##### ##### ##### ##### # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # ##### # #### ##### # # # # # ## # # # # # # # ## # # # # # ##### ### # # ##### ##### ## ## # # # # # ### ## # # # ######### #### ## # # # # # ####### # # # # # ## #### # # # # # ## ### # # # # # ## ## THE F.A.Q. whose only version is the final version. By Garry O'Brien, a.k.a. Whammychip ***************** Table of Contents ***************** 1. Introduction 2. Story 3. Controls 4. Robots and Other Meanies 5. Things You'll Grab 6. Weapon Guide 7. Walkthrough 7.1 General Stages 7.1.1 BombMan's Armory 7.1.2 GutsMan's Site 7.1.3 CutMan's Base 7.1.4 ElecMan's Tower 7.1.5 IceMan's Glacier 7.1.6 FireMan's Factory 7.2 Wily's Castle 7.2.1 Sector One 7.2.1 Sector Two 7.2.3 Sector Three 7.2.4 Sector Four 8. Secrets 9. Requisite Legal Stuffage ************ Introduction ************ I LOVE the MegaMan series, and have from the start. Barring a few BAD titles (cough, cough, MegaMan X5, cough, hack, cough), I have adored the series for its constant innovation and spontaneity. Today, I bring you a complete, in-depth guide for the game that spawned it all, the ORIGINAL MegaMan. Though I will admit that it's INCREDIBLY cheap at times, overall it's an excellent example of how to add something new to a platformer. I believe that if MegaMan would have been released earlier, we'd all be going "Mario WHO?" It's that good. Well, enough of my endless praising, time for the guide! ***** Story ***** The year is 20XX (note the X's are variables, which means it's somewhere in the 2000's), and Dr. Wright (typo? It's Light in all the other games!) and Dr. Wily, two master scientists, have successfully created the world's first humanoid robot! Named Rock, he was designed mainly to be a lab maintainance robot, and help the doctors with laboratory work. Psyched about this success, the duo created another maintainance robot, Roll, and six other robots desinged for their own special tasks. They are: CutMan: With his powerful, sharp scissors attached to his head, he's the perfect lumberjack robot. He can slice through the thickest of trees. GutsMan: A gigantic construction robot with remarkable strength. He was designed to bulldoze and lift massive rocks and boulders with his powerful arms. IceMan: A multi-purpose robot, he's your jack-of-all-trades. His advantage is that he can withstand temperatures no living creature could possibly survive in. BombMan: A bomb-crazy robot, he was designed for demolition and clearing terrain for new development projects. FireMan: With the torch protruding form his head, he can melt and shape even the toughest of metals. ElecMan: Designed to supervise dangerous electrical operations and power plants. For a while, these robots worked in peace, simply doing the jobs they were designed to do. Until that day, the day nobody likes to speak about. Dr. Wily suddenly went insane, and reprogrammed the six worker robots to turn on their human masters and attack all who oppose them. Seeing Rock and Roll as useless, he left them alone. Big mistake. For some strange reason, Dr. Wright saw potential in Rock, and converted him into a combat humanoid. He was redesigned to be quick, agile, and was equipped with a special Arm Cannon, capable of not only shooting enemies at rapid fire but also gaining toned-down version of the powers of the six Robot Masters once defeated (Rumor has it there is a seventh weapon capable of being used by this cannon, but Dr. Wright does not know its whereabouts). Dr. Wright renamed Rock MegaMan, and sent him to stop the evil desires of evil Dr. Wily. Fight, MegaMan! For everlasting peace! ******** Controls ******** D-PAD Left or Right: moves MegaMan in the specified direction. On a ladder, using these in conjunction with the B button will allow Megaman to fire in the specified direction. Also selects the Robot Master on the Level Select screen. D-PAD Up or Down: When on a ladder, climb up or down. Note that when Megaman is on top of or lear a ladder, pressing these buttons will automatically make him climb/descend it. Also selects the weapon on the Weapon Select screen. A Button: Jump. If on a ladder, this will make MegaMan fall off. B Button: Fire currently selected weapon in the direction MegaMan is facing. START Button: Weapon Select screen. This pauses the action and allows you to switch weapons. Pressing START again will resume play and equip MegaMan with the highlighted weapon. SELECT Button: Normal pause (pauses but does not bring up Weapon Select screen) ************************ Robots and Other Meanies ************************ Enemies are listed in the order you will encounter them. Frogbot: Found in BombMan's Armory, CutMan's Base, ElecMan's Tower, and Sector One These guys simply hop towards you. They can jump either short or long, and cause 2 points of Crash Damage if they hit you. Require 1 hit. Worth 300 points Fireworks: Found in BombMan's Armory and Sector Two These guys shoot up out of chasms and explode into four pieces of shrapnel that cause one point of damage. Cannot be destroyed Screw Guns: Found in BombMan's Armory, CutMan's Base, FireMan's Factory, Sector Two, Sector Three, and Sector Four. These guys stay low until you get close, in which they will pop out and fire two rounds of spraying bullets before they retreat. The bullets cause 2 points of damage, and the guns themselves cause one point of Crash Damage. Require 3 hits. Worth 500 points Wall Turrets: Found in BombMan's Armory, CutMan's Base, and Sector Two These guys are mounted on walls and are protected by a hard shell. On occasion, they will retract these shells to shoot 4 bullets in different directions before hiding again. Shoot when they are. The bullets cause 2 points of damage, and the guns themselves cause 1 point Crash Damage. Require 1 hit. Worth 200 points Sniper Joe: Found in BombMan's Armory only. In this game, they're rare, but they eventually become the most common enemies later on in the series! These guys jump and shoot bullets at you. When they're not doing either, they stay behind a shield, and will not retract it until you stop shooting. Their shots cause 2 damage points, and their bodies cause 4 points Crash Damage. Require 10 hits, worth 5000 points. Flying Bullets: Found in BombMan's Armory, FireMan's Factory, Sector One, and Sector Three Don't they resemble the Bullet Bills of Super Mario Bros.? Anyways, these guys fly up and down across the screen, and look harmless. The catch is, when hit, they explode, and the explosion can harm you. The explosion and the bullets both cause three points of damage. Require one hit, worth 800 points. Ground Searchers: Found in BombMan's Armory, ElecMan's Tower, IceMan's Glacier, and FireMan's Factory. These guys are ANNOYING! You can;t destroy them with your Buster (although it will stop them for a brief moment), and when you're on the smae ledge as them, they move faster. They cause three points of damage. Require a Special Weapon. Worth 300 points. Blaster Spheres: Found in BombMan's Armory and CutMan's Base. These guys slowly fly across the screen and are protected by a toguh shell. Occasionally, they open their shell to fire 8 shots in different directions; take this opportunity to attack. What's annoying is that these guys frequently appear over spikes and can knock you into them if you're not careful. The bullets cause 2 points of damage (if you survive...) and the spheres themselves cause 1 point. Require 1 hit. Worth 800 points. Wall Clinger: Found in BombMan's Armory, CutMan's Base, IceMan's Glacier, Sector Two, and Sector Three. These guys cling to walls, and periodically release themselves to fly and cling to the one opposite them. They cause four points of damage. Require 5 hits. Worth 300 points. Met: Found in GutsMan's Site only. Another rare-now-but-common-later enemy. These guys are protected by hard hats, and occasionally raise them to shoot 3 bullets in a spread patter at you. The