PrinceWatercress plays Mega Man III for Game Boy - Part 5 of 5

Now it's time for the thrilling conclusion! If you can beat this one, you can probably beat just about any Mega Man game from the 1980s or 1990s.

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Dr. Wily Stage 2

After going through some doors, you'll meet Dr. Wily. He walks away, but then you have to deal with some guy with what looks like saw blades on his shoulder pads and head who rises out of the ground like a giant circular saw. This is Punk, the third of the Mega Man Killers, and Mega Man goes after him instead.

Slide or jump over Punk as he goes from one side of the room to the other. You'll need to watch him carefully to see whether he goes high or low. Hit him with fully-charged Mega Buster shots at all times and avoid the Screw Crusher he throws. Any hits you take in this battle takes off a third of your health regardless of whether it is contact damage or via the Screw Crusher. Those Screw Crushers not only do some good damage, but they also cause your Mega Buster shots to bounce off.

Beating Punk gives you the Screw Crusher.

Mega Man will then chase after Wily, who retreats into a base that rises out of the ocean.

Dr. Wily Fortress

Be ready to shoot a Skull Joe with a fully charged shot at the start, as it will throw bones at you from off-screen.

You're going to have to use Rush Jet to get past the spike pit just after the beginning.

At the area where you'll have to slide under some spikes, throw a Shadow Blade upwards at the globe that turns the light off. This thing is supposed to be from Shadow Man's stage (as it appeared there in Shadow Man's NES stage), but doesn't show up until now.

After this, you'll also finally meet the grenade robots. If you charged your Mega Buster up all the way before climbing up the ladder, you'll be able to take them out before they can even reach you. Better yet, keep Shadow Blade equipped and hit them when they jump above the ladder.

This stage is pretty nasty, as you'll be dealing with just about every enemy and hazard in the game here.

Also, the moving ceilings from Dust Man's stage come back, and this time, you have to deal with spikes that move in and out from the floor. You'll need to remember where the spikes are as you move through this section.

The steel walls that you've been seeing throughout the second half of the game can be busted open with the Drill Bomb.

When you go through the door, you'll face the Wall Robot from the first Dr. Wily stage. Same strategies apply: just avoid contact and hit it with the Spark Shock.

Once you beat the Wall Robot a second time, you'll trek a little further before finding the second door. This leads to the final boss.

The first form of Dr. Wily is a crusher with eyes and fists. Stay to the left, and watch out for this missiles. Hit the eyes with fully-charged Mega Buster shots, and use them to take out the missiles if you need to.

The second form finally exposes Dr. Wily. Shoot him with the Screw Crusher as he sends balls at you, since it's the only weapon that can reach him. It will bounce off the balls, but it'll hit Wily if it connects.

When you beat Dr. Wily, you've done it! You've won!

PrinceWatercress plays Mega Man III for Game Boy - Part 4 of 5

Guess what? The game doesn't put the kid gloves back on after Dust Man. Prepare to struggle.

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Dive Man

Remember: you jump much higher when underwater. You'll need to hold the A button down until you reach the height you want to reach, then let go when you get there, which will take some trial and error.

The fish will leap at you if you're close enough. Hit them with charged shots.

The Mettaurs with the snorkels will swim towards you and fire at you as they do.

There will be walls, floors and ceilings lined with instant death spikes. Tread carefully.

Hit the whale robots with your Mega Buster, and use charged shots to speed up their demise. These whales will spit missiles at you, and also send a group of four bombs downwards from their blowholes. They can also suck you towards them with the vacuums in their mouths.

The domed robots with the claw underneath will dive for you when you get close enough. It will return to its original position before immediately diving for you again.

The tiny circular saw that moves back and forth is the "Ha, ha, you can't hit me even with a charged Mega Buster shot, and I also speed up when you're at my level" enemy of the game. It falls to Search Snake.

The stingray robots will dive towards you when you're close enough, but that's all they really do. Have a charged shot ready when they finally meet you, because they do a lot of contact damage.

Near the end, the water will slowly rise and fall...and so will the instant death spike ceilings! Time your movements carefully, and use the water as it rises to extend your jumps just a little more if you need to.

The mines will flash and eventually explode when you get close enough.

To beat Dive Man, equip the Skull Barrier and use it near him. The Skull Barrier will also negate the Dive Missiles that he shoots at you. You shouldn't have too much of a problem with him.

Beating Dive Man gives you the Dive Missiles. Much like Dive Man's, these Dive Missiles will home in on enemies.

Drill Man

The spinning robots that fly around will track you and go straight for you.

