Top Man

Top Man (タップマン) is a Robot Master created by Dr. Light and Dr. Wily to work on other planets in search for resources needed to build Gamma, but was modified for combat by Dr. Wily in Mega Man 3.

Top Man is equipped with an auto balance system that allows him to spin rapidly much like a top, which he uses as an attack called the Top Spin to injure enemies, and as a defensive mechanism because the high rotational speeds make projectile's deflect off of him. However, he can't spin for too long because he gets dizzy, and maintaining such high speeds could damage his internal components. Top Man also attacks by tossing rapidly spinning tops from his head or shooting tops from his arm cannon.

In Super Adventure Rockman, Top Man was revived by Ra Moon. When the room Mega Man is in fills with acid after defeating Hard Man, he tries to escape by climbing up the pillars in the room, but Top Man attacks Mega Man at the top. The game does not show what happens to Top Man after the fight, but he was probably melted in the acid like Hard Man, as Beat takes the Top Spin before it falls in the acid. If the player loses, Top Man will shoot a top from his arm cannon and make Mega Man fall, but he is rescued by Rush and Cut Man, and the player will have the option to restart the fight. Top Man and the other Wily Numbers are later revived by Ra Moon again, and after Ra Moon betrays Wily, they help Mega Man by giving all their energy to him, becoming inactive after this.

Top Man also appeared as a playable character in Mega Man's Soccer.

Strategy
Top Man attacks by throwing three tops from his head that try to home on Mega Man. To avoid this, the player has to slide to the opposite side they come as they're trying to home on Mega Man. After throwing his tops, he uses the Top Spin to move to the other side of the screen. It is avoided by jumping over him. He'll then repeat his attack pattern. His weakness is the Hard Knuckle, but he is invincible to it if he is spinning. It defeats him in four hits.

He is also weak to his own weapon, the Top Spin, but it can only be used on him in the rematch against him in Wily's Castle. It defeats him in seven hits.

Stage enemies
Enemies that appear in Top Man's stage:
 * Komasaburo
 * Mechakkero
 * Metall DX (normal type)
 * Bolton and Nutton
 * Picket Man Bull
 * Tama

Enemies in Top Man's (Game Boy) stage:
 * Komasaburo
 * Mechakkero
 * Metall DX (normal type)
 * New Shotman
 * Picket Man Bull
 * Tama

Damage Data Chart
Amount of damage in units that Top Man receives from each Special Weapon in Mega Man 3.

Mega Man
In the Mega Man animated series, Top Man appeared in episode 14, where he infiltrated a robot campus pretending to be a student and befriended Rollto trick her. During the episode, he proved to be powerful, deflecting incoming with his Top Spin, once knocking out Mega Man and rendering his Buster useless.

He was the last of the three Robot Masters to go down in this episode, only doing so after Roll used the Stealth Suit to pull him high into the air whilst spinning, before dropping him into a fountain. Even still, he was shown to have survived the fall, last being seen surfacing and blowing some inhaled water out of his mouth.

Captain N: The Game Master
Top Man appeared in the beginning of the episode "A Tale of Two Dogs", which is based on Mega Man 3. He was the only Robot Master remaining and had the last energy tank needed for Gamma to work. He was defeated by Mega Man with only one punch of the Hard Knuckle.

Other Appearances
Top Man also appeared in the manga Mega Man Megamix, Rockman World 2 and Rockman 4Koma Great March.

Production Notes
"I focused entirely on Top Man for an entire week, but lost all of the data in a big [computer] crash when someone tripped over the power cord. I was so devastated, but with everything so fresh in my mind I was able to get back to where I was in about three days. This incident is why I'll never forget Top Man... sometimes I wonder if my first attempt would have made a better Top Man (laughs)." -Keiji Inafune

Trivia

 * Top Man's quote from his Mega Man & Bass CD Data is a reference to the 80's hit song "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" by Dead or Alive.