~B
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ROCKMAN X4 FAQ / WALKTHROUGH
Written by Shadow Dragon [shadow_dragon95@hotmail.com]
For PC / Sony PlayStation / Sega Saturn
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1. GAME BASICS
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[] Controls
~~~~~~~~~~~
To avoid confusion, I'll be using the below notations for buttons,
since these can be altered in the Options screen.
Up F = Fire / Slash
| J = Jump
Left - 0 - Right D = Dash
| S = Special Technique (Zero only)
Down G = Giga Attack
L / R = Toggle through available weapons (X only)
Start = Pause / Resume
[] Items
~~~~~~~~
Energy Pellet (glass pill with glowing red center) - Restores your
lifebar. The small pellet gives you a small recharge, normal gives
you about a fourth of your lifebar back and the large one fully
recharges your lifebar.
Weapon Pellet (blue sphere with red lines) - Restores your weapon
energy. Also available in 3 sizes: small recharges a bit, normal
recharges a quarter and large fully recharges your weapon energy. If
there is no weapon selected or the current weapon is full, the energy
will be added to the weapon with the lowest energy, or to the W-Tank
if all weapons are full.
1-Up (looks like X's / Zero's helmet) - Gives you an extra life.
Heart Tank (take a wild guess) - Increases the length of your lifebar.
There are 8 of these, one in every stage. Collect them all to make
your lifebar as long as the bosses'.
E-Tank (embossed with an 'E') - Also known as Sub-Tanks. When your
lifebar is full, collecting Energy Pellets will store the surplus
energy in these tanks. You can then drain them to recharge your
lifebar when you need the energy. To do so, select an E-Tank in the
Pause screen (press Start) and press F to drain it. How much your
lifebar will be recharged is dependant on the amount of energy stored
in the tank. There are 2 E-Tanks to find in the game.
W-Tank (embossed with a 'W') - Identical to E-Tanks in every way,
except that this stores weapon energy instead. When all your special
weapons are full, collecting Weapon Pellets will charge the W-Tank.
See the Weapon Pellet and E-Tank sections above for more details.
There is only 1 W-Tank in the game.
EX-Tank (looks like a pot with a molecule floating inside) - Like the
W-Tank, there's only one to find in the game. This thing gives you 4
lives when you start a stage instead of the usual 2. Not that useful
in my opinion, but it's there, so take it anyway.
Upgrade Capsules (you'll know 'em when you see 'em) - Only X can find
and use these capsules. There are 4 in the game, and each will upgrade
one of X's parts: Legs, Helmet, Armor and X-Buster. When you approach
a capsule, a holographic image of Dr Light will appear and brief you
about the effects of the capsule. Step inside to receive the upgrades.
Zero can visit the places where the capsules are hidden, but they
won't appear for him.
[] Mech Armors
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eagle Mech Armor - Found in the Air Force and Final Weapon stages. Tap
J while in mid-air to hover, and charge the F button to fire three
energy blasts which will home in on nearby enemies. You can hover for
a good 30 seconds before falling, or until you get hit by an enemy.
Also, when charging, you cannot move unless you happen to be hovering
while doing so.
Ridden Mech Armor - Found in the Volcano and Military Train stages.
Has a short-ranged slash attack; tap F rapidly for three slashes in
quick succession, or charge it for a dashing attack. Like the Eagle
Mech Armor, you cannot move while charging.
Land Chaser - You get this automatically in the Marine Base stage,
and fight the entire stage with it, which means you die if it gets
destroyed. You cannot charge its shots, but it is the only Mech Armor
in the game equipped with an Air Dash -- which, along with its normal
dash, also doubles up as a rushing attack.
* Mech Armors will not display a lifebar, but sustaining too much
damage will destroy them nevertheless. However, keep in mind that
except for bottomless pits, Armors are pretty much invincible
against most hazards and traps that will kill you outright (spikes,
lava and such).
* If you decide to jump out of a Mech Armor while falling, you can no
longer Air Dash, hover, Kuuenbuu or Hienkyakuu for the remaining
duration of your descent.
* With the exception of the Land Chaser, you can ditch Mech Armors
in mid-way if you want. Just press Up + J.
[] Characters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ROCKMAN X
Known as MegaMan X outside Japan. He's obviously the main hero, since
all the games are named after him. Although X was created by Dr
Thomas Light in the 21th century, it was not clear whether he was the
Blue Bomber himself after being enhanced, or an entirely new robot
altogether. X was found by Dr Cain in the 22th century by accident as
the scientist stumbled upon the remnants of the late Dr Light's lab
and the capsule in which X was sealed. Fascinated by X's technology
and how human he seemed, Dr Cain tried his hand at replicating Dr
Light's handiwork. Although he did not comprehend, or was unable to
duplicate certain parts of X's technology, he did come out with a
satisfactory result. This was followed by another, and another, and
another, until there were a sizable number of these sentient robots
running around, forming their own communities in this world. They
were later to be termed as Replica-Androids, or Reploids for short.
At some point or other, some of the Reploids' programming went
haywire, causing them to turn... I dunno, evil? The Mavericks, as
they were known, rebelled against humankind, believing themselves to
be superior and swearing to eradicate their creators from the face of
the world. Hence the wars started, and so did the games.
X's primary armament is the X-Buster, a miniature arm-mounted cannon
capable of firing multiple plasma bursts in rapid succession. It can
also be charged for a larger, meaner shot and, including the normal
uncharged shot, can be fired at 3 varying strength levels. The
X-Buster can be enhanced by finding and using the X-Buster Upgrade
capsules in the Air Force stage.
Note: Background storyline may be slightly inaccurate.
