2MW7a000XSMMX M8Z000aXrM@ rM M ZM X0 M ,, M MM; MMM8MMMMMMMMMMMMM M ., MZM; MM S XX M. ,. Z: MM. MMMMMMMMW XMM M , MM. M MM8 Mi ,,. MM. SM; MM MM ,,..M M2 :M MM .,,. M MM MM MM ,. M rM M MM MMM ,, M MM M .MM MM, M ,. M M: M MM MM. W8 ,, M MMMMMM M8 SM M M MMSZBMMM8MS iMMMZ8MMM8aMM8 MEGA MAN X7 FAQ and Walkthrough Written by Slash Raptor http://www.planet-megaman.com Version 1.0 ----------------- Table of Contents ----------------- 1.) Version History 2.) FAQ Introduction 3.) Game Information 4.) Story 5.) Characters 6.) Walkthrough 6a.) Intro Stage 6b.) Deep Forest (Soldier Stonekong) 6c.) Radio Tower (Tornado Tonion) 6d.) Battleship (Splash Warfly) 6e.) Lava Factory (Flame Hyenard) 6f.) Central Circuit (Ride Boarski) 6g.) Cyber Field (Snipe Anteator) 6h.) Air Forces (Wind Crowrang) 6i.) Tunnel Base (Vanishing Gungaroo) 6j.) Palace Road 6k.) Crimson Palace 7.) Item Descriptions 8.) Dr. Light's Capsules 9.) Enemy Listing 10.) Unexplained 11.) Legal For quick searching, you may use the numeric header for each section (e.g. "15.)" or "15a.)") to browse the guide. ------------------- 1.) Version History ------------------- Version 1.0 - 10/29/2003 - Initial release! This guide was effectively "born" on 10/25/2003 -------------------- 2.) FAQ Introduction -------------------- Welcome to my FAQ for Capcom's Mega Man X7! Here, you'll find detailed level walkthroughs and boss strategies to help you get through this challenging 3D adventure. The latest version of this FAQ can be found at: GameFAQs http://www.gamefaqs.com Planet Mega Man http://www.planet-megaman.com Please note, if anything you see is missing or out of date, please refer to the version of this FAQ at Planet Mega Man as this will be the most current one. This FAQ was written by Slash Raptor, formally known as Bolt Kraken and the former maintainer of Megaman Outpost. My other contribution to GameFAQs is a Mega Man Xtreme FAQ. It was produced mostly in GNU Emacs, a sophisticated Linux text editor. I wish to thank the following individuals that have contributed to the creation of this guide. I couldn't have done this without you! - Dark Napalm For the sourcebook scans - Heat Man For item description information, passing along the scans - Roger Clemente For the awesome final boss strategy - Jonathan Mathews Developed ASCII Generator, used to render the neat X7 logo on the top of the FAQ. http://go.to/ascgen - Planet Mega Man All Staff If you have something to contribute to this guide, feel free to e-mail me at slashraptor@planet-megaman.com. -------------------- 3.) Game Information -------------------- Mega Man X7 is the latest chapter in Capcom's long-running Mega Man X franchise. It is also the first of the X series to appear on a next- generation game system, the Sony PlayStation 2. As a result, it is also the first of the X series to be handled in 3D. Everything, from the stages to the bosses, is rendered in 3D with a cel shading effect, giving the game a slick, anime look. This also extends to the myriad of cutscenes in the game, both static and animated, that portray the storyline. Many reviewers have panned Mega Man X7 for its flaws and difficulty. While it is not without quirks, Mega Man X7 is truly a fun game if you give it a chance. As far as difficulty goes, once you find a control setup convenient for you and beat the first couple of stages, you'll probably find that the game isn't excruciatingly hard. Mega Man X7 is rated "E" for Everyone by the Electronic Software Ratings Board with "Violence" as a reason. --------- 4.) Story --------- In the 22nd century... Dr. Cain unearthed the laboratory of Dr. Light during an archeological dig. Mega Man X was the first robot capable of thinking for himself and making his own decisions. It wasn't long before Dr. Cain realized the power of this technology and immediately advanced plans to create Reploids, sentient robots based on Mega Man X. Unfortunately, the world was not a peaceful place. In past skirmishes, a mad Reploid known as Sigma dedicated himself to fighting against the humans. Reploids such as Sigma are known as Mavericks for their aberrant behavior. The Reploids fighting to destroy the Mavericks are known as the Maverick Hunters. In the current situation, Mega Man X has left the Maverick Hunters. This has rendered the Hunters weak in the eyes of the populace. A new organization of mercenaries, known as the Red Alert Syndicate, has risen in its place. Resorting to far less orthodox manners, the Red Alert has viciously fought against the Mavericks. Axl, a young Reploid with the amazing ability to shape-shift into other Reploids, fights alongside Red, the leader of the Syndicate. But they parted ways when Axl grew suspicious of changes in Red Alert. Little did he know that the war between Hunter and Maverick was about to spark once again. -------------- 5.) Characters -------------- Thanks to the Double Hero system, you may take two heroes into any stage. Pressing L2 will switch between them. Each has their own seperate health meter, but they share weapons energy. Mega Man X The archetype for which all Reploids were modeled, Mega Man X used to be the leader of Hunter Unit 17 when he worked for the Maverick Hunters. He is torn by an inner conflict. No matter how many times Sigma is destroyed, he only returns with a vengeance and many more humans and Reploids die with each iteration. Is this the cost of peace, or is X merely an instrument and catalyst to the war? He leaves the Maverick Hunters because of this ambivalence. Mega Man X is not a playable character at the beginning of the game. Once 64 hostages are rescued, he is unlocked. In addition to receiving the Power/Strength/Special modifiers from rescuing hostages, X can also receive new powers from Dr. Light's capsules. There are four of these capsules scattered in the eight Maverick stages. Mega Man X fights with the X-Buster, an arm cannon. Special moves: Charged Shot - Press and hold the fire button to make X charge up his X-Buster to unleash an even larger blast of plasma! Midair Dash - By pressing dash in midair, X can dash to the side. Zero The leader of Special Hunter Unit 0 and a special Class A Hunter, Zero used to be Mega Man X's partner in battle. Originally created by Dr. Light's archnemesis Dr. Albert Wily, Zero was the Reploid responsible for the proliferation of the Maverick Virus that infected Sigma. Since then, Zero has refrained from his Maverick tendencies and fought on the side of good. Zero is available from