================================ ========Mega Man 5 Guide======== ================================ by Tim : http://megaman.retrofaction.com : tim@megaman-network.com ====== Index: ====== 1. Introduction 2. Boss Weaknesses / Recommended Order 3. Power-Up Uses and Locations 4. Wave Man's stage 5. Star Man's stage 6. Gravity Man's stage 7. Gyro Man's stage 8. Crystal Man's stage 9. Napalm Man's stage 10. Stone Man's stage 11. Charge Man's stage 12. Protoman's Castle, Stage 1 13. Protoman's Castle, Stage 2 14. Protoman's Castle, Stage 3 15. Protoman's Castle, Stage 4 16. Dr. Wily's Castle, Stage 1 17. Dr. Wily's Castle, Stage 2 18. Dr. Wily's Castle, Stage 3 19. Final Stage 20. Boss Weapons 21. Secrets and Tips 22. Legal ================ 1. Introduction: ================ Welcome to the official Mega Man Network guide for Mega Man 5, the fifth installment in the Classic Series. Refer to the index above for an easy reference guide, and go to http://megaman.retrofaction.com/mmc/guides/ to find guides for all of the other games in the Classic Mega Man series. Happy gaming. ======================================= 2. Boss Weaknesses / Recommended Order: ======================================= -Wave Man --------- Mega Buster / Charge Kick -Star Man --------- Water Wave -Gravity Man ------ Star Crash & Mega Buster -Gryo Man --------- Gravity Hold -Crystal Man ------ Gyro Attack -Napalm Man ------- Crystal Eye -Stone Man -------- Napalm Bomb -Charge Man ------- Power Stone =============================== 3. Power-Up Uses and Locations: =============================== Power-Up Use Location ------------------------------------------- Rush Coil - Double jump like a pogo-stick - Start of game. Rush Jet - Standard jet sled - Defeat Gyro Man. Super Arrow - Fire an arrow that you can ride - Defeat Star Man. M Plate - Used to activate Beat - Found in Gravity Man's stage. E Plate - Used to activate Beat - Found in Wave Man's stage. G Plate - Used to activate Beat - Found in Stone Man's stage. A Plate - Used to activate Beat - Found in Gyro Man's stage. M Plate - Used to activate Beat - Found in Star Man's stage. A Plate - Used to activate Beat - Found in Charge Man's stage. N Plate - Used to activate Beat - Found in Napalm Man's stage. V Plate - Used to activate Beat - Found in Crystal Man's stage. Beat - miniature attack bird - Acquired by collecting MEGAMANV Plates. Energy Tank - Refills life meter; 9 Max - Random. Mega Tank - fully restores weapon & energy; 1 Max - Crystal Man's stage. ==================== 4. Wave Man's Stage: ==================== This stage is interesting if nothing else. The first threat you'll face in the stage is jets of water that come rushing out. After that you'll encounter swinging balls on chains that try to impede your progress. Study their patterns and move past them to the giant tube section. Try to make it to the top one to grab the 1-Up, but if you can't it's no big deal. Fall through the tubes to the bottom level and maneuver through more water jets. Keep heading to the right to reach a large room where bubbles are rising out of the floor. Now as you might've guessed, you will be using these bubbles to make your way up this vertical section. The small ones last about three seconds before they pop, and the big ones last indefinitely until they hit something sharp. There is a pattern to follow of moving to the left, then back to the right as you ride the bubbles, a pattern which isn't really hard to learn, but takes a bit of wording to explain, so it's left more as an exercise for the player. Make it up top and head right to reach the waverider section of the stage. This section has you riding a waverider on the water while defeating enemies that range from flying fish to Mets to Joes on waveriders. Stay a little past the far left so you can jump any enemy that comes at you from behind, and shoot anything that gets in your way from the front. Keep riding until you reach the mini-boss of the stage. Aqua Drone Strategy =================== This giant machine is only vulnerable in the green spot on its forehead, and it bobs up and down in the water while firing projectiles at you. Jump over the weapons fire and fire shots at the green spot to kill this machine and move on. After defeating the mini-boss, continue on your way and destroy anything in your path the instant you see it. Eventually you'll come across the Beat Plate high in the air. E Plate ======= Try to stay as far to the left as you can so you can jump to grab the letter. Most of the enemies around you can make getting it a bit hard; if you get hit by anything, ]] there's a good chance you'll have to come back for this plate. Just continue the waverider section, defeating any enemies in your path and eventually, you'll jump off and you'll wind up in front of the