Megaman X Walkthrough

                          ====================
                          March 5, 2003
                          Version 1.0
                          Gestahl
                          AIM: EmperorGestahlX
                          ====================

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I. Preface
This is a full walkthrough for Megaman X. It should provide you with 
everything you need to know to complete this game and obtain 
everything.

For the sake of avoiding spoilers, there will be no Table of Contents 
for the Walkthrough itself. If there's a particular boss you're having 
trouble with, press Control + F and type in his name. If you don't know 
the name of the boss, type in "Boss:" with the colon. It will 
chronologically scroll down through the bosses.

If you have any information that I have missed, IM me, and you will be 
credited with your screen name or a name that you want to be credited 
with.
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II. Contact Information
If you need to contact me, please Instant Message me at EmperorGestahl 
X. I should be on often. If you warn me, I'll block you.

Any suggestions, comments, or criticisms are welcome! If you have any 
information that I am missing, by all means, tell me, and I will credit 
you!
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III. Updates
VERSION 1
The opening stage, eight Maverick stages, and final stages are all 
complete. Locations of the Heart Tanks, Sub Tanks, and Upgrades are all 
revealed.
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IV. Contents
I. Preface
Explains purpose of this FAQ

II. Contact Information
What you need to know to get in touch with the author

III. Updates
Lets you know the changes that have been made throughout the versions

IV. Contents
Redundant, I know

V. Walkthrough (Part I)
In-depth coverage of the first level and each of the eight Maverick 
levels, assuming you only have the X-Buster - if you can't get past a 
particular part of the game, refer here

VI. Ultimate Recap
Recaps where every Heart Tank, Sub Tank, and Upgrade in the game can be 
found, what you need for each, and how to get the secret Final Upgrade

VII. Walkthrough (Part II)
In-depth coverage of the final stages, accessed after every stage in 
the first part of the walkthrough have been completed

VIII. Additional Tips
Tips that don't apply to any part of the walkthrough in particular, but 
should help you if you still can't win - also includes sections where 
weapons other than the X-Buster can be very useful

IX. Plot Information
Includes all the dialogue from the game and information from the game 
manual, in case you didn't notice that this game has a plot and were 
wondering what it is

X. Tidbits
Glitches and other various things you probably won't notice that you 
might want to try out

XI. Frequently Asked Questions
Questions that I'm frequently asked, or probably will be

XII. Credits
List of those who assisted me in creating this FAQ
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V. Walkthrough (Part I)
The name of the stage will be listed. Then, the guide will walk you 
through the entire stage, telling you where to pick up items as they 
come up. The stage walkthrough may be in painful detail, so scroll down 
past it unless you're having difficulty with a specific part. Then the 
boss will be listed, with a strategy. After that, there will be a recap 
on where the items of the stage are.

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Highway Stage
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This is the opening stage of the game. Take note that you can hold down 
the shoot button, and when you release it, a more powerful shot will 
come up. Also, take note that you can climb walls by repeatedly kicking 
them - to climb a wall to your right, hold right and repeatedly press 
jump. Lastly, take note that touching enemies damages you, so don't do 
that.

It's a very straight-forward level; you just go from left to right. 
There are no hidden items. Start off by shooting the Spiky (wheel 
enemy). If he gets close enough, he'll slide into you, in which case 
you should jump over him. You'll then encounter a larger enemy. You'll 
see these guys throughout the whole game. Fire quickly. When his 
shoulders open up, he is about to attack. He'll either fire two energy 
balls along the ground that move quickly, or two slow torpedoes. In 
either case, jump, and if it's a torpedo, jump again.

Jump over the cliff - if you fall down it, you die. You'll encounter 
helicopters called Crushers. Jump and shoot while in the air with 
charged shots. Don't get underneath them, or they'll drop a chained 
spike on you. Jump over the next cliff, and shoot five more Crushers. 
You'll then see a Crusher, a large robot, and another Crusher. Fire a 
charged shot at the first Crusher, then focus on the large robot, 
ignoring the other Crusher. After he's dead, shoot the next Crusher. 
Shoot down another one, and then fight another large robot. By now you 
should be able to jump so that whether or not he fires a torpedo or 
energy, you get over it (or if you can shoot fast enough, he won't even 
get to attack). Jump over another cliff.

You'll now encounter Bee Blader. This is a mini-boss; you can't proceed 
until it's destroyed. Keep your distance from it and fire quickly - 
don't bother to charge up. It can do three things - first, it will fire 
bullets, which if you're far away, won't be a threat. Second, it can 
release an enemy, called Ball de Voux. If you fire constantly, it will 
probably be destroyed before it stands up, but if not, jump and fire 
once or twice to finish it off. Last, it MAY fire torpedoes at you. 
These are homing, so wait until they're pretty close and then jump. 
Once Bee Blader is destroyed, jump on top of its wreckage (you won't 
get hurt) and jump up the wall (hold right and press jump repeatedly). 
If your life isn't full, go down this cliff to get some life, and then 
jump back up the wall. Don't go down the second cliff near the energy 
capsules (life), or you will die.

Kill to Balls de Voux and then you'll encounter your second and final 
Bee Blader. It's no different than the first time. Kill it, jump on top 
of it, and jump up the wall. Jump over the next cliff (if you don't 
quite make it, you can still jump up the ledge using the wall jump 
technique). Then charge up and kill the Spiky. The level will now get 
slightly trickier - parts of the highway will break off and fall down 
the cliff. For the next jump, just run and jump. You won't ever be at 
risk of it falling before you get past it, but just keep moving.

At this point, be constantly charging up. Jump and hit the bee, and 
then repeat again. Note that the bees will drop mines on you if you get 
underneath them. Make the next jump while still charging up (hop up the 
wall). As you make the coming jump, release your shot while in the air 
to kill the bee, but keep moving - where you're landing will break off. 
Fire at the next bee - don't jump to do so. Charge up to full, and then 
run across this part. When you release the shot, it will kill the next 
two bees. Make the next jump and keep running while charging - when you 
get near the cliff, a helicopter (not a Crusher) will come towards you, 
so release your shot.

Jump up and move slowly. There will be four more of these helicopters 
before the next jump. If you don't slow down when you see them, you'll 
run straight into them. Shoot all four down and then make the next 
jump.

You'll then encounter an enemy called Road Attackers - they may 
occasionally fire, but will usually just try to run you over. Fire 
quickly. You'll first kill the robot in the car - you can jump on the 
moving vehicle without getting hurt if you want, then. You can then 
continue to shoot it to stop it and then destroy it. Be careful - 
another helicopter may come from behind if you didn't make your last 
jump without wall jumping. There will then be another Road Attackers, 
followed by the last cliff of the level. Want to make it quicker? Jump 
over him, and destroy the robot once it's turned around. Then, jump on 
the car, and it will take you over the cliff and to the end of the 
level.

There will be one more Road Attackers in your way. Jump over it while 
on your car, then get to the far left of it and fire charged up shots. 
If you're not on the far left, you'll destroy your own car. The car's 
engine will break down soon enough, though, so you can destroy your own 
if you want.

You'll then encounter a large Maverick drop ship, the Death Rogumer. It 
will drop Road Attackers at you. The Death Rogumer tries to drop the 
Road Attackers on top of you, so stay to the right of where they're 
being dropped from. You need to destroy them and their cars - once no 
more are on the screen, they'll give up with that approach. You can do 
this by destroying as few as two if you fire quickly, but if you let 
them live, there's infinite. Once they see that you're pretty good, 
they'll through something stronger at you.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Boss: Vile (Armored Carrier)>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This is Vile, one of the first Reploids to go Maverick during this 
revolt. He is also one of the most powerful Mavericks, and has been 
designed simply as a war machine. He is one of the most powerful forces 
in Sigma's entire army. Think you're ready?

If you run into him (or he into you), you lose one bar of health. If he 
punches you, you lose three. Thus, it's in your best interest to jump 
over his punches, even if he's charging.

As you may soon notice, he's too tall to jump over, so when he charges, 
you really can't dodge him. Don't worry, however. Vile wants to capture 
you, the newest Maverick Hunter and first Reploid, instead of 
destroying you. Thus, when your health is three or lower, instead of 
using his punch, while would kill you, he shoots energy beams. These 
are pretty difficult to dodge, but don't bother. You're not going to 
beat him, so the best option would be to get captured. Don't run into 
him when you're low on life, however, because you can still die 
(although he'll try to avoid you).

In case you're wondering, he has infinite health, and you can't win.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Right when he's captured you, his arm gets shot off. He'll jump onto 
the Death Rogumer, which flees for now. You've been saved by Zero, the 
new leader of the Maverick Hunters - apparently his Z-Buster is a 
little stronger than your X-Buster.

RECAP:

As for the recap, there are no Heart Tanks, Sub Tanks, or Upgrades in 
this level.

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Maverick Stages
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You get to select any of these eight stages, and can do them in any 
order you want. You can also return to any of these stages once they 
have been completed. The order is up to you, but all eight must be 
completed before you have access to the final levels. If you want to 
get everything in the game as quickly as possible, your order should 
follow the following guidelines:

Efficient Order
1. Chill Penguin should come before Spark Mandrill, Boomer Kuwanger, 
Sting Chameleon, Storm Eagle, and Flame Mammoth.
2. Storm Eagle should come before Flame Mammoth (any time after Chill 
Penguin).
3. Flame Mammoth should come before Boomer Kuwanger (any time after 
Chill Penguin and Storm Eagle).
4. Boomer Kuwanger should come before Spark Mandrill (any time after 
Chill Penguin, Storm Eagle, and Flame Mammoth).
5. Launch Octopus should come before Sting Chameleon (any time).
6. Armored Armadillo can come at any time.
7. Sting Chameleon can come at any time after Chill Penguin and Launch 
Octopus.
8. Spark Mandrill can come at any time after Chill Penguin and Boomer 
Kuwanger.
9. Flame Mammoth should come before Chill Penguin for the second time.
10. All of the above should come before Armored Armadillo for the 
second time.

Examples: ---Chill Penguin, Storm Eagle, Flame Mammoth, Boomer 
Kuwanger, Spark Mandrill, Sting Chameleon, Armored Armadillo, Launch 
Octopus, Chill Penguin, Armored Armadillo---or ---Armored Armadillo, 
Launch Octopus, Chill Penguin, Sting Chameleon, Storm Eagle, Flame 
Mammoth, Chill Penguin, Boomer Kuwanger, Spark Mandrill, Armored 
Armadillo---

However, that could be difficult if it's your first time through. Thus, 
this order is recommended, starting with the easiest boss and then 
proceeding so that you always have the next boss's weakness.

Recommended Order
1. Chill Penguin
2. Spark Mandrill
3. Armored Armadillo
4. Launch Octopus
5. Boomer Kuwanger
6. Sting Chameleon
7. Storm Eagle
8. Flame Mammoth

Take note that Launch Octopus has a second weakness to Boomer Kuwanger 
making him much easier, so if you can't beat him, consider skipping him 
for the time being.

I'll write this assuming that you're following the Recommended Order. 
If, instead, you're going to try to get everything in 10 levels, skip 
ahead to the level of your choice.

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Snow Mountain Stage

Chill Penguin
Ht: 5.34 ft
Wt: 237 lb
-Attacks-
Shotgun Ice
Sliding
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Go forward while charging up and you'll run into a rabbit. Shoot it. 
They're really not much of a threat, but if you're close to one, it can 
catch you off guard and jump into you quickly. Run up the hill. Keep 
running, and when you see the lumberjack, called Axe Max, start to 
spin, jump on top of his logs. If they hit you when he cuts them, 
you'll take damage. Jump up and shoot the bee. Then, wait on top of the 
logs, jumping off when necessary, until the rabbit gets close to the 
Axe Max and then jump over them. Turn around and shoot them both if you 
want, or just continue.

Continue forward. Shoot the first rabbit and run underneath the bee. 
Stop running and wait where the rabbit you just shot died until the 
next rabbit jumps into range, and shoot it. Ignore the bee.

Wait against the ledge until you see the bottom log get chopped off, 
and then hop up. Shoot the bee and get on top of the logs. Jump over 
the Axe Max and shoot him from behind. Wait for the rabbit to come, 
shoot it, and then shoot the bee.

Continue to the far right until you reach a cave. Shoot the first bat. 
Note that one regular, non-charged shot will destroy a bat, so there's 
no need to charge up. Run forward while shooting, and as you fall, the 
next two bats will die. For the two after that, stop after falling, and 
then jump while firing rapidly to kill them. Now, run forward while 
rapidly firing to kill the next bat. Keep running while charging up to 
the right, under the next two bats, and release when you get near the 
ledge to kill a Spiny. Then, quickly turn around and shoot the two 
bats.

Jump up the ledge and shoot another Spiny. Proceed forward and stop a 
little before the next ledge. Shoot the Spiny that comes first, then 
jump and shoot the bat. Continue to the right, and hop up the ledge and 
then jump as far up as you can against the right wall. The Spiny will 
go below you and then change direction. Now, wall kick off to the left 
and start moving to the left.

As you run left, charge to full, and release when you see the next 
Spiny. Keep running left, and then hop up on to the next ledge. The 
Spiny from above will bounce off the ledge and change direction. Jump 
to the right and wall kick, and start moving right. Charge up and hit 
the next Spiny, then hop onto the ledge, and from there, the next 
level. Charge up to full and release it as the Spiny falls down - it'll 
die. Jump up the ledge and then the wall, and then jump off to the 
right. Walk straight towards the object you see (you can't avoid it).

DASH UPGRADE! Walk over to the Light Capsule. You'll have a 
conversation with Dr. Light, your late creator. He'll give you an 
acceleration system. You can now dash - test it out! It greatly 
increases your speed for a short burst. It also makes you duck down, so 
that you can avoid shots move easily. In addition to that, if you jump 
after dashing (called a dash-jump), you go much farther, which is used 
to get many items throughout the game. I personally find that the dash 
button can get awkward for when you're trying to charge up at the same 
time, so I change it to R, but it's up to you.

Anyway, jump over the next two pits while charging up. Right in the 
middle of your jump over the second pit, release, and you'll shoot a 
helicopter. Wait until you're charged up, and then proceed forward. 
Stop before the next pit and release to kill another helicopter. Charge 
up again. Then, jump over that pit. As you move to the right, quickly 
jump again and release to shoot two helicopters. You'll then encounter 
a large bird. Stay below the ledge it's on and jump up repeatedly to 
fire shots - be careful, it might throw its head at you. Once it's 
dead, jump up and continue to the right.

Walk down the slope and fire repeatedly - the next bird should die 
before it can do anything. Charge up to full, and then start moving 
right again. Run straight and drop down to the next ledge, and release. 
Your shot should kill a helicopter and go through, hitting the bird. 
Start firing rapidly and it should die before it can do anything.

Move until you're off the last ledge, and stop right before the slope. 
Fire two regular shots to kill the helicopter that rushes at you. Keep 
moving, and drop down, firing repeatedly, to kill the bird. Move to the 
right, and you're out of the cave, finally. Use a wall jump to get over 
the obstacle.

Walk straight to the right into the inactive robot. You can man this 
robot, called a Ride Armor, similar to the one Vile uses. Walk to the 
right and punch the igloo - insects come out of it. Jump across the pit 
and jump to punch the insect.

HEART TANK! If you have the Fire Wave weapon from defeating Flame 
Mammoth, jump on top of the pole in the ground with the Ride Armor. 
Jump, and then Jump out of it (Up + Jump) onto the ledge. Use the Fire 
Wave on the first igloo, and it will reveal the Heart Tank. Note that 
you can return here later - chances are that on your first trip, you 
haven't already defeated Flame Mammoth.

I personally recommend you take the above route. If you take the bottom 
route, you'll have to watch out for insects and an enemy Ride Armor. 
Insects take one punch, the Ride Armor takes four. Your Ride Armor can 
take a lot of damage, however, it's likely it will be pushed down a 
cliff. Thus, jump onto the pole, jump, and jump out of the Ride Armor 
up above. Dash across the top, and then dash-jump over to the ledge or 
hop up the wall. Note that your Ride Armor can not reach where you are 
right now anyway, so leaving it behind wasn't a bad idea at all.

