Game Boy Mega Man IV. First original Game Boy Robot Masters (not from NES), new item system via Eddie's shop. Polished presentation, smooth scrolling, fair balancing. An excellent portable Mega Man, almost on par with Mega Man V. A real gem for franchise fans to discover.
Your verdict
Category
Action1 player7+
Description
Fourth Game Boy Mega Man with original Robot Masters not from NES episodes and a new item system. Published by Capcom, released in 1993 in Europe and North America. Six new Dr. Wily Robot Masters, item shop with Mega Man's P-Chips, new weapons, and original levels.
Mega Man IV review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
The instalment juxtaposes two generations of opponents, those carried over from the home versions and those created for the occasion, and the artwork has to make them coexist without a break of style: the carried-over silhouettes are redrawn at the same scale, with the same number of values, so that none looks imported. The late-game settings leave the factories for darker interiors.
The score stands out for mobile bass lines that act as a rhythmic engine in the absence of real drums, the noise channel being reserved for impacts. The themes of the carried-over opponents are rewritten rather than transposed, so you recognise an intention without hearing a quotation, and the final piece slows down where the genre usually speeds up.
US NTSC version of Mega Man IV on Game Boy, by Capcom and far more widely distributed in North America than on other markets. The fourth chapter of the handheld sub series, it arrived late on the monochrome platform as attention was already swinging toward 32 bit machines, making it an end of cycle run. Mega Man completists hunt it to close the Game Boy line, and a complete US copy in a clean cardboard box proves less easy to assemble than a console entry.
Memorable bosses
More ambitious, the fourth portable installment offers Robot Masters mixed across two generations and a memorable duel against Ballade, whose shots burst in a cross. Item shopping and varied weapons enrich the run-up to each fight. Polished staging and better-judged difficulty make it one of the series' peaks on the console.
Is Mega Man IV still worth playing in 2026?
The first Game Boy Mega Man to feature original Robot Masters rather than recycle NES ones, this fourth portable entry finds its own identity. Eddie's item shop adds a welcome strategic layer, the presentation outshines earlier outings and the scrolling stays smooth. The difficulty is better calibrated, which makes the experience friendlier for anyone trying the portable line for the first time. Without quite matching V, it remains an excellent Mega Man and still a fine pick today for fans of precise 2D action platforming.
