@@eramferguson1701X6 through 8 are canon according to Capcom so take that with a grain of salt. That being said OilMan and TimeMan are absolutely canon
@Needwagon4Speedwagon It would make less sense for those not to be canon, in X6 Alia hints at the creation of the mother elf, and X7-X8 are a self contained story that doesn't conflict with future games
19:31 to be fair, you could read “built me rock solid” could mean something like he rebuilt him since he’s there for repairs, but I might be missing something. And also, the point still stands anyways - this system makes no sense
My argument is that they aren't counted as the DLN series because Light built them under contract. They didn't come out of Light Laboratories, they aren't true DLNs.
@@CptJistuce Something like that. Maybe they were built by Dr Light FOR those companies. That, or nobody ever knew Dr Light's lab was called Nakaume Heavy Machinery......
The idea that Wood Man was "explicitly made for combat" is and will always remain funny to me. Man's legit made out of wood. Oooh real high tech battle armour you got there Wily. What, did your budget run out? Edit: Thank you for letting us know about Jewel Man.
They used to make cutting edge airplanes out of wood even as far up as World War 2, it's not... totally unthought of, and one of the big problems with woodworking in this context (that being that you can't really mass produce wood weapons, like, at all) doesn't really matter on a custom job like Wood Man. It's still silly but it's not like completely ridiculous.
IIRC Wood Man is actually one of Wily’s proudest achievements, which is why he appeared in quite a few spin-offs and comics. That might’ve been from the wiki so take it with a grain of salt.
@@TheShinyFeraligatr True, good point. But on the other hand, this is not ww2, this is _"we are quite literally fighting hyper-advanced Ai wielding plasma weaponry."_ According to the wiki at least, "A single, uncharged shot from the mega buster can blow a five foot diameter hole in a wall of solid stone." Maybe it's been specially treated or something, but it's clearly still got the properties of wood. Being weak to fire and... Circular saws. I respect the craftsmanship and all Wily, I really do, but come on man.
Man, Wily would buy an actual apple from the grocery store and say he invented it. Instead of Red Delicious, we have DWF-001. (Dr Wily Fruit, naturally)
17:02 My headcanon was that they weren't anywhere near their expiration dates, but either were scared and having anxiety of their newfound mortality, or thinking themselves as some kind of robot revolutionary saving older models from their demise, or something along those lines.
The unelected rulers of humanity decided that man and machine must work together to be equals, as seen in the ZX-Legends series, where humanity is finally digitized in preparation to merge with the Carbons. There was a thing with the Reploids trying to mimic aging by steadily uploading their minds from child into older bodies, until they are made frail, as seen in Command Mission.
It almost has to be. Because otherwise we're left with a pretty grim dichotomy: Either a lot of time passes between 8 and 9, enough to scare the robots, which would leave Light profoundly old in a way the continuing game series seems to ignore, OR very little time has passed which implies robots have a very short legal operational window and thus basically ALL of the previous robots are now decommissioned ...
Great analysis of a strange system! My theory for the MM9 crew being DLN is that Dr. Wily was actively framing Dr. Light, so he chose to classify them that way, but his ego drove him to keep going in his order haha
I think the numbers make the most in-universe sense if viewed as incident numbers assigned by the world robot alliance. This explains how they are globally incrementing, and why they start by numbering all robots then only significant ones, why robots can be numbered against their production order, and why the prefix is not always the maker. "Order that an in-universe organization finds robots notable" is of course a verrry convenient back-canon for "order that the game developers find robots notable".
The WRN ceases to exist by the time of the X series (wiped out by Sigma?), so Reploids are not given serial numbers even as the line of what is considered “Maverick” becomes thinner and thinner, which is why Elpizo’s serial number does not fit the classic format; it IS his actual manufacturing number. Dr. Weil resurrects/appropriates the old WRN numbering system for his models because he sees Reploids as nothing but tools.
@@austinreed7343 I could see WRA stop assigning numbers when reploids came around as a humanitarian type thing since Reploids are effectively humans and it would be screwed up to label a human with numbers and signs
@@toumabyakuya “Jail” no longer exists in MMX, every crime is punished with death in the eyes of the hunters under humankind. The thoughts of the WRA simply being humanitarian no longer make sense in light of the cruelties inflicted upon Reploids, such as Repliforce. Though yes I do see them maybe doing some token efforts of humanitarianism.
I really like how over dramatic the instruction manual page for the backstory is. Mega Man is apparently the defender of the UNIVERSE and the first six bosses and Wily are apparently emperors of the 7 countries within Monsteropolis. Sucks that Guts Man had to be king of a construction yard.
The Megaman 9 Robot Masterd didn't turn evil out of protest. Wily tricked them into allowing him to reprogram them. They weren't thrilled about being dismantled when their expiration date came about, but their bugger concern was less about dying and more about being useful to humans. Wily tricked them by telling them he could repair them so they could continue to be useful and then reprogrammed them like he did with all the other robots he stole.
"Or enough time has passed between the end of Mega Man 8 and the beginning of Mega Man 9 for this to make sense..." So kinda like the time between Mega Man 8 and Mega Man 9's releases?
Mega Man & Bass is a game between Mega Man 8 and Mega Man 9, the robot masters are built by King, the nunbers are classified to KGN - 001 (Dynamo Man) to KGN 006 (Magic Man).
That gets a little precarious though. Thomas Light is portrayed as fairly elderly. If a lot of time passes between 8 and 9, why isn't he more advanced in age, if not retired? And if a lot of time HASN'T passed, the implication has to be that ALL of the other robot masters are probably retired now as the length of time they're allowed to operate must be quite short.
what confuses me more is how all our main characters (rock, roll, proto man) have been around LONGER than all the robot masters from 9 yet the whole expiration date thing isn't a problem for them?
It is sometimes implied Reploids have serial numbers; the Mavericks of Zero 3 are called “Weil’s Numbers”, and it’s safe to say that the Zero 4 Mavericks are also “Weil Numbers”. Elpizo, the main villain of Zero 2, also has a serial number. Another thing: non-Ariga manga handle this numbering differently; they along with the CD dramas tend to try and justify why they are considered “DWN”. The Megaman 6 RMs are created by Dr. Wily as seed players in the Ikehara manga, while the MM10 RMs are implied to have been sleeper agents made by Wily, which is why only those 8 went berserk instead of simply becoming ill. 11, as well as the X series, imply that over time Wily became more obsessive and diabolical, more obsessed with vengeance, so he stopped caring about Dr. Light, which could explain why Block Man is a DWN.
I honestly see why perhaps the first line of reploids weren't really given serial numbers, while during the zero era they were. Considering the theming of robots being considered less than human, it would make sense for them to be given numbers again so they could be ruled and addresses easier.
According to the Archie comics, the only robot master we see between mm1 and the finale being built by light is bond man, who would technically be dln either 009 or dln 00C
The idea of Light feeling like he needed jump ahead with the numbers and/or built 59 robots that we have never seen within a such short time span is honestly really funny, so throwaway joke or not, it's canon to me. Had a lotta fun with the video, it was both interesting and pretty humorous! Always happy to see what you got planned for the future!
Actually, this numbering system is used in-universe, but not in the classic series. In Mega Man ZX Advent, Grey/Ashe encounter 2 capsules in the Mysterious Lab stage. The terminals of the capsules reveal serial numbers of DAN-001 and DAN-002, which are revealed to be Prometheus and Pandora's respective serial numbers. After defeating Hedgeshock, Grey/Ashe finds another capsule, this time with a serial number of DAN-000, which is later revealed to be Master Albert's own serial number. The A in DAN stands for Albert himself.
1:07 Monstropolis was a weird thing in a single manual (and box art) that was never going to work in the first place. Although it was the original name of Mega City in the Dreamwave comics (even though that's not what Monsteroplis was). The Archie comics also had the city where the Light family lived renamed to Mega City but its previous name wasn't mentioned.
