---------------------------------------------------------------- ------MEGA MAN X3 FAQ------------------------------------------- ------Written By NickWhiz1 (NickWhiz1@buckeye-express.com)------ ------Version FINAL--------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- Started: July 22, 2002 Last Updated: July 24, 2002 Table of Contents 1. Introduction/History 2. Credits 3. Controls 4. Items 5. Weapons 6. Walkthrough 7. Optional Bosses/Levels 8. Copyright --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. INTRODUCTION/HISTORY---------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Version FINAL(7/24/02): Finished this guy up. I'm not going to go into excessive detail like my MMX5 guide, just the high notes of each area. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. CREDITS----------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- GameFAQs for hosting this guide. The local FuncoLand for having a copy of this rare game in stock. Myself, for taking another crack at this game. Procyon Lotor (procyon@netcom.com), for discovering the Zero Sabre trick. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. CONTROLS---------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Start: Pause A Button: Dash B Button: Jump X Button: N/A Y Button: Shoot weapon, select weapon on pause screen L Button: Scroll weapons on normal screen to the left R Button: Scroll weapons on normal screen to the right Control Pad: Move character, place cursor on wanted selection On Pause Screen: R Button: Switch to character switch machine L Button: Switch to weapon screen R Button + Start: Switch character --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. ITEMS------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ENERGY CAPSULES Small: Recovers two bars of energy or fills up one bar of E-Tank energy. Large: Recoverd eight bars of energy or fills up four bars of E-Tank energy. WEAPON CAPSULES Small: Recovers two bars of energy for either the selected weapon or the weapon with lowest energy. Large: Recovers eight bars of energy for either the selected weapon or the weapon with lowest energy. MISC. X Icon (his helmet): Worth one free life. Heart: Increases max. energy by two bars (eight in whole game) S-Tank: Allows you to store extra energy for later use (four in whole game, reuasable). Upgrades: Enhances one of X's systems (four total) Enhancements: Further enhances one of X's systems (four total, can only have one, must have Upgrade first) UPGRADES: Foot-P (Blizzard Buffalo): Allows X to air dash either left, right, or straight up. Head-P (Tunnel Rhino): Upon entering a Maverick stage, it will give you a radar reading of the level, highlighting any items you have not found yet. Body-P (Volt Catfish): Reduces damage done to X by half, creates a temporary blue shield around him. Arm-P (Neon Tiger): Allows X to charge up 2 charged shots, which can be overlapped to create a super shot. Also allows X to charge any Maverick weapon. ENHANCEMENTS: Foot-E (Toxic Seahorse): Allows X to air dash either left, right, or straight up twice in succession (you can change direction between the first and the second). Head-E (Blast Hornet): Recovers life energy by standing still. Also allows you to fill up S-Tanks while standing still. Body-E (Crush Crawfish): Reduces damage done to X by 75%, creates a temporary orange shield around him. Arm-E (Gravity Beetle): Gives X the Hyper Charge weapon. ARMORS: R-Armor/N/Chimera Armor (Blast Hornet): Standard riding armor. Attack enemies by punching them. Change-H/Hawk Armor (Crush Crawfish): Shoots missiles instead of punching. Can fly for a limited time. Change-K/Kangaroo Armor (Toxic Seahorse): Attacks enemies by punching them with spiked fists. Can charge up punch to create a grappling punch. Change-F/Frog Armor (Gravity Beetle): Shoots torpedoes instead of punching. Can't dash. Only armor that can operate underwater. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. WEAPONS----------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number in () indicates how many times that weapon can be used with a full energy meter (28 bars). For normal, the first number is the # of times without the Arm upgrade, the second is with the # upgrade. ---Frost Shield (Blizzard Buffalo)--- Normal (28/56): Shoots a small ice spear forward. If it hits and destroys an enemy or hits a wall, it creates an ice star on the floor. Charged (19): Creates a spiked ice shield in front of X, then breaks and forms what looks like an ice lily that travels the ground. If underwater, creates a rideable solid block of ice that will float towards the surface. Lasts for a limited time only. ---Acid Burst (Toxic Seahorse)--- Normal (28/56): Shoots a small ball of acid. When it hits the ground, it will split into four smaller drops of acid, causing less damage but covering a wider area. You can shoot it straight up as well. Charged (28): Shoots two bouncing balls of acid the direction X is facing. ---Tornado Fang (Tunnel Rhino)--- Normal (28/56): Shoots a drill forward that inflicts multiple hits on the target before disappearing. Press the fire button twice in a row to shoot a wall of 3 (counts as 2 regular shots). Charged (approx. 19 seconds): X's X-Buster transforms into a consistent drill. Weapon energy is drained during the duration of the drill. ---Triad Thunder (Volt Catfish)--- Normal (28/56): Three electric blocks appear around X. Electricity forms a triangle around X, then electricity shoots from the blocks at 120 degree angles from each other. Charged (19): Can only be used on the ground. X shakes the ground, then two electric orbs, one in each direction, travel along the ground. ---Spinning Blade (Crush Crawfish)--- Normal (28/56): Fires two spinning blades. If they are not destroyed, they will arch up and down while heading backwards. Charged (19): Shoots a big spinning blade attached to a tether. Can be spun 360 degrees, similar to a yo-yo. ---Ray Splasher (Neon Tiger)--- Normal (28/56): Shoots multiple neon rays straight ahead at varying angles. Charged (19): Creates an orb that shoots neon rays in all directions. ---Gravity Well (Gravity Beetle)--- Normal (28/56): Fires a gravity well. Only useful against certain enemies. Charged (56): Shoots a gravity well upwards, reversing gravity for the entire screen. Can raise some objects. ---Parasitic Bomb (Blast Hornet)--- Normal (28/56): Fires a bomb forward. If it hits a minor enemy, it will latch onto them, then eventually explode. Charged (28): Creates 4 targets around X. The targets will lock onto enemies, then small hornets will attack the enemy, one for each target. Weapon energy is drained for each hornet shot. ---Hyper Charge (Arm-E, 9th Capsule)--- Normal (14): Shoots off fully charged X-Buster shots. Energy is recovered by taking damage. Full energy meter required to utilize (similar to X2's Gear Crush). