Megaman was first released in 1987 and is going strong now even in 2007! Many games from many series are being released so it can be hard to keep up. Hopefully this list will help break it down by series as well as which games go in which series.

Only the Megaman Classic's "Basic Plot" desciption was done from memory. Megaman X's "Basic Plot" was taken from the back of the US release of the first game(MMX1). The Megaman Legends Plot was taken from the actual intro movie given at the beginning of the game. This is followed by the Battle Network,Megaman Zero, and Megaman ZX plots which I pulled off of http://www.megaman-storm.com. Lastly, was the plot for Megaman Star Force which I got from http://www.animenewsnetwork.com. Each plot appears to be more along the line of the official CAPCOM description of each series as they appear either in the manual or on the back of the game. Of course since I could not get my hands on the back of said games it's always possible for subtle differences to occur. But overall I believe these plot descriptions give a good BASIC over-view of the series; especially if you're not aquainted to a specific series. Note that as there are different games in any of these series; and that the plot of each game will be different.

Are they all connected?

Well, yes and no. OFICIALLY not all the series are connected. Infact, Megaman and Megaman X were not said to officially be connected until confirmed in The Power Fighters game. First, let's give a basic rundown of all seven existing series:

Megaman Megaman X Megaman Legends Megaman Battle Network Megaman Zero Megaman ZX Megaman Star Force

Now, let's look at the official connections:Megaman-> Megaman X  and then let's skip over to Megaman Battle Network -> Megaman Star Force and finally Megaman Zero->Megaman ZX . Now this leaves Megaman Legends left over from the official matchings. Now, let me do some combining!

When you play Megaman Zero you should begin to realize that this is the same Zero from the  Megaman X games; and infact, the game just about says as much as it refers back to the Maverick Hunters and the fact that Zero and X were once partners. That and Megaman X takes place in 21XX while Megaman Zero is said to take place in 22XX ; about 100 years AFTER Megaman X. MEANING...

Megaman X-> Megaman Zero resulting in: Megaman-> Megaman X-> Megaman Zero->Megaman ZX

Basic Plot:In the Year 20XX robots and humans live in perfect harmony. Dr. Light and his assistant Dr. Wily have built six revolutionary androids(Robots shaped like humans) to help make life a better place: Cutsman(Lumber),Gutsman( Heavy lifting),Iceman(to freeze things),Elec man(Generate electricity),Bombman(Demolition), and Fireman(Soldering;generating fire). These were then followed by the creation of two more androids; Rock and Roll. Both were maintinance androids designed to help the doctors with their experiments. Then one day things went awry when the six androids went berserk and started destroying the city. It was discovered that Dr. Light's assistant Dr. Wily was behind the attack and that's when Rock who had somehow not been affected by Wily's reprogramming asked to be converted into a fighter robot. Thusly, the newly dubbed "Megaman" has dedicated his life to fighting the evil Dr. Wily and his horde of robot masters.

Series Debut:Megaman (1) (1987).

Latest Installment: Megaman 9 (2008)

Type Of Game: Action/Adventure Platform

Main Games in the Series: (Main as in they are part of the original series that first started and follow each other plot-wise...If that makes any sense...>.>):  Megaman 1-9 and Megaman and Bass.

Semi-Spinoffs:(Games that are on the gameboy exclusive or games that seem like side-stories but not totally out there spin-offs): Megaman I-V, Megaman: The Wily Wars,Super Adventure Rockman (Megaman), Megaman Anniversary Collection, Megaman Powered Up.

Spin-Offs: Rockboard, Megaman's Soccer, Megaman Battle and Chase, Megaman: The Power Battle, Megaman 2: The Power Fighters.  (If I'm missing something let me know...>.>)

Personal Insight: The Series with possibly the least amount of plot content but don't underestimate its importance. I still have a special place for it in my heart because it's the series that I grew up on and have the closest connection to. More of a repetitive feel that involves 2-D sidescrolling but the idea of using weaknesses to defeat a robot master(making the order an important thing to consider) was really a unique one for the time and also allowed one to vary the order of levels. Too bad it took till the seventh game to get any real deep plot. But the characters helped shape and inspire the future sequals and series to come.