Timestamp 19:26 It's possible the serial numbers refer to the *programmer* instead of the constructor? It's possible the DLN robots were not reprogrammed, but rather perhaps had their existing programming exploited to make them antangonists. Remember that it was due to their programmed expiration dates that the Robot Masters of MM9 were willing to go along with Dr. Wily - Perhaps the robot masters with DWN had their programming altered by Wily, The antagonist robot masters with DLN\\DRN kept their original programming from Doctor Light\\Right - but had it exploited by Doctor Wily, and in the case of SWN the programming was entirely done by Wily. Bass\\Forte is shown to not follow Wily's orders in some cases, mostly focusing entirely on being the strongest robot. And King straight up overthrows Wily. It's quite possible Wily is proficient at altering existing code, and while he can program from scratch at a high level, he may be a little less profecient at it - if this is the case, then it's equally possible Light\\Right's programming is beyond his understanding or runs in a propriatary format that Wily is unable to alter through normal reprogramming, and thus has to exploit the DLN's personalities and understanding of their current situations to turn them against humanity instead. And as it's stated that King reprograms the Robot Masters in the game he appears in, and the ones he reprograms get KGN - except Light\\Right's, and King was programmed by Wily, it should be safe to assume that King is SWN. 002 and that since Wily couldn't reprogram Light\\Right's robot masters, a robot programed by Wily also would need to resort to exploit flaws in Light\\Right's programming.
Dr Light and Right are interchangeable. Not only because the Japanese language treats L and R with the same pronunciation. But because his Battle network counterpart Tadashi Hikari can be translated as Right Light. Powered up was meant to be a remake/reboot of the first six Megaman games just like Maverick hunter was meant to be a reboot of the first six X games. But both games flopped and the reboots were cancelled. If the reboots did go through then the numbering would have been adjusted. My theory is that the DWN prexif is just a catch all term instead of anything specific. Or more of a faction or group name like the Light numbers and the Cossack numbers. There was even a guy who counted and discovered that Wily only made 28 robots with all of the others being reprogrammed, stolen, or scavenged.
Ya if I recall only a small majority of his robots were actually built by Wily himself, and in fact I wouldn't be surprised if the serial numbers were there to help remind Wily how many robots he's built and stolen
6:34 in all my years I never ever noticed this. 11:25 this as well. Goddamn. Also if "robot master" is a term only used in the western mega man, I wonder what japanese fans say when they are trying to refer to those bosses as a collective?
According to MMKB and the source they used, there's no singluar term used by Japanese fans. They tend to use generic terms, like "bosses" or "Wily's robots". Kinda weird to think about.
Zero was built after Bass, so I see him as SWN-002 I never considered Break Man having a number before, or being considered a separate number. In my headspace (and I posted it), the numbering system is mostly dossier information that Light put together, and separate from any model numbers others have designated. Makes me wonder if Wily gave the Doc Robot a number. The animals weren't giving numbers, and one more piece of trivia for them, Beat was created by Dr Cossack.
@@EmpyreanRagnarok I always figured Dark Man was part of his own line as there are four robots. I feel it made more sense for Break Man to be SWN-000 since Blues(DLN-000) was the first Robot Master Wily ever worked on(With Light of course). It makes more sense thematically.
It could've been that Dr. Wily did intend to gain control of Proto Man, Mega Man, and Roll after his initial planned success with Dr. Light's 1st set of Robot Masters. Keeping Light's serial number system would make sense to keep programming, notes, or spare parts in order so he created Dummy Files for 000, 001, and 002 since he planned to utilize those later. It can also be assumed that these entries on Wily's computer for Light's Robot Masters are DWN-000 through 008 even if the Robot's code itself says otherwise, or that the Robot Masters didn't function after Wily's tampering without internally remaining as DLN(or it would be too much hassle to reprogram his name into them when tweaking Light's work is a quick job). That's why the Mega Man 2 and onwards Robot Masters continue from Dr. Light's numbers. My argument for the Cossack Robots and the like is that their code was easier to manipulate than Light's code so renumbering them under the proper DWN- number entry was possible(?)... Maybe Dr. Light wanted to reverse this on Wily and make entries for the corrupted Robot Masters for later non-evil revision(if the original builders were unable to revert the changes themselves) and research on Wily's experience and potential weakpoints or innovations. That's why Dr. Light made like 60 blank Dummy File entries to match Wily's code in case the Light-Wily serial number change not working was a 2 way street(?)... And he just didn't make any other Robots between them... But then there were those ones on their forced expiration dates and Wily wouldn't have made all of those Robot Masters if Light had made them earlier... Leave me alone...
15:51 Well he IS special, he was _Bassed_ on Mega Man's design, has a Weapon Copy System like Mega Man and adapters to use with Treble like Mega Man's adapters to use with Rush (which sets him apart from Proto Man and Duo (in Power Fighters 2) who also have Weapon Copy Systems (it's implied Duo's was given to him by Dr. Light as it would not make sense otherwise)). Also Mega Man is DLN 001 so of course Wily in his vanity and narcissism would want to copy Mega Man's serial number too.
3:25 This oddly enough makes me think of Final Fantasy and how for a while 4 was 2 and 6 was 3. You would have pedantic scientists in universe making RUclips shorts going "did you know that AKSHULLY DWN009 refers to Oil Man and NOT Metal Man? LIKE and SUBSCRIBE for more criminal activity murder robot fun facts!"
My opinion on this is just that neither doctor knows how to count. Dr. Light just starts at 0, skips 9-64, continues from 65-72 and just runs out of numbers. Dr. Wily starts counting from 9, skips 65-72, but theoretically actually knows all of the numbers. Of course, jokes aside, the numbers are probably mixed up because Dr. Wily and Dr. Light just built other "numbers" but we never got to see them. After all, the Mega Man 9 robot masters were supposed to be scrapped, so maybe the ones that we dont see were indeed built, but never appeared because they were scrapped.
For both X and Zero Light and Willy both wanted their creations to live on( in some way) so Both X and Zero get the DLN and DWN infinity respectively. Also the fact both are so advanced even for their original creation period.
Your comedic timing and delivery is spectacular. I had to stop for a bit around 2:35 since I couldn't hear you over my cackling. I really appreciate your dedication to researching and presenting somewhat niche topics in otherwise well-known franchises. I didn't know anything about the manga before this. :) Wonderful video. Thank you. :)
4:38 I'd like to think it's because as they were former colleagues, Albert helped Tommy build the first six robot masters, But Tommy eventually overshadowed Albert, causing him to get jealous.
6:50 It's because Wily modified them for combat like how Rock was modified into Mega Man. He didn't modify the first batch of Light Numbers, only reprogrammed them as they were already combat-capable with their original designs. I mean, how exactly was the original design of _Toad Man_ going to fight? All he does is make it rain, the acid rain was a modification Wily added. Bright Man wasn't supposed to be bright enough to be disorienting, Drill Man didn't have bombs, Pharaoh Man couldn't weaponize solar energy, Dust Man wasn't supposed to be able to eject his garbage like that and again, he didn't have bombs, Dive Man _also_ did not have bombs (noticing a pattern here) and Ring Man and Skull Man... Uh... They were designed to destroy Mega Man from the start... Welp. Still, they were the exceptions.
I wish I could remember what the name of a certain fanfiction I read a LONG time ago. The writer tried to make a "realistic" retelling of Megaman 1, and the "Robot Masters" were called that because there were several duplicates of the robots walking around, but the official "Robot Master" in an area was the one that controlled all the other aggressive robots. So, I imagine the ID numbers is how robots are represented in a robot's code / programing. So, at first, Wily felt fine reusing Light's IDs, but then I imagine when he got to the second game, he switched the letters but not the numbers probably to avoid programing mistakes. Like - DWN009 (Metal Man) you are allies with DWN010 (Air Man) Consider if he had restarted the numbers - DWN001 (Metal Man) you are allies with DWN002 (Air Man) Now imagine a typo - DWN001 (Metal Man) you are allies with DLN002 (Roll) That could get in the way of his plans for world domination.