Jump across the pit, and then over the large avalanche. You'll see an 
enemy standing on the pole. Quickly jump over and stand right next to 
the pole - he won't be able to hit you. Then, jump up and fire a few 
shots. Keep moving. Run straight and fire several times to kill another 
one of these snowball enemies. Run to where he was standing, and then 
jump over another avalanche. Make sure to get to the right of where you 
started jumping over the avalanche so that the next snowball enemy 
misses - jump to the right and then run to the right. To kill the enemy 
after that jump, jump and fire a few times.

Jump to where he was, and move left, but stop a little short of the 
cliff. An avalanche will hit the edge of the cliff. Then, jump over it 
and run up to the next snowball enemy. Jump and fire a few times. Jump 
onto the pole he was on and wait - an avalanche will crash against it. 
Then run against the wall of the next ledge, and the final avalanche 
will go over you. Quickly, after the avalanche goes over you, hop onto 
the ledge and jump again to dodge the snowball thrown by the last 
snowball enemy. Run up to him, jump, and shoot him a couple times. Jump 
over where he was and go to the right. This gray door that opens here, 
in most cases, means that the either a mini-boss or the Maverick of the 
stage is directly ahead. In this case, it means the Maverick is 
directly ahead. Proceed through the hallway and go through the second 
door to reach Chill Penguin.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Boss: Chill Penguin>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Chill Penguin is not very intelligent; he always has some sort of 
reaction when he has an idea. When Chill Penguin laughs or shakes his 
head, he's selecting an attack. Sometimes he may do this quickly and 
subtly, but he always will do it, and will pause for a second after 
each.

He may fire Shotgun Ice at you four times in a row - some shots will go 
slowly and slide across the ground, and other ones will go quickly 
straight into the wall. He can catch you off guard by switching the 
speeds of his shots, so it would be best just to hop onto the wall. 
After his fourth shot, fire. Note that you can't shoot through his 
shots, but if you rapidly fire non-charged shots, you can fire over his 
slow shots. Note that this attack can be interrupted - if you hit him 
with a shot, he'll stop right there and won't finish. He usually uses 
his sliding attack after being interrupted.

He may also slide across the ground. He hints at this by tilting his 
head back. He will go straight towards you, and change direction when 
he hits the wall. He'll make it around the entire arena about 1 and a 
half times. He's easy to jump over (even jumping while stationary), but 
being hit by this takes off 6 bars of health. The only real risk is if 
you're standing close to a wall, when you'll jump over him but get hit 
as he changes direction. Thus, jump over him unless you're near a wall, 
and in that case, jump up the wall. Note that while sliding, Chill 
Penguin is invincible.

Chill Penguin also can choose to use his ice breath. If you get hit by 
this, you will not lose any health. However, you will be frozen. To get 
unfrozen, you must either be hit or rapidly press left and right. If 
you get frozen and don't take damage, consider yourself lucky - try to 
not stand near Chill Penguin when you don't know what he's going to do. 
His ice breath will then create two statues of penguins. You can 
rapidly fire underneath them while they're being created. Once they're 
created, you can shatter the statues with a lot of shots, but don't 
bother. If Chill Penguin touches them (if he slides, for example), they 
will break, and usually Chill Penguin will use another attack after 
making them.

Chill Penguin can jump up and hang onto the middle of the room. This 
will make a blizzard push you and the statues to the left or right. If 
you're between the wall you're being pushed to and the statues, run 
with the blizzard to that wall and hop up it. If you're between the 
statues and the wall you're being pushed away from, either stand near 
the statues and stay between them and Chill Penguin, or dash to the far 
wall. You don't want Chill Penguin to land on you. On occasion, Chill 
Penguin will do this if there are no statues - just run with the 
blizzard; there's really no risk of damage. Note that this attack can 
be interrupted - if you hit him before the blizzard begins (even while 
he's on the ring if you're fast), he'll fall off and nothing will 
happen. He usually uses his sliding attack after being interrupted

The last attack you'll see from Chill Penguin is when he jumps without 
hanging onto the ring. This is his trickiest attack, in my opinion, 
because you'll think you're safe and then he'll quickly land on you. 
The best advice is to just be prepared to dash underneath him every 
time he jumps, and if you're expecting him, you'll dodge him easily.

In summary, if you get hit by Shotgun Ice, you lose two bars of health. 
If you contact one of his ice statues, you lose four. If you contact 
Chill Penguin, you lose six.

If you ever get in a tight situation, such as being on a wall with the 
statues underneath you, dash-jump off the wall. You can even do this to 
get on the other side of Chill Penguin while he uses ice breath, so 
that you can hit him constantly.

Opportunities to hit him are constant. You can easily hit him when he 
laughs or shakes his head or at any moment right after any attack. It's 
also easy to fire quickly and hit him while he uses ice breath, and if 
you want to try, it's not even that hard while he's using Shotgun 
Breath. He goes down pretty quickly.

If you have his weakness, Fire Wave, the strategy doesn't change much. 
You'll have to get fairly close to him to hit him, but that's not 
asking much. The hit will stun him for a moment as he burns and take 
off a good amount of health. He'll usually slide or jump after being 
hit, but since he CAN use all his attacks, it's recommended to dash 
away and get onto the wall. It will be easy to dash over and hit him 
again if he does, indeed, slide or jump. 
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After defeating him, you receive Shotgun Ice. This weapon is Spark 
Mandrill's weakness. This weapon is necessary if you want to get the 
Tower Stage Heart Tank without returning there. The Dash Upgrade you 
automatically picked up on the way is necessary for many things 
throughout the game. Note that Flame Mammoth's stage now becomes 
easier, as the cold air from the mountain blows down to factory, 
freezing the lava.

RECAP:

[DASH UPGRADE - Emergency Acceleration System] - You automatically pick 
this up once you get to the top of the cave.

[HEART TANK] - You must already have the Fire Wave weapon from Flame 
Mammoth. Once you leave the cave, get in the ride armor. Before the 
next small cave, jump onto the pole in the ground. Jump up and then 
jump out (Up + Jump), and get onto the roof. Use the Fire Wave weapon 
on the first igloo to destroy it, revealing the Heart Tank.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Power Plant Stage

Spark Mandrill
Ht: 10.0 ft
Wt: 646 lb
-Attacks-
Electric Spark
Dash Punch
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

This stage is one of the more difficult stages. You can make parts of 
it easier by defeating Storm Eagle first, but other parts will be 
harder. The good news is that the sparks on the ground at the beginning 
of the stage will be gone. The bad news is that later in the stage, 
where there are pits, the lights will go out.

You'll start out by encountering one of the large robots from the 
Highway Stage (the ones that use two torpedoes or sparks). Fire 
quickly, and jump as needed. Jump onto the ladder and climb up - make 
sure to wait until the sparks on the ground pass over. Jump over the 
sparks as they come, and jump between the permanent spark and the large 
robot. Fire quickly, and jump as need be. Since you're so close, it 
will take good timing, but you've fought enough of these guys to know 
when they're going to attack.

SUB TANK! You must have Boomerang Cutter to get this Sub Tank. Go down 
the ladder and fire quickly at the large robot to the right. Now, 
charge up to full, and move right. Release and fire rapidly, hopping 
over the ground sparks as they come. The large robot will probably get 
one attack off, so run to the left as needed so that you can get over 
his shot while not landing on a spark (but don't go too far or he'll 
have full health back). Jump over the permanent spark. Now, switch to 
Boomerang Cutter. Jump and fire while at the peak of your jump, and the 
Boomerang Cutter will reach the Sub Tank and bring it back to you. 
Then, go back to the left (going up from where you are leads to a dead 
end).

Go up this time instead of going down and shoot the large robot. Go 
down the ladder. Jump over the sparks onto the next ladder, and wait 
for the sparks to go over before climbing up. Hop over the next 
permanent spark. Move right until the final large robot is partially on 
the screen and kill him, but don't get too close (or you'll have to 
deal with sparks at the same time). Finally, go to the right and hop 
over the last permanent spark.

The lights will now get dim or very dim, depending on whether or not 
you've defeated Storm Eagle. Either way, you can still see the path. 
Run to the right and hop up the wall - a lantern enemy will go over the 
top. Run to the right and another lantern will go below you (even if 
you dash you won't hit him). Jump over the pit and up to the ledge, and 
rapidly fire at the bird. Go to the right and fall down to the bird, 
and fire rapidly at it. Now, charge up to full, and make the next jump 
over the pit - release the instant you land to kill the lantern. Hop 
over the next pit (don't dash-jump), and a lantern will go over you. Go 
over to the bird and jump and fire a couple times to destroy it. Charge 
up to full, and from where the bird was, dash-jump to the next part 
(don't drop down a ledge) and release quickly. If you don't have dash, 
charge up and hop over the wall, releasing at the peak, and then hop up 
the wall. Run right, kill the bird, run right, jump over the pit, run 
right kill the bird, and go down the ladder. Follow the path - you'll 
soon encounter the mini-boss.

You'll soon be locked into a room with Thunder Slimer. You must defeat 
him to proceed. He releases small parts of his bubble - if you touch 
them, you'll get stuck. If this happens, constantly jump or move to 
break it (it will break on its own eventually). However, he also jumps 
down and bounces around a bit, so getting stuck is not good. Instead, 
stay underneath him, since he releases the bubble to his sides. If 
you've already defeated Storm Eagle, he's significantly easier, as the 
power above that he charges from is gone. In that event, he will fire 
out smoke from his cannon, which does nothing. However, if you have 
not, he will fire out large electric beams straight down. How, then, 
can you stay underneath him? Stay so that you're underneath him, but 
not the middle of him. Also, if he's closer to the left of the room, be 
on the right side, and if he's closer to the right, be on the left (in 
case the bubbles bounce and reach you). Shoot at Thunder Slimer when he 
goes to charge up. Also, when he bounces around, he'll eventually stop 
on the ground - fire constantly. If you have dash, avoiding him when he 
falls will be significantly easier. He'll die soon enough.

Continue to the right, and soon enough you'll meet a wheelie robot. 
These enemies are fast, but they're also easy enough to jump over, and 
doing so makes them quickly change direction and get stuck. Jump up and 
fire a few times at him. Charge up your cannon and move right, and fire 
quickly at the next wheelie. On the ceiling, you'll see a Turn Cannon. 
They alternate between firing left/right and diagonally. Jump up and 
destroy it. Now, jump up on the wall and wait for the Turn Cannon below 
you to fire diagonally up, then slide off to the right - you'll go over 
another Turn Cannon's shot. Be prepared to jump over the diagonal shot 
from that Turn Cannon shortly after landing. Charge up and walk 
forward, and blast the next wheelie. Now, stand a little to the right 
of underneath that Turn Cannon, and blast the next Turn Cannon. You're 
safe in this spot.

When the next Turn Cannon fires a diagonal shot, run over and get 
underneath it. Run over to the wall - after the Turn Cannon on the 
ledge fires diagonally, quickly jump up and blast it. Walk forward and 
a wheelie should fall down - quickly destroy it. Climb up the wall, and 
when the last Turn Cannon of the area fires left and right, walk over 
to the wall and then hop up it. Jump over the next wheelie and then 
shoot it.

You'll now reach a turtle, called Mega Tortois. Hop down and stay near 
the ledge and fire rapidly. After his second parachute bomb has been 
fired run up close to him and fire rapidly. After his second parachute 
bomb has been fired, run back to the ledge. He'll die soon enough.

HEART TANK! You need the Dash Upgrade to get this Heart Tank. Get on 
the wall and dash-jump to the left, and then come back to the right. 
With a couple of tries, you'll get to the ledge the Heart Tank is on.

Wait for the wheelie below you to be moving left and past the ladder, 
then climb down it and blast it. Climb down the next ladder and shoot 
the next wheelie. You'll encounter another Mega Tortois. Get over to 
the ledge and fire rapidly. Right after the second parachute bomb is 
released, run over the left (but make sure you can still see him). 
Blast away and he should die. Go over to the next Mega Tortois, but 
this time, alternate between near him and the near the ledge. Go up the 
ladder once he's dead. Alternatively, you can just dash-jump over onto 
the ladder.

Go up the other ladder, and run right, firing, to kill a lantern. Hop 
up the wall. Drop to the second ledge, then when the Ball de Voux is 
away from you, run forward, firing. You should kill another lantern. 
Jump up and fire to kill the Ball de Voux. Jump over the pit, and then 
up to the next ledge, firing, to kill another lantern. Run straight 
forward, not jumping, and you'll get on the edge of the wall near the 
pit - climb up it quickly. A lantern will go over your head. Now, jump 
over the pit, and then get onto the next wall. To kill the Ball de 
Voux, charge up, wait for him to change direction, and then jump up and 
fire. Get through the gray door and the next, and you're at the boss.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Boss: Spark Mandrill>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
You lose four bars of health if you get hit by Spark Mandrill's sparks. 
You lose six bars of health if you touch him - whether you run into 
him, he lands on you, or he punches you.

He can only do a couple of things, but they're hard to dodge. He can 
pound the ground, making two large sparks go left and right along the 
ground, up the walls, and across the ceiling. Simply jump over them, 
but be careful not to go all the way to the top of a wall too soon, or 
the other one may hit you.

He also jumps and tries to land on you. Run underneath him, or if you 
can, dash.

Sometimes he jumps up and clings to the ceiling, slowly swinging to 
you. I have no idea how he thought that could be a good idea. Jump up 
the wall - if you're fast and he starts far away, you can get off two 
fully-charged shots. He'll jump down once you're underneath him, so hit 
him until he's really near you and the wall, and then run underneath 
him to the other wall.

His last attack is the dash punch. This is by far his best move, since 
it's hard to predict and even harder to dodge. He quickly charges you. 
To avoid this, climb up the wall and then jump over him (fairly hard to 
make the distance since he's so large, but if you have dash, you can 
easily dash-jump over him). Do NOT stay on the wall, since his punch 
makes the wall vibrate for a moment and unable to be climbed - you'll 
fall straight onto him.

He sounds easy enough, but often he will use Electric Spark followed by 
his dash punch, which is nearly impossible to dodge. Staying on the 
wall and dash-jumping over him is easy enough, but if you don't have 
dash, it's a much harder battle. The best thing to do is constantly 
stay charged up, because if he starts to charge at you with dash punch, 
a charged-up shot will knock him back.

Basically, stay on the ground and charge up. Don't fire until he starts 
to dash. Then, get over to the wall to charge up. If he uses dash punch 
again, either jump over him or quickly hop down and fire. If he uses 
Electric Spark, jump over it and wait to fire until he starts to dash. 
Soon enough, he'll cling to the wall, which is where you can get a lot 
of damage done.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After defeating him, you receive Electric Spark. This weapon is Armored 
Armadillo's weakness.

RECAP:

[SUB TANK] - You need the Boomerang Cutter. Go down when you get to the 
intersection early in the stage (whether or not you go up the ladder or 
down the ladder). Fight past the two large robots and walk against the 
wall. Jump and fire the Boomerang Cutter, and it will retrieve the Sub 
Tank for you.

[HEART TANK] - You need the Dash Upgrade. Past the first Mega Tortois, 
climb the wall. Dash-jump to the left, then come back to the right. 
With a few tries, you should reach the ledge - hop up to get your Heart 
Tank.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Gallery Stage

Armored Armadillo
Ht: 6.36 ft
Wt: 510 lb
-Attacks-
Rolling Shield
Guarding
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

This is also a good first stage, since you don't need anything

At the start of the stage, jump onto the mine cart - don't touch its 
sides. It will take you past 9 bats, a bird, another bat, a different 
bat, two more normal bats, and another bird. Jump off it when it starts 
to fall and you'll be sent far forward to a bird and two bats. Jump 
back to the left to kill the bats, the blast through the bird.

