Importance of Childhood

A more subtle theme to the Mega Man series, one theme that can be interpreted throughout is the need for youth and childhood, and the need for it to foster growth and development. This ultimately ties into Mega Man's themes of the creation of fully automated and alive entities through robotics, but at the cost of allowing them self awareness and the room to make errors and mistakes to learn from them in the face of life's unpredicabilities and imperfections.

Mega Man
Perhaps the series that carries this theme the strongest, the Classic series bears this with the contrast of Mega Man against the Robot Masters. Originally made as a robot boy named Rock, Rock was apparently given a semblance of normal life with his robot sister Roll, and his creator, Doctor Thomas Light. Though created in mind as an assistant, Light appears to not have created Rock with the full intention of being a full time servant, with some hints that Rock and Roll were made also for accompaniment as a family with Auto, Rush, Beat, Tango, and Eddie. Able to face more complexities and scenarios in the wake of everyday life, Rock was able to learn much more about the world and its intricacies, and this would likely contribute into how he would want to make the conscious decision to become Mega Man.

The Robot Masters hold not just elements of specialized elite androids built for specific purposes, but to the ideas of superheroes and supervillains who have been bestowed naturally tremendous powers at birth, and career lines set upon adulthood. Due to their specialized natures, they have tremendous and unique powers and abilities, but being made simply for specific duties, and despite their own personalities, have not experienced life akin to humans, and in turn are not able to make complex moral decisions like Rock, which showcases the line that separates Mega Man's advanced nature and complexities that allow him to act more like a human. This lack of complex human emotion is also what allows villains like Dr. Wily to be able to manipulate them through their sense of duty, and deems them disposable without consequence upon retirement to humans.

What could be taken out of this, is the aesop and the lesson that a man is not born; he is made, and that it is okay for humans to keep child like sense of wonder and curiosity in the face of a world where stringent need to become adult units and obedient workers, along with the extreme demand to bear youth yet act like adults is the standard. Mega Man does not entirely rely on his Mega Buster to simply solve his problems; he learns to maneuver, call up help, and uses the Special Weapons he gains from other Robot Masters to fight his way through. One lesson out of this is that it is good to learn about the world and to be skillful in as many things as much as one can, essentially.

Mega Man X
Going into the topic where robots gain full cognizance and sentience as their own beings, X contrasts heavily against his descendants, specifically those who have become Maverick, and shows a more extreme scenario in which development does not factor into a Reploid's growth cycle. X was essentially given a "life" through his 30 year trial in stasis, allowing him to freely make errors and mistakes, but without consequence to the world at large, and he was able to learn from these mistakes. From this, X developed a deep sense of right and wrong, and with a moral core to keep true to in extreme situations.

Reploids and Mechanilroids on the other hand, are instantaneously put out into the world upon completion and activation- They are expected to act as they are told, and to simply use their self awareness and sentience to perform the tasks given to them flawlessly and without question. This essentially leads Reploids' faculties as living beings to be underdeveloped, causing them to pent up anxieties and frustrations, and for some, to lash out without understanding their emotions nor having constructive means to vent and, without moral consideration and guidance, turning to reckless behaviors, be it engaging in illegal activities or express themselves in destructive manners irrespective of the consequences. Due to the expectations demanded of them by humans, they are deemed Maverick and defective, rather than people, and are put down without objection if they showcase anything less than dutiful behavior.