I see the numbers as being: indicating where they originated from, and then just going in a numerical order. The codes being part of a dossier in Dr Lights computers and Mega Man's system to keep things clean (for them). The original robot masters kept their DLN, and then the masters from 9 were giving a designated number when the time came. I'm sure if whatever company that they were working for, they had a serial number like the VIN on a car. Those aren't important to the dossier. If Wily gave one of his creations a number, like Bass, then it was put into dossier as such. Cossack being blackmailed into using his robots for evil by Wily, they were giving the classification of DWN. As for Zero, I always thought of him as SWN-002. In Bass' ending for one of the fighting games, Wily shows him the new robot he's building, and it's Zero.
I feel like this video could have easily been a boring slog but you have good pacing, jokes, and editing to keep things interesting. so far HE DOESNT MISS
It is suggested Wily actually aided in the construction of Skullman near the end of the production line, so the DWN for them does make some sense. Incidentally the original six are sometimes also listed as DWN after Wily modified them, so it is consistent, there (though it is strange there is no DWN-001 or 002). That the spin-off lines exist indicate that Plantman is not the fourty-fifth overall, and further brings attention to the strange gap at the start of the DWN line. In the Archie comics the numbering is given in the schematic completion, not construction. So it means Right designed that many, not that he built that many. This is likely their way to try and have it line up without having that many off-screen Numbers. Blockman is significantly modified by Wily even more so than the First, Fourth, or Sixth Numbers with the Gear system, so his Wily Numbering checks out. The Ninth Numbers are not renamed likely intentionally, by Wily, since he was trying to frame Right. They are likely considered DWN off-screen after the ruse is up. Not canon, but it would actually help if Oilman and Timeman had their Right Numbers and were included as DWN-007 and 008, offsetting the Right Numbers by two to fill in Rock and Roll's gap.
Very humorous and informative. 😊 Honestly the only excuse for the MM 9 crew I can think of is that Dr. Light had a ton of commissions due to all the free publicity caused by Wily’s antics. 😂 Also think the other reason for Zero’s numbering is a “take that” at Light and trying to have the last say in the matter.
I think there is an easy explanation for why the robot master in Mega Man 11 are DWN. After making his own series in Mega Man 2, Wily always changes the robots' serial number after reprogramming them. In Mega Man 9 he is trying to hide his involvement and blame Dr. Light for the Robot uprising so they kept as DLN.
Happy to see a video about this, I remember as a kid I was more interested in the worldbuilding of Mega Man than the games themselves, and this is the type of thing I would fixate on. My copy of the robot master's field guide is very worn out, lol.
Great video. I enjoyed it. My take on this system is that it shouldn't be used as an in-universe classification, because it has some cracks such as the missing DLN numbers between mega man 1 and 9. Rather, this is just to classify all robot masters that appear in-game.
This is something I spent way too long thinking about back in like 2015. Thank you for making this video, this is incredible. I wonder why there was never a mention of a serial number for X, when there was for Zero? Especially since the main Mega Man series was still in its full swing when X1 came out.
Maybe Light didn't feel like he needed the ego boost to assign serial numbers with his name on them by that point? Or maybe he didn't get around to it, planning to do it after it was done, but then X had to sit through 100 years of testing. Whereas Wily was like, "Nah, this is gonna be the best one ever! Gonna give it number... INFINITY!" from the moment he had a blank sheet of paper.
Note: sorry if this is too long. Personal headcanon, reploid serial numbers are a line of code withing their DNA, a fingerprint of sorts that's unique to each reploid, and rewriting it can cause irreversible damage to their entire programing. It is used as their ID for citizenship, work ect, it can be scanned from their eyes or gems. In the Zero/ZX era this ID is in the triangle markings on their foreheads as a QR of sorts, it's harmless to permanently cover or remove it, but also illegal. This ID's can be "masked" with special programs, covering them with a fake one like a VPN, a lot of mavericks have them to make themselves difficult to track. And last little bit of delusional rambling, Zero's funny serial number was desinged to break algorithms, it basically tricks the computer into counting to infinity, ID masking had to be invented becase of him. His "VPN" ID is "DCN-000", given by Cain as a "You're my son now" and also for hiding his origins from the public.
It's interesting that "Robot Master" has been accepted as a term in a way that the other localization nonsense wasn't. And I think it's because, there's no competing term. You can them the "Doctor [blank] Numbers", but that's not really a designation about this type of robot. They are distinct as a category compared to other robots, even with no explicit label in Japan, so the term is useful. I've gotten so used to it at this point that it's funny to realize how goofy the name actually is. Very in line with the other ridiculously cheesy things from the early US manuals, like the aforementioned "Monsteropolis".
I feel like it all makes perfect sense. Wily respects Light's numbers and considers Light's line of robots to be part of his evolution. Without Light, Wily wouldn't have made any robot masters, so the DLN's are included in his line. And as for 11, it makes sense they'd be classified as DWN. Even though Light was part of the process, Block Man isn't a DLN since he is primarily a Nakaume robot, Light just helped make him (his true number might be Nakaume Machinery Number 001 or 002, something like that) Since they aren't DLN, Wily is content in replacing their class with DWN. Any robot masters not involved in Wily's plot (that is, any robots not made my Light or Wily, or reprogrammed by Wily) aren't added to his list.
I always paid close attention to all the serial numbers. As a kid I wondered what would happen if they reached 1000, but then started doubting they would even reach 100. We're so close now! Despite all that, I somehow glossed over the letters. Never noticed the DLN/DWN difference lol
Keeping the serial numbers chronological makes sense, but personally I would have made the first two characters either the initials of the creators, and in the case of collaboration, both creators. That is to say, WLN000: Blues TLN001: Rock AWN009: Metalman MCN025: Brightman Etc.
This videos presentation was so smooth and relaxing. I love it. Please keep making more of these types of videos. It was really interesting to note how DLN/DRN numbers have to be in line with DWN numbers and they cannot be their own separate line.
The reason Dr Wily started at 9 is because he actually aided in the creation of the first 8 robots (9 including Protoman). He considers them his creations as much as Lights.
It´s so confusing xD But i think the real shame is, that when you look into the background of every robotmaster, how less of them where created by Dr. Wily himself. But my theory is, that Wily indeed build many of this stolen robots. In every game he has tons of ressources to build armys and his castle fortresses and so on. Somehow he has to fund this. I guess he build robots and robot masters for other companys which would explain (in my opinion) why nobody missed Cloud Man, Freeze Man and Burst Man over 6+ months before Wily was in prison prior to Mega Man 7 for example. Either nobody wanted to investigate their disapperance or nobody reported them as missing in the first place, both possibilitys because of a potentially connection to Dr. Wily.
I swear I keep coming across so many random videos in my recommended but I can simply say this this was a very good indef discussion about the numbers in each of the robot masters. Plus I love the use of the SpongeBob clip of patchy throwing away his SpongeBob merchandise and the use of Chibi 2B. You did a very good job with all the information that you were planning out, definitely interested to see more from you!
it always seemed weird to me that they made so many of these diffrent serial codes for 1 off characters and never tried to group them together, for example King could have easily been SWN.002 right after bass. Then some just dont get a serial number like the Dark Men or Fake Man. Great video btw hope to see more in the future!!