boss gate. Wave Man Strategy ================= Like almost all of the Robot Masters, Wave Man follows somewhat of a strict pattern. While it can be a little tough to avoid, it can be done (once you get enough practice, you can beat him without taking any damage). What you'll want to do, no matter what weapon you're using, is first dodge his attacks, then follow up with your own attack. He'll start the battle by creating a random Water Wave from the floor, then follow up with a harpoon, then he'll jump across the screen at you. To avoid this, simply run back and forth so the Wave doesn't crop up where you're standing, do a short hop over the harpoon (don't jump straight up, or you'll collide in mid-air with him. After you hop over the harpoon, slide so he doesn't land on you, then turn around and fire (or slide into him if you're using the Charge Kick). Repeat this pattern and you'll have him toasted. ==================== 5. Star Man's Stage: ==================== This stage resembles an underwater stage as your mobility is affected by the total zero gravity environment. Your jumps will nearly touch the top of the screen, and you'll also run a bit slower than before. You'll start off outside. Head right while avoiding the meteors and drop down the tunnel at the end. Head through here destroying the enemies in your path and take out the cannons as they pop up, before they can hit you with their attacks. Move on through this section while destroying the enemies until you reach the large obstruction in your path. Be careful in this area since the ceiling is spiked, and you don't want to jump too high. At the end, drop down the pit and take out the next set of floating robots. Float down through the remainder of this section and head to the right until you find a AstroMet. M Plate ======= Destroy the nearby AstroMet, then carefully jump up to the plate where it sits right underneath a spike-lined part of the ceiling. Remember Mega Man's weightlessness here, (it actually doesn't matter if you die or not, you'll still get the plate, but you probably don't want to lose a life). Carefully hop up to it until you grab it. Just to your right are more AstroMets and a pretty wide spike pit. You can either time a jump to land on the other side, or let one of the AstroMets hit you so you can use your temporary invincibility to cross. After you get through this hazardous section, you'll reach a ladder. Charge up your Mega Buster and climb it. Once up top, let loose your shot at the bottom missile headed your way and then immediately slide to the other side of the room to avoid the shrapnel from the other two missiles. Climb up this next ladder and destroy the cannons here while making your way past the obstructions. Keep heading right and destroy the AT-ST look-a-like. Practice beating them here because you'll face some more of them later on. They take two charged shots precisely in their eye to defeat them. After beating him, head right to find another group of the Astro- Mets. Destroy them and head across the rising and lowering platforms while taking out the enemies in your path. At the end, time another jump to land on the small ledge (rather than the spikes) and destroy the second walker robot. After this, you'll reach the boss gate. Star Man Strategy ================= His greatest weakness is the lack of gravity in his lair, which slows him down consid- erably. It slows you down as well, and naturally makes you jump higher, but it gives you an advantage over him. Wait until he finishes bouncing around the room, and he'll pause somewhere on the screen. Like I said, the lack of gravity gives you an advantage, as you'll have nearly a full three seconds to set up dodging his Star Crash. He'll use it in any of eight directions, and it travels extremely slow as well. Avoid the Star Crash and have either a charged Mega Buster shot ready for him or set off a Water Wave attack once he touches back down. It won't take long for this one to die. ======================= 6. Gravity Man's Stage: ======================= This stage is certainly one of the more inventive things I've seen in a Mega Man game. As you might expect, gravity is the main focus here. It'll switch every time you pass one of the little up or down arrows. Start off in the stage destroying the few minor enemies and ball-droppers, then fall down the tunnel. As you fall down, you'll notice some of the arrows. Remember that as you cross these, gravitational forces will flip, and you'll be on the ceiling. During this time, most of your actions are reversed. You jump downwards, and you slide by holding Up and the Jump button, rather than Down+Jump. Keep heading along the path and destroy the ball dropper over the pit. Use the gravity device and jump across the pit, and grab the 1-Up by climbing