The Mega Man X series could then perhaps be a metaphor for adolescence; if the Classic series can be considered childhood, then the X series could definitely be considered as the "teenage years" of the series, in which the scenarios and consequences are more extreme and bear more weight upon the world as the next generation of Doctor Light's innovations come into their own without his guidance. While X is indicative of a stable teenager with guiding outlets to ensure strong mental and emotional faculties to endure life's challenges, most Reploids likely represent teenagers who are struggling to come to terms with their development, lack guidance in their coming of age, and bear great frustration in the challenge of establishing self-identity in the face of a commanding and unruly world; the Maverick Virus and Sigma in this case can also be surmised as darker corrupting influences of the world that leads teenagers to follow unruly and unwholesome lifestyles and ways, including gang violence, drug abuse, criminal activity, and overall, unconstructive and dangerous rebellious and expressive behavior. Furthermore, X's role as a Maverick Hunter may also be reflective of the inherent competitive nature of adolescence, because the emotional part of the brain that reigns dominant in this development cycle has teenagers yearn for acceptance and understanding and to stand out as individuals, and as a result they have to decide for themselves whether to stand with or against authority. But this is an extreme world in which choices can mean life or death, and few win, and many lose, especially if they are either too weak to defend themselves or stand afoul of authority.

Mega Man Zero
Much like how Mega Man Zero does not focus on a creation of Doctor Light, Zero can likely represent the anti-theme of the Importance of Childhood; in this case, the importance of adulthood. Created by Doctor Albert Wily, Zero is likely indicative of how not all children are born equal; while all children are born innocent, and some are born gentle and good-natured, some infants can be somewhat terrifying in their behavior, with a need for good parenting to raise them right. While X was given diagnostic tests, Zero was left alone, akin to an orphan delinquent, and upon awakening engaged in destroying Sigma's unit, until being defeated and having his memory scrambled. After this, his experiences as a Maverick Hunter allowed him to develop a moral foundation and redeemed him as a heroic individual, rather than Doctor Wily's intended ultimate tool of destruction. Hence, into his "teen years", these times would provide the emotional foundation for him to know that what he was born to be is not important; it is how one lives life that determines one's worth in the world.

If Zero's life in the Mega Man X series was his "teen years", then Mega Man Zero just may indeed show the world of adulthood in the era of 23XX; a cold and desperate world where conspiracy, intrigue, and conflict of many sorts are common, moral boundaries are at best vaguely murky with face appeal on the surface, many problems besetting the world exist all at once and without realized, known, or even recognized solution, extremes of contrast and the spectrums in-between manifest, apathy is a trait mutually shared to survive, unpredictability is a certainty, and all crises and serious scenarios must be met head on with confrontation as soon as they come up, all of which bear a stark absence of the idealism and wonder of past series, which can be best summarized in the words of Keiji Inafune: "Nothing is certain."

While life has its periods and moments of auspiciousness and halcyon which everyone yearns and cherishes, so must there also be trying times, twists of fate, and hardships that one should be prepared for, and even then one must be prepared to search and face the truth. True to how life can be unfair and the world can seem to be a miserable place, the world of Mega Man Zero showcases skewed priorities, hypocrisy, double standards, and ironic conditions that border on absurdity. Zero and the Resistance are constantly slandered as Maverick rebels lead by a fallen hero, while Neo Arcadia and its agenda of essentially genocide is given good stature by its ruling powers. As the world hangs on by a thread in the face of global pollution and uninhabitable conditions and energy shortages, the human populace lives in blissful ignorance of what it takes to provide their sustenance and living arrangements. While the threats of Mavericks loom about in the fears of the populace, they are ironically lead by those who would be considered Mavericks in Mega Man X, and eventually, the world would soon come to be threatened by a malevolent entity who is ultimately untouchable: A human being. Such a world, again, with its perverse conditions is a place only an adult would have the fortitude and patience to maneuver through.

While Zero initially in X was hot blooded, passionate, and valiantly persistent, all things indicative of youth, his character development after Mega Man X4 was noted to be more aloof, calculated, and tranquil in comparison, showing his coming of age and emotional growth. By the time of his lead series, Zero is always controlled, stern, and alert, with a stiff upper lip and for the most part extremely discreet and to the point, akin to a veteran warrior, showing how he has grown into an adult figure in comparison to his younger self. Not only limited to his personality, Zero's takes on the role of a legendary figure for the Resistance and his and their relations make them akin to a family, a family that Zero must uphold responsibility to take care of and provide for in his duties as the Crimson Maverick Hunter of legend. This may also be exemplified in the high difficulty of the Zero series and its demanding game-play requirements, not unlike adults needing to be proficient and optimal in their jobs and professions by their expected age range, and in the face of a world that demands no less than perfection.

