Mega Man: The Power Battle
System: Arcade (CPS1), NeoGeo Pocket Color
Released 1995

Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters
System: Arcade (CPS1), NeoGeo Pocket Color
Released 1996

The Power Battle and The Power Fighters tried to bring a faster pace to the series through arcade-style gaming. Coming to the scene just as Street Fighter was turning fighting games into the dominant genre, these games featured Mega Man, Blues, and Bass in battles against bosses from the NES games. Instead of working through a level, you were dropped directly into a fight to the death. Two players could even team up to take on a boss simultaneously. The two games serve as an interesting footnote to the Mega Man legacy. The titles are about to see a North American release for the first time with the Mega Man Anniversary Collection.

Marvel vs. Capcom
System: Arcade, Dreamcast, PlayStation
Released 1998-1999

Marvel vs. Capcom 2
System: Arcade, Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, Xbox
Released 2000-2003

This impressive, over-the-top 2D fighter featured Mega Man as one of the many available fighters. Rush tagged along for moral support and super moves, and you could even play as Roll--she's a hidden character! Also of note is that Mega Man and Roll returned for the sequel, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, along with Tron Bonne and the incredibly weak and diminutive Servbot from the Mega Man Legends series.

Rockman Complete Works
System: PlayStation
System: 1999

The Rockman Complete Works series of reissues for the PlayStation came out throughout the course of the last quarter of 1999 in Japan. Each disc featured one Famicom (NES) Rockman game preserved in its original glory and a helpful "navi mode" for beginners. This mode offered tips to get around the tough spots. Beginning with Rockman 4, the games even featured arranged music in navi mode. Unfortunately, Capcom never saw fit to try and bring this series to the US. Each game in this series ran about 2800 yen a pop - that's around $26 a game! The title also featured encyclopedia modes and artwork, but all consisting of very small pictures in low resolution.