down the ladder at the bottom right corner. It takes some finesse in reversing your jumps, but after that, "fall up" the shaft. Continue through this section, sliding when necessary to avoid the ball and chain devices that pound the ceiling (or simply walk through them when they're in a harmless position). Fall up the next pit and destroy the corkscrew robots and the other miscellaneous enemies. At the end, jump down onto the ledge below you so you switch gravity again. Now fall all the way down the long passage, but curve your fall to the right so you don't land on the spikes. As you enter the next section, a giant Clomper Stomper will attack. If you're quick enough, you can slide under him and thus bypass this fight, otherwise just stick it out with charged Mega Buster shots. After you beat him, you'll cross a pit, then make sure to stop at the next one. M Plate ======= This one can be a bit tricky to get. You have to time your jump so you hit the gravity reverser so it flips you up and into the plate. It takes a bit of practice, but if you study how the reverser is situated, it won't be too hard. It's just really difficult to describe a detailed process in words. After grabbing the plate, continue heading to the right, destroying the ball-droppers in your path. At the end, climb the ladder into the next room and hang off the top (bottom?) rung and shoot each of the flying Suzies as they come at you. When both are gone, you can fall up to the ceiling, hop over the spike pit, and fall off the left side, but curve your fall to the right so you don't hit the spike trap above you. Once up top, cross to the next reverser, drop down and kill the Sidewalker, then head through the boss gate. Gravity Man Strategy ==================== This battle, like the stage, is rather inventive. Gravity Man switches the gravity at times during the battle, and will often do so as you're under him (or above him), and he'll attempt to collide with you in mid-air. I personally use charged Mega Buster shots since the Star Crash travels really slowly and I don't like getting up close to try and hit him with it. The trick is to time your shot so it hits him as the two of you meet in the air. Other than that, just keep running along the floor or ceiling to avoid his energy bullets and make sure you don't collide with him, and you'll win. ==================== 7. Gyro Man's Stage: ==================== As you might imagine, this is quite an aerial stage. As you start, head to the right and you'll start going up an elevator. Dodge the enemies until you reach the top, then head to the right across some platforms while dealing with some shielded robots that lift their shields to fire at you. Miscellaneous floating enemies also interfere with you here as well. Climb up the ladder at the end and maneuver your way to the next two ladders and head on up to the next upper level. Up here, deal with some giant chickens that spout out minature chickens you can shoot for powerups. Defeat them and cross a section with rotating platforms that move about. Climb the ladders at the top until you reach solid ground again. When you reach the split, take the top path and eliminate the cannons, then climb the ladder to reach another Clomper Stomper. Destroy it and head up the next ladder. Move a little to the right to trigger three bomb-dropping robots to come after you, then shoot them with the Mega Buster. Now comes the fun part. Jump out onto the fragile bridge and quickly start moving across. A Plate ======= Here you have to be quick so the enemies above don't kill you, and the drop doesn't either. The plate is situated under some collapsing blocks; slide under the robots and as you drop down, immediately jump back up after grabbing the plate to land back on solid ground. Then race for the real solid ground before more blocks start dropping. After you get the plate, quickly get to the other, safer side to the right. Head one room over to reach the final challenge of this level. This section has spike-lined floors and ceilings that you must dodge while the tower collapses. The best advice is to jump just as you see the ledge you need to get to come in range, then quickly get to the next ledge and repeat until you get to the very top. Safely make it out and head to the right some more. Destroy a floating cannon enemy, then nimbly hop across the narrow ledges until you can drop down to the boss gate. Gyro Man Strategy ================= As you might expect, Gyro Man spends his time in the air (or rather, in the clouds obscuring his lair). You can, bring him down to earth using the Gravity Hold, but be careful how you use it - you only have enough shots with which to kill him, so don't be wasteful. As soon as the battle starts, use the Gravity Hold to bring him down, then wait