MAXIMIZE YOUR LIVES! Want 9 lives? Go back and fight the different bat. 
At least half of the time, it will end up dropping an extra life. Leave 
the screen and come back. Repeat as much as you want - you can get up 
to a total of 10 (9 extra). Remember this spot for the last levels - 
it's a great way to prevent a Game Over so that you don't have to go 
through the levels more than once.

Continue forward to find two more bats and a bird. Charge up and wait 
for the bats, then shoot through them and finish off the bird. Shoot 
through four more bats.

SUB TANK! Hop down the hole and then quickly hop back up (on the right 
side to be safe). Let the mini-boss, Mole Borer, go past you, and then 
go to the left of where he was. Doing this also makes the next section 
easier.

Move forward. You'll encounter a Mettool C-15 (from now on referred to 
as a Mettool). Charge up, and when you can see its eyes, fire. Move 
forward and shoot down two more bats, followed by another Mettool.

You can do this next section quickly or slowly - let's save some time. 
Jump over the Mettool. Jump over the pit of spikes. Jump up the wall. 
Ignore the three bats (in fact, ignore all bats in this section). Run 
off the ledge but stop when you land, then jump over the Mettool. Run 
forward and repeat what you just did. Start to charge up as you keep 
running. Jump over the pit and release to kill the Spiny. Jump over two 
more Spiny enemies, then jump over a Mettool, a Spiny, and another 
Mettool. If the Mettool starts to chase you, ignore it. Run all the way 
to the end and then jump to the wall, and quickly jump up it - the bat 
won't hit you if you're fast. Fire when you get to the top to kill the 
bat there, and then hop onto the mine cart. When the mine cart goes 
over one pit of spikes, get ready to jump - when it gets to the next 
pit of spikes, jump and it should send you flying past the bats. Hop 
down the pit and a LITTLE to the left.

HEART TANK! Charge up as you fall down the pit. Immediately release and 
start to shoot the second Mole Borer as rapidly as you can - don't 
charge up at all. If you're fast enough, Mole Borer will be destroyed 
before he can destroy the part of the wall you need to hop up to reach 
the Heart Tank, which is in plain view. If you can't shoot fast enough, 
come back with the Fire Wave, and it will be much easier.

Jump over the pit of spikes and hop onto the ledge (don't press jump 
too hard or you'll hit the bat. Jump up the wall charging up, and 
release at the top. Hop onto the mine cart. Stay on the left side of 
the mine cart to avoid being hit a few times, and fire rapidly to hit a 
few bats and some small birds. It will jump over a great pit - when you 
see the wall coming, jump. Quickly jump up the wall in case a small 
bird's about to hit you. Get the energy on top if you need it (or even 
if you don't; it will help your Sub Tank), and then enter the gray 
door. Go through the next to reach the boss.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Boss: Armored Armadillo>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Armored Armadillo does very few things, and he's easy enough to beat so 
long as you don't rush him.

First, he rolls into a ball and bounces from wall to wall across the 
entire room. He'll first roll straight into the wall that's in your 
direction, and be sent off at a 45 degree angle. From then on, he'll 
bounce across the two walls, the floor, and the ceiling at 90 degree 
angles until he stops. It's easy enough to see where he's going to go, 
and easy enough to dodge even without dash, but just make sure you 
don't think that you're safe in a corner - you're not. Running left and 
right along the floor or hopping up and sliding down a wall will both 
work here. Anyway, getting hit by this removes 6 bars of health (as 
does contacting him when he's not moving, but that's pretty unlikely). 
He's invincible while he does this, but as he hops up to roll into a 
ball, you can hit him, and as he finishes and hops down, you can hit 
him. 

He also fires small beams at you. These will remove 4 bars of health. 
You can jump over these, but they come pretty fast and eventually will 
probably hit you (as you have to run back a bit each time another 
comes), so getting on the wall is one option. The other is to fire at 
him. Firing regular shots will either cause him to block for a moment, 
giving you time to move forward a little, or hit him, stopping him for 
a second.

You'll often be told NOT to fire a charged-up shot at him. I disagree. 
If you fire a charged-up shot, it guarantees that he'll block it. He'll 
even take a good second to absorb it, giving you time to gather 
yourself. He'll then release 8 beams in the four cardinal and 
intermediate directions. Simply jump over the one coming your way - if 
he's near you, hop up the wall and jump over the diagonal one, too. In 
fact, if you've got REALLY good timing and he's on the opposite side of 
the room, you can fire a charged-up shot and then charge up to full and 
release it before immediately jumping his beam - it can be done 
(although I don't recommend trying it). Getting hit by one of his 
counter beams, however, takes off 6 bars of health instead of 4. It's a 
long battle, but you shouldn't get touched as long as you don't try 
anything too fancy.

If you use Electric Spark, the battle suddenly is much shorter. He can 
block this, but once you hit him, he's electrocuted, and his armor 
falls off. You can now hit him, and he can't be blocked. You can even 
hit him while he's rolling around off the walls. Every time you hit him 
when he's shooting energy, he gets stunned - he probably will get two 
off at a time. Without the obstacle of impatience, the battle becomes 
extremely easy.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After defeating him, you receive Rolling Shield. This weapon is Launch 
Octopus's weakness.

RECAP:

[SUB TANK] - After falling down the pit near the first Mole Borer, 
quickly jump back up the wall until he passes - be careful of his one-
hit kill spikes.

[HEART TANK] - After falling down the pit near the second Mole Borer, 
rapidly fire at him and destroy him before his claws destroy the part 
of the wall you need to climb to reach the Heart Tank. If you can't 
shoot quickly enough, come back with Fire Wave, but it's quite possible 
with the X-Buster.

[FINAL UPGRADE] - You can't receive this until all eight Mavericks have 
been defeated. If you have fulfilled this requirement, scroll past all 
the regular bosses.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Ocean Stage

Launch Octopus
Ht: 7.80 ft
Wt: 348 lb
-Attacks-
Homing Torpedo
E. Drain
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

This is a short level littered with mini-bosses. It shouldn't be too 
difficult.

Walk forward and you'll encounter a grasshopper, called an Amenhopper. 
Shoot it. These enemies are easy, but don't forget that they can glide 
across water. Walk forward to encounter a Mega Tortois. Destroy it as 
you usually do, moving back and forth every time two parachute bombs 
are released. Shoot the next Amenhopper, and then hop up next to the 
Mega Tortois. Move from on top of the ledge with him to off of it. 
He'll die quickly. Keep moving and jump up to hit the next Amenhopper. 
Then, jump over the spikes and jump to shoot yet another Amenhopper.

Once you get back into the water off that temporary island, you'll 
start encountering Sea Attackers. These are seahorse enemies who pop up 
out of the ground, shoot straight towards you, and eventually go 
straight back down after the distance of about one dash.

Walk forward charging up and fire at the lower Sea Attacker. Move 
forward and two more will come up to your right - fire rapidly at the 
lower one and then hop over the small gap. Fall down the ledge and 
three Sea Attackers will come from the spikes. Shoot the bottom one and 
jump over. Two more will come from the next spike pit. Shoot the bottom 
and, and charge up as you jump over. Two more will come from the ground 
- release your shot at the bottom one and keep running (dash if you 
have it). Hop up and keep going right. Jump over the spike pit to get 
to the first mini-boss of the stage.

You will now encounter Anglerge - you can't proceed until you defeat 
him. He can try to suck you in - run (or better yet, dash) in the 
opposite direction. Rarely will he use his flashlight to search for you 
- if he finds you, he'll blow you back (not a threat this time). Most 
commonly, however, he releases four serpents that change at 90 degree 
angles. Try to get it so that the two pairs are going up and down and 
stand between them. However, this attack is highly unpredictable, so 
also consider charging your X-Buster when he pauses for a moment to 
prepare to shoot them. If you want, you can destroy his flashlight, but 
this does no real good. Just rapidly fire at him and he will die.

Jump over the spike pit. Run over and hop up the lodges (don't fully 
jump) - stay underneath the fat fish, called Gulpfers. Fire rapidly at 
the next to on the bottom, but if you get sucked in, don't despair. 
Simply continue to fire rapidly, and you won't take any damage. Jump 
over the next group of spikes. Go right, and hop over the next spikes 
and you'll be confronted by another Anglerge. This battle's similar to 
the previous one, except this time the threat of him sucking and 
blowing is instant death. When he sucks and blows, jump and run in to 
opposite direction (if you have dash, use that, of course). Before you 
hit the ground, he should be done, so you can land on the platform. In 
the event that you start to fall off, quickly change direction and stop 
fighting the current - get on the small ledge above the spikes and 
jump. Other than that, stay there and fire rapidly, and this mini-boss, 
too, shall die.

Move past where he was. A small tornado (not that it's temporary and 
will switch between on and off) will come from the ground - you can hop 
up this (stand in the middle and keep jumping) to get a large energy 
capsule. Keep going right. Go past the next tornado and jump over the 
spikes.

HEART TANK! You'll now find another tornado. Jump up this one and jump 
onto the large cruise ship - the Cruiziler. Stay on the far left and 
the torpedoes it tosses around shouldn't come close to you. Jump up and 
fire two shots every time a helicopter is released, then fire rapidly 
at the ship. It has a lot of life, but is very easy to destroy. When it 
is destroyed, stay on it (be careful of any torpedoes it just threw on 
the way down), and it will destroy a large portion of the ground. Go to 
the right of the wreckage and hop over spikes. You'll encounter another 
mini-boss, Utuboros. Jump on this large sea serpent's back - the only 
way he can hurt you is to touch you with his head or tail. Fire rapidly 
at his head or tail, depending on whether he's going up or done. If 
you're missing, move back or forward a little. Jump over the head when 
he switches directions. Jump off if you get near the top, and make sure 
not to land in spikes on the way down. He'll die soon enough. Now, go 
to the right, and you'll find the Heart Tank. Go back to the left and 
climb up the wall near the Cruiziler wreckage.

Keep moving to the right and you'll soon enough encounter another 
Utuboros. Do as said above, even if you didn't get the Heart Tank. This 
time is easier, since there are no spikes. Continue to the right and 
you'll see a trio of Gulpfers. Get sucked in by the first and destroy 
it, and then jump in to the third and destroy it. Run through the gray 
door, and then through the next.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Boss: Launch Octopus>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This boss is considered very difficult, but like the others, he's not 
when you know what you're doing.

Being hit by his Homing Torpedo (charged or regular) removes four bars 
of health. His regular ones fire two high and one slightly down - a 
regular shot from the X-Buster will destroy the one coming your way. He 
releases two salvos of three apiece, so expect to see 6 coming you way 
(you can see him release three each from his shoulders). Or, if you're 
far enough away, it will go under you. You can also jump over all of 
them.

As for his charged shot, he fires four fish that from each of his "arm" 
tentacles. A quick charged X-Buster will get rid of the two immediately 
coming to you, and you can jump over the rest. This can be hard to 
predict, though, if he's near you.

He gets tough when he unleashes a charged shot followed by two salvos 
of regular missiles. Jump, while charging, over the first two regulars 
and you'll get over the first two homing ones, too. Then, land so that 
his low regular one goes underneath you, and release your charged shot 
to destroy the other homing ones that are coming. If he's near you, 
this can be hard to predict, and suffering some hits may be virtually 
unavoidable.

Touching Launch Octopus removes four bars of health. Make sure he 
doesn't land on you when he jumps around.

He does have a move that you can use to your advantage, however. He'll 
jump up and create a whirlpool with his tentacles, which he slowly 
slides up and down. You get sucked towards this whirlpool, so while 
he's using it, run away from him. The great thing about this move is 
that he always jumps straight above you. For this reason, always stay 
on one side of the room, so that you can keep him on one side (this 
will allow you to deal with his missiles more easily). As he jumps, run 
underneath him and charge up. Keep running, and turn around and fire a 
shot when he stops so it hits him as he lands, then run towards the 
opposite wall (turn around once or twice on your way over to destroy 
his missiles). If you DO get caught in his whirlpool, dash away! IF you 
don't have dash, tough luck - he'll latch onto you. Energy Drain 
removes up to 15 bars of health, and adds up to 15 bars of health to 
Launch Octopus. For ever half second or so you're in his grasp, he 
takes one bar of your energy and adds it to his own. Press left and 
right and jump as quickly as possible so that he gets less than 5.

In summary, using his whirlpool move to your advantage, keep him where 
you want him - on one far side of the room, and then get to the other. 
Shoot, jump over, and be far away from his missiles, and if you fire 
rapidly enough, you'll be hitting him constantly. Release charged shots 
when he ends his whirlpool. It may take a couple tries if he gets you 
in a tough situation or latches onto you, but you should be able to 
overcome him.

I prefer to use the X-Buster over his weakness, Rolling Shield, as his 
torpedoes destroy your Rolling Shields. You'll run out of ammunition 
fairly quickly. However, quickly shooting them until you run out will 
at least get a good amount of damage off of him before you run out, 
especially if you're close to him, so consider that. You can also jump 
and release it so it lands on him, which will prevent it from being 
destroyed by torpedoes, but you'll be hit more often.

If you still can't win, come back when you have the Boomerang Cutter. 
If you hit Launch Octopus with this weapon three times, his tentacles 
will be cut off. He can now no longer use his whirlpool or his homing 
torpedoes! Now, just rapidly fire your X-Buster (or Rolling Shield, if 
you want), and he has no chance so long as you don't let him land on 
you when he occasionally jumps.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After defeating him, you receive Homing Torpedo. This weapon is Boomer 
Kuwanger's weakness. Note that the Forest Stage now has some puddles 
and a hidden underwater section, as Launch Octopus's defeat triggered a 
large tidal wave.

RECAP:

[HEART TANK] - Hop up the third whirlpool and destroy the Cruiziler 
(simply stand on its left, firing rapidly, and hop to fire two shots 
every time a helicopter is released). It will crush through the ground. 
Go to the right and defeat the Utuboros by hitting its head and tail 
(stand on its body if you want), and jump over its head/tail when it 
changes direction (jump off if it gets near the ceiling). Once it's 
dead, go to the right, careful of the spikes.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Tower Stage

Boomer Kuwanger
Ht: 7.93 ft
Wt: 206 lb
-Attacks-
Boomerang Cutter
Dead Lift
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Climb up the two ladders and jump over the gap. Charge up. You'll 
encounter a shield, chain and mace enemy, from now on called a shield 
robot. Jump over his spike and fire, and then quickly jump back over it 
as he pulls it back. Repeat this until he dies. Jump to where he was 
and go up the ladder.

Jump over to the right and get to the right edge of the platform you're 
on so as not to get hit by the above shield robot's spike. Jump so that 
the cannon on the wall, called a Dodge Blaster, starts to charge up. It 
will quickly dodge shots unless you're very close to it when it's not 
charging up, but when it is, it won't dodge at all. Shoot quickly to 
kill it, but make sure not to jump into its shot. Climb up the ladder. 
If you have dash, use the dash-jump to get onto the ladder and climb 
straight up. If not, wait for the shield robot to send his spike 
towards, you, then jump over it to stand near him, fire quickly, and 
jump over his spike as it comes back. Repeat. Shoot the Dodge Blaster 
if it's charging, then wall jump off the wall onto the ladder and climb 
the ladder straight up.

This next section is tricky. Lasers turn on and off, and are difficult 
to get past. Helicopters will come from above - one regular shot will 
destroy them. However, this will only buy you a little time, since more 
will come eventually. Shoot the first one. You can dash underneath this 
vertical laser if you have dash; if not, time it carefully. Tripping 
these lasers makes the eyes you see shoot lasers at you, which are 
extremely hard to dodge (although luckily not too damaging). Then, jump 
up onto the next eye and over the ground laser, hopping up the small 
wall there. Shoot a helicopter if it comes, then time it so that you 
jump into the middle of the laser as it ends, run past the eye, and 
then jump before the laser comes back, clearing the end of it. Drop 
down and wait - kill a helicopter if it comes. You can't dash under 
this one, so you'll have to time it. Then, shoot the next helicopter. 
This last laser is hard - hop onto the far left of the ledge and the 
laser won't touch you. Then, jump as it turns off, run, and jump again 
to clear it. In this whole section, definitely dash if you have it 
instead of running.