ZERO
Much of Zero's past is revealed by the cinematic sequences in the
game. In the beginning we see Zero dreaming about a funny-haired
person in a lab coat, who claims to be his creator. Then, before
facing the final boss, another movie clip is played, showing Zero
himself a Maverick in the days before when Sigma was still the
commander of the Maverick Hunters. In a battle between Zero and
Sigma, Zero almost defeated Sigma until the blue jewel on his
forehead flashed with a 'W' (W for Wily? I dunno...), somehow
crippling his systems for long enough to let Sigma land one single
punch to his head which turned the battle decisively. Sigma then
ordered Zero to be taken back to Dr Cain's lab and studied. He was
then reactivated, and later joined the Maverick Hunters. Judging
from the way he talks with Colonel and Iris in the Sky Lagoon stage,
Zero appears to have built up an acquaintance with them some point
in the past.
In the previous games Zero was armed with an extra-powerful version
of the X-Buster, but it has been scrapped in favor of the Z-Saber in
this game, an energy blade that materializes in a flash of green
light as Zero draws it. Tapping the F button rapidly causes Zero to
slash three times in quick succession. What this weapon lacks in
range, it makes up for it in power. The Z-Saber can be enhanced by
beating Split Mushroom and Storm Owl to obtain the Kuuenzan and
Tenkuuha.
[] Zero's Abilities and Weapons
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For those used to the RockMan series, X's weapons are simple enough:
select a weapon, press F and there you go. Zero, however, is more
complex, since he seems to be based more on Capcom's Street Fighter
series, in which special attacks cannot be selected, but are executed
by certain button presses. I'll be listing them here, complete with
translations, how to execute them plus a brief description of the said
weapon.
Raijingeki S (on ground)
Kuuenbuu J (in air)
Kuuenzan F (in air)
Hienkyakuu D (in air)
Ryuuenjin Up + S (on ground)
Hyouretsuuzan Down + S (in air)
Rakuuhouha G (on ground)
Tenkuuha F (ground / air)
Shippuuga S while dashing (on ground)
Raijingeki (Raijin Fury) - Obtained from Web Spider. Zero thrusts an
electrical saber forward after a short lag time. Extremely powerful,
but slow. For best effects, use this as the final hit of a triple
slash by tapping F,F,S.
- Note: According to Jason Tucker's The Zero FAQ, 'Raijin' is the
Shinto Thunder God, which in itself translates to Thunder Blade
or something.
Kuuenbuu (Air Dance) - Obtained from Split Mushroom. Zero performs a
second jump in mid-air. While not particularly quick, Zero can jump
almost twice as far, twice as high or a combo of both if you want. Who
needs an Air Dash? I sure as hell don't. =) Cannot be performed if a
dashing jump or Hienkyakuu is executed.
Kuuenzan (Air Slash) - Also obtained from Split Mushroom. Zero
executes a somersault in mid-air, performing a complete revolution
with his Z-Saber swiping downwards, very much like a shield. Once you
get this, use it in place of normal ground-based slashes whenever
possible.
Hienkyakuu (Swallow Kick) - Obtained from Jet Stingray. Air Dash.
Enough said. Cannot be executed if a dashing jump or Kuuenbuu is used.
Ryuuenjin (Dragon Fire Blade) - Obtained from Magma Dragoon. Uppercut
attack with a fiery saber. You can do just about anything while you
descend as if you're landing normally: Kuuenbuu, Hienkyakuu, direct
your fall etc. You're invincible as you rise, but when falling, that's
another story...
Hyouretsuuzan (Ice Burst Slash) - Obtained from Frost Walrus. Zero
thrusts an icy saber at the ground, then dives downwards. You can
exert limited control over Zero's descent by holding the Left or
Right buttons. Handy for popping enemies below you as you fall.
Rakuuhouha (Falling Phoenix Surge) - Obtained from Cyber Peacock. Zero
punches the ground, sending multiple energy blasts flying all over the
screen in a full 180-degree angle. This is the only one of his moves
which require weapon energy to be executed, and a full energy bar is
worth only 4 shots. It can be recharged by Weapon Energy Pellets, the
weapon tank or by getting hit, though, and is Zero's most powerful
technique.
Tenkuuha (Heavenly Mandate) - Obtained from Storm Owl. Zero's Z-Saber
changes from green to purple, giving him the ability to deflect or
destroy small enemy shots (missiles don't count, except for those
already destroyable without the Tenkuuha).
Shippuuga (Tornado Fang) - Obtained from Slash Beast. Zero whips out
his saber and performs a slash while dashing forward. Executing this
will cause him to end his dash immediately. Cannot be used with the
Hienkyakuu.
Note: With a few exceptions, which were borrowed from Jason Tucker's
Zero FAQ (see the Credits section for more details), the above
translations were done by me and may not be fully accurate. Heck, they
may not even be anywhere near accurate at all! ;) Corrections to any
possible errors would be very much appreciated.
Note that the stages listed here are according to the order which X
should fight them, seeing as how he's the main character. =) Worry
not, Zero's order will also be included here. After the name of the
stage, you will see a notation stating the order which they should be
fought by X and Zero. For example, if a stage is X's third and Zero's
fifth, you would see [X3, Z5] and so on.
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SKY LAGOON
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STAGE
The introduction stage which you go to automatically when you fight
the game. Not much of a challenge, just meant to orient you to the
game. Blast through everything, including the walls.
Somewhere in Area 2 you'll suddenly find yourself falling into a
compactor. Grab the 1-Up and Energy pellet, then get the hell outta
there! And, oh... keep an eye for ceilings that drop down and try to
squish you.