until he begins to fly again - this usually occurs in three second intervals. If he manages to get off some of his Gyro Attack blades, simply jump over them, or other- wise dodge them as they can change direction. If you do happen to run out of weapon energy, you'll just have to avoid his attacks and wait for a clear opportunity to present itself before attacking. ======================= 8. Crystal Man's Stage: ======================= This is a fairly hazardous stage in my opinion. As you start off, head right while tackling the red bouncer robots, then drop down the few tunnels to the bottom where you find more of the red robots. Defeat them and move on to a more difficult section with chutes dropping out crystals. The trick to master here is jumping immediately after each chute drops a crystal - or else you might get hit mid-jump and get knocked into a pit. Cross this beast of a section and climb the ladder to find Eddie again. Have him toss you a gift, and move on up to the next level. Here, leap from platform to platform dealing with more crystal chutes and Crystal Joes as you progress. Get to the next ladder, climb it, and shoot the large enemy on the spike pit, then ride the rotating platform diagonally to the ladder at the left. Climb up and cross another enemy-filled section before dropping down another short pit. Hold right while falling off the next ledge to grab an Energy Tank, then go down some more to find a Mega Tank on the upper level - use Rush Coil to get yourself up there. Defeat the rat enemies on the other side, then work downwards, but stop before the large gap. V Plate ======= This is a fun one. As you fall down the long shaft, hold Left after you pass the first part of spiked towers. As long as you continue holding Left down, you'll collide with the Plate as you continue falling. After grabbing the plate, drop down another level and deal with another giant Clomper Stomper (fire charged shots at it from your high vantage point) and you'll then be able to reach the boss gate. Crystal Man Strategy ==================== This Robot Master is actually somewhat difficult without the Gyro Attack. The fact that Crystal Man constantly jumps puts a hamper in your plans to defeat him, and his Crystal Eye which splits into four mini pieces isn't much fun either. Use the Gyro Attack and switch the blade direction in mid-air so you shoot it horizontally, then make it go vertically to hit him. Slide under his Crystal Eyes and his jumps if he gets too close, and constantly be on the offensive to defeat him. ====================== 9. Napalm Man's Stage: ====================== Napalm Man's jungle stage can seem quite long, but I think it's mostly due in part to the multiple annoying enemies you find. As you start off, you'll deal with some rather mean tiger robots. Shoot them with charged shots and move on. Drop down at the end and engage some more tigers, then fall down and head down the long hallway, shooting fully- charged shots at the spiked wheels that come roaring down this tunnel. Right before the screen stops scrolling, stop and let another one roll onto the screen before trying to proceed, otherwise you'll get mysteriously killed as you switch rooms. Climb up the ladder at the top and head left through a hidden passage to an Energy Tank, then go back right and across the waterfall segments, battling the Copter Joes as you they appear. Get to the ladder at the end for Eddie to appear, then head back topside. Up here, head right until you reach the big red machine. Stay on the pedestal and fire charged shots to defeat it, then carefully leap to safe ground. Keep heading right, but stop before dropping down. N Plate ======= It's more or less in plain sight as you finish crossing the spike pits. Drop down off the ledge and hold Left to drop into the small alcove where the plate sits. After you have the Plate, finish dropping down to reach the core of Napalm Man's base. Maneuver through here, and stop once you get to the bottom floor. This next part is full of missiles from Star Man's stage, so try to avoid the shrapnel from them like the plague. Once past them, drop down some more, avoid a couple more missiles, and head into the final room where you have to contend with giant missiles flying vertically out of the pits. Avoid them and you'll reach the boss gate. Napalm Man Strategy =================== For the most part, Napalm Man sticks to the right-hand side of the screen, firing his missiles and Napalm Bombs at you. You can alternately slide or jump the missile attack, and jump over the Napalm attack since it rolls and has a rather large blast radius. Use the Crystal Eye and try to score direct hits whenever possible, but if he gets hit by the miniature ones ricocheting off the walls, that's good too. About midway through