Intro to game
| It follows the same standard setup of all the MMX games: an intro board, 8 stages, 4 “Sigma” stages. As before there are 8 hearts, one per board, and 4 Energy Tanks scattered about. And likewise, there are 4 power up capsules presented to you by Dr. Light. However, there are an additional 4 capsules to be found that allow you to upgrade one of your powered up components, but, as Dr. Light warns you, you may only choose to accept ONE of these upgrades. And lastly, there are 4 models of robotic armor you must find, one of which is needed to enable the accessing of the rest. In summary, every stage has one heart, one capsule, and either an Energy Tank or Armor Model. You are allowed from time to time, in certain parts of each stage to switch your control from X to Zero. Zero is capable of everything regular Mega Man is, with the addition of a better charged up Buster. The fourth level of charge allows for 2 level two bursts, with a final swing of his sabre thrown on. Zero does not benefit from Mega Man’s power ups. Whether Zero manages to stay alive through the course of the game determines part of the ending. |
Strategy
| This particular game is one of the most challenging with very interactive weapon powers. Three items are of absolute importance: The Air Dash power up, the N (Chimera) armor, and the Dual Buster. The last two are needed to get items, but the Air Dash is essential to even reach some of the bosses, making it the first item you should ever attempt to get. Boss order is important, as it always is. It wouldn’t be a Mega Man game without and boss order to follow. However, in MMX3, the correct weapon doesn’t do tons of damage like you would expect. What’s important in MMX3 is that the correct weapon cancels the bosses’ attacks! Some of the bosses attack you in such a way that they nail you with a barrage and don’t allow you to retaliate. That is why following the order is a lot wiser to do than before. Only certain weapons will give you the oppertunity to press your attack on the boss. Therefore, the best boss to start off with is Blizzard Buffalo. Not only is he the (possibly only) easiest boss to finish off with your normal X-Buster, but housed in his stage is the essential Air Dash power up capsule. The listing of each stage will be in the proper sequence one should take to get through them. Listed in brackets [] will be what is needed to get that item. A weapon name with a star next to it means the powered up version of that weapon (requiring the Dual Blaster). |
BLIZZARD BUFFALO:
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Heart: [N Armor] Early in the stage, you see a bunch of ice cubes. Use any armor from the armor provider to break each block and go down.
Tank: [Air Dash] The Energy Tank is visible after reaching the surface from below, high atop the left side of the wall. Jump on the ledge off to the right, jump towards the tank and at the peek, verticle air dash. Press left as you come down to cling to the edge and wall jump your way up.
Power: Air Dash – Again, when you resurface, take all of the highest paths to the right, and dash jump off the edge to catch the ledge on the far right. Proceed in side. Note – you must destroy the blizzard machine to reach this ledge.
Boss: BB is the easiest of all the bosses to take out with the X-Buster. He’s easy enough to dodge with the Air Dash, so power up, blast him, climb up the wall and when he charges at you, air dash over his head and proceed to the other side of the room. Watch out when he chucks ice at you
TOXIC SEAHORSE:
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Heart: When you begin your long upward climb through the stage in the beginning, go up as high as you possibly up the left side.
Armor: [Blizzard*] When you enter the water, fall to the bottom, and jump to the right of the first gap in the floor you encounter. Power up your blizzard weapon so it forms a block of ice. Jump on the ice to ride it to the surface to find the K (Kangaroo) Armor.
Power: [F Armor] Use the armor provider to suit up the F Armor. Fall in the water and stay on top of the ladges until to reach the fans. Take the fans out with the torpedoes and jump out of the armor. Wall climb and proceed to the right to reach the Dual Air Dash upgrade. It will allow you to Air Dash twice consecutivly.
Boss: TS falls victim to the Ice Shield rather easily. He will jump at wherever you are, so fire one ice off, and dash under him as he lands on the ice. Repeat until dead.
TUNNEL RHINO:
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Heart: [Volt*] As you first climb up, you’ll see a room to the right, with the heart blocked by a rock. Power up the electric weapon and release to pound the ground and knock the rock loose.
Tank: Really easy to find. It’s in the upper right corner before you start descending back down.
Power: [Volt*] Radar – Same as with the Heart, you’ll find this rock much later in the stage off the to left as you finish climbing upward. The Radar Helmet allows you to see where potentially hidden items are in a defeated stage when you first enter.
Boss: TR can really be as stubborn as a rhino, but he hates acid, so follow the pattern of air dashing over him as he charges at you, and spray him with some acid to finish him off.
