| This page is about the original Roll. For others, see Roll Caskett or Roll.EXE. |
Roll (ロール Rōru) is a kind-hearted humanoid robot created by Dr. Light to be a house keeper, helping around Dr. Light's Laboratory by cleaning and cooking. She is the "little sister" of Mega Man and Proto Man. Her dream is to one day open a hospital and help people.[1][2]
Roll is one of the few female characters in the original Mega Man series, and the only female humanoid robot until Plum and Splash Woman were introduced into the series. In spite of her minor roles in the games, Roll is perhaps one of the most special and well-known characters in the entire Mega Man series, and remains a fan-favorite to many. She is especially well-known as the first female character ever in the Mega Man universe. She is also special in a sense that she, with her counterparts Roll.EXE and Roll Caskett and appearances in other media, combined, has made the most appearances of any supporting character in the Mega Man series as a whole.
Appearances
- Mega Man, Mega Man 3 and Mega Man 4: Roll has a small appearance in the ending of these three games, and is mentioned in the opening scene of Mega Man 4.
- Mega Man V: Roll appears in the opening scene.
- Mega Man 7: She appears in the opening and ending scenes of the game, and will also appear randomly in the get weapon description in the Japanese version.[3]
Roll's appearance in Mega Man 8.
- Mega Man 8: She exchanges gadgets in Dr. Light's Lab for Mega Man to use for the right prices of bolts. She appears in the opening scene, and in the intro she interrupts the battle between Mega Man and Bass via a hovering vehicle to head a distress signal by Dr. Light. In the ending scene, Roll hugs Mega Man, happy that he is alright.
- Mega Man & Bass: She uses a communicator to give tips on the stage and CD locations for the player. Roll also makes an appearance in Mega Man's ending, giving King's letter of an apology to Mega Man.
- Mega Man 9: She appears in the opening and ending scenes, and with Auto in cutscenes during the game and the shop screen.
- Mega Man 10: She is a victim of the "Roboenza" virus which had caught on throughout the robotic world. Consequently, Roll remains sick throughout the events of the entire game. Mega Man himself later catches the disease and the medicine-making machine is stolen by Dr. Wily. Roll, in an effort to save Mega Man's life, then gives him her medicine which she had saved telling him that he is the only one who could stop Wily. Her fate has yet to be confirmed, though it is likely that she was cured along with the other infected robots.
- Rockman and Forte: Mirai Kara no Chousensha: She appears in the ending of the game. She is also the shopkeeper in Bass' story.
- Mega Man: The Power Battle: She appears in Mega Man's ending.
- Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters: Roll was kidnapped by Dr. Wily's robots and the player(s) must rescue her. After defeating a certain boss in the "Rescue Roll!" chapter, Roll will be rescued and she, to show her thanks for being saved, will give the player(s) the new parts that she stole from the Wily robot which will upgrade the energy of their Special Weapons. Upon the destruction of Wily's fortress, Roll can be seen flying on top of the Rush Jet in the left before each character ending, possibly signifying her rescue, and she supports Mega Man in his ending.
- RockBoard: Roll appears as a playable character for the first time. Her goal is to build a hospital to help all the sick and injured people in the world.[1]
- Mega Man's Soccer: She appears in the opening scene and shortly carrying a banner with Kalinka that says "congartulations" (congratulation's misspelled) in Tournament Mode.
- Mega Man: Battle & Chase: Roll is a playable character. At first she only wanted to encourage Mega Man, but decided to participate in the Battle & Chase contest. In her ending she loses the prize money while saving a dog's life from a possible fate of being roadkilled. If Roll wins the Battle & Chase competition without losing a single race, a karaoke of her theme song will appear after her ending scene in the Japanese version.[4]
- Super Adventure Rockman: Roll was affected by the electromagnetic field from Lanfront Ruins, and will shut down if Mega Man can't stop Dr. Wily and his 16 revived Robot Masters from Mega Man 2 and Mega Man 3.
- Mega Man Powered Up: Roll is a playable character as a download. She also appears a lot more often than she did in the original Mega Man on the NES, as she appears in every New Style Story of every playable character (Including Proto Man), can be seen in the stage select screen of either the Old or New Style modes, and she appears as the host for the Construction Mode of the game, even going as far to give tutorials for first-time players who are constructing their own levels. When playing as Roll, one can battle the Copy Robot using her form, this being the closest she has come to being a boss in a classic-style game. Roll also has several downloadable clothes.