Basic Plot: Near the end of his life, Dr. Light succeeds in creating the first of a new series of robots which will change the world. Able to think and make decisions, this new robot holds great danger as well as great possibilities. Fearful of the possible consequences of unleashing his creation on the world, Dr. Light decides to seal him in a capsule and test his systems until they are totally reliable. The future will have to decide his fate...

Released from the capsule by Dr. Cain, "X" is born into the world of the future where the robot rebellions are a thing of the past. But when Dr. Cain tries to impliment Dr. Light's designs into a new series of Reploids, something goes hideously wrong. Now the future lies on the brink of destruction and a new Mega Man must emerge to face Sigma and his forces before the human race is wiped from the planet!

Series Debut: Megaman X(1) (1993)

Latest Installment: Megaman Maverick Hunter X (2006)

Type Of Game: Action/Adventure Platform

Main Games in the Series: Megaman X1-8

Semi-Spinoffs:Megaman Xtreme 1-2 , Megaman X: Command Mission, Megaman X: Anniversary Collection, and Megaman Maverick Hunter X

Spin-Offs: None...Unless you wanna argue about Megaman X:Command Mission...>.>

Personal Insight: Think more of the original Megaman games grown up for a new generation. The backgrounds and platforms are more innovative and interesting to play through. This game is supposed to take place roughly 100 years after the events of the original Megaman games(AKA Megaman or "Megaman Classic") yet not even the original blue bomber or any of his friends are still around(unless you count Zero). Instead Light's final creation Megaman X fights alongside Wily's final creation; Zero. As maverick hunters they fight to rid the world of reploids that have gone Maverick. Eventually you get to play as Zero in Megaman X4. Later on in Megaman X7 you get a new member called Axl to add to the roster and even later on get to play as some of the spotters(Alia,Layer,Pallette) in Megaman X8. The plot in these games is alot stronger than in the original Megaman games which only had a few lines worth of dialogue,plot, and character development. While the X games still focus on the action/adventure platform formula they do it with an attempt to create a more indepth world with interesting characters and each game building on the other. The only problem is that the X series is kind of known for contradicting itself sometimes(I won't spoil things for you) in terms of time-frames and certain other plot-points. That and some of the later X games had pretty steep learning curves that may discourage new gamers from picking up and starting at later titles. Overall, I love this series but probably wouldn't want another one unless it connected itself to the Megaman Zero series.

Basic Plot: In a world covered by endless water...

People are forced to eke out a living on the small patches of land that remain above the sea...

The people of this world rely on ancient technology driven by quantum refractors, a powerful energy source. These refractors lie in ancient ruins underground and in the sea, and are sought out by explorers called 'Diggers'...

These brave explorers are the sole source of refractor energy--which has become a cornerstone of the emerging civilizations.

Originally, this was the Diggers only purpose--to find refractors so that civilization might endure...

However, over the years, the story of a fabulous treasure, the legendary 'Mother Lode', began to be whispered among the Diggers...

The Mother Lode--a treasure so great that were it discovered, it would provide so much power that the world never need fear running out of energy...

Seeking this Mother Lode, Diggers travel from one island to another in their flying machines, ever hoping that they'll find what they seek just over the horizon...

Hope...Despair...Charity...Greed...Duty...Power...

Who can say what truly motivates the Diggers?

 Series Debut:Megaman Legends(1)1998

Latest Installment: Megaman Legends 2 (2000)

Type Of Game: Action/Adventure RPG

Main Games in the Series: Megaman Legends 1-2.

Semi-Spinoffs: The Misadventures of Tron Bonne. (It's a side-story prequel that takes place 1 year before Megaman Legends and stars Tron and her adorable Servbots!^^ There is no Megaman here...)

Spin-Offs: None as of Yet...