VOLT CATFISH:
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Heart: [Air Dash] Take the elevator that rises between two walls of spikes all the way to the top (but get off on the right before you get squashed by more spikes. The trick here is to slide down the left wall, air dash to the right wall, pick up the heart, air dash back over to the left and get out without hitting the spikes on the floor. Keep a steady hand.
Tank: [N Armor] When you reach the area where sparks line the wall, go up to the armor provider, and take any armor. Then fall straight down to smash through the floor and proceed to the left.
Power: [Gravity*] Armor – Take the elevator before the outside bridge all the way off. You’ll see some sort of non-functioning lift. Stand on it and power up your gravity gun and let go. Watch it rise.
Boss: VC hates to be drilled, so let him have some drills and, as usual, air dash over when he bounds a little too close.
CRUSH CRAWFISH:
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Heart: [H Armor] Get the H Armor and suit up at the beginning of the stage (just below the starting point). When that robot crashes through the scafoldings, fall down to the last ledge just before the ground (the third ledge by count) and fire at the wall to get inside.
Armor: [Volt*] At the very beginning, the ground is covered by scaffolds accept for one tiny area, about 4 “blocks” wide. Power up the electric weapon and pound through the platform so it falls. Get the H (Hawk) Armor. It can hover if you hold B down.
Power: [N Armor] After the fall through the scafolds, go right and fall down the first gap you come to. Bash through the wall with your suit, and find the Armor upgrade capsule which increase damage reduction from 50% to (I presume) 75%.
Boss: CC isn’t too fond of electricity (seeing as he’s underwater and all) so peg him with that three way electric gun. You have to get close to him to hit him, which is bad since he will still probably pick you up and throttle you so be careful.
NEON TIGER:
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Heart: Right before the entrance to the boss, use that last bug to reach the upper right edge of the screen above the door.
Tank: Before you have to double back to the left and get higher up, go as far right and up as you can. Use the bug to reach the upper right corner of that part of the screen.
Power: [Drill] Dual Blaster – before you have to descend a ladder for the first time, you’ll notice the wall the to right is weak. Shoot a drill through it and prepare for a very long leap.
Boss: NT won’t stick to the wall when he’s hit with those spinning blades so hit him when he’s up there and move to the opposite side (so you don’t get hit when he flies over to the other wall). Repeat until he’s finished.
GRAVITY BEETLE:
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Heart: As far as I can tell, all you need to do is beat the Hornet to make those blocks in the lower hanger disappear. The heart is in the upper left corner of the first hanger you enter.
Armor: [Air Dash] You’ll see the armor on a high ledge when you climb out of a building (the sky is all yellow and you’re on a moving ship). Just wall climb up to the jump, jump out to the right a little, and veritcle air dash to catch the ledge before you drop.
Power: [N Armor] Find the armor provider high above the ground somewhere close to the end of the stage and select an armor. Stay in it and keep going right (and you’ll have to dash jump up some small ledges to advance upward) until you can’t go right anymore and bash the wall down. You’ll get the Buster upgrade, which allows you to store damage in your gun and, when fully charged, release it by shooting Super Shots without having to charge up your gun. It is possibly (in my opinion) the most useful upgrade and it helps a lot in the “Sigma” stages.
Boss: GB is stopped by the Tiger’s ray shots. Just hit him when he stops flashing from being hit, and he’ll stop and hop foward a little. Air dash over when he’s a little too close and keep on hitting him.
BLAST HORNET:
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Heart: [Air Dash] up the left side of the wall after the little hangers and (if you haven’t beaten Vile yet) that stupid ship scene where all you do is destroy boxes. It’s just before one of the doors.
Armor: [Drill] This is the most important armor to get of them all since you can’t use the armor providers without attaining this one. When you’re over the little hangers, and you must destroy those crates to get below the bridge, turn left and drill the weak section of the wall. Blast the box inside and proceed down. Shoot the little machine holding the armor hostage.
Power: [H Armor] Get to the armor provider early in the stage and select Hawk Armor. Then take a dashing leap off the ledge to the right and hover over to the other side. You can get the helmet upgrade which allows you to regenerate health just by standing still. Don’t overestimate the advantage of this upgrade. It’s useless in a battle and you’re still better off with the Blaster upgrade.
Boss: BH is a major pain without the gravity gun. But it seems like all you need to bug this bug is a little gravity in the room and you hurt him without even hitting him. So just pump out those pods.
