Mega Man: Dual Override Proto Man Play Report + New Screenshots

Tokyo Game Show is underway, and select Japanese press got to go hands-on with Proto Man in Twinkle Girl's stage. While it's unclear if he'll be playable in the public show floor demo, these press sessions offered a much deeper look at how he plays.

As previously revealed, Proto Man trades Mega Man’s more "balanced" playstyle for close-range offense. His Proto Buster has shorter range, but hits harder, while the Proto Shield gives him access to several different attacks depending on directional input:

• Neutral input + Shield Attack = throws the shield forward.

• Hold toward the direction Proto Man is facing + Shield Attack = charging Shield Attack

• Hold up + Shield Attack = upward/uppercut-style attack
  
  

Shield Attacks draw from a gauge unique to Proto Man that appears beneath his HP. You can manually speed up that recovery by venting heat with the left trigger, but doing so leaves Proto Man vulnerable for a moment.

GAME Watch highlights the Shield Attack as both an offensive and movement tool. Proto Man can use it to barrel through tougher enemies, cross gaps and close the distance on airborne targets. The move reportedly has very little recovery time, making it useful against bosses as well.

His charged attacks are a little different too. Proto Man can unleash either a short-range blast or a wider blade attack, once again pushing him toward a much more aggressive, up-close playstyle.

And, of course, he has his own Override form. Capcom, for whatever reason, is being pretty secretive about what it actually looks like. But if you look at the upper-left corner of these screenshots, the Override icon gives us a small glimpse at the design.

Activating Proto Man's Override temporarily powers up all of his abilities, but once it ends, he suffers drawbacks. In Proto Man’s case, his shield can overheat and become unusable for a short period.

Overall, GAME Watch came away impressed with how different Proto Man feels from Mega Man. Rather than juggling Special Weapons, Proto Man relies on a smaller set of stronger abilities built around mobility, pressure and close-range combat. Between the two characters, he definitely sounds like the more technical.