the battle, Napalm Man will add jumping to his pattern of attack, making it a bit more difficult to hit him, but as long as you inflict more damage on him than he does on you, you'll beat him. Think Needle Man and the Gemini Laser in this battle. ====================== 10. Stone Man's Stage: ====================== As you start off to the right, you'll encounter a peculiar new breed of Metool, one that creates three offspring when it gets shot. Destroy the mini-Mets and continue on through the stone caves until you reach a section with two ladders. G Plate ======= This one is actually hidden from view. Shoot the lower right part of the rock wall to reveal a hidden passage into a room containing the plate. Climb the two ladders and proceed to the right while eliminating the various enemies in your path. The floor rats and ceiling floaters are your biggest worry. Continue heading to the right and up the ladder until you get back outside. As you head to the right this time, some floating enemies similar to ones in Gyro Man's stage will attack you. Destroy them with charged shots, and eliminate the shield robots as well. At the end of this section, climb up the ladder and use Rush Coil to bounce you to a hidden passage in the wall to grab a 1-Up. Drop down and proceed to the right; ride the hover- ing platform down to the ledge, then head right and jump on the next one. Ride this one and hop to the next as it gets in range, then time your jump off this one as it heads to the left so you grab the Energy Tank, then move on back to the right. Climb the ladder and let Eddie give you his present, then climb the ladder and head across one final platforming segment with floating robots and cannons to reach the boss gate. Stone Man Strategy ================== Stone Man reminds me of Hard Man, in a way. He'll start off the battle by jumping across the screen - slide or run to get out of his way, then jump as he impacts so he doesn't stun you. Turn around and lay a few Napalm Bombs at his feet so they blow up as he reforms. He's invulnerable when in his pile o' bricks state, so don't bother trying to hurt him. The majority of the battle consists of just this, though he'll occasion- ally use the Power Stone, a weapon that is difficult to avoid. Should you run out of weapon energy, you can still finish off the battle with your Mega Buster, as it does three HP of damage per hit as well. The best advice I can give is to take your time with Stone Man, and only strike when it'll benefit you. ======================= 11. Charge Man's Stage: ======================= This short stage takes place in a trainyard, and part of it on the train itself. Your first enemy to deal with is a red flying one that drops bombs. Just slide under it to avoid it, and get to the ladder at the end to reach the train part of the stage. The next few parts are simple, just head to the right while taking out the MetTrains that come charging at you. As you reach the end, drop down the pitfall to reach the inside of the train. You'll face more ground rats and some huge chickens that you saw back in Gyro Man's stage, but they're nothing you can't handle by this point. Right after you get past the second low bridge area, look above you. A Plate ======= This is in plain view after the aforementioned low drop. Use Rush Coil to bounce your- self up to grab it. After you get the Circuit Plate, climb the ladder and head back outside. Deal with some more annoying MetTrains in this segment and just head to the end to drop down in front of the boss gate. Charge Man Strategy =================== This is by far my least favorite of the MM5 Robot Masters. The optimal weapon to use on him is the Power Stone, though due to the way it spins outward, it's really difficult to even hit Charge Man with it. Most of the time I just use charged Mega Buster shots and try to avoid him. His attacks consist of causing flaming rocks to appear from the ceiling and charging at you. He signals the charge attack by literally tooting his horn (he's modeled after a train, after all) and blowing some steam. Then he'll propel himself across the screen, and your jumps just barely clear him. Towards the end of the battle, he'll turn invincible at various points, only making it harder to beat him, but with some perseverance, you'll make it through. =============================== 12. Protoman's Castle, Stage 1: =============================== The opening of Protoman's stage is a hazardous one, filled with pits and those ever-so- annoying tigers from Napalm Man's stage. Take care of them the same way you did there and make your way to the ladder at the far right. Climb up the ladder and slide under those robots that drop as you go under them. Head through the next section involving some platforms (the Super Arrow is good