We like to think of the 8-bit Mega Man - the real Mega Man - as a sort of cuddly, nostalgic guy. We worked hard to get him over spike pits and through deadly enemy gauntlets, and so much of the fun of Mega Man 9 was watching his glorious return to being murdered repeatedly by elephants due to our incompetence.
But once, the real Mega Man was a far less cute figure. He was angry, brutal, and willing to tear apart a Robot Master who so much as looked at him the wrong way. Don't believe me? Check out this 1989 Japanese Mega Man 2 ad that Carl at Capcom Unity so graciously scanned from an issue of "Beep: Game Magazine for Kids."
Oh God! Mega Man! Stop getting equipped with Leaf Shield! Can't you just let him die??
