Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge, also known as Mega Man in Dr. Wily's Revenge or in Japan as Rockman World is a platform game developed by Minakuchi Engineering and published by Capcom for the Game Boy. It is the first game in the handheld series of the Mega Man franchise. It was released in Japan on July 26, 1991, and was localized in North America that December and in Europe the following year. The game continues the adventures of the android hero Mega Man as he once again confronts the evil Dr. Wily, who has dispatched his revived "Robot Masters" and a new "Mega Man Killer" named Enker.
Dr. Wily's Revenge is an action and platform game in the same vein as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Mega Man games. The player is tasked with completing a series of four stages in any order desired. Beating a stage's boss will earn the player a special weapon that can be selected at will and used throughout the rest of the game. Dr. Wily's Revenge specifically takes components of the original Mega Man and Mega Man 2, including their enemies, stage aesthetics, and Robot Masters.
According to series artist Keiji Inafune, Dr. Wily's Revenge was the first Mega Man game to be outsourced to a developer separate from Capcom. Critical reception for the game has been favorable, and most sources have denoted it as a competent portable version of the popular NES series, though it was criticized for its high difficulty and lack of checkpoints. Dr. Wily's Revenge was a best-seller and spawned four sequels of its own on the Game Boy, many of which follow its trend of reusing elements from their home console counterparts.
Plot
Set in the 21st century ("200X"), Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge follows the storyline of the original Mega Man series. The titular protagonist Mega Man, a super robot created by the benevolent Dr. Light, has restored peace to the world by halting the plans of the evil Dr. Wily and his powerful "Robot Masters". In Dr. Wily's Revenge, the mad scientist returns to send eight of his old Robot Masters to contend with the hero once again. After vanquishing four of the Robot Masters, Mega Man heads to Wily's fortress and deals with the remaining half of them. The protagonist then battles a new robot designed solely for destroying him, the "Mega Man Killer" Enker. As Mega Man defeats Enker and obtains his Mirror Buster ability, Wily retreats to a space station. Mega Man gives chase and, using the Mirror Buster, destroys Wily's newly built, final weapon. After putting a stop to his nemesis once again, Mega Man travels back home via space shuttle.
Gameplay
left|thumb|Mega Man shoots an enemy in Fire Man's stage. The player's health and number of lives are shown at the bottom.
Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge is an action-platformer that shares many similarities with its NES counterparts. The player, as Mega Man, is able to choose among four stages to complete in whatever order desired. Each boss is weak to another's weapon, allowing the player to strategize the order in which they are beaten. Although they do not have their own stages, the player earns the special weapons of these bosses. To keep with the musical motif of naming characters, the new character Enker was named after the Japanese genre enka. The North American version of this game and the first DOS Mega Man game share a similar cover art. Instead of being an all new illustration, the Dr. Wily's Revenge North American artwork is a simple touch-up of Mega Man 3<nowiki>'</nowiki>s regional cover, with the surrounding landscape and robot masters cropped out of the picture.