MID-BOSS
Anyone know what this thing's really called? Anyway, wait for him
to raise his arm. When he does, he's gonna punch you. Dash away and
hit his arm before he draws it back. If he flies down and out of
sight, he's going to punch you from below. Jump to avoid this. You
won't be able to do anything except to dodge the first time, but
subsequent punches will have his fist protruding from the ground.
You know what to do. Really easy.
FINAL BOSS: KING DRAGON
This guy has three attack patterns, but for the most part he'll just
stand around, allowing you to hit him. Aim for the upper body; his
legs won't sustain damage. When he flies up, he'll mostly just land
on the other side, but sometimes he'll dash down at you. Stay at the
very corner of the stage, and you should be safe. His fireballs are
easily avoided by correctly-timed dashes and jumps, and if he spits
that long stream of fire, get to the other end, wait for it to reach
you and jump. This guy should be gone in no time.
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JUNGLE [X1, Z1]
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ITEMS
Leg Upgrade - As you descend the second waterfall (the first being
the one you come across right in the beginning), keep an eye on the
right wall for a passageway. Go in and find the capsule. This
upgrade allows X to Air Dash and hover in mid-air for short periods.
Tap J while in mid-air to hover. You can hover for about 5 seconds
or so, but if you move left or right while hovering, the time period
is dramatically reduced to only a second.
Heart Tank - When you reach the part of Area 2 overpopulated by
electrical-web-spinning spiders, look for pieces of wood which look
aged and somehow rotten. The second piece can be burned by the
Rising Fire / Ryuuenjin to reveal the Heart Tank. Return here after
you have defeated Magma Dragoon and have obtained the said weapon.
FINAL BOSS: WEB SPIDER
WS has two attack patterns, both of which are pretty simple to avoid
and counter. He'll appear from the top, dangling from a thread as he
throws a spider web at you which has limited homing abilities. When
you chip away about half of his lifebar, WS will create a network of
harmless energy webs in the centre of the stage, floating about.
Aside from the afore-mentioned webs, he'll now also throw small
spiders which will crawl towards you.
When he appears, hit him. Then dash away, climb up a wall and jump
off to shake the webs from your tail. Dispose of the small spiders
as he throws them with a fully charged shot / multiple Z-Saber
strikes, and hit WS repeatedly as he scuttles about in his web. The
main danger for Zero players is that the small spiders will distract
you long enough for the homing webs to catch you! Try to intercept
the spiders in mid-air as WS throws them. Also, take special care
not to mess up on this pattern; WS has the tendency to rack up lots
of damage on you even with only a few hits. When you face him again
later in the Final Weapon stage, use the Twin Slasher / Shippuuga
against the small spiders.
Zero: Go to the Bio Laboratory.
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BIO LABORATORY [X2, Z2]
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ITEMS
Heart Tank - In Area 2, get past the staircase and onto the
teleporter. The Tank is plainly visible above you. Hop to the right
as the drills destroy a section of the ground, then perform a
dashing jump over to the left ledge to fool the drills into falling
down. Dash back, and... (X) Stand on the elevated surface and fire a
Lightning Web to the left. Air Dash at it, then jump right. Newbies
might end up falling straight into the pit if they're not careful.
(Z) Use the Kuuenbu. You won't be able to get it on your first
visit, since you'll need to defeat Split Mushroom to get the
Kuuenbu.
MID-BOSS
The trick here is to have enough blocks to stand on. Get on one side
(I prefer right) and work your way towards the other end, smacking
him as you go. Zero players can finish this guy off in 3 hits with
the Raijingeki. X will just have to make do with charged shots. With
five blocks, you only have four chances to pummel him, so make them
count!
FINAL BOSS: SPLIT MUSHROOM
Simple! The only attack pattern you should let him use is the part
where he throws colored holograms of himself. As X, wait for him to
jump up the wall, then zap him with a Lightning Web. He'll fall and
(stupidly) jump on the other wall, where you should just repeat
until he's history. Just try not to miss a single shot, because you
need 12 hits to kill him, and 12 hits are all you get from a full
weapon bar.
Zero's fight takes longer, but is equally easy. When he throws the
second hologram, wait a split-second and whip out the Raijingeki.
Throw another when it ends, then another. Done correctly, SM will
fall right into the third Raijingeki, where he'll them jump to the
other wall and throw holograms again. Like X, 12 hits are required
to kill him. If you miss, SM is going to split himself in two and
ram into you from both sides! You're gonna need very good timing to
hit him (you need to hit the real one) 3 times before he gets back
together into one piece and starts throwing holograms again.
Zero: Go to the Volcano.
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CYBERSPACE [X3, Z4]
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STAGE
Very... unique. Area 1 is comprised of three races. Get to the end
of these quick. You can finish them with three ratings depending on
how fast you are, namely...
* S: Best rating. Wins you an item, and takes you to the next race.
Refer to the 'Items' subsection below to see what item you get
for finishing which race.
* A: Second best rating. Takes you to the next race.
* B: Worst rating. Takes you back to the beginning of the current
race.
By the way, you can destroy those pesky yellow orbs with special
weapons; Soul Body for X, Kuuenzan for Zero.
Area 2 is not hard, but somewhat confusing. You'll need to step on
those buttons to turn the stage upside-down so the purple balls can
roll down ramps and bash through certain walls for you. Sometimes,
stepping on a wrong button at the wrong time will result in the ball
rolling back at you! Watch out for this.
ITEMS
Heart Tank - You'll get the Heart tank for finishing the first race
as X, the second as Zero. Don't use the Soul Body yet; this one's
simple enough. Save it for later.
