Game Hints for Rockman X

Story
Irregulars and Strategies
Items and Special Upgrades
Codes


The Story of Rockman X

Years ago, in the year 20XX, Dr. Thomas Right invented something revolutionary; a robot that could think, feel, and make decisions for itself. He called this invention an android, and named his android "X." There was one drawback to Right's deisng, though; if X were allowed to break the First Law of Robotics, Dr. Right feared that no force on earth could stop the renegade android . . .
So Dr. Right sealed his creation in a capsule to run diagnostics, which would take approximately thirty years. Unfortunately, Right's lifespan would not encompass the next thirty years, and he had nobody to carry on his work for him, so X remained sealed in a capsule that became buried in rubble over the years . . .
Then, on April 10th, 21XX, an archaeologist named Dr. Cain found X's capsule while looking for fossils of Mesosoic plant life. Soon, X himself was unearthed, and Dr. Cain, having had training in robotics design, had almost replicated X's design. Because Dr. Cain's new cerations were not fully androids, he called them "Replica-Androids," which quickly became shortened to "repliroids."
The repliroids fit into society well, but almost a year after finding X, some of the repliroids began to go "Irregular" and attack human beings. After the third such instance on February 16th, the Neo Tokyo City Council set up a group of Irregular Hunters that would destroy and Irregular before it could cause injury.
The leader of the Irregular Hunters, Sigma, did his job well, until June 4th, when he himself went Irregular and took most of the other Hunters with him. X, taking news of the war very personally, joined with Zero, the mysterious new leader of the Irregular Hunters, and so the story begins . . .

Irregulars and Strategies

Much like his predecessor, Rockman, X has the uncanny ability to look at any group of Irregulars and choose the absolute worst order to fight them in. So, here it is; X's idiotic order (sound familiar?)

Sting Chameleon
Launch Octopus
Armored Armadillo
Flame Mammoth
Boomer Kuwanger
Chill Penguin
Spark Mandrill
Storm Eagle

Now, unless you're a pretty good Rockman player or just masochistic, the order that is usually easiest (although the first X game is a lot less structured that way than the rest) is the order in which the current Irregulars' weapons destroy the next most easilty. So, here it is:

Storm Eagle
Flame Mammoth
Chill Penguin
Spark Mandrill
Armored Armadillo
Launch Octopus
Boomer Kuwanger
Sting Chameleon

Right. There's the order. Now for the strategies:

Storm Eagle
Neo Tokyo Airport
Storm Eagle's stage, from the very beginning, is full of lethal dropoffs and nasty robots that try to blast you into them. Your best bet here is to stay high and blast everything in your way so that it can't blow you off the edge of whatever you happen to be standing on.
When you get to Storm Eagle himself, you won't find too much of a challenge. Keep close to him when he's on the floor and hammer away with the X-buster. When he gets airborn, keep moving and you should be okay. Victory against this first Irregular will bring X the Storm Tornado.

Flame Mammoth
Industrial Factory
Flame Mammoth's stage is full of little surprises; be sure to watch out for the rising columns of flame (you won't have to worry about them if you beat Chill Penguin first).
Flame Mammoth, after such a challenging stage, sure is a disappointment. Use the Storm Tornado on him and keep to the walls to avoid getting either crushed when the behemoth jumps or roasted when he shoots his flmaes at X. When Flame Mammoth falls, X acquires the Fire Wave.

Chill Penguin
Mountain Complex
The Mountain Complex is, unsurprisingly, full of snow. Despite the large amount of enemies in the stage, most of them are weenies, so X will have little problem negotiating his way through.
Chill Penguin is easily "retired" with the Fire Wave. Scorch the oversized bird when he jumps and try to get behind him when he's standing still. Note: Shooting anything at the frozen fowl (okay, it's bad, but I had to say it) will be useless when he's getting ready to rocket across the screen. Cook this Irregular's goose, and X receives the Shotgun Ice.