Jump and climb up the ladder. After the Mega Tortois fires its second 
parachute bomb, quickly jump over it and climb the ladder - it looks 
like you'll land on him, but you won't. Go to the right and climb the 
ladder. Jump over this Mega Tortois the same way - this one's easier 
since you're elevated - and climb the ladder. You'll have to destroy 
this Mega Tortois using the run near him, run near the wall technique. 
Do so, climb the ladder, and repeat for the final Mega Tortois. Climb 
the ladder and go to the right onto the elevator.

Make sure not to touch the bottoms of the platforms - they're instant 
kills! Walk to the right between the first two platforms, then turn 
left and shoot the helicopter. Walk left near the wall over the third 
platform, then after the helicopter is below you, quickly right over 
the fourth. Quickly move left after evading THAT helicopter to avoid 
another, and go near the left wall - the next helicopter won't reach 
you. Quickly walk right once that helicopter is below you and go over 
the platform in the middle to evade the final helicopter. There will 
now be three platforms and the lift will slow down. Go over to the 
left, and go between the left and middle platforms, walking right, as 
the lift goes up. It will then reach the top. Go to the right.

Climb the ladder, go left, and wall jump onto the next ladder. You'll 
see a slot/hole in the wall. Enemies called slider cannons come out of 
these. You can stand on the right edge of the platforms that comes out, 
but once they're completely out, you will see a cannon emerge that 
shoots. Jump at the slot and it will push you to the right, yet you'll 
still be on the wall. Jump off and onto the ladder and climb. You'll 
now see an enemy on the ladder, called a Ladder Yadder. Just shoot it 
and then jump and climb its ladder. At this next part, wait for the 
platform to go back in, then wall jump above it. When it starts to come 
out below you, get off the wall, and then jump from that platform to 
the next ledge before the cannon shoots you. Shoot the Ladder Yadder 
and jump to and climb its ladder. Jump up this wall and then onto the 
ladder from the wall, ignoring the Sliding Cannon. Shoot the Ladder 
Yadder here and climb its ladder, ignoring the Sliding Cannon again. 
This next part is a little tricky. Jump all the way to the top, and 
when the second Sliding Cannon of this part comes out, get on its 
platform and shoot the cannon before it hits you. Then, shoot the 
Ladder Yadder and get back on the wall. When the platform comes out 
again, run off it and jump onto the ladder and climb it. Finally, jump 
straight up this wall and onto the ladder, climb it, jump onto the next 
ladder, climb it, and jump up the wall on the left.

HEART TANK! You need either Shotgun Ice and the X-Buster Upgrade or the 
Boomerang Cutter. If you have the Boomerang Cutter, revisit this level 
and fire it to retrieve the Heart Tank. With the Shotgun Ice, charge it 
up and hop onto the platform so that it goes to the right, then jump 
off it onto the Heart Tank ledge when you pass it.

Jump and shoot the Turning Cannon on the platform. Get on its platform 
and jump from it to the next level. Repeat this again. Jump over to the 
right. Climb the ladder once you make sure the Dodge Blaster isn't too 
close as to hit you. Charge up and hit it. Make sure to avoid the 
blasts from the Turn Cannon. Then, shoot the top one, get on its 
platform, and jump from it to the ladder. Climb it. You're almost 
there! Charge up and shoot the Dodge Blaster on the left. Jump up the 
wall once the Turn Cannons are safely going to the right, then jump 
onto the ladder and climb it. Go through the gray door and then the 
next.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Boss: Boomer Kuwanger>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Boomer Kuwanger is a very annoying boss, and without dash, is even 
difficult.

Touching him removes four bars of health. Since teleports around a lot, 
this is actually an issue during the battle. If he teleports, make sure 
to get out of the way if he starts to appear where you are - jumping as 
he appears helps.

If you are hit by his Dead Lift, you lose four bars of health. This is 
his most common attack (other than teleporting). He will run straight 
at you and then attempt to lift you up and throw you against the 
ceiling with his head. It's a very annoying attack. Since the easiest 
way to avoid this is to climb a wall, it's recommended you try to stay 
near walls for the battle.

If you are hit by his Boomerang Cutter, you lose two bars of health. 
This is easy to avoid, though. Jump over it and then let it go over 
you. He may through it at slight angles, but improvising isn't too 
difficult. Note that he may dash towards you once his Boomerang Cutter 
is thrown - just get on a wall.

Charged shots throw him back a bit when he's stationary. Hit him as he 
appears and do your best to get to a wall and jump over him, or get 
down if he teleports. With dash, this is easy - dash-jump over him and 
dash from wall to wall, firing at him with charged shots as you land. 
Once he reaches about half of his life, he'll teleport away each time 
he's hit (and immediately after appearing, in many cases). This makes 
the remainder of the battle easy. Stay again one wall and rapidly fire 
- you'll hit him each time he appears, even if it's for a split second. 
Just watch out that he doesn't appear close or on you, because he can 
use Dead Lift, and you've won.

Homing Torpedoes will hit him when he appears and do good damage. 
Firing these constantly basically assures victory, but does nothing 
special to him.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After defeating him, you receive Boomerang Cutter. This weapon is Sting 
Chameleon's weakness. This weapon is necessary to get the Sub Tank at 
the Power Plant Stage. This weapon is one of two methods to retrieve 
the Heart Tank at the Tower Stage.

RECAP:

[HEART TANK] - Get past all the Sliding Cannons and Ladder Yadders and 
climb the wall on the left. Come back with the Boomerang Cutter and 
fire it at the Heart Tank to retrieve it. Alternatively, charge up the 
Shotgun Ice and ride it to the right, and as it passes the ledge, hop 
off and jump onto it.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Forest Stage

Sting Chameleon
Ht: 5.80 ft
Wt: 169 lb
-Attacks-
Chameleon Sting
Iron Tongue
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

This level's pretty short and sweet, with a Ride Armor through half of 
it. You can make there be puddles and a hidden underwater section, 
needed for the Heart Tank, by defeating Launch Octopus.

Go to the right, hop down, and shoot the Amenhopper. Watch out for that 
grass patch - it's an enemy resembling a Mettool, called Planty. It's 
easy to kill, but it will throw a small worm at you, called an Iworm. A 
charged up shot should take care of both. When the Axe Max to the right 
has hit the bottom log, jump up and stand on it as it grows and then 
jump over him - shoot him from behind if you want.

Charge up and run to the right. As you fall down, release to kill an 
Amenhopper. Watch out! There's a Planty right there. Continue to the 
right. Jump over the log thrown at you on the other one, then over Axe 
Max, and shoot him from behind if you want. Run straight right until 
you reach the wall so that the Amenhopper jumps over you, and then jump 
up it.

HEART TANK! Fall down the pit right here and get onto the wall on the 
right. If you have the Dash Upgrade, jump up the wall and you'll break 
it. If you've already defeated Launch Octopus, this will now be filled 
with water. Use the dash-jump to get to the right and hop up to get the 
Heart Tank. Then, use another dash-jump to get back, and climb up the 
left wall.

ARMOR UPGRADE! Go all the way up that wall. Now, use a dash-jump and 
hop up onto the roof of the cave. You'll encounter a mini-boss, RT-55J. 
This is incredibly easy, yet incredibly long. Jump up to hit him (if 
you hit his metal claws, it won't hurt him). He'll slowly shoot his 
claw out towards you - simply stay back or jump over it, fire, and jump 
back over it. He also jumps around - dash under him. He really is a 
joke of a battle. Once he's defeated, a Light Capsule will come out of 
the ground. Go over to it, speak to Dr. Light, and then jump in it to 
get the Armor Upgrade. It halves all the damage you take - this in 
essence doubles your life bar. Then, the rocks blocking your path will 
break, and you can go back. Note that now there will be no rocks 
falling in the cave other than the enemies.

There's not much to be said about this section - the rocks don't always 
fall the exact same way. Jump over pits when you see them, and don't 
try to dash under or jump over the rock enemies (called Crag Men) - you 
shouldn't get caught off-guard. It's easy enough to see the large rocks 
that are Crag Men. Wait for them to open up and then fire rapidly - 
they won't even touch you. There are five in total, and none is in a 
particularly tricky spot. Do your best to avoid the rocks above. If you 
can't, defeat RT-55J. If you don't want to, have the Helmet Upgrade, 
and the falling rocks won't hurt you. If you've been following this 
walkthrough and are already here, this shouldn't be anything for you.

Keep moving to the right and you'll see a woodpecker, called Mad 
Pecker. Mad Peckers knock slow enemies called Creepers out of the 
trees. Both are easy to kill. Don't even worry about this part, though. 
Run straight to the right, hopping up the ledge and over the pit, and 
keep moving. Nothing will touch you - not even the hidden Planty. Jump 
over the next pit and up the wall, ignoring the shield robot. Take the 
extra life to your right, and then go up again and keep moving right.

Jump into the ride armor and move to the right. Kill the helicopter and 
then jump into the sticky substance. You slowly sink and move slower 
the deeper you get - jump every now and then to stay on top of things. 
Punch an Amenhopper and then another, followed by another helicopter. 
Defeat the enemy Ride Armor and then another Amenhopper. You'll 
encounter two more Amenhoppers now - near the second, you can hop out 
of your robot to get the large energy capsule. Kill another helicopter 
and then another Amenhopper and you'll be on shore. Two more 
Amenhoppers, an enemy Ride Armor, and another Amenhopper remain between 
you and the end. Finally, jump out of your Ride Armor and go through 
the gray door, and then the next one.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Boss: Sting Chameleon>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This Maverick is one of the harder ones - his attacks are very fast and 
hard to avoid. With a lot of health, you can easily outdo him with 
little effort, but if you haven't collected many Heart Tanks, you're 
going to have to stay alert.

Contacting him removes four bars of health. This isn't too hard to 
avoid. He camouflages himself and moves, appearing, and can touch you, 
but you can see where he goes and should make an effort not to be where 
he appears (just don't stay stationary). The only other time he could 
touch you is if he's on the wall and jumps downs. For this reason, 
don't be too near him when he's on the wall until he starts to 
camouflage himself.

When you're hit by Iron Tongue, you lose four bars of health. He comes 
near you and tries to lick you. This attack is incredibly quick. 
Luckily, it's easy to predict. When he camouflages himself and moves 
near you, he's going to appear either above you or to his side - 
whenever he gets close enough to you, and start licking. He can lick 
parallel to the ground, about 22.5 degrees down from there, and about 
22.5 more degrees down from there, and 22.5 more degrees down from 
there. In other words, he shoots left or right or one to three quarters 
of the way to a lick straight down. If you're above him, he can't hit 
you, and will either hop down to jump up or camouflage. What do you do? 
Run over near him as he camouflages himself, and if comes down, run to 
the farthest wall, while charging. He may chase you a bit, but he'll be 
way out of range, and you can jump and hit him. Occasionally he'll use 
this if you're near him when he's on the ground - if he pulls his had 
back, quickly jump.

When you're hit by the spikes, you lose two bars of health. This is 
probably the most difficult attack to avoid in the game. If you have 
dash, make good use of it - you'll be faster and shorter, decreasing 
the chances of being hit. If not, pick a direction and run in it. Stop 
if you see one about to hit you, but don't turn around. This attack 
takes more luck than skill to avoid, and even those with the quickest 
of reflexes should expect to take damage a couple times during the 
battle. The good news is that he can't use this immediately after 
removing his camouflage - he must first drop to the down and then jump 
up, hanging to the ceiling with his tongue, so it will be easy to know 
when it's coming (and get a hit in before the spikes start falling). Be 
careful to not get hit by him when you fire, though, as he swings left 
and right.

When you're hit by his Chameleon Sting, you lose two bars of health. He 
can use this at any time - he can jump onto the wall or appear on it. 
It fires three shots that spread. He can fire this at any angle - the 
best idea is to be far away so that as they spread, you can go under or 
jump over the beams more easily.

If you jump into the spikes on the ceiling, you lose eight bars of 
health. The only time you would jump onto the wall would be to fire at 
him while he uses Chameleon Sting, so make sure you jump only that high 
- this really shouldn't be an issue.

To summarize, stay away from him until he camouflages himself, then run 
towards him. If he comes down, switch direction and run away; if he 
goes across the top, get on the wall and fire a shot for him as he 
appears. Since he can't be shot for most of the round, you should be 
constantly charging to make the shots you do get off count.

With Boomerang Cutter, the battle is significantly easier. Hitting him 
will make him fall to the ground and jump up to make spikes fall. 
Continually do this and avoid the few spikes that make it down until he 
dies.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After defeating him, you receive Chameleon Sting. This weapon is Storm 
Eagle's weakness.

RECAP:

[HEART TANK] - You need the Dash Upgrade, and Launch Octopus must have 
already been defeated. Drop down the pit to the left of the cave. Jump 
up the wall on the right to break the blocks, then dash-jump to the 
right. Dash-jump back once you have the Heart Tank.

[ARMOR UPGRADE - Body Armor] - You need the Dash Upgrade. Use a dash-
jump to get onto the roof of the cave. You will fight a mini-boss, RT-
55J. To defeat him, simply keep your distance and run/dash under him 
when he jumps. Get on a wall and jump over him if he hits the wall and 
pulls himself toward you. After defeating him, the Light Capsule will 
appear. Enter it.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Sky Stage

Storm Eagle
Ht: 8.20 ft
Wt: 275 lb
-Attacks-
Storm Tornado
Diving
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

This stage isn't bad at all. With the Dash Upgrade, you can get a Heart 
Tank, Sub Tanks, and Upgrade, and it's pretty short, too.

Run right and shoot the helicopter. Jump onto one of the platforms. You 
can take this platform around in a circle, and if you get off to the 
right, you can kill a shield robot, fire at these large fire hazard 
fuel tanks, and get a large energy capsule, but don't waste your time. 
When you see the next group of platforms, jump onto one (use a wall 
jump quickly).

HEART TANK! Stay on until the top and then dash-jump to the left off 
your platform. Go as far as you can and you'll find the Heart Tank.

Get back to the second group of platforms. Stay on until the top and 
then jump over and run, ignoring the helicopters. You can get off to 
the right twice on the way up for energy capsules, but again, don't 
waste your time.

Keep running to the right and charge up. Jump over the pit and fire at 
the cannon here, the Lift Cannon. If you don't hit him, wait for him to 
come down, or climb up while charging up and release before you land on 
him at the top. Keep running to the right and defeat two large robots 
(the spark/torpedo ones). In the next section, you'll find platforms 
that go up and then down. Some have guns called Flamers on them, 
randomly placed. They fire a row of flames, but if you're on the center 
of your platform, the flames won't reach you. If there's a Flamer, 
shoot it before jumping on the platform I say.

SUB TANK! Jump on the first platform, and then take the two higher ones 
to the left. Jump and shoot the glass and then jump into that hallway. 
Run to the left and you'll get the Sub Tank. If you want, keep running 
left and shoot the large robot from behind to shatter all the glass.

Go back and jump across the platforms - jump when you're above the one 
to your right. It's simply enough, and with the Dash Upgrade, you can 
jump two at a time (make sure the one you're on is near the top and 
going down). Get onto the land, and then continue to go right across 
the platforms. When you get to solid ground again, you can slide down 
the wall and repeatedly charge up, jump up and fire at the danger tanks 
to get an extra life. Go right, jump up the ledge, and then jump up the 
large tower.

HELMET UPGRADE! Slide down the right side of the tower and dash-jump 
off it to the right. Repeatedly fire at the danger tanks to blow them 
up, and then run through to the right to find the Light Capsule. Jump 
into it. You can now break blocks with your helmet, as demonstrated.