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. WALKTHROUGH------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the level maps, each block represents roughly one screen. This, however, doesn't mean they are exactly to scale. Key: S-Start R-Ride Armor Equip U-Upgrade/Enhancement H-Heart (Life-Up) Tank E-S-Tank X-Bit/Byte Room V-Teleport to Vile's Lab M-Mid-Boss B-Boss =========================================================================== OPENING STAGE =========================================================================== _ _ |_|B| _ _ _|_| |_|_|M|_| _ _ _ _ |_| |S|_|_|_|_ _ _ _|_| |_|_|_|_|_ _ _ _|_|_| |_|Z|_|_|_|_| Z-Forced switch to Zero Stage Notes: *Being the first level in the game, there's not much to say here. There are VERY few fatal hazards in this stage, compared to the first two openers (barely any bottomless pits and NO crushing walls >.<). *About halfway through the stage, X will be taken away by a reploid named Mac. This will force a switch to Zero. Zero's section is very easy as well. *Mac is a COMPLETE pushover. One sabre slash, then any shot will destroy him. Use a charged shot to destroy the machine holding X. Sadly, this is probably the longest use of Zero you'll get until X4 =( --------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS: Maoh the Giant Suggested Weapons: X-Buster ROFLMAO....am I supposed to be scared of this guy? His only attack is to attempt to hit you with one of his two spiked maces. Each hit only does 1 damage to you, so it takes 16 to kill you. Whereas, you only need 8 fully charged shots to finish him. Real good odds, eh? =/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- =========================================================================== STAGE SELECT =========================================================================== ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ |Blast |Blizzard| |Gravity |Toxic | |Hornet |Buffalo | |Beetle |Seahorse| |________|________|________|________|________| ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ |Volt |Crush |Doppler |Tunnel |Neon | |Catfish |Crawfish|Lab* |Rhino |Tiger | |________|________|________|________|________| *Only if all 8 Mavericks have been defeated Notes: *You may start with any of the 8 stages, and go in any order you wish. *The weakness circle is Blizzard Buffalo, Toxic Seahorse, Tunnel Rhino, Volt Catfish, Crush Crawfish, Neon Tiger, Gravity Beetle, Blast Hornet, then back around again. *It is suggested you start with Blizzard Buffalo to get the Foot-P. This way, you can use the Air Dash. *After defeating 2 Mavericks, three more of Doppler's machines will be available to battle. You will be forced to fight Bit in either your 3rd, 4th, or 5th Maverick stage, and Byte in either the 6th, 7th, or 8th Maverick stage. It appears to be random when you battle them. You must find one of the three teleporters to get to Vile's level to battle him. =========================================================================== ARCTIC BASE: BLIZZARD BUFFALO =========================================================================== _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _|R|_|_|_|_|_| |E|_|_|_|_|_|U|_ _ _ |S|_|_|_|_|_|H|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|B| |_|_ _ _ |_| |_|X|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_| |V| Stage Notes: *Most of this level is covered with ice, making it very slippery. There are a few spike pits located in inconvenient places, so don't slide into them. *You won't get very far with the Ride Armor in this stage (when you get it). *To defeat the ice rock enemies in the tunnel, shoot them until they lose their ice armor, then destroy them before they build up a new one. *To stop the snowstorm in the final area, you need to go all the way to the right, then double back along the lower level. Obliterate the machine with your X-Buster. *The enemies in sleds can freeze you in place with a rear-mounted cannon, so be careful. Heart/Life-Up (R-Armor): Equip one of the armors, then use it to destroy the pile of ice cubes just to the right. The Heart will be across a spiked pit at the bottom. Vile's Lab Teleport: At the rightmost edge of the tunnel, drop down the pit, hanging onto the left wall. You'll find it. S-Tank (Foot-P): When you emerge from the tunnel into the snowstorm area, you will see it directly overhead, on a ledge. You will need the Foot-P to air dash up there. Foot-P: Destroy the snowstorm machine, then take a dashing leap of faith from the rightmost high ledge. This may take a few tries. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS: Blizzard Buffalo Suggested Weapons: X-Buster, Parasitic Bomb (later) Although he is probably the easiest of the 8 Mavericks to defeat with the X-Buster, Blizzard Buffalo is still no pushover. His main attack is to try to ram into you. If he doesn't have his horns extended, it will be a simple ram. If he has his horns extended, and he hits you, he will carry and ram you into the opposite wall, and it hurts. He may also fling three ice crystals at you, then ram you. Keep the crystals off the wall so you can jump up it to avoid him. When you get him low on health, he may also fire a crystal beam that will freeze you in place, making you an easy target for (take a wild guess) a ram attack. Have an X-Buster shot charged when you enter the battle, then hit him with it for an instant 2 damage. You will need to hit him with 15 more of these to win the battle. Once you have the Parasitic Bomb from Blast Hornet, you can use it to stun him and deal good damage. Weapon: Frost Shield --------------------------------------------------------------------------- =========================================================================== DAM: TOXIC SEAHORSE =========================================================================== _ |H|_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |_|_|X|_|_|R|_ _ _ _|_|U|_|_|_|_|_| |_| |_|K|_|_|_|_|_| |_| |_|_ _ |_| |_|_|_|_|_|_|_ _|_| |_|_|B| |_| |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|M|_| _ _ _ _ |_| |S|_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_| K- Change-K Stage Notes: *You will have to get your feet wet in this level, both by climbing up walls pouring with toxic waste, and the nice little pond midway through (ok, so it's bigger than a pond =/). *Only the Frog Armor can operate in the underwater section. *Gravity Well works VERY well against the turtle enemies. *If you destroy the turtle enemies without the Gravity Well, their empty shells will float to the surface. *The fans can only be destroyed with the Frog Armor. *The mid-boss isn't too much of a problem. Its weakness is the Triad Thunder, but the Frost Shield will do just fine. *When you head back inside after crossing the dam, destroy the enemy before crossing the large spike pit. Heart/Life-Up: Climb all the way to the top of the toxic waste area. Change-K (Frost Shield, Arm-P): Stand on the right edge of the first pit in the underwater section, charge up the Frost Shield, and ride the ice block all the way to the surface. You'll see it on a ledge above you. Foot-E (Change-F): Use the Frog Armor to destroy the fans, then climb that wall. Climb another wall above the surface, and you'll find it. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS: Toxic Seahorse Suggested Weapons: Frost Shield The first of the three underwater Mavericks, yet all of them fight on dry land. I don't get it o_O?! He starts by jumping towards your position, then firing an Acid Burst on you. This wouldn't normally be that bad, except the Acid Burst bounces off the wall, shooting little acid drops at you, AND Toxic Seahorse will start jumping towards your position again. After you get him down to about half health, his pattern completely changes. He will melt into acid, and go below the floor. Once he resurfaces, he will start jumping towards your position again. He will then fire the charged Acid Burst (two bouncing acid balls), then either jump towards you, or melt again. He is invulnerable while in his acid state. The Frost Shield is the ideal weapon against TS. When he jumps to your position, fire a Frost Shield and dash to the other end of the screen. He will take 3 damage and be stunned. He will jump towards you again. Fire another Frost Shield and dash again. Lather, rinse, repeat. He will be gone in no time. If you are stuck with the X-Buster, dodge his constant attacks the best you can and get some shots in. The Acid Bursts can be destroyed, but they take a while. Good luck. Weapon: Acid Burst --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quick scene with Dr. Doppler, Bit, Byte, and the "Mysteriousmaverick" (Vile) here, then back to the Stage Select screen. =========================================================================== UNDERGROUND BASE: TUNNEL RHINO =========================================================================== _ _ _ _ |_|_|B| |U|_ _ _|_| _ _ _ |_|_|_| _|_|_| |_|_|E| _|_|_|_|_ _ _|_|_| |_|_|_|_ _ _|_|_|_|_|M|_|_|_| _ _ _ _ |_|_|_|X|_|_|_| |S|_|_|_|_|_|H| |_|_|_| Stage Notes: *The enemies carrying the rocks at the beginning will drop on you after dropping their rocks. Proceed with caution. *Destroy the head of the screw enemies to pass by them. *The bouncing rock enemies are exactly the same as in Blizzard Buffalo's stage. Destroy their armor, then destroy them before the armor regenerates. *Don't let the mud cannons push you into a spike pit >.< *The double drill enemies will fire off their drills as a last weapon when you destroy them. *Move quickly to avoid the rolling boulders. *The mid-boss isn't that bad either. He will either ram the wall (95% of the time), or detatch from his tank and try to hit you with his spiked fist while the tank rams the wall (rare attack). You can stand on top of the tank when he is not on it. His weakness is the Spinning Blade, but for now, just use the X-Buster. Heart/Life-Up (Triad Thunder, Arm-P): When you see the first bouncing rock enemy, go right instead of left. Use a charged Triad Thunder to shake the boulder off its harness so you can access the Heart. S-Tank: In plain sight, in the upper right corner of the mud cannon area. Head-P (Triad Thunder, Arm-P): You will see a similar apparatus later in the stage to the one guarding the Heart. Once again, use a charged Triad Thunder to clear the path. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS: Tunnel Rhino Suggested Weapons: Acid Burst Nintendo Power once had an Arena challenge to see who could beat this stage first, without any items. I think it was a pretty pathetic challenge, because Tunnel Rhino is fairly easy to beat. His attack pattern is similar to that of Blizzard Buffalo, as he spends all his time ramming. He sometimes has a tendancy to change direction in mid-ram, so be careful. He may stop and fire three drills in various directions, or fire a wall of three drills, then ram towards the wall you're on. You'll need a long jump or an air dash to avoid both the ram and the drills. When low on health, he will sometimes glow, making him invulnerable and ram twice as fast. The Acid Burst will simply stun Tunnel Rhino for a second, then he'll go back at it. Acid Burst does not work on him while he is glowing. If you are stuck with the X-Buster, you may not have the chance to charge up very often, so just plug away and try to outlast him. Weapon: Tornado Fang --------------------------------------------------------------------------- =========================================================================== POWER PLANT: VOLT CATFISH =========================================================================== _ |U| _ _ |_|_ _ _ _ _ _|R|_| _|_|_|_|_|_|_|X|_|_| |_|_|_|H| |_|_|_|_| |_|_|_| |_| _|_| |_|_|_ |_|_|E|_| |_|_|_| |_|_|_|_| _ _ _ _ _|_| |_|_|_| |S|_|_|_|_|_| |_|_ _ |V|_| |_|_|B| Stage Notes: *There are a LOT of spikes in this level. Some of the elevator shafts are lined with them, and the top of each one has a nice ceiling of spikes, so don't ride the elevators unless absolutely necessary, in which case, get off of them ASAP. *When you inititally attack the electric enemies, they will surround themselves with an electric shield, making them invulnerable. Shoot down the shield, then destroy them. *If you try to go past the lasers, they will turn into bubble streams, hurting you. They will turn off after two full sweeps, then you can pass safely. *The first elevator will lead to Vile's lab. If you don't want to go, jump off quickly, because the shaft is lined with spikes (this is only if you have defeated 2-7 Mavericks, and you haven't been to Vile's lab yet.) *You don't have to get on the second elevator. Just wall jump up the shaft. *You must get on the third elevator, as the shaft is lined with spikes. The exit will be to the left. *You don't have to get on the fourth elevator. Just wall jump up the shaft. *The Ride Armor equip can be found by wall jumping up the rightmost wall in the second building. *The electric sparks can't be destroyed, so do your best to avoid them. Air dashing helps. Vile's Lab Teleport: See above. Heart/Life-Up (Leg-P): Ride the third elevator to the very top, exiting to the right. You will see a setup similar to this: | | |-------------| ----------- | | | | | | | | -----Heart |^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^| Slide down the left wall, then do an air dash to the right wall. Slide down to the Heart (don't go TOO far down, or you'll land in the spikes), then air dash back to the left wall. You may have to sacrifice a life to get this if you have problems escaping. It is probably possible to get this without the Leg-P, but it's MUCH easier if you can Air Dash through this. Body-P (Gravity Well, Arm-P): Ride the fourth elevator to the very top, exiting to the left. Hop on the small platform in the spikes, then use a charged Gravity Well to raise the platform up the spiked shaft. S-Tank (R-Armor): Equip any of the armors, then go to the right and drop straight down. You will break through the floor. Once you reach the bottom, go through the passage with those annoying electric enemies to reach the S-Tank. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS: Volt Catfish Suggested Weapons: Tornado Fang The second underwater enemy that fights on dry land, and this one uses ELECTRICITY (I don't get it. I resign =/). He will jump towards your position, then either pound the ground (a very weak one at that) and create an electric orb that travels the floor and wall, or fire three electric blocks towards the opposite wall, shoot electricity at them, and suck them back in. You must jump up the wall QUICKLY to dodge the second attack. After he is down to about half health, he will jump to the middle, charge up, then shoot a large number of electric particles both directions. The safest place to be is in either of the upper corners, as you will only get hit about once or twice instead of multiple times. He will then dash in the direction that you are at, jump back to the middle, then fire away. He is invulnerable to any weapon but the Tornado Fang while using this attack. With the Tornado Fang, you can execute a similar attack pattern to that of Toxic Seahorse. Volt Catfish does not jump very high, however, so you must dash under quickly or just wall jump over. You can hit him up to twice with a properly placed drill. If you don't have the X-Buster, you're in for a world of hurt. Just try to outlast him. Weapon: Triad Thunder --------------------------------------------------------------------------- =========================================================================== SEAPORT: CRUSH CRAWFISH =========================================================================== _ _ _ _ |S|_|_|_|_ |R|_|_|_|_| |W| |_|_ |_|H|_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |_|_|_|_|X|_|_|_|_| |_|_|B| |U|_| |V|_|_ _ _ _ |_| |_|_|_|_|_|_ _ _|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|M| W- Change-H Stage Notes: *If you followed the order, this is the first time you'll meet the nasty red robots with two spiked maces. These guys take a LOT of hits to destroy and are kind of hard to destroy. Use the Ray Splasher to hopefully take them out in one shot. *When you enter the submarine, stay up high. When you see two extra lives inside a completely enclosed room, use Tornado Fang to bust open the wall. *The mid boss isn't really a boss, it's the engine for the sub. Destroying it will cause the sub to sink, spinning it 90 degrees counterclockwise, which means you now have to go UP instead of RIGHT. Change-H (Triad Thunder, Arm-P): In the opening part, drop to the lower level, below the cranes. Just to the right of the second one, you'll see a small platform with a pit below it. Use a charged Triad Thunder on it to smash it. Heart/Life-Up (R-Armor): Equip any of the armors, then drop down the pit that the large red robot creates. Stay along the right wall, and you'll see a cracked area. Smash the wall there. Body-E (R-Armor): Equip any of the armors, then drop down the pit that the large red robot creates. Destroy it, then go right and drop down the first pit you see. Smash the wall at the bottom. Vile's Lab Teleport: After the Bit/Byte room, you will see a large life energy capsule under another ledge. Work your way over to that. You will fall into a hidden room right before the capsule. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS: Crush Crawfish Suggested Weapons: Triad Thunder This is the third and final underwater Maverick in the game that fights on dry land...well, if you look outside, there's water, but there's none inside =/. This is my least favorite Maverick in the game. He starts by dashing around. Gee, predictable pattern. He will then fire these two things that try to stun you and force you to the ground, then he will fire one of his claws at you. If you ever run into him at any point, he'll grab you and deal like 7 damage to you, which hurts =/. When on lower health, he also has a really nasty ramming attack that will slam you into the wall and do tons of damage. Despite the fact it appears that way, you don't have to be that close to Crush Crawfish to smack him with the Triad Thunder. Stand around 2 X-widths away from him, then bean him with the Triad Thunder. The charged version isn't really worth it, because he'll dash to you and grab you befoer you can recover =/ If you're stuck with the X-Buster, I feel pity for you. Pray for luck. Weapon: Spinning Blade --------------------------------------------------------------------------- =========================================================================== JUNGLE BASE: NEON TIGER =========================================================================== _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |_|_|_|_|_|_|U|_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _|_|_|_|E|_|_|_|R|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|X|_| |S|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|M|_|_| |_|_ _ _ _ _ |_|_|_|_|_|H|_ _ |_|_|_|B| Stage Notes: *You can stand on top of the dragonfly enemies. Be warned that they do fire at you if you are below them. *The mid-boss falls easy prey to the Triad Thunder. It takes FOUR whole shots to destroy it =/ *The ride armor won't get you any items, rather, it helps with a semi-difficult stretch of enemies. *The "spikes" caused by the chomping enemies are not fatal. The spikes in the pits ARE, though =/ S-Tank: In the first area, head ALL the way to the right, then go up. You'll see it in plain sight up on a ledge. Destroy the large red robot, then jump on the dragonfly and jump to it. Arm-P (Tornado Fang, Leg-P): Once inside, go all the way to the right. You'll see a portion of the wall is a darker shade of grey and is cracked. Use the Tornado Fang to break it down. Take a long jump to the right to clear the spikes, then use an air dash to get up onto the high ledge. Heart/Life-Up: Above the boss door. Ride the dragonfly, then take a long jump to the wall, or use an air dash to get up there. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS: Neon Tiger Suggested Weapons: Spinning Blade After the slugfest of the last battle, this guy is a piece of cake. He normally starts off with his Ray Splasher, which is very easy to avoid. He may then jump to the opposite wall, and either fire a Ray Splasher, jump back to where he was, or drop and slash. Later on, he can block shots with his claws, or charge up and use a powerful, invincible dashing ground slash. Jump over him. Using the Spinning Blade will stun him and make him drop to the ground, then he will jump to the opposite wall. If you keep hitting him, he'll never get an attack in. You X-Buster guys actually have it easy here. In fact, some people suggest starting with Neon Tiger instead of Blizzard Buffalo. I would start with Blizzard Buffalo in order to get the Leg-P. Weapon: Ray Splasher --------------------------------------------------------------------------- =========================================================================== AIRPORT: GRAVITY BEETLE =========================================================================== _ _ _ |_|_|B| |_| _ _ _ _|_|_ _ _|R|_ _|_|_|_|_|_|U| |_|_|_|_|_| |_| _ _ _ _ |_| _ _|_|_|_|_|_|_| |F|_|_| |_|_|_| _ _ _|_|_| _ _|_|_|X|_| _ _ _ _|H|_|_| |S|_|_|_|_|_|_| F- Change-F Stage Notes: *The boxes in the hangar will disappear after Blast Hornet is defeated. *The wheel enemies won't do much harm until they reveal their spikes. Then they'll charge really fast at you. Destroy them quickly. *You don't need to ride the elevator up the elevator shaft. *The ride armor can be found by wall jumping the wall after the door from the elevator shaft. *Those bridges will start dropping once you start crossing them, so go quickly. *Anyone else think the triple scrolling on this stage is really nifty? Heart/Life-Up (Parasitic Bomb): You don't really need the weapon to find this, but you need to defeat Blast Hornet. Once you defeat Blast Hornet, the boxes in the hangar will be gone. Work your way to the upper-left corner of the hangar to find the Heart. Change-F (Leg-P): After the Bit/Byte room, climb the ladder to the top of the plane. Climb up the left wall. You'll see it on a ledge above you. Wall jump from the wall (don't use a dash jump), then air dash straight up to get to it. Arm-E (R-Armor): Equip any armor here EXCEPT for the Frog Armor. Work your way across the missile bridges. You will need to use a series of dash jumps to climb up the small ledges. Go all the way to the right until you can't go any further, then smash the wall. Cross the spiked pit, then jump out of your armor to get over the large wall. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS: Gravity Beetle Suggested Weapon: Ray Splasher Gravity Beetle's pattern is not all that hard to avoid. Unfortunately, if you do get hit by one of his attacks, it HURTS. He will start by jumping forward, then he will fire either 1 or 2 Gravity Wells. These buggers will bounce off the walls and ceiling in an attempt to hit you. These critters will take off a LOT of health. He may then do an invincible dash, which you must jump over. When he gets low on health, he will create a black hole above you. He will then keep up a consistent pattern of jump (a high one, in fact), invincible dash, jump, etc. The black hole will not affect your gravity in any way, but it hurts if you hit it. The Ray Splasher will stun Gravity Beetle and interrupt his attack pattern. After being hit, he will make a jump forward. If you can keep hitting him, he'll keep doing nothing but jumping forward. You will need to jump over him once or twice so he doesn't jump into you =/ The Ray Splasher can penetrate his invincibility. If you only have the X-Buster, it's not THAT bad, but it's not THAT easy either. Weapon: Gravity Well --------------------------------------------------------------------------- =========================================================================== ARMORY: BLAST HORNET =========================================================================== _ _ _|R|_ _ _ |_|_|_|_|_|U| _ _ _|_| |_|_| _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |S|_|_|_| |_|_|_ _ _|_|_|_|_|_|_|_ _ _|_|H|_ _ |_|_|_|M|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|X|_| |_|_|_| |_| |_|N|_| |_|_ _ _ _ _ _ |_|_|_|_|_|_|B| N- R-Armor Stage Notes: *The first gap you see in the ceiling is where the Ride Armor equip is. You must have the Leg-P so you can air dash up there. *Use the Acid Burst to put a quick end to the mid-boss. *If you haven't defeated Gravity Beetle yet (and honestly, you should have), you have to do a stupid scene involving a ship and crates. Just destroy the crates. *When you destroy the columns of blocks in the final stretch, blocks will begin falling there at a constant rate. Get by quickly. Head-E (Change-H): Equip the Hawk Armor, then continue into the stage. When you reach the large pit that you must head down, take a dashing leap of faith and fly towards the right side, over the spikes. R-Armor (Tornado Fang): After defeating the mid-boss, you'll be outside again. Climb up the building, then head right. On the ledges between buildings, you'll see two blocks. You can destroy them. If you destroy the blocks on the second ledge, they will destroy the ledge. Drop down, then use Tornado Fang on the cracked wall to the left. Fall down the shaft there, and you'll find your first Ride Armor! Heart/Life-Up (R-Armor or Leg-P): After the stupid scene with the ship and the blocks (unless you beat Gravity Beetle already), you'll have to go back inside. Before you do so, you will see the wall of the building above you. Either jump out of your newly acquired R-Armor or use an air dash to get up there. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS: Blast Hornet Suggested Weapons: Gravity Well Blast Hornet has the most consistent pattern of all the Mavericks, but that doesn't make him the easiest. He starts by trying to sting you with his stinger. Dash away. He will then fly to one of two corners, then fire five small hornets at you. These buggers will hit you about 3-4 times if they land on you. While they're doing this, BH will fly around in a figure eight pattern. When he stops in a corner, he'll try to sting you again. When he gets to about half health, he will go into a new pattern. He will be constantly flying in a figure-eight pattern. Every so often, a homing target will appear. If it finds you, he will shoot up to four hornets that will lock onto the target, which is, umm, on you. They CAN be destroyed, which is good. He won't let up with this pattern until he's destroyed. This guy is laughable with the Gravity Well. Just fire the Gravity Well and Blast Hornet will be stunned and hurt. Keep doing this and he'll go down without a fight. With the X-Buster, do your best to avoid the hornets (destroying them is a good idea) and don't let Blast Hornet fly into you. Weapon: Parasitic Bomb --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now that you have defeated all 8 Mavericks, you should go back and get any items you missed. If you haven't defeated Vile by this point, sorry, you lost your chance =( Once you are ready, it's time to go to Doppler's Lab. =========================================================================== DOPPLER LAB: STAGE 1 =========================================================================== _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _|_|_|_| |_|_|M|_|_|_|_|_| |_|_| |_|_| |_| |_|_|_ _ _ _ |_| |_|_|_|_|_|_|_ _ _ |_| |9|_| |_|_|_|B| _ _ _ _ _ _|_| |_|_|_|X| _ _|_|_|_|_|_|_|_| |S|_|_| 9-9th Capsule X-Bit/Byte Stage Notes: *Beware the low spiked ceiling. Some sections of it will lower on you, in an attempt to ram you right into the spikes. Stay low. *Yes, you get to deal with crushing walls. Jump up quickly, as there are about 5 of them. *Nuke the mid-boss with the Spinning Blade. If Zero is still alive, he'll destroy the machine lowering the ceiling. If he isn't, you have to do it yourself. *Those spiked balls can't be destroyed, so jump over them. 9th Capsule (all 8 Hearts, all 4 S-Tanks, all 4 Upgrades, NO Enhancements, full health meter): In the area with the spiked balls, fall down the first pit, along the left wall. If you meet the requirements, you will go through the wall, and you'll find a capsule. Enter it to gain all 4 Enhancements and turn X completely....orange o_O. Use Zero from the mid-boss to this point to ensure you have a full energy meter. ***The boss you face will depend on whether you destroyed Bit and Byte or not. If you did, you'll face the Press Disposer. If not, you have to face the Godkarmachine O Inary, i.e. the fusion of Bit and Byte.*** --------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS: Press Disposer Suggested Weapons: Tornado Fang This is definitely the easier of the two bosses. It will either shoot acid at you with its trunk or try to grab you with its arm. In the meantime, the cannon above will release either solid trash blocks or little toy soldiers. The little soldiers will fire at you, so be careful. If you destroy the trunk, the Press Disposer will pour a pool of acid that will cover the bottom of the screen, so you can't fall down there anymore without getting hurt. Aim your Tornado Fang for the Press Disposer's face, ABOVE its trunk. The easiest time to hit him is when he drops down to the ground. When he does, run up to him and blast him above the trunk. You should be able to beat him while keeping the trunk intact. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS: Godkarmachine O Inary Suggested Weapons: Ray Splasher, Parasitic Bomb This guy only has two attacks, but they all hurt. The first one is to shoot one of its arms in an attempt to grab you, then the other one will try to punch you. Jump over the first arm and you'll instantly dodge the second one. The second one is to equip a sword, then fire a slash straight ahead, which will split into two when it hits the wall. Don't get behind him, as he will use some kind of hard-to-dodge attack. It's not really worth it to get behind him anyways. People suggest using a charged Parasitic Bomb so they don't have to worry about shooting him. I would rather use the Ray Splasher and deal damage quicker. Only the Bit part is vulnerable to attack. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- =========================================================================== DOPPLER LAB: STAGE 2 =========================================================================== _ _ _ |_|_|_|_ _ |_| |B|_|V| _ _ _ _ |_| |_|_|_|_| _ _|_| |_| |R| |_|_|_| _ _|_| |_| _ _ _ _|_|_| |S|_|_| |_|_ _|_|M|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_| V-Vile Stage Notes: *If you destroyed Vile, you'll face updated versions of the robots in Toxic Seahorse's stage. If you didn't destroy Vile, you'll face an army of those annoying red robots with spiked maces. *If you destroyed Vile, the area after the Ride Armor equip will be underwater. If you didn't destroy Vile, it will not be underwater. *Use the Gravity Well to destroy the turtles. *If you destroyed Vile, you have to face a mid-boss. Use the Spinning Blade to destroy it, unless you want to do a trick... *Destroy the shells of the climbing snails to climb them. *Use the Ray Splasher all the way up the spiked shaft. Zero's Sabre! (Vile destroyed, Zero still alive): Credit goes to Procyon Lotor (procyon@netcom.com) for discovering this one. If Zero is still alive, you can use him to battle the mid-boss. Once you destroy the mid-boss, it will deal severe damage to Zero, leaving him with 1 energy bar left. He will pass his Z-Sabre to X, then he will be destroyed. This means you can't use him again for the rest of the game =( On the other hand, the Z-Sabre does TONS of damage to bosses (IIRC, it does about half of a full energy meter). ***If you destroyed Vile, you'll face the Volt Kurageil. If you didn't destroy Vile, you have to face him here.*** --------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS: Volt Kurageil Suggested Weapons: Triad Thunder ROFLAMO this guy is pathetic. Just keep smashing away with the Triad Thunder. He has no attacks to be worried about. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS: Goliath/Vile mk-2 Suggested Weapons: Goliath- Tornado Fang Vile- Spinning Blade, Ray Splasher Before you can attack Vile, you must destroy his ride armor, the Goliath. This thing is HUGE. He also packs a whallop. Use the Tornado Fang. Wall jump over his ramming charges. Vile is fairly easy. He has the same attacks as before (see below, in Optional Bosses/Levels), but he also has a new cannon shot that can freeze you in place. Use the Spinning Blade or Ray Splasher to finish him off once and for all. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- =========================================================================== DOPPLER LAB: STAGE 3 =========================================================================== _ |S| |_| |_|_ _ _ _ _ _ _ |_|T|T|T|_|_ _|_|_|B| |T|T|T|_|_|_|_| T-Take a wild guess Stage Notes: *Take a wild guess what you have here..... *Here's the set-up: Blizzard Buffalo Toxic Seahorse Blast Hornet Neon Tiger Volt Catfish Crush Crawfish Gravity Beetle Tunnel Rhino *The thing in the center of the room will give you life and weapon energy when you shoot it. It recharges after every boss you beat. *After the teleporters, you have a stretch of those lasers from Volt Catfish's stage. Just run through them quickly. If you take a little damage, oh well. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS: Dr. Doppler Suggested Weapons: Acid Burst We finally get to battle t3h evil doctar! He only has two attacks. His first is to shoot three energy blasts at you, which hurt really, really bad. His second is to flame up, then do a flaming dash towards you at the current level you're on (similar to Bit's). This may sound easy, but he also has a nasty ability. If you try to hit him at any time other than during the above two attacks, he will put up a green forcefield and RECOVER if you hit him. In other words, only hit him while he's attacking. The Acid Burst will do the most damage to Dr. Doppler. Don't hit him when he has the opportunity to quickly put up his green forcefield. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- What, you mean there's more? I have to battle Sigma AGAIN? Boy, how predictable =/ =========================================================================== DOPPLER LAB: STAGE 4 =========================================================================== _ |B| |_| _|_| _ _ _ _ _|_|_| |S|_|_|_|_|_| Stage Notes: *Nothing much of importance here. If you have the 9th Capsule or the Head-E, stand at the bottom of the final shaft and recover any health you lose to the enemies in this level or fill up your S-Tanks until they're all full. Equip the Spinning Blade, and prepare to battle... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS: Sigma Suggested Weapons: Spinning Blade I hate this boss. He only has a couple of attacks, but they all hurt like hell. His first attack is to shoot 6 fireballs straight ahead, which will then travel up the opposite wall. The only way I know how to do this is to wall jump from as high as you can right before the first fireball, then air dash up as far to the right as possible. If you have the 9th Capsule or the Leg-E, you can simply double air dash this attack. He will then jump, and fire more fireballs either diagonally behind him, or straight down. Both of these will travel the wall you're most likely on. At lower health, he may also throw his shield at you. Use the Spinning Blade whenever you get the chance, and avoid those fireballs at all costs. You may need to use an S-Tank to survive this battle. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now comes the ultimate battle body... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS: Kaiser Sigma Suggested Weapons: Hyper Charge/X-Buster/Z-Sabre Stupid Dr. Doppler. He made a boss that is only affected by the X-Buster. Boo =(. Throughout the battle, little pods will be constantly firing from Sigma's body. These things pack a whallop, even if you have maximum defense. He starts by flying towards the left side of the screen (dash under him). When there, he will fire four missiles at you, either all at once, or one at a time. Avoiding these while avoiding the pods can be a real hassle. You CAN destroy the pods to make your life easier, but they just keep on coming. He will then fly back towards the right (dash under again), then charge up a beam attack to cover either the upper or lower part of the screen. Avoid this one, as it is probably the most damaging attack in the game. Sigma is only vulnerable in the area above his head. If you have the Z-Sabre, you can finish this guy off in 2 slashes. If not, you have a long way to go. You can use the Hyper Charge to shoot charged shots at Sigma, but you probably won't have enough energy to completely destroy him. If you are stuck with the regular X-Buster, you have to use CHARGED shots to hit him (i.e. the mid-level charge and above). Good luck. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- After destroying Kaiser Sigma, the Sigma Virus will appear, and force you up the shaft while lava comes from the bottom. This lava isn't fatal, in fact, it only takes away about 1-2 damage. A fun way to finish this is to have a full energy meter and just ride the lava up to the top. Try to stay in the middle, because you may get smashed by the shaft getting smaller. I won't ruin the ending for you, but I will say there are two different endings, one if Zero is alive, and one is Zero is dead. Enjoy! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. OPTIONAL BOSSES/LEVELS-------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- =========================================================================== BIT =========================================================================== --------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS: Bit Suggested Weapons: Triad Thunder, Frost Shield Bit is the more difficult of Doppler's two bodyguards. He will start by firing either a ring that will attempt to stop you in place or a heat-seeking fireball. He then begins his dashing attack. He will jump up, get to the same level you are at, and dash. After a few of these, he'll shoot another ring or fireball. When he gets low on health, he'll fire two at once. The Triad Thunder and Frost Shield do the most damage to Bit, but I suggest the Frost Shield, because odds are, it will probably be the only of the two you'll have, and he will dash right into a properly planted one. If the final hit on Bit is from the Triad Thunder or Frost Shield, he will be destroyed. Otherwise, he escapes =( --------------------------------------------------------------------------- =========================================================================== BYTE =========================================================================== --------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS: Byte Suggested Weapons: Ray Splasher, Tornado Fang Byte appears to be difficult, but he has a really easy pattern. He will fire a gravity well-like thing at the wall, repelling you from it, then he'll dash you. If he hits you, he'll use a very damaging attack. To avoid this, jump onto the wall RIGHT before he dashes, then dash wall jump over him. I find the Tornado Fang the easier of the weapons to use. It will inflict up to 4 hits on him, and you don't have to worry about standing there to hit him with it. This makes it easier to concentrate on dodging his attack. If the final hit on Byte from the Ray Splasher or the Tornado Fang, he will be destroyed. Otherwise, he escapes =( --------------------------------------------------------------------------- =========================================================================== VILE'S LAB =========================================================================== _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _|_|_|B|_|_| |_|_|_|_|T| |_|_|_| |_| |_|_|_|_| _ _ _|_| |_|_ _ _ _|_| |S|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|_| |_|_| T-Teleport (end) Stage Notes: (first half) *If you destroyed Volt Catfish, the elevator will be operating. Use this to avoid the falling blocks. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOSS: Goliath/Vile mk-2 Suggested Weapons: Ray Splasher, Spinning Blade Before you can attack Vile, you have to destroy his ride armor, the Goliath. Its only attack is to dash and punch. If you can keep wall jumping over the buggar, you won't get hit. Once Goliath is destroyed, you must face Vile. He starts by jumping and creating a fire tornado under himself. He will then fly up, and fire five cannon shots at you. Then, the pattern continues. If you only have one of the above weapons, you will not have enough energy with it to completely destroy both Goliath and Vile, so use the X-Buster on Goliath, then the Ray Splasher/Spinning Blade on Vile. If the final hit on Vile from the Ray Splasher or the Spinning Blade, he will be destroyed. Otherwise, he escapes =( --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stage Notes: (second half) *You only have 50 seconds to get to the teleporter before Vile's Lab explodes and you die! *Use the Triad Thunder or Spinning Blade (if you have any left) to plow through the screw enemies. *If you destroyed Volt Catfish, this elevator will also be operating. *The bridges on the final stretch are similar to those in Gravity Beetle, except there isn't a bottomless pit below them and they fall VERY quickly. Just keep dashing and jumping across them and you'll make it. *Hop in the teleporter to escape! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8. COPYRIGHT--------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This document is protected under U.S. and international copyright laws. This document is ©2002 NickWhiz1. This document is for personal use only. Any commercial publishing, reproducing, or selling for profit is prohibited. You may not use it on your site without expressed written permission from the author. As of now, the following sites can legally post this FAQ: *GameFAQs (www.gamefaqs.com) *NickWhiz1's Small Page (nickwhiz1.cjb.net) _____________________________________________________________________ |END GUIDE____________________________________________________________|