- Roll appears as a navigator in the Navi Mode for Mega Man 2 of Mega Man: Anniversary Collection and Rockman Complete Works.
Other appearances
Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes
Roll appears as the only unique unlockable character in the game in that she is not a palette swap. She is considered to be a "joke character" , as she has the same attacks as Mega Man but weaker and with a longer startup time as she has to summon whatever weapon she uses to attack. On the plus side, Roll has the smallest sprite in the game, making her somewhat hard to hit, and allows her to avoid some attacks from tall characters by simply crouching. She also appeared in its sequel, Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes. Due to her dress, she can hover, having a great chance of dodging attacks that are a little too high. Also, due to her short legs, she is one of the slowest characters and can dodge high and some medium attacks.
Attacks
- Roll Buster - Roll's main weapon in this game, the Roll Buster is a gag weapon that Roll takes out from inside her shoe, places on her arm, and fires a large burst of energy from it before putting it back. It functions similarly to Mega Man's Strong Punch attack (firing a Mega Buster shot), but the blast is slightly bigger and has slightly stronger knockback; however it cannot be charged.
- Exploding Bouquet - Roll pulls out a bomb disguised as a bouquet of flowers and tosses it at an arc. Should it make contact with an enemy or the ground, the flowers will explode, making them reasonably useful as an anti-air attack.
- Weapon Change - Similar to Mega Man, Roll summons Eddie, who will then drop a weapon for Roll to use. These include Tornado Hold, Leaf Shield and Mega Ball.
- Rush Drill - Rush transforms into a drilling vehicle and Roll pilots him for a short period.
- Beat Plane - Beat transforms into a plane and Roll pilots him for a short period.
- Hyper Roll - Roll combines with Rush, Eddie and Beat and transforms into a large form that attacks with several weapons, firing beams from her antennae, missiles from her breasts, Beat-shaped energy projectiles from her abdomen, and energy projectiles shaped like Rush and Eddie from the legs.
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom
Roll as she appears in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes
Roll appears as a playable character in both versions of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes and Ultimate All-Stars. She attacks with a broom and bucket, using said broomstick like a pole weapon (i.e., a Bō staff). Unlike Marvel vs. Capcom, Roll has a new and more evenly balanced gameplay move list (instead of copying Mega Man's move list like in Marvel vs. Capcom), an excellent character assist, very unique and helpful Super Moves (including one where she recovers health) and above-decent fighting capabilities. Because of this, Roll's status as a fighter has been upgraded compared to her initial fighting appearances in the Marvel vs. Capcom series. She appears in three endings:
- Roll's ending: In Cross Generation of Heroes, Roll finds Huitzil from Darkstalkers and Vector from Star Gladiator in an abandoned factory and reprograms the initially heartless and destructive robots into caring and loving individuals who not only assisted Dr. Light, but also displayed newfound friendliness towards human children. In Ultimate All-Stars, after defeating Yami, Roll had fallen in an abandoned factory thanks to Yami's destruction, where she finds Huitzil and Vector still in construction and reprograms the destructive robots into caring individuals. One week later, they are seen wearing domestic uniforms and working for Roll, helping in her chores.
- Tekkaman's ending: In Cross Generation of Heroes, Roll, along with Gold Lightan from Golden Warrior Gold Lightan and the PTX-40A from Lost Planet Extreme Condition, helps Tekkaman destroy an evil being engulfed in flames in outer space by weakening it with an energy staff, whereupon Tekkaman fires a powerful laser beam to destroy him immediately afterward. In Ultimate All-Stars, the evil being is revealed to be Pyron (mistranslated "Pylon" in the game) from Darkstalkers, and Tekkaman is also assisted by Zero and Tekkaman Blade.
- Yatterman-1's ending: In Cross Generation of Heroes, Roll is a member of a masked superhero team, consisting of herself, Mega Man Volnutt, Ryu, Chun Li, and Alex from Street Fighter, Soki from Onimusha, and Morrigan from Darkstalkers, along with Yatterman-1 as their leader, which appear to stop Doronjo, Boyacky, and Tonzura from robbing a bank. In Ultimate All-Stars, Roll, Soki and Morrigan aren't present in his ending.
Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3
Roll appears as a collectable card in the free DLC Mode, Heroes and Heralds alongside, Mega Man, X, Dr. Wily, and Vile. Her primary and secondary abilities are granting the user the ability to automatically fill up the Hyper Combo Gauge by simply crouching.
