More new Mega Man toys have arrived! You better believe my weapons are ready!!!
You might say that I am a, ahem, MEGA Mega Man fan. Like, Mega Man is my favorite video game character of all time, and his classic game series has been my most played and most beloved since I took my first crack at Mega Man 2 so many years ago. If you have been checking out our features, you might also know that I love combining stuff I like, with my action figure hobby. Ticking off a never-ending list of properties and characters I love as they get the toy treatment is something I spend a LOT of time doing, and my personal action figure collection is pretty great because of it.
For a long time now, Mega Man has been squarely at or near the top of my want list in terms of a comprehensive action figure line, and Japanese company Sentinel is the current group taking a crack at this (seemingly) impossible task. I had a look at their first couple of offerings awhile back, and I am completely on board with their efforts, at least in terms of execution, with the classic Mega Man (the EXE figure too, but I am more of a classic guy). The scale, sculpt, engineering, and just about everything else has been well done thus far, so I am really just keeping my fingers, and toes, and eyes all crossed that the lineup will continue to carve out all of those essential characters, but I am keeping the faith.
The good news for the immediate is that the new Jet and Power Mega Man release continues the quality of the original releases, and for being two variant figures in one box, these make for some pretty great figures. Sure, these are Mega Man variants, and I am after ROBOT MASTERS here, but I am hoping that Sentinel is creating a solid base, and they won’t let me down with just having Cut Man (coming in the next release) for the extensive Master roster. The Jet and Power Mega Man enhancements are unique to Mega Man 6, but the style and theme they provided was pretty groundbreaking for the original series, and those upgrades set the tone for bolstering Rock in subsequent games.
Just for some quick background, while Mega Man has had special items and enhancements since the second game in the series (since the VERY beginning if you count the Magnet Beam from game one), the Power and Jet upgrades utilized Rush as a form that could actually join with Mega Man for these powers. That meant that, for the first time, the usage was native to Mega Man himself, and it did not require him to use his items or his dog during play to make the function actually happen. If you equipped the Power Adaptor, Mega Man could throw a powerful punch; if you equipped the Jet Adaptor, he could fly for short burst, and you did not have to rely on anything else to make it so. This definitely had a streamlining effect, and I, for one, enjoyed this progression from a gameplay standpoint.
So, while we have yet to see Rush in the 4-Inch Nel line, this set shows you how his powers aid Mega Man, and also just how cool he looks when he “joins with his dog.” I know that sounds terrifying, but really, only Dr. Wily should be afraid in this case. Nothing beats the classic design and color in terms of iconic Mega Man look, but the red and white (to match Rush), and added details to accommodate the specific Jet and Power enhancements look really slick on these two figures. This set is a Gentinel Shop (Sentinel’s online web store) exclusive in Japan, so you needed to get your order in early to have them right now, but fortunately, our pals at BBTS have the set up for order right now.
I understand why this was an exclusive release, but I am not sure if it really needed to be, because I think these looks and power-ups are popular, and at the very least, they make for dynamic action figures. “Power” and “Jet” take advantage of using some preexisting parts from the Classic Mega Man release, but Sentinel did not skimp on making sure all of the unique details were covered by new pieces and deco changes. This set is a little lighter on the accessories than the singe figure releases, but I suppose that can be expected since you get two whole figures here, but more creative accessory inclusion is something I would like to see them improve upon with future releases. Maybe these suits are just obscure enough to miss the appeal to an overall buying audience, but as a Mega Man fan, I just got me two sweet figures.
I was expecting that, though, and with the price (these ain’t cheap), it is a requirement to keep this line rolling along. It is hard for me to look at these figures without a somewhat bias eye because of these two upgrades, the Jet has always been my favorite, and it really isn’t close. Let’s face it, this enhancement allows Mega Man to fly, so while I used the helpful Power upgrade in a very utilitarian fashion, once I was set with the Jet (Jet set, you could say), I kept the enhancement on Rock as much as I could. That being said, even without the bias, I think the Jet power makes out better than its friend in the set overall, too.