So we can blame Dr. Wily for making the serial number system useless for keeping track of who made who and how many robots Light and Wily actually made bc his ego is too big. Yipee.
so the Numbering system is from the POV of Wily. WILY is the one numbering these robots. he's ignoring whatever numbers people give them and is numbering them himself. He only kept the "DRN" serial because he wanted to. Even Secret robots noone knows about (DWN A - C) and so on. Wily Never met Mega Man X, X doesn't have a Number does he? Because Wily never encountered him. Thats how my head canon sees it. "DWN" must mean Numbered by Doctor wily himself.
I always thought from a lore reason, it would make sense for Bass to be MKN 004 since he was made with the same purpose as the Mega Man killers, killing Mega Man. Plus, his design, competitive personality and directional buster is similar to Ballade, MKN 003. Seems like it would make sense for him to be a improved Ballade.
Megaman 3 was the first video game I ever played, 34 years ago. I've played and beaten it more times than I can count, and this is the first I've ever heard of the RW symbol in Magnet Man's stage 😮
About Cossack's bosses: I don't believe Cossack actually built them at all. Remember, he was blackmailed and framed by Wily to take the fall, so I think he lied about having created them as part of Wily's plan. AFAIK, there's no outside material, other than Megamix, that proves he built them himself or that Wily "modified" his creations. At best, if he did make them, he probably made them according to Wily's instruction and design anyway. It's also worth noting that in the Rockman 6 manga, it was said that ALL the RMs were made by Wily, and that the entire tournament was rigged. That seems more believable to me than RMs being manufactured all over the world, because otherwise, wouldn't we have seen way more robots like X and Zero?
"wouldn't we have seen way more robots like X and Zero" Well, no. Dr. Light and Wily are meant to be the absolute best at creating robots in the Mega Man world. They lead and revolutionize the industry. Both have been able to modify and rebuild _alien_ technology with little trouble. The whole deal with X and Zero was that they were so far ahead of the curve that it would have taken centuries for the rest of humanity to catch up to their level. Heck, that alien technology both Doctors worked with might have been exactly what allowed them to create such advanced robots.
My hypothesis is that there were no other robot masters available in MM4 when Cossack was blackmailed. He had the design blueprints for the robots, and once he was forced to fight Megaman, Wily gave him the tools and funds to build the robots. While Cossack built them, they're still Wily's in that sense, implying his robots are both Cossacks's and Wily's. As for MM6, no one mentioned anything about it being a robot masters tournament. I definitely believe that only Wily built robot masters to take place in it, while the rest of the world only built regular battle robots, which were fiercely outclassed by the much smarter add stronger robot masters, ergo Wily GUARANTEED his robots'd win the top 8 spots. His robot masters merely got sent to represent foreign countries, that's all. And as for the Numbers themselves, I merely think them as numbering them by the order when they were introduced in Wily's control. Explains why Cossack's and Mr X's are considered DWN and when Light is framed in MM9 they're DLN as a curve ball.
I always thought the manufacturers listed in MM11 were just the one who made the parts used to build the Robot Masters. I mean, do you really think Dr. Light is smelting his own metal or building his own processors? Dude's at least in his 60s, after all. Then again, he apparently knows how to perform the Hadouken and Shoryuken if the Mega Man X series is to be believed, so maybe he's actually a lot stronger than we know? And as for the numbers seemingly mixing Light and Wily together, I think it may have something to do with Wily being a former colleague of Light's. Or perhaps because their robots keeps fighting against one another so often they just bunch them together. May sound absurd, but bureaucrats can be just as lazy as normal people. They see 8 more Robot Masters being built and go "Yeah, it's just those two guys again, file 'em together."
The bureaucrat laziness gets worse and worse over the X series, to the point where it’s a miracle they didn’t order Zero to terminate Axl. Unfortunately, this bureaucracy remains in the shadows over the Zero series, regaining strength and striking back so hard that the human race has to be destroyed.
What's interesting about the robot expiration date that the archie comics cover is that the first 6 robot masters are considered special and have a museum for them that they're kept in
Really the serial number helps to keep tracking the robot masters, Mavericks and Mutou Reploids have such weird names sometimes that is hard to track them.
I never even know the robot masters *had* serial codes! And because the system doesn’t make sense I don’t think it changes anything lol Observation #5: Great video
You know we're in the worst timeline when the best canonical explanation comes from *Archie comics.* Also, are the first three robots technically Break Man, Rock Man, and... Roll Man?
this was a really neat video! one nitpick though, you forgot about mega man and bass 2 for the wonderswan, which features such classic robot masters as compass man and aircon man. there's also the two DOS games, but i dont know if those robot masters are given serial numbers, and a few of them even got "replaced" by other robot masters with the same name in later games, like wave man, oil man, and torch man
I love how the majority of the DWNs weren't even made by Wily himself. They were either stolen, reprogrammed or their creator was blackmailed into serving Wily.
Something to consider, the difference between DLN and DWN cuts cleanly between Robot Masters designed by Capcom and the rest that are designed by submission. Almost all Robot Masters were designed by fans afterall.
Jewel Man took the bullet for Splash Woman
What a gentleman!
Now if only more people in MM8BDM would do that when I'm playing Splash Woman so I can *_keep the damn team alive._*
P.S; Screw you, Roll mains.
yes
in his mouth yes
tornado man could've gone in the same place as splash woman if you take into account Z series Sage
I had entered this video with the question "Will he forget OilMan and TimeMan?" , and the answer was predictable.
Time Man and Oil Man are officially cannon according to Capcom
@@eramferguson1701X6 through 8 are canon according to Capcom so take that with a grain of salt. That being said OilMan and TimeMan are absolutely canon
@@Needwagon4Speedwagonare you sure? Cause we see capcom reference megaman 1 nes often but almost never it’s psp remake
I was personally more concerned about Mega Man & Bass being forgotten, but I'm glad we were both appeased
@Needwagon4Speedwagon
It would make less sense for those not to be canon, in X6 Alia hints at the creation of the mother elf, and X7-X8 are a self contained story that doesn't conflict with future games
19:31 to be fair, you could read “built me rock solid” could mean something like he rebuilt him since he’s there for repairs, but I might be missing something. And also, the point still stands anyways - this system makes no sense
Yup. Or maybe Dr. Light just built the outer part.
I'm also pretty sure that light had a hand in building them, since I know he at least works at the place acid man was built in
My argument is that they aren't counted as the DLN series because Light built them under contract. They didn't come out of Light Laboratories, they aren't true DLNs.
@@CptJistuce yes
@@CptJistuce Something like that. Maybe they were built by Dr Light FOR those companies. That, or nobody ever knew Dr Light's lab was called Nakaume Heavy Machinery......
The idea that Wood Man was "explicitly made for combat" is and will always remain funny to me.
Man's legit made out of wood. Oooh real high tech battle armour you got there Wily. What, did your budget run out?
Edit: Thank you for letting us know about Jewel Man.
Really gives "family jewels" a whole new meaning.
They used to make cutting edge airplanes out of wood even as far up as World War 2, it's not... totally unthought of, and one of the big problems with woodworking in this context (that being that you can't really mass produce wood weapons, like, at all) doesn't really matter on a custom job like Wood Man.
It's still silly but it's not like completely ridiculous.
It will not rust.
IIRC Wood Man is actually one of Wily’s proudest achievements, which is why he appeared in quite a few spin-offs and comics. That might’ve been from the wiki so take it with a grain of salt.
@@TheShinyFeraligatr True, good point.
But on the other hand, this is not ww2, this is _"we are quite literally fighting hyper-advanced Ai wielding plasma weaponry."_
According to the wiki at least, "A single, uncharged shot from the mega buster can blow a five foot diameter hole in a wall of solid stone."
Maybe it's been specially treated or something, but it's clearly still got the properties of wood. Being weak to fire and... Circular saws.
I respect the craftsmanship and all Wily, I really do, but come on man.
Dr. Wahwee would buy an apple product, slap his decal sticker on it, and say he invented it
DWN. 089 MacBook Pro
Man, Wily would buy an actual apple from the grocery store and say he invented it.
