Part nostalgia-bomb, part note-taking and part FAQ, what started in GameTrailers as a video game blog is now on Blogger. This blog is a look back at video games, both popular and obscure, from the video game industry's infancy all the way to the previous console generation.
Apologies for the sound rising up in volume around 2:26. Don't know what was up with that. But that's it. That's all there is. Hope you enjoyed.
Remember the squid boss that we fought at the end of the second section? Well, now that Vile is alive, that's squid's not there. Instead, you'll have to make your way to the right, go through the door and fight Vile a second time.
Vile will now have the new Goliath Robot Ride armor, which you sadly cannot get in-game. Go all the way to the other side of the room immediately. This makes almost all of his attacks a moot point immediately. From there, wait for him to rush at you (you'll know he's going to do when you hear the sound of him dashing towards you) and hit him with a single normal shot from the X-Buster. Keep doing this over and over. You've done it. That's it.
He has a second form just like last time. Equip the Ray Splasher, then escape to the far side of the room. When he shows up, hit him with the Ray Splasher. From there, dash to the other side again and repeat. It's the same battle as last time! After this, it's the end of Vile...until Mega Man X8, anyway.
Almost forgot about the Z-Saber...it really does give you a 1-Up just about every time when you strike the power-up barrel in the center. It also works well against the bosses, too. Just shoot the Z-Saber projectile at them, and it cuts their health bar to ribbons. After two hits from the Z-Saber, they're all done.
Finally, we have another battle with both of Sigma's forms. This time around, I use the Z-Saber and the projectile from it ensure that Sigma is deader than dead on rounds one and two.
Since Zero is dead, Dr. Doppler takes his place at the end. Despite being damaged at X's hands, he shows up one more time to hit Sigma with the anti-Sigma program, sacrificing himself in an attempt to take Sigma with him. When you look at the damaged fortress from the cliff, Zero obviously won't be with you. Ditto for the enemy roll call.
And that's pretty much it for Mega Man X3! Enjoy the ending (again)!
Turns out, there are two outcomes to beating Bit, Byte and Vile depending on how you hit them on the final blow. Read on!
This time around, I fight Bit, Vile and Byte again, and do a better job at explaining how to fight Byte the second time around. The only difference? I don't kill Bit and Byte with their weaknesses, and as a result, they teleport out of the room instead of dying. But wait! There's more!
I also show off what happens when Zero dies. To switch to Zero, pause the game, press R and then press Start to contact Zero. He controls just like he does in the intro stage, but he only has one life, can only be used once per stage, can only be used during one-third of the stage you're on, cannot fight any mid-bosses or Mavericks (save for the mosquito boss in the first Doppler stage) and cannot use any special weapons you gain from any Mavericks or collect any weapon energy. If he dies, you can't use him again, and his death is saved in your password. So be careful!
If you did not kill Bit and Byte, you'll meet up with them again at the end of the first Doppler stage. They will combine into one big boss, and it actually looks pretty cool.
Equip the Ray Splasher, and dash underneath the sword beams to avoid them while staying away from the walls and aiming the Ray Splasher at its body. When he sends his arms out at you, jump over the first arm and stay on the ground, and you won't have to deal with the second. If you get caught, charge up the Ray Splasher with the arm cannon upgrade. You'll get two free hits on Bit and Byte's combined form. That's all you need to know here.
Also, now that Vile is not dead, the shaft that was filled with water in the second Doppler section will not. Use the Hawk armor (the second one) instead of the fourth armor. You'll have to use the Hawk armor to float from one platform to another and shoot down the red robots with the double ball-and-chain arms. At least the section is slightly easier this way, as the spiky turtles from Toxic Seahorse's level. Also, the pink robots that shoot at us at the beginning of the second stage are the regular green ones from Toxic Seahorse's stage and the mosquito boss does not show up because Vile isn't dead.
Let's go back to the first timeline in the Let's Play and try this again. This time around, we're facing the mosquito mini-boss as Zero. You can fight it normally, but a slash from the Z-Saber that you can use after shooting off both projectiles from a full charge will kill it in one hit. When you kill it with Zero, however, the mosquito mini-boss will drop down and land on Zero, nearly destroying him. X will teleport into the room, and Zero hands him his Z-Saber. You can now use the Z-Saber as X. Just equip the X-Buster, then fully charge up the X-Buster with the arm cannon upgrade. X will glow green instead of red at the end, and after two fully charged shots that works just like the red charge, X will not only swing the Z-Saber much like Zero, but he also shoots out a projectile forward that can also do a good amount of damage.
Here it is! The battle with Sigma...but we're not done yet!
When you reach the final chamber, Sigma will tell you how easy it was to corrupt Dr. Doppler, and how he would have gotten away with everything if it wasn't for X.
Sigma starts by throwing six fireballs. You can jump over the first and fourth fireballs, and dash under the third and sixth. When he leaps to the other side of the room, he'll stop in the middle of the room and shoot a few more. If you're near the other side of the room when he's jumping to the other side, he'll shoot them diagonally at the wall instead of straight down to the floor, leaving you with an opportunity to nail Sigma in the leg while you're behind him. You also don't want to dash under him too early, because he'll track your position and shoot those fireballs at you instead. These fireballs will split into two if they are fired downwards, and you'll have to jump over all of them. All the while, you'll have to aim specifically for Sigma's head. The regular X-Buster shots work best, since they're fast and have just enough room to maneuver over the shield he's holding, but if you can do it with a charged shot, that's great.
When Sigma is low on health, he'll start throwing his shield when he lands, just before he starts shooting fireballs again. Sometimes it will return to him, other times it will fly around the room in a figure-eight pattern before returning to him. When it's flying in a figure-eight pattern, you'll still have to deal with the six fireballs.
You can also use the Spinning Blade on Sigma while he's in the air for more damage.
When you beat him, he loses the shield and blows up. Not surprisingly, that was just his first form. The second form - also known as Kaiser Sigma - shows up afterward...and it's the Battle Body that Dr. Doppler made for him.
The Battle Body will fly from one location in the room to another. Stick to the left wall and stay there for the entire battle. The blue balls are actually smart bombs that home in on X's present location, and should be avoided or shot down at all times. Whenever Sigma lands, he shoots missiles that also home in on X's present location, and they're always fired in groups of three. Slide down the wall to avoid them Sigma will then fire a blue beam of light from his shoulder armament, and if you're caught in it, you will take damage.
