likely divides fans since it is tonally different than the first few X games, which were also released on the SNES (and changed the direction of the franchise).
Unlike the X games, which featured a tougher, more mature-looking aesthetic, Mega Man 7 opted to keep the more cutesy Mega Man look from the NES era. Something about the cartoony characters and ominous cityscape really make this one stand out, as if Bladerunner was invading a Saturday-morning cartoon.
Whether or not players enjoy Mega Man 7, it has an inspired cover that took the best of both worlds approach and really worked.
7 Rockman 2: Picture Perfect
The first two Mega Man titles are infamous for having some of the worst box art of all time. Sure, they have a certain charm for players who grew up with them, but they also induced nightmares on many 80s children.
The Rockman games in Japan had completely different box art. Instead of the creepy cyborg man Americans and Europeans saw, Japanese players saw a more anime-inspired version of the Blue Bomber and his dreadful foes.
Rockman 2’s cover art has a great color palette. Wherever you look, whether it be at the hovering robots in the back or the lineup of robot masters next to Mega Man, it’s beautiful. It helps that Rockman 2 is also one of the best entries in the series (with one of the best soundtracks in gaming history).
6 Mega Man Zero 2: Ready To Slice Through Some Serious Tail
The Mega Man Zero games had a grimmer tone than any other Mega Man franchise. That said, Zero also looked younger, and maybe even… adorable (in a chibi kind of way).
Mega Man Zero 2 has by far the coolest cover of the Zero games. The logo pops out, and Zero’s portrait is really well done. His helmet is glowing, he looks ready for battle, and his lush, long hair is ready to dance and sing to the sound of his Z Saber slicing through a reploid army. Having Ciel in the background was also a nice touch, really letting players know that the Zero games were committed to its story and side characters.
5 Mega Man 3 (Europe): It Isn’t Quite Live-Action
Mega Man 3 might have had a pretty weak cover in America, but Europe received something much more captivating. Mega Man, Proto Man, and Rush sit center stage, drawn in a more Japanese aesthetic. All eight of the robot masters’ portraits are shrouded in lightning, ominously surrounding Mega Man.
What makes this cover really shine is the more realistic portrait of Dr. Wily in the background. It’s creepy, cool, calamitous, and it just oozes with personality. Mega Man 3’s European cover really gave players a look at how demented and tortured Dr. Wily might be if he were real.
This might not be the best Mega Man cover of all time, but no Mega Man fan will be able to help but give this cover a long second look.
4 Mega Man 11: What’s Old Is New
Mega Man 11 was a return to form. Instead of going back to its 8-bit roots, Capcom finally decided to make the original series modern again. The cover certainly fits in with the mix of modern and retro.
Mega Man 11’s cover features a tougher-looking Mega Man that still retains his boyish charm. All eight robot masters stand behind him, each tossing a unique dab of paint onto the canvass.
What really makes this cover special is that the background is dark and unassuming. It allows the spotlight to stay solely focused on the titular hero and the robot masters. The message with this cover is simple: This might be a new looking Mega Man game, but it’s going to fit right in with the classics.
3 Mega Man 6: Flying Above Cliches
Finally, an American NES Mega Man cover to be proud of! While the Japanese covers were starting to feel a bit generic, Mega Man 6 got really neat cover art that showed off Mega Man’s new hovering/flying ability.
The aesthetic for Mega Man himself looks more pleasing (just look at that chubby-faced Mega Man on the Mega man 4 or 5 covers in comparison). Since this game fused East and West in its choice of robot masters, it’s great to see them in the background.
Mega Man’s flying/hovering suit in Mega Man 6 was one of the coolest power-ups in the history of the franchise. This cover let players know that there was still plenty of creative juice in the tank for a series looking at its sixth installment on the same console.
2 Rockman 4: Perfecting The Art
Rockman 4 has the best cover of any title in the original series. Sure, it’s Mega Man standing in front of robot masters for the fourth time straight, but this cover is the best of them all.
Mega Man is shooting a charged blast from the Mega Buster, and the energy it creates casts him in a glowing aura, showing off just how powerful a weapon the Mega Buster is (Rockman/Mega Man 4 introduced the charged shot). This charged blast certainly seems more impressive than the pellets he was shooting during the first three outings.
The lightning behind Wily’s Castle in the backdrop comes together nicely with the well-drawn robot masters to make one of the coolest Mega Man covers of all time.
1 Mega Man X: Sometimes Less Is More
The best Mega Man cover of all time goes to one of the best games in the series, Mega Man X. This was the first time players got to see the difference between Mega Man and X. X looks like he is here to tell players that the 80s are gone. Mega Man needs to catch up with the times and newfangled technology.
The background itself is blue in classic Mega Man fashion, but X is featured on the cover with a fully upgraded X Suit. His armor has more color and variation, the X Blaster has more component parts, and the energy emitting from it looks like a beam of white-hot death.
This time, the robot masters (reploids) are nowhere to be seen. Instead, Capcom decided to show off X in a hostile environment filled with barren ocean and hostile machines. Mega Man X’s cover is glorious, and nearly every big SNES fan remembers this cover fondly.