Instead of Red Delicious, we have DWF-001. (Dr Wily Fruit, naturally)
Wily was the original techbro.
@@CptJistuce put some spikes on that apple and megaman won't stand a chance!
@@Rikken552 Unless he spent all his bolts on spike resists before he loaded into the produce stand.
17:02 My headcanon was that they weren't anywhere near their expiration dates, but either were scared and having anxiety of their newfound mortality, or thinking themselves as some kind of robot revolutionary saving older models from their demise, or something along those lines.
oh this is so neat, I'm adopting this
The unelected rulers of humanity decided that man and machine must work together to be equals, as seen in the ZX-Legends series, where humanity is finally digitized in preparation to merge with the Carbons. There was a thing with the Reploids trying to mimic aging by steadily uploading their minds from child into older bodies, until they are made frail, as seen in Command Mission.
It almost has to be. Because otherwise we're left with a pretty grim dichotomy: Either a lot of time passes between 8 and 9, enough to scare the robots, which would leave Light profoundly old in a way the continuing game series seems to ignore, OR very little time has passed which implies robots have a very short legal operational window and thus basically ALL of the previous robots are now decommissioned ...
Great analysis of a strange system!
My theory for the MM9 crew being DLN is that Dr. Wily was actively framing Dr. Light, so he chose to classify them that way, but his ego drove him to keep going in his order haha
I think the numbers make the most in-universe sense if viewed as incident numbers assigned by the world robot alliance. This explains how they are globally incrementing, and why they start by numbering all robots then only significant ones, why robots can be numbered against their production order, and why the prefix is not always the maker. "Order that an in-universe organization finds robots notable" is of course a verrry convenient back-canon for "order that the game developers find robots notable".
The WRN ceases to exist by the time of the X series (wiped out by Sigma?), so Reploids are not given serial numbers even as the line of what is considered “Maverick” becomes thinner and thinner, which is why Elpizo’s serial number does not fit the classic format; it IS his actual manufacturing number. Dr. Weil resurrects/appropriates the old WRN numbering system for his models because he sees Reploids as nothing but tools.
@@austinreed7343 I could see WRA stop assigning numbers when reploids came around as a humanitarian type thing since Reploids are effectively humans and it would be screwed up to label a human with numbers and signs
@@AnAverageGoblin I mean, you say that, yet prisoners always get assigned numbers when they are sent to jail.
Megabeatman Reviews and ShadowRockZX has done plenty of explanations of the classic series if you look at some their videos on that topic.
@@toumabyakuya
“Jail” no longer exists in MMX, every crime is punished with death in the eyes of the hunters under humankind. The thoughts of the WRA simply being humanitarian no longer make sense in light of the cruelties inflicted upon Reploids, such as Repliforce. Though yes I do see them maybe doing some token efforts of humanitarianism.
holy crap i never knew that tidbit about the background of the weapons archive from 10
cool, right?
You're not alone.
@@Enker no, that's a Battle Network 5 song :P
I really like how over dramatic the instruction manual page for the backstory is. Mega Man is apparently the defender of the UNIVERSE and the first six bosses and Wily are apparently emperors of the 7 countries within Monsteropolis. Sucks that Guts Man had to be king of a construction yard.
I mean in all fairness where I live we have a Hot Dog King, Auto Muffler King, and Mattress King, so he didn't really get off all that badly
King of concrete
The Megaman 9 Robot Masterd didn't turn evil out of protest. Wily tricked them into allowing him to reprogram them.
They weren't thrilled about being dismantled when their expiration date came about, but their bugger concern was less about dying and more about being useful to humans. Wily tricked them by telling them he could repair them so they could continue to be useful and then reprogrammed them like he did with all the other robots he stole.
This just makes their backstory more sad
It's true that before X's creation no robot had a soul, only programming.
"Or enough time has passed between the end of Mega Man 8 and the beginning of Mega Man 9 for this to make sense..."
So kinda like the time between Mega Man 8 and Mega Man 9's releases?
HELP
Mega Man & Bass is a game between Mega Man 8 and Mega Man 9, the robot masters are built by King, the nunbers are classified to KGN - 001 (Dynamo Man) to KGN 006 (Magic Man).
That gets a little precarious though. Thomas Light is portrayed as fairly elderly. If a lot of time passes between 8 and 9, why isn't he more advanced in age, if not retired? And if a lot of time HASN'T passed, the implication has to be that ALL of the other robot masters are probably retired now as the length of time they're allowed to operate must be quite short.
what confuses me more is how all our main characters (rock, roll, proto man) have been around LONGER than all the robot masters from 9 yet the whole expiration date thing isn't a problem for them?
It is sometimes implied Reploids have serial numbers; the Mavericks of Zero 3 are called “Weil’s Numbers”, and it’s safe to say that the Zero 4 Mavericks are also “Weil Numbers”. Elpizo, the main villain of Zero 2, also has a serial number.
Another thing: non-Ariga manga handle this numbering differently; they along with the CD dramas tend to try and justify why they are considered “DWN”. The Megaman 6 RMs are created by Dr. Wily as seed players in the Ikehara manga, while the MM10 RMs are implied to have been sleeper agents made by Wily, which is why only those 8 went berserk instead of simply becoming ill.
11, as well as the X series, imply that over time Wily became more obsessive and diabolical, more obsessed with vengeance, so he stopped caring about Dr. Light, which could explain why Block Man is a DWN.
I honestly see why perhaps the first line of reploids weren't really given serial numbers, while during the zero era they were. Considering the theming of robots being considered less than human, it would make sense for them to be given numbers again so they could be ruled and addresses easier.
Cut man was made to cut down trees - which is a pretty dangerous job.
Statistically the deadliest job in the US.
They made him cut down trees with scissors? Mean
@@billyweed835 -aside from being the president-
@@GSavel Or being a news report who risks life and limb to report on events
Headcanon that X is DLN-X? All in favor say aye
Aye
Aye
That would fit as x is used in the place of undefined number in math
so, two votes!
nay
According to the Archie comics, the only robot master we see between mm1 and the finale being built by light is bond man, who would technically be dln either 009 or dln 00C
The idea of Light feeling like he needed jump ahead with the numbers and/or built 59 robots that we have never seen within a such short time span is honestly really funny, so throwaway joke or not, it's canon to me.
Had a lotta fun with the video, it was both interesting and pretty humorous! Always happy to see what you got planned for the future!
Well he said he skipped in his concept notes, so the skipped ones were probably never built, they are just ideas written down.
Actually, this numbering system is used in-universe, but not in the classic series.
In Mega Man ZX Advent, Grey/Ashe encounter 2 capsules in the Mysterious Lab stage. The terminals of the capsules reveal serial numbers of DAN-001 and DAN-002, which are revealed to be Prometheus and Pandora's respective serial numbers. After defeating Hedgeshock, Grey/Ashe finds another capsule, this time with a serial number of DAN-000, which is later revealed to be Master Albert's own serial number. The A in DAN stands for Albert himself.
1:07 Monstropolis was a weird thing in a single manual (and box art) that was never going to work in the first place. Although it was the original name of Mega City in the Dreamwave comics (even though that's not what Monsteroplis was). The Archie comics also had the city where the Light family lived renamed to Mega City but its previous name wasn't mentioned.
Timestamp 19:26
It's possible the serial numbers refer to the *programmer* instead of the constructor?
It's possible the DLN robots were not reprogrammed, but rather perhaps had their existing programming exploited to make them antangonists.
Remember that it was due to their programmed expiration dates that the Robot Masters of MM9 were willing to go along with Dr. Wily - Perhaps the robot masters with DWN had their programming altered by Wily, The antagonist robot masters with DLN\\DRN kept their original programming from Doctor Light\\Right - but had it exploited by Doctor Wily, and in the case of SWN the programming was entirely done by Wily.