the beginning. He uses the Z-Saber in combat, which makes him something of a melee fighter. He has virtually no long-range ordinance, so most battles will be up close and personal. Special moves: Double Jump - Press the jump button in midair to jump again. Axl A defector from Red Alert, Axl is a mysterious Reploid with no past. A teenaged Reploid, Axl is mischievious and sometimes does not appreciate the severity of a situation. His coveted ability is that which allows him to transform into other Reploids and gain their powers. He has no idea where he learned of this power. In addition to this, Axl uses a pistol in combat. Special moves: Hover - Press and hold the jump button to hover. Copy Shot - Press the special attack to fire a Copy Shot. If it destroys an enemy, it will leave behind a red cube. If Axl picks up this cube, he will transform into that enemy for a limited time. Roll - Pressing dash while dash will make Axl barrel roll. Signas Signas is the leader of the Maverick Hunters, built with a highly- precise CPU and trained as a master of military strategy. Alia Alia is the navigator for the Maverick Hunters. She guides X, Zero, and Axl to new locations and gives strategies as they venture into the unknown. Red The leader of Red Alert and Axl's former mentor, Red now commands his troops to fight against the Maverick Hunters. --------------- 6.) Walkthrough --------------- Some general notes on the walkthrough: - I would strongly recommend using Axl for the majority of the game, at least until you unlock X. There tends to be a bias towards Axl in this guide. A good strategy is to give Axl most of the attribute power-ups you receive from the hostages early on, so he'll have extended invulnerability and more attack power later. - Boss strategies are mentioned in-line with the stages. - I don't go into immense detail on rescusing hostages here, instead opting to give you a broad overview of what you need to be prepared for. - I don't have the official names of the enemies, so I'll either refer to them by what they are (e.g. "bomber robots") or by a semi-common Mega Man moniker (e.g. "Mets", "Battons"). ---------------- 6a.) Intro Stage ---------------- The intro stage consists of two parts. In the first you play as Axl in a warehouse and in the second you play as Zero as he ventures along the perennial highway scene. As Axl, you're greatest threat are the lasers mounted to the ceilings and crates. If you shoot at these, they will temporarily deactivate, giving you enough time to hover, dash, or otherwise walk through the trap. Soon, the scene switches to a 3D perspective and you'll need to fight some bomber robots. Stay away from the small bombs they hurl and use your auto-target to destroy them. Be careful when passing through the sonar orb columns. You will learn to dislike these a lot as the game progresses. At the end, you'll need to disengage a door lock. Four orbs surround the lock. You'll need to switch targets in order to shoot the pink lock, which randomly changes. If you hit a blue lock, the system retaliates with homing plasma. In the next part, you'll play as Zero. Along the highway, you'll need to bring down three of the Bee Bladers. The best approach is to stand below them and slash at them from underneath. Don't worry about getting out of the way when they crash. You'll also encounter several of the walkers from Mega Man X1 here. The blue kind walks towards you and can be hazardous in groups. The green kind has a cannon mounted to its pack. The shots fired from this cannon can be slash at with the Z-Saber, which will deflect them back to the robot. Three of these shots will kill the robot. When you reach the walls that try to compress you, double-jump and then wall jump the entire way. If you don't do it correctly, you can "reset" the walls by walking to the left and then to the right again. Zero will rendezvous with Axl, who is being pursued by a nasty Scorpion Mechaniroid. BOSS: Scorpion Mechaniroid If you don't know what you're doing, this guy can actually be rather difficult (relative to other intro stage bosses). He'll mainly attack you with his claws, lunging towards you. He can also fire shots from his tail and a spinning blue wave along the floor that will force you to scale the walls. A key strategy is that unless the Scorpion is lunging, you can run underneath it. You can also destroy its tail and claws seperately if you so desire. If your health gets low, switch characters. ------------------------------------ 6b.) Deep Forest (Soldier Stonekong) ------------------------------------ With the exception of the final stretch, this is one of the easiest stages in the game and it concludes with by far the easiest of the eight Mavericks. It goes without saying you should start here first. This stage is entirely 2D and so you'll progress from left to right. Your chief adversaries are the robotic bees (rather obnoxious if you are Zero), robotic monkeys, and the stone guards that come in two different sizes. The stone guards will toss rocks at you, or jump and cause a localized earthquake. If you see them jump, move out of the area where you're standing. There are also some giant Stonekong heads. Some merely move up and down to crush you, while others spit rocks. Most of the secrets are hidden up in the trees. If you have X, there is a capsule hidden in the trees as well, right next to a really tall pit. Look for a tree limb you can jump onto. Towards the end, there is a bed of spikes. This part can be tricky and it is useful to hover, dash sideways, or double-jump to get by. Right before you face Stonekong, there is a pointless battle against an entourage of Stonekong heads. If you have auto-fire on, just avoid the rocks and fire away to destroy them all. BOSS: Soldier Stonekong You will confront Stonekong on a circular path with pits of flame conveniently thrown in for good measure. Short of jumping around like a lummox, Stonekong actually has a couple of attacks. First, he'll fire his shield, which will do a complete circle around the arena. You only need to jump over it. His more dangerous attack is when he goes for the cage at the center of the room and summons a large two large boulder halves. To avoid this, get to the other side of the circle opposite where the halves appear. They'll explode just before reaching you. If you're Axl and use the rapid fire, this battle should be over with little hassle. --------------------------------- 6c.) Radio Tower (Tornado