bullets cuse two points of damage, and the Mets cause one point. Unlike their later versions, these guys don't move. At all. Require one hit, worth 500 points. Smile Copter: Found in GutsMan's Site, CutMan's Base, and Sector Two. These grinning foes fly throguh the air, and swoop down in an attempt to crash into you. They cause three points of damage. Require one hit, worth 300 points. Pickel Man: Found in GutsMan's Site only. Another GutsMan-exculsive baddie. He briefly takes cover behind a shield before chucking pickaxes at you. The axes cause two points of damage, and the robots themselves cause three points. Require 10 hits, worth 1500 points Pogo Cyclops: Found in GutsMan's Site, CutMan's Base, ElecMan's Tower, IceMan's Glacier, and Sector One. God, I HATE these. They bounce either low or high towards MegaMan, and cause TEN POINTS of damage per hit. However, I have found a trick! If, when a Cyclops is preparing for another jump, YOU jump, the Cyclops will automatically high-jump. Since you cannot avoid the low jump, this is a godsend tactic you should employ whenever possible. Require 20 hits, worth 9000 points. Cutter: Found in CutMan's Base only. These guys fly out rapidly in arcs from Cutter Machines. They're fast, but as long as you continuously move, they shouldn't hit you. They cause 4 points of damage and cannot be destroyed. Sattelite Zapper: Found in ElecMan's Tower and Sector Four. These guys are frequently found near ladders and come in packs of six; three from the upper-left, three from the bottom-right. When they near your vertical position, two eyes protract from the bot and shoot electricity bolts at you. The bolts and the bots cause three points of damage. Require one hit, worth 400 points. Shocker: Found in ElecMan's Tower only. These are little bolts of electricity that shoot from certain points in the walls. They cause four points of damage. Cannot be destroyed. Crazy Razy: Found in IceMan's Glacier only. This robot consists of an upper and lower parts. Destroying the upper part first will also kill the lower. But killing the lower part first will cause the upper to rise into the air and act much like the Smile Copters. Getting too close will also trigger detachment. The joined robot causes three points of damage, and the lone upper part causes two points. Require 1 or 2 hits, worth 500 or 1000 points. Penguin Bomber: Found in IceMan's Glacier and Sector Three. These guys fly like the Flying Bullets, except they don't explode. They cause 4 points of damage. Require one hit, worth 500 points. Gunner Ledges: Found in IceMan's Glacier and Sector One. These are annoying. They move in random patters, and shoot out both ends at random intervals. What's worse is, they can't be destroyed, since you must use their flat tops as platforms to cross chasms. Beware, as the bullets of nearby platforms can easily knock you off! The bullets cause 2 points of damage. Flamethrower: Found in FireMan's Factory and Sector One. These guys can be on the walls or on the ground, and shoot walls of fire. They cause 3 points of damage, and though they cannot be destroyed, thay can be temporarily frozen by Ice Wave. Lava Balls: Found in FireMan's Factory only. These guys shoot out of lava in groups of three, and then fall back towards the ground. They cause two points of damage. Require one hit, worth 200 points Lava Wall: Found in FireMan's Factory only. These are individual glob of lava that fall so quickly that the form a sort of wall. They can be avoided, but it's difficult. They cause 3 points of damage, and cannot be killed. ***************** Stuff You'll Grab ***************** Life Refill: Restores your Life Gauge. Small ones restore 2 points, while Large ones restore 10 points. Weapon Refill: Restores the energy of the Special Weapon that is currently equipped. Small ones refill 2 points, while Large ones restore 10. Point Balls: Enemies frequently drop these. Each one you collect adds 1000 points to your End-Of-Level bonus. Extra Life: A rarity! You'll find these in tough-to-reach locations, or enemies may drop these (though this is rare). They give you an extra life. Yashichi: This is a one-of-a-kind item, found only on a hard-to-reach platform just before the Robot Master Gauntlet in Sector Four. It fully refills your Life Gauge and the energy of ALL Special Weapons. Make sure you grab it! ************ Weapon Guide ************ P = Plasma Buster: Your basic weapon. It has infinite energy, and is effective against most normal enemies and even a couple Robot Masters. However, against tough robots and the other Robot Masters, you might as well have a pea shooter. Three shots can be on screen at once. B = Hyper Bomb: Obtained from BombMan. Throws a bomb, which explodes after a brief pause. You are not harmed by the blast, but enemies are. This weapon is GutsMan's weakness. Each bomb consumes 2 point of energy, meaning 14 bombs to one energy bar. G = Super Arm: Obtained from GutsMan. This weapon only works with certain types of blocks. When you are near a compatible block, it will flash. Press B to pick it up, and press it again to throw it. When the block hits a wall or enemy, it will split into four smaller pieces. This weapon is CutMan's weakness, as well as that of the Bubble Bombers. Each throw consumes 2 points of energy, meaning 14 throws to one energy bar. C = Rolling Cutter: Obtained from CutMan. This is a boomerang-type weapon. You throw a small pair of scissors, which travels in an arc before returning to you. This weapon is ElecMan's weakness, as well as that of UltimaMan's second form. Each cutter consumes one point of energy, meaning 28 cutters to one energy bar. E = Thunder Beam: Obtained from ElecMan. By far the best weapon in the game, as it works best with the "Rapid Pause" trick. The weapon fires three shots of electricity; one in front, one above, and one below. It's great for enemies directly below and above you. This weapon is IceMan's weakness, as well as that of the Yellow Devil AND CloneMan. Oh, and this weapon is also capable of destroying Super Arm blocks. Each beam consumes one point of energy, meaning 28 beams to one energy bar. I = Ice Slasher: Obtained from IceMan. This weapon fires a sharp blade of ice directly ahead. This weapon is a mixed bag, as it kills the weakst enemies, but merely freezes the stronger types. This weapon is FireMan's weakness. Each slasher consumes one point of energy, meaning 28 slashers to one enrgy bars. F = Fire Storm: Obtained from FireMan. This weapon has two effects: it shoots a fireball straigh ahead, and it also surrounds you wih a continous flame for a short time. This weapon is BombMan's weakness, as well as that of UltimaMan's first form. Each storm consumes one point of energy, meaning 28 storms to one enrgy bar. M = Magnet Beam: The special weapon designed just for MegaMan! You won't obtain this from a Robot Master; instead, you'll find it in a secret tunnel in ElecMan's Tower. You MUST get it the first time around, and since it's blocked by Super Arm blocks, this means you'll have to visit GutsMan's Site before going to ElecMan's Tower. Without it, you'll be screwed in Wily's Castle. Anyways, what this weapon does is create homemade platforms! The longer you hold the B button, the longer the platform. Releasing B ends the platform. Beware, as it only lasts a short time, though. Each platform consumes 2 points of energy, meaning 14 platforms to one energy bar. *********** Walkthrough *********** Finally, the moment you've benn waiting for! THE WALKTHROUGH!!! Beyond is a step-by-step guide to each and every level, including what to expect around every corner. Good luck in your quest! ############## General Stages ############## ---------------- BombMan's Armory ---------------- Let's begin our journey at the ammunitions department controlled by Robot Master BombMan, shall we? Head right and over the mound, killing all Frogbots that decide to attack. Shortly