The only way to damage Sigma at this point is with charged X-Buster shots to the head. (Why is it always the head...?) You don't need to fully charge it; even the weakest charge level will do.
When Sigma floats to the left side of the room, get to the right side. This makes it easier to avoid the missiles, and as long as you don't stay in one place, you can avoid them. When he gets to the right, get to the left and climb up the wall to avoid that huge laser. Don't go up too early, because he can still target you with it there.
Once you've beaten the Battle Body, Sigma will change into a giant 3D head much like in the last game and try to possess you. And by possess you, I mean fill the room with a rising pool of lava and force you to wall jump to the top.
Interestingly, the rising lava is not instant death. As a matter of fact, if you have the Armor Chip that turns your shield red, you'll only take one point of damage if you touch it, leaving you with the option of just riding it to the top if you have more than enough health (though I wouldn't exactly recommend it). If you don't, you're better off just using A and B at the same time to stay above the lava.
When you reach the top, X will run until he reaches a dead end. (X saying "Damn!" here is the first time I ever saw a cuss word in a video game.) Sigma will then try to possess X in order to obtain a new body to do whatever it is he plans to do next. In the nick of time, Zero busts through the ceiling and hits Sigma's floating head with his sword (assuming he's still alive), caging him in a force field with an anti-Sigma program he got from Dr. Doppler. Doppler's lab explodes, and Zero and X evacuate in time to watch it turn to rubble.
As X and Zero look at the destroyed base, X questions his destiny, and the game mentions that he may have to fight Zero? Just what does that all mean?
We then see the enemy roll call, and we get thanked by Capcom for playing.
It's time to continue on with more of Dr. Doppler's Lair! We're almost done!
Dr. Doppler Stage 2
The pink robots have two forms. When they explode at first, they just lose their face masks and turn into a pink variant of those jumping, shooting robots you met in Toxic Seahorse's stage. The first form is also deadlier, as it can shoot lasers more frequently and also shoot multiple grenades out of their backs. It should be noted that the
We will run into a Robot Ride platform shortly after the beginning. The chasm below will be filled with water if Vile is killed with the Ray Splasher; if he wasn't, it won't be. Since I killed Vile, there will be water, so it's time to get the underwater armor from the Robot Ride platform and take it with us, as it makes some early jumps easier.
There is a boss at the first set of doors, but you have to have done something particularly specific in order to trigger the battle. Otherwise, this room is empty. But if you managed to pull it off - which is killing Vile, like I had the feeling it would be, thanks, GameFAQs - it'll show up!
Believe it or not, you can switch to Zero for this match. To do that, just pause the game, press R, and you'll switch to Zero. (I mention this later on in the Let's Play.) Unlike the other mini-bosses and Mavericks, this is the only boss of sorts that Zero can fight without X showing up on the communicator and forcing you to switch.
It's pretty easy, and you can kill it in one hit with the Beam Saber if you fire the first two shots of the maximum charge level and slash the bug with the last part of the attack. When you destroy the bug, though, it lands on Zero regardless of where you're standing. X will show up wondering what's going on, and Zero will give the Beam Saber to X before he teleports away. Now when you charge up to maximum level, you'll get the two powered-up shots followed by the Z-Saber instead of the combination double shot, and the fully-charged X-Buster level will cause X to glow green instead of red. Unlike Zero, though, the saber will now fire a beam when swung. This beam is really powerful and can cut through even the tougher enemies.
If you don't fight him with X, nothing happens and you just continue on with the stage. You'll have to play as Zero to get the Beam Saber. Of course, if you get the Z-Saber, then Zero will be damaged to the point that you can't use him anymore, and it counts as a Zero death. The Z-Saber will also be saved into your password.
The snail robots on the walls will get you up the second section. Shoot off the shell, then leap on the exposed platform when the snail comes down. It's a long climb up, and you'll have to deal with flying enemies on the way up. Helpful hint for this part: don't leap onto the fourth snail. Wait for the fifth.
After the second set of doors, you'll face Vile...unless you beat him with the Ray Splasher on the final shot to kill him. Then you won't. You'll face a giant robot squid instead. Take it out with Triad Thunder. If you need to re-position the Triad Thunder into an upside-down triangle for whatever reason, you can press Y after using Triad Thunder to use another unit of energy to make it switch positions. Of course, you want the pointy end of the triangle position at the top so it shoots straight up at the giant squid. You don't even have to move, and the Triad Thunder will also take care of most, if not all, of the homing missiles. Easy boss when you know what to do!
Dr. Doppler Stage 3
When you go through the doors after dropping down, you'll see the teleportation capsules. It's Maverick Rush time again!
The two teleporters at the top are Blizzard Buffalo (left) and Toxic Seahorse (right). The six at the bottom (from left to right) are Blast Hornet, Volt Catfish, Gravity Beetle, Tunnel Rhino, Crush Crawfish and Neon Tiger. Same strategies apply.
When you defeat a boss, you'll teleport back to the platform between the two teleporters at the top. Shoot the cylinder for power-ups. If you alternate between sides, you'll get more power-ups. If you hit it with the Z-Saber as X, you can get a 1-up every time. (You'll learn how to get this later.)
When you beat the boss rush, you'll face Dr. Doppler. He tries to get you to join him (and fails), and basically tells you that Sigma is not only alive, but also the one watching over the utopia that he is trying to create. It's official, Sigma is alive and well.
Equip the Acid Burst, and shoot it at him every chance you get. He will shoot projectiles that are possible to avoid. When he creates a gold barrier around him, he will try to charge right into you, but you can use the wall jump and air dash to get over it. When he creates a green, crackling energy field around himself, DO NOT SHOOT HIM. YOU WILL HEAL HIM IF YOU DO. Wait for him to stop using that green energy field before attacking him again.
When you beat Dr. Doppler, he will be in pretty bad shape and will admit that you are probably strong enough to beat Sigma again. He'll tell you that Sigma's true form is that of a computer virus and that he was corrupted by him. While he was under his control, he created the Battle Body for Sigma. He tells you that he doesn't think Sigma has occuptied it yet, and asks you to destroy the Battle Body before it is too late.
Dr. Doppler Stage 4
This part is pretty short. If you need to, use the enemies here and get them to respawn over and over to get health for your sub-tanks.
When you reach the ladders and Zero is still alive, he'll tell you to go ahead while he destroys the power generator in the underground lab. He destroys a nearby wall with the Z-Saber before he runs off.
Time to show off the rest of the pink capsules before we go off to Dr. Doppler's lair!