to use as a stepping stone here, but I usually use the Rush Jet so I can save my energy). At the end, use Rush Coil to bounce yourself up to the ladder, and head upwards. Use your Mega Buster to take out the enemies here, and head through this area as well, continuing to destroy the enemies that come flying at you. Keep heading through this area until you reach a large spike pit. Use the Rush Jet to cross this section, then take the upper path when it branches. Take this path to the end and drop down the pit there and proceed right to face one of those Star Wars- ish walkers from back in Star Man's stage. Take it out and move on; after climbing the ladder, you'll have to deal with a set of those infamous disappearing blocks. If you're good, you can simply use Rush Jet to maneuver through the middle once you've identified the pattern - and then use Super Arrows to boost yourself up to the ladders. Complete this for the next two sections, and you'll find yourself in the final section of this harrying level. Deal with the robots that race at you and the ones that annoyingly enough orbit you and make your way to the boss gate at the end. Tank Sentinel Strategy ====================== This Sentinel is one of the easiest to beat. The best weapon to use on it is the Water Wave, but be warned - the Sentinel gets progressively faster the more damage he takes, and he can't jump, which means towards the end of the battle, you'll be jumping more than you have the opportunity to hit him. If you brought a full stock of Energy Tanks with you (a good idea), don't be afraid to use one here - you can always get more later on in the fortress. =============================== 13. Protoman's Castle, Stage 2: =============================== Start off in this stage by climbing either of the ladders while avoiding the track robots. Defeat/avoid the two Sniper Joes on your way up. Once at the top, use the Rush Coil or the Super Arrow to give you the necessary height to clear the obstacle in your path. Here, you'll have to deal with the MetTrains from Charge Man's stage, so put your frustration aside and take them out. After you make it through here, jump down the pit at the end to reach what I consider the hardest part of this level. Here you have to jump from conveyor belt to conveyor (which are constantly moving) while avoiding the track robots and any other enemies that might come flying at you. To be honest with you, I used Beat to attack while I concentrated on jumping and dodging, but use what- ever works for you. Make it through here and congratulate yourself, for it gets slight- ly easier from here. Deal with the three Crystal Joes here and climb the ladder at the top. Head to the right until you see three layers of platforming. Slide under the bottom one to gain an Energy Tank, but get back out before you hit the spikes. Now take the top route, drop down between the spikes and follow the very straightforward remainder of the path to the boss gate. Shield Sentinel Strategy ======================== For this battle, I recommend the Mega Buster (if you can stay charged long enough to knock a shot off) or the Crystal Eye. The Shield Sentinel doesn't seem to jump either, but he also increases in speed as the battle progresses. Just time your shots so they don't hit him when his rotating shield is up, and you'll beat him. =============================== 14. Protoman's Castle, Stage 3: =============================== This stage starts off with little to no breathing room. Immediately start sliding to avoid the Copter Joes in their little attack choppers, and cross the platforms to the other side. Climb the ladder and just proceed on through the next couple of vertical and horizontal sections. Once you get back outside, walk to the edge and you'll have to deal with a very mean-spirited puzzle by riding a moving set of blocks across a wide chasm (Super Mario Bros. 3, anyone?). However, shortly after you start, you'll see three platforms. Jump on one of them and jump up to the top one (you can nab an Energy Tank this way too); once up there, simply use Rush Jet to fly and cross to safe ground - it saves time wasted on possibly falling off the blocks. At the end, go down the ladder and prepare for another Clomper Stomper fight (you can avoid this one by s liding past him), then hop over the pit and climb the next ladder to find another Clomper Stomper - stay on the ladder and use Beat to attack it, then head over and claim another Energy Tank. Climb up the ladder, stay on the uppermost ledge and use Rush Jet to fly across the last large pit (bypassing the moving block segment once more) to reach the boss gate. Stun Sentinel Strategy ====================== The third and last of the Sentinel variants also happens to be the toughest one. This Sentinel combines