Bass (Mega Man)

}} Bass, also known as "Forte" in Japan, is a fictional video game character, designed to be a rival to the character Mega Man. Bass is a fiercely independent and rebellious robot, who is obsessed with the thought of defeating Mega Man in battle so that he can prove that he is - as he claims to be - the strongest robot on Earth. The only friend he seems to have, is his loyal wolfbot, Treble (known as "Gospel" in Japan). Treble is Rush's dark equivalent, and is able to 'merge' with his master, allowing Bass to take flight and shoot more powerful projectiles from his buster (arm cannon) for a limited amount of time.

Bass' name originates from Bass (most of the main robots in the series are named after musical terms), and Treble's name originates from Treble. His Japanese name, Forte, also has musical origins, which in notation indicates a high volume (suitable for Bass), as does his wolfbot's Japanese name, Gospel. He wears black armor, which has gold accents and markings, along with a large, rounded-triangular blue "gem" on the chest part. Under the armor, Bass wears a jumpsuit which is grey in color. He also wears a distinctive helmet (which, as is to be expected, matches his armour in general color-scheme and design), which has two large "fins" on it, and a star-shaped blue "jewel" on the part which covers his forehead. This shape seems to resemble a cobra's head. Last of all, he has a pair of purple marks on his face - one stripe on each cheek. His pupils are a distinctive red color, although due to the color limits on the sprites in his debut title, Mega Man 7, they appeared to be black there (this contradicted that title's promotional artwork, and all promotional artwork since). This went against the creators' intentions for his eye color, and in all of his subsequent in-game appearances, allowances have been made so that his eyes appear red, as they should. It is indicated in the Continue screen of Mega Man and Bass that he can remove his helmet, although he himself has not appeared in a game without it as of yet.

History

Classic series

Bass was first introduced in Mega Man 7 (SNES, 1995) as a "potential" ally (he attempted, and somewhat succeeded in tricking Mega Man into believing that he was on his side). Later in the same game, he pretends to be injured, and fools Mega Man into sending him to Dr. Light's lab for repairs. When Mega Man returns to the lab, and finds it in ruins, Dr. Light explains that Bass went berserk, destroyed the lab, and stole the plans for the Rush adapter. (It is presumed he also stole the prototype plans for X which Wily used to create Zero though this is contradicted by Bass's ending in Megaman Power Fighters 2.) He is fought later as a mini-boss. He was playable in a hidden mini-game in Mega Man 7. Bass has also appeared in Mega Man 8 (Sony PlayStation/Sega Saturn 1997) and resumed his role as a playable character in Mega Man & Bass (Nintendo Game Boy Advance 2003; originally released as Rockman & Forte for the Super Famicom in 1998). He has also appeared in multiple side-games, such as Mega Man Battle & Chase (Sony PlayStation, 1998 - Europe and Japan, and included in Mega Man X Collection), and a follow up to this game, Rockman GP, which was released exclusively for Japanese cellphones in 2004. In Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters, Dr. Wily reveals that Bass' power comes from an energy source - Bassnium (known as Fortenium, in Japan) - that he discovered by accident when trying to create a robot to rival Mega Man. He also reveals that he feels that creating Bass was a mistake, presumably leaving Bass with a great deal of resentment toward his 'father'. This probably led him to betray Wily, so Wily created Zero, who would be even stronger and easier to control. Bass' fate, like many characters in the original series, is unknown in the Mega Man X series.

MegaMan Battle Network

Personality

Bass is brash and arrogant, but also filled with self-loathing, it would seem. By all rights and means, he figures, he should be able to defeat Mega Man, but he somehow keeps failing, and doesn't understand why. It's Mega Man's strong sense of justice as his motivation that allows him victory over Bass' more selfish motivations, but he has yet to understand that. Bass believes he is the strongest robot and will knock any obstacles in his way to prove it. However, in more recent games, he has found that Wily is an obstacle himself, and therefore disobeyed him and went about events his own way. Still, the selfish motivation remains, and he has yet to beat Mega Man once. In Mega Man and Bass, he is described as being "Vain as a peacock."

Abilities

Bass is notably based upon Mega Man. He possesses a similar weapons plan that allows him to absorb the powers of his fallen foes, just like Mega Man. He can also fuse with his dog Treble in a form called the Treble Boost, a form which includes angelic wing-jetpack and a crest like helmet. Oddly enough, after Mega Man 7, the Rush Adaptor is no longer seen, although Bass still merges with Treble on occasion. Combined with Treble, Bass is capable of flight, and in Mega Man 7, he can fire a homing missile in addition to his normal attacks. In Mega Man and Bass, he fires a triple shot that is twice as strong as his normal buster.

Trivia

With the introduction of Battle Network 5 Double Team for the Nintendo DS, it is possible, by beating one of the Battle Network 5 GBA games with the Bass Icon on the Title Screen, to unlock a style featuring Bass. This creates Bass Cross MegaMan. Bass Cross MegaMan is a "permanent form" but still allows Soul Unisons to be performed. There are two forms of Bass Cross MegaMan: Gold (power; found in Team Protoman) and Silver (speed; found in Team Colonel).

In The Power Fighters, Bass sees Wily working on his newest robot, an early build of Zero. When Wily tells him that this new robot, though he won't be completed for a long time, will be much stronger than him, Bass scoffs and calls it a "girlie looking robot."

While Bass.EXE's main look at humans is revenge, the original Bass's opinion on them seems to be one of at least some respect, as he tells King, in Mega Man and Bass, that he shouldn't try to wipe out humans because humans created robots.

Bass's main objective is actually becoming the strongest, not defeating Mega Man. Since he was defeated by Mega Man he has simply switched his desire to defeating Mega Man for the time being.

Mega Man constantly attempts to reason with and befriend Bass, believeing Bass to be a good person; however, Bass always rejects these actions of kindness, although he has shown some honorable qualities.

Bass uses a capsule of Evil Energy to transform with Treble in Mega Man 8. It is unknown what became of the Evil Energy he used; some theories say Duo purged him of it, while others say he still has it.