Mega Man games all share the same patented format - you start off at a selection screen typically composed of 8 robot squares, signifying the areas with robot bosses that you must clear in order to get to the final boss (Dr. Wily) stages. Each robot originally was named with "Man" as a suffix (Metal Man, Magnet Man, Quick Man, etc.), while pertaining to a specific genre (metal, wood, electricity, water, fire, air, dust, etc.), and has powers reflective on that particular attribute. Each robot's "level" or world is designed to reflect a setting that relates to whatever their attributes are (Heat Man's stage is lava-based, Air Man's stage is thousands of feet up in the air), and are populated with tons of imaginative robotic enemies. The Mega Man series is famous for its style - all enemy robots and robotic contraptions all have the same cartoonish "tired" or "angry" eyes. A popular recurring enemy are the Hard Hats - which appear as a simple yellow hard hat on the ground with a plus sign insignia, which then prop up and attempt to crash into Mega Man with little feet.

ega Man's trusty robotic dog companion, Rush, appeared in Mega Man 3 and all NES sequels thereafter. He was able to transform into various vehicles, such as a hover board, submarine and spring board, that helped Mega Man navigate through certain areas. Another companion named Flip-Top sometimes appeared in certain stages, and resembled a red garbage can with legs. It would flip its lid open, and a random item would pop out for Mega Man (which most players hoped would be an extra life). Dr. Light also created various mechanical gadgets that Mega Man could use, such as propeller boards and rocket sleds.

Once all 8 robot masters have been destroyed, the center square would open up on the selection screen, enabling Mega Man to enter the final stages in Dr. Wily's castle, which were usually a series of many areas concluding with a big boss battle, until the final showdown with Wily (who always escaped after defeat, opening the game up to yet another sequel). In Mega Man 4, Dr. Wily was no longer the evil villain of the game, but was replaced with another: Dr. Cossack. Also, players were then allowed to re-visit completed stages, which would end with an empty robot master lair.

The most notable upgrades for Mega Man were the special weapons he'd gain once a robot master has been destroyed. Mega Man would then gain the ability to use their weapon, which could then be selected at any time via the pause screen. Each robot had a very specific weakness that the player had to discover on their own, and one robot was always designated as the "starting point," as he was able to be destroyed with Mega Man's default weapon: the Mega Buster arm cannon.

Mega Man games always gave players the ability to continue their progress through the usage of an extremely simple grid matrix, composed of an x and y axis where dots could be placed according to the code assigned after all extra lives have been used up. The code would relatively take you back to the same status as when you received that particular code, with any weapons or items gained.

Mega Man 6 became the final Mega Man game for the NES, as Mega Man 8 was for the SNES. Mega Man 9, known as "Mega Man and Bass," was released for the Gameboy Advance. Finally, the Mega Man X series was released in 1993. Not exactly representing "10", the X series was a new branch, featuring traditional Mega Man levels with a major enhancement - the addition of special armor and weapon parts that could be found in certain levels, that would enhance Mega Man's abilities. Robot masters no longer had the suffix "Man" at the end of their name, but instead, were given first and last names. Mega Man X was also released for the SNES and PC. This series is still alive today, and have entered the Playstation 2 title list.