Personal Insight: Possibly the most underrated of all the Megaman series; mainly due to the fact that it differs greatly from the other six current Megaman series. While the specific date isn't given it's most likely believed to be after the other six Megaman series currently in existance. The game more plays along the lines of an action game where you explore ruins for refractors(they're like giant crystals) in order to make money. The other half of the game more plays out like an RPG with excellent in-game cutscenes and voice acting that pull you into the game and really make you care about the characters and what's going on. One of the strongest points about this game is that the plot is very consistant thus far and albeit confusing at times has yet to contradict itself like some other Megaman series have been known to. The main gripe of fans(and me) is the apparent cliff-hanger that Megaman Legends 2 has. It is the biggest opening for a sequal to ever grace a Megaman game ending! Yet it has been seven years and we have yet to see a real sequal. I hope it happens soon.

Basic Plot: In the year 20XX...Rapid advances in Internet Technology were made, creating the "network era". Everything is now connected to the huge new network world, in which you can navigate through using your PET (Personal Exploration Terminal) and with your NetNavi(Net Navigator). However as these new advances were made, network crime begins to rise. The story begins with a 5th grader named Lan Hikari, and his NetNavi MegaMan.EXE. With "WWW" (World 3) causing damage all over the Net, Lan and MegaMan.EXE are up to the challenge to defeating this crime orginization...

Series Debut: Megaman Battle Network(1) (2001)

Latest Installment: Mega Man Battle Network 6: Cybeast Falzar and Cybeast Gregar (2006)

Type Of Game: RPG(thanx for the help, Porgon!^^)

Main Games in the Series: Megaman Battle Network 1-2, Megaman Battle Network 3: Blue and White, Megaman Battle Netork 4: Blue Moon and Red Sun, Megaman Battle Network 5: Team Protoman and Team Colonel, Megaman Battle Network 6: Cybeast Falzar and Cybeast Gregar.

Semi-Spinoffs: Megaman Network Transmission, Megaman Battle Chip Challenge, and Megaman Battle Network: Double Team DS

Spin-Offs: Rockman.EXE 4.5: Real Operation, Rockman.EXE: Phantom of Network, Rockman.EXE: Legend of Network, and  Rockman.EXE: Battle Chip Stadium (Thanx, Suraida-Chan!).

Personal Insight: Part RPG,part Pokemon battle(sorry, but I couldn't help but point that out), and  part trading card game. The BattleNetwork series is also an interesting detour from what you would expect to see in a Megaman game. The real fighting happens in the "net"; a place that is closely linked to the real world which heavily depends on for its livelihood. Lan uses "battlechips" to help his "Net Navi"(short for Navigator) Megaman.EXE battle evil viruses. As Megaman.EXE battles he doesn't gain levels but battlechips which you can use to customize Megaman and make him stronger. A pretty cool series but I felt like some of the later games lost its luster compared to the earlier games in the series. The BattleNetwork series has been officially declared over and I'm a bit relieved. Don't get me wrong, I liked this series but I really wanted it to end before people started to hate it.

Basic Plot: The City of Neo Arcadia was established as a primary base for building a world where everyone could live happily. People went at the restoration work cheerfully, with smiles back on their faces. However, this "people’s paradise" soon became a disaster for reploids. The government, fearful of the threat of reploids going berserk, accused and arrested them for any reason - or no reason at all!

Those fortunate reploids who could escape were forced to seek safety in a devastated city. To stay alive, they mined its limited stores of energy for their own use. Ciel, a human and former reploid researcher, emigrated with the reploids to the ruined city. She could not abandon them while they were falsely accused by the government. She was determined to find a way to help them.

 The evil hand of the government is about to extend to the reploid sanctuary. The reploids will all die if something isn’t done quickly. Ciel remembers the name of Zero, the legendary reploid rumored to be sleeping in suspanded animation at some hidden place near Neo Arcadia.

"If the legend is true ... he might save us ..."

Series Debut: Megaman Zero(1) (2002)

Latest Installment:Megaman Zero 4 (2005)

Type Of Game: Action/Adventure Platform

Main Games in the Series:Megaman Zero 1-4

Semi-Spinoffs: None as of yet...

Spin-Offs:...There are no games outside of this main series.