Aside from the flying functionality, I find the Jet armor to be more visually interesting as well. From the front, it makes for a pretty classic Mega Man silhouette with an upper body harness, enhanced should armor, and, of course, a red and white scheme. However, from the profile (the most prevalent view in a side-scrolling game), and back, the large jet thrusters add a lot to the overall design in the sprite, and also to this figure. Sentinel did a great job of translating the game art to plastic, and those large round discs cut a figure completely unique to the Jet power. There is a lot of sculpted detail throughout and the paint lines are all crisp with no noticeable bleed or slop, so again, the lines are as clean as the control art. This figure also moves every bit as well as the classic version of MM, and I don’t believe any points of articulation were sacrificed for this figure. In fact, some, like the mid-torso joint, might actually function better than before.
Jet Mega Man definitely wins in terms of accessories, too, and of the seven included pieces (if you don’t count the face plates and fists actually on the figures in the package), five of them go to Jet. For this you get and alternate “open mouth” face plate (of course, the faces are interchangeable between the two figures), two splayed-finger hands, the Mega Buster cannon, and a display stand. Now, NONE of these are new as I got them all in the Classic figure release, but at least the alternate face plate is a repaint of the “gritted teeth” piece. So, while I do appreciate the options, these don’t make for the most dynamic inclusions. Again, I get that exclusives like this generally do not fare that well in this department, but man, I would have LOVED to have gotten a snap-on flame effect for the jet boosters, or anything to help better illustrate the power. The stand (one of TWO) is something we have been begging for in terms of regularity with action figure releases, but even this this already feeling a bit overplayed.
Now, just because I like the Jet MM figure better overall, that does not mean that Power Mega Man is a slouch because he really isn’t. In fact, this figure does just as good of a job getting the art of this enhancement into plastic as the Jet figure, I just don’t find the overall design quite as striking. Like I said, even though this upgrade packs a literal punch in terms of game functionality, I almost always chose flight over power, so unless I were battling a particularly tough enemy or had a wall to break through (oh yeah!), the Power suit was never really more than situational for me. The suit is cool though, and between the shoulder, and upper body enhancements, and oversized fists, this Rush add-on adds quite a bit of bulk to the otherwise slight Rock frame. I do find that chest/shoulder armor to be much more interesting than the Jet counterpart, and the larger deltoids make sense for the power, while the chest gets a splash of grey, and the design even looks like a little “M.” The large fists are definitely the best part, though, and they are bigger than the standard fists by just enough to help show off the power. This figure is in for some dynamic posing across Instagram and other social outlets, so I look forward to seeing him in further action.
I alluded to it before, but in terms of accessories, Power Mega Man does not really come with much. That is partly due to the power itself, I mean, this is just “punchy” Mega Man after all, but the reused “gritted teeth” face I mentioned before and the standard issue stand are the limit of what you get here. Again, something to help illustrate the upgrade would have been really cool, and a “hitting effect,” much like those that were included in SOTA’s Street Fighter line, that could snap over the fists would have been great. Heck, the little effect even appears in MM6 when you actually deliver the Power Punch, so I don’t think I am stretching here. This is not so much a teardown of what we got, but more of a thought about what I hope is considered in the future – Mega Man has a LOT of powers that can be shown off in a variety of cool ways in this plastic medium.
Sorry if I have gone on a bit here, I could talk Mega Man all day, and when I get cool new toys like these, it only helps to protract the situation. In terms of the positives that Sentinel is working toward with these Mega Man figures, I think they are doing a great job. These are quality figures of cool variations, and I am having a lot of fun with them, probably even more than the standard Classic release. I am hoping that this line is doing well for Sentinel because I want to see it continue on and on, and there is a LOT to do. Next up we are getting the second generation of these two powers with the suit from Mega Man 7, and with him comes CUT MAN! YES! There are still a lot of Mega Man variations in the pipeline right now, but I really hope that Sentinel will start getting us more of the Masters – they are my biggest priority for ANY Mega Man line. Get me those, and start supplying some more diverse accessories, and I will be in forever with this line.