The spike blocks won't kill you if you land on the spikes...as embarrassing as it is. The spikes will change position every few seconds. If the left arrow on them flashes, the spikes will be on the sides of the block. If the up arrow flashes, they will be on the top and bottom.

The vertical drop in the middle of the stage has foreboding spikes, slow disappearing platforms and annoying enemies. Remember those jumps you made at the spike pits in Dust Man's stage? You're gonna need to make them again, and this time, you'll have to utilize the platforms that open up and dump you downwards when you land on them, because you'll barely have enough time to get back off them when you get on them in the first place.

You'll see chutes on the ceilings near the end that spit out rocks. Not only can the rocks hit you on the way down, but the fragments that bounce upwards when they hit the floor can also do the same.

Drill Man will dive into the floor and try to reappear from under you. Stay on the move and hit him with the Dive Missiles.

Beating Drill Man will give you the Drill Bomb. Press B once to shoot it, and press B again to make it explode.

Now that you've beaten the last four Robot Masters, you can take on Dr. Wily.

PrinceWatercress plays Mega Man III for Game Boy - Part 3 of 5

Hope you've enjoyed the game so far, because this is where the kid gloves come off.

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Dr. Wily Stage 1

Beating the first four Robot Masters will give you access to the first Dr. Wily Stage.

As soon as you start this level, you'll have to deal with the dreaded disappearing platforms. Get the simple timing of these platforms down. The larger platforms will separate and dump you downwards if you don't jump off of them as soon as you get on.

Once you get past the three slightly difficult pits, you'll take on a large robot that looks similar to the cross-shaped robots that moved back and forth in the first Mega Man game for both NES and Game Boy. This guy will move across the walls, ceiling and floor, and can also make jumping motions at times. Avoid making contact with it as you attack it with Spark Shock.

Once you beat it, enter the teleporter. You'll face four more Robot Masters: Dive Man, Skull Man, Drill Man and Dust Man.

Dust Man

Yep, the Mettaurs are back. Some of these guys will pop out of their hard hats, jump at you and fire a three-way shot. Others just spin around and shoot forwards. Attack them when they're not hiding in their hard hats.

The robots that pop out of the pits are rather nasty. Hit them with a fully-charged Mega Buster shot as soon as you see them and quickly jump over the pit.

The shield robots that fly back and forth can only be attacked from behind.

The crusher robots will try to leap towards you, sometimes making a leap high enough for you to slide or move under them. If you can't get by one, plug away at it with Shadow Blades.

Be careful with the crushing ceilings. Use fully-charged Mega Buster shots to break the blocks that are in your path. You may have to fire and then move right to get rid of a few, then get away before you get crushed.

The gumball machine robots fire mortar shots that will go straight for your current location. Hit these things with both regular and charged Mega Buster shots.

For the pits with the low ceilings above them, make sure one of Mega Man's "front" or "right" foot is off the platform while the "back" or "left" foot in on it. That's when you jump forward.

You'll have to use Rush Coil to get past the spike pit that's five spikes wide. Leap towards the center, use Rush Coil and then move back to the right to get Rush to show up in the middle. You should then be able to make it to the other side. Use it one more time to reach the next ladder.

When you have the choice between the drop to the left and the drop to the right, pick the right path. There's far less enemies.

Dust Man will jump around. If he sucks you towards him, just keep moving away from him. Jump straight up when he fires his Dust Crusher. so the four breakaway shots don't hit you. Hit him with fully-charged Mega Buster shots when he's not using his vacuum.

Beating Dust Man gives you the Dust Crusher, which breaks into four diagonal shots when it hits an enemy. You'll also get Rush Jet, which lets you fly on top of Rush.

Skull Man

The cannons shoot balls that bounce off walls, floors and ceilings. Both the cannons and balls can be destroyed with fully-charged shots.

The Skull Joes are also easily dismantled with fully charged shots. Ditto for the bats, worms and flying cylinder robots.

The domed guns with the faces shoot at you much like the gumball machine robots.

The backgrounds starts flashing slowly at the end.

Equip the Dust Crusher and fire it at him. Avoid him and his firepower if you can. When he leaps into the air, he'll activate the Skull Barrier. Wait for it to disappear before hitting him with the Dust Crusher again.

Beating Skull Man gives you the Skull Barrier. It's a shield, much like Skull Man's version of the weapon.

PrinceWatercress plays Mega Man III for Game Boy - Part 2 of 5

In this entry, I beat the last two Robot Masters put in front of me. At this point, the game seems like it's one I'm going to breeze through. Just wait until the next third of the game, though.

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Shadow Man

The music here is actually better than the NES version.

The bombs, as always, count down when you stand on them. You'll want to step off before they explode.