Bass\\Forte is shown to not follow Wily's orders in some cases, mostly focusing entirely on being the strongest robot. And King straight up overthrows Wily.
It's quite possible Wily is proficient at altering existing code, and while he can program from scratch at a high level, he may be a little less profecient at it - if this is the case, then it's equally possible Light\\Right's programming is beyond his understanding or runs in a propriatary format that Wily is unable to alter through normal reprogramming, and thus has to exploit the DLN's personalities and understanding of their current situations to turn them against humanity instead.
And as it's stated that King reprograms the Robot Masters in the game he appears in, and the ones he reprograms get KGN - except Light\\Right's, and King was programmed by Wily, it should be safe to assume that King is SWN. 002 and that since Wily couldn't reprogram Light\\Right's robot masters, a robot programed by Wily also would need to resort to exploit flaws in Light\\Right's programming.
Dr Light and Right are interchangeable. Not only because the Japanese language treats L and R with the same pronunciation. But because his Battle network counterpart Tadashi Hikari can be translated as Right Light.
Powered up was meant to be a remake/reboot of the first six Megaman games just like Maverick hunter was meant to be a reboot of the first six X games. But both games flopped and the reboots were cancelled. If the reboots did go through then the numbering would have been adjusted.
My theory is that the DWN prexif is just a catch all term instead of anything specific. Or more of a faction or group name like the Light numbers and the Cossack numbers. There was even a guy who counted and discovered that Wily only made 28 robots with all of the others being reprogrammed, stolen, or scavenged.
Ya if I recall only a small majority of his robots were actually built by Wily himself, and in fact I wouldn't be surprised if the serial numbers were there to help remind Wily how many robots he's built and stolen
6:34 in all my years I never ever noticed this. 11:25 this as well. Goddamn.
Also if "robot master" is a term only used in the western mega man, I wonder what japanese fans say when they are trying to refer to those bosses as a collective?
According to MMKB and the source they used, there's no singluar term used by Japanese fans. They tend to use generic terms, like "bosses" or "Wily's robots". Kinda weird to think about.
If Bass gets a special number, ain't no reason Zero doesn't. I hereby dub Zero "SWN-000" in my headcanon. xP
I consider Break Man(Proto Man in MM3) as SWN-000
Doesn't Treble (and thus Reggie as well as Rush, Eddie and Beat) deserve his own number too?
That'd make things even worse.
Zero was built after Bass, so I see him as SWN-002
I never considered Break Man having a number before, or being considered a separate number. In my headspace (and I posted it), the numbering system is mostly dossier information that Light put together, and separate from any model numbers others have designated. Makes me wonder if Wily gave the Doc Robot a number.
The animals weren't giving numbers, and one more piece of trivia for them, Beat was created by Dr Cossack.
@@generaljimmies3429 Split the difference and define Dark Man from MM5 as SWN-000?
@@EmpyreanRagnarok I always figured Dark Man was part of his own line as there are four robots.
I feel it made more sense for Break Man to be SWN-000 since Blues(DLN-000) was the first Robot Master Wily ever worked on(With Light of course).
It makes more sense thematically.
It could've been that Dr. Wily did intend to gain control of Proto Man, Mega Man, and Roll after his initial planned success with Dr. Light's 1st set of Robot Masters. Keeping Light's serial number system would make sense to keep programming, notes, or spare parts in order so he created Dummy Files for 000, 001, and 002 since he planned to utilize those later.
It can also be assumed that these entries on Wily's computer for Light's Robot Masters are DWN-000 through 008 even if the Robot's code itself says otherwise, or that the Robot Masters didn't function after Wily's tampering without internally remaining as DLN(or it would be too much hassle to reprogram his name into them when tweaking Light's work is a quick job).
That's why the Mega Man 2 and onwards Robot Masters continue from Dr. Light's numbers. My argument for the Cossack Robots and the like is that their code was easier to manipulate than Light's code so renumbering them under the proper DWN- number entry was possible(?)...
Maybe Dr. Light wanted to reverse this on Wily and make entries for the corrupted Robot Masters for later non-evil revision(if the original builders were unable to revert the changes themselves) and research on Wily's experience and potential weakpoints or innovations. That's why Dr. Light made like 60 blank Dummy File entries to match Wily's code in case the Light-Wily serial number change not working was a 2 way street(?)... And he just didn't make any other Robots between them... But then there were those ones on their forced expiration dates and Wily wouldn't have made all of those Robot Masters if Light had made them earlier... Leave me alone...
15:51 Well he IS special, he was _Bassed_ on Mega Man's design, has a Weapon Copy System like Mega Man and adapters to use with Treble like Mega Man's adapters to use with Rush (which sets him apart from Proto Man and Duo (in Power Fighters 2) who also have Weapon Copy Systems (it's implied Duo's was given to him by Dr. Light as it would not make sense otherwise)).
Also Mega Man is DLN 001 so of course Wily in his vanity and narcissism would want to copy Mega Man's serial number too.
This is the Mega Man channel I’ve always wanted! Fantastic work!
Yes! This is amazing! Let’s hope he’s not another Reploid Revo.
3:25 This oddly enough makes me think of Final Fantasy and how for a while 4 was 2 and 6 was 3. You would have pedantic scientists in universe making RUclips shorts going "did you know that AKSHULLY DWN009 refers to Oil Man and NOT Metal Man? LIKE and SUBSCRIBE for more criminal activity murder robot fun facts!"
My opinion on this is just that neither doctor knows how to count. Dr. Light just starts at 0, skips 9-64, continues from 65-72 and just runs out of numbers. Dr. Wily starts counting from 9, skips 65-72, but theoretically actually knows all of the numbers.
Of course, jokes aside, the numbers are probably mixed up because Dr. Wily and Dr. Light just built other "numbers" but we never got to see them. After all, the Mega Man 9 robot masters were supposed to be scrapped, so maybe the ones that we dont see were indeed built, but never appeared because they were scrapped.
For both X and Zero Light and Willy both wanted their creations to live on( in some way) so Both X and Zero get the DLN and DWN infinity respectively. Also the fact both are so advanced even for their original creation period.
this is so cybershell i love it. so glad you've kept posting!
5:37 the dark souls pickup sound effect here is superb, I chuckled
You are the chosen one. You will save Mega Man content on RUclips.
Especially after the Revo incident
Your comedic timing and delivery is spectacular. I had to stop for a bit around 2:35 since I couldn't hear you over my cackling.
I really appreciate your dedication to researching and presenting somewhat niche topics in otherwise well-known franchises. I didn't know anything about the manga before this. :)
Wonderful video. Thank you. :)
Even as a huge Mega Man nerd, this topic makes my brain wrinkles get ironed out.
4:38 I'd like to think it's because as they were former colleagues, Albert helped Tommy build the first six robot masters, But Tommy eventually overshadowed Albert, causing him to get jealous.
Didnt realize how strange the numbering system gets but its great to finally have some sort of context to the madness :)
6:50 It's because Wily modified them for combat like how Rock was modified into Mega Man. He didn't modify the first batch of Light Numbers, only reprogrammed them as they were already combat-capable with their original designs. I mean, how exactly was the original design of _Toad Man_ going to fight? All he does is make it rain, the acid rain was a modification Wily added. Bright Man wasn't supposed to be bright enough to be disorienting, Drill Man didn't have bombs, Pharaoh Man couldn't weaponize solar energy, Dust Man wasn't supposed to be able to eject his garbage like that and again, he didn't have bombs, Dive Man _also_ did not have bombs (noticing a pattern here) and Ring Man and Skull Man... Uh... They were designed to destroy Mega Man from the start... Welp. Still, they were the exceptions.
You really waited until the very end to drop that bomb. Damn.