E-Tank - Finish the second race as X, third as Zero. Slightly harder
than the first race, but still manageable. Don't use the Soul Body
just yet! For Zero, however, getting this is a real pain in the ass.
Dash through those glowing portals before an enemy robot pops out,
and Kuuenzan those yellow orbs to bloody hell. You might need a few
tries before you complete this successfully.
Helmet Upgrade - Finish the third race to get this. Here's where
you'll be glad you saved the Soul Body. Unlike Zero who can Kuuenzan
endlessly, you only have 8 shots, so make them count! Use them to
get rid of the yellow orbs, and dash past the glowing portals before
an enemy appears. This upgrade allows X unlimited use of his non-
charged special weapons (not counting the Nova Strike), provided he
still has remaining energy for the weapon in question. Very handy,
since energy requirements for special weapons have been drastically
increased since X3.
FINAL BOSS: CYBER PEACOCK
Is this thing a 'she' or what? Ugh. Anyway, CP will vanish once the
battle starts, then reappear where you are to damage you by direct
contact. If you don't hit her with the correct weapon and cause her
to disappear, she'll fan out her tail into multiple energy beams,
further damaging you. Sometimes she'll appear in mid-air and, if not
forced to disappear, throw homing feathers (?) at you, which are
very hard to avoid.
The trick here is to keep moving when she disappears. When she pops
into sight, nail her with a Soul Body / Ryuuenjin before she can
attack! Dash towards her to get within range if she appears in mid-
air. The thing to watch out for is not to wait for too long before
hitting her, or you'll regret it.
Zero: Go to the Air Force.
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AIR FORCE [X4, Z5]
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ITEMS
Heart Tank - Plainly visible, but hard to get. The Tank is sitting
on one of those platforms which will get destroyed by laser beams
(the first one). You'll need to get it before it vanishes along with
the platform! Jump on it and dash. If the laser hits, tap J twice to
hover to the other side (you have the Mech Armor, right?).
X-Buster Upgrade - Remember me saying that there are only 4 capsules
earlier? Okay, so I lied; there are 5, 1 for each part and 2 for the
X-Buster. After you ride the moving platform across the spikes, you
should see a hole in the ceiling, lined on both sides by spikes. Get
on the elevated surface, jump and fire a Lightning Web to the left.
Now perform a dashing jump over to the Web, jump off again and cling
on to the right wall above the spikes. You'll find 2 capsules on the
left. The right one allows you to charge and store up to 4 shots,
while the left one (known as the Plasma Shot) generates a globe of
energy whenever a fully-charged shot hits anything, further damaging
whatever it is that comes into contact with it. Both allows you to
charge up your special weapons. You can have only one of them at a
time, but you can come back here and switch them should you decide
you prefer the other one. Still, it's better to make up your mind,
because coming here is a major pain in the ass. Don't be surprised
if you lost a few lives while attempting this little stunt. I
recommend getting the Plasma Shot, by the way.
MID-BOSS
You want to hit the red eye on the right wall. Those laser-shooting
dudes will appear in force here, and fire laser beams at three
height levels: bottom level (where you're standing), medium level
(where the eye is) and top level. Destroy those at the bottom level
to avoid getting hit, and also those at the medium level so you can
hit the eye when it opens. Zero players will need to dash around a
lot. For the eye, use the Ryuuenjin as Zero. This will be a most
frustrating battle for X, since the only weapon capable of dealing
with the laser dudes is the X-Buster, and you'll soon find you're
unable to land charged shots at the eye. =) You'll just have to make
do with uncharged shots this time around.
FINAL BOSS: STORM OWL
I have no idea what this guy's attack pattern is, and neither should
you. Blast him before he can attack! Use the Aiming Laser as X,
Rakuuhouha as Zero. X players should have no problem, but Zero is
very much likely to run out of energy before SO's finished. To
avoid this, wait until SO's _almost_ right next to you before firing
at him. This will inflict more damage, since more of the shots will
hit him. Done correctly, this guy will be gone in 4 shots, but if
not, he should have at least been softened up quite a bit already.
Go crazy on him with the Kuuenzan and Ryuuenjin. Or, if you have
energy to spare, simply let him hit you to recharge your weapon
energy.
Zero: Go to the Snow Base.
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MEMORIAL HALL
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STAGE
You'll come to this stage after defeating 4 bosses in any order. If
you've followed my order here, it's after the Air Force for X, Cyber
Space for Zero. Just go right to meet the Colonel. You'll have to
fight him as X, but all Zero players have to do is watch a really
cool movie clip.
COLONEL
I highly recommend having the Leg Upgrade before coming here. Our
Repliforce Colonel has two attack patterns here. He will either
teleport right next to you and slash you, or fire three energy
waves at you from the corner of the stage.
When you see him disappear, wait a while, jump and Air Dash away
as Colonel appears where you were a split-second ago. Repeat this
as necessary. When he warps to the corners, let loose a blast, then
dodge his energy waves by dashing below the first and third, and
jumping over the second -- he fires them in a high-low-high pattern.
Blast him again when he's finished. Defeating him requires patience
and, like Web Spider, try not to mess up here or half of your
lifebar will be gone before you even know it.
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VOLCANO [X5, Z3]
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STAGE
Early in Area 1, as you descend a slope, you'll notice the ground
starting to shake and several fireballs chasing after your butt!
Jump and grab on one of the overhangs to dodge them. This happens
twice; the next is near the end of the area, where you'll be going
up a slope.