past here is a small chasm, but don't cross just yet! A Firework will pop out and explode; stay behind the "wall" just before the pit to ensure your safety. Do the same for the next three, and once the fourth has been cleared, drop down to the lower area and wipe out the three Screw Guns that lie down there. Hop up to the top using the small platforms, and grab the two small Life Refills if you need them. Head up the ladder, and while in the next room still on the ladder, shoot the bottom two Wall Turrets before they hit you. Traverse up to the top of the ladder and kill the remaining two Turrets. Go down the ladder in the center and grab the Large Life Refill if needed, and then go up the ladder to the far left. At the top, move right, take care of the Sniper Joe that accosts you, and continue. Flying Bullets will begin to barrage you here, so shoot them as they appear. Hop across the chasms, killing Bullets and Turrets as you need to. Climb the ladder at the end. Drop down, avoiding the Ground Hunters, and head on up to the ladder at the top level. Climb up to the top, and jump across the platforms to the ladder at the left, avoiding the Bullets here as you do so. At the top of the ladder lies a tricky part. You must traverse a series of small platforms suspended above spikes, all the while withstanding the onslaught of Spreader Spheres shooting at you. Your best bet is to just try and avoid their shots, since you really can't touch them. After the third platform, drop back down to solid ground. Spreader Spheres will still be coming, but they're not half the threat anymore. Head up the ladder just beyond, and then drop down, holding right the whole time. If you did it right, you'll end up in a small alcove just above the main path. Kill off the Sniper Joe and grab the Extra Life he's guarding. Leave the alcove and return to the main path. Near the Robot Master Lair Entrance, a Sniper Joe will accost you, but he's much easier now since he'll be higher than you. Once he's done for, enter the Robot Master Lair Entrance. Jump into the pit and hug the right wall so you'll avoid the Wall Clingers that infest this drop. An alternate solution would be to take it nice and slow down the ladder, but the first solution is much faster. At the bottom of the pit, BombMan awaits you. !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? ROBOT MASTER ATTACK! BombMan ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! BombMan is a cinch once you master his pattern. He will either jump long or jump short, and occasionally chuck a few Hyper Bombs your way. These bombs do four points of damage, as does BombMan. To avoid his attacks, just keep moving so that the Hyper Bombs won't hit you. BombMan jumps pretty slowly, so he really can't hit you, as long as you KEEP ON THE MOVE. Shhot when not running, but don't try to do both. Use your Plasma Buster to defeat BombMan in 14 hits. Easy, right? Well, it only gets easier, till a certain point.... -------------- GutsMan's Site -------------- Start off by killing the three Mets that guard the steps. Beyond the Mets lies a particularly rough spot for some; a set of three moving platforms that travel across wires and drop out when the wire thins. When the top platform comes your way, hop on. Keep riding until you see the middle platform. Ride the top until you can jump off and land on the middle safely. If you were quick on destrying the Mets, the lower platform should already be in a good position before the middle hits its first thin spot. Hop on down, and jump at regular intervals to avoid falling when the platform drops out on you. At the end lies safe ground; get there fast. Expect to lose a few lives on this section, but it's easy street past there. Beyond, about three Smile Copters will attack; kill them quickly. Hop up the steps and grab the Large Life Refill if you need it. Drop down, and kill the first Pickel Man in a timely manner. Hop up the steps, and destroy the Pickel Man that appears on the small platform beyond. Hop to said platform, and jump to the next ledge, where a third Pickel Man will accost you, and then drop down the gap at the end. You'll now be in a room with three pits and three Smile Copters. Kill the Copters, and drop down the middle pit, hugging the right wall for a Large Life Refill. Jump to the hole in the left wall for two Small Life Refills and a Large Weapon Refill if you need them, and then drop down the leftmost of the two remaining pits, hugging the left wall. If you did this right, you should enter another hole. Jump across the last remaining pit for an Extra Life, drop down to solid ground for a Small Life Refill, and then head down the last pit. There's a Pogo Cyclops here, but since the terrain is uneven, it should be much easier than if you were fighting it on flat ground. Kill it or avoid it (it's your choice), and then enter the Robot Master Lair entrance. Kill the four Mets that inhabit it, and then enter the lair of Robot Master GutsMan. !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? ROBOT MASTER ATTACK! GutsMan ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! My holy Lord, GutsMan is EASY! He is destined to perform only two tasks. Jump around, causing a slight earthquake, and high-jump, causing an earthquake and causing a boulder to fall, which he will then attempt to throw at you. The boulders, as well as GutsMan himself, cause 4 points of damage. So, what are YOU going to do, Blue Boy? Well, first off, whip out that beautiful Hyper Bomb of yours. Now, jump and throw, rinse and repeat. Since Hyper Bomb has a nice blast radius, GutsMan isn't too hard to hit. Using this attack pattern, GutsMan will be sent to the scrap heap in a matter of 3 hits. For a big guy, he sure is a wimp.... ------------- CutMan's Base ------------- Now it's time for the last of the pathetically easy Robot Masters, CutMan. Start off, climb the ladder to get out of the room you're stuck in. As soon as you progress from the ladders, swarms of Smile Copters will bombard you. Crank out the spray from your Plasma Buster to kill them off quickly. Once you reach the end of the Copter gauntlet, there will be two Wall Turrets. Ignore the first, as it won't do you any harm, and wipe out the second. Climb the ladder to the next room, where more Turrets await; kill them all, and climb the ladders even higher to another Turret-laden room. Again, kill and climb, kill and climb. The room after this may pose a problem. The top two Turrets here can be killed, but the lowest Turret is out of reach, so you'll have to try and withstand its fire whilst climbing and killing. At the top of the final ladder is the end of the Turret gauntlet. But you're not in the clear yet.... Here lies a Cutter machine, which will constantly spit out Cutters. The Cutters can't be killed, and they take out a hefty chunk of life. However, do not fear, sir Shootsalot! If you just make a mad dash to the right, the Cutters shouldn't even come close to you! Past the machine lies a few Frogbots. Take care of them, continue, and you'll find yourself in another vertically-oriented area, this time filled with Wall Clingers. It'll be like this for another four rooms, so I suggest simply running and gunning it, taking it slow in tight spots. When you finally reach the top, another Cutter Machine awaits. Use the same strategy as before. Past there, three more Smile Copters will attack. Kill them, get the Large Life Refill if you desperately need it, and then head on down that ladder, son! Here's another one of those annoying areas with the pits and the Spreader Spheres. It may not look like much now, but just wait. Anyways, dodge the shots of the Sphere until it's at the far left of the screen. Head down that ladder quickly, because another Sphere will soon follow. Drop down to solid ground and head down the bottom ladder. NOW you see why dropping down those pits was dangerous; spikes cover the floor here. Drop down to the leftmost floating ledge, kill the Sphere just as it's opening, and then drop down and head down the final ladder before reinforcements arrive. This final room will have a Pogo Cyclops inside, but again, the terrain is uneven, so killing it or dodging it shouldn't be too much of a hassle. Once past it, head into the Lair Entrance, killing the Screw Guns in a timely manner. At the end of this corridor awaits pathetic-excuse-for-a-Robot-Master CutMan. !