| Mega Man VII |
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Mega Man VII is a run-and-gun platform game released in 1995, developed in just three months by Capcom alongside an unknown second company. The first classic Mega Man game made for the SNES, it features a number of alterations to the series' typical gameplay formula. While the basics are the same, the player now has access to a shop where they can exchange bolts (occasionally dropped from defeated enemies) for various items. Many of these can also be found within the stages themselves (for the more frugal types). In addition, only four of the eight Robot Masters can be selected at first -- the others are held back until the player beats the first batch and an extra mid-game boss. Finally, the game has the expected graphics upgrade one would expect from the newer, more powerful hardware -- the characters' sprites are universally larger and more detailed, shown off in an unusually heavy amount of cutscenes.
The story opens six months after Mega Man VI (NES), which ended with Dr. Wily finally being arrested. He'd foreseen such a possibility and previously prepared several backup Robot Masters to activate in the event of a prolonged absence, leading to them breaking him out of prison. Mega Man must once again stop Wily and his creations from causing havoc -- though he also encounters a mysterious new robot named Bass, who he figures could be an ally.
Screenshots
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The title screen.
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The intro cutscene.
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Quite a short stay in prison.
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The opening stage.
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You're limited to four Robot Masters at the start - beat them to start taking on the other half.
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Fighting through Freeze Man's level.
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Music
Mega Man VII's soundtrack expands upon the standards set by the previous installments while leveraging the more powerful sound hardware to its advantage. While some songs lean into more atmospheric territory (like the dreary-sounding "Dr. Wily Stage 1"), the game's music generally maintains a baseline cheeriness, befitting its overall colorful, not-especially-serious tone.
A prototype dumped in 2007 features early versions of four songs, as well as one not present in the final game at all. They have been placed at the bottom of the below track list.
Recording
All track names come from the Mega Man 7 Sound Collection.
| # |
Title |
Composer | Arranger |
Length |
Listen |
Download |
| 01 |
Opening 1 |
Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
1:26 |
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Download |
| 02 |
Opening 2 |
Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
0:33 |
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Download |
| 03 |
Title |
Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
0:14 |
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Download |
| 04 |
Password |
Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
0:32 |
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Download |
| 05 |
Opening Stage |
Makoto Tomozawa | Makoto Tomozawa |
1:51 |
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Download |
| 06 |
Helmet |
Manami Matsumae | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
0:02 |
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Download |
| 07 |
Bass's Theme |
Makoto Tomozawa | Makoto Tomozawa |
1:27 |
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Download |
| 08 |
Stage Select |
Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
0:43 |
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Download |
| 09 |
Game Start |
Manami Matsumae | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
0:06 |
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Download |
| 10 |
Freeze Man Stage |
Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
2:22 |
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Download |
| 11 |
Junk Man Stage |
Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
2:03 |
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Download |
| 12 |
Burst Man Stage |
Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
1:44 |
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Download |
| 13 |
Cloud Man Stage |
Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
3:35 |
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Download |
| 14 |
Museum |
Yasuaki Fujita, Manami Matsumae, Takashi Tateishi | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
3:03 |
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Download |
| 15 |
Spring Man Stage |
Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
1:51 |
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Download |
| 16 |
Slash Man Stage |
Yuko Takehara | Yuko Takehara |
1:39 |
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Download |
| 17 |
Shade Man Stage |
Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
2:09 |
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Download |
| 18 |
Turbo Man Stage |
Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
1:25 |
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Download |
| 19 |
Shade Man Stage Start (Secret) |
Ayako Mori | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
0:04 |
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Download |
| 20 |
Shade Man Stage (Secret) |
Ayako Mori | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
2:28 |
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Download |
| 21 |
Boss |
Makoto Tomozawa | Makoto Tomozawa |
1:43 |
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Download |
| 22 |
Stage Clear |
Takashi Tateishi | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
0:03 |
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Download |
| 23 |
Mega Man Family |
Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
0:40 |
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Download |
| 24 |
Get a Weapon |
Makoto Tomozawa | Makoto Tomozawa |
0:35 |
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Download |
| 25 |
Big Eddie's |
Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
0:35 |
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Download |
| 26 |
Proto Man's Theme |
Yasuaki Fujita | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
0:03 |
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Download |
| 27 |
Lab Attack |
Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
1:31 |
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Download |
| 28 |
Dr. Wily Stage Map |
Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
0:09 |
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Download |
| 29 |
Dr. Wily Stage 1 |
Makoto Tomozawa | Makoto Tomozawa |
2:16 |
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Download |
| 30 |
Dr. Wily Stage 2 |
Makoto Tomozawa | Makoto Tomozawa |
2:43 |
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Download |
| 31 |
Dr. Wily Stage 3 |
Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
2:02 |
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Download |
| 32 |
Dr. Wily Stage 4 |
Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
1:14 |
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Download |
| 33 |
Dr. Wily Stage Boss |
Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
1:07 |
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Download |
| 34 |
Last Boss |
Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
1:08 |
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Download |
| 35 |
All Stage Clear |
Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
0:05 |
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Download |
| 36 |
Staff Roll |
Makoto Tomozawa | Makoto Tomozawa |
2:07 |
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Download |
| 37 |
Unused Track |
Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
1:05 |
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Download |
| 38 |
Get a Weapon (Prototype) |
Makoto Tomozawa | Makoto Tomozawa |
0:35 |
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Download |
| 39 |
Proto Man's Theme (Prototype) |
Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama | Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama |
0:03 |
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Download |
| 40 |
Dr. Wily Stage 1 (Prototype) |
Makoto Tomozawa | Makoto Tomozawa |
2:16 |
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Download |
| 41 |
Dr. Wily Stage 2 (Prototype) |
Makoto Tomozawa | Makoto Tomozawa |
2:37 |
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Download |
Credits
- Rippers: Datschge (#1-5, #7-25, #28-36), YK (#6 & #26), and SonicPanda (#27)
- Recorder: Theand
- Game Credits:
(Sources: Credits - 1, 2; Chiptuned Rockman track list; Ippo Yamada's statements in a 2010 interview; record of two tweets by Makoto Tomozawa, circa 2011; Mega Man 7 Sound Collection description; VGMPF correspondence with Harumi Fujita)
The credits, shown after the game is beaten, do not distinguish what exactly each "sound composer" was responsible for. In a 2010 interview, Ippo Yamada explained:
“
If I remember correctly, for the music we had Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama, and Makoto Tomozawa, and the sound effects were handled by Tatsuya Nishimura, Hiroshi Shimada, Noriko Ando, Nariyuki Nobuyama, Atsushi Mori, and myself.
„
The Steam description for the official album Mega Man 7 Sound Collection further confirms the identities of the three composers, though it does not attribute any songs individually. Chiptuned Rockman, an earlier official album, does credit Takehara for "Slash Man Stage" in its track list, while Tomozawa mentioned the songs he was responsible for in a pair of now-deleted tweets. (A moderator of the VGMDB copied their text in a post on the site's forums, however.) It is assumed that they arranged their own compositions, as was commonplace at Capcom at the time.
Songs that were arranged from previous titles (most notably "Museum," a medley of "Gutsman Stage," "Heatman Stage," and "Snakeman Stage") are left uncredited within the game itself. Various official sources, as well as the composers themselves, have confirmed the identities of those responsible for the following soundtracks:
Albums
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2007-11-21
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2009-10-15
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2012-09-19
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2012-10-10
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2013-10-07
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2015-01-14
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2015-07-21
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2016-04-14
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2019-12-??
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2020-12-17
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2022-08-26
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Game Rip
Releases
Links
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