Another thing to watch out for is the chasms. Time your jumps so as
not to get clobbered on the head by a fireball in mid-jump or you'll
drop right into the chasm. In Area 2, you'll be faced with the task
of jumping over a whole lot of the chasms, but unlike Area 1, you
won't be landing on solid ground in between your jumps, but on
floating platforms instead. Of course, some fireballs just HAVE to
hit the platforms, and two hits and a platform's dust.
ITEMS
Heart Tank - Found in Area 2. Proceed until you come to the first
robotic enemy. Destroy it, and look left where you'll notice an
outlying ledge. Fire a Lightning Web at it to get up there, or use
the Kuuenbuu as Zero.
Armor Upgrade - When you come across the Mech Armor, get in it, then
perform a dashing jump to the right. Jump out of the Armor to grab
the ledge and climb on it. Blast through the wall with a charged
Twin Slasher, then go in to claim your prize. This upgrade allows X
to execute the Nova Strike (press the G button), but it doesn't seem
particularly useful to me...
FINAL BOSS: MAGMA DRAGOON
When (it seems like) it's time to ditch the Mech Armor, don't. Jump
into the lava instead, bash through a few blocks in your way and ta-
da! You can use the Armor against MD! Yeah!! Just go crazy and mash
on the F button like a crack addict. I've heard you can defeat MD
and not lose the Mech Armor, but I've never been able to do it. :-\
When he destroys your Armor, it's time to switch tactics. For X,
whip out the Double Tornado and blast him. He'll then jump to the
other end of the stage. Get there before he does and hit him again.
Continue until he explodes. If there's a problem with X, it's that
these battles are so easy, they're almost getting boring....
For Zero, however, its a totally different story. MD is, in my
opinion, one of the hardest fights for Zero. MD has no set pattern
for his attacks! In the middle of the stage, he can either jump,
uppercut or throw fireballs. In the corner, he'll summon a ball of
fire and throw it at you or shoot a whole stream of fire across the
stage. Don't stand too close while slashing him in case he does an
uppercut, and dash under his jumps before he stomps down on you.
His fireball is quick, and only players with the best of reflexes
will be able to dodge it. He's gonna throw a second one right after
that, so jump behind him and Kuuenzan! Watch him closely when he
gets into the corners. If that ball of fire appears above him,
ignore it and slash away at him. However, if he crouches and opens
his mouth, he's gonna spit fire. Although it's not visible, there's
a tiny space between him and the lava where you can stand unscathed.
Double jump behind him, then shove a Raijingeki up his ass! Try not
to die, because you'll reappear right outside MD's room WITHOUT the
Armor if you do so.
Once MD is defeated, go back to the Jungle and use your Rising Fire
or Ryuuenjin to get the Heart Tank.
Zero: Go to Cyber Space.
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SNOW BASE [X6, Z6]
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STAGE
Right at the beginning, climb up the wall to your left and go right.
Plenty of pellets to be found; a good place to come and recharge
your tanks. =) Every visit here will charge up half an E-Tank, but
note that taking this path will make you bypass the Heart Tank.
In Area 2, you'll come across a few bird-like robots which will
summon a circle of ice around them. Get them quick, or the stage
will freeze up and drop icicles down on you.
ITEMS
Heart Tank - Found in Area 1. Fight the stage normally, but keep an
eye on the ceiling. When you see the stone punctuated by a block of
ice, stand beneath it and destroy it with a Rising Fire / Ryuuenjin.
The tank will then fall right on you.
EX-Tank - Also found in Area 1. When you get to those appearing and
disappearing slopes that keep you from falling into spiked pits, go
right until you hit the wall. Climb up, and the EX-Tank is clearly
visible on an outlying ledge. Use a Lightning Web / Kuuenbuu to get
it.
W-Tank - Found in Area 2. Punch your way through those ice blocks
and go down. When you start ascending again, go left when you reach
the top. Destroy the ice block to get it. Or just hit every block
until you find it.
MID-BOSS
Your normal weapons will be sufficient for this match. Hit the hand
when it opens, dash under it as it starts floating up and down and
repeat as it opens again. If it disappears from view, wait a while,
then dash away because its gonna slam down on you! The falling
icicles are hard to dodge, but can be destroyed by a Rising Fire or
Ryuuenjin. When it shapes itself into a spiked ball, some quick
dashing will settle it. Not particularly challenging.
FINAL BOSS: FROST WALRUS
The bigger they are, the harder they fall. =) You'll want to use
your fire attack for this. When FW starts walking towards you, get
close and pound him. You'll need to adjust your distance for this:
not too close for Zero, directly under his chin for X (if this
doesn't sound appealing, don't worry; he moves slower than hell).
Once you hit him, he'll get on all fours and slide towards you.
Climb up the wall and jump off when he gets close, let him stand up,
repeat. When you chip away about half of his lifebar, he'll change
tactics and start making ice chunks. Do not climb the walls!!! Stay
near the ice, wait for it to hit the ground and shatter, then move
between the icicles. Hit him again when he stops, and he'll make ice
chunks again. Repeat until dead.
Zero: Go to the Marine Base.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
MARINE BASE [X7, Z7]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
STAGE
Heh... this stage is pretty much like Wily Stage #1 in MegaMan V for
Game Boy. Anyway, you fight the entire stage in the Land Chaser, a
jet bike. See the 'Mech Armors' section above for more details. The
thing to watch out for is not to ram into any obstacles (enemies not
counted), or it's curtains for you. Jet Stingray himself makes two
appearances in Area 2 before you fight him, tossing stingray drones
at you which can get annoying. Drive him away with a dash attack.
ITEMS
Heart Tank - Found in Area 1. There'll be two bridges spanning the
third pit, one upper, one lower. Just don't jump and you'll land
neatly on the lower bridge and nab the Heart Tank. Remember to jump
when you reach the end to get back on the main path, though.