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! ROBOT MASTER ATTACK! CutMan ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? CutMan is PATHETICALLY EASY! His destiny is to jump and throw the scissors atop his head like a boomerang. Also, most people don't realize this, but CutMan will only jump when he is about to collide with you. He and his stupid scissors both cause four points of damage. To take care of this manifest failure, whip out that purdy Super Arm you got from GutsMan. Pick up one of those nice, big blocks you see at the far left of the room, and while CutMan's jumping around like a moron, chuck it at him. One block wipes out HALF of his life, and since there's two in the room, hitting him with both blocks will send him to the junkyard. Even if you miss, CutMan's still easy to destroy, since one hit with your Plasma Buster will cause three points of damage to him. Hope you enjoyed that fight. The next three Robot Masters are royal pains in the arsenal... or something like that. --------------- ElecMan's Tower --------------- Time for the first of the three Robot Masters who are actually worthy of your shooting skills. In this first room, you'll see three Ground Searchers on separate ledges, which lead up to a ladder. Your best bet here is to stun the Searchers when they get close to the wall, hop up onto their ledge, and quickly do the same to the one above it. Once this is clear, head on up, where two more Searchers await on tiny ledges leading up to another ladder. These guys can't be passed safely, even by stunning them. Or CAN they? Whip out those shiny Rolling Cutters you stole from CutMan and use it to destroy the Searchers, thus allowing you to reach the ladder safely. Oh, and ignore that Large Life Refill. You can't reach it, and if you've been following my instructions, you shouldn't need it anyways. This next room is identical to the one you were just in, except for there are no Searchers, and shooting from the sides of the ledges they occupied are Shockers. Just time your jumps when they shut off, and you should be fine. The next room features a LONG ladder. But no enemies? Suspicious, no? But wait! Halfway up the ladder, Sattelite Defenders start invading the room. I reccomend just quickly shooting the top three while staying on the ladder, and getting to the next room before the bottom three can reach you. The next room is IDENTICAL, enemies and all, so just follow the same strategy there as well. At the top of the Never-Ending ladder lies a nasty little bit.... In here lie a ledge at the bottom, two ladders at the top-left and top-right corners of the room. There are no ledges to reach those top two ladders. Or are there? Stand there idly for a bit, and suddenly a small block will appear out of nowhere for your disposal. But there's more to this than meets the eye. More will start to appear, and soon, that first one will disappear! So, now what do you do? Well, stand on the first one, and ignore the second. Jump off before the one you're standing on disappears, and move slightly to the right. If you did it right, a third block should materialize right under your feet. Then, simply hop to the ladder. The next room features more of these blocks, but they appear in a straight line, so you just have to traverse across the ledge they create slowly. Hop to the ladder above to escape this hellish area. Hop uo to the elevated ledge, progress, and then hop across the tiny blocks to another ladder (Yes, I deliberately left out that Large Life Refill, since it's nigh impossible to get without falling into the abyss). Here, the path splits into a left and right path. It's recommended you take the right, as the left is infested with Ground Searchers. However, make sure you take out the Satellite Defenders before proceeding. In the next room, slowly make your way up the ladders, pausing occasionally so you don't get toasted by the Shockers. The next room is seemingly empty, but wait and more Satellite Defenders will appear. Remember, just take out the top three; if you move quickly enough, the bottom three shouldn't cause you any harm. In the next room, the paths join again, but you'll notice something strange. In a seemingly inaccessable hole in the wall, a strange, gun-looking thingy lies. This thing is the Magnet Beam, and it's a REQUIREMENT if you wan't to get past Wily's Castle. But how can you get it if 3 inches of solid wall separate the two of you? Well, bring out that handy Super Arm of yours, and move towards the wall. Well, whaddya know, it's flashing! You know what to do! Chuck it and the two blocks behind it out of the way, and nab that trusty Magnet Beam. Seems you're getting two weapons for the price of one in this level! Anyways, back to the tower. Above where the Magnet Beam once was, the paths split up again. Once more, take the right. Move slowly up the ladder to avoid the wrath of the Shockers. The next room is easy, since it only has one easy-to-dodge Shocker in it. In the next area, move towards the ladder, but don't climb it yet. Lure the Frogbot down to where you are (beware, you may take damage), and then kill it. Now, climb the ladder, and wait for the Frogbot above to commit suicide by long jumping off the edge of the screen. Once he's gone, take out that Super Arm again and chuck the block out of your way. But wait! The ledge above is too high! You're trapped! NOT! That's what you have that nice little Magnet Beam for. Take it out, create a stepping stone, and voila! You can now get outta here! Climb the ladder, hop up to the ledge above, and hop across the tiny blocks to the next ladder (yes, it's identical to that area you were in before the paths split the first time). Jump across the ledges carefully so the Shockers don't light up your life (with 10,000 volts). Climb the ladder above, and you'll find yourself in a sticky situation. Above you, a Pogo Cyclops bounces happily, oblivious to the fact that it's about ready to come crashing down... ONTO YOUR HEAD! Get to the top of the ladder quickly, and employ the jumping tactic mentioned in the Enemy Description section. Run under when it High-jumps, and enter the Lair Entrance, which consists of one really big ladder (like BombMan, except now you're going up). Before climbing, switch back to the Rolling Cutter weapon (you'll need it for ElecMan). Now, head up, but in the next two rooms, take it slow so that the Shockers stay away. At the top of Jacob's Ladder (well, not really) lies ElecMan, your first WORTHY opponent. !