The frog robots that leap around will always move towards you. The jackhammer robots will move back and forth, and stop every second or so before moving again.

The parachute guys will drop down, then move side to side as they float to the bottom. Hit them with fully charged Mega Buster shots to make getting rid of them easier.

Shadow Man is quite possibly the easiest of the first four Robot Masters to beat with the Mega Buster. To make matters better is the casual re-reminder that you can charge the Mega Buster. After every third jump, Shadow Man will either slide or throw Shadow Blades at you. Just keep your distance and hit this guy will fully-charged Mega Buster shots. This is easy. If you also have it, you can also fire the Gemini Laser at him. Ironically, this wasn't the weapon you beat him with on NES, but since Top Man was in the last game, 

Beating Shadow Man will award you the Shadow Blade. It's a shuriken that can be thrown forward with limited range, but can also be tossed upwards. Think of it as 

Spark Man

Yep, those barriers that toggle off and on every few seconds are back. They're still annoying.

Be very careful with the metal cubes that come out of the chutes. They can't crush you and cause instant death, but they can take out a good chunk of your health. The best course of action is to slide past when you destroy one, so another one doesn't show up and hit you.

The flying robot with the plug arms will shoot an eight-direction shot every few seconds, but it won't happen if you hit it with a fully-charged Mega Buster shot as soon as you see it.

The platforms with the arrows pointing upwards on them will slowly rise you towards the spikes, so you'll want to jump off to the next platform at the right time to proceed.

There is a vertical drop where the walls are lined with spikes, but it's really easy and the only hazard even worth mentioning there are the bomb platforms from Shadow Man's stage.

Spark Man is weak to the Shadow Blade, and just like in the third NES game, you still have the uneven terrain where the floor gets higher as you get closer to the center of the room. Fire the Shadow Blade through walls, and remember that you can fire it straight up when necessary.

Beating Spark Man will net you the Spark Shock. This is a powerful electric spark that can damage tougher enemies.

PrinceWatercress plays Mega Man III for Game Boy - Part 1 of 5

It's time for the third of five games in the Mega Man Game Boy saga. It starts out pretty well, but it gets harder after the first third of the game.

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Dr. Wily's at it again. Predictable. At least the third Game Boy game is actually playable, unlike the first one. Also, after having playing this game for the first time in years, it's also hard.

Don't forget, you can use the charge shot this time around.

The first four Robot Masters are Shadow Man, Snake Man, Gemini Man and Spark Man.

Snake Man

The game is pretty stingy with the health pick-ups. The circle shaped pick-ups give you health, and the rectangle-shaped pick-ups give you weapon energy. Both types of pick-ups come in small and large varieties, with the large variety giving you more.

The snake heads will fire at your current location. A fully-charged Mega Buster shot will easily finish them off.

Just like in the third NES game, you'll be dealing with the giant snakes. The body will be as unstable and wavy as ever, but the weak point is still the same: fully-charged shots to the mouth will win the day.

The flying bell-shaped robots will drop a bomb when you get close enough to them.

Hit the guy that throws the ball and chain when he opens his eye, and when he's still in his throwing poses. Those are the only times he is vulnerable.

The robot that runs straight towards you will jump over you when you get close enough. Be ready to hit him when he lands behind you, so you can get some shots in before he hops towards you.

Eddie will pop up in the middle of levels to give you a power-up. If he gives you something you don't want, don't pick it up. Instead, go back before it disappears, then return. Eddie will be back onscreen, hopefully with something you need.

You'll have to jump off the very edge of a ladder to get the Energy Tank near the end.

The clampers will move up and down a ladder, and stop to close itself in an attempt to crush you in their spiky grip.

The E can is back! Get the Energy Tank and you'll have a health refill that you can use when you pause the game, as always.

The hopping robots will make two or three low hops before making a very high one.

Snake Man will walk back and forth shooting Search Snakes at you. Hit him with the Spark Shot, and try not to die. Use an Energy Tank if you need to.

Beating Search Snake will give you the Search Snake and the Rush Coil. The Search Snake will crawl over floors and walls, while the Rush Coil will let you reach very high platforms.

Gemini Man

The dragonflies will try to lower themselves down at you before flying to the right. The penguins will shoot egg bombs at you was they jump.

The bubbles will create ghosts that you'll have to destroy whenever you shoot them down to clear the way. If you use a fully-charged Mega Buster shot, you won't have to deal with the ghosts. Unless, of course, you want the power-ups, then go ahead.

Shoot at the spinning cranks on the top of the big penguin robots to get rid of them.