Spark Mandrill
Neo Tokyo Power Plant
The first thing that you'll notice about this stageis that it seems pretty easy--if you've already beaten Storm Eagle. If not, the glass-tubed floor is alive with electricity, and the guardian robot in the middle of the stage is in full command of his electrical bolt weapon. Watch out when it gets dark; don't inadvertantly step off a cliff to X's doom.
Spark Mandrill, when fought with the Shotgun Ice, is nothing more than a silly little monkey. If you time your shots right, every time Spark Mandrill is struck by the ice weapon, he will freeze up, and X can win the battle without being touched. Otherwise, jump the massive sparks that Spark Mandrill releases when he punches the ground, and dash under him when he jumps. His defeat means X now gets the Electric Spark.

Armored Armadillo
Mining Facility
Besides a fun ride on a minecart-gone-mad and a few tight spots with some spike-lined floors, Armored Armadillo's stage isn't much to worry about (but the music is great).
Don't be fooled by how easy Armored Armadillo is to defeat with the Electric Spark; without it, X is in for a hard battle. Every charged shot X shoots at Armored Armadillo while the Irregular is holding out his arms will be absorbed and returned with exponentially higher force. Dash under him when he curls into a ball and bounces around the room, and try to keep from hitting him with charged shots from the X-buster. Defeat him and the Rolling Shield is yours.

Launch Octopus
Undersea Base
Watch out for spikes, but otherwise, this stage is a snap. If you blast the searchlights off of the large sentry robots, they can't draw you or push you into the spikes.
Launch Octopus is fairly simple to defeat; keep out of his way when he does his cool spinning thing (if you get caught in it, he'll suck X's life until his ownis refilled). If you have the Boomerang Cutter already, X can cut Launch Octopus' extra arms off, and you don't even have to worry about the Whirlpool o' Death. Keep hitting the oversized mollusk with the Rolling Shield, and you'll soon receive the Homing Torpedo.

Boomer Kuwanger
Air Control Tower
First of all, what the heck is a Kuwanger? It's a Japanese name for some sort of animal, but it never got translated, and I don't know what it is. Perhaps it's some sort of mythical Japanese character that has no English counterpart, like "Tengu." Anyway, if anybody has any idea as to what a Kuwanger is, let me know.
His level isn't difficult, as long as you avoid the spiked ceilings while X is riding the elevator.
Come to thinkof it, Boomer Kuwanger isn't too difficult, either. Just keep away from his horns and keep hitting him with whatever ammo X has. X-buster and Homing Torpedo usually work best. Victory brings X the Boomerang Cutter.

Sting Chameleon
Artifical Forest
After defeating Launch Octopus, the level is awash with water, but that makes little difference most of the time. X can deal with this stage fairly well, provided that he watches out for falling rocks and mech-riders.
Sting Chameleon, without the Boomerang Cutter, is a major pain in the rear to destroy; almost as bad as Armored Armadillo. Hit him with whatever wapon you can while he's visible, and try to stay out of his way when he becomes transparent and moves. If you can avoid the Irontongue and the falling spikes (and remember that the ceiling is death to touch) X will come out on top with the Chameleon Sting.

Sigma's Floating Fortress

Stage 1
the Courtyard
Using a powered-up Rolling Shield will really save X's rear on the helicopter platforms that lead up to the main body of the fortress. Once X is inside, he must again face Vava, this time with Zero's help.
Much like Blues, Zero looks cool but usually accomplishes next to nothing. So it's up to X to defeat Vava after Zero has sacrificed himself. X-buster works well enough on the twisted Irregular, but if you're really in a bloodthirsty mood, try the Homing Torpedo on him; just remember to avoid the crackling energy spheres that Vava blasts from his shoulder cannon.
After a dramatic death scene for Zero, X continues on to fight Boomer Kuwanger (again) and then a huge Spider Mechanoid at the end of the stage.
Use Shotgun Ice for best results against the overgrown arachnid, and only fire when the red crystal "eye" is visible. Remember that the spider can only follow the webs that appear, so if you can see where the webs lead, X will stay fairly safe.

Stage 2
Main Fortress
This is a stage with little challenge, although the pits at the beginning can be troublesome. X must once again face Chill Penguin, Armored Armadillo and Spark Mandrill in this stage, but other than that, there's little enough challenge.
Once X reaches the giant mandrill head (what kind of guardian is that?) use the Chameleon Sting to dispose of the eyes and then the nose (keeping to the walls when they close in so that X doesn't fall on the spikes).