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? ROBOT MASTER ATTACK! ElecMan ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! One thing you should know about ElecMan going in is that he's FAST! Another thing: he can jump away from your attacks. Third thing: his Thunder Beams HURT! Each causes 10 points of damage (even though ElecMan himself only causes four... strange...), and since you only have 28 points of life, that means three hits will do you in. Not that that's a problem, since your Rolling Cutters do precisely the same amount to him. The best strategy is to try to pin him against a wall so that he can't back away, and jump over his Thunder Beams when necessary. Three hits from the Rolling Cutters and it's lights out for ElecMan. And guess what? You are now the proud owner of the best weapon in the game! GO YOU! ---------------- IceMan's Glacier ---------------- Oh, boy. This level's gonna be FUN (in a sarcastic way). First off, most of the floors here are slippery, so often, you'll find yourself sliding right into an enemy if you stop too suddenly. Second, you really need to have mastered jumping, or else you won't stand a chance in this frozen Hell (damn those oxymorons). So anyways, head on in, and kill the Crazy Razy making a beeline for you. There's another one on the lext ledge, and so on until the ledges can't go much higher. Past here is something you won't find much of later on: water. Water slows you down, so take this into consideration when jumping, since in between ledges lie Ground Searchers, and you should know by now that Ground Searchers HURT. Also headed your way is a lifetime supply of Penguin Bombers, so keep shooting as you jump. Once you're out of water, drop down the first hole you see, kill the Wall Clingers to your left, and get the Large Life Refill past them if you need it (which you probably do). Then, move all the way to the right, and drop. Now, switch to Rolling Cutters, and KILL THAT GROUND SEARCHER! It'll make this area a HELLUVA lot easier, since it contains more of those DAMN Magic Blocks from ElecMan's Tower, only this time their pattern is MUCH HARDER! I can really only explain it through the map below. Pay attention, now! The numbers inside the blocks indicate the sequence, so 1 would come first, then 2, etc. +-------------+ |KEY: | | | | +-+ | | |X| = Block | | +-+ | | | +-------------+ FROM LAST ROOM +---+--------------------+ +---+ | | |\_/| | | | |\_/| | | | |\_/| | | | |\_/| | | | |\_/| | | +---+---+ +-+ |\_/| | | |\_/| | |7| |\_/| | | |\_/| | +-+ +---+ | | |\_/| | | | | |\_/| | | | | |\_/| | | | | |\_/| | +-+ | | | |\_/| | |6| | | | |\_/| | +-+ | | | |\_/| | | | | |\_/| | +-+ +-+| | | |\_/| | |5| |4|| | | |\_/| |+-+ +-+ +-+| | | |\_/| ||2| | | | |\_/| |+-+ +-+ | | | |\_/| | |3| | | | |\_/| | +-+ +-+ | | | |\_/| | |1| | | | |\_/| |/\/\+-+\/\/\/\/\| | | |\_/| | | | | |\_/| | | | | |\_/| | | | | |\_/| +----------------+ | | |\_/| | | |\_/| | +---+ +------------------------+ TO NEXT ROOM To get by, just jump on the blocks as they appear in sequence. That better have helped, 'cause the next map shows the next room, which is even HARDER! Same rules apply. FROM LAST ROOM +---+ +---+--------------------------- | |\_/| | | |\_/| | | |\_/| | | |\_/+---+ | |\_/| | |\_/| +-+ +-+ TO | |\_/| |3| |4| NEXT | +---+ +-+ +-+ AREA | | | |+-+ | ||1| | |+-+ +-+ +---- | | |2| | | | +-+ +-+ +-+ | | | |7| |6| | | | +-+ +-+ | | | | | | +-+ +-+ | | | |1| |5| | | | +-+ +-+ +-+ | | | |2| | | | +-+ +-+ +-+ | | | |3| |4| | | +----+/\/\/\/\/\/\/+-+/\/\+-+\/| | | | | | | | | GROUND SEARCHER IS HERE | | +-------------------------+ | Note that here, two blocks are sometimes assigned the same number. This is because they appear simultaneously; thus, the first four, I will refer to as "high" or "low" So anyways, follow the lower four, then hop to 5, 6, and 7. Now, stay on 7, but DON'T hop onto high 1. Instead, wait until 7 is just about to vanish, and then jump slightly to the right. If you did it right, you should land on high 2 just as it's appearing. Now, hop straight in the air so you'll land on high 3 once it appears. Then, hop to high 4, and then hop (I'm getting tired of this word) to the ledge at the far end of the room to escape this trap. But trust me, it ain't easy street just yet. Just past here is a huge chasm, and your only way across is to hop onto a series of Gunner Ledges. It's reccomended that you take this slow; don't rush. The ledges move at random, so wait until they're in a favorable position for you to jump. Also, make a small jump if it looks like a bullet is about to hit you. It's also notable that past the small "safe ledge", Penguin Bombers will begin to bombard you, so on the second series of Gunner Ledges, constantly shoot to avoid being knocked off (Or if you're feeling REALLY cheap, you could always whip out that purdy Magnet Beam you've got there and SCAM your way across...). Past this chasm lies another hole, so drop down. BUT, if you want an extra life, hug the left wall as you do so, so you'll enter the alcove it rests in. This next room has three small Life and Weapon Refills (each), so grab them if you need them. Drop down into the next room, which has flat terrain and containg *sigh* ANOTHER Pogo Cyclops. It's here you'll really have to employ that jump tactic to get by. DEFINITELY don't try killing him, unless you want to learn the meaning of "HURT BAD". Once you get by him, enter the Lair Entrance, where you'll once again be bombarded by Penguin Bombers. But here, it isn't a bad thing. If you stand still and shoot them when they get close, you can milk a lot of Life and Weapon Refills out of them if you need to. Hell, you might even get lucky and snag an extra life off of one of them. At the end of this corridor, Robot Master IceMan hibernates. Too bad you're about to wake him up... !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! ROBOT MASTER ATTACK! IceMan ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? IceMan isn't all that hard to defeat. You just need to know how to jump over his attacks. First, he'll move to the right of the arena, jump, and then slowly float back down, shooting a series of three Ice Slashers. After this series, he'll float upwards while hurling another set of Slashers at you. After this is done, he'll move to the left side of the arena and repeat the process. The trick is to jump over the lowest of the three, since the top two will simply fly over your head. However, this can be tricky, for if you jump too early, you may find yourself on a collision course with the middle Slasher. His Ice Slashers HURT, causing 10 points of damage each. Kinda like ElecMan's Thunder Beams. Yet Iceman himself only causes four.... So anyways, yank out your trusty Thunder Beams and jump slightly, firing in mid-jump so you'll hit IceMan while he's jumping. Then just fire two more; they'll hit him as he's about to land. Since your Thunder Beams already cause 10 points of damage to him, you shouldn't even need to use the quick-pause trick (unless you're really cheap). Three hits and IceMan's history. Now it's time for a MASSIVE climate jump in... ----------------- FireMan's Factory ----------------- First, climb the ladder in front of you, and when you get near the top, shoot the Screw Gun while it's retracted for a free kill. Past him, climb the second ladder, and do the same for the next two. The next spot is tricky, as there's a Screw Gun beneath you that you can't hit yet, and another right in front of you. So to avoid this, stand on block away from the lower Gun, and fire away at the one in front of you. Then head down and destroy the lower one. Go down the next ladder, and proceed onwards. Three Lava Balls will shoot out of the lava pool in front of you. Leap over the pool, and wait for the Flamethrower to retreat back into the ground. Don't head up that ladder just yet, as the three Lava Balls that shot up earlier will be floating back towards the ground. Try and find a safe spot between then so they don't hit you. Once the threat has passed, head up the ladder, jump the chasm to your left for the Large Life Refill, jump back, and then head on up into the next room. Here, two ladders to the right lead to a high ledge, which in turn leads to another ladder at the far left which takes you to the next room. Also notable are the two Small Life Refills, but they're guarded by Flamethrowers. If you don't need these refills, you should be able to clear this room without a care in the world. Here, to avoid lots of trouble, take out that nice little Magnet Beam and create stairs to the area above the Flamethrowers. Replenish the energy you spent with the two Large Weapon Refills up here, and then when the upper Flamethrower is off, drop back down to the main path. Wait for the next Flamethrower to shut off, jump into the lower area, and then jump back up before the Flamethrower re-activates. Pass