| For the Mega Man ZX enemy, see Mechadragon. |
Mecha Dragon (メカドラゴン Mekadoragon) is a giant robotic dragon boss from the Mega Man series. It makes its debut appearance in Mega Man 2. Most of the Mecha Dragon's body is a hydrogen balloon that allows it to fly. It mainly attacks by releasing flames from the mouth.
Video game appearances
Mega Man 2
Mecha Dragon is the boss of the Wily Stage 1. The end of the stage has a large abyss with white blocks being the only way across. However, as the player is jumping across them, the Mecha Dragon will ambush the player from behind and give chase, knocking away any platforms it touches. Mecha Dragon cannot be hurt during this chase, so focus on just running away. Eventually, the player will reach 3 platforms where the real battle begins.
Attack Pattern
Mecha Dragon will fly back and forth along its side of the screen in a loose zigzag patterns, and its weak point is its head. When the player crosses the head's y-level, it attacks by shooting a fireball from its mouth in a slightly slanted-upwards straight line. Mecha Dragon's movement actually follows the player's movement across the platforms, trying to align with the player as to hit them with the fireballs. If the player stands on one platform for too long, Mecha Dragon will go to the far left and unleash multiple fireballs at once to knock them off. If there are too many objects onscreen, the multiple fireballs may not actually hurt the player, but trying to exploit the boss this way is very risky given how easy it is to get knocked into the pit below. Be VERY careful as not to let Mecha Dragon touch you, as his touch is an instant-death.
Weaknesses
Mecha Dragon's main weakness is Atomic Fire, where a fully-charged shot will kill him in 2/4 hits. On Difficult Mode, this is not enough to single-handedly defeat him, and mainly helps to give the player a head start at the beginning of the fight.
Like most fortress bosses in Mega Man 2, Mecha Dragon doesn't not have I-frames, which means its health can be knocked down very quickly by mashing. The Mega Buster and Quick Boomerang only do 1 damage, but highly benefit from this factor. The former has longer range, while the arc of Quick Boomerang makes it very easy to hit Mecha Dragon on the highest platform.
Crash Bomb does 1 damage, but there is a very risky strategy to defeat the boss only with this weapon. While shooting it directly at the head won't do much, shooting it at the belly will trigger the explosion. As such, the player should try to manipulate Mecha Dragon's movement so his head moves into the explosion created by shooting the belly, which will deal a LOT of damage if timed correctly. However, this method is not recommended for beginners, as it's faster and safer using the other weapons above.
Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters
Mecha Dragon (named Mech Dragon in the game) is the penultimate boss from the "Recover the new parts!" course. At first it only attacks by releasing flames, but after losing half of its energy, it will also release longer flame streams and spit eggs that contain smaller versions of itself. Mecha Dragon can only be damaged on the head, and as it often changes the height it is flying, players may need to Wall Kick or use attacks able to reach the head when jumping isn't enough. Its weakness is the Quick Boomerang.
The smaller Mecha Dragons also appear to assist the Wily Machine in the same course.
The Mecha Dragon's boss theme is a remix of the Wily Stage 1 and 2 music from Mega Man 2.
Other appearances
- Mecha Dragon appears in the opening scene from Mega Man 8. Also, in the beginning of the Opening Stage there is a skeleton in the background that resembles the Mecha Dragon.
- Mecha Dragon is a Team Battle Boss in Rockman ×over.
Data
Damage data chart
Amount of damage in units that the Mecha Dragon receives from each Special Weapon in Mega Man 2.
| Mega Man 2 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Mega Buster | Metal Blade | Air Shooter | Bubble Lead | Quick Boomerang | Crash Bomber | Time Stopper | Atomic Fire | Leaf Shield | ||
| Normal | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2:6:16 | 0 | ||
| Difficult | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1:3:8 | 0 | ||
Other media
Mega Man (Archie Comics)
The Mecha Dragon appears in issue 12 of the Mega Man comic by Archie Comics. It attacks eight of Dr. Light's Robot Masters-Bomb Man, Elec Man, Guts Man, Fire Man, Cut Man, Ice Man, Oil Man, and Time Man-when they enter the Wily Castle looking for Mega Man. The mechanical beast was joined in its attack by Mega Man, who was under Wily's control due to a virus. However, the Robot Masters succeeded in freeing their friend, who promptly destroyed the Mecha Dragon.
Mega Man Megamix
Mecha Dragon is a large dragon-shaped robot that protects Wily's fortress. In order to make flight a possibility for this giant robot, it is mostly composed of helium tanks. All non-essential parts were also removed from Mecha Dragon's design to reduce his physical weight as much as possible. Mecha Dragon's external parts, including his head, arms, legs, tail, and even wings are all mechanical and each have multiple functions. The main function of its head, for example, is to spew flames with its built-in flamethrower, but it also acts as a temperature control system which adjusts the heat of the gaseous bodies contained within its torso.
In Mega Man Megamix, Quick Man uses the Mecha Dragon as a transport to reach Mega Man in the Skull Satellite, and Quick Man cuts the dragon into pieces alongside Flash Man as he wants to face Mega Man by himself.
Later in Mega Man Gigamix, Quick Man uses Mecha Dragon to save Shadow Man, who was falling to his doom after facing the Stardroids in space.
Other appearances
Mecha Dragon also appears in the manga Rockman: Dr. Wily no Inbou and Rockman: Yomigaeru Blues.
Gallery
Trivia
- In Mega Man 2, Mecha Dragon is mostly light green and has an orange abdomen, but in Mega Man 8 and Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters, it is dark green with a yellow abdomen.
- The Mecha Dragon is the only boss in the original series that can destroy Mega Man upon direct contact, similar to hitting spikes.
- In the Nintendo Entertainment System game Little Samson, there was a dragon boss who fought in nearly the same way as the Mecha Dragon.
- Grim Matchstick, a boss from the indie videogame Cuphead, looks similar to the Mecha Dragon, and even mimics his battle style.[1]
References
| Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters | |
|---|---|
| List of Playable Characters | |
| Mega Man • Proto Man • Bass • Duo | |
| List of Bosses | |
| - Search for Wily! - Shadow Man • Plant Man • Gyro Man • Centaur Man • Bubble Man • Heat Man Mad Grinder - Rescue Roll! - Cut Man • Stone Man • Shade Man • Elec Man • Dive Man • Slash Man Yellow Devil - Recover the new parts! - Guts Man • Pharaoh Man • Air Man • Quick Man • Gemini Man • Napalm Man Mecha Dragon - Dr. Wily - Wily Machine | |
| List of Special Weapons | |
| Shadow Blade • Plant Barrier • Gyro Attack • Centaur Arrow • Bubble Lead • Atomic Fire Rolling Cutter • Power Stone • Noise Crush • Thunder Beam • Dive Missile • Slash Claw Super Arm • Pharaoh Wave • Air Shooter • Quick Boomerang • Gemini Laser • Napalm Bomb | |
| Support Items | |
| Rush • Beat • Treble | |