Tonion) --------------------------------- Tornado Tonion's level takes place at a Japanese radio tower. Remember the spiral worlds of Split Mushroom and Izzy Glow? Roughly the same deal here, only in 3D. The first half of the level deals with spiraling up while a crab-like Mechaniroid in the center shoots stuff at you. If he fires napalm, get about a quarter of the screen away to avoid getting hit. Otherwise, blast his claws as he launches them. Eventually, Alia will chime in and tell you his weak spot is his head (duh?). So, shoot at his head while avoiding those same attacks, and also a new one where he sprouts sword-like blades and rotates around at varying elevations. The second half of Tonion's level is more spiraling goodness. There are lots of hostages to rescue here, and even a few vanishing blocks. If you fall, you'll fall to a lower level, so don't worry too much about dying. BOSS: Tornado Tonion Tonion, much like Split Mushroom, is the gag boss of the game. If you're reasonably fast, he's not terribly difficult either. When the battle starts, Tonion will be quick to use his tornado attack against you. Dash away from him as fast as possible and shoot him when he stops to recharge. He'll generally do this three times - the third time he will align himself with the center of the round arena. From here, he will shed his layers and rotate them very quickly as a shield. Just stand back. You can try to strike him at this point as well from a distance. After Tonion loses half of his energy, he'll switch attacks. Now he'll shed his layers and send them towards you and you'll need to jump over them. He'll also make a sword from his layers that you'll have to jump over (or stand under, depending on the elevation). Again, keep the pressure on Tonion and avoid his electrified tornado if he uses it. Theoretically, the best weapon against Tonion is Stonekong's Gaea Shield, but it seems to merely stun him rather than do any real damage. ------------------------------- 6d.) Battleship (Splash Warfly) ------------------------------- Splash Warfly hides out on a series of destroyed battleships in the middle of the Atlantic. This stage is segmented into many short bursts of gameplay. You'll face a few enemies, and then a mini-boss. The enemies are mostly the bomber Reploids you've been fighting since the intro stage, Metools, and also those blue missile/spark Mechaniroids from X1. In the first segment, your goal will be to destroy an out-of-control fighter jet (looks vaguely like the kind from Storm Owl's air fortress). Strike when you can and stay relatively close to the spinning platform. In the next segment, you'll fight a three-headed robotic hydra. Dodge the fire it spits and attack each head. In the third segment, you'll fight a giant robotic. He has an annoying spreading flame attack, but all you'll need to do is shoot the turrets at his base (and then the whole thing explodes?). The fourth segment is a throwaway where you'll just rescue some more hostages. Then you'll fight Warfly. BOSS: Splash Warfly Splash Warfly is a weird one alright. He has a dual-bladed weapon (think Darth Maul) and wields it like a samurai attacking in very quick bursts of action. Tonion's weapon is the best here - you'll want to face Warfly and launch it at him. However, if Warfly comes charging at you, spinning his blade, he'll cancel the attack. There are three platforms in his arena and note that Warfly cannot jump between them (he'll dive and resurface). Also, the only one of Warfly's attacks that can transcend the islands is his homing missile attack. This one is quite damaging, so make all sorts of erratic movements to foil the missiles. There may be four or more coming at you at once! I think Warfly's second means of attack is the same as the first, only faster and he uses the homing missiles more frequently. He's a fairly difficult boss, and before long you'll really get annoyed by his voice. --------------------------------- 6e.) Lava Factory (Flame Hyenard) --------------------------------- Flame Hyenard's stage has, here's a surprise, a lava theme. This is a very long stage, and I'd be willing to wager it is the longest of the initial eight. In the first segments, you'll basically need to get from left to right. But, if you want to rescue the hostages, you've got your work cut out for you. Time bombs with very large blast range will detonate, so you'll have to act very quickly to rescue the hostages. For the rest of the stage, you'll be jumping from platform to platform over lava. There is quite an abundance of annoying flying Mechaniroids here, along with many large Mechaniroids that shoot flame rings, toxic clouds, and take a lot of abuse before caving in. When you have to walk on the narrow pipes over the lava, don't get caught off-guard by the sudden appearance of these robots. Also, the Hydra heads that also appeared in Splash Warfly's stage appear here as well. You'll also see some of those annoying rotating "sonar rings" from the intro stage. Typically, the safest spot is right next to the pole they eminate from. BOSS: Flame Hyenard Hyenard could well be the most annoying Maverick ever. With his constant pyromanical yelping every two seconds, this is one battle that's sure to get on your nerves fast. It's also a very strange battle, so let's break it down. When the battle starts, two Flame Hyenards will rush at you. These clones of Hyenard are not your target. Rather, as Alia will eventually say, the legs of the giant Trojan Horse Mechaniroid circling the battle arena are your targets. Disable the Mechaniroid by shooting both of its leg joints, and then hop aboard it. If you don't do this fast enough, the Mechaniroid will start walking again. Once aboard, things really get crazy. The real Hyenard is actually on the "head" of the horse. If you get onto the horse's neck as Axl, and you have rapid fire, you can actually pin Hyenard for a while. Yes, missiles will bop you on the head, but at this point Axl should have a lot of armor protection and maybe even extended invulnerability and they'll barely make a dent. Now, if the missiles cause you to fall back, or otherwise place you on the back of the horse, Hyenard will work with his two clones - encircling and then body slamming you. As you'll find, this gets very frustrating. You can either run back to the neck again and hope Hyenard also returns to his starting point, or you can try to attack the real Hyenard of the trio with Splash Warfly's weapon. I would