the next two when they're down, and then drop down to the ladder. Grab those three Small Life Refills down there if you need then. If they don't fill up your energy comletely, head down the ladder, and then head back up. The refills should return for you to harvest again and again. Once you're in tip top condition, head on down that ladder, and dodge the two flamethrowers here. Be careful, as Lava Balls will also be firing from a "pit" close to the next ladder. After passing here, climb the ladder, and drop down just before the first Flamethrower, so you don't get hit and/or fall into the lava and die. Jump to the next ledge when safe, and then do it again. Be careful, as contant spray of Lava Balls will be erupting from the lava below. Head up the ladder, jump across the lava, head up the next ladder, and then leap over the first flamethrower onto the ledge next to the second. Pass it by when safe, jump to safe ground, and then head on up the ladder. Here is a room with a blood-red background. In the background are seveal black patches. Here, Fire Walls will be falling at a constant rate. But you CAN avoid them! Once again, bring out your trusty Magnet Beam, and create stairs next to the first wall to dodge both of them and reach the ladder safely! Head on up, won't ya? Now start firing! Flying Bullets will be coming at you from the right, and you don't want to be hit by them. Head up the stairs, jump over the Ground Searcher on the ledge, and head down the ladder. Ther should have been a Ground Searcher on the middle ledge, but a glitch should have caused it to vanish. Head left, and down the ladder. Before continuing, take out your shiny Thunder Beam, and use it to destroy the Ground Searcher up ahead. Climb the ladder and grab the Large Weapon Refill if you need it, and then jump over the lava pits, being careful not to run into the Lava Balls that will be shooting out of them. There's two Flamethrowers ahead; beyond them lies the Robot Master Lair Entrance. All that's in here are four Screw Guns mounted to the ceiling. Shoot them or avoid them, it's your choice, but past them lies the toughest Robot Master in the game, FireMan. !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? ROBOT MASTER ATTACK! FireMan ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Yep. Finally, the Robt Master that actually provides some sort of a challenge: FireMan. He can't jump, unlike the other Robot Masters, but he makes up for it in firepower (quite literally!). He runs across the arena, shooting Fire Storms very quickly. Where MegaMan's horizontal position is, a small flame will appear on the ground. Rest assured, you WILL be taking lots of damage here. Just keep jumping to minimize said damage. His Fire Stroms, as well as the big baddie himself, cause 4 points of damage. So, to destroy this fiery menace, take out your cool little Ice Slasher, and fire away. Make him pay. Don't save it for another day. 7 hits and he's as good as gone. With all Robot Masters destroyed, you only have one foe left: the Big Bad Doc himself. But he's got company, and he ain't willing to give up without a fight.... ############# Wily's Castle ############# ---------- Sector One ---------- Believe it or not, Sector One is the sector you'll be having the most problems with. First off, you've got THREE Pogo Cyclops to deal with, and TWO are on flat ground. Use your nifty jumping trick to get by them. The third you'll fight on uneven terrain, amking it a bit easier to avoid him. Huddle under the "pyramid" he rests on, and you have an 85% chance of successfully avoiding him. Past the pyramid is... A DEAD END?!?! OH, NO! We've come all this way for NUTTIN'! NOT! Break out the Super Arm (it's been a long time, no?) and move toward the wall. Bingo. They're flashing. Eliminate the top three blocks, creating a path that allows you to infilatrate the castle! Here lie three Flamethrowers, and they're tough to simply avoid. But you've got the upper hand here! Break out the Ice Slasher, and shoot when they're below the ledge. Bada bing! Frozen flamethrower is now available as a stepping stone for the next ledge. Do this for the other two, and head up the ladder. There's a Large Life refill at the top of the ladder, across a pit. Jump over there and grab it if you need it. Even if it doesn't fill you up all the way, just head back into the previous room, and then go back up. The Refill should return. One you're gased up and ready to go, hop across the spike pits to the ladder at the other end of the room. Head up, and get to the top quickly, 'cause there's a 50/50 chance a FrogBot's about to come tumbling onto your head, and if you're at the top, you won't get knocked off. Shoot the other two Frogbots, and then use your Super Arm to clear away the blocks blocking entrance to the next room. Ignore that Large Life Refill; it's way too hard to get to be worth the effort. Here, Flying Bullets will bombard you from the right. You can avoid the first, but it's almost necessary to shoot them once you reach the middle ledge, as you'll have to jump over spikes, and trying to dodge the Bullets simutaneously is almost like trying to play musical chairs with a pack of angry ferrets; eventually, your ass is gonna get bitten. Once you reach the bottom ledge, you can run like a sissy to the ladder and head down. Here are those ANNOYING Gunner Ledges again, and this time, they're in a room where both floor and ceiling are laden with spikes. Here, I actually ENCOURAGE being cheap, so take out your trusty Magnet Beam and create your own ledges across the hellhole here. At the other side are two Small Weapon Refills. Use them to recharge your Magnet Beam, as you'll need it in the next room, at the top of that ladder.... At the top of the ladder, there's a ledge way up high that you must reach. But there's no way to reach it, except for by exploiting that nice little Magnet Beam. Use it to create steps to the top of the ledge and hop over to silid ground. Now you'll have to create more steps to reach that ladder up high. At the top of the ladder is an empty room. Head to the right to find another empty room. But it won't be empty much longer. The Doctor of Doom is about to send you a little playmate.... !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? SURPRISE! Yellow Devil ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Before the Devil makes his appearance, switch to Thunder Beam, FAST! It's your weapon of choice for this battle. Suddenly, small blocks will start flying from the left side of the room. The bottom two rows, you'll need to jump over. The top two rows will simply fly over your head. Because of this, you'll need to count the blocks so you can follow my guide. The blocks you need to jump over are: 1, 3, 6, 9, 10, 14, and 18. The hardest set of blocks are 9 and 10, since they appear consecutively. To avoid them, move as far to the other side of the room as possible, and then run towards the opposition, making a flying leap just as 9 is about to make contact. Doing this, you'll fly over both 9 and 10, and come down just before 11 crashes into you. Now, the flying blocks are the least of your problems. Once the Devil has assembled himself, an eye will appear somewhere in the big, spherical part. Once it appears, he'll shoot a painful bullet that causes 4 points of damage. The Devil himself causes the same amount. After his shot is fired, he'll hide the eye, and then move to the left side of the room in the same exact fashion that he first appeared. To kill him. wait for the eye to appear; it's the only spot he can be hit on. Jump, and fire that Thunder Beam into his eye. But simply firing isn't enough for this creep. Use the Pause trick mentioned in the Secrets section to make one beam continuously hit him. It may take two rounds to kill him, but 7 hits from your Thunder Beam will knock the Yellow Devil out. ---------- Sector Two ---------- In Sector Two, you'll be seeing three very familiar faces, but let's not get into that too much.... First off, move slightly to the right. A Smile Copter will attack; kill it. Move forward a bit more, and a second will come from below the next ledge. Wait until he's close to you, and then jump to the next ledge, killing the third Copter as he tries to hit you. Past here, it's all fancy footwork and shooting, so as you hop from ledge to ledge, be sure to shoot the whole way. Past all the ledges lie a dead-end with two small Weapon Refills. Switch to Magnet Beam (it's the most useful weapon to refill at this point). and fill it, but to reach those Refills, make sure to JUMP right before you're about to grab them. Once refilled, switch back to your Plasma Buster and move back to the left. You'll fall into the ground through a false floor, into a large chamber. A familiar face is about to be joining you... !