Checkpoint

Checkpoint, also known as Retry Point (リトライポイント), is the local point where the player begins the stage when a life is lost, so the player doesn't have to restart the stage from the beginning.

Usually there is no visual indication if an area is a checkpoint, but in the Mega Man games, the screen before a boss room is a common checkpoint area, usually being a small hallway between two shutters. Some bosses don't have a small room before them, such as Yellow Devil and Yellow Devil MK-II, the latter also lacking a checkpoint in its stage. Mega Man's rooms were longer and included enemies, specifically the Adhering Suzy, Met, Screw Driver, and Pepe. Some sub-bosses also have a small room before them, like Mother Mukamukade and Move Cannon in Mega Man & Bass. Move Cannon's antichamber contains a CD, specifically Napalm Man's data.

In Mega Man Powered Up, checkpoints are represented by a Retry Flag (リトライフラグ), an orb that releases a flag when touched, and they can be placed in any point in the Construction mode. In the cancelled game Mega Man Universe, checkpoints were represented by a blue robot, which would also be available in the game's contruction mode. In Mega Man 11, a Checkpoint Flag (リトライポイントフラッグ) icon appears in the bottom left of the screen when the player reaches a checkpoint.

In Mega Man Xtreme and Mega Man Xtreme 2, checkpoints also contain an Auto Save function, allowing players to continue from the last checkpoint in the main menu, but only once. Except for the boss corridors, all checkpoints are represented as a beacon-like object named Memory Unit (メモリーユニット) in Mega Man Xtreme and Memory Device (メモリーデバイス) in Mega Man Xtreme 2. The Game Boy Advance version of Mega Man & Bass also features a similar auto save function, with "Now saving..." appearing in checkpoints.

Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 contains an auto save function that allows players to save and continue from the last checkpoint.