Mega Man 3

ロックマン3 Dr.ワイリーの最期!?NES, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Wii +131990

  1. JP1990
  2. NA1990
  3. EU1992
  4. RU—

In Japan Mega Man 3 is called Rockman 3: Dr. Wily no Saigo!? (ロックマン3 Dr.ワイリーの最期!?), and the Western box also styles it Mega Man III. The easiest legal way to play it today is Mega Man Legacy Collection on Steam or the Nintendo eShop.

Capcom released Mega Man 3 in Japan as Rockman 3: Dr. Wily no Saigo!? on 28 September 1990, and the NES version reached North America in November. The game expanded the series in several ways: it introduced Rush, Mega Man's robot dog, with Coil, Jet and Marine forms, and it was the first game in the series with the slide move.

Proto Man debuts here, first appearing as the mysterious mini-boss Break Man. Fans submitted about 50,000 Robot Master designs, of which eight were used. The music was composed by Yasuaki Fujita, with a few tracks by Harumi Fujita.

Mega Man 3 is also the only game in the series included in Nintendo's PlayChoice-10 arcade library. It was later re-released in the Japanese Rockman Complete Works on PlayStation, Mega Man Anniversary Collection, the Virtual Console, mobile phones and Mega Man Legacy Collection.12

Names and releases

RegionTitle on the boxPlatformDatePublisherSrc
NA Mega Man 3 NES November 1990 Capcom 2
NA Mega Man Anniversary Collectioncompilation; also GameCube (2004) and Xbox (2005) PlayStation 2 2004 Capcom 2
JP ロックマン3 Dr.ワイリーの最期!?Rockman 3Famicom NES Sep 28, 1990 Capcom 1
EU Mega Man 3 NES Jun 23, 1992 Nintendo 2
JP ロックマン3 Dr.ワイリーの最期!?Rockman Complete Works PlayStation Sep 14, 1999 Capcom 2
WW Mega Man 3Virtual Console Wii 2008 Capcom 2
JP ロックマン3 Dr.ワイリーの最期!?Virtual Console Nintendo 3DS Sep 26, 2012 Capcom 2
WW Mega Man Legacy Collectioncompilation; also 3DS, PS4 and Xbox One Windows Aug 24, 2015 Capcom 3
WW Mega Man 3mobile release; also Android iOS Jan 5, 2017 Capcom 2
EU Mega Man Legacy Collectioncompilation Switch May 22, 2018 Capcom 4

Also known as: ロックマン3 Dr.ワイリーの最期!? JP1ROCKMAN 3 JP1Rockman 3 JP2Mega Man III WW2

Box art by region

  • Mega Man 3 box art, North America release
    NA Mega Man 3
  • Mega Man 3 box art, Europe release
    EU Mega Man 3
  • ロックマン3 Dr.ワイリーの最期!? box art, Japan release
    JP ロックマン3 Dr.ワイリーの最期!?

Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.

Version differences

  • TitleFamicom (JP)NES (NA/EU)

    The Japanese title screen shows the copyright and trademark lines itself; the Western versions moved them to a separate screen that fades in before the title.5

  • GameplayFamicom (JP)NES (NA/EU)

    In the first Wily stage, the two large weapon capsules sit on a wide platform in Japan but on a small platform above the door in the West, forcing a mid-air weapon switch.5

  • Bug fixNES (NA)

    In the North American version, opening the pause menu resets Mega Man's invincibility frames; the Japanese version doesn't do this.5

All differences (6)

Translations

  • English Official

    Capcom1990NES · Japanese Famicom versionReleased · complete

    Capcom's official English release on the NES.2

Where to play legally today

  • Nintendo eShop Purchase

    Mega Man Legacy Collection

    NES version

    Checked: 2026-10-134nintendo.com

  • Steam Purchase

    Mega Man Legacy Collection

    NES version

    Checked: 2026-10-133store.steampowered.com

Reception

The game sold about 1.08 million copies. Critics praised its graphics, music and presentation (IGN 9.5/10, EGM 9/10), though many found it too difficult; EGM named it the best sequel of 1991.2

In lists

Sources

  1. 1ja.wikipedia.org
  2. 2en.wikipedia.org
  3. 3store.steampowered.com
  4. 4nintendo.com
  5. 5tcrf.net
  6. 6ja.wikipedia.org
  7. 7ja.wikipedia.org

Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13

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