Capcom released Mega Man 4 in Japan as Rockman 4: Aratanaru Yabou!! on 6 December 1991. The game reached North America in January 1992, and Europe got it in August 1993, with Nintendo as publisher.
The fourth game changed how Mega Man fights. The New Mega Buster lets players hold the fire button for a much stronger charged shot, an idea credited to Hayato Kaji in his series debut. The helper robot Eddie also arrived, handing out random items; Keiji Inafune said he was meant to work like a lottery. Inafune designed the new antagonist, the Russian scientist Dr. Cossack, originally named Dr. Vice, while his daughter Kalinka was added because the cast was mostly male.
The eight Robot Masters came from a fan contest with more than 70,000 entries, and each winner received one of only eight golden cartridges. In Japan the game was later re-released on the PlayStation in Rockman Complete Works, which added a navi mode and arranged music.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Mega Man 4 | NES | January 1992 | Capcom | 1 |
| NA | Mega Man Anniversary Collectioncompilation; also GameCube (2004) and Xbox (2005); North America only | PlayStation 2 | 2004 | Capcom | 1 |
| JP | ロックマン4 新たなる野望!!Rockman 4: Aratanaru Yabou!!Famicom | NES | Dec 6, 1991 | Capcom | 2 |
| EU | Mega Man 4 | NES | August 1993 | Nintendo | 1 |
| JP | ロックマン4 新たなる野望!!Rockman Complete Works; adds navi mode and arranged music | PlayStation | Oct 28, 1999 | Capcom | 1 |
| JP | ロックマン4 新たなる野望!!i-mode mobile phones | Other | Sep 1, 2005 | Capcom | 1 |
| WW | Mega Man 4Virtual Console | Wii | 2010 | Capcom | 1 |
| WW | Mega Man Legacy Collectioncompilation of the six NES Mega Man games | Windows | Aug 24, 2015 | Capcom | 3 |
| WW | Mega Man 4mobile release; also Android | iOS | Jan 5, 2017 | Capcom | 1 |
| EU | Mega Man Legacy Collectioncompilation of the six NES Mega Man games | Switch | May 22, 2018 | Capcom | 4 |
Also known as: ロックマン4 新たなる野望!! JP2ROCKMAN 4 JP2Rockman 4: Aratanaru Yabou!! JP1
Box art by region
NA Mega Man 4 
EU Mega Man 4
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
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TitleFamicom (JP)NES (NA/EU)
The Western versions show a copyright notice before the "Capcom Presents" screen and say "Press Start" on the title screen; the Japanese version goes straight to "Capcom Presents" and says "Game Start".5
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GameplayFamicom (JP)
In the Japanese version the Cossack Catcher, a boss machine in Dr. Cossack's fortress, starts moving earlier.5
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ContentPlayStation (Rockman Complete Works)
The Japan-only PlayStation version adds a navi mode that guides players through stages, arranged music and power-up parts from Dr. Light that can, among other things, reduce damage taken.2
Translations
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English Official
Capcom1992NES · Japanese Famicom versionReleased · complete
Official English NES release by Capcom.1
Where to play legally today
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Nintendo eShop Purchase
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Steam Purchase
Reception
Reviewers generally liked the game but found it less inventive than earlier entries (EGM 8/10, IGN 8/10, GamePro 5/5). It won Nintendo Power's Best Overall Game (NES) award for 1992 and placed 95th in IGN's Top 100 NES Games. Several later critics saw it as the point where the series began to decline, blaming the charged Mega Buster for upsetting the balance.1
In lists
Sources
- 1en.wikipedia.org
- 2ja.wikipedia.org
- 3store.steampowered.com
- 4nintendo.com
- 5tcrf.net
- 6store.steampowered.com
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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