Gravity Beetle
Remember those boxes we couldn't break near the end? You'll need the Hawk armor to break it. Shoot down the boxes and double-jump to fly across the pit before jumping out of the and you'll reach another pink capsule. This one will give you the Arm Chip, which gives you the Hyper Combo (H.Combo) which lets you shoot nothing but powered-up X-Buster shots while you have it equipped and as long as you have energy for it. To give it energy, however, you have to take damage.
Blast Hornet
After the elevator at the start, go up to the Robot Ride armor and equip the Hawk Armor. From there, go back down, dash jump to the right and hover. You'll find the pink capsule for the Head Chip, which allows you to recover energy while you're standing still. Not only does this refill your health, but it also allows you to refill your Sub-Tanks slowly, although the game does not tell you about that last part. Talk about breaking the game.
Dr. Doppler Stage 1
Dr. Doppler has pulled out some of the stops to make sure you don't get very far. Tread carefully near the spiked ceilings, as some of them will lower as you're moving to the right and also making crucial jumps.
The first mini-boss is a guy on a dinosaur head tank. If Zero is alive, he'll try to stop the crushing ceiling. Otherwise, you'll have to race against time. This guy can easily be defeated with four shots of the Acid Burst.
The second section has a wide open area, where you can find some energy and power-ups if you know where to look.
When you see the pile of metal, you'll see the first of a few chutes that drops spiked metal balls that will roll toward you. You'll find something in the left side of the pit before this, which will be mentioned later.
If you beat Bit and Byte with their weaknesses, the boss will be some sort of crusher robot that commands a conveyor belt. You'll not only have to deal with this thing, but you'll also have to deal with the chute above that moves back and forth and shoots out robots that can fire at you. It was also shoot metal blocks that can be used as platforms. If you use the Parasitic Bomb on these robots, you can send the robots directly into the crusher's head (something that I completely forgot about here).
Aim for the head of of the crusher on the right, and do not let this thing grab you. You'll also want to avoid the metal object that shoot downward from the chute above. The trunk of the crusher also shoots miniature acid rounds, which you'll also want to avoid. And of course, you're on a conveyor belt that leads to a set of grinding spikes that are instant death.
You can damage the trunk, but it's not recommended. When and if you do enough damage to the trunk, the trunk will come off and a pool of acid from the acid rounds it can fire will cover the floor. You'll want to stay on the wall and keep shooting at the head with the X-Buster if that happens. Be sure to use your Sub-Tanks, because you're going to need them here.
The Ray Splasher, Frost Shield, Tornado Fang and Spinning Blade do the most damage. Pick one and fire away.
After getting all that stuff, we continue on by beating the last of the Mavericks in the game.
Toxic Seahorse
Shortly after the start, you'll be forced to go up to continue. If you go all the way up, you'll find the Heart Tank for this stage.
After the first set of doors, you can use the Robot Ride platform to the right to use the Frog armor. Here, you'll be able to get some good airtime and also have the missiles home in on enemies instead of flying straight down. The fourth set of armor that leaps around and shoots missiles downward on land will work perfectly in the water below, as the missiles will work as homing missiles and you'll be able to jump multiple times.
Also, if you use Frost Shield here, the projectiles will get bigger. If you charge it up in water, however, you'll create an iceberg that floats to the surface of the water when you shoot it out. You can use this to get the Kangaroo armor (which has spiked fists much like Vile's Robot Ride armor in this game).
You can also use to find a pink capsule. Climb up the right wall where the fans are, and you'll find a pink capsule. This is a Chip for the Leg Enhancement, which allows you to dash in the air twice in a row. There are four pink capsules in the game, and if you jump into any of them, you won't be able to get any of the other Chips. The chip you choose will be saved in your password.
The spiked turtle robots lose their shells when destroyed, and those shells will float to the surface of the water.
There is, however, a way to get all four add-ons. This will be mentioned later. (A spoiler, I know, but I thought I'd answer this question now.)
The second set of doors leads to a squid mini-boss. Shoot this thing in the head as you move away from all the mines and missiles that it shoots out.
Toxic Seahorse's weakness is the Frost Shield. Avoid his jump attacks, and watch the acid that he shoots carefully as it can bounce off the walls. If you can time it just right, you can hit him with the Frost Shield, jump, fire the Frost Shield and have Toxic Seahorse run smack into the Frost Shield as he leaps at you, sending him back to the ground. If you can time it right for long enough, you can do it forever without having to deal with any of his attacks or his teleportation ability where he melts into the ground and pops up somewhere else.
Beating Toxic Seahorse will give you the Acid Burst. It's a bubble of acid that will burn through acid.
Crush Crawfish
The music here is pretty good. So good, in fact, that I let the whole first loop play in silence just for the sake of it.
There is a Robot Ride platform just below the start.
Just to the right of the Robot Ride platform is a gray platform that can be destroyed with a powered-up Triad Thunder. Stand on it, then power up Triad Thunder and you'll go down into a hidden area where you'll find the H icon for the Hawk Armor. The Hawk armor allows you to hover for a few seconds by double-tapping the jump button., and also shoot missiles straight ahead.
When you go right, the red robot with the dual ball-and-chain weapons will break the platform as well as a few more below it. Go down two levels, then break the wall to the right with the Hawk Armor. You'll find the Heart Tank for this stage.
At the lowest level, go right and drop down the first pit you see. Break the cracked wall with a fully-charged Triad Thunder, and you'll be able to find another pink capsule. This one is the Armor Enhancement Chip, which turns your shield red and cuts damage taken even more.
If you've beaten Bit, you'll face Byte in the first empty room. (This is one of four stages where you'll meet Byte, but this is where I usually meet him.) He will shoot his fist at the wall, and the fist will drag you towards it. Byte will then dash towards his fist, and if he runs into you, he'll knock you into the ceiling before knocking you into the far side of the room. Stay at the top corner, then air dash over Byte when he dashes towards you. Hit him with Tornado Fang, which will do the most damage. If you know what to do, this battle shouldn't take a lot of time and effort. If you land the final blow with Tornado Fang, Byte will die instead of flee. (I'm only putting the strategies for the Byte battle here because this is where I usually meet Byte whenever I play the game. The Let's Play ended up being the exception to the rule, apparently.
The green robots with the laser cannons and the angled legs will fold backwards to shoot your legs off. Finish them off with fully-charged X-Buster shots. Just below the first one you see here is a hidden passage in the floor that takes you to a teleporter to the abandoned factory where you can fight Vile. (If you've beaten Vile, you won't be able to take this hidden passage at all.)
