Capcom's Mega Man series was one of the best and most formative action franchises of the NES era, and it has inspired countless spin-offs and imitators. The original series still holds up for fans of old-school challenge, and some of the newer games have honored that legacy with their own twists. Mega Man has been mostly dormant lately, but the series is still easily accessible on modern platforms through the Mega Man Legacy Collection games and the (relatively) recent Mega Man 11. We decided to rank the entire mainline series. Read on to find out our pick for the best Mega Man game.

For more franchise rankings, check out our lists of the best Mario games, best Zelda games, and best Castlevania games. For Nintendo Switch game suggestions, we have roundups of the best Nintendo Switch games and best Switch games for kids.

11. Mega Man 10

Mega Man 10 was far from a bad game, but following shortly after the similar retro-revival Mega Man 9 made it feel less vital than it might have otherwise. That game had already done almost everything MM10 set out to do, with a classic NES-inspired visual style applied to an all-new set of Robot Masters. This game did have its unique charms though, like a playable Proto Man and later a playable Bass available as DLC. These characters weren't a huge departure from Mega Man, but it was a nice treat for longtime fans.