The Ice Slasher is a Robot Masterweapon first appearing in the original Mega Man, where it is obtained from Ice Man. It has a blue and white colour scheme and fires a blue projectiles in the shape of a speed arrow, which freezes enemies.
In Mega Man, the Ice Slasher is obtained by defeating Ice Man, who uses it as his only attack. It consumes 1 point of energy to shoot an ice blast in a straight line forward, which temporarily freezes minor enemies it touches, immobilising them in the exact spot they are currently in. The shot then keeps going, enabling it to freeze multiple enemies that are lined up in a row. It can notably be used to freeze the flames created by Burner Blocks, turning them into temporary platforms or wells; however, other enemies do not become solid and will still deal contact damage to Mega Man if he touches them.
Though the Ice Slasher does not usually deal any damage, it is the weakness of Fire Man, who loses 4 points of health per hit. The first phase of the Wily Machine 1 can also be harmed with it, though as it takes only 1 damage per shot, there is little reason to use it over the standard Mega Buster.
Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge
Sprite from Dr. Wily's Revenge.
The Ice Slasher returns as a weapon in Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge, acting the same, though affected enemies now have their colours inverted while they remain frozen. It also cannot freeze the reworked Big Eye enemy while it is invulnerable on the ground, although other invulnerable enemies are still be affected by it.
As before, it is the weakness of Fire Man, and also deals 2 damage to Flash Man, making it the only weapon from the first (Mega Man 1) batch of Robot Masters that can deal more than 1 damage to any of the Mega Man 2 bosses in the second batch. Quick Man and Bubble Man also take damage from it, though each takes only 1 per shot.
Mega Man: The Power Battle
In the arcade game Mega Man: The Power Battle, the Ice Slasher is once again obtained by beating Ice Man. As there are no minor enemies to freeze in this game, it now simply deals damage and disappears on hit, dealing double damage to Heat Man as his weakness.
The Ice Slasher is also one of several ice-themed weapons in the Classic era, which have little overlap in functionality, apart from some being able to freeze fire or lava.
Despite the weapon being strong against Fire Man and also being Heat Man's weakness in The Power Battle, Heat Man in Dr. Wily's Revenge takes no damage from it at all, even making him the only Mega Man 2 boss in the game to be immune to it.
Alternate Artwork