leaping and firing stun rings at you. If you get hit by the rings, you'll be frozen, and the Sentinel will take the opportunity to ram into you. The best method of beating him is to use the Gyro Attack and utilize the same strategy you used for Crystal Man to change the blades' direction in mid-air. Just jump over the rings and keep pounding away to beat him as well. =============================== 15. Protoman's Castle, Stage 4: =============================== This last section of Protoman's Castle is rather unique. Your goal is to reach the top, Tetris-style by knocking out rows of bricks. Shoot the brown blocks to make the castle layers fall, but be mindful of what you are shooting and make sure that you don't trap yourself. Also keep in mind that there are times you'll have to shoot and slide quickly to make it into certain areas (the last one before the door, for example). Anyway, once you reach the top, head through the boss gate. Dark Man Strategy ================= Once the whole cinema is done with, make sure to grab that Mega Tank pronto before Dark Man fires the kill shot. Once you're back at full power, start using the Mega Buster and Beat to attack, since Beat can fly and attack while leaving you free to dodge everything Dark Man throws at you. Dark Man possesses the abilities and attacks of all three of the previous Sentinels, which makes him a bit of a toughie. However, if you have the Energy Tanks and skill to outlast him, you shouldn't have too many problems. The main tough part is that Dark Man inflicts so much damage on you...once you run out of Beat energy, switch back to the Mega Buster to finish Dark Man off. =============================== 16. Dr. Wily's Castle, Stage 1: =============================== Grab the Energy Tank given to you at the start, and start heading down. This first part of the level is a straight vertical fall similar to the one in Crystal Man's stage. For the first part, stay to the left, and once you get past the middle platform, move to the right to land on solid ground at the bottom. Head to the right, then climb the ladder at the end. Fight your way through the enemies until you reach the long hallway with the spinning wheels. Carefully make it through here, being sure not to jump too high due to the spiked ceiling. Get past here, climb the next two ladders and maneuver across a jumping segment filled with more spinning wheels. If you have the room to move, you can try using Rush Jet to get past parts of it easier. Get through it to find a compressor section. Slide past the pistons, shoot the junk out of the way, and move only when it's safe to do so, then finish off this level by climbing the ladders at the end and jump over the spike traps to reach the boss gate. Tower Mecha Strategy ==================== A lot of people suggest using the Crystal Eye on this, but I always found the charged Mega Buster to do the job too. The only trick is you have to get up high enough to reach his head. You can accomplish this feat by riding the platforms he shoots out. Hop on the low one and then leap up to the high one as it comes at you, then shoot the head before you drop down. The Tower will mostly repeat this pattern over and over again, occasionally stopping to shoot something at you or anything else not particularly bothersome. I think this boss was meant to be easy. =============================== 17. Dr. Wily's Castle, Stage 2: =============================== As you start heading to the right, you'll ascend a giant staircase and reach a section that looks very difficult to get past. There are two pretty big spike pits that you must pass, so use Rush Jet to get past them, then fall down the tunnel at the end. Drop down into the water below and use the spinning wheels to cross to a suspended ledge. Move to the right edge, and activate Rush Jet again to sail through the next complicated set of spinning wheels, and let him carry you to the other side safely. Climb up the ladders and exit back to dry ground where you'll face some more standard enemies. Defeat them while being careful of the scattered traps and wind your way to the next ladder. Climb it to find a green version of the Clomper Stomper. Defeat it, then carefully position yourself to fire a Super Arrow and ride it across the spike pit. Stick to the wall and climb it with more Super Arrows to reach the ladder above you. Climb it and kill another Clomper Stomper to reach the boss gate. Flying Ring Strategy ==================== This fight isn't too complicated, though it may look so at first. Your goal is to hit the boss in the eyes, so leap around on the platforms as they circle, and use the Gyro Attack blades similar to the way you fought Crystal Man to damage it. Avoid the energy orbs the Ring shoots at you while keeping up a steady