The second section has you going into a submarine dock...and into a submarine itself. Use the Tornado Fang on the wall blocking the two 1-Ups in the upper-right corner of the expansive room leading to the door leading to the boss.
The second door leads to a machine. Shoot at the center of it to sink the submarine and turn it sideways. This will allow you to climb to the last set of doors leading to Crush Crawfish.
To beat Crush Crawfish, hit him with Triad Thunder, then air dash over him. Avoid the claw attack, and don't be too far in the air when the creatures he shoots out that climb the wall come down. (You don't want to touch these things, either, as they'll drop you straight back down to the floor.)
Beating Crush Crawfish gives you the Spinning Blade.
When you beat all eight Mavericks, you'll find out that Dr. Doppler is creating a Battle Body...and it's probably for Sigma. You'll then be able to enter Doppler's underground lab.
This was the first Let's Episode that ever clocked in at 30 minutes, which is something I usually try not to do when I make videos at all. Enjoy the feature presentation.
Blizzard Buffalo
Now that the Robot Ride armor is activated, there is something we can get. Go left after the first ladder and switch to the first armor (the Chimera) and punch out the ice blocks to the right. At the end, you'll find the Heart Tank for this stage.
There was a spot that we could go down into the stage to find a hidden nook. There was nothing there before, but now that we've triggered the cutscene with Dr. Doppler, Bit, Byte and Vile, there is a strange teleporter pod there. If you enter it, you'll enter an unknown area. Make your way to the end and you'll meet Vile.
The elevator can be powered with a charged-up Gravity Well shot. You can use the roof of it to protect yourself from the rubble that drops from the top of the screen. At least that rubble doesn't do a whole lot of damage.
You'll eventually meet Vile, who tells you that he is definitely alive and well and that the factory you have teleported to is set to blow in a matter of minutes. In order to get out, you'll have to beat him first!
Vile has two forms. The first is him in his Robot Ride armor. For this, just wall jump, dash over him and hit him with a charged up X-Buster shot. Keep doing this until his armor is wrecked.
The second form is Vile himself. Avoid him and his bombs, especially when the fire wave moves towards you and up the wall. Hit Vile with a charged-up X Buster shot, then move away so his firepower won't get you. He keeps repeating this pattern over and over, so you shouldn't have too much trouble.
The Ray Splasher is his weakness. If you get the final shot on him with this weapon, he'll die instead of flee.
Once you beat Vile, you'll be able to get out after this. But you don't have much time, as you have only 50 seconds to get out. If you fail, you'll have to do this area all over again. If you make it to the capsule at the end, you'll be back close to where you originally were. To make this easier, be ready to dash jump to the right and attack any enemies in your way with fully charged X-Buster shots.
Volt Catfish
Watch out for those ceiling mounts with the lasers. If you run into the lasers, the mounts will shoot at you. Thankfully, the laser turns off for a second every time it returns to the center and stops.
The elevator leading downwards will take you to a teleporter leading to Vile if you haven't beaten Vile already. Thankfully, we already have.
The red crab robots that stick to walls, floors and ceilings also shoot lightning balls. If you shoot them enough, the cannons will break and all they'll be able to do is shock themselves.
The elevators have a yellow arrow in the center that indicates where they're going to go.
Keep going up with the second elevator that leads up. This takes you to a Heart Tank, which increases your maximum health slightly. Go right, and you'll find it in a spike pit. Use the Leg Enhancement to dash to the right wall and slide down it to get to the Heart Tank. From there, you can return to the normal path through the level.
On the third, keep going up until you can go left. Power up the Gravity Well with the X-Buster Enhancement and you'll be able to get the Armor Enhancement which cuts the amount of damage you receive in half. You'll also get a blue shield that triggers when you take damage.
The second half of this is some sort of maze-like path to the end. The electric sparks that move up and down on the walls will indeed damage you.
Volt Catfish will spit electric balls at you, but it's when he's at half health that he does his most interesting attack: a bolt of thunder comes down and he absorbs it. Shoot him with the Tornado Fang at this point to negate the attack. If for some reason you don't, just stand right in front of him...but not too close. The shield will protect him from both sides, but the sparks flying out from the top of him won't even anything directly in front of or behind him.
Beating Volt Catfish will give you the Triad Thunder. This creates three spheres which act as a protective shield before shooting lightning out in three directions.
Tunnel Rhino
Go right at the first fork and you'll see a rock tied up by ropes blocking the Heart Tank. Charge up Triad Thunder with the Arm enhancement to knock down the rock and use it as a platform to get it.
There's another rock tied up by ropes near the exit. Knock it down with a powered-up Triad Thunder and climb up the wall when you make your way left. This is the Head enhancement, which gives you the Sensor ability that allows you to look at a crude, grid-like map when you enter the stage. If there is an item you forgot to pick up or a Robot Ride platform you can use, it will tell you where it is. It also tells you what you have yet to collect in each stage on the stage select. If it's gray, you picked it up. If it's red, you haven't.
Gravity Beetle
To get the Heart Tank in the upper-left corner of the large room at the start, you have to beat Blast Hornet. Then and only then will the blocks that keep you from getting the Heart Tank disappear. Turns out getting this wasn't as complex as I thought it would be.
Not only do we beat another pair of Mavericks, we get some much-needed upgrades on the side.
Blast Hornet
There is a Robot Ride armor located upwards shortly after the start.
When you reach the first set of doors, a dragonfly will show up and create a hologram of a three-dimensional eight-point star. When this thing immediately stars rolling, shoot at it whenever it comes towards you so it jumps right over you and bounces off the wall on its way down. When it stops in the other side of the room, it will go even faster. Avoid it as it makes a complete lap around the room by climbing up the walls and across the ceiling, and hit it with some powerful X-Buster shots. It will then continue to alternate between these two patterns.
After you take this mini-boss down, you'll come across some hangars. The second bridge is collapsible, so shoot the boxes on it to open it up. You can also go to the right side of the last one and open the cracked walls up with the Tornado Fang if you have it.
You'll find some interesting stuff in the pits that you'll find while destroying some more boxes. The first is the Normal Robot Ride armor. Just destroy the robot holding it hostage. Not only will you get this Robot Ride armor, but you'll finally get the ability to use the Robot Ride platform and pick whichever armor you want.
Just before the second set of doors, go up the building and go right. There's the Heart Tank for this stage.