This guy sounds like a well adjusted Mordecai
I wish I could remember what the name of a certain fanfiction I read a LONG time ago. The writer tried to make a "realistic" retelling of Megaman 1, and the "Robot Masters" were called that because there were several duplicates of the robots walking around, but the official "Robot Master" in an area was the one that controlled all the other aggressive robots. So, I imagine the ID numbers is how robots are represented in a robot's code / programing.
So, at first, Wily felt fine reusing Light's IDs, but then I imagine when he got to the second game, he switched the letters but not the numbers probably to avoid programing mistakes.
Like - DWN009 (Metal Man) you are allies with DWN010 (Air Man)
Consider if he had restarted the numbers - DWN001 (Metal Man) you are allies with DWN002 (Air Man)
Now imagine a typo - DWN001 (Metal Man) you are allies with DLN002 (Roll)
That could get in the way of his plans for world domination.
I see the numbers as being:
indicating where they originated from, and then just going in a numerical order.
The codes being part of a dossier in Dr Lights computers and Mega Man's system to keep things clean (for them). The original robot masters kept their DLN, and then the masters from 9 were giving a designated number when the time came. I'm sure if whatever company that they were working for, they had a serial number like the VIN on a car. Those aren't important to the dossier. If Wily gave one of his creations a number, like Bass, then it was put into dossier as such. Cossack being blackmailed into using his robots for evil by Wily, they were giving the classification of DWN.
As for Zero, I always thought of him as SWN-002. In Bass' ending for one of the fighting games, Wily shows him the new robot he's building, and it's Zero.
I feel like this video could have easily been a boring slog but you have good pacing, jokes, and editing to keep things interesting. so far HE DOESNT MISS
It is suggested Wily actually aided in the construction of Skullman near the end of the production line, so the DWN for them does make some sense. Incidentally the original six are sometimes also listed as DWN after Wily modified them, so it is consistent, there (though it is strange there is no DWN-001 or 002). That the spin-off lines exist indicate that Plantman is not the fourty-fifth overall, and further brings attention to the strange gap at the start of the DWN line.
In the Archie comics the numbering is given in the schematic completion, not construction. So it means Right designed that many, not that he built that many. This is likely their way to try and have it line up without having that many off-screen Numbers.
Blockman is significantly modified by Wily even more so than the First, Fourth, or Sixth Numbers with the Gear system, so his Wily Numbering checks out. The Ninth Numbers are not renamed likely intentionally, by Wily, since he was trying to frame Right. They are likely considered DWN off-screen after the ruse is up.
Not canon, but it would actually help if Oilman and Timeman had their Right Numbers and were included as DWN-007 and 008, offsetting the Right Numbers by two to fill in Rock and Roll's gap.
Very humorous and informative. 😊
Honestly the only excuse for the MM 9 crew I can think of is that Dr. Light had a ton of commissions due to all the free publicity caused by Wily’s antics. 😂
Also think the other reason for Zero’s numbering is a “take that” at Light and trying to have the last say in the matter.
Oh wow, you even covered Zero XD hardly ever hear anyone mention his clarification.
Dang, who knew the serial codes of Robot Masters could get so confusing? This is definitely my favorite video covering this particular subject!
I think there is an easy explanation for why the robot master in Mega Man 11 are DWN.
After making his own series in Mega Man 2, Wily always changes the robots' serial number after reprogramming them. In Mega Man 9 he is trying to hide his involvement and blame Dr. Light for the Robot uprising so they kept as DLN.
Also, do the bosses from Mega Man & Bass 2 have serial numbers? There is a cameo of one of them in ZXA so it's canon.
As a lifelong Mega Man fan, this channel is a dream come true. There is never enough Mega Man analysis content on RUclips.
Happy to see a video about this, I remember as a kid I was more interested in the worldbuilding of Mega Man than the games themselves, and this is the type of thing I would fixate on. My copy of the robot master's field guide is very worn out, lol.
Chronologically Confused about MegaMan Robot Numbers
6:36 Oh shit, I never realized that detail in Magnet Man’s stage was there, that’s pretty cool
This is the kind of esoteric Mega Man content I'm here for
Zero was actually classified he’s DWN: infinity in MMPF
Which is convenient, as this means there can be an infinite number of Classic series games before the X series begins.
Because he's Wily's final machine
Great video. I enjoyed it. My take on this system is that it shouldn't be used as an in-universe classification, because it has some cracks such as the missing DLN numbers between mega man 1 and 9. Rather, this is just to classify all robot masters that appear in-game.
this channel is so awesome, can't wait to see what else you have in store!
This is something I spent way too long thinking about back in like 2015. Thank you for making this video, this is incredible.
I wonder why there was never a mention of a serial number for X, when there was for Zero? Especially since the main Mega Man series was still in its full swing when X1 came out.
Maybe Light didn't feel like he needed the ego boost to assign serial numbers with his name on them by that point?
Or maybe he didn't get around to it, planning to do it after it was done, but then X had to sit through 100 years of testing. Whereas Wily was like, "Nah, this is gonna be the best one ever! Gonna give it number... INFINITY!" from the moment he had a blank sheet of paper.
I mean zero is still designed to be a robot master while X was an all new type of with the new feature of having true free thought.
Mega Man content like this really scratches a niche itch for me. Loved the video dude, can’t wait for more.
Note: sorry if this is too long.
Personal headcanon, reploid serial numbers are a line of code withing their DNA, a fingerprint of sorts that's unique to each reploid, and rewriting it can cause irreversible damage to their entire programing. It is used as their ID for citizenship, work ect, it can be scanned from their eyes or gems. In the Zero/ZX era this ID is in the triangle markings on their foreheads as a QR of sorts, it's harmless to permanently cover or remove it, but also illegal.
This ID's can be "masked" with special programs, covering them with a fake one like a VPN, a lot of mavericks have them to make themselves difficult to track.
And last little bit of delusional rambling, Zero's funny serial number was desinged to break algorithms, it basically tricks the computer into counting to infinity, ID masking had to be invented becase of him. His "VPN" ID is "DCN-000", given by Cain as a "You're my son now" and also for hiding his origins from the public.
It's interesting that "Robot Master" has been accepted as a term in a way that the other localization nonsense wasn't. And I think it's because, there's no competing term. You can them the "Doctor [blank] Numbers", but that's not really a designation about this type of robot. They are distinct as a category compared to other robots, even with no explicit label in Japan, so the term is useful. I've gotten so used to it at this point that it's funny to realize how goofy the name actually is. Very in line with the other ridiculously cheesy things from the early US manuals, like the aforementioned "Monsteropolis".
This was a great look at the DWN idea. I never noticed how many weird branches there were. Great work!
I feel like it all makes perfect sense. Wily respects Light's numbers and considers Light's line of robots to be part of his evolution. Without Light, Wily wouldn't have made any robot masters, so the DLN's are included in his line. And as for 11, it makes sense they'd be classified as DWN. Even though Light was part of the process, Block Man isn't a DLN since he is primarily a Nakaume robot, Light just helped make him (his true number might be Nakaume Machinery Number 001 or 002, something like that) Since they aren't DLN, Wily is content in replacing their class with DWN. Any robot masters not involved in Wily's plot (that is, any robots not made my Light or Wily, or reprogrammed by Wily) aren't added to his list.
I always paid close attention to all the serial numbers. As a kid I wondered what would happen if they reached 1000, but then started doubting they would even reach 100. We're so close now! Despite all that, I somehow glossed over the letters. Never noticed the DLN/DWN difference lol
The DWNs might as well be M/RKNs (Megaman / Rockman Kill Numbers).
Keeping the serial numbers chronological makes sense, but personally I would have made the first two characters either the initials of the creators, and in the case of collaboration, both creators. That is to say,
WLN000: Blues
TLN001: Rock
AWN009: Metalman
MCN025: Brightman
Etc.