SUB-BOSSES
The sub-bosses, Bit, Byte, and Vile, are important in the game. The way that you fight them in the Maverick stages determines who or what you will fight in the Doppler stages. You are not required to fight Vile early in the game, but if you don’t, you face a more difficult version of him later on. You must fight and beat Bit and Byte, but you will only truely defeat them if you destroy them with the appropriate special weapon. BIT: Bit is pretty slick. He fires one of two things, either a ring to keep you grounded (just wiggle back and forth to free yourself), or a heat seeking fireball. The main strategy to defeat him is to jump up when he’s on his way down from his own jump. He will try to intercept you at whatever level your on, so if you stay on the ground you will get smacked. Force him to fly over you by jumping and nail him with some powered up shots. While he doesn’t like electricity, the best weapon to hit him with is the Ice shield, especially since if you fire at him at just the right time, he’ll fly right into it. BYTE: I used to hate this guy, but now I’m pretty fond of him. He’s a LOT easier than you might think. The stratgey is simple. Power up your gun and let him throw one of those pods against the wall that messes up your jump. When he does that, before he rushes at you, jump at the wall, jump off and air dash over him, and nail him with your charged shot. Peice of cake with a little practice. He doesn’t seem to appreciate the Tiger’s ray shot very much, but he absolutly hates the Drill. It keeps him at bay a little longer so nail him with it for a sure victory. VILE: You can reach him from three points (that I know of at least): In Volt Catfish’s lair, that first elevator you come to will take you down to a teleporter, and in Crush Crawfish’s board, you will see a lone power up, but the plank is part illusion, and you fall through to another teleporter that takes you to the same place. And lastly, in the Buffalo stage, there is that little room below the ladder that leads to the surface that you must drop down the pit to reach. When he loses his armor, keep pelting him. Spinning blade shots seem particularly effective. |
9th CAPSULE!!!
| Well folks, the elusive 9th capsule has been found by your’s truly. This one will blow your mind. Dr. Light tells you that you can only select one upgrade for your system. Well, how would you like to have them ALL? No problem. All you need is all the hearts, all the power ups, NO UPGRADES, and all 4 Sub Tanks. Proceed to the first Doppler stage and reach the pit the appears before those chutes that releases those spiked balls. You MUST have full energy (but you don’t need 4 full tanks). Drop down the left side of that pit and if you’ve met the conditions, prepare for the most amazing transformation you’ve ever seen Mega Man take in his life. |
ZERO’S LIGHT SABRE
| The only precondition for this, oddly enough, is that you beat Vile (and by beat, I mean make him explode with the spinning blades) and that Zero is still alive. You aren’t required to have a specific set of power ups. You can have nothing, or everything including the 9th capsule. When you are in the 2nd Doppler stage, get through the water and pause at the door before the bug like mid-boss. At this point switch to Zero! Go in and fight the bug with Zero until it’s defeated. When you beat it, it will fly down on Zero and explode, leaving Zero damaged. MMX3 will come back and Zero will pass off his sword to you. Use it with Mega Man just like you do with Zero, power up until you flash green. |
DOPPLER STAGE 1
If Zero has died before this stage, then he will not aid you in stopping the spiked ceiling from falling. You must destroy the ceiling device yourself. If you did not defeat Bit and Byte with the appropriate Special weapon, you must fight them again. If you did defeat them, you face the “Mask”. Bit and Byte Use the P. Bomb and keep powering it up so those bugs fly at him whether you’re getting nailed or not. Mask The first thing to do is nail the snout. Then go for the rest of him. The Drill is the wepon of choice. Not terribly challenging to beat. Just watch the acid on the floor. |
DOPPLER STAGE 2
If you did not defeat Vile, you must face him now. If you did defeat him, you must fight a wasp like mini-boss and there will be more water in the stage and you face the “Squid”. Vile Pretty much the same as described above, just more agressive. Use the same strategy of air dashing the Goliath (and use Drills) then using the Blades on the lone Vile. Squid Hates electricity. Not hard. |
DOPPLER STAGE 3
| Note that the center pillar in the boss telepod screen give you power ups when you shoot at it. Dr. Doppler – Acid works great. Just don’t hit him when that green field shows up, or any shot you make heals him! |
DOPPLER STAGE 4
| Make sure you have 4 full E. Tanks. Just go nuts and nail Sigma with Spining Blades (Aim for the head so the you don’t have to worry about the shield). Heal yourself and get ready for Kaiser Sigma. Nothing but the X-Buster is effective (and this is where the Buster upgrade is GREAT!) so power up and nail his head. You’ll need to hit a little high to damage him at all. |
Original FAQ by Procyon Lotor
HTML Conversion by Akuma