recommend the former, but if you're concerned about rank more careful measures would be needed. ----------------------------------- 6f.) Central Circuit (Ride Boarski) ----------------------------------- Ride Boarski's stage takes place in New England on a floating racetrack (think F-Zero). You are on the Ride Chaser here. Essentially, there are some bombs you need to diffuse - and apparently you diffuse them by running over them. Keep an eye out for the giant "TARGET" arrows to know where to go. You'll need to collect all of them in certain timeframe, otherwise they will detonate. There are lots of hostages along the track - but be careful, the bomb-throwing enemies look a lot like the hostages. Usually, you'll need to go around the track two or three times to gather up the bombs. Such the Ride Chaser doesn't have any breaks per se, lay off the accelerator as you come across a bomb in order to pick it up. Of course, as you race around picking up bombs, you'll notice that you're probably missing a lot of hostages and a goodie or two. A good strategy is to go through this stage once and defeat Ride Boarski. That way, on subsequent visits, you can "explore" all you want without fear of the bombs exploding (since you can quit the stage at any time). BOSS: Ride Boarski Boarski is an interesting boss (too bad they didn't keep his original Japanese name - Hellride). He can transform into a motorbike and charge at you, sort of like Turbo Man. He also sends out little spiked wheels like Wheel Gator that zoom around and try to hit you. His other attack is to set up a spinning trio of flames in the middle of the arena that you'll need to jump over as they spin around. The spectators in alternating corners of the arena also throw bombs inward and they can be hard to see. All in all, just keep pelting Boarski and dodge his attacks. Become especially evasive when he starts blindly charging. As a warning, the slowdown in this battle is pretty substantial. --------------------------------- 6g.) Cyber Field (Snipe Anteator) --------------------------------- Snipe Anteator's stage is Cyber Peacock's stage realized in 3D. Moreover, it's probably the single most annoying stage of the initial eight. The action takes place on top of several geometric platforms linked to one another. If you jump while standing on an orange platform, you'll flip gravity (and your controls). If you bring Axl here, note that you can use your Copy Shot to transform into the samurai robots. Doing so will allow you to walk through the decorated orange walls and rescue more hostages and acquire X's upgrade part. It's hard to explain exactly how to navigate this twisting stage, but persistence pays off. The enemies are not plentiful, so feel free to explore. BOSS: Snipe Anteator While the glass tube you fight Anteator on is 360 degrees, you can only remain on the top 180 of it. In the beginning, Anteator will more or less stand in place, so let Zero get his licks in at close range. Anteator will eventually unleash a series of ant-like bombs that will explode if you walk near them. He'll also fire homing missiles. These missiles, like the shots of X or Axl, have the limited ability to wrap around the tube. Ride Boarski's wheel weapon is the best to use against Anteator and you will probably want to save it until Anteator is down to half energy. It is here when Anteator will unleash a series of highly aggressive laser pods that flit all over the room taking potshots at you. Dash a lot to prevent them from getting a bead on you and blast Anteator when convenient. Anteator is a fairly difficult boss that throws everything at you, so don't be surprised if you die several times. Also, be aware that Anteator has a substantial hit range, thanks to that weird balancing "tail" and his tongue. When he spins around, it's pretty easy to suffer contact damage. ------------------------------- 6h.) Air Forces (Wind Crowrang) ------------------------------- Wind Crowrang's stage consists of two parts, a portion where you are leaping from airship to airship, and another part where you stroll through the innards of the mothership. As you dart from one airship to another, you'll be attacked mainly by flying robots. Keep in mind that while the blue airships are stationary, the green ones move in a predefined pattern. Also, the red ones will either carry you to the next area or fall out of the sky. If it is the latter, you'll need to find another airship to leap to very quickly. At the end of the airship segment, it is imperative to blow up the two massive cannons on the aft of the mothership. There is also a bird Reploid (miniboss?) that will come to harass you. The mothership area is extremely linear despite being 3D. Be on your guard for sudden hostage situations. Also, you'll come across a hallway that branches to the left, right, and straight. While if you head straight you'll fight some bomber robots, detouring to the left leads to an X capsule. BOSS: Wind Crowrang If you are sufficiently powered and have Anteator's homing missile, this battle probably won't be too difficult. Otherwise, Crowrang is easily the hardest of the initial eight. Crowrang has two methods of attack - launching homing missiles from the background and then moving into the foreground to fight with his sword-like appendiges. He can also summon a wall of energy that Zero can double-jump over. It's best to weaken Crowrang with some rapid-fire shots and save the homing missiles for later in the battle when he intensifies his attacks. The homing missiles will interrupt his ability to attack you and it is possible to juggle him such that he won't execute any attacks. ------------------------------------ 6i. Tunnel Base (Vanishing Gungaroo) ------------------------------------ Vanishing Gungaroo hides out in a tunnel base. The theme here is big mechs. The first areas of this stage are comprised of twisting rock corridors and several of those turret walls that impede your progress (until you destroy all the turrets, of course). Later, you'll want to make special note of the Ride Armors you'll have to fight. At first they are mixed in with the normal enemies, but once you get to Gungaroo's chamber, they will come at you en masse. Look for a spider-like mech you can pilot in one corner of this arena. Also in this arena, make sure you ascend one of the columns prior to defeating all of the mechs. There is a Sub-Tank up there you'll find very useful. Once you eliminates all of the mechs, Gungaroo