Personal Insight: I've only been playing the first game so I don't really have ALOT of insight here but it's basically more like an action/adventure platform series that's quite similar to the X series with some differences thrown in; mainly the use of cyberelfs. Think of the battlechips from Megaman Battlenetwork in that they grant Zero different types of abilities. This series almost feels like a side-story rather than a true Megaman series in that ZERO not MEGAMAN is taking the lead role here. That is not to say you will never see X at all...It just won't be how you expect it. If I have to complain about Megaman Zero(at least for the first one) is that they made this game too hard too fast. I feel like they throw you into hard mode before you can get a feel for working the game. That and the fact that said hard game just doesn't let you save wherever you want or even at CHECKPOINTS but makes you have to pretty much beat the WHOLE LEVEL before you can save really makes this frustrating. It might just be the RPGer in me but nothing irks me more than having to re-play through a the same parts over-and-over again just to get back to the part where you died. I just hope they improved on that in the sequal games. I also want to note Megaman Zero has been stated to have officially ended as well.

Plot:  Hundreds of years have passed since the battles between humans and Reploids. After fierce wars between the two sides, peace was finally restored and the two groups were able to establish various cooperative nations within the “Inner” area of the universe. However, danger zones remained in the undeveloped “Outer” section where independently evolved robots called “Mavericks” began wreaking havoc. A group called the Serpent Company scours the Outer universe to provide energy created from otherwise unattainable items to the Inner population and also serves to protect these peaceful nations from Maverick attacks over the years. On an excursion to the Outer region, they discover relics of ancient technologies in the ruins. These relics, called Biometals, are living, conscious materials, with records of information and weapon data from history housed within.

Series Debut:  Megaman ZX (2006)

Latest Installment: Megaman ZX Advent (2007)

Type Of Game: Action/Adventure Platform.

Main Games in the Series: Megaman ZX and Megaman ZX: Advent

Semi-Spinoffs: None as of yet...

Spin-Offs:...There are no games outside of this main series.

Personal Insight: From what I can tell this series seems to be VERY close in gameplay to the Megaman Zero series. Not just in gameplay but the artwork is eerily similar as well. In this series there are two main characters; Aile and Vent who transform using biometals to transform into different types of armors and weapons in order to fight. I think that this series could possibly be the precurser to Megaman Legends that I've been waiting for; but of course we'll have to wait and see where subsequant games take us(assuming there's something past Megaman ZX Advent).

Basic Plot: In the year 220X, a new technology has been developed to enable contact with extraterrestrial life forms. A mysterious accident occurs during the first communication attempt and Geo Stelar's father, an astronomical scientist, disappears. After the accident, Geo is determined to follow his father's footsteps and unravel the secrets surrounding the disappearance. Geo finds his father's visualizer, which allows him to see invisible electromagnetic waves, and soon after witnesses a fight between two sporadic waves, one of which unexpectedly rushes toward him! Geo learns that what he's seen isn't an electromagnetic wave, but an extraterrestrial life form - Omega-Xis, and FM-ian who has escaped his home Planet FM with the mysterious Andromeda Key. Other FM-ians are determined to destroy Planet Earth and release FM viruses to succeed in their cause. When Geo and Omega-Xis merge by exchanging electromagnetic waves, they become Megaman - the only one who can protect humankind and save the Planet!

Series Debut: Megaman Star Force: Pegasus,Leo,and Dragon (2007)

Latest Installment: On April 12, 2007 CoroCoro Comics announced a sequal will be in the works(thanx,wikipedia!).

Type Of Game: RPG(the battles are in 3-D); VERY similar to Battle Network in gameplay.

Main Games in the Series: Megaman Star Force:Pegasus,Leo,Dragon

Semi-Spinoffs: None as of yet...

Spin-Offs:  None as of yet...

Personal Insight:  I saw episode one of the anime and read some descriptions of the series,characters, and Japanese screenshots. It resemblance between Megaman Star Force and Megaman Battlenetwork is too strong to ignore. Infact, when I first saw the artwork for it I thought it was for a new Megaman Battlenetwork spinoff or something. The gameplay screenshots and mechanics seem eerily similar as well; mainly that there will be navis fighting viruses again just like in BattleNetwork. One thing that makes me optimistic is the characters seem to have more interesting and dramatic backgrounds. The use of electromagnetic waves in the new technology is a part that still confuses me,that and the fact that this game seems to switch from 2-D to having battles in 3-D.

Coming Soon!