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? ROBOT MASTER REVENGE! CutMan ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! CutMan's back, and he's none too happy with you. Not to worry, though. Even with the lack of throwable blocks in the room, he's still a cinch. Follow the same tactics as before, just replace the throwing with the shooting. 10 hits and Cutman's going bye-bye. But now there's another problem. How in blazes do you get outta here? Easy, silly! Move all the way to the left side of the room, and you'll fall through another false floor (why wasn't that there before?). This next part is easy. The only enemies you'll find are two Screw Guns, and all you need to do to avoid them is stand next to them until they finish firing, and then get away. Ignore the Small Life Refill next to the first, as it's not worth the trouble. At the end, another dead end with two Small Weapon Refills awaits. Again, jump to get there, and fill up Magnet Beam. Once you have done that, switch to Rolling Cutters, and drop down another false floor for more... !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! ROBOT MASTER REVENGE! ElecMan ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Really, Elecman's just as easy as he was the first time you killed him. Again,. back him up against a wall so he can't dodge your attacks, and jump when necessary to avoid his thunder beams. Three Cutters in his face will permanently delete him. Fall through the same place you did after your second encouter with CutMan to leave. Here, Fireworks will be shooting through the gaps. Ignore the Small Weapon Refills scattered across the way, as they're not worth it. Now, to dodge the first firework, move as far left as possible. The first, and even the second will explode, leaving you free to run until the hird one attacks. To avoid this one, stand on the edge of the ledge and wait for it to explode. Then hop across the pit, where a fourth will attack. Here, jump between the shrapnel so you won't be hit by the explosions. Hop across, move forward, and head down the ladder. Drop down, kill the Wall Clinger to your left and then switch to Magnet Beam. Use it to create a step up to the extra life on the platform. If you're running low on life, then just jump off the left edge of the platform and kill yourself in the spikes below. The Extra Life room is also the Checkpoint room, and the Extra Life will return, so consider it as a free life refill. Then, jump back to safe ground, switch to Thunder Beam, and use it to kill the Clingers down below. Drop down there to the next room, and use the Beam again to kill the Clingers below you. Drop down there, and switch to Rolling Cutters. Fire it to kill all three Clingers here with one blow, and then head on down that ladder into the next room, Drop down, and then move left to climb the ladder. As you climb, kill the Wall Turrets as you go. Once you reach the top, switch back to Thunder Beam, and grab the Large Weapon refill to your left to fill it up completely. Switch back to your Buster, jump back to the bottom of the ladder, head right, and then down. Switch back to Rolling Cutters to destroy both Wall clingers up here, and then drop down to the lower area. Switch back to your Buster, and kill the Clinger and Turret down here. Drop down to the lowest ledge, switch to Thunder Beam, and head down that ladder.... !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? SURPRISE! CloneMan ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Watch as you get sucked towards the middle of the room! See two weird devices drop from the ceiling and electrify you in front of a cool-looking disco background! Observe a familiar face materialize in front of you... IT'S YOU! Or a clone of you (hence, he is CloneMan). CloneMan will always use the same weapon as you, and loves getting too close for comfort. For you see, CloneMan has but one advantage over you. When he collides with something, he damages THEM, NOT the other way around (note to self: kill Dr. Light when this is over). His weapons cause the same amount of damage as if a Robot Master was using them. His Buster causes four points of damage, and so does he. But you won't be seeing the Buster in this battle. Here's what you do. Once his Life Bar has finished filling, JUMP! CloneMan LOVES to attack as soon as the battle begins. Once his attack has been evaded, counter him, and use your Quick Pause trick to inflict even more damage. 14 hits will teach CloneMan not to mock others. Stupid wannabe.... ------------ Sector Three ------------ Sector Three is by far the easiest of the four. At the start, move slightly left, and once the two Wall Clingers are low enough, fire away to kill them. Drop down the hole when the third Clinger is in a safe position. When the top Wall Clinger is on the far wall, drop down and move to the corner so the bullets from the Screw Gun on the roof won't hit you. Fire away to kill the Clinger, and move over and drop when the other two are in a favorable place. The next room is an exact mirror image of the last room, except that there are now two Clingers above the pit. Here, wait until the clingers are underneath the ledge you're standing on, and then drop and make a mad dash for the pit on the opposite end. Here, two Scre Guns are on the ceiling; switch to Thunder Beam to kill the one below you. Then drop down and run to the pit at the other end, dodging bullets from the other Screw Gun if necessary. When the position of the two Clingers is favorable, drop. But you're not out of the water yet... ...in fact, after progressing a little further, you'll find that you're IN it! But it's not as bad as it may seem. Just stand still and fire. The first wave of enemies you'll face are a lifetime supply of Penguin Bombers. Just stand and shoot, letting the current take you forward. After the penguins, there will be a brief pause, but just when you start to get comfortable, Flying Bullets will begin their share of the parade. Follow the same procedures with them; doing it right will keep their explosions away from you. Eventually, you'll reach the end of the line. Switch to your trusty Super Arm, and proceed through the gate to face... !