Go back up the large tower and then go right. Simply run under the 
helicopters while charging up. If one of them does grab you, release 
and you will destroy it without taking any damage. When there's an 
opening, you can jump up and go left to get an extra life. Then, 
continue along the ground to the right, charging up. Soon you'll see to 
Balls de Voux - release. Go right, jump over the pit, jump up the wall, 
and keep moving (remember, charge up and fire if you get caught by 
helicopters). You'll soon reach a pit with three stationary platforms - 
they fall after a moment once you touch them, so just jump across them 
quickly (dash if you want). You'll then get onto the large airship from 
the Highway Stage, the Death Rogumer.

Run up the two ramps and jump over the slow bullets the turret fires 
while destroying it. Move right and repeat for its second turret. Then, 
keep going right. To the left is the gray door, but you can go to the 
right off the pit to find an energy capsule (don't jump too far right, 
just go down the wall). Either way, you should jump onto the loading 
platform. It will bring you up into the ship, which you automatically 
destroy from the inside. Then, you're greeted by the stage's Maverick, 
who's not happy with what you've done.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Boss: Storm Eagle>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This Maverick is very easy, especially if you have the Dash Upgrade. 
This shouldn't be a problem.

First, he can flap his wings, sending you back. You take no damage from 
this, but it can push you off the edge into the pit. Run against this 
toward him - if you don't have the Dash Upgrade, continue to run after 
he's done to get near him again. Fire while he does this; he's 
defenseless.

Second, he can use Storm Tornado. This does the same thing - jump 
through it to make it push you back much less. You take no damage from 
it. Again, fire as much as you can.

Third, he may fly above the ground and stop there for a minute. This 
means he's going to throw an egg at you - when it breaks, four small 
birds fly at you. A charged up shot will destroy all the birds right 
when the egg cracks and regular shots destroy the birds one at a time. 
Fire at and jump over the birds if you didn't finish them off 
immediately. Generally, though, when you see him start to go up, start 
to charge up, and fire when his egg reaches the ground. Getting hit by 
a bird will reduce your health by one bar. You cannot shoot or get hurt 
by the egg - you'll jump through it. After doing this, he may go up or 
back down.

If he goes up (he doesn't always pause in the middle to throw on egg), 
he'll start diving diagonally down at you from either side. Being hit 
by him takes off four bars of health. Run left or right to avoid this 
(only switch direction once he just passes you, as he'll do this 
multiple times), and if he's coming close, jump up as he passes you. 
Turn around and fire if you feel you have enough space. He'll do this a 
random amount of times and then come down on the left or right - run 
towards him (if you run the wrong way, turn around!).

Really, his only chance to hit you is if you try to turn around and hit 
him while he's diving. If your health gets low, just stop doing that. 
He'll also hit you if he constantly dives at you from the opposite 
direction - if he does this, quickly change direction and jump or dash 
under him. With the Chameleon Sting, the battle becomes shorter, but 
nothing really changes. 
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After defeating him, you receive Storm Tornado. This weapon is Flame 
Mammoth's weakness. The Helmet Upgrade you may have picked up on the 
way is necessary for getting the X-Buster Upgrade. Note that Spark 
Mandrill's stage now becomes easier, as the Death Rogumer crashes into 
the Power Plant Stage, getting rid of its power.

RECAP:

[HEART TANK] - At the top of the second group of rotating platforms 
near the beginning, dash-jump to the left off your platform to find the 
Heart Tank.
 
[SUB TANK] - When you reach the platforms that go up and down, go on 
the first one, then jump to the two higher platforms to the left. Jump 
and fire at the glass, then jump through and go left to find the Sub 
Tank.

[HELMET UPGRADE - Helmet Enhancement] - Slide down the right side of 
the large tower past the platforms that go up and down. Dash-jump off 
the wall to the right and blast the danger tanks. Go to the right to 
find the Light Capsule. Jump in it.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Factory Stage

Flame Mammoth
Ht: 10.5 ft
Wt: 719 lb
-Attacks-
Fire Wave
Oiling
Jump Press
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

This is one of the more difficult stages, yet is fairly short and has 
no mini-boss. You can make it far easier by defeating Chill Penguin 
first, which will freeze the lava, allowing you to walk across it, and 
will get rid of the flame pillars from the lava.

Jump up the ledge. If you've already defeated Chill Penguin, just run 
straight to the right underneath everything, then hop up the wall and 
shoot the helicopter. Run to the right again, but before you get to the 
wall, wait for a moment so that robot doesn't land on you. Jump up the 
two ledges and go right. Jump over the pit for a large energy capsule, 
and then go down.

If you haven't defeated Chill Penguin, jump up the ledge. Note that the 
platforms ahead are conveyor belts - the first moving right, the second 
left, which means you will run faster or slower depending on which 
direction you run (jump to go at normal speed). There will be gray 
tubes - these drop robots onto the conveyor belts. If it drops a small 
robot, this robot will attempt to shoot you with slow lasers from its 
eyes - contact damages you. Jump across and then shoot this robot. If 
it's a large red one, just jump over it. Jump over the next pit. Again, 
if it's a small robot, shoot it, and if it's a large one, jump over it. 
Jump over the pit and off the conveyor belt and shoot the helicopter. 
Go down, and then right. If it's a large robot, jump onto it and jump 
from its side onto the left-moving conveyor belt - if it's a small one, 
just jump over it. There will be another tube; jump over the large or 
shoot the small. Jump to the next ledge and shoot the helicopter, 
following the robot that most recently fell (if small, shoot it). There 
will be another tube, but whatever it drops will burn in the lava 
before it can threaten you. Jump over the gap, then up the two ledges, 
and go right. Jump over the pit for a large energy capsule, and then go 
down.

X-BUSTER UPGRADE! You need both the Dash Upgrade and the Helmet Upgrade 
for this. Jump over to the area above the (frozen) lava. Use a dash-
jump to the left and aim for the blocks. If you get on it, quickly wall 
jump repeatedly. You may have to slide down for a moment and then wall 
jump depending on how the blocks break, but repeatedly wall jump 
immediately after waiting a moment for that one jump. Note that if you 
break the bottom right block and then fall, you need to die and try 
again. If done properly, your Helmet Upgrade will get you through the 
rest of the blocks to above. Go left to find the Light Capsule. Jump 
into it.

HEART TANK! If you've already defeated Chill Penguin, run along the 
bottom all the way to the right to get the Heart Tank. If not, you'll 
need a lot of life. Go to the right and go down through the last fire 
pillar and run while jumping (or if you have dash and didn't defeat 
Chill Penguin, dash-jump). You can reach it, but you'll die. The Armor 
Upgrade will be useful. Go slow and then run to dodge the picks thrown 
on the way back.

In this next section, ignore any warning of fire pillars if you've 
already defeated Chill Penguin. Jump onto the first platform. There 
will be a fire pillar right away, so wait and then jump over it. Note 
that you can quite easily tell where they will be based on where there 
are cracks in the platforms. Continue and there will be two more flame 
pillars - jump over the gaps they leave and fire at the miner. Jump 
onto his platform, then over a gap left by the fire pillar. There will 
be another one - after it's gone, jump above it, charging, onto the 
higher platform. Time it so that the miner has just thrown his pick. 
When you get up, blast him. Keep going right and jump across. Shoot the 
next two miners, then jump up and hit the one above. Jump up to his 
platform. Shoot the miner far to your right.

SUB TANK! You need the Dash Upgrade for this. Charge up and then hop up 
the platform on the left. Release the shot and fall. Repeat this to 
kill the miner above you. Then, hop onto his platform. Run left and 
blast the next miner, and keep moving left to pick up an energy 
capsule. Jump left and then onto the platform, but jump so that you 
JUST land on the right edge of it. You'll see a Mettool - jump over it. 
Keep jumping, as it may fire at you and it's hard to see. Jump over the 
second Mettool to get an extra life. Use a dash-jump from where the 
extra life is to get onto a wall, and jump up it. Jump against the 
blocks to break them. For the second group of blocks, just break the 
middle two and go through to get the Sub Tank. Jump down to the left of 
the wall so that you don't fall in the lava.

Go back to where you were before the above paragraph (before going left 
up and left). Now, jump to the right and jump up the wall. Hop down the 
ledge, and you'll be at another conveyor belt section. Jump onto the 
right-moving conveyor belt and shoot the robot in front of you. The 
gray thing on the ceiling will smash down onto the conveyor belt - run 
to the right. If it's a large robot and you don't destroy it, wait for 
it to be crushed, and then run right. Repeat the same procedure on the 
next conveyor belt. Now, jump to the right. If a large robot is coming, 
walk under the crusher, then quickly left and wait. Then, run through 
as it goes up and jump over the large robot. If it's a small robot, you 
can either do this and then shoot it, or wait for it to come and then 
make the crusher crush it. If another robot is dropped, just jump over 
it. Jump onto the next conveyor belt and just run right, then jump over 
the lava. Go down the pit and go right.

Jump over the lava, wait, and jump over the lava drop. Jump onto the 
ledge and climb the ladder. Run at the spike on the ground. With these 
spikes, completely ignore the fact that they can be either above and 
below and just imagine that they're always above. Jump over it when you 
get near it and go down the ledge. Climb down the ladder and get near 
the end, then press jump to hop off it and fire rapidly at the shield 
robot. If you can't do that, just get on the ladder and jump, then jump 
left over the lava, then come back. Then, finish off the shield robot 
as you usually would (make sure not to get too close because of the 
lava drop). Jump over the next drop and hop up the two ledges. Defeat 
the shield robot and go down the small ledge.

Wait for the spike above to be coming left and then hop up and jump 
over it. Run, and when you're at the line of the piece of pip closest 
to him before going up, jump over his mace. Run and jump up next to 
him, and then jump over him. Try to land over the spike - if you can't, 
land to the left then jump over it. Run right and when you get close to 
the second spike, jump over it. Hop up the ledge and defeat the shield 
robot. Then, jump over the lava and go through the gray door. Go 
through the second gray door.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Boss: Flame Mammoth>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This boss is incredibly easy. Don't even worry about this one. If 
you've been following this walkthrough from the beginning, this is the 
last one, so just win here and you'll be at the final stages.

If you contact Flame Mammoth, you lose four bars of health. Generally, 
this will happen if he jumps at you. To avoid this, run the way that 
the conveyor belt is moving - go either under or away from him. If 
you're running away from him and this leads to a wall, quickly jump up 
it, or dash under him. The other event is that you're standing close to 
him and he reaches a wall, and you go right into him.

If you're hit by his Fire Wave, you lose two bars of health. You can 
jump over these with relative ease so long as you're not TOO close. Or, 
you can stand directly next to him, and his Fire Wave will miss you. I 
recommend just keeping your distance and jumping, though. Running away 
from this shot will not work well, but if you're going to, jump a lot.

If you're hit by the flame on his oil, whether it's the initial rise or 
the regular flame, you lose two bars of health. He'll shoot oil from 
his trunk onto the conveyor belt. If his Fire Wave lands on this, a 
large flame will spring up, and then the oil will burn for a moment. 
This probably won't even happen during you're battle, but to be sure, 
don't stand on his oil - and if you do and he fires at you, jump away.

He can also change the direction of the conveyor belt by calling out 
with his trunk. This doesn't change any strategy for him, so just 
adjust.

Also, when he lands after jumping, the ground will shake and knock you 
over. Either be on a wall or jump just as he hits the ground. This does 
no damage, though, so don't worry too much about it.

Basically, keep you're distance and fire rapidly. You can also just 
climb to the top of a wall, and if he jumps away or changes the 
direction so that he gives you some room, hop down and release a 
charged shot, then go back up. The only issue I might see coming up is 
jumping over him if you're on the wall - make sure that the conveyor 
belt is going toward you, then jump over him after he jumps. Or, if you 
have the Dash Upgrade, just use a dash-jump. The other thing that might 
hurt you is the fact that when his Fire Wave hits the ground, it burns 
for a moment, so make sure to jump OVER them and not land where they 
land.

With Storm Tornado, he'll die significantly faster (especially 
considering it can hit him twice in a shot). He's very easy without it, 
though.

If you hit him thrice with Boomerang Cutter, his trunk will fall off. 
He'll no longer be able to shoot oil or change the direction of the 
conveyor belt. This doesn't do much, but it's worth doing just to see 
him without his nose.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After defeating him, you receive Fire Wave. This weapon is Chill 
Penguin's weakness. The X-Buster Upgrade you picked up here is needed 
if you want to get the Tower Stage Heart Tank without returning there.
 
RECAP:

[HEART TANK] - When you reach the large room after the first conveyor 
belt section, run across the frozen lava after defeating Chill Penguin 
all the way to the right, or attempt it from the last fire pillar gap 
if you have a lot of health but haven't defeated Chill Penguin.
 
[SUB TANK] - You need the Dash Upgrade for this. Jump up the platforms 
in the large room. When there's one above you to the left, go up there. 
Continue to go to the left until you find an extra life. Use a dash-
jump from there to the left to reach a while, and climb up it. Break 
the blocks by climbing up them (only worry about the middle two for the 
second group), and go through for the Sub Tank.

[X-BUSTER UPGRADE - X-Buster Enhancement] - You need both the Dash 
Upgrade and the Helmet Upgrade for this. From the first platform of the 
large room, use a dash-jump and go left to reach some blocks. Rapidly 
jump up them (wait a moment if you must and then return to jumping 
rapidly), and you'll get to the top. To the left is the Light Capsule. 
Enter it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
VI. Ultimate Recap
This will remind you of the locations of every Heart Tank, Sub Tank, 
and Upgrade in the game. If you've already defeated each of the eight 
Mavericks, you can get anything here, so if you're missing something 
and want it, this is your resource. This also includes information on 
the Final Upgrade. I'll list these in the order you would receive them 
if you took the efficient order.

Gallery Stage - ARMORED ARMADILLO
[SUB TANK] - After falling down the pit near the first Mole Borer, 
quickly jump back up the wall until he passes - be careful of his one-
hit kill spikes.

[HEART TANK] - After falling down the pit near the second Mole Borer, 
rapidly fire at him and destroy him before his claws destroy the part 
of the wall you need to climb to reach the Heart Tank. If you can't 
shoot quickly enough, come back with Fire Wave, but it's quite possible 
with the X-Buster.

Ocean Stage - LAUNCH OCTOPUS
[HEART TANK] - Hop up the third whirlpool and destroy the Cruiziler 
(simply stand on its left, firing rapidly, and hop to fire two shots 
every time a helicopter is released). It will crush through the ground. 
Go to the right and defeat the Utuboros by hitting its head and tail 
(stand on its body if you want), and jump over its head/tail when it 
changes direction (jump off if it gets near the ceiling). Once it's 
dead, go to the right, careful of the spikes.

Snow Mountain Stage - CHILL PENGUIN
[DASH UPGRADE - Emergency Acceleration System] - You automatically pick 
this up once you get to the top of the cave.

Sky Stage - STORM EAGLE
[HEART TANK] - At the top of the second group of rotating platforms 
near the beginning, dash-jump to the left off your platform to find the 
Heart Tank.
 
[SUB TANK] - When you reach the platforms that go up and down, go on 
the first one, then jump to the two higher platforms to the left. Jump 
and fire at the glass, then jump through and go left to find the Sub 
Tank.

[HELMET UPGRADE - Helmet Enhancement] - Slide down the right side of 
the large tower past the platforms that go up and down. Dash-jump off 
the wall to the right and blast the danger tanks. Go to the right to 
find the Light Capsule. Jump in it.

Factory Stage - FLAME MAMMOTH
[HEART TANK] - When you reach the large room after the first conveyor 
belt section, run across the frozen lava after defeating Chill Penguin 
all the way to the right, or attempt it from the last fire pillar gap 
if you have a lot of health but haven't defeated Chill Penguin.
 
[SUB TANK] - You need the Dash Upgrade for this. Jump up the platforms 
in the large room. When there's one above you to the left, go up there. 
Continue to go to the left until you find an extra life. Use a dash-
jump from there to the left to reach a while, and climb up it. Break 
the blocks by climbing up them (only worry about the middle two for the 
second group), and go through for the Sub Tank.