will enter the battle. BOSS: Vanishing Gungaroo Gungaroo is an annoying joey with a very large kangaroo-like battle robot. While you can try to tackle this thing on-foot, it's probably better to use the spider armor conveniently thrown into the arena and pummel Gungaroo's mech with that. Eventually, his mech will succumb and Gungaroo will be on-foot. Surprisingly, the little twerp can hold his own... and seeing as you can't just step on him, it's best to disembark from your armor and fight him mano-a-mano. If you're X, use charged shots whenever Gungaroo pauses and dash a lot to dodge his attacks. When he yells "Triangle Jump!" move abruptly. If you're Axl, use Flame Hyenard's weapon to pelt Gungaroo, then switch to the normal weapon. --------------- 6j. Palace Road --------------- The first stage you'll unlock after defeating the eight Mavericks is Palace Road. As Heat Man told me, it just gets easier from here, okay? That said, Palace Road is a fairly irritating stage and it might take you a few tries before you get past it. Atop a highway, you're being chased by a Mechaniroid asphalt cruncher. Your basic objective is to stay the heck away from it. You'll have to dodge pits as they come up, along with the cylindrical barriers you saw in Gungaroo's stage. You'll also come across the X1 walkers and even those X2 "hotrods" from Overdrive Ostrich's stage. But, by far, your biggest threat will be the pits. For those, I think the best thing is to simply not panic. If you get too crazy, you're going to fall into one, so be calm and focused. The cruncher itself is no flake either. At times, it will go crazy and start hammering the pavement with its roller - do not be anywhere near it when this happens. At the end of the second half, make sure you pick up the orange glowing power-up. Now you'll have to face the crusher head-on. BOSS: Moruboora The first thing you need to note in this battle is that, should you die, you'll restart at the beginning of the second half. So, that should give you incentive to really be merciless on this nasty boss. The best strategy is to first attack his front roller. Get in front of it when the battle starts and rapid fire it until it is destroyed. Once its gone, the cruncher is reduced to only a couple attacks - the charge and the laser. He can charge back and forth, turning around off-screen, so get ready to dash. As for the laser, he'll rotate but have limited turning range. Continue to pelt him and he'll go down. ------------------ 6k. Crimson Palace ------------------ If you've made it this far, rejoice. You are nearing the end of the game! For the record, it needs to be stated that once you choose to enter Crimson Palace from the boss select screen, you are in it for the long haul. There are no save points between here and the final boss. If you lose all of your lives, make sure you use Continue instead of any other option. It takes about an hour to get through here, so brace yourself Crimson Palace is a huge, sprawling level broken up into countless smaller segments, so I'll only cover the noteworthy ones. The first segment is layer on layer of sloped surfaces ascending upwards. There are giant invincible boulders here that will slowly roll towards you. Walk back down the slope and make sure the rock is partially on the screen when you reach the end. It will "explode" and you can move on. You'll have to climb a wall at the end of each run, make sure you reach the top of it and then jump (the wall grabbing is buggy here). You'll do this several times for the next few levels. Along the way, you'll be assaulted by those bat Mechaniroids... and they are very obnoxious. Later, you're going to come across more narrow platforms and those spinning circular beam things from the intro level. Remember, these rays have the power to knock you off the platforms and into the abyss! Tread carefully and remember they have greater range than you think. Eventually, you'll venture outside and encounter, of all things, the stone heads from Soldier Stonekong's stage (except for they have huge spikes on their backside). We're pretty convinced what you're supposed to do is jump over them as X, since only the top of the head doesn't damage you. If you're fortunate enough to have a character with an extended invulnerability period, use him here and take the hit and move on until you reach the boss. BOSS: Red Red's battle arena is comprised of many small platforms of varying heights. He'll randomly teleport from platform to platform. Once there, he can other summon clones of himself to attack other platforms, or cause massive pink lasers to fire from the platforms themselves (indicated by the swirling motion right before they fire). In both cases, you'll just need to find another platform to stand on. After he finishes either attack, Red will stand there so it's a great opportunity to hit him. Just make sure that when you do, you have another platform to immediately hop to, as Red will always counterattack with a large sword blast. This will probably be a close battle and a Sub-Tank will definitely help. After a few tricky jumps (use your two characters wisely to get by), you'll find yourself in the capsule room. As usual, you'll have to fight the eight bosses over again. I actually didn't find this part to be terribly difficult because you'll get a power-up that refills all of a given character's energy and one weapon in between battles. Here's a chart of who's who. Gungaroo Tonion Hyenard START Boarski Anteator Stonekong Crowrang Recall that our suggested boss ordering is Stonekong, Tonion, Warfly, Hyenard, Boarski, Anteator, Crowrang, and finally Gungaroo. For the sake of the final boss, if you intend to be Zero, have the Gaea Shield at full strength. If you are Axl, charge up the Explosion rifle. After you defeat the eight Mavericks for a second time, a ninth capsule will appear before you. It's time to face the final boss. BOSS: Sigma, Phase 1 What? You were expecting someone else? Yes, Sigma, tired old wreck of a Maverick is back once again. Whoop-de-doo. Sigma has three modes of attack as he essentially "morphs" various guns as he needs them. He also has two health bars, in the style of Mega Man Zero games, so be aware of that. There's the big laser cannon that fires horizontally across the screen. If he fires it low, try to get to a wall. If he fires it high, stand on his level and let him have it. Eventually, he'll switch to his second attack, a "rebounding" laser. Fall back and