After you've taken down two Mavericks, you'll face Bit in the second empty room. (Bit also shows up in the empty rooms of three other areas in the game.) Bit has three attacks. The first is a ring that he throws from his helmet that flies around the room and freezes you if it touches you. The second is a dash attack where he jumps up in the air and vertically tracks you, dashing at your current position as soon as you're lined up with him. The third are fireballs that will track X, forcing him to stay on the move.
Bit is weakest to the Frost Shield, believe it or not. If you're low to the ground, any Frost Shields left on the ground can do as much damage as those fired directly at him. If your final blow to Bit is dealt with this weapon, he'll die instead of flee.
The third section is a drop down with conveyor belts, followed by destroying (and avoiding) exploding boxes.
If you have Gravity Well, this is the easiest fight in the world. Equip it, then keep mashing the Y button and don't let him touch you. Easiest boss battle ever. If you mash the button fast enough, the bomb bugs and the stingers won't even fire.
Another attack he has is a glowing red light that homes in on you. This is the Parasitic Bomb, and it will explode if it touches you.
Beating Blast Hornet gives you the Parasitic Bomb. This shoots a bomb forward.
When you go back to the World Map in the stage select screen with the Helmet enhancement, you'll be able to find out what secrets are in which stage. If they're red, you haven't found them yet. If they're grey, you have.
Tunnel Rhino
There will be robots carrying rocks...until they drop the rocks after you get close enough. Then they try to shoot missiles at you.
The green wall robots will shoot up to a ceiling, then the face will slowly spin its way downward. Shoot the face, and you'll get rid of the "wall."
There is a fork in the path shortly after the start. Take the left one to continue. You can keep moving past conveyor belts and falling mud, then climb up a wall to get another Sub-Tank.
The blue crab robots shooting small balls of lightning to the sides. These will do a lot of damage if you touch them. These balls can also be charged up to a larger size to do even more damage, and can bounce off the walls twice before disappearing.
The purple drill tanks wil move forward and shoot explosive balls until you're close enough, then they'll shoot their drills. When you destroy one, both drills will come at you.
You'll also deal with large rocks. Some will fall straight from the ceiling, and others will roll towards you.
You'll see a rock tied down by ropes. Unfortunately, you won't be able to see what's beyond that for the time being.
The mid-boss is a tank robot that just keeps running into the wall. Wall jump up the left wall a little bit to avoid the spike, then hit the robot's head with a charged-up X-Buster shots.
Tunnel Rhino will dash from one side of the room to the other. That's all he does. Sometimes he will put on the brakes just before hitting the wall and jab forward with his drill hand. Every once in a awhile he'll stand still and fire drill missiles forward. Sometimes, he'll shoot missiles from those pointy shoulders of his that fly diagonally into the air whenever he does a dashing jab.
If Tunnel Rhino starts flashing numerous colors, he's invincible. Wait for him to stop flashing before you shoot him again.
Beating Tunnel Rhino gives you the Tornado Fang. It's a drill missile! Press Y twice and you'll be able to fire three missiles instead of one.
Neon Tiger
Return to the cracked dark brown wall when you get the Tornado Fang. You'll be able to break that wall with it. Dash jump to the right to avoid all the spikes below and you'll get the arm enhancement, which adds another charge level to your X-Buster - which allows you to shoot two charged shots at once and also combine them to make an even bigger one - and allows you to charge up special weapons.
Blast Hornet
Remember the cracked hangar wall to the left we couldn't destroy at first? Well, now that you have the Tornado Fang, you can! Keep breaking walls to the left and you'll eventually come across an underground hangar where you will find a Robot Ride armor. Destroy the robot holding it and you will get the Chimera Robot Ride Armor and the ability to use the Robot Ride platforms. From here, you can ride an elevator up and head back to ground level.
Also, when you make a certain amount of headway in Blast Hornet's stage, when you take the lift at the beginning, the red robots that shoot the missiles at you turn green. Unlike their red counterparts, they don't shoot the grenades.
To use the Robot Ride Armor pad, step onto it when you get the Chimera armor. Press B to back out, and use the Control Pad and press Y to choose an armor out of the ones that you have. To leave the armor, hold Up and either Left or Right on the Control Pad and press B. You can also use the pad while in a Robot Ride to heal damage to the armor.
Well, there's no audiovisual desync here, but the action is as hot as ever! Time to roast some Mavericks!
Blizzard Buffalo
You'll meet another typing of flying enemy at the beginning. These guys will fire missiles straight ahead when they see you.
After the first ladder, you'll see a platform you can stand on. However, this won't be used to any extent...yet.
You'll see empty rooms separated by doors midway through the levels. These rooms will serve a purpose later on.
Light blue boulders will drop from the ceiling when you get close enough. Don't let them touch you, as they will deal six HP of damage when they do. Shoot them down quickly before they get their rock armor back!
The level gets darker and lighter at certain points, but once you manage to make it back outside from the cave segment into an open-air area, you'll have new hazards and enemies to deal with. The wind generator below the bridge will blow you upwards in the air, but it's not a problem. What is a problem are the blue robots that shoot straight ahead with their arm cannon from a fixed position, as well as the snowmobiles that spit out snowballs from the back.
At the end of this stage is Blizzard Buffalo. Blizzard Buffalo will try to dash into you, and also use two attacks: throwing ice crystals that turn into Frost Shields when they hit a surface and a laser that spans the entire room. If you here a rather low noise, you'll know he's firing the laser. It should also be noted that the Frost Shields track your current location, and if you move around too much, you'll be trapped in a corner until probably the last possible second, as the Frost Shields can stick to walls.
Blizzard Buffalo will also charge at you, even from as far as the other side of the room. You don't want him to touch you at this point, because he will grab you and smack you right into the wall if he does.
You can easily fight this guy with the X-Buster, but his weakness is the Parasitic Bomb from Blast Hornet's stage. If you hit him with that, it'll stop him dead in his tracks.
Beating Blizzard Buffalo gives you the Frost Shield. It works like Blizzard Buffalo's weapon, but it has to bounce off a wall or an enemy in order to perform the shield properties.
When you beat two Mavericks (doesn't matter which ones), you'll see Dr. Doppler. He calls for Bit and Byte, and tells them to bring X back alive. You'll also find out that Vile is still alive (despite being named "MYSTERIOUSMAVERICK" here) and that Dr. Doppler's master is obviously Sigma.
Gravity Beetle
The first section takes place in some hangars, and we spend about fifteen seconds showing off the beginning of the stage theme, which is as good as the late '90s got for Super Nintendo music.