[X-BUSTER UPGRADE - X-Buster Enhancement] - You need both the Dash 
Upgrade and the Helmet Upgrade for this. From the first platform of the 
large room, use a dash-jump and go left to reach some blocks. Rapidly 
jump up them (wait a moment if you must and then return to jumping 
rapidly), and you'll get to the top. To the left is the Light Capsule. 
Enter it.

Snow Mountain Stage - CHILL PENGUIN
[HEART TANK] - You must already have the Fire Wave weapon from Flame 
Mammoth. Once you leave the cave, get in the ride armor. Before the 
next small cave, jump onto the pole in the ground. Jump up and then 
jump out (Up + Jump), and get onto the roof. Use the Fire Wave weapon 
on the first igloo to destroy it, revealing the Heart Tank.

Tower Stage - BOOMER KUWANGER
[HEART TANK] - Get past all the Sliding Cannons and Ladder Yadders and 
climb the wall on the left. Come back with the Boomerang Cutter and 
fire it at the Heart Tank to retrieve it. Alternatively, charge up the 
Shotgun Ice and ride it to the right, and as it passes the ledge, hop 
off and jump onto it.

Power Plant Stage - SPARK MANDRILL
[SUB TANK] - You need the Boomerang Cutter. Go down when you get to the 
intersection early in the stage (whether or not you go up the ladder or 
down the ladder). Fight past the two large robots and walk against the 
wall. Jump and fire the Boomerang Cutter, and it will retrieve the Sub 
Tank for you.

[HEART TANK] - You need the Dash Upgrade. Past the first Mega Tortois, 
climb the wall. Dash-jump to the left, then come back to the right. 
With a few tries, you should reach the ledge - hop up to get your Heart 
Tank.

Forest Stage - STING CHAMELEON
[HEART TANK] - You need the Dash Upgrade, and Launch Octopus must have 
already been defeated. Drop down the pit to the left of the cave. Jump 
up the wall on the right to break the blocks, then dash-jump to the 
right. Dash-jump back once you have the Heart Tank.

[ARMOR UPGRADE - Body Armor] - You need the Dash Upgrade. Use a dash-
jump to get onto the roof of the cave. You will fight a mini-boss, RT-
55J. To defeat him, simply keep your distance and run/dash under him 
when he jumps. Get on a wall and jump over him if he hits the wall and 
pulls himself toward you. After defeating him, the Light Capsule will 
appear. Enter it.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<FINAL UPGRADE!>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
You must first defeat all eight Mavericks and collect everything above. 
If you complete these requirements, you can now access the Final 
Upgrade.

Gallery Stage - Armored Armadillo
[HADOUKEN UPGRADE - Special Present] - At the beginning of the stage, 
fight the different bat to gain lives. Get 10 to be safe. Now, go 
through the stage until the final mine cart. Jump up and get the large 
energy capsule on top - whether or not it was before taking the 
capsule, your health should be filled after doing this. You must do 
this five times - either press start and select Exit, go through to the 
end of the stage to exit, or jump down the pit. On the fifth time, make 
sure you have full health as you see the energy capsule, and you'll see 
a Light Capsule there. Even if you get hit by a bird, you'll 
automatically pick up the large energy capsule as you reach the Light 
Capsule, so you don't actually have to reach it with full health 
(although I recommend you kill the birds to be safe). Enter the capsule 
to receive the Hadouken Upgrade. To perform this, make sure you have 
full health, then press down, down-forward, forward, and then fire, 
while equipped with the X-Buster. This will do 32 points of damage to 
anything it hits - killing all bosses (except the final one, who blocks 
it) with life bars in one hit and all mini-bosses in two! 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
VII. Walkthrough (Part II)
This portion will be an in-depth guide to the final four stages of the 
game. From now on, it will assume that you have the X-Buster, all eight 
other weapons, and the Dash Upgrade.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Sigma Stage
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
After Dr. Cain, an archaeologist, discovered X, the first robot able to 
think and reason, he created more that could think and reason, called 
Reploids. Some Reploids, however, decided they were superior to their 
human creators and rebelled, attacking them. Of all the Reploids, Sigma 
had the latest design and was the greatest. Because of this, he led the 
Maverick Hunters, a group of Reploids given the mission to put down all 
Maverick revolts. However, Sigma suddenly and unexpectedly changed, and 
became a Maverick himself, taking most of the other Maverick Hunters, 
including the Elite Unit 17's Vile, with him. Zero replaces Sigma as 
the leader of the Maverick Hunters with a very important duty. This is 
the first organized Maverick revolt ever, and is a major threat to 
humans. After defeating the eight Mavericks, however, the odds turn in 
your favor. Zero meets up with you to inform you that the Maverick 
Hunters have found Sigma's secret base, and you can now finally attack 
the heart of the problem and end this revolt for good.

The following four levels are the final ones in the game. They cannot 
be revisited after being completed, but have nothing that you can only 
get in them, so don't worry about missing anything.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Sigma Stage (First Area)

???? 
Bospider
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Zero meets up with you at the beginning of the stage. He orders you to 
sneak in while he keeps the main defense busy.

Kill the first two Mega Tortoises, shoot the helicopter, and then kill 
the third. Ignoring the ledges, remember to go near and far every time 
two parachute bombs are fired, and you'll be fine. Now, kill the fourth 
and another helicopter. The fifth Mega Tortois is tricky - going to the 
ledge below him brings a helicopter, so going back forth will 
continually bring another helicopter. Just charge up when you move, 
though, and you'll be fine. Kill the next helicopter, and you'll get to 
a great cliff.

Wait for the platform to come to you, and jump on top of it - if you 
jump far, a helicopter will come behind you. Jump onto the second 
platform as it comes toward you, and charge up. Release your shot and 
then jump to the third one. Jump to the fourth before it gets all the 
away, and turn around to fire at the helicopter. Charge up, jump, and 
fire, then jump onto the next platform. Easily jump from there to the 
right. Wait for the platform to bring you to the next one, and then 
jump on it. Jump from there to the building. Use dash-jumps if you want 
to be certain you'll make it on any of these, and if you miss your 
jump, wait.

Shoot the Turn Cannon on the floor before it can hit you. Shoot the 
next two on the ceiling, and go up the ledges. Wait for the Turn Cannon 
below to fire while charging up, then drop down and blast it. Rapidly 
shoot at the large robot. When it gets ready to fire, jump onto the 
wall (the sparks will be on top of each other because of the terrain) - 
if the attack is the slow torpedoes, quickly get down. Finish off the 
large robot. Get on the ledge, and from there, shoot the Ball de Voux, 
then the Turn Cannon on the ceiling. Then, go forward and defeat the 
large robot. Climb the ladder and shoot the Ball de Voux. Charge up, 
climb the next ladder, and shoot two more. Climb two more ladders.

Vile now appears with the intention of stopping you - he's already 
beaten you before, and this time he intends to kill you. However, Zero 
intercepts and chases him to a larger room where they can fight. Go 
through the gray door. You can hear a charged-up shot get fired and 
what sounds like a Ride Armor moving around, followed by another sound. 
Go through the next gray door. Go to the right.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Boss: Vile (Armored Carrier)>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It was a trap - Vile led Zero back to his Armored Carrier! Apparently, 
Vile has tuned up his Ride Armor this time around - it was able to take 
a shot from Zero's arm cannon, the Z-Buster. Vile captured Zero, and 
tells you to follow his orders for Zero's safety. However, Zero tells 
you to ignore him and fight him, motivating Vile to just try to defeat 
you, too.

This is the same machine you fought at the Highway Stage. This time 
around, his punch removes six bars of health instead of three, but 
other than that, the fight is identical. When your health gets down to 
6 and he can kill you with a punch, he instead starts to use his energy 
beam. Once he hits you, he places you far away from Zero so that you 
can't try anything with him, and gets ready to charge you to finish you 
off.

Fight as hard as you can - you won't win. If you have the final upgrade 
and want to convince yourself, fire a Hadouken. Bring Sub Tanks and 
fire as many Hadouken shots as you want - you can't win. 
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Boss: Vile>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
With a burst of energy, Zero breaks out of his container and latches 
onto Vile. He charges as far as he can and uses his greatest shot, 
creating a large explosion. This throws him off the screen, but greatly 
hurts Vile.

Or does it? Although the invincible Armored Carrier was finally 
destroyed, Vile escaped unscathed - like you and unlike the other 
enemies that get in Ride Armors, he knows better than to blow up with 
his machine. As time has passed and with this new hope, though, you 
break free and your health is filled - the only time in the game you 
can increase your health without an energy capsule or Sub Tank. Vile 
wonders where your power came from, but resolves to kill you himself.

This is definitely one of the hardest bosses in the game! You have no 
wall to climb up, so you can't count on repeating any pattern until he 
dies.

Contacting Vile takes off 8 bars of health - you won't lose more than 
that until the final boss! This is half your starting health and a 
quarter of it if you got every Heart Tank, so avoid this at all costs. 
Unfortunately, this is rather unpredictable. Sometimes, he'll dash 
straight at you. In this event, dash in the same direction he's 
dashing, then jump and change direction to get over him. Sometimes 
he'll jump up - dash under him.

Getting hit by his plasma bombs will reduce your health by 4. Sometimes 
when he jumps, he'll drop down two bombs - don't hit these, dash under 
them (or if you didn't react fast enough, dash away far enough so that 
Vile won't land on you). When they hit the ground, they split into 
energy that travels both left and right - jump over these. Jump 
quickly, because Vile might charge at you right after this.

He'll still shoot energy balls at you that freeze you, and you'll stay 
that way until he hits you. These shots are fast, but not too fast - 
you can still react and jump over them using the dash away then dash-
jump over technique.

If you didn't get any Heart Tanks or the Armor Upgrade, this is an 
incredibly difficult battle, mostly because he's so unpredictable. Stay 
on one side of the room and constantly charge. If he jumps, dash under 
him; if he charges, dash-jump over. Release when either you or he 
lands. Sometimes he'll charge you twice, but as long as you make sure 
that you dash away, then dash-jump over, you can survive.

Do NOT get into the habit of thinking his pattern is to dash then jump. 
Although he often does this, you're setting yourself up to be 
surprised. Don't expect anything, and you'll be able to react without 
the moment of surprise - otherwise you'll often be hit by the bombs he 
drops or not get over him completely in time.

His weakness is the Rolling Shield. Using this will make him take fewer 
hits, and thus you'll have to dodge fewer attacks. You can also try to 
use the charged-up Shotgun Ice if you have the X-Buster Upgrade, but 
because of his speed, I don't recommend it. I personally find it more 
fulfilling to finish him off with the ancient weapon he mocks, though - 
the X-Buster.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

POSSIBLE X-BUSTER UPGRADE! Vile will look as though he hit himself with 
one of his energy shots - perhaps his cannon burst - and then he will 
explode. Go to the right. You will find Zero on the ground. If you 
already got the X-Buster upgrade, he'll tell you that his auto-repair 
systems can't handle the damage he took from the explosion, but that 
you're perhaps now strong enough to defeat Sigma. If you didn't get it, 
he'll tell you that although you're stronger, you still need an edge, 
and should take his arm cannon. The two upgrades are identical, so 
don't worry about picking one or the other. The reason you can't kill 
the Armored Carrier with Zero's arm cannon, since you can get the same 
one earlier, is the same reason Zero couldn't - Vile tuned it up this 
time around. Zero then passes away.

Jump up the wall and go down. Charge up. Dash into the spring and hold 
right. Press the dash button every time you land on a spring to get 
through this entire section. Release once the shield soldier's mace 
misses you.

The next section is incredibly tricky and annoying. You can try to get 
through this on your own if you want, which will include tricky dash-
jumps off walls and taking damage before then jumping through the 
cannons, but I recommend an easier solution. Charge-up the Chameleon 
Sting with your new X-Buster Upgrade to camouflage yourself. You can 
now walk through enemies without taking damage. Do this and climb up 
the left wall. Dash-jump off it to the right wall, climb, dash-jump 
left, climb, dash-jump right, climb, and then dash-jump left. Charge it 
up again and climb the left wall, then jump onto the ladder and climb 
up it. Go into the gray door.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Boss: Boomer Kuwanger>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This battle is identical to the first time. Use the same tactics. Use 
the Homing Torpedo weapon to finish him quickly.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Continue to the right. Charge-up to the third or fourth level and 
release when the Mettool looks at you. You don't need to jump. Jump up 
and repeat this. Shoot the helicopter. Fire at the first Spiny and then 
the next, jumping over any shots the Mettool sends at you. Then, shoot 
the first Mettool; go right, shoot the helicopter, then shoot the next 
two. Keep moving and shoot another helicopter. Charge up, run, and jump 
over the ledge the Mettool is on below you, hitting two helicopters, 
and then jumping over the Spiny. Turn around and kill it, then hit the 
last Mettool and go through the gray door. Alternatively, just use the 
charged-up Chameleon Sting. Go through the next gray door.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Boss: Bospider>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
If you contact Bospider, you lose eight bars of health. He'll start at 
the top of the room and randomly add some webs connecting the four 
poles down. He'll then go down the poles, going across every connecting 
web he comes to. In essence, your eyes need to race him to the bottom 
to find out where he'll end up, and you have to make sure you won't be 
there.

If you hit one of his smaller spiders, you lose four bars of health. He 
releases four - two to either side - on occasion. Two run quickly and 
two slowly - a charged up shot will hit them. However, since you can't 
fire in two directions, you'll have to either use two charged shots or 
jump over two spiders. They then go up the wall and leave you alone.

It's a pretty easy pattern, but it's easier said than done. There are a 
couple of things to keep in mind. First, he's wider than the pole 
itself, so don't stand between poles - he can hit you from two poles, 
then. Stand in front of poles. Second, he moves across the webs at his 
middle, not his bottom, so if there's a web right near the ground, he 
can still hit you and then move to another pole. Last, his spiders do 
less damage than he does, so if he's about to hit you and you can't get 
out of the way, get hit by a spider.

There are some fundamental ways to stay safe. If you and Bospider are 
at the same pole and there's only one web attached to it from where he 
is, he won't come back to that pole, so you're safe. Because of that, 
find a pole whose lowest web is very high, and get under it. Then, 
either dash out of the way as he'll go straight down, or realize that 
you're safe. Also, remember that dashing makes you shorter, so dash to 
get under him at the last second.

Unfortunately, you can't just shoot him. When he reaches the ground, 
he'll open his eye for a moment and then go straight up. While his eye 
is open, hit him. His weakness is Shotgun Ice, which is a good weapon 
to use. A fully charged X-Buster (fourth level) will do the same amount 
of damage, though. Make sure to at least hit him with something each 
time he comes down, though - if you're using the X-Buster and aren't 
charged, just fire a regular shot, and if you just released a charged 
shot, fire some regular ones for good measure in case he didn't open 
his eye quite yet. It takes some timing depending on how far away he 
is, but you can do it.

Note that when he has less than half his life, he goes about twice as 
fast. Use the same patterns as above, but faster. Nothing changes other 
than how fast you have to be.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Sigma Stage (Second Area)
 
Rangda Bangda
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

This stage isn't so bad - the last one was harder, in my opinion. 
Anyway, get a couple of lives from the Gallery Stage if you need them, 
and get this one over with.

Jump up and hit the bat. Go right and fire rapidly at the bird. Wait 
for the bat to come down and then shoot it. The platforms ahead follow 
a set trail that you can see, and the jumps are very easy. Jump onto 
the platform. Jump off that platform, firing to kill a bat, onto the 
next one. Jump to the third platform while shooting to kill another 
bat. Jump off, kill the bird, and kill the bat. Go right, kill two more 
bats, another bird, and yet another bat. Jump up the right wall, 
charging up. When you hit the top, hop and release to kill the two bats 
and then finish off the last bird. Go through the gray door.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Boss: Chill Penguin>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This is the same battle as the first time. Use the same tactics. Use 
the Fire Wave to make your battle significantly easier.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Charge-up all the way. Jump and release your shot to kill the robot 
before he can take your Ride Armor. Jump in it. Remember that your Ride 
Armor will do more damage to enemy Ride Armors if it dashes as it 
punches to make it connect for the longest possible time. A helicopter 
will come down above you; punch it. Go right and kill the miner, then 
the enemy Ride Armor. Another helicopter waiting for your first comes 
down. Kill a miner, go right, kill another miner, and kill another Ride 
Armor. Another helicopter will come down here. There will be two more 
Ride Armors in a row, with a helicopter by the first one. Kill all of 
them, then hop out and climb up the ladder.