Perhaps another theme to the facts of life and the importance of adulthood in Zero is the all encompassing idea of inevitability, and in this case, the central theme that one must meet personal destiny as one grows up into maturity. Zero realizes the worst-case scenario for Earth and Reploid-technology based civilization- As mankind has not learned its lesson in either giving Reploids sentience or acknowledging the responsibilities that must come with it, and this breeds resentment and excess in the form of Dr. Weil, who brings about the near end of civilization with the Elf Wars, and whose defeat Zero was crucial to. While civilization was saved by X, the mistakes of the past continue regardless, and the world itself is on the verge of self-destruction, until the reawakening of Zero. As time goes on, those central to the cataclysm of the world of the past eventually come together again, and Zero upon the destined hour must do what it takes to protect not only the last vestiges of civilization, but to fight for those who bear hope for the future. As one observes the lives of those experiencing such times, it is accurate to say that they are dangerous, unpredictable, intense, and harrowing, but Zero has grown to be more than well equipped both to handle the extremes of combat and to face death-defying odds, which are things he has long lived for. As all people grow into adults, ways of life become more varied and unequal, and life may not be everything it was hoped to be, but this is true of all lives to some extent, and to "wear the shoes of another and live in them for a day" is to realize that one has a purpose in the world and that one must face and see through the fears, doubts, and unpredictability of life as an adult to find the truth alongside others.

If the importance of childhood states that having an inner child is good, then the importance of adulthood is that experiences are also necessary to shape oneself to grow as a person inevitably as an adult; this would be best exemplified by the parallels of Zero and Copy X. Whereas Copy X was created as a perfect copy without the diagnostic tests and experiences of the original X, Zero does not have his original body, but he still has his heart and the memories of his life in 21XX. Copy X ultimately embodies all of the negative traits and anti-traits of the childhood themes found in both Classic and X, with the overt specialization of the Robot Masters and the problems with identity and emotional imbalance resulting in the Mavericks, and lacking the original X's experiences Copy X is too naïve to accept his own hypocrisy, learn from his mistakes, or consider contrary views, while Zero and the Resistance by contrast is an evident reinforcement of the positive values and themes of cherishing childhood and growth into old age while also accepting the responsibilities and nuance of perspective that are required of an adult. In contrast to both, Dr. Weil has completely forgotten what it was like to be a child and has become cynical as an adult, being corrupted by the cruelty of the world and making the world worse in turn, becoming increasingly bitter and resentful until the only things he still values are power, revenge, and empty, selfish egotism. Copy X, being in mind an immature child, is easily manipulated by Dr. Weil's machinations, whereas Zero in his wisdom and maturity is able to see through them.

With its associations regarding adulthood, Mega Man Zero may also deal with the inevitability of one's declining stature into old age, and the coming of death. X's life post Zero's sealing saw him become the leader of mankind and reploid-kind and the savior of the world and a legendary hero, but at the cost of his mental health. To not become like a Maverick himself, he deliberately sealed himself and retreated into obscurity to bring peace the only way he knew how in the wake of the threat of the Dark Elf. When his body is destroyed by Elpizo, X's mortality becomes evident as his form manifests only as a Cyber Elf, and can only exist for a predetermined period of time. Zero's body is not his original, as it was years before, but his new body is "healed" from the perpetual source of the Maverick Virus, and his experience allows him more than enough of an edge as a warrior to handle the challenges of the new world and adapt. At the series' climax, engaging Dr. Weil in his final battle, Zero has no other way out in his confrontation but accepts his death, ultimately using his last moments to end the world's greatest threat for good.