E-Tank - Found near at the end of Area 2. You'll know you're there,
because you'll have to blast a few crates in your path. There'll be
a jump platform right after that. When you reach the end of it, jump
off and hit the D button while firing like crazy! If all goes well
you'll destroy the crates, land on the platform and get the E-Tank.
If not, you'll ram into the platform. Jump off and Air Dash right
after getting the Tank instead of dropping back on the water, or
there's a good chance you'll smack into an obstacle waiting for you
right below.
FINAL BOSS: JET STINGRAY
Easy or hard, depending on who you're playing. JS has two main
attack patterns; either firing mini stingray drones, or rushing down
and trying to hit you. When half of his lifebar's gone, he'll add
two more, by dashing vertically up and down, or getting into the
water, try to suck you in with a vacuum-like weapon then dashing at
you.
X gets the easy battle. JS will ALWAYS descend on the side where he
goes up. Get right under him when he appears, jump up, Frost Tower.
He shouldn't even be able to attack you as you finish him off.
Zero's fight isn't exactly hard, provided your fingers are nimble
enough. You know which side he'll be coming down. Get to the other
side then, just as he shows himself, double jump over to him. If he
dashes, you'll dodge him nicely. If not, serve him a Hyouretsuuzan.
This is the difficult part, since you need to hold J long enough to
get next to him, press Down then S. But if done correctly, you'll
be able to finish him off with a perfect lifebar, just like X.
Practice is the key.
Zero: Go to the Military Train.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
MILITARY TRAIN [X8, Z8]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ITEMS
Heart Tank - You can't miss this one; it's sitting right in your way
a short while after you get the Mech Armor in Area 2.
MID-BOSS
Eh..? What is this thing anyway? Leap over the middle spike (the top
and bottom ones can't hurt you) and let loose with the Plasma Shot.
Two hits (3 at most) and this sucker's history. For Zero, jump the
middle spike, then perform a dashing jump over as the bottom spike
retracts and before another spike shoots out. Destroy the bottom
spike with the Raijingeki, then slash the rest of this thing to
death.
FINAL BOSS: SLASH BEAST
Heh heh... looks like Capcom is running out animal names to use. ;)
Another insanely easy battle for X. Ground Hunter shots have the
effect of clipping off his toenails, so fire that at him. With his
nails gone, all SB will do is rush back and forth. Jump and Air
Dash over him, fire, repeat. *yaaawwnn* And oh, by the way, remember
to re-visit the Volcano stage to get the Armor Upgrade with your
brand-new Twin Slasher.
Zero gets the satisfaction of a more challenging battle (hey, this
is what the game's for, right?). When he jumps, SB's gonna do a
full-stage leap, or stomp down at you from mid-air. Trouble is,
there's no tellling which he might do. Try to guess, and use a dash
to save your butt if you get unlucky. Sometimes he'll glow red in
the hands, which means he's gonna rush at you, then double back
when he hits the wall for two consecutive attacks. Jump. The main
menace, though, is his Twin Slasher. You can Hienkyakuu between it,
but it's damned fast! All in all, though, SB isn't that hard. Keep
slashing him between his attacks, and he'll go away soon enough.
* Now you've beaten all 8 bosses, you'll fight the remaining stages
in the pre-set order, which is listed below. Be warned, though,
major spoilers a-comin'. Capcom did a great job with the plotline
in this game, and I's suggest not reading any further unless you
get stuck or something.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SPACE PORT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
COLONEL
Don't like battling Colonel with only half your lifebar full? No
prob. Before you go through the first door to meet Colonel, take a
look at the left wall. Do you see a green block on top? Yes? Good.
That part's fake. Climb up and go in to nab yourself a large Energy
Pellet. With that done, let's see what we can do...
X should already know what to expect. Aside from his two old
patterns, Colonel gets two new ones by summoning a whole lot of
electrical sparks all over the place, or firing a HUGE purple wave
at you. Deal with him as before -- jump and Air Dash as he vanishes,
and blast him whenever he gets into the corners. This time, though,
I'd recommend climbing up the wall to dodge his three energy waves,
since they come twice as fast now. When Colonel points his sword
skywards, scramble up a wall, then drop down between the sparks as
they rise. Deal with his purple wave also by climbing up the wall;
there's no jumping it.
Zero, however, will be facing him for the first time. Colonel has 4
attack patterns -- he'll try and teleport next to you and slash, or
retreat to the corner of the stage and fling three energy waves at
you from there. As he gets sufficiently weakened, Colonel will send
electricity all over the stage, or fire a large purple energy wave
at you.
When he vanishes, wait a while, then double jump. Colonel should
pop out somewhere below you. Pin him with a Hyouretsuuzan! If he
retreats to the corners, you have two options: climb up the wall,
or dash under the first wave, jump over the second and Shippuuga
the third to return the favor. When Colonel points his sword up,
sparks will follow. Climb up the wall, and drop down between them
as they rise. If you see him jump, its the purple wave. Climb up
the wall. Remember not to get careless around here; like Web Spider,
Colonel can inflict tremendous damage with only a few hits.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
FINAL WEAPON
---------------------------------------------------------------------
DOUBLE (X ONLY)
Okay, I've heard that the Double Tornado works on him. I tried it,
which resulted in those small things popping out of him and floating
towards you. Make your own choice, but it really isn't my cup of
tea. The trusty ol' X-Buster works for me here. Anyway...
