Mega Man 6 plays nearly identically to its five predecessors with a few added features such as stages with alternate pathways and new Rush adaptors.

[7][10] The player takes control of Mega Man to complete a series of side-scrolling platform stages littered with smaller robot enemies and occasional larger mini-bosses.

Extra lives, reserve energy tanks, and pellets that refill Master Weapon power can also be found throughout each level.

[6][11] Previous Mega Man games typically allowed the player to call on the transformable dog Rush or use other support items in order to traverse difficult or otherwise inaccessible parts of a stage.

The first, "Jet Mega Man", lets the player fly upward or hover for a brief period of time, but prevents the use of charge shots.

There are two pathways in many of the stages that lead to boss rooms, but the player is often required to use one of the Rush adaptors to begin an alternate route.

Although either one will clear the stage, only one of them will give the player a letter circuit board for assembling the helper bird Beat.

"[2] The Robot Masters featured in some of the previous Mega Man games were the result of design contests held in Japan, in which fans of the series would submit their character ideas to Capcom.

Their plan was to release the top-loading NES-101 for a retail price of $49.99 to attract consumers to buying the updated version of the original NES along with one or more new titles for the console, including Mega Man 6.

[21] Mega Man 6 was re-released for the PlayStation in 1999 as part of the Rockman Complete Works series exclusive to Japan.

[3] This version of the game features a number of extras including remixed music, artwork galleries, and a "navi mode" to help guide players.

[22] A port of the Complete Works edition was released on the North American-exclusive Mega Man Anniversary Collection for the PlayStation 2 and GameCube in 2004 and Xbox in 2005.

It was also released via the Wii U Virtual Console in Japan on May 14, 2014, in Europe on July 24, 2014[25][full citation needed] and in North America on August 21, 2014.

Overall, the magazine described the graphics, audio, and level design in Mega Man 6 as standard fare for the franchise and called the game a "rock of reliable NES fun" in a series that is as "predictable as the tide".

GameSpot editors Christian Nutt and Justin Speer labeled Mega Man 6 the "cheesiest" among the NES titles: "If you're looking for mega-laughs, you might want to try this one out.

"[27] Elements of the game made their way into the Mega Man series from Archie Comics prior to it going on indefinite hiatus.

A view of the events of Mega Man 6 in the series' final issue prior to the hiatus hinted as Xander's overthrow and Wily's seizure of his resources and alias.

The X Corporation's resources also provide Wily with the means of laying the groundwork for other schemes, including the abduction of Kalinka Cossack leading into Mega Man 4.

Its membership was shown to include numerous identically costumed grunts and Madame Y, a character based on an "alternate universe" concept by former Capcom and Mega Man artist Hideki Ishikawa.