Capcom released Mega Man 5 in Japan as Rockman 5: Blues no Wana!? on 4 December 1992. The North American version followed the same month, and Nintendo published the game in Europe on 10 March 1993.
The Japanese subtitle means "Proto Man's Trap!?", and the plot plays on it: Proto Man seems to lead a robot attack and kidnap Dr. Light, but the real culprit is Dark Man, a robot Dr. Wily built to frame him. Dr. Cossack, the villain of the previous game, now helps Mega Man and gives him the robot bird Beat, unlocked by collecting eight circuit boards hidden in the stages. Gravity Man's stage flips gravity between floor and ceiling, and Wave Man's includes a ride on a water craft.
All eight Robot Masters came from fans: a contest run with Nintendo Power drew more than 130,000 designs. Ichirou Mihara directed the game, and Mari Yamaguchi wrote the music.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Mega Man 5 | NES | December 1992 | Capcom | 1 |
| NA | Mega Man Anniversary Collectioncompilation; also GameCube (2004) and Xbox (2005) | PlayStation 2 | 2004 | Capcom | 1 |
| NA | Mega Man 5Virtual Console; also Japan in 2011 | Wii | 2011 | Capcom | 1 |
| JP | ロックマン5 ブルースの罠!?Rockman 5: Blues no Wana!?Famicom | NES | Dec 4, 1992 | Capcom | 2 |
| EU | Mega Man 5 | NES | Mar 10, 1993 | Nintendo | 1 |
| JP | ロックマン5 ブルースの罠!?Rockman Complete Works | PlayStation | Nov 25, 1999 | Capcom | 1 |
| JP | ロックマン5 ブルースの罠!?mobile phones | Other | Oct 1, 2007 | Capcom | 1 |
| WW | Mega Man Legacy Collectioncompilation of the six NES Mega Man games | Windows | Aug 24, 2015 | Capcom | 3 |
| WW | Mega Man 5mobile 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5 ブルースの罠!? JP2ROCKMAN 5 JP2Rockman 5: Blues no Wana!? JP1Mega Man V WW5
Box art by region
NA Mega Man 5 
EU Mega Man 5
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
-
TitleFamicom (JP)NES (NA/EU)
The Western title screen uses a taller "Mega Man V" logo, so the menu options, the copyright text and Proto Man's scarf were moved down to make room.5
-
TextFamicom (JP)NES (NA/EU)
The eight hidden circuit boards that build the robot bird Beat spell R-O-C-K-M-A-N-5 in Japan and M-E-G-A-M-A-N-V in the West, where the plate in Crystal Man's stage shows the Roman numeral V instead of 5.5
-
ContentMega Man Anniversary Collection
In the Anniversary Collection the text after the fourth Dark Man fight scrolls much faster, the ending's escape music was replaced by the credits theme (probably by mistake), and Crystal Man's plate keeps the number 5.5
Translations
-
English Official
Capcom1992NES · Japanese Famicom versionReleased · complete
Official English NES release by Capcom.1
Where to play legally today
-
Nintendo eShop Purchase
-
Steam Purchase
Reception
Critics praised the graphics, music, controls and challenge but criticized the lack of new ideas in gameplay and story; GamePro called it "déjà vu all over again for disciples of the series". Scores included IGN 8.5/10, GamePro 4.5/5 and Game Informer 7.75/10.1
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
Spotted a mistake? Write to atlas@old-games.net.