Street Fighter X Tekken
Roll in SFxT
Roll appears in Street Fighter X Tekken. Her appearance is altered to match that of Bad Box Art Mega Man's, and as such, is often nicknamed Bad Box Art Roll. She also shares some of Roll Caskett's personality traits.
Other games
- Roll appears as a card in two of the three SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters games.
- Roll has a cameo appearance in the background of the Running Battle mode from Super Gem Fighter: Mini Mix.
- Roll is one of the characters present in the Japanese mobile phone game Capcom Girl no Mind Puzzle.
- Roll would appear in the cancelled game Rockman Online.
- Roll would appear in the cancelled game Mega Man Universe.
Data
Mega Man: Battle & Chase
| ||
| Vehicle | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pop 'n Beat (ポップンビート) | ||
| Game description | ||
| For beginners. Jump and Spin Attack are available. | ||
| Maximum speed | ||
| 440 km/h (1st place on normal roads) 488 km/h (2nd place or lower on normal roads) | ||
| Parts | Game description | |
| Body | Beat Body | Has the ability to jump and spin attack. This is controllable in the air. |
| Engine | Follow Engine | The maximum speed automatically increases when you are behind. |
| Wing | Feather Wing | A wing that enhances your handling ability. |
| Tire | Non-drift Tire | Same performance is available both on-road and off-road. Drifting is not possible with these tires. |
Mega Man & Bass CD data
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| ||
Rockman Battle & Fighters data
かていようおてつだいロボットで、ロックマンのいもうとにあたる。
おそうじとおりょうりがとくいなこころやさしいおんなのこ。
Translation: House keeping robot, Rockman's younger sister. A kind-hearted girl good at cleaning and cooking.
Other media
Mega Man
Roll from the cartoon show.
Roll is one of the main characters in Ruby-Spears' Mega Man animated series, appearing in all episodes. She was created as a teenager in the cartoon, and her arm can transform into several home appliances, which she can use for combat. According to the first episode, she apparently adapted these attachments as weaponry herself, whilst Doctor Light was modifying Rock into Mega Man. Although usually below par in combat compared to Wily's robots, she would often fight alongside Mega Man, often defeating Robot Masters on her own. She is voiced by Robyn Ross, though in one first season episode, Kathleen Barr provided it.
Mega Man: Upon a Star
In the OVA Mega Man: Upon a Star, Roll tries to stop Dr. Wily from stealing Dr. Light's time machine in episode 2, and is taken hostage. She is later rescued by Mega Man. In episode 3, Roll tries to help Mega Man in the battle against Dr. Wily.
Captain N: The Game Master
Mega Girl from Captain N: The Game Master.
In the cartoon Captain N: The Game Master, there is a character called Mega Girl that is believed to be the series' version of Roll. Her appearance is similar to Mega Man, except that she has long hair and her armor has different colors.
Mega Man Megamix
Roll is a recurring character in the manga. She is shown to be obsessed with cleaning, even to the point where she kicks Dr. Light out of his own office just to clean it.
When Dr. Cossack was kidnapped by Skull Man and Roll heard from Ring Man that Dr. Cossack's Citadel was attacked, she went with Mega Man to the citadel to see if Kalinka was alright. Roll and Kalinka are later kidnapped by Skull Man and taken to a cave in a snowfield. After some time a snowstorm starts and Kalinka gradually gets cold, and Roll overheats herself to keep Kalinka warm. When Skull Man is defeated, he reveals where he hid Roll and Kalinka, and they are rescued.
Mega Man Archie Comics
Roll appeared in the Archie Comics' Mega Man series. During the first story arc, Mega Man 1: Let the Games Begin!, she helped, alongside Rock, Dr. Light prepare for his speech. At one point when Dr. Light was aiding Rock, going by the name Mega Man, locate Bomb Man, she overheard Dr. Light's exclamation of Blues when he saw a Sniper Joe, and inquired Dr. Light as to who Blues was, although Dr. Light said it was unimportant at the moment. When Mega Man became despondent upon having to defeat Bomb Man and Guts Man, Roll contacted Mega Man during his battle with Cut Man, and told him he was helping the world, not hurting it, and that sacrificing everything for it is a good thing, not a bad thing. Roll eventually witnessed Mega Man get out of control and ran out crying. This eventually got Mega Man to vow not to resort to his special weapons unless absolutely necessary, due to guilt. Roll eventually aided in repairing and reenergizing the Robot Masters when Mega Man successfully stopped Dr. Wily.