Double has 3 attack patterns, all of which are relatively simple to
avoid. He'll either rocket around the room, toss energy discs or
fire two consecutive giant waves of energy. When he starts bouncing
around, climb up the wall, wait for him to fly towards you, Air Dash
off and blast him as you land. If you get lucky he'll repeat this
for the entire match. The discs are easily jumped over, and if he
starts throwing those energy waves, dash under the first one, then
dash back and climb the wall up to the very tippy top. No problem.
IRIS (ZERO ONLY)
I must say, not being the one in the Mech Armor doesn't feel very
nice. Iris is either very, very hard or easier than hell, depending
on how you fight her. Small floating bombs will pop out of her Armor
when you hit her, or she'll fire a laser beam at you. When her
crystal appears, her lasers become tougher to dodge, but still very
much possible. You'll want to hit the crystal here; her Mech won't
take damage.
Before her crystal appears, it is imperative you do not hit her more
than necessary. Iris will float towards you. Push her back with the
Ryuuenjin to (hopefully) destroy the bombs as they appear. Try not
to hit her more than twice. When she rushes back, destroy any bombs
still remaining, then climb up the wall. After taking enough, her
crystal will appear. Heh heh heh. This time, don't bother hitting
her at all, since she won't move full screen and pin you against the
wall. Stand away from the wall as Iris prepares to fire, then wait
until the LAST POSSIBLE nanosecond before performing a dashing jump
over to the wall and clinging on for dear life. When she's done,
drop down and slash the crystal before it rises! This may take a
while, but hey, no hurry there. In fact, the most common mistake
most players make is to slash Iris like crazy, then suddenly find
themselves trapped between two laser beams and a sh*tload of bombs.
Finish her, and watch the movie clip.
Note -- Is it just me, or is the way Zero acts simply pathetic after
Iris tried her best to kill him?
GENERAL
Okay, whose bright idea was it to build this guy? Like Colonel,
General isn't exactly hard, but his attacks really pack a wallop!
Mostly, General will float around the room, or use his rocket
punches + energy rings. When you wear him down, he'll fire several
energy blasts from his, uh... naval. :-\
Float around the room: (X) Get on the wall as he comes towards you,
greet his head with a blast then scramble up. Wait for him to fly
away, slide down then blast him again. (Z) You can actually hit his
head while on the wall! Do exactly that. Climb up and, when he gets
under you AND floats up a little, slash him.
Rocket Punches + Energy Rings: Do not, repeat NOT, climb the walls.
Stay on the ground while dodging his incredibly slow rings, then
get on his upper fist and ride it as it flies back to General. You
may need to jump over a ring or two while on the fist. Wait for
General to get within sight, and... (X) Jump as he fires another
ring, blast his head while still in mid-air and Air Dash away. (Z)
Jump as he fires another ring, land back on the fist and jump again,
this time to slash him. Immediately use a Hienkyakuu to get to
safety.
As he prepares to fire the energy blasts from his tummy, simply
stand on the ground and jump between the upper and lower blasts as
they fly towards you. Note that sometimes, when General floats
across the room, he'll use his rocket punches / energy rings instead
of flying away. You'll need to Air Dash / Hienkyakuu over him and
get to the other side of the room, or risk being hit by the rings.
RE-FIGHT THE BOSSES
Welp, tradition is tradition. For the information of our fellow
newbies out there, you're taken to a room where 8 teleportation
hatches are arranged in a pattern, each leading to one of the 8
bosses. If your E-Tanks are not full already, I STRONGLY suggest you
pay a few visits to the Snow Base to stock them up before coming
here, since that is the very last chance you'll get. For X, this
will be a breeze; fight them in any order you want. Zero, however,
will have a much harder time. This time around, I recommend fighting
the bosses in a new order which, along with the layout for the
teleportation hatches, is listed below:
Note that you'll be alternating between fighting a hard boss and an
easy one, thus reducing your chances of dying. You can re-shuffle
the above order to your liking, but keeping Magma Dragoon for last
would be a very good idea. Pick up the pellets deposited by the
bosses, even if you didn't take a scratch. Remember not to use any
of your E-Tanks, since you're only prolonging your death if you do
so; you'll really need them for the final boss. Once all 8 bosses
are down, step into the gold teleporter to face...
SIGMA (FIRST FORM)
Amazingly easy. When he appears above you, pop a Rising Fire or
Ryuuenjin at him and make him vanish. Every third attack will have
Sigma rushing across the room with his scythe, so climb up the
opposite wall and jump over him as he passes. If you're playing as
X, DO NOT charge the Rising Fire against him! It won't make him
disappear, and he'll fire energy blasts at you instead.
SIGMA (SECOND FORM)
Like Iris, this one's easy or hard. Proper know-how is the key. To
beat him without taking a scratch, let's see what Siggy does. He has
3 patterns, two of which are fixed and a variable third depending
on what you do. First, he'll jump up and throw his scythe across
the room. When it returns to him, he'll throw it again, this time
aimed at you. If it lands on the floor, four invincible, undodgeable
boomerangs will appear and home in on you ala Quick Man. If it
gets stuck on the wall, Sigma will leap back, then fire optic lasers
at you, which is the pattern we want him to do.
Dash under him the first time before he throws it, and the scythe
won't hurt you. Hit him as he grabs it. Now climb up to the top of
the wall. As soon as you hear Sigma yell, wait a split-second, then
drop down to the floor. The scythe should get stuck on the wall. As
Sigma jumps back, follow him, jump and Air Dash / Kuuenbuu over his
head and cling on to the wall! After this, Sigma was repeat his
across-the-room scythe throw, where you deal with him appropriately.
Do not let the scythe fall to the ground at any cost, or the
boomerangs will make you pay... dearly. By the time you're done with
both of him, you should still have AT LEAST 50% of your lifebar and
all two E-Tanks full. If not, good luck to ye...