Stage 3
Inner Sanctum
Here the stage gets more challenging. There are spikes everywhere, and on top of that X must fight Sting Chameleon, Storm Eagle, Launch Octopus and Flame Mammoth again.
As soon as Flame Mammoth is defeated, X is faced with the formidable D-Rex, which is really quite challenging if you don't use the Boomerang Cutter. Try not to be in the way of the giant energy ball that the monster spits, and dodge the seperable head and body.

Stage 4
Sigma's Chambers
For such a difficult Irregular at the end, the stage sure isn't difficult; it's straight up!
Once you get to the top of the chamber, Sigma is waiting for X. First he sics his mechanized dog, Velgaurda (I think that's right) on X. Keep to the walls when the dog is in a fire-and-ice-spitting mood, and blast him with everything you've got.
After destroying Sigma's pet, X must face Sigma himself. For such a good former Irregular Hunter, Sigma sure is predicatable. Although his beam sabre is deadly, his pattern is easy to pick out. Stay high up on the walls until Sigma is almost 2/3 of the way up. Then drop and blast him with a fully-charged shot and wait for him to land. Then repeat the process.
Sigma's second incarnation is much more difficult (Oy, gewalt! It's more difficult than Kaiser Sigma from X3!) Avoid the rain of fire and electricity that the huge rat-like mechanoid spits, and jump on top of the paws to get a free ride up to Sigma's head. Once there, release a fully charged shot (nothing else will even touch him) and get down fast.

Items and Special Upgrades

Heart Tanks

Artifical Forest: In order to get this heart tank, X must have defeated Launch Octopus. The small chasm right before the area with falling rocks in it will be filled with water, and X can super-jump (providing he has the dash boots) across a huge chasm underneath the falling-rocks area to find a heart tank on a small ledge.

Undersea Base: About halway through the stage, there's a big battleshipt hat floats on top of the water and fires missiles downwards. If X jumps into one of the whirlpool-generators and jumps up, he can land on the battleship and destroy it byt firing at the blue crystal in the front. Once the battleship is destroyed, it will sink and open a passageway underground. There's a large eel-mechanoid guarding the heart tank (if you choose to ride it, remember to stay right next to the column on the way back down to avoid spikes). After defeating the mechanoid, X can go right and find the heart tank.

Mining Facility: There are two points during the stage at which a large mining robot awakes and bashes everything in its path (including X) to dust. The second one of these, about mid-way through the stage, can be easily dispatched with the firewave. If it is destroyed in time, X will be able to leap up to a shelf where a heart tank is located in plain view.

Air Control Tower: Immediately after reaching the top of the portion of the twoer with the extending platforms, a heart tank is visible. X must use a powered-up Shotgun Ice to make a penguin-shaped ice-sled to ride so that he can super-jump off and catch the edge of the platform on which the heart tank rests.

Industrial Factory: If the lava has been frozen, X can easily skid along it. The heart tank is in plain view below a platform with several pickaxe-hurling robots on it.

Mountain Complex: After the point in the stage where X must dispose of the ride armor mech, there is an oportunity to jump on top of the building he just fought his way through. There are two pods on top, both spouting mechanical insects. If X uses the fire wave, he can destroy both pods. In the one on the left is a heart tank.

Power Plant: After defeating the bubble-encased guardian robot, there is a series of steps. Behind the last one is a large, purple, tortoise-shaped robot that shoots para-bombs out of its back. After destroying this and continuing forward, there is a ladder. Instead of climbing down the ladder, jump up the wall. The heart tank can be retrieved either by super-jumping back and forth or using a Boomerang Cutter (although that's almost impossible).

Sub Tanks

Airport: After the first stretch of the stage, when X walks across the roof of a building labeled "Airport 1001" there is a rising platform with a cannon on it. After the cannon is destroyed, X can ride th platform up and jump on the control tower. Blast the glass to get inside and then destroy the big missile-launching robot for a cool shattering-windows effect. At the end of the room is a Sub Tank.