After some precision platforming across a long spike pit, you'll finally face Gemini Man. Shoot at him and his clone with the Search Snake, and time it so that you do it in mid-air and can manage to avoid both Gemini Men. After enough damage, the real one will just walk and jump back and forth. Finish him off with more Search Snake.

Beating Gemini Man gives you the Gemini Laser, which can bounce off walls.

PrinceWatercress plays Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus AGAIN - Part 23 of 23

And now for the last of the Master Thief Sprints. Believe it or not, I did all the Sprints for the fourth chapter of the game in only twenty minutes. And that's the game finished...again!

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A Perilous Ascent

This was the last Master Thief Sprint that I did in my initial playthrough during my months-long PlayStation 2 marathon, and it was the hardest. Once again, I do this one first just to get it out of the way. For this one, you won't be rolling a whole lot. The only real strategy that will come in handy here is to use the double jump in the falling icicle segments without getting hit. As for the searchlight section where you have to cross the narrow platforms, you'll have to do those the old-fashioned way, as using the shortcut there will be fatal. Use the double jump in the icicle sections; you'll save the most time there.

Flaming Temple Of Flame

For this one, memorizing the level is essential, as it can be easy to get confused as to where you need to go, especially when you're inside the building where all the disciples are training. As for that fireworks platform with the searchlight on it, I hit it first, then I get on it right as it ascends so I don't get caught. Once you have those two things in particular down, you're good to go. Just remember to double jump where the narrow pathways with the searchlights are when you need to if you need to save even more time.

Duel By The Dragon

After having to go through this one for the Clue Bottles and again for the Vault, you should have an idea as to how to get through this one. You'll want to make sure that you're good with your platforming, and that you don't waste time hitting the fireworks. When you make it to the end, you'll want to run around the stone hand while swinging the cane around so you can easily hit all those firecrackers to trigger the exit. Once the exit is in sight, you'll have no time to waste. Get to it immediately.

The Unseen Foe

Ah, yes. The last one. This is the one Master Thief Sprint where the power to turn invisible gets the chance to shine. Don't forget that you can press the Circle button to go invisible when you need to, especially when you have no way of avoiding a laser or an enemy's spotlight. As for the conveyor belt you have to run against to defeat the enemy at the end, get on the conveyor belt and move forward as the enemy moves his spotlight to one side. Once you're close enough, whack him. For the drop at the end, there is a shortcut where you can go into the middle at one point and then move forward through the lasers to get to the exit, but I take a different approach: jumping to the second platform, then skipping straight to the exit.

And with that, we have 100%. Enjoy the rest of this run, and enjoy the developers' video that comes afterward. Be sure to pay attention, as things are different colors and some enemies and objects have different appearances due to all the footage coming from a pre-final version of the game. 

PrinceWatercress plays Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus AGAIN - Part 22 of 23

Now it's time for the third chapter's Master Thief Sprints. A Grave Undertaking ended up being the hardest out of all the sprints I had to do this time around.

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The Dread Swamp Path

Believe it or not, you can use the spire jump technique to completely bypass the first spider in the stage entirely (something I completely forgot I could do). As for the big creatures that you have to kill both halves of, you'll still have to smack them out of your way when necessary. Just remember that you still have to take a leap of faith in order to make it to the end. Watch out for those searchlights!

The Lair of the Beast

You'll barely have enough time to get through this one. Best advice I can give for this stage is to do the spire point jump from branch to branch and vine to vine, and make those swings on the hooks quick. Even though I fight the enemies here, you can actually skip them. You can also take a bit of a shortcut from running into the water while in a hurry; as a result, you can be bounced further ahead and get a good boost through a bit of the end as a result.

Descent Into Danger

The two minutes and change that you get for this is just enough for you to make it to the exit with a few seconds to spare. Knowing the layout for this stage is definitely well-advised, as you'll need to know where to turn in order to get to the next area. As for those lasers spinning around the column, the more space you have from where you need to get on and where you need to get off, the better. 

A Grave Undertaking

I found some shortcuts and new tactics the second time around, such as using the roots at the tree just above the water at the start and making a path straight to the drum near the three ghost spawners. This one ended up being the hardest one to do, and while some of it is due to the ghosts at the end, at other times it was because I was too fast on the draw when it came to grabbing a rope or getting on a platform. The ghosts at the end will make it very difficult to get to the green light and stop the timer for a job well done, and the best bet for this one is to get a charm during the run and hold on to it until you get to the very end. At this point, you should have all the vaults opened, and if you have the water safety ability, you'll get back on the narrow path and you can get to the exit before the ghosts come back. If you're patient enough like I was this time around, however, you won't need the charm.