There's an intersection here - I recommend the right side. Jump up the 
right wall, then off it and onto the ladder. Climb up it. Jump up the 
left wall, then off it and onto the ladder. Climb up it. Watch out for 
the shots from the left side's cannons. Jump up the right wall, then 
off it onto the ladder. Quickly climb and go left to avoid shots from 
the above Turn Cannon. Keep going left and jump over the pit. Go right.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Boss: Storm Eagle>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This is the same battle as the first time. Use the same tactics. Use 
the Chameleon Sting to speed up the battle.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Go right and jump over the pit. Climb up the ladder. Jump and hit the 
bat, then fire at the Spiny that comes down. Charge up to full and jump 
somewhat slowly up the left wall - when the mace goes underneath you, 
slide down and release to kill the shield robot. Jump to where he is 
and fire at the Spiny that comes down. Now, jump up the right wall and 
as soon as possible dash-jump over the shield soldier onto the ladder. 
Turn right and hit the bat, then get up and kill the Spiny. Make sure 
to not go too high as to hit the bat, and to get up the ladder before 
the shield soldier can get off another attempt with his mace. Go right 
through the gray door and then go through the next one.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Boss: Rangda Bangda>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This boss is much different than the ones you've faced so far. It has 
three parts, and each must be destroyed in order for you to have 
victory.

Before I start, note the spikes in the middle of the arena. Touching 
them reduces your health by 64. In other words, even with the Armor 
Upgrade and all the Heart Tanks, it is instant death, just like all 
other spikes. Avoid it at all costs.

The parts are the left eye, right eye, and nose. The left eye and right 
eye can each change color to blue, green, or red. The nose always does 
the same thing.

When an eye opens up and is blue, it will rush at you. Jump onto the 
wall or dash to the left or right. It's simple to dodge, and you can 
fire at it easily a couple of times. If you touch it, you lose six bars 
of health.

When an eye opens and is green, it will fire one fireball at a time at 
you. If you're on the same side, use a dash-jump to get over the spikes 
to be safe and fire at it. It's not necessary, but it makes hitting it 
easier. Getting hit by a fireball will remove your health by two bars. 
Touching the eye makes you lose six.
 
When an eye opens and is red, it will move toward you and release three 
fireballs at a time. This is the hardest to avoid. If it's on the 
opposite side, jump up the wall; if it's on your side, use a dash jump 
to get to the other side. Getting hit by a fireball will reduce your 
health by two, and touching the eye will reduce it by six.

Needless to say, once you break an eye, stay on the broken eye's side 
for the rest of the battle. That way you'll always be far away and be 
able to get not only plenty of attacks in, but dodge the attacks 
easily, too.

The other enemy is the nose. Before it appears, two large walls from 
either side of the arena close in, trying to push you into the spikes. 
Luckily, you can jump on these walls. Jump to the top as the nose 
opens. If it goes first to your side, keep jumping up, then slide down 
and hit it. If it goes first to the other side, it will hit the corner 
you're in next, so slide or fall down (getting back on the wall after, 
of course) and then shoot it. Getting hit by the nose reduces your 
health by six.

If both eyes die, the walls stay in place. If the nose dies, the nose 
stays in place. Defeating an eye while on a wall and while you can 
barely see it at first is hard - I recommend you kill both eyes before 
killing the nose.

Overall, it's a fairly easy battle. You can use the Chameleon Sting to 
hurt them all more than you do already, but even without it, it's no 
problem.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Sigma Stage (Third Area)
 
D-Rex
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

This level isn't hard, but it's long, as you're going to rematch all 
the remaining Mavericks. For that reason, I recommend that you get some 
lives beforehand - going through it all again is a real test for your 
patience. The good news is that if you just finish this level off, 
you're at the final level.

Jump up the wall and charge-up all the way. Kill the Mega Tortois, 
avoiding the Turn Cannons' shots, and go through the gray door. 

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Boss: Armored Armadillo>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This is the same battle as the first time. Use the same tactics as 
before. Use the Electric Spark to SIGNIFICANTLY shorten your battle.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Go right. Charge-up all the way. Jump up to the left. Then, jump onto 
the left wall and then right, releasing. If timed right, it should 
shoot through the bat behind you and the enemies ahead. If you need it, 
shoot the bats above, then go up and get the large energy capsule. Go 
through the gray door.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Boss: Sting Chameleon>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This is the same battle as before. Use the same tactics. Make life 
easier and less patience-demanding on yourself by using the Boomerang 
Cutter.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Go right. Charge up. Hop down to the left and blast through the wheelie 
and miner. If you need it, jump up and blast the miner above, then use 
the Boomerang Cutter to retrieve the large energy capsule and weapon 
capsule. Go through the gray door.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Boss: Spark Mandrill>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This is the same battle as before. Use the same tactics. Make the 
battle both much shorter and much, much easier by using the Shotgun 
Ice.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Go right, down, and then left. Shoot the two Gulpfers. Go right. Shoot 
the third. Go down. Shoot the lower one, and ignore the one above. If 
you need it, jump above and get an energy and weapon tank - I recommend 
you fill up your Boomerang Cutter if it's empty. Go through the gray 
door.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Boss: Launch Octopus>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This is the same battle as before. Use the same tactics. Do yourself a 
favor and hit him with the Boomerang Cutter three times. Then, either 
use the X-Buster or Rolling Shield.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Go right, up, left, and then up. Hop up to the above platform with the 
spikes. Charge up your Chameleon Sting (or Shotgun Ice and hop on as 
long as you have some life) to pick up an extra life. If you already 
have full lives, just charge up your Chameleon Sting and dash through 
this part - you shouldn't have used any of it in this stage. Go through 
the gray door.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Boss: Flame Mammoth>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This is the same battle as before. Use the same tactics. Finish him off 
faster by using Storm Tornado.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Go right. Go through the final gray door of the game.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Boss: D-Rex>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This boss is easy enough as long as you remember how to use the dash 
button. Just don't slip up now, as you don't want to have to go through 
this level again.

This enemy resembles a dinosaur face, with the top and bottom being 
separate. They slide left and right, the top one with the ability to 
slide diagonally. Only the top one can take damage.

If you get crushed against the wall by the bottom part, you lose six 
points of health. If you see it coming at you, use a dash-jump to get 
over it. If the top part is sliding down, then hop up the wall. You'll 
land on the edge of it undamaged.

If you touch the teeth on the top one or get crushed by it against the 
wall, you'll lose four points of damage. This is an issue if you're 
standing on the bottom part and the top part is above - in this case, 
quickly dash off.

D-Rex may make both parts go to the right side to shoot from its mouth. 
If you touch the charge-up shot, either while being charged up or after 
being shot, you'll lose eight bars of health. Dash towards the shot the 
moment it is fully charged to dodge it. It will first have a small 
purple circle around it, followed by a large purple circle, and then it 
will be released, with equal time between each step, so it's not too 
hard to time.

Be careful - when the bottom part hits either wall, you won't be able 
to jump on it, similar to when Spark Mandrill punches the wall. You'll 
fall down, but even if the top part is there, you should land safely on 
the edge of the bottom part. Nonetheless, you're left stunned for a 
moment, and thus, vulnerable, so try to jump off the wall before being 
forced off.

Basically, just use dash-jumps to go over the bottom part, and 
repeatedly charge up and hit the top part. If the top part is low, as 
in diagonally moving, jump onto the bottom part and dash over. If the 
top part diagonally comes above you first, wait for it to go up and 
then jump onto and dash over the bottom part. When he gets down to half 
health, he'll move and charge twice as fast - respond by killing him. 
This is more a battle of reflexes than surefire patterns, but it's not 
too hard nonetheless.

His weakness is the Boomerang Cutter, but since the bottom part is 
invincible and you'll hit it so often, I just prefer to use the X-
Buster.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

=======================================================================
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Sigma Stage
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
=======================================================================

You're finally here - the final stage of the game. Quickly climb 
straight up the wall, ignoring the holes that Creepers come out of. 
Finally, you'll reach the top, and a special door will close below you. 
You'll then be greeted by Sigma, leader of the Mavericks. He's 
impressed that you could make it to him even with Zero gone. He then 
dares you to fight his dog - if you can beat his pet, then perhaps 
you're worth his time.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Boss: Velguader>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Sigma's pet, Velguader, is fast and ferocious. However, as long as 
you're faster, it's not a problem, now, is it?

Velguader always starts by jumping onto the left wall. If you have the 
Hadouken, use it as he hits the wall and he'll jump back into it, 
killing him instantly.

If not, it's still a piece of cake. Charge-up your X-Buster and jump 
onto a wall. He'll run over to you, so dash-jump over him and release. 
Repeat this. He may start to jump up the walls to try to reach you - 
jump down and hit him. Since a charged X-Buster shot (third or fourth 
level) will send him back and stun him for a moment, use it even if 
he's on the ground right next to you.

If you contact Velguader, you lose six bars of health. If you want to 
stay on the ground, then dash in the direction he's running, then dash 
over him, as you did against Vile. If he pounces at you, he's going as 
fast as you go when you dash, so dash under him, instead. Note that if 
he pounces at you and you're next to the wall, you should stay where 
you are, then jump up, as he'll jump off and go back - if you jump and 
he'll hit you, and if you dash under him and he'll hit you on the 
rebound.

If you get hit by his ice breath, you lose four bars of health. This 
can really only be dodged if you're far away and jump or jump up a 
wall.

If you get hit by his fire breath, you lose four bars of health. It 
goes down, then up. He can aim this very well - even up to you on the 
wall, so jump over this shot whenever it's used, as it will probably 
hit you otherwise.

His weakness is Shotgun Ice, but I prefer the X-Buster since its 
charged shot stuns him. No matter how you do it, Velguader should die 
quickly, and Sigma should be impressed enough to look at you again.
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Boss: Sigma>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Sigma sees why Zero trusted you, and laughs that you're nearly as good 
a Maverick Hunter as he was. However, even though he's confident, he's 
not stupid, and is going to put in effort. He tosses off his cape and 
gets out his sword, called a beam saber, which resembles a light saber.

If Sigma slashes you with his beam saber, you lose 12 bars of health. 
This occurs when you're close to him on the ground; he generally rushes 
over at you to do this. It's easily dodged by getting up the wall.

If Sigma shoots you with a beam from his forehead, you lose 8 bars of 
health. This, too, only occurs if you're on the ground, and is used 
rarely. It's easily dodged by getting up the wall.

If you touch Sigma, you lose 10 bars of health. This is really the only 
obstacle you have to worry about when you look at how to avoid the 
other two attacks. To do this easily, jump up the wall on the left. 
He'll jump below you and then to the right. Hop down as he jumps to the 
right and he'll come back down towards you. Jump quickly up again. He 
should make it up to the right wall and then come down to the ground. 
Go all the way to the top. He'll jump from wall to wall - after he hits 
the left wall for the second time, jump down and fire at him. Then, 
once he hits the left wall once on his way down, jump back up to the 
top. Repeat this until he dies. To speed up the process, use Electric 
Spark.

If you want to get creative, know that he'll jump up if you're above 
him, and once he starts going down, will go all the way to the ground. 
You can slowly lure him up, firing at every opening, and hit him five 
times before he hits the ground, but if you want to take it safe and 
easy, just use the above strategy.

If you have the Hadouken, just lure him to the top, drop down, and fire 
it so he'll land on it.

Sigma is destroyed! Well done!
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
=======================================================================
____
\  /        -----------------------------------------------
 >          <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Final Boss: Sigma>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
/__\        -----------------------------------------------

=======================================================================

Sigma's body is destroyed, but his head manage to survive unscathed. 
The great shadow in the background is revealed to be a large wolf 
machine that Sigma can manipulate. He puts his head on top of the 
wolf's face, and armor locks it in place. The armor repels virtually 
every weapon, including the Hadouken. Can you defeat him?

If his claw's lightning attack hits you, you lose 12 bars of health. If 
the claw opens up, it's either going to come down at you or use this 
attack. Just make sure you're not underneath or on the middle of the 
claw when this happens. However, note that if you stand on the edge of 
the claw nearest the wolf face, the lightning attack will miss, so you 
can stand there safely (avoiding the next two attacks, too!)

If the wolf face hits you with its energy beam attack, you lose 10 bars 
of health. You can try to time this by dashing between beams, but I 
generally dash to the far side and jump to the top of the wall.

If the wolf face hits you with its fire attack, you lose 14 bars of 
health. Simply get to either right in the middle or to one of the sides 
if the eyes light up.

If you touch the wolf face, you lose 10 bars of health. This will 
happen if you're standing on one claw and the other comes at you, so 
you jump on the other one and stay on it. If you jump onto the other 
claw, jump back, or if it's using the lightning attack, jump down.

If the claw's spikes touch you, you lose 8 bars of health. This is your 
only threat if you're standing safely on one claw. Either jump onto the 
wall behind you or onto the claw. This really is only a major problem 
if the claw you're on is using its lightning attack at the same time, 
in which case jumping down and dashing over, getting up the other wall, 
and waiting for the claw to come back is a good idea.

How do you hurt him, then? Zero gave you the edge you need - charge up 
to the fourth level with your X-Buster. Or, you can use Rolling Shield. 
For Rolling Shield, you have to jump, which requires more timing, but 
he'll die faster.

Either way, the strategy is to get up the wall and onto a claw as 
quickly as possible - staying on the ground is suicide. Once you finish 
him...well, I'll let you find out for yourself (or, you can read about 
it in the Plot Information section).
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
VIII. Additional Tips
Still can't beat a stage? These tips may help you out.

-At the Gallery Stage (Armored Armadillo), there's a bat that looks 
different than the others right down the ramp near the beginning. Shoot 
it, move away, and then come back and it will be there. At least half 
the time, it will drop an extra life. Repeat this as needed until you 
have 9 extra lives - this should make getting through a long, difficult 
stage easier.
-At the Gallery Stage (Armored Armadillo), run up and down the first 
ramp shooting the bats to get energy capsules. There are so many that 
you can fill up all four Sub Tanks within a matter of minutes.
-Getting a Heart Tank adds two bars to your total, allowing you to take 
more hits. When you have all the Heart Tanks, you'll have four more 
life bars than weapon bars.
-To fill up a Sub Tank, collect energy capsules when your life is full. 
To use them, press start, select one, and press whatever your shoot 
button is. It will refill your current energy.
-You're invincible for a moment after being hit. Aim for enemies or 
projectiles that will hurt you less and then run through a more 
powerful enemy. Also, get hit by an enemy before getting on spikes, as 
it won't be an instant death while you're temporarily invincible.
-Defeat Storm Eagle before going to the Power Plant Stage (Spark 
Mandrill). The sparks at the beginning will be out, and Thunder Slimer 
won't be able to shoot electricity down at you. However, the lights 
will be slightly dimmer in the dark areas.
-Defeat Chill Penguin before going to the Factory Stage (Flame 
Mammoth). The lava will be frozen, and you can walk on it, and the 
flame pillars that come out of it will be gone.
-Defeat Launch Octopus before going to the Forest Stage (Sting 
Chameleon). This will fill the level with puddles and water, making the 
jump to the Heart Tank possible.
-Use the Storm Tornado to kill powerful enemies (such as Mega 
Tortoises) that would otherwise take many X-Buster shots to kill, as 
the Storm Tornado will hit them multiple times, probably killing them 
or leaving them near dead, before it's gone.
-When you get the X-Buster Upgrade, charge up Sting Chameleon's weapon 
to become able to walk across spikes and run through enemies. You can 
get through stages much more quickly this way.
-When the Shotgun Ice shatters, note that each of the broken pieces 
inflicts just as much damage as the initial shot, so you can use that 
to hit enemies without being near them.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
IX. Plot Information
Ever wonder why you were running around, shooting robots? Here's all 
the information you need to know about it. First, I'll list the 
dialogue. I'll put in three brackets what the scene is, and in three 
parentheses anything that happens that isn't dialogue during the scene. 
Second, I'll put the plot information from the game manual.