After the first set of doors, you'll climb up a ladder. Wall jump up the left wall, dash jump to the right and dash straight-up in mid-air to reach a strange icon with a small blue "F" on it. You'll find out what this does soon enough.
On the plane, the wheel enemies from the first X game are reprised. This time, they're green and they sprout blades across their bodies when you come close enough.
After the second door, you'll find the platform we saw in Blizzard Buffalo. Since you have that strange "F" icon now, I'll go ahead and mention what it is: it's the Robot Ride platforms. Instead of having to steal one, you have to go to one of these platforms and use one of the icons for the Robot Ride Armors you found to choose that armor. Different Robot Rides obviously have different powers. The "F" icon is the Frog Robot Ride armor, which allows for aquatic "flight" in underwater areas. Unfortunately, you need the Normal armor to even use these things, and we'll find these soon enough. All you have to do is wall kick up the left-hand wall, jump to the right and dash upwards with the air dash in the right position so you can get it.
Near the end are some boxes that act as a wall. You'll need to use a Robot Ride armor to break that, but that won't be happening yet
Gravity Beetle is weak to the Ray Splasher, but if you don't have it, the fight against him is going to be much harder. Gravity Beetle will throw gravity voids at you that bounce off the walls a few times and can cause some major damage. You'll have to keep him as far away from you as possible as you whittle away at your health bar. Sometimes he'll have two of those voids on the screen at once. He also has a tackle attack where he flashes sickly colors much like Tunnel Rhino does during some of his tackles, and predictably, he's also invulnerable when he flashes that way.
When he's down to about half health, Gravity Beetle will then throw a black hole into the ceiling. If you leap into it, it will hurt, so stay low when you jump over and dash past him.
Beating Gravity Beetle will award you with the Gravity Well. This weapon will attack any airbone enemies and destroy them, and will try to suck in their parts as long as its onscreen.
Apologies for the audiovisual de-sync. I didn't think my current way of capturing footage at the time would do this.
Toxic Seahorse
The green jumping guys are made easier with fully-charged X-Buster shots.
Shortly after the start, you'll be forced to go up to continue. If you go all the way up instead of going right as soon as you have the chance, you'll find the Heart Tank for this stage. The water slows you down, but it doesn't slow you down a whole lot. There is also a large health pick-up on the way up that is pushed forward by the sewage.
Also, I die after getting this, so it's off to Blizzard Buffalo's.
Blizzard Buffalo
Hey, guess what? Ice physics. They're here...and they'll make you move around wildly. Be careful.
You'll be starting off shooting down some flying missile pods. Just keep following the path and make your way to the mid-point doors. There is a way to get to the large health pick-up that involves pressing A and B on the nearby wall to make a large leap to the right to pick it up.
The rock robots can easily be destroyed with a charged-up X-Buster shot. The "rock armor" will disappear, but if you keep firing at it, it will be destroyed. From here, go up and you'll be in a large area. Above where you came out to get here is a Sub-Tank. The Sub-Tanks allow you to store excess health to use later whenever you collect a health pick-up when your health is full.
You'll want to head to the right and dash jump to the right when you reach the end of the broken bridge. This takes you to a blue capsule which gives you the air dash. This lets you dash in the air, but also lets you dash upwards by double-tapping Up on the Control Pad in mid-air...something you couldn't do in the second game.
From there, you can head all the way back left and use your newfound air dash ability to get the Sub-Tank. You'll probably run into the big fans that push you upwards, giving you big air. Those things are cool.
Also, I lose all my lives to get back to the world map after getting the air dash and the Sub-Tank. Next up: Tunnel Rhino!
Tunnel Rhino
Wait for the rock-dropping robots to drop their rocks when they get close (and stay away from the rocks), then hit them when they come down.
A fully-charged X-Buster shot works wonders against the green wall robots. Just aim for the head that rotates like a nut when it spins downward.
At the first fork in the road, go left. (You won't be able to do anything if you go right...at least, not yet.) Above the first pair of blue wall-walking crabs is the second of four Sub-Tanks.
After the midway door, I lose all my lives to go back to the map.
Neon Tiger
Any chances of the music here being based on "My Michelle" by Guns 'n Roses have been confirmed by Capcom as a coincidence.
The mosquitoes fire explosive three-way shots at you with their tails. They can also be stood on like platforms, so touching them won't damage you.
The purple tank robots with the toaster heads will throw javelins through the "toaster slots" in their heads.
The red robots with the two spiked ball and chains can only be shot in the green circle on their chests.
Above the first red spiked ball robot is a third Sub-Tank. Jump onto the nearby mosquito when it swoops down, then dash jump to the right when it stops moving right.
Shortly after the Sub-Tank, you'll find a cracked wall that is slightly darker than the rest. Drill through it with Tornado Fang, then dash jump to the right. Dash jump wards to reach the platform and gain the X-Buster Upgrade. You'll have a much more powerful fully charged shot. Hold down the Y button and wait for X to turn read. You'll fire two two shots instead of one, and if the second one hits the first one, it creates a rather wicked series of projectiles that covers a good amount of whatever's ahead of you.
The mid-boss is a worm that goes all over the room. Aim for the head, and avoid the spiky pods that he shoots out, since they act as bombs and bounce around the room for a little while before they finally explode on their own.
The robots that encase themselves under glass domes will shoot lightning balls at you. Like the ones from the blue crab robots, these lightning balls will pack a punch.
You can use the red robots with the double spiked balls near the entrance to the empty room
After the empty room, be careful. When you drop down, stay to the right so you don't hit the floor spikes, which are instant death and can lead to an embarrassing loss of a life.
The green spiked robots that crawl on the floor will gnaw on the floor and change it to instant death spikes. Be careful.
Near the door to the boss, get on the lone mosquito and dash and jump to the right to get the Heart Tank. The Heart Tank, as always, increases your maximum health by two units.
Neon Tiger is perhaps the easiest to fight with the X-Buster, even slightly easier than Toxic Seahorse. He'll shoot at you with the Ray Splasher through his tail, but these shots are easy to dodge. He'll also wall jump around the room at 45-degree angles, and the jumps are easy to anticipate. He can also stand on the wall and fire his Ray Splasher from there, making him a prime target for his weakness: the Spinning Blade. Just don't be under him when it hits him, because it not only knocks him back on impact, it also knocks him down when he's on a wall. If you can time it right, you can put Neon Tiger in an infinite loop where he leaps on the walls only to get hit by the Spinning Blade.