Power Plant: At the beginning of the stage, if you take the low road, the Sub Tank is easily visible, but inaccesible. Use the Boomerang Cutter to snatch it from its hiding place.

Mining Facility: When the first tunnel-opening robot (with the up-and-down spiked limbs) crashes out of its lair, stay above it and then go behind it intp the place it was hiding; the Sub Tank is right behind it.

Industrial Factory: After the stretch in the level with the pickaxe-hurling robots, there is an opportunity to get up on the highest ledge next to one of them. Keep going left on the high ledges and then jump to the wall; there will be a series of blocks that X can destroy by kicking, and the Sub Tank is behind them.

Dr. Right's Upgrade Capsules:

Mountain Complex: This one's unavoidable--it's right in the middle of screen. Here X aquires his emergency acceleration dash-boots.

Airport: After the long set of floating platforms, there is a tall girder-constructed tower that X has to climb up. If he drops down the other side and superjumps to the platform on the far right, there is a series of flammable chemical cannisters in the way. This is a great opportunity to blow stuff up without the slightest danger of getting hit back. Inside the hidden room beyond the cannisters is the capsule that gives X an enhanced (albeit silly-looking) helmet that allows him to break certain ceilings with a head-butt.

Artifical Forest: Just before the falling-rocks area, X can jump up onto the roof of the large stone room, and comes face-to-face with a large labor 'droid that looks amazingly like Right Totto (except for the head and pincer-hands). Hit the machine in the head or torso until it overheats and explodes, and a capsule will rise from the ground, giving X new body armor which reduces damage to his frame by 50%.

Industrial Factory: Just before the area in the factory with the infamous pickaxe-hurling 'bots, there's a spot in the ceiling made of head-butt-able blocks. It's tricky, but with a dash-jump, X can reach the place in the ceiling and break the blocks while keeping a foothold on the wall. This will lead to the X-buster capsule, where the X-buster is powered up so that it can release a super-charge plasma blast and charged-up shots from the Irregulars' weapon. Below is the table describing the powered-up effect.

Homing Torpedo Five Angelfish Torpedoes all home in on enemy
Chameleon Sting Temporary invulnerablity for X; he becomes a ghost
Rolling Shield the Obligatory Shield Weapon that protects X from anything that touches the shield
Fire Wave A massive wave of fire that rolls across the screen and keeps going until it hits a wall or hole
Storm Tornado A huge vortex centered around X that hits everything on a vertical plane with X
Electric Spark A huge electrical "wall" that can blast away even thick armor and shields
Boomerang Cutter Four large boomerang-blades that spiral out from X
Shotgun Ice A penguin shaped ice-sled appears and carries X forward until it hits a wall

Mining Facility: If X has all the enhancements and four full Sub Tanks (and all his heart tanks) then all he needs to do is grab the energy pellet above the entrance to Armored Armadillo's Lair and walk into the pit below him. If he does this 5 times in a row, a capsule will appear, and Dr. Right will appear in a Ninja costume and give X Ken's Fireball from Street Fighter II. This is quite a ahndy little ability for X to possess, but it's tricky to use.
First of all, X must have full life to use it at all. To release the fireball, press FORWARD, DOWN, DOWN-FORWARD and Y. X will shout and release a fireball that does amazing amounts of damage to any enemy.
By the way, there's a rumor that if you hit Vava in his carrier with the fireball, the carrier blows up and the story is changed.
It's a bunch of hooey; I wasted hours trying to do it, and when I finally hit Vava's carrier, it didn't even leave a scratch! The fireball does, however, destroy Sigma's dog in one hit (wow).

Codes

Well, I didn't get too many codes for this one; there's not too many different ways you can beat the game. The code which follows gives X all the upgrades, all the Sub Tanks, all the heart tanks, and has all the Irregulars defeated. If you want to get Ken's Fireball, you'll have to do it yourself; none of the codes record that.

Rockman X Ultimate Code

3 6 7 6
4 6 2 7
5 1 4 2

Right, that's it for Rockman X hints. Have fun!

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