continue to pelt him until he puts up his shield. Shortly after he does this, he'll teleport out and either repeat the first attack or switch to the third. In the third attack, he hovers in the background and launches shots towards you. Dash like mad to avoid them. He'll then return to the first attack. BOSS: Sigma, Phase 2 High up in the clouds atop rock platforms, it's time for the final confrontation (at least until the inevitable Mega Man X8). If you're X, Giga Crush works wonders. If you're Zero, the Gaea Shield will deflect his shots as will the Z-Saber. If you're Axl, pfft... this one is in the bag, especially if you have a fair amount of health. As Roger Clemente says on the GameFAQs forum, get to the leftmost platform and switch to the Explosion rifle as the boss sets up. Now, right after his meter finishes filling, let him have it with one devastating blast after another. And another. And another. And it won't be long before he explodes and perishes. Which "epilogue" you get depends on who are you when you defeat Sigma, so use Axl to decimate Sigma's defenses and then switch to the appropriate character to deliver the final blow. --------------------- 7.) Item Descriptions --------------------- Sub-Tanks Sub-Tanks are the Mega Man X equivalent to the Energy Tanks in the classic series titles. They allow you to store away energy, up to a full health meter worth, that you can use later. There are two Sub-Tanks in the game. A Sub-Tank will only refill the health of the current hero. Battleship (Splash Warfly) Look for a Sub-Tank behind some crates. The camera obscures this one, even though it's technically speaking out in the open. Tunnel Base (Vanishing Gungaroo) At the end of the stage, when you fight against a squadron of ride armor Reploids, there are several columns. Climb one of them. Up here, youwill find several items, including a Sub-Tank. Try to do this when you have one or two Ride Armors to destroy, but before you destroy them all (which triggers the battle with Vanishing Gungaroo). Weapon Tank The Weapon Tank does for weapons energy what Sub-Tanks do for life energy. You may use it to refill one weapon. There is only one Weapon Tank in the game. Central Circuit (Ride Boarski) Look for the Weapon Tank behind a silver crate on the course. A good strategy is to go through the course once and beat Boarski. Then, when you return, you can take as much time as you need to "explore" the race course given that you can then quit the stage when the timer gets low. EX Tank The EX Tank's effects are almost transparent, so don't be surprised if you run across this one and have no idea what it does. The EX Tank causes you to restart with 5 lives instead of the standard 3 after a continue. There is only one EX Tank in the game. Deep Forest (Soldier Stonekong) When you reach the last of the Stonekong heads, right before you enter Stonekong's arena, stand on top of it and ride it upwards. Then, double-jump to the left into the trees to find the EX Tank. ------------------------ 8.) Dr. Light's Capsules ------------------------ Just like in the previous Mega Man X games, X will gain new powers by searching for capsules left behind for him by his creator, the late Dr. Light. The system in X7 harkens back to the one used in X1-X4. That is, obtaining a part from a Dr. Light Capsule will have an immediate effect on X, whereas in X5 and X6 it was necessary to gather all four components of an armor before it was possible to do anything with it. There is essentially only one armor in X7 and four capsules to find. Foot Armor Deep Forest (Soldier Stonekong) Right before a very tall, deep pit, look to the left in the trees. There is a branch you can leap onto and a Dr. Light capsule conveniently stashed there as well (how it managed to magically be up in a tree after years of inactivity is open to debate). Body Armor Air Forces (Wind Crowrang) This one can be accessed once you are onboard the mothership. As you traverse its sprawling corridors, you'll eventually reach a point that splits in three ways with bomber robots that appear from the hatches straight ahead. While the left and right are dead ends, the left corridor will lead you to an obvious Dr. Light capsule. Head Armor Cyber Field (Snipe Anteator) This one is rather annoying to get and, moreover, it's difficult to explain precisely how to obtain it. In the second half of the stage, the capsule floats on a disconnected orange hexagon. In order to get there, you must flip gravity several times and, I believe getting Axl to change intoa samurai to walk through a wall is essential as well. Use his Copy Shot to do this. Buster Upgrade Lava Factory (Flame Hyenard) In the first area, descend around the area of the second Dragon head (the serpentine fire-breathing robots) to find this capsule. We have yet to know of any secret armors other than the Glide Armor or of any special Street Fighter II hidden moves in the game. ----------------- 9.) Enemy Listing ----------------- These names and strength data were taken from the official Rockman X7 sourcebook, courtesy of Dark Napalm and Heat Man. I present these mainly for curiosity value. Don't worry. I won't refer to enemies using these names unless it is a simpler alternative. Names in brackets [ ] are suggested English translations. Name: Antenashiirudo [Antenna Shield] Description: A shield radar dish Found on: Radio Tower Strength: 4 HP Name: Uooruburasutaa [Wall Blaster] Description: A wall with eight turrets that must each be destroyed to kill the machine. Turrets may fire blue plasma shots or red beams. Found on: Tunnel Base, Battleship Strength: 1 HP x 8 Name: Eipusutingu [Ape Stinger] Description: A stone gorilla head similar to the ones seen in Soldier Stonekong's stage, only with two large spikes. You can stand on top of it. Found on: Crimson Palace Strength: Invulnerable Name: Eipusuton [Ape Stone] Description: A stone gorilla head. Some versions of this attack you by spitting rocks, but most are benign platforms that move up and down. Found on: Deep Forest Strength: 16 HP for the attacking ones, benign ones are invulnerable Name: Eipuroido [Aperoid] Description: A large, axe-wielding menace. It throws its axe like a boomerang. Found on: Air Forces Strength: 48 HP Name: Gaadian (Kiiru) [Yellow Guardian] Description: A large purple and yellow robot that shoots a toxic green gas from its arm cannon. Found on: Tunnel Base Strength: 32 HP Name: Gaadian (Akairu) [Red Guardian] Description: A large