Be sure to come into the battle with Neon Tiger with some filled up sub-tanks. If he slashes you with his claws, it's gonna hurt!
Beating Neon Tiger gives you the Ray Splasher. This shoots dots of light similar to Neon Tiger's, but they are much more frequent and much smaller.
The 16-bit Mega Man series came to an end here (unless you count the then Super Famicom-only Mega Man and Bass), but it ended with a pretty big bang.
After the events of X2, the Mavericks have been neutralized and reverted back to law-abiding robots by Dr. Doppler's Neuro Computer. Everything is absolutely fine until several months later, when the supposedly neutralized Mavericks begin to riot. Turns out Dr. Doppler was behind the rioting the entire time.
Soon, the Maverick Base is under attack, and X and Zero have to quell the uprising and figure out what's going on.,,
Intro Stage
After a couple of seconds of loading, you ride on a big metal bug copter before getting shot down and ending up at the base.
The purple robots with the cannon on their heads can fire at three angles.
The green spiked robots that move up and down the walls can shoot tiny lightning balls at you, but they're easy to get rid of.
You'll soon meet Mac. When X checks on him to see if everything is okay, Mac captures him instead, betraying the Maverick Hunters and revealing he's a member of Doppler's Army. He then takes X away, then part of the ceiling falls down. Zero comes down from the ceiling, and for the first time in the series, you'll finally be able to play as Zero.
He plays much like X, really. However, he has two more attack levels for his Buster cannon. One lets him shoot two powered-up shots at once, while the other one does that but also lets him slash at whatever is directly in front of him with the sword for a third hit. You'll want to take advantage of this as you make your way forward to the next ladder.
You'll see the red and black robots with the pod cannon on its head, which shoot explosive pods at whatever is in front of it. You'll also have to deal with falling ceilings and flying, spinning robots that try to follow you around if you move past them.
You'll come across a long vertical shaft. Start wall jumping from the left, then press A and B simultaneously while moving to the next wall after the first spiked ball comes down. Keep doing this until you're at the top so you can get to the top without taking damage.
You'll then fight Mac. Guess what? With a fully charged attack and some more arm cannon shots, he's the easiest guy in the game. Once you beat him, destroy the machine that is keeping X in the air, and you'll free X. After a bit of conversation, you'll be able to play as X again. You'll then be able to move straight to the next boss.
To beat the giant robot, shoot at the head with fully charged X-Buster shots to make this battle short and sweet. You can avoid the spiked balls it has for hands whenever the arms extend, but since they do one HP of damage when they connect, this is a rather pathetic boss. After the battle, Zero will check on Maverick HQ, and will ask you to call him if you need him.
...and with this, the Super NES Mega Man X trilogy ends with a bang! Thanks for reading!
Dr. Doppler Stage 3 (continued)
After you beat the Maverick rush, you fight Dr. Doppler. Not surprisingly, he reveals that he's working with Sigma to create a Utopia for Mavericks...and wants X to join him. Naturally, X refuses.
Whenever Dr. Doppler creates a green force field, do not attack him. If you attack him while this force field is up, he absorbs the damage and actually heals himself.
Dr. Doppler will throw three fireballs at your current position. Avoid these and return fire.
When gold rings form around him and form a gold bubble, Doppler will float upwards and then charge to the other side of the screen when you're lined up with him.
Dr. Doppler is weak to the Acid Burst. Hit him with it before he can try to heal himself with the green force field, and you should be good.
When you beat Dr. Doppler, you'll free him from Sigma's control. You'll find out that Sigma's true form is a computer virus, and confirms that he made the Battle Body for Sigma during that time. The Battle Body will be in the underground hangar of the lab.
Dr. Doppler Stage 4
The blue spider robots fire missiles at you.
If you have the Z-Sabre, you can beat both of Sigma's forms in two shots of the Z-Sabre beam.
If Zero is dead, Doppler will hit Sigma with the anti-Sigma virus instead and try to take a weakened Sigma with him. Also, X will stand on the cliff alone in the ending.
And that's it! That's all there is in Mega Man X3!
Switch to Zero before the first set of doors. When you walk through them as Zero, you'll fight a flying bug robot. It's pretty easy, and you can kill it in one hit with the Beam Saber if you fire the first two shots of the maximum charge level and slash the bug with the last part of the attack. When you destroy the bug, though, it lands on Zero regardless of where you're standing. X will show up wondering what's going on, and Zero will give the Beam Saber to X before he teleports away. Now when you charge up to maximum level, you'll get the two powered-up shots followed by the Z-Saber instead of the usual, more versatile double shot, and the fully-charged X-Buster level will cause X to glow green instead of red. Unlike Zero, though, the saber will now fire a beam when swung. This beam is really powerful and can cut through even the tougher enemies.
Of course, since Zero is damaged to the point that you can't use him anymore, this counts as a Zero death. Also, the Z-Sabre is saved in your password.
If you've destroyed Vile with the Ray Splasher on the final blow, you'll fight a giant robot squid at the end instead...and this time, the end room is much different, as it's a giant room with a big pool of water inside. Stay underneath the squid and use Triad Thunder. The thunder that shoots upward will hit the squid and do the most damage.
Dr. Doppler Stage 3
Nothing new here, except we actually get to see the rest of the boss gauntlet. Oh, and the Z-Saber makes for very easy Maverick kills.
Believe it or not, there are different bosses depending on what you do against certain enemies in the game. Read on!
In this "alternate timeline," Bit and Byte were not hit with their weaknesses on their last shot, and fled as a result. Also, Vile was killed with the Ray Splasher in his second form in his own capsule area.
Dr. Doppler Stage 1
Remember the pit before the spot where the spiked balls first start dropping? Well, if you have none of the Enhancement Chips, there's something here. To get this thing to show up, you'll need full health and all four Sub-Tanks filled up. From there, slide down the left wall of this pit. You'll enter a hidden passage. Go left and you'll find a pink capsule. This gives you the effects of all four enhancement chips, and it turns X gold instead of blue when the X-Buster is equipped. Sadly, this effect isn't saved in your password if you reset or power off the game, so if you do either thing, you'll have to regain this thing to use it again.
Since Bit and Byte weren't killed, they'll be at the end of the first Dr. Doppler stage...and they combine to make some four-legged Anubis thing. Avoid his hands and shoot at the upper body with the Ray Splasher. If you do get caught by hands, you'll be smacked into the ceiling and then smacked into the wall by the other hand as the first hand holds you in mid-air...but you can still shoot Ray Splasher at the upper body without a hitch.