A. In-game Dialogue

[[[Dr. Cain, an archaeologist, finds a capsule underground. He cracks 
the code, and the following is what is said in the capsule.]]]

NOM ENGINEER WORK SYSTEM
NOM Corporation
All Rights Reserved

real mem = 8192 TB
avail mem = 32768 TB

primary data cache : 512 KB
primary inst.cache : 768 KB
secondary cache    : 32768 KB

login: Dr.CAIN
code : ******

>device -dvl -a

reading "M.X.S."
reading "BD-E"
reading "WARNING"

MEGAMAN X
SPECIFICATION

"HEAD" IS EQUIPPED WITH:

Broad-range Eye Camera
Ultra-sensitive Voice Recognition System
Voice Generation System made by HAYATOM Inc.

"CHEST" IS EQUIPPED WITH:

Accumulative Energy Generator
Micro-fusion Fuel Tank
Central Joint-controlling system

"ARMS" ARE EQUIPPED WITH:

X-Buster (Mega Buster Mark17)
Energy Amplifier
Variable Weapon System

"LEGS" ARE EQUIPPED WITH:

Gyroscopic Stabilization System
Emergency Acceleration System (Optional)

INTERIOR SKELETON:

Reactive armor skeleton which reduces damage by 93 percent.

BODY SKIN:

Lightweight "Titanium-X" alloy.

WARNING:

"X" is the first of a new generation of robots which contain an 
innovative new feature - the ability to think, feel, and make their own 
decisions. However this ability could become very dangerous. If "X" 
were to break the First Rule of Robotics, "A robot must never harm a 
human being", the results would be disastrous and I fear no force on 
earth could stop him.

Approximately 30 years will be required before we can safely confirm 
his reliability. Unfortunately, I will not live to see that day, now do 
I have anyone to carry on my work. Therefore, I have decided to seal 
him in this capsule, which will test his internal systems until his 
reliability has been confirmed. Please do not disturb the capsule until 
that time.

"X" possesses great risks as well as great possibilities. I can only 
hope for the best.

September 18, 20XX
T.LIGHT

[[[X goes throughout the Highway Stage, stopping Mavericks and their 
destruction. The Death Rogumer drops Vile, with his Armored Carrier, to 
fight X. X is captured in an enemy beam and Vile picks him up.]]]

Vile: You worthless piece of scrap metal, did you think you could 
defeat me?

(((A shot is charged up and released, breaking off the Armored 
Carrier's arm and releasing you. Zero dashes on screen. He charged up 
another shot, but Vile retreats onto the Death Rogumer and Zero doesn't 
finish him off.)))

X: I guess I'm not powerful enough to defeat him...

Zero: X, you shouldn't expect to defeat him, he is designed to be a 
ward machine. Remember, you have not reached full power yet. If you use 
all the abilities you were designed with, you should become 
stronger...You may even become as powerful as I am. I'll scout ahead 
and collect as much information on Sigma's fortress as I can. I'll meet 
up with you when you get there. See you later! X, I know you can do it!

[[[X is going throughout is mission of destroying the Mavericks. He's 
at the Snow Mountain stage when he encounters a Light Capsule.]]]

Dr. Light: So you've come...X, I gave you the ability to choose your 
own path in life, and I hoped the world would allow you to choose a 
peaceful one. But now it seems that you are destined to fight. Because 
I thought the world might need a new champion, I have hidden capsules 
like this one. If you find and use them you will be able to increase 
your powers beyond anything the world has ever known. Step into this 
capsule and receive an acceleration system to boost your speed. Good 
Luck, X!

[[[(Optional) X finds a Light Capsule in the Forest Stage.]]]

Dr. Light: This capsule contains a new type of body armor. It will 
reduce damage to your systems by fifty percent.

[[[(Optional) X finds a Light Capsule in the Sky Stage.]]]

Dr. Light: This capsule contains an enhancement for your helmet which 
will allow you to break some ceilings with a headbutt.

[[[(Optional) X finds a Light Capsule in the Factory Stage.]]]

Dr. Light: This capsule contains a part that will increase the 
capabilities of your X-Buster. You can use it to fire all types of 
weapons.

[[[X defeats all eight Mavericks, and regroups with Zero with his 
mission complete. Zero, too, has accomplished his mission of finding 
information on Sigma's fortress.]]]

Zero: Finally! We've found Sigma's fortress! Let's go in and put an end 
to his war against the humans!

[[[(Optional) X finds a Light Capsule in the Gallery Stage.]]]

Dr. Light: I give you a special present. Now, enter the capsule, 
please!

[[[X and Zero arrive at Sigma's fortress. Zero tells X what the plan 
is.]]]

Zero: Let's split up. I'll go in first and then you can slip in while I 
keep the main defense force busy!

(((X slips into Sigma's base and is getting deep within the fortress 
when Vile intercepts him. Zero then rushes down to stop Vile from 
fighting X.)))

Zero: Stay back X, I'll take him on!

(((Vile flees away and Zero chases him. X follows and hears a charged 
up shot followed by a punch, what sounds like a Ride Armor moving, and 
a capsule sound. X goes over to find out what happened and finds Zero 
trapped in a containment capsule with Vile standing victorious in his 
Armored Carrier.)))

Vile: X, do what I tell your or he's history!

Zero: Don't listen to him, X! Go ahead and blast him!!

Vile: Dream on, Zero! X knows he can't defeat me! My armored carrier is 
more than a match for his ancient weapons!

(((X battles Vile and his Armored Carrier, but is captured by an energy 
shot. Vile places X away from Zero so that they can't try anything 
together. He stands back and gets ready to finish off X when Zero 
breaks free of his containment capsule and jumps latches onto the 
Armored Carrier.)))

Zero: Maybe.....but I'm not through yet!

(((Zero charges up to his maximum and fires a large explosive shot into 
the back of the Armored Carrier, creating a large explosion. He's 
thrown back from the blast of his own shot, but he succeeds in 
destroying the Armored Carrier. Vile, however, escapes unscathed.)))

Vile: What a worthless gesture! I can't be defeated so easily! So X, 
it's just you and me now!

(((The energy stopping X becomes weak and X becomes strong with hope, 
breaking free and regaining all his energy.)))

Vile: What the...!? Where did that energy come from?? It really doesn't 
matter how much energy you absorb X, you are still far too weak! 
Prepare to be terminated!

[[[(Possible) X destroys Vile and rushes over to Zero's side, but never 
got the X-Buster Upgrade.]]]

Zero: You are more powerful than you were before, but Sigma is much 
more than he appears to be. You're going to need an edge. Take my arm 
cannon and your attack power should increase. Good Luck, X!

(((Zero dies.)))

[[[(Possible) X destroys Vile and rushes over to Zero's side. Zero sees 
that X has become stronger and used the upgrades he was designed with, 
and is now confident he can possibly defeat Sigma.]]]

Zero: X, I've taken too much damage.....Auto repair systems can't 
handle it...My power is fading fast...Your power is greater than I 
thought. Maybe you can destroy Sigma.

[[[X battles through the rest of Sigma's entire fortress on his own, 
defeating all the eight Mavericks again and three more of Sigma's own 
creations. He finally confronts Sigma himself.]]]

Sigma: Welcome! I see you managed to get here by yourself. Very 
impressive! I could destroy you, but I would not rob my pet of that 
pleasure. He knows how to deal with betrayers. Should you live, I will 
be waiting for you. Don't disappoint me X!

(((Sigma disappears to let you fight his pet, Velguader. You emerge 
victorious, and Sigma returns, pleased at the outcome.)))

Sigma: Excellent job, X! I see why Zero counted on you. You are almost 
as good a hunter as I was. But, the time of your destruction has 
arrived! You shall regret ever having defied me!

(((Sigma tosses off his cape and unsheathes his beam saber. X defeats 
him, but Sigma's head survives and attaches to a large wolf machine. X 
again defeats Sigma, who begins to explode.)))

Sigma: No!!! It's not possible! I'm a Reploid! I can't be destroyed by 
you! Why, X?! Why have you done this to us?! Without humans, my Reploid 
brothers could have ushered in a new age.....

[[[X escapes and watches as Sigma's fortress explodes.]]]

The war has ended for now and peace has been restored. But those who 
sacrificed themselves for the victory will never return.

Exhausted, X gazes at the destruction he helped cause and wonders why 
he chose to fight. Was there another way?

Standing on the cliff, the answers seem to escape him. He only knows 
that he'll fight the Mavericks again before he finds his answer.

How long will he keep on fighting? How long will his pain last? Maybe 
only the X-Buster on his hand knows for sure.....

[[[A transmission comes from Sigma after the ending.]]]

Sigma: You have won a temporary victory, X! What you destroyed was only 
a temporary body -- my spirit remains intact. In time I will find other 
bodies strong enough to do my bidding and I will return. I shall see 
you soon, X. Very soon...

B. Game Manual Plot Information

The Journal of Dr. Cain

April 8th
 
Still nothing. For the last month, I have been sifting through the dirt 
trying to find a fossil record which would verify my findings on 
Mesozoic plant life, but so far I have come up empty. Tomorrow, I'll 
move my archaeological dig to a new site. Maybe I'll have better luck. 
 
April 9th 
 
Set up camp at the new site and laid out a preliminary groundwork for 
the dig. I got some odd readings at location E-46. It looks like 
something metallic is buried several meters below the surface. 
 
April 10th 
 
I can't believe what I found! Several meters below the surface was the 
remains of a lab. Although most of the lab was damaged, I did manage to 
find papers that indicate that it belonged to the famous robot 
designer, Dr. Thomas Light. I've begun to review what is left of Dr. 
Light's notes and it looks like he was onto a major breakthrough. The 
notes keep referring to "the capsule". 
 
April 13th 
 
I found it. Standing 14 meters high and 8 meters wide, the capsule was 
hidden underneath a collapsed ceiling. Even underneath all that rubble, 
the capsule has remained intact and was still running some sort of 
diagnostic when I found it. There is a warning on the capsule, but all 
the indicators on the capsule show green. It should be safe to open it. 
I'll know tomorrow. 
 
April 14th 
 
Today I met "X". Not simply a robot, X is something totally different. 
Light has given him the ability to think and make his own decisions. At 
times, X seems more like a man than like a machine. 
 
April 15th 
 
Light was a genius! I've been going over his design notes and they are 
a quantum leap beyond anything the world has ever seen. Using them as a 
guide, I may be able to replicate his design and integrate them into a 
new generation of robots. I'll begin transporting X and the rest of Dr. 
Light's things back to my lab tomorrow. 
 
November 22nd 
 
With X's help I have completed my first "Reploid". Although I don't 
completely understand how all of Dr. Light's systems works, I was able 
to make some minor modifications and the Reploid seems to be 
functioning perfectly. His strength and intelligence seem limitless and 
he is fully able to make his own decisions. In fact, we got into our 
first argument. How intriguing! 
 
January 3rd 
 
The new reploids have been running off the assembly line for several 
weeks. It's amazing how easily they have been able to adapt to even the 
most difficult jobs. It still is a bit odd to see them working side by 
side with humans, but everyone seems to be happy to accept them. 
 
February 16th 
 
Three reploids went "maverick" today and injured two people before they 
were stopped. This is the third instance of this type of behavior and I 
still have no idea what is causing it! There is some talk about 
stopping the assembly of any more reploids, but I don't think it will 
happen. Maybe we've become too dependent on them.... 
 
The council has now decided to set up a group of "Hunters" to destroy 
any maverick before it can cause injury. The reploid named Sigma has 
been assigned to lead the Hunters. Sigma is one of the most intelligent 
reploids I've created and contains my latest circuit designs. His 
systems should be immune to any problems. 
 
May 16th 
 
It's been two months since Sigma took control of the Maverick Hunters 
and he and his hunters have been able to prevent any further injury to 
the population. Everyone is starting to breathe a little bit easier.... 
 
I am a little worried about X. He seems unsure of his place in life and 
what Dr. Light had planned for him. But, given time, I'm sure he'll 
find his way.... 
 
June 4th 
 
My worst nightmare has just come true. Sigma went maverick today and 
took most of the other hunters with him. His motives are unclear, but 
it seems that he "decided" that humans are inferior and limiting the 
growth of the Reploids. For that reason, he decided that all humans 
should be eradicated. 
 
Most of the population is in hiding or trying to flee the city. I'm not 
sure how long we can hold out against Sigma's forces. I fear I have 
built the Reploids too well. 
 
X is taking the news of the war very personally. He wants to join ZERO, 
the new leader of the Maverick Hunters, when he goes after Sigma. I'm 
doubtful of their chances, but I won't stop him. Something has to be 
done....
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X. Tidbits
These are things you probably never noticed, and may want to try out. 
Give them a try!

CRIPPLED OCTOPUS
Use the Boomerang Cutter thrice on Launch Octopus and his tentacles 
will fall off. He can no longer shoot his charged up Homing Torpedo, 
create a tornado underwater, or use Energy Drain.

CRIPPLED MAMMOTH
Use the Boomerang Cutter thrice on Flame Mammoth and his trunk will 
fall off. He can no longer shoot oil or change the direction of the 
conveyor belt.

SECRET GLITCH ROOM
At the factory stage, get onto the conveyor belt and wait for the tube 
to drop a large red robot. Jump onto it and then dash to the roof 
through the tube and hop up. You'll be above the screen. Go right, 
jumping over the tubes as they come to the middle of the screen. 
Eventually, you'll see the room where the X-Buster Upgrade is, but you 
won't be able to see it whether or not you got it. Continue right and 
it will appear that you can't move forward. Jump up a wall to the right 
to proceed. You'll see an odd item below you if you haven't yet gotten 
the Sub Tank - you can slide down the wall and get it. If not, dash-
jump to the right over to the extra life. The room you are in has a 
green glitch background. The enemies here are all invisible. If you 
fall down, you'll die, even though there's no pit in this room when it 
isn't a glitch. Continue to the right and the background will go back 
to normal.
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XI. Frequently Asked Questions
Here are questions that are commonly asked about the game, and their 
answers.

Q: Can you defeat Vile in the Highway Stage?
A: No. Try as long as you like - it won't happen.

Q: Can you defeat Vile in the Sigma Stage?
A: Yes. Not when he's in his Armored Carrier, though. Through as many 
Hadoukens or fourth-level X-Buster shots as you want at him; he will 
not die.
 
Q: Can you kill Sigma in one hit with the Hadouken?
A: No. You can hit him with it, though - the claw on occasion will 
bring you up close to the face. It will do no damage at all.

Q: On the enemies it damages, is the Hadouken a one-hit kill move?
A: No. All mini-bosses (Bee Blader, Thunder Slimer, Mole Borer, 
Anglerge, Cruiziler, Utuboros, and RT-55J) have 64 bars of health 
(although you can't see it) instead of 32. For that reason, these 
enemies all take two Hadoukens to kill (well, I guarantee that with 
Game Shark, it would take two to take down a Bee Blader).

Q: I put in my password and lost all my lives, the energy in my Sub 
Tanks, and my Hadouken doesn't seem to work! Is my game faulty?
A: No, passwords remember none of these things.

Q: Is there some super-secret upgrade such as the Z-Saber anywhere?
A: No. If you get the Hadouken, you have everything. If it's not in 
this FAQ, it's not in the game.
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XII. Credits

Gestahl
-I wrote what you're reading.

Reeve
-I used his website, megaman-x.com, for the Game Manual information I 
included in my Plot Information section.

WeakestLink
-This is how I heard about the Factory Stage glitch.