orange and green robot with a big metal claw. It can create rings of fire that eminate from its position. Found on: Tunnel Base Strength: 64 HP Name: Gaado Huan Description: A laser mounted atop a column that fires circular beams of red energy. The beams have the ability to push you back, which can make Gaido Huans lethal on narrow platforms. Found on: Intro stage, Lava Factory, Tunnel Base, Crimson Palace Strength: Invulnerable Name: Kanshireedaa Description: A wall mounted turret beam laser. Shooting at it shuts it off temporarily. Invulnerable. Found on: Intro stage Strength: Invulnerable Name: Ganboruto Description: The blue spark/missile launcher robot from Mega Man X1. It has a shield of energy. Keep firing at it to weaken the shield and destroy the robot. Found on: Battleship Strength: 48 HP Name: KyuunB Description: A very irritating bee-like robot for Zero, trivial threat for others. It hovers in place, and then lunges forward at a high rate of speed. Found on: Intro stage, Deep Forest, Air Forces, Cyber Field Strength: 4 HP Name: Kurasshurooguu [Crash Rogue] Description: The warthog-like speeders from Overdrive Ostrich's stage in Mega Man X2. These like to charge at you and take you by surprise. Found on: Palace Road Strength: 8 HP Name: Koonmettooru [Cone Metool] Description: It's a Metool with a traffic cone instead of a construction helmet. Found on: Central Circuit Strength: 2 HP Name: Saibasuton Description: A weird green version of the Eibusuteingu that hurls rocks at you. Found on: Cyber Field Strength: Invulnerable Name: Sukurappumettooru [Scrap Metool] Description: Another Metool variant, this one fires projectils and hides. Found on: Battleship Strength: 4 HP Name: Sentouki [Fighter Interceptor] Description: The first miniboss on the Battleship stage, an out-of-control fighter jet on a moving platform. Found on: Battleship Strength: 64 HP, 48 HP for both wings Name: Doragonburasutaa [Dragon Blaster] Description: A large, serpentine dragon head that lives in water and lava pools. Often attacks in packs and breathes fire relentlessly. Three of these comprise the second Battleship miniboss. Found on: Lava Factory, Battleship, Crimson Palace Strength: 40 HP Name: Baaty Description: A bird-like Reploid that harasses you as you board the mothership. Found on: Battleship Strength: 48 HP Name: Baundingu Description: A green Reploid that generally stands or jumps in place and has an electronic forcefield. Impedes your progress. Found on: Radio Tower Strength: 16 HP Name: Battonboon [Bone Batton] Description: The mechanical bats that are a staple of the X series are back in X7, and they are extraordinarily obnoxious this time around. Found on: Radio Tower, Crimson Palace Strength: 8 HP Name: Biibureidaa [Bee Blader] Description: The large bee-like helicopters also seen in X1 and X3. Equipped with dumbfire missiles, gatling guns, and walker pods. Found on: Intro Stage Strength: 128 HP Name: Hitogatakankyou Description: Third and final Battleship miniboss. A gargantuan robot with several turrets that are also its weak point. Found on: Battleship Strength: 96 HP, 20 HP for each gun battery Name: Huraiyaa [Flyer] Description: A flying menace that likes hover and take cheap shots at you. Found on: Lava Factory, Air Forces Strength: 8 HP Name: Burokkueipu (Shiro), (Cha) [Block Ape, White, Brown] Description: White and brown monkeys that shoot projectiles at you. Although often seen standing on one another, they will lunge and seperate to launch individual attacks if threatened. Found on: Deep Forest Strength: 8 HP Name: Purotoraido [Proto Ride] Description: A Reploid in a Ride Armor. Fires missiles, a laser cannon, and also sports increased mobility. Found on: Tunnel Base Strength: 32 HP Name: Peesutogannaa [Pest Gunner] Description: A four-legged mech that clings to walls or floors. When you walk within its range, it will launch projectiles at a high rate. Found on: Air Forces Strength: 4 HP Name: Herugaadaa Netsutaipu [Hellguard Heat Type] Description: A wolf-like Mechaniroid with the ability to breathe fire. Found on: Crimson Palace Strength: 48 HP Name: Herugaadaa Reikitaipu [Hellguard Frost Type] Description: A blue, frosty antithesis of the above Mechaniroid. Found on: Crimson Palace Strength: 96 HP Name: Boorudoboo Shottotaipu [Shot Type] Description: A green version of the Mega Man X1 walker mech. Its spindly legs support a blue plasma cannon. The shots it fires can be deflected right back at it. Found on: Intro Stage, Cyber Field Strength: 9 HP Name: Boorudoboo Noomarutaipu [Normal Type] Description: The walker mech from Mega Man X1. After it unfurls its wiry legs, it will march right towards you, ignorant of any attacks against it. Bee Bladers can launch these. Found on: Intro Stage, Palace Road Strength: 9 HP Name: Musharoido Description: A heavily-shielded Reploid in the form of an ancient Japanese warrior. It wields a long-range sword. Axl can transform into a Musharoido and be able to walk through orange walls. Found on: Cyber Field Strength: 12 HP Name: Mega Sukorupyo [Mega Scorpion] Description: The large scorpion Mechanroid that serves as the boss of the Intro Stage. Equipped with piercing claws and a tail laser. Found on: Intro Stage Strength: 32 HP Name: Megatootasu [Mega Tortoise] Description: Another cameo from Mega Man X1, this is a large turtle Mechaniroid with dual missile launchers on its shell. It can retreat into its shell and become invulnerable. Found on: Tunnel Base, Crimson Palace Strength: 32 HP Name: Metarusutoon [Metal Stone] Description: A large metal boulder found in the first segment of the Crimson Palace. It is invulnerable, so try to keep it on the screen as it rolls down the slope and vanishes. Found on: Crimson Palace Strength: Invulnerable Name: Mettooru S Description: The standard all-purpose Metool robot. Equipped with goggles and the trademark hard hat, these robots shoot plasma at you and retreat under their hats, where they are invulnerable. Found on: Air Forces, Crimson Palace Strength: 2 HP Name: Moruboora [Mole Borer] Description: This large excavation mech chases you down the Palace Road, thrashing its massive rolling pin as it goes. It also serves as the boss of Palace Road and is invulnerable until then. Found on: Palace Road Strength: 96 HP Name: Yadokari
Description:  A crustacean mech that pursues you up the first half of the
	      Radio Tower stage.  It is the miniboss of the Radio Tower.
Found on:     Radio Tower
Strength:     160 HP

