Rockman Ability was revealed back in July 2018 and is a Mega Man series pachislot game. It will feature redesigned characters in a different universe than the one we’re used to. With its September 2018 launch, more information has come out regarding the characters, their designs and background, and how the game plays. (Thanks, Rockman Corner!)

While Rockman Ability‘s story features the standard premise of Rockman and Dr. Light facing off against an evil Dr. Wily who wants to take over the world, Rockman and Dr. Light are at a vast disadvantage. One day, Dr. Light finds two sister robots, Roll and Trancy, collapsed in front of their lab. With the repaired Roll and Trancy’s help, Rockman and Dr. Light continue their fight against Wily.

Rockman (CV: Mutsumi Tamura)

A combat robot developed by Dr. Light to face off against the Wily Numbers. He fights day and night to stop Wily’s plans to take over the world.

Roll (CV: Rie Takahashi)

A robot who was found collapsed in front of Dr. Light’s lab and was repaired. Since then, she’s been helping Rock take down Dr. Wily. She’s got her own Buster and can get special weapons like Rockman.

Trancy (CV: Kana Asumi)

Roll’s sister robot, who was found at the same time as her. She’s a combat robot who doesn’t like fighting that much. She’s the comic relief of the group and a bit of a rookie, but don’t underestimate her. She has a Buster and special weapons of her own.

Dr. Light (CV: Mie Sonozaki)

The daughter of Prof. Thomas Light, who helped lead a wave of robot adoption and proliferation around the world. Her father hammered his skills with technology into her from a young age, so she’s now a leading authority with no equal in the field.

Dr. Wily (CV: Shiro Saito)

The evil old professor with a chip on his shoulder and a snazzy redesign.

Blues (CV: Yuichi Nakamura)

A mysterious enemy with unknown intentions, who fights Rockman under Dr. Wily’s orders. He attacks with his fist, and retains his signature whistle.

The Robot Masters

Like Mega Man, Rockman Ability has Robot Masters, but there are six instead of eight. Each of their names is connected to Pachislot in some way:

Lever Man is a powerhouse Robot Master that will charge towards Rockman and attack with his lever arm. Mess up and he’ll turn Rockman into mash.

Replay Man is a shield user who you need to take out with well-timed matching symbols in order to pierce his shield.

Reverse Man flies and attacks quickly from above. If you get lucky with your slot rolls when he’s in Rockman’s sights, you’ll take him out.

Choice Man is a magician that uses illusions to deceive Rockman and attacks with thunder attacks. You’ll need to get the right slots at the right time to dodge his electric attack and retaliate.

Coin Woman is a ninja who attacks with giant coin shuriken. They only way Rockman can win is by taking down all her coins in one go with a well-timed attack.

Chance Man is the least likely Robot Master to be encountered and can’t be defeated with normal Charge Shots. You need to aim a Super Mega Buster to defeat him with the right button presses.

The story in Rockman Ability is told through 3D CG cutscenes that show off Rockman, Roll, and Trancy investigating different stages, such as a highway, an old Wily laboratory, and a snowfield. They don’t all feature Rockman; in some stages, Roll or Trancy are the protagonists and have their own action stages.

New and remixed music plays in these action and investigation stages, such as a techno remix of Wily Stage 1-2 from Mega Man 2, Galaxy Man’s stage from Mega Man 9, and more. There are some callbacks to the X series, such as the first stage being a highway, and Ride Chasers being present in the game.

Special Weapons

In this game, true to a game of chance, defeating Robot Masters don’t guarantee you an ability. You basically have to complete and win a minigame by timing and matching symbols correctly. But provided you do, Rockman will earn new abilities, which can be used one of three ways – using them against bosses, using them as backups if you lose to a Robot Master while using the regular Buster and in action stages.

Here are some of the abilities below. Rockman shifts colors as usual. Unlike Mega Man 11, his head doesn’t change, but his arm does:

As we’ve described above though, Roll and Trancy can also get special weapons this time, with this being a first for Roll in series history. Check out their forms below:

Finally, here’s a look at special artwork that can be found in the game via bonus modes:

You can find more gameplay details, and videos showing off the story and CG cutscenes here.

Pachislot Rockman Ability is available in pachislot stores in Japan.