According to Famitsu , Mega Man & Bass for the GBA sold 91 @,@ 097 copies in Japan between its release date and the week of December 23 , 2002 . Nintendo Power listed Mega Man & Bass as the 14th best GBA game of all time in its 20th anniversary issue in 2008 . A related game exclusive to Japan titled Rockman & Forte Mirai kara no Chōsensha ( ロックマン & フォルテ 未来からの挑戦者 , lit . Rockman & Forte : Challenger from the Future ) was released for the WonderSwan handheld in 1999 . The plot consist of the titular duo 's struggle against an adversary named " Rockman Shadow " . As Mega Man & Bass was released directly after Mega Man 8 and it share plot and gameplay characteristics with the rest of the numbered titles in the series , many believed it to be the ninth main game in the series ; however , the actual Mega Man 9 would not be released until 2008 . Inafune explained in an interview with the Brazilian magazine Nintendo World that the ninth installment follow the storyline of Mega Man 8 and that the worlds for Mega Man & Bass and Mega Man 9 are meant to coincide with one another , as evidenced by a schematic of Bass in the ending of the game . In 2010 , Bass was made playable via downloadable content in Mega Man 10 . As in Mega Man & Bass , he is able to dash , fire in seven directions with his buster , and fly by combining with Treble .