9. Robot Master Design Contest
The Robot Masters in the first Mega Man were all created by Inafune and his team, but in the games following, Capcom held contests and chose designs submitted by fans to become new Robot Masters. They would take the designs and tweak them slightly to fit into the Mega Man world, naming their creators in the game's final credits. Mega Man VI was the only game where Americans won the contest. This was because Capcom had no intention to release Mega Man VI for the NES due to the release of the Super Nintendo. They decided that they wanted to concentrate on Mega Man X. This could also explain why VI's antagonist is originally named "Mr. X". Instead, Nintendo released Mega Man VI, opening the Robot Master contest to Americans via Nintendo Power. Americans won two slots with Knight Man (Daniel Vallie) and Wind Man (Michael Leader). The North American cover of the game pays homage to the two designers by featuring their Robot Masters on it. As an interesting note, check out the box and cartridge for Mega Man VI: there is no mention of Capcom on the covers.