This horrid monstrosity can also swing a beam saber, which shoots a beam forward that splits into two pieces that travel vertically when it is directly above you.
Dr. Doppler Stage 2
Well, this is interesting. Some stuff changes here when you kill Vile with the Ray Splasher in his own capsule area.
The green guys that shoot lasers and leap are now pink and yellow. What's even more interesting is that unlike other enemies, they have a second wind. When they explode, it's a fake-out, as they'll still be alive and you'll have to get them to explode a second time to kill them.
Also, the huge open area before the first set of doors is now full of water, and all the enemies here are replaced with the spiked turtles from the underwater segment in Toxic Seahorse's stage.
You may be wondering where the rest of Dr. Doppler Stage 3 is. Well, guess what? NCS unintentionally skips it, but he covers it in the final part.
Dr. Doppler Stage 4
You'll be able to refill on weapon energy and health just before the last vertical climb. Once you go up, you'll finally meet...you guessed it...Sigma.
This time around, Sigma is carrying a shield. He's obviously ready to fight.
Sigma starts by throwing six fireballs. You can jump over the first and fourth fireballs, and dash under the third and sixth. When he leaps to the other side of the room, he'll stop in the middle of the room and shoot a few more. If you're near the other side of the room when he's jumping to the other side, he'll shoot them diagonally at the wall instead of straight down to the floor, leaving you with an opportunity to nail Sigma in the leg while you're behind him. These fireballs will split into two if they are fired downwards, and you'll have to jump over all of them. All the while, you'll have to aim specifically for Sigma's head. The regular X-Buster shots work best, since they're fast and have just enough room to maneuver over the shield he's holding.
When Sigma is low on health, he'll start throwing his shield when he lands, just before he starts shooting fireballs again. Sometimes it will return to him, other times it will fly around the room in a figure-eight pattern before returning to him.
You can also use the Spinning Blade on Sigma while he's in the air for more damage.
When you beat him, he loses the shield and blows up. Not surprisingly, that was just his first form. The second form shows up afterward...and it's the Battle Body that Dr. Doppler made for him.
The Battle Body will fly from one location in the room to another. Stick to the left wall and stay there for the entire battle. The blue balls are actually smart bombs that home in on X's present location, and should be avoided or shot down at all times. Whenever Sigma lands, he shoots missiles that also home in on X's present location, and they're always fired in groups of three. Slide down the wall to avoid them Sigma will then fire a blue beam of light from his shoulder armament, and if you're caught in it, you will take damage.
The only way to damage Sigma at this point is with charged X-Buster shots to the head. (Why is it always the head...?) You don't need to fully charge it; even the weakest charge level will do.
Once you've beaten the Battle Body, Sigma will change into a giant 3D head much like in the last game and try to possess you. And by possess you, I mean fill the room with a rising pool of lava and force you to wall jump to the top.
Interestingly, the rising lava is not instant death. As a matter of fact, if you have the Armor Chip that turns your shield red, you'll only take one point of damage if you touch it, leaving you with the option of just riding it to the top if you have more than enough health. If you don't, you're better off just using A and B at the same time to stay above the lava.
When you reach the top, X will run until he reaches a dead end. (X saying "Damn!" here is the first time I ever saw a cuss word in a video game.) Sigma will then try to possess X in order to obtain a new body to do whatever it is he plans to do next. In the nick of time, Zero busts through the ceiling and hits Sigma's floating head with his sword, caging him in a force field with an anti-Sigma program he got from Dr. Doppler. Doppler's lab explodes, and Zero and X evacuate in time to watch it turn to rubble.
As we go further into Dr. Doppler's lab, NCS talks about the mass suspension of Let's Players during 2009 as it was happening at the time (he refers to DarkSydePhil's suspension here, and he was a victim of it himself, as angryponcho attested to during his Let's Play of Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage). So, yeah, now you know what the video title means.
Dr. Doppler Stage 2 (continued)
After you defeat Vile's Goliath Robot Ride armor, you'll face Vile without his war chariot. He'll have the fire bombs with the explosions that travel up the walls like your first battle against him, but he also has a five-way shot that freezes you to the floor if you touch any of those shots. If he runs into you while he's dashing, Vile can grab and squeeze you for some damage. Hit Vile with the Ray Splasher to do the most damage.
Dr. Doppler Stage 3
When you go through the doors after dropping down, you'll see the teleportation capsules. It's Maverick Rush time again!
The two teleporters at the top are Blizzard Buffalo (left) and Toxic Seahorse (right). The six at the bottom (from left to right) are Blast Hornet, Volt Catfish, Gravity Beetle, Tunnel Rhino, Crush Crawfish and Neon Tiger.
When you defeat a boss, you'll teleport back to the platform between the two teleporters at the top. Shoot the cylinder for power-ups. If you alternate between sides, you'll get more power-ups. If you hit it with the Z-Saber as X, you can get a 1-up every time. (You'll learn how to get this later.)
We get a few more items, then head back to Dr. Doppler's Fortress.
Neon Tiger
At the end of the stage, dash upwards in mid-air and wall jump up the building to get the Heart Tank.
Toxic Seahorse
In the underwater area, go all the way down at the left, then jump over the first pit. Face left, then chare up the Frost Shield with the X-Buster Enhancement. (The Frost Shield grows in side underwater.) When you fire it, it will create an ice platform that will float to the top. Ride it to the top and you'll be able to get the Kangaroo ride armor. This armor is like the Normal armor, but has spikes for hands.
Dr. Doppler Stage 2
Shortly after the beginning, you'll see a Robot Ride platform. Go ahead and get the Hawk Armor if you're going to use it.
There is a boss at the first set of doors, but you have to have done something particularly specific in order to trigger the battle. Otherwise, this room is empty.
The snail robots on the walls will get you up the second section. Shoot off the shell, then leap on the exposed platform when the snail comes down. It's a long climb up, and you'll have to deal with flying enemies on the way up. Helpful hint for this part: don't leap onto the fourth snail. Wait for the fifth.
After the second set of doors, you'll face Vile. It turns out that if you didn't kill Vile with his weakness (the Ray Splasher), he'll show up at the end of the second stage. He comes at you with the most advanced war machine ever...the Goliath Robot Ride armor! Just keep running from one side of the room to the other, causing him to change after you. Jump off the wall and dash over him when he's punching the wall, and hit him with the Parasitic Bomb.
