Roll (Mega Man)

Roll (Japanese: ロール, Hepburn: Rooru) is a fictional gynoid in the Mega Man video game series and its spin-offs. A housekeeper robot who acts as a little sister to Mega Man, she was built by the genius scientist Dr. Thomas Light, and parallels Astro Boy's Uran. Her name forms a "rock and roll" pun with Rockman, who is called Mega Man in Western territories.[1]

Roll
Mega Man character
Roll as depicted in Mega Man 11
First appearanceMega Man
Last appearanceMega Man 11
Created byKeiji Inafune
Japanese voice actressesHiroko Konishi (1996-1997)
Konami Yoshida (1997-present)
Kaoru Fujino (Marvel vs. Capcom series)
Yoshimi Ninomiya (MMPU)
Hiromi Igarashi (Tastunoko vs. Capcom)
Yuka Iguchi (MM11)
English voice actressesKathleen Barr (Ruby-Spears cartoon)
Michelle Gazepis (MM8)
Angie Beers (MMPU)
Michele Knotz (Street Fighter X Tekken)
Erica Lindbeck (MM11)
In-universe information
Full nameDLN-002 Roll
WeaponRoll Buster
Roll Swing
FamilyDr. Thomas Light (creator)
Mega Man (brother)
Proto Man (brother)
Mega Man X (brother)

In the original series, Roll is a supporting character who operates in-game shops and was not designed for combat. However, she has been depicted with more agency in various spin-off titles,[1] such as in Mega Man NT Warrior, where Roll.EXE has a teenage appearance and is MegaMan.EXE's girlfriend, and in Mega Man Legends, where she is the female lead, Roll Caskett.

Her prominence in the series has increased over time, with the remake Mega Man Powered Up making her a playable character.[2] Fans have also frequently modified previous games in the series to insert her as the main character.[3]

Characteristics

In the original Mega Man series, Roll appears as a young, blonde girl wearing a red dress, a ponytail with green ribbons and red Mary Janes. She is the third robot created by Dr. Light, built as his assistant, mainly for housework.

Her appearance and dress were altered slightly in Mega Man 8, giving her an older appearance, though they later returned to normal.[1] Her official design was modified again in Mega Man 11, adding a white hoodie to her dress, though it more heavily resembles the original.

History

Classic Mega Man

Roll first appears very briefly during the ending of the very first game of the series. Because so, her name was never mentioned until Mega Man 3, where her entry in Dr. Light's robot list is shown during the ending.[1] She only had a minor role in games for most of the NES era, but began showing up more often after Mega Man 7.[1]

Spin-off games

Roll appears in the Mega Man Legends series as Roll Caskett, a mechanic known in-universe as a Spotter, and the adopted sister of Mega Man Volnutt.[4]

In the fighting games Marvel vs. Capcom and Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Roll is a playable character, although she is considered a "joke" character due to her lackluster defenses and fighting abilities.[3]

She is also a playable character in Mega Man Powered Up.[3] Three different versions of Roll are playable,[2] including one with her Mega Man 8 attire. Her skill, the Roll Swing, allows her to use a close range weapon, with a broom being the default.

In the cancelled Mega Man Universe, Roll was intended to two additional sisters that would oversee each of the game's modes, named "Glasses" and "Met".[5]

Roll was added to the mobile game Mega Man X DiVE as a playable character, where she uses her broom to attack and has the assistance of the robotic character Eddie to provide her with bombs or restore her health.[6]

Cartoons, anime and manga

In the American Mega Man cartoon by Ruby Spears, Roll's appearance was changed considerably: she became a tall teenage girl with more mature features, wore a beige-and-red jumpsuit and had a special arm cannon that could turn into various household machines such as a vacuum cleaner or a toaster. In this Americanized version, Roll became a more strong-headed girl who assisted Mega Man and who wanted more of her touch in action. In this series, Roll was voiced by Kathleen Barr.

Roll is one of the Net Navis in MegaMan NT Warrior. In this depiction of Roll, known as Roll.EXE, she is a kind-hearted Net Navi and supports MegaMan and his allies. They are also depicted as having a romantic relationship.

In the American cartoon Captain N: The Game Master, Roll is not referred to by name, but her representation in the show is named "Mega Girl", a female version of Mega Man who was offered to him as a present from Dr. Light (referred to as Dr. Wright in the show) for his birthday. Mega Girl looks like Mega Man, except girlish, with blonde hair and dressed in pink and white. The two don't seem to share any sort of relationship outside of being close friends.

Development

In an interview with members of the development team for Mega Man, they stated that Roll was originally slated as a damsel in distress that Mega Man needed to rescue. They also planned to add a giant, laser-firing version of Roll as one of the game's final bosses, although this was later cut from the game.[7]

Merchandise

A Nendoroid of Roll was released by Good Smile in 2018,[8] and a 4Inch-Nel figure of Roll Caskett was released by Sentinel in 2019.[9]

Reception

Roll has proved popular amongst fans, who have created various Mega Man ROM hacks and fangames to place her in the main role as a female counterpart to Mega Man. Roll Chan Evolution was created in 2014 as an edit to the original Mega Man, giving her an arm cannon that shoots hearts.[10] In 2017, a sprite hack for all five Game Boy Mega Man games was released that replaced Mega Man with Roll and Rush with Tango the Cat. The hacks used custom sprite work and also added minor gameplay improvements.[3] Roll was also added to the fangame Mega Man Perfect Blue as a playable character, using her broom to attack.[11]

References
  1. Kalata, Kurt (2017-10-09). "Mega Man (Series Introduction) – Hardcore Gaming 101". Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  2. Parish, Jeremy (2017-12-16). "Ranking the core Mega Man games". Polygon. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  3. "Play as Roll in this Mega Man Game Boy mod". Destructoid. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  4. Muncy, Julie (2015-09-29). "Finally, You Can Play Mega Man Legends Again". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  5. "Mega Man Universe's Roll Was Supposed To Have Two Sisters Created By Dr. Light". Siliconera. 2019-10-20. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  6. "Classic Mega Man Characters Cross Over Into Mega Man X DiVE". Siliconera. 2020-05-20. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  7. #20 (2012-12-28). "Think About Your Troubles". The Reploid Research Lavatory. Retrieved 2020-10-19.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. "Good Smile releases images of Mega Man's Roll Nendoroid". Nintendo Wire. 2018-01-30. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  9. Wong, Alistair (2019-02-10). "Amaterasu From Okami And Falcon Armor X Are Getting New Figures". Siliconera. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  10. "Roll Chan Evolution Is The Closest Thing We Got To A New Mega Man Game In 2013". Siliconera. 2014-01-01. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  11. Friscia, John (2020-04-02). "Mega Man Perfect Blue looks like a super legit new fan game". Nintendo Enthusiast. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
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