In the second story arc, Mega Man 2: Time Keeps Slipping, Roll aided in the cleanup effort of the city, although she expressed some annoyance at Mega Man and the other Robot Masters making a bigger mess. She later got into a bigger argument when an accident occurred at a quarry. Roll then went grocery shopping and returned to Light Labs, only to end up abducted by Oil Man, the latter also leaving a note behind demanding that they either not interfere in Wily's escape or else Wily will dismantle Roll. Roll upon arrival at Wily's hideout requested to know who Oil Man and Time Man were, to which he explained they were "powered up" Robot Masters developed and discontinued by Dr. Light. Roll then apologized to Mega Man about getting the other 6 Robot Masters reprogrammed again, citing Oil Man's ambush of her. Krantz eventually rescues her, and she reminds Mega Man about Wily still being nearby. Afterwards, Light embraced Rock and Roll. She alongside the rest of Light Labs eventually ended up ambushed by Quick Man. Roll later took over for Dr. Light alongside Auto when Light became suspicious that Wily may have encoded a virus into the Robot Master's programming to target Mega Man should he use his variable weapons system.
In the fourth story arc, Mega Man 4: Spiritus Ex Machina, Roll joined Rock, Elec Man, and Dr. Light for the ARTS show, where they were to act as exhibits. Roll, while having fun exploring, accidentially bumped into Dr. Cossack's daughter, Kalinka, with Pharaoh Man getting angry at Roll, although Cossack quelled the potential argument. She later went into hiding alongside Kalinka when the terrorist group Emerald Spears attacked the ARTS show.
Other appearances
Roll appears in Shigeto Ikehara's Rockman manga series, in the manga Rockman 8, Rockman & Forte, Rockman 10 -Extra F-, Rockman 4Koma Dai Koushin, Rockman Battle & Chase, in Archie Comics' Mega Man comic series, the Dreamwave Mega Man comic series, and in Novas Aventuras de Megaman.
Gallery
Artwork
Trivia
- She was named to match her counterpart's name ("Rock" 'n' "Roll"). Rockman being Mega Man's Japanese name.
- In Mega Man 1 to 7, Roll wears a simple red dress, but in Mega Man 8, Mega Man & Bass, and Mega Man: Battle & Chase, her visual was changed, making her look a bit older. In Mega Man 9, she's back in her red dress, though for the cost of 200 screws, her dress can be changed into the one seen in Mega Man 8, and is one of her alternative costumes in Mega Man: Powered Up.
- According to a 1999 interview with Keiji Inafune, Roll was originally intended to be playable alongside Mega Man in Mega Man 2, but the decision was made to not change the formula carried over from the first game. This was because they felt that the game wouldn't have worked as well with a co-op two player mode, and because the executives at Capcom didn't want to promote a game starring a girl when at that time they felt that their home console audience was made primarily of boys. In later games, she appears as a playable character, having a Roll Buster in some depictions, and she made it as an unlockable playable character in one of the Japanese mobile phone versions of the first Mega Man game.[Citation needed]
Kaze yo Tsutaete karaoke in Mega Man: Battle & Chase.
- Roll's music theme is Where The Wind Blows, known in Japan as Kaze yo Tsutaete (風よ伝えて, roughly "Bequeath the Wind"). The song first appeared in the 1997 game Mega Man: Battle & Chase, and is also featured in Marvel vs. Capcom, the Rockman Complete Works version of Mega Man 6, and the two versions of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, and the soundtrack Chiptuned Rockman has a remixed version of the music. The song was translated to English in the 2010 game Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars.
- In the Rockman Battle & Chase manga, Roll appears to have a crush on Bass. Bass uses this to bother Mega Man, but Bass has no real interest in Roll whatsoever.
- In Mega Man Powered Up, Roll is hinted to have a crush on Mega Man, as Copy Roll makes note of this, using it to intimidate the original. She also implies it herself in her "Valentine Roll" description. This may just be fan-service, however, as it only appeared in Powered Up. Interestingly, they are also depicted as an item in some mobile games. Which is strange because in the original series, they are supposed to be siblings. However, their relationship is entirely interpretative.
- This thought is carried on for Mega Man Volnutt and Roll Caskett from the Mega Man Legends series, as well as MegaMan.EXE and Roll.EXE from the Mega Man Battle Network series. While the original Rock and Roll may not have a clear relationship, their other iterations show a much more visible connection between the two.
- In the song "Don't Mess with Magnet Man" by The Megas, Magnet Man is in love with Roll, but Mega Man doesn't approve of their supposed relationship.
See also
References