hail of blades to defeat this boss. =============================== 18. Dr. Wily's Castle, Stage 3: =============================== Incredibly short, but it's the teleport room stage, so... Grab the Energy Tank near the beginning if you need it and head right to the teleport to be warped to the room where you'll battle the eight Robot Masters again. Here's the layout of the room: Gravity Man Charge Man Wave Man Gyro Man Napalm Man Stone Man Star Man Crystal Man After you re-fight all eight, enter the 9th teleport at the top center to go up against the first form of Dr. Wily. Dr. Wily Strategy (Phase 1) =========================== Wily is pretty easy in this form. He just hovers above you moving from left to right, until he slams down to the ground. Slide to avoid him, but make sure you don't fall into that spike pit in the center! Whenever Wily domes down, blast him with a charged Mega Buster. Repeat this process until you beat him. ================ 19. Final Stage: ================ Here it is: the final level. It helps to have 9 Energy Tanks and all your weapons at full capacity. This final section is just as short as Protoman's final corridor was. Here, you'll want to keep your Buster charged throughout, and take out the AT-ST walker imitation when you come to it. At the end of the hall, you'll encounter a pit. Fall down this long descent and head through yet another long corridor. Destroy the second AT-ST imitation and head to the boss gate for the final battles. Dr. Wily Strategy (Phase 2) =========================== Wily turns to attack you in a giant rolling tank this time around. As he rolls around, fire charged Mega Buster shots at the eyes of his Skull Tank while dodging the objects he shoots at you, which range from missiles to energy orbs to other various objects. Most can be slid under or jumped, but you'll probably take the occasional hit. Keep pelting Wily with charged blasts until he explodes and his saucer flies off. Dr. Wily Strategy (Phase 3) =========================== Wily attacks for the last time similar to the MM4 fight, minus the flashing light animation. Switch to Beat and dodge Wily's attacks while you let the little bird "beat" the garbage out of Wily. If you happen to run out of Beat's energy meter (which you probably will), and have a Mega Tank in reserve, don't hesitate to use it as it'll also refill your life. If you run out of energy again, resort to charged Mega Buster shots to finish this fight off. ================= 20. Boss Weapons: ================= - Water Wave - Mega Man shoots a small jet of water that travels along the ground. Not too exciting. - Star Crash - Another of the famous Shield variations of weapons, this one protects Mega Man with a rotating shield of stars. It can be fired off early in any of four directions. - Gravity Hold - A weapon that has very limited usage, but can damage Gyro Man and fling other enemies off the screeen. - Gyro Attack - Mega Man sends forth a whirling copter blade that can change direction once while in mid-air. - Crystal Eye - Mega Man shoots a large crystal ball which can break apart and ricochet if it strikes a wall. It sort of has the same effect as Mega Man 3's Gemini Laser. - Napalm Bomb - Mega Man lays down a rolling bundle of napalm that detonates after a short time. - Power Stone - Mega Man creates a whirling stone attack that spirals out from his location. Very difficult to actually hit anything with. - Charge Kick - To use it, you have to equip it and slide. Mega Man slides forward with a crescent of energy at his feet that damages anything he touches. - Beat - Acquired by collecting the MEGAMANV letters, this little bird can be summoned and used to attack enemies from afar. He does use quite a bit of weapon energy, though. ===================== 21. Secrets and Tips: ===================== 1. Easy 1-Up Trick: Use the Mega Tank when you have full energy and weapons, and when you exit your subscreen, all enemies will be turned into 1-Ups! 2. The Super Arrow, gained from Star Man, can be used in a way to simulate the Item-2 from MM2. You can also use it to "climb" walls, so be sure to experiment with it. One such climbing section is located in Wily's Castle, so make sure you learn it. One interesting feature regarding this weapon is that if you use it and you run out of energy, the Arrow will still continue to fly until it hits something. 3. Beat is more than useful for just bosses. Try using him to attack obstacles while you maneuver through treacherous areas such as in Protoman's Fortress. ========== 22. Legal: ========== This guide must always be shown in full form with credit given to the author, and a link and credit must be given to Mega Man Network (http://megaman.retrofaction.com/). All associated characters and games are copyright to Capcom.