Hard Knuckle

Hard Knuckle (ハードナックル) is Hard Man's Special Weapon. When utilized, there is a short delay before the knuckle starts moving forward. It is somewhat slow, but has great strength. Mega Man can slightly guide the knuckle up or down once it is moving. It does moderate damage to Spark Man and Shadow Man. Hard Knuckle can also be used to break through Destructible Blocks in Mega Man 3 and Mega Man: The Wily Wars.

Damage Data Chart
Damage values in units in Mega Man 3.


 * For Kamegoro Maker, a certain amount of damage will be taken from the health meter for each of the five Kamegoros produced, regardless of which weapon the player uses against them. Each Kamegoro has 3 health.

Capacity
In Mega Man 3 and Mega Man II, one Hard Knuckle uses 2 weapon energy units. It can't be used if only one unit is left. With a full weapon energy gauge, it can be used 14 times in Mega Man 3 and 9 times in Mega Man II.

Bosses weak against Hard Knuckle

 * Mega Man 3: Top Man, Doc Robot (Metal Man, Crash Man and Wood Man), Yellow Devil MK-II, Hard Man (2nd Encounter), Wily Machine, Gamma (1st Form)
 * Mega Man II: Top Man, Quint
 * Mega Man: The Wily Wars: Buster Rod. G, Wily Machine (2nd Form)
 * Super Adventure Rockman: Top Man

Bosses immune to Hard Knuckle

 * Mega Man 3: Needle Man, Doc Robot (Flash Man), Gamma (2nd Form)
 * Mega Man II: Needle Man, Wily Machine

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U
The Hard Knuckle is used by Mega Man in the fighting game, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, as his down air attack. Mega Man fires the Hard Knuckle directly below him. If the opponent gets hit by the attack from the sides, the move inflicts 12% damage and it is sent flying to the side they were hit. However, if the opponent gets hit by the bottom part of the attack, it inflicts 14% damage and functions like a Meteor Smash, knocking it in midair straight down upon contact. This can be deadly if an opponent finds itself in the air without a platform below it, as it can be sent straight down and get KO'd by the attack.

Other media
Mega Man uses Hard Knuckle in episode 25 of the Mega Man animated series. After defeating Hard Man by blowing him up from the inside with a Mega Buster shot, Mega Man copies the Hard Knuckle from him, utilising it to knock Proto Man off a rock he was standing on to fire at the heroes.

It also appears in episode 32 of Captain N: The Game Master, where he uses the Hard Knuckle to defeat Top Man.