Name:	      Rannaabomu [Bomb Runner]
Description:  These are very common humanoid enemies that skate around and
	      throw time bombs through the air.  Variants of these also
	      like to hide out and "snipe" from one location.
Found on:     Intro Stage, Air Forces, Tunnel Base
Strength:     8 HP

Name:	      Ruinzuman [Ruinsman]
Description:  A jungle Mechaniroid that tosses boulders at you and can also
	      summon localized earthquakes.  Comes in both small and large
	      sizes.  Remarkably high HP for its size.
Found on:     Deep Forest
Strength:     64 HP

Name:	      Reedaaroido [Radaroid]
Description:  Appears briefly in the Intro Stage.  Easily disposed of, but
	      has decent manueverability.
Found on:     Intro Stage
Strength:     9 HP

Name:	      Rooringusutoon [Rolling Stone]
Description:  A massive boulder that rolls your way in an attempt to crush
	      you.  Can be destroyed with persistence.
Found on:     Deep Forest
Strength:     96 HP

--------------------
10.) The Unexplained
--------------------

Brace yourself as you enter the world of the unexplained.  As with many
video games, Mega Man X7 is not without its share of mysterious and elusive
bugs.  We have attempted to chronicle them here for your curiosity.  If you
have seen an interesting quirk, please feel free to send it to
slashraptor@planet-megaman.com.

- The manual doesn't talk about any of the eight Mavericks, much less give
pictures of them.

- Ironically, the manual for Mega Man Zero 2 is far more colorful and
picturesque than the one for Mega Man X7.

- The back of the case reports that you need 40MB on a PlayStation 2 memory
card to save a game.  The official Sony PlayStation 2 cards only hold 8 megs.
We are convinced they meant to say 40KB.

- In the first room of Crimson Palace, all characters have difficulty
scaling the walls after a certain point.  There appears to be a "rough spot"
they can't grab onto.

- In the first room of Crimson Palace, the Metal Stones that roll towards
you never fall through the holes at the end of the slope - they instead
vanish into thin air.

- If you go to the Options screen from the Stage Select screen and come back,
the icons for the Mavericks flicker for a split-second before vanishing.

- Flame Hyenard's sound effects are multiplied by the fact that there are
three of them.  Consequently, this is an extremely vocal-intensive battle
and very annoying.

----------
11.) Legal
----------

This guide was written by Slash Raptor except where otherwise noted.  The
guide may be redistributed for strictly non-profit purposes.  For example,
web sites that force users to pay or subscribe for a fee in order to read
the FAQ are prohibited from posting this FAQ.

Mega Man X, Zero, Axl, and all other related indica are copyright Capcom.
This guide is a fan creation and is not officially endorsed by Capcom.