SIGMA (THIRD FORM)
For a rough comparison of how tough this guy is, think Kaiser Sigma
from RockMan X3. More or less. Anyway, there are five parts to this
monster: three colored heads (blue, red, yellow), one ugly head that
sits on the floor and Sigma himself in a robotic body toting a huge
laser gun. For X players, I hope you followed my advice and chose
the Plasma Shot.
Yellow Head: Electricity attacks. Hardest to dodge. Start from
under it, then run to either side, climb up the head and the wall,
then jump off. I've only managed this a few times.
Blue Head: Ice vapor. Easiest to dodge of the three heads. Climb up
the heads on the left wall, and you've got it. If you're playing as
Zero, double jump up and stand on it just for fun. Risky, though...
Red Head: Fire waves. Shoots in 3 different height levels -- high,
medium and low. No fixed pattern, but the first wave will always hit
low, so climb up the heads on the right wall, then jump over and
dash under the low and medium waves respectively.
Ugly Head: Has two attack patterns, either trying to blow you into
a spike-lined wall, or sucking in debris then spitting it out at
you. No matter who you play as, ALWAYS stand a fair distance away as
it appears. If it sucks debris, (X) Have a fully-charged shot at
ready. If debris floats too close, fire. If they don't, fire anyway.
The Plasma Shot should destroy the head on the right. Once it starts
spitting, climb up the right wall to the top. It's the only spot
where the debris can't reach you. (Z) Defend yourself with the
Kuuenzan. When it stops sucking, double jump to get on the head on
the right, then climb the wall up all the way. If it decides to blow
you into the spiked wall instead, (X) Dash towards it, letting loose
as many fully-charged shots as possible. The Ground Hunter also
works well here. (Z) Dash towards it, then lead in with a Shippuuga
the moment it stops. Slash it as many times before it disappears.
Sigma with Gun: Like the head, Sigma has two attack patterns, both
of which involve shooting at you with his rifle. If you hear him
shout "The end!", then scramble up the heads on the left as fast as
you can. X can get in a hit if you're careful here -- the target is
the head. If not... (X) You should be able to get in five shots
before he vanishes. Stand on the first head, jump and fire. Climb
the second head as he shoots his laser at the place you were
standing, and blast him again while hanging on. Land on the first
head again when he's done and repeat. (Z) Stand below his lowest
aim and destroy the spiked Red Head with a Raijingeki. With that
done, keep standing on the floor and hitting him with the Ryuuenjin.
Just make sure you don't stand too close to avoid being injured by
direct contact.
This form of Sigma has two lifebars: one for the ugly head, and one
for Sigma himself. You need to destroy both to defeat him. You can
hit the colored heads and destroy them, but they'll just come back.
Anyway, if you have 2 full E-Tanks, you shouldn't have much to
worry about. Once he goes *kabooshki*, go through the door and watch
the ending. And oh, congrats to ye.
======================================================================
3. CODES AND SECRETS
======================================================================
[] Play as Dark X
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Command: Select X at the Player Select screen, hold Up and press F.
If this is successful, X will turn a darker shade as the game starts.
The main benefit of Dark X is you get the Ultimate Armor and unlimited
use of his Giga Attack, the Nova Strike. To get the Ultimate Armor,
simply visit any one of the four capsules in the game, the easiest one
to find is being one in the Jungle stage.
[] Play as Dark Zero
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Command: Select Zero at the Player Select screen, hold Down and press
F.
Zero's body armor turns black if successful. Aside from that, Dark
Zero plays exactly like regular Zero...? I'm not sure. A friend of
mine mentioned that there was a Grinder upgrade to find in the game,
but if I know him, he's just pulling my leg.
That's it. Sorry, folks, no get-all-weapons-and-items code in this
game. Note that the above tricks were only tested for the PC version
of the game. If you're on a PlayStation or something, there are plenty
of sites on the Internet sporting not only codes for this game, but
thousands of others as well. A little digging should unearth them for
you. And if you're too lazy for that, check out the 'Credits' section.
- Me [shadow_dragon95@hotmail.com]
Heh heh... I wrote this, didn't I?
- Ling Ming Han
That tubby guy who sits next to me in class. Resident RockMan freak
or genius, depending on how you look at it. Plenty of tips and info
in this FAQ come from him, including the location of the Armor Upgrade
and the Heart Tank in the Jungle stage.
- Yeoh Kher En
Another tubby classmate (no, I'm NOT tubby myself!) who lent me the PC
version of this game. Major kudos to this fellar.
- Codeman [gloryblaze@aol.com]
Author of another RockMan X4 FAQ, also found at GameFAQs. Also a great
source of small info tidbits, including the Energy Pellet section in
the Snow Base, the code for Dark Zero, how to get the Ridden Mech Armor
into Magma Dragoon's room and others.
- Jason Tucker
Author of The Zero FAQ, also found at GameFAQs. Translations for a few
of Zero's techniques, the Hyouretsuuzan, Tenkuuha, Raijingeki and
Rakuuhouha were borrowed from his FAQ.
- GameFAQs [http://www.gamefaqs.com]
- GameWinners [http://www.gamewinners.com]
- ActionTrip [http://www.actiontrip.com]
- DLH.net [http://dlh.net]
- PlayStation Cheat.net [http://www.psxcodez.com]
- The Cheat Empire [http://home.planetinternet.be/~twuyts]
For hosting this goddamn thing.
- Capcom Entertainment [http://www.capcom.com]
Makers of this game, as well as all its predecessors, from RockMan 1
to 8, RockMan X to X5.