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? SURPRISE! Bubble Bombers ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! See those holes on the sides and top of the arena? That's where they'll be coming from. The bubbles fly in a clockwise pattern around the room, occasionally shooting large bubble bullets at you. Both kinds cause four points of damage. Now, see those four blocks in the center of the arena? That's what you'll be fighting them with. But there's 7 bubbles, and only four blocks, so to fight efficiently, do what I say. Grab the top block, and throw it at the first block. Now, switch back to your Buster, and while standing on the remaining blocks, shoot the next three. Each requires ten hits to do so. Also, note that the bubbles start to get faster, so you'll need quick reflexes. Once you're down to bubble 5, go back to your Super Arm, and use the remaining three blocks to kill the last three. It takes some practice, but eventually you'll be able to punish these bubbles with ease. ----------- Sector Four ----------- It's the home stretch, baby! But trust me, it's no walk in the park. The remaining four Robot Masters will be getting their revenge here, and after that's over, you'll be facing the Big Bad Doc himself, with a Robot Master surpassing all others.... Anyways, you'll start off on a platform. On either side are spikes, and floating in the air are four blocks and a ladder. Jump on the blocks leading to the ladder, but on the second, FREEZE! Satellite Defenders will begin to fill the room. Kill the upper three, and get on the ladder before the lower three have a chance to attack. You'll now be in a large room, with only you and the ladder occupying it... strange... then what's all that space at the right for? SURPRISE! Six more Sattelite Defenders will fill the formerly vacant room. Again, kill the upper three, and haul ass up the ladder before the lower three can reach you. In this next room, switch to Super Arm, and use it to get the middle block in the tower out of your way. Ignore that Large Weapon Refill above you. Trust me, you won't need it. Now, enter the GutsMan hall, where we first begin to see that GutsMan is Wily's favorite Robot Master (for reasons unknown; I see him as a stupid oaf...). These halls are infested with Screw Guns, but if you're skilled, you should only have to kill one. So, when you encounter a gun on the roof, stand next to it until it retracts. Then proceed. Eventually, you'll reach a place where there's two at once, one directly above the other. Kill the one on the ground, and dodge the bullets from the other. Then proceed as normal. Eventually, you'll reach two ladders. Climb them, and then drop down on the lone platform hovering just above a sea of spikes. That wire near you can only mean one thing... ...the annoying wire platforms from GutsMan's Site. Thankfully, this one's easy to master. Before hitching a ride, switch to Magnet Beam. Once you've hopped on, create a platform that stretches past the one floating just above the wire. Hop on the new platform, quickly move to the floating one, and then, just as the wire platform is about to emerge from underneath the ledge you're standing on, drop down to the other side of the plaform you mande and then drop down to the wire platform. See that ladder hanging just overhead? DON'T climb it yet. Instead, ride it to the end. and jump onto the ledge with the one-of-a-kind Yashichi to refill ALL of your meters, including your life meter. Now, hop to the platform to your left for an extra life. Wait for the wire platform to return, and make two quick leaps, one from block to wire platform, and another from wire platform to ladder. Climb the ladder, and before entering the teleporter, switch to Fire Storm. Now enter the teleporter to confront the first of four angry Robot Master copies.... !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! ROBOT MASTER REVENGE! BombMan ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? BombMan's even easier now that you have Fire Storm with you. Follow the same procedures you did before, and use Fire Storm to kill BombMan in seven hits. Switch to Ice Slasher and enter the teleporter for your second rematch with... !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! ROBOT MASTER REVENGE! FireMan ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Yep. Already, he wants you dead again. Follow the same procedures as before to kill FireMan in 7 hits. Now, switch to Thunder Beam and enter the teleporter for your third of four rematches... !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? ROBOT MASTER REVENGE! IceMan ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! IceMan's somewhat easier now, due to the lack of slippery floors. Follow the same procedures as before to kill IceMan in three hits. Finally, switch to Hyper Bombs for the final rematch with... !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! ROBOT MASTER REVENGE! GutsMan ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Here, Gutsman is slightly harder, due to the fact that the arena is flat. You'll have to get a little closer to him in order for your Hyper Bombs to smack him. Three hits and Gutsman is outta here. Switch to Fire Storm once again and enter the teleporter one more time. Move to the right, use the Large Life refill to recharge your Fire Storm, and then go through the gate to square off with your final foe... !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! THE FINAL FIGHT! UltimaMan Form One ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? The first form of UltimaMan (the unofficial name for Wily's mech) is rather easy to beat. It's vulnerable point is its gun, which fires off painful plasma balls in the same manner as the Pickel Men of GutsMan's site threw their pickaxes at you. UltimaMan himself will slowly move back and forth, so I recommend holding your fire and simply dodging his attacks when he's got you backed up against the wall. The shots, as well as UltimaMan himself, cause 4 points of damage. Use Fire Storm to destroy the gun arm in 7 hits. The battle can be shortened if you get close to him and jump while the fire halo is still surrounding you. Once the gun is destroyed, the glass visor will shatter to reveal the Crock Doc himself. But amazingly, UltimaMan revives himself to his second and more deadly form! Switch to Rolling Cutters, quick! !?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! THE FINAL FIGHT! UltimaMan Form Two ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? This form will fire the same shots as form one, except for now, the move in a counter-clockwise spiral apttern, making them much harder to avoid. I recommend jumping while at the same time moving towards UltimaMan to dodge him. This method isn't foolproof, but it should work about 80% of the time. The shots, as well as UltimaMan himself, cause four points of damage. Use your rolling cutters to hit the gun. 12 single hits should do UltimaMan in, but wait! Because of a glitch, sometimes the Rolling Cutters cause two hits in one! So exactly how many Cutters you'll use, I can't say. Now, watch and be amazed as UltimaMan finally crumbles and Dr, Wily begs for mercy at your feet! Congratulations! Your journey is now over... yeah, right! And MegaMan 2-8 never existed, right? ******* Secrets ******* THE QUICK-PAUSE TRICK: Easily the most famous trick in MegaMan 1. With most special weapons (for best results, use Thunder Beam), pressing Select (NOT Start) quickly will rapidly pause and resume the game, causing said weapon to cause mutiple hits with one shot! This trick works best with the Yellow Devil and CloneMan. BLOCK MITOSIS: A glitch in the game sometimes allows you to pick up a block using Super Arm, yet the block will remain in place! So it's like two blocks in one! INVISIBLE GATE: This trick only works in IceMan's Glacier. Shoot Penguin Bombers at the end of the corridor forming the Lair Entrance until a Life Refill gets stuck in the gate. Now, head in. You'll get the refill once you're actually in the lair, but for some stange reason, the gate won't close! You still can't leave, though... wah. ************************ REQUISITE LEGAL STUFFAGE ************************ MegaMan, Dr. Wily, and all related characters are copyright 1987, Capcom. There, I said it. This guide is copyright 2004, me, Garry O'Brien. Stop trying to take credit for what I did. If you do, despite my warnings, I unfortunately can't beat you to a bloody pulp with a baseball bat. But, I can take legal action (think: SUE). See you in court, jerk. Thanks to GameFAQ's for placing this guide on their site. My hard work would have been all but pointless, had it not been for you. Thanks. Until next time... This is Whammychip, signing off.