Old Castle Stage (Mega Man 7)

The Old Castle Stage (古城ステージ), also known as Shade Man's Stage and Shade Man Stage, is Shade Man's stage in Mega Man 7, set inside an ancient castle at night. Its description in the Japanese version is "Mystery! The Horror".

When Mega Man approaches the boss door, he finds Bass injured and tells him to go to Dr. Light's Laboratory for repairs.

The Energy Balancer can be found in this stage by using Rush Search under Dr. Wily's portrait.

A special easter egg occurs when the player holds down the Jump button while selecting the stage and continues to hold it until the stage begins. The music of the stage selected screen and the stage changes to the main theme from the Ghosts 'n Goblins game series. However, this only works before Shade Man is defeated. Shade Man's stage may also be an homage to the game Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, as it resembles the game's first stage.

Items
One large Bolt, two large energy capsules, Proto Man fight, two 1-Ups, and the Energy Balancer.

Stage enemies

 * Sub-boss: VAN Pookin
 * Sub-boss (secret): Proto Man
 * Astro Zombieg
 * Batton M48
 * Cyorown
 * Gilliam Knight
 * Ragger
 * Sniper Joe 01
 * True Shield Attacker

Other media
Shade Man's stage appeared in the Rockman 7 manga, where it is the Shade Castle (シェード城) under Shade Man's control, a theme park in the mystery zone. After Spring Man's defeat, Mega Man sees Sisi Truck leaving the area. Bass managed to get on the truck and gives Mega Man a flyer of the theme park. When he arrives, he finds Bass injured and the two work together to defeat Wily's robots. While passing by presses, Bass goes ahead and Mega Man loses sight of him. After fighting VAN Pookin and finding the Energy Balancer, Mega Man finds Bass severely injured and tells him to go to Dr. Light's laboratory for repairs. Afterwards he defeats Shade Man and jumps on Sisi Truck before it leaves the area.

Trivia

 * During development, the stage had a different sub-boss.