- "Punch! Pummel! PULVERIZE!"
- ―Impact Man, Mega Man 11
Impact Man, known as Pile Man (パイルマン Pairuman) in Japan, is a Robot Master who appears in Mega Man 11. He's an all-purpose construction robot who specializes in piling. Impact Man is dedicated to his job and has never been one to leave a task unfinished. Even after being stolen and modified by Dr. Wily, Impact Man continued to carry out his duties as he rounded up a gang of construction robots and took up residence in an abandoned construction zone so he and his comrades could continue working on it.
Appearance
Impact Man is a large robot whose body consists of three pile driver robots named Kui-ichiro (the oldest one, colored black), Kui-jiro (the middle child, colored yellow), and Kui-saburo (the youngest one, colored orange), who call themselves the Impact Brothers.[1] He has three spikes on his body, one atop his head and two more at the ends of his arms (one for each arm). He also has tailpipes on his shoulders. His upper body is colored orange on one side and yellow on the other side, and his lower body is colored black.
Personality
Always on task with his assignments, Impact Man is dedicated to working as a construction robot. Even after his reprogramming when Wily kidnapped him, Impact Man still works diligently with his fellow construction robots. He is also very loud and boisterous as demonstrated in his fight against Mega Man.
As for the individual Impact Brothers, Kui-ichiro is the leader and eldest brother who never fails to drive his point home, and usually takes control when the brothers are combined. Kui-jiro, the middle brother, is indecisive and often has to ask Kui-ichiro for instructions. He is also very unruly and can never be trusted to take the reins when the brothers are fused together as Impact Man. Kui-saburo, the youngest, is the most responsible after Kui-ichiro, and takes charge of Impact Man if Kui-ichiro is tired. He always makes time for proper maintenance, which keeps his spike spotless, shiny, and sharp.
Strategy
Impact Man's battle consists of a number of attacks in which he'll try to impale Mega Man with his drill spikes. Usually, he will dash across the room to try and ram into Mega Man with his spikes. After defeating Impact Man, Mega Man gets a special weapon called Pile Driver that mimics this attack. Oftentimes Impact Man will try to jump on Mega Man; due to his heavy weight, he can stun Mega Man when he lands, unless Mega Man jumps before Impact Man hits the ground. Impact Man will also sometimes jump into the air and turn into a three-sided drill, after which he'll jump across the room in an attempt to crush Mega Man. He'll also leave behind a spike wherever he lands.
When he's lost most of his health, Impact Man will activate his Power Gear and turn into a gigantic jackhammer. In this form, Impact Man will jump around the room and generate massive explosions by slamming his enlarged spikes into the ground. After doing this three times, Impact Man will break apart into nine Impact Brothers who will fly across the screen. Impact Man will then respawn in his normal form and continue the battle.
Impact man is weak to Acid Barrier, but since the barrier won't damage him unless used with Power Gear, and its projectiles can only be fired with the barrier up, it can be difficult to use it against him.
In the Superhero difficulty, Impact Man's attacks are much faster and do more damage. He also has less cooldown between his jumps, and he can enter his Power Gear form earlier in the fight with four attacks instead of three before reverting back.
Data
- See also: Impact Man Stage
Mega Man 11 Gallery
A construction support robot built to withstand the toughest working conditions, Impact Man mainly works on the foundations of construction projects. His body is made up of three independent pile driver robots who call themselves the Impact Brothers: Kui-ichiro, Kui-jiro, and Kui-saburo.
He never hesitates, and always rushes to action.
His motto is "Just push through!" so once he's accepted a job, nothing can stop him from smashing through in record time.
Usually Kui-ichiro, the oldest of the Impact Brothers, takes control when they're combined into Impact Man, but sometimes the youngest, Kui-saburo, steps in when his big bro is worn out. Meanwhile, Kui-jiro is the unruly middle child and can't be trusted to take the reins.
Manufacturer: Nakaume Heavy Machinery
In-Game Quotes
Pre-Battle Taunts:
- “BEHOLD! Impact Man."
- "Maximum impact!"
- “I like to spike!"
- "Tremble, topple, tumble!"
Attack Shouts:
- "Punch! Pummel! PULVERIZE!"
- "Spike! Spike! SPIKE!"
- "Impale! Impair! IMPLODE!"
- "Impact!"
- "Don't move."
- "Spike!"
- "Ehraagh!"
- "Blagh!"
- "Hrigh!"
- "Transform!”
Activating Power Gear:
- "Get it together!"
- "Spike formation, engage!"
- "Power Gear!"
Attack Shouts (Power Gear):
- "SLAM ATTACK!"
- "THERE'S NO ESCAPE!"
- "HRAGH!"
Death Cries:
- "AAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"
- "Too spiky!"
- "I see your point!"
Gallery
Trivia
- Impact Man is the fifth Robot Master that can transform into a vehicle or machine, the other four being Turbo Man, Ground Man, Galaxy Man, and Nitro Man respectively based off of the order of games being released in chronological order.
- Impact Man attacks Mega Man even before he reaches the boss room; in certain sections of his stage, Impact Man will show up as the Impact Brothers, which will fly across the screen as they try to ram into Mega Man.
- This makes him the first boss in the classic series to attack the player while they're still in the stage, but not the first in the franchise, being preceded by bosses like Jet Stingray and Gigabolt Man-O-War.
- Impact Man is the second Robot Master in Mega Man 11 with a giant form, the first being Block Man.
- He's also the first Robot Master in Mega Man 11 with a different name in the Japanese and English versions, the second being Bounce Man.
- Impact Man's weakness to Acid Barrier is a reference to acid being able to corrode most types of metal. This is very similar to Tunnel Rhino's weakness against Toxic Seahorse's Acid Burst.
- Impact Man's accent sounds like a mix of Italian and Russian.
- According to the relationship chart found in the production notes that come with the complete edition of Rockman 11, Impact Man reads Boom Monthly, the same magazine Blast Man writes for.[2]
- Impact Man and Block Man are work colleagues, both manufactured by Nakaume Heavy Machinery and designed for construction.
- Impact Man's stage theme has similarities to Mega Man 4's Wily stage 3 and 4 theme to the point that some parts of the two songs fit perfectly when played at the same time.[3]
- Impact Man shares some similarities with Guts Man:
- Both are construction robots with a bulky build.
- During battle, both Robot Masters create quake tremors while stomping on the ground.
- Impact Man is the first Robot Master to be made of three individual robots, as the Impact Brothers combine to form him.
See also
References