As someone who thought the numbers meant nothing... I guess I was at least kinda right
This videos presentation was so smooth and relaxing. I love it. Please keep making more of these types of videos.
It was really interesting to note how DLN/DRN numbers have to be in line with DWN numbers and they cannot be their own separate line.
That’s a good conclusion. If the classifications were well thought out and made sense, would be too perfect to be real.
Thank you for putting the best Capcom Q sound in the intro
The reason Dr Wily started at 9 is because he actually aided in the creation of the first 8 robots (9 including Protoman). He considers them his creations as much as Lights.
8:02 F.A.R.T for short
It´s so confusing xD
But i think the real shame is, that when you look into the background of every robotmaster, how less of them where created by Dr. Wily himself. But my theory is, that Wily indeed build many of this stolen robots. In every game he has tons of ressources to build armys and his castle fortresses and so on. Somehow he has to fund this. I guess he build robots and robot masters for other companys which would explain (in my opinion) why nobody missed Cloud Man, Freeze Man and Burst Man over 6+ months before Wily was in prison prior to Mega Man 7 for example. Either nobody wanted to investigate their disapperance or nobody reported them as missing in the first place, both possibilitys because of a potentially connection to Dr. Wily.
I swear I keep coming across so many random videos in my recommended but I can simply say this this was a very good indef discussion about the numbers in each of the robot masters. Plus I love the use of the SpongeBob clip of patchy throwing away his SpongeBob merchandise and the use of Chibi 2B. You did a very good job with all the information that you were planning out, definitely interested to see more from you!
Stumbling upon this video, it’s like finding a Hidden “jewel”.
it always seemed weird to me that they made so many of these diffrent serial codes for 1 off characters and never tried to group them together, for example King could have easily been SWN.002 right after bass. Then some just dont get a serial number like the Dark Men or Fake Man. Great video btw hope to see more in the future!!
Not only is Jewel Man DLN 069, in concept art he's also called a gay slur. What a magical world we live in.
Omg that’s wild
So we can blame Dr. Wily for making the serial number system useless for keeping track of who made who and how many robots Light and Wily actually made bc his ego is too big. Yipee.
so the Numbering system is from the POV of Wily. WILY is the one numbering these robots.
he's ignoring whatever numbers people give them and is numbering them himself. He only kept the "DRN" serial because he wanted to. Even Secret robots noone knows about (DWN A - C) and so on. Wily Never met Mega Man X, X doesn't have a Number does he? Because Wily never encountered him. Thats how my head canon sees it. "DWN" must mean Numbered by Doctor wily himself.
19:58 Comedy gold 😂
In all seriousness, these are all great points and is very entertaining, nice job
Just gotta say im loving your high quality megaman content man keep it up!
I always thought from a lore reason, it would make sense for Bass to be MKN 004 since he was made with the same purpose as the Mega Man killers, killing Mega Man. Plus, his design, competitive personality and directional buster is similar to Ballade, MKN 003. Seems like it would make sense for him to be a improved Ballade.
Megaman 3 was the first video game I ever played, 34 years ago. I've played and beaten it more times than I can count, and this is the first I've ever heard of the RW symbol in Magnet Man's stage 😮
About Cossack's bosses: I don't believe Cossack actually built them at all. Remember, he was blackmailed and framed by Wily to take the fall, so I think he lied about having created them as part of Wily's plan. AFAIK, there's no outside material, other than Megamix, that proves he built them himself or that Wily "modified" his creations. At best, if he did make them, he probably made them according to Wily's instruction and design anyway. It's also worth noting that in the Rockman 6 manga, it was said that ALL the RMs were made by Wily, and that the entire tournament was rigged. That seems more believable to me than RMs being manufactured all over the world, because otherwise, wouldn't we have seen way more robots like X and Zero?
"wouldn't we have seen way more robots like X and Zero"
Well, no. Dr. Light and Wily are meant to be the absolute best at creating robots in the Mega Man world. They lead and revolutionize the industry. Both have been able to modify and rebuild _alien_ technology with little trouble. The whole deal with X and Zero was that they were so far ahead of the curve that it would have taken centuries for the rest of humanity to catch up to their level. Heck, that alien technology both Doctors worked with might have been exactly what allowed them to create such advanced robots.
My hypothesis is that there were no other robot masters available in MM4 when Cossack was blackmailed. He had the design blueprints for the robots, and once he was forced to fight Megaman, Wily gave him the tools and funds to build the robots. While Cossack built them, they're still Wily's in that sense, implying his robots are both Cossacks's and Wily's.
As for MM6, no one mentioned anything about it being a robot masters tournament. I definitely believe that only Wily built robot masters to take place in it, while the rest of the world only built regular battle robots, which were fiercely outclassed by the much smarter add stronger robot masters, ergo Wily GUARANTEED his robots'd win the top 8 spots. His robot masters merely got sent to represent foreign countries, that's all.
And as for the Numbers themselves, I merely think them as numbering them by the order when they were introduced in Wily's control. Explains why Cossack's and Mr X's are considered DWN and when Light is framed in MM9 they're DLN as a curve ball.
the one keeping track is probably Rockman himself
I always thought the manufacturers listed in MM11 were just the one who made the parts used to build the Robot Masters. I mean, do you really think Dr. Light is smelting his own metal or building his own processors? Dude's at least in his 60s, after all. Then again, he apparently knows how to perform the Hadouken and Shoryuken if the Mega Man X series is to be believed, so maybe he's actually a lot stronger than we know?
And as for the numbers seemingly mixing Light and Wily together, I think it may have something to do with Wily being a former colleague of Light's. Or perhaps because their robots keeps fighting against one another so often they just bunch them together. May sound absurd, but bureaucrats can be just as lazy as normal people. They see 8 more Robot Masters being built and go "Yeah, it's just those two guys again, file 'em together."
The bureaucrat laziness gets worse and worse over the X series, to the point where it’s a miracle they didn’t order Zero to terminate Axl. Unfortunately, this bureaucracy remains in the shadows over the Zero series, regaining strength and striking back so hard that the human race has to be destroyed.
What's interesting about the robot expiration date that the archie comics cover is that the first 6 robot masters are considered special and have a museum for them that they're kept in
Im suprised he didnt mention Duo, but since he crash landed he'd technically be DLN-00C since no one knows their creator.
Really the serial number helps to keep tracking the robot masters, Mavericks and Mutou Reploids have such weird names sometimes that is hard to track them.
I love that you're using content from the Megamix Manga! Its very nostalgic to me
So many Mega Man comics/mangas that I didn't know existed!
I never even know the robot masters *had* serial codes! And because the system doesn’t make sense I don’t think it changes anything lol
Observation #5: Great video
You know we're in the worst timeline when the best canonical explanation comes from *Archie comics.*
Also, are the first three robots technically Break Man, Rock Man, and... Roll Man?
The bit listing off the Robot Masters' primary functions ending with "...Cut Man." is really funny to me for some reason. Great work.
The fact that you got the Genesis Unit im here made me so happy
I like how Sunstar’s Serial Number is technically SRN ???.
this was a really neat video! one nitpick though, you forgot about mega man and bass 2 for the wonderswan, which features such classic robot masters as compass man and aircon man. there's also the two DOS games, but i dont know if those robot masters are given serial numbers, and a few of them even got "replaced" by other robot masters with the same name in later games, like wave man, oil man, and torch man
None of those have serial numbers, so I didn’t bring them up.
that makes sense. i guess “forgot” was the wrong word to use there lol
I love how the majority of the DWNs weren't even made by Wily himself. They were either stolen, reprogrammed or their creator was blackmailed into serving Wily.
He doesn't miss.
Something to consider, the difference between DLN and DWN cuts cleanly between Robot Masters designed by Capcom and the rest that are designed by submission. Almost all Robot Masters were designed by fans afterall.
Lore is always fun, even if it isn't intended