Middle Stage

Middle Stage (中間ステージ), also known as Special Stage (特殊ステージ), is a stage in the Mega Man franchise that is played in the middle of the game, usually after defeating half of the bosses in the Stage Select Screen or a set of four bosses. Middle Stages were introduced in Mega Man III.

Mega Man 7
The Museum Stage (博物館ステージ) is a robot museum attacked by Dr. Wily. Its boss is Mash. Snake Man, Blizzard Man, Pharaoh Man, Heat Man, and Flame Man are Robot Masters seen in the level, Guts Man, Ring Man, and Skull Man are seen in the boss room, and Metalls, Brain Breaks, and a Camon are seen at the very start.

Mega Man 8
The Middle Stage is an area near the Wily Tower found by Mega Man when he followed the recently awakened Duo. This level has two Bolts, and, in the Sega Saturn version, Cut Man is a secret miniboss here.

Mega Man III
After defeating four Robot Masters, Mega Man invades the Wily Castle and fights against a Giant Suzy. Appearing Blocks and Drop Platforms are found here.

Mega Man IV
After the defeat of four Robot Masters, Mega Man follows Dr. Wily to his Wily Station and fights against Ballade.

Mega Man V
After defeating four Stardroids, Mega Man goes to an area where Terra sends Dark Moon to fight against him.

Mega Man X4
The Memorial Hall Stage is a small area where X fights against Colonel. The stage is replaced by a cutscene when playing as Zero.

Mega Man X5
The Hunter Base is where X or Zero fight against Dynamo.

Others
Similar to Middle Stages, the Mega Man Zero and Mega Man ZX series feature one or more missions that are usually played between a set of four missions:


 * Mega Man Zero - Zero must stop Hittite Hottide before it reaches the Resistance Base.
 * Mega Man Zero 2 - After completing the four missions given by Elpizo, Zero rescues Elpizo from his failed Operation Righteous Strike and stops Kuwagust Anchus.
 * Mega Man Zero 3 - After defeating four of the Eight Gentle Judges, a set of three stages followed by a battle against Copy X MK-II occur before the other half of the Eight Gentle Judges.
 * Mega Man Zero 4 - After defeating four of the Einherjar Eight Warriors, Zero has to stop a Neo Arcadian attack in Area Zero and rescue Neige.
 * Mega Man ZX - After the defeat of four Pseudoroids, the Guardian HQ is attacked by Prometheus and Pandora.