Mega Man 3: FAQ/Walkthrough by Snow Dragon

[final kaoss]

FAQ/Walkthrough v1.0 written by Snow Dragon (C) 2003. All rights reserved.
E-mail me at <[email protected]> for permission to use this guide.

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= | =================
= | TABLE OF CONTENTS
= | =================

1 Introduction
2 Basic Concept
3 Controls
4 Items
4a Pause Menu Table
4b Weapons
4c Rush Utilities
4d Energy & Life
5 Walkthrough
5a The 8 Robot Masters
5a-1 Quick Order Summary
5a-2 Gemini Man
5a-3 Needle Man
5a-4 Snake Man
5a-5 Top Man
5a-6 Shadow Man
5a-7 Spark Man
5a-8 Magnet Man
5a-9 Hard Man
5b Mega Man 2 Revisited
5b-1 Spark Man II (Metal/Quick Man)
5b-2 Needle Man II (Air/Crash Man)
5b-3 Gemini Man II (Flash/Bubble Man)
5b-4 Shadow Man II (Wood/Heat Man)
5c Break Man Interlude
5d Dr. Wily's Castle
5d-1 Stage 1 - The Turtle Launcher
5d-2 Stage 2 - Return of the Yellow Devil
5d-3 Stage 3 - The Clone Wars
5d-4 Stage 4 - The 8 Robot Masters, Take Two
5d-5 Stage 5 - vs. Dr. Wily, Round 1
5d-6 Stage 6 - vs. Dr. Wily and Gamma
6 Credits and Copyrights

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= | ============
1 | INTRODUCTION
= | ============

Hello, and welcome to this, my 35th FAQ/walkthrough, for the venerable Capcom
platformer Mega Man 3 (NES). This is one of my favorite games of all time, and
now, finally owning the cartridge again, it gives me an opportunity to
experiment with my unorthodox boss order, present it as a document, and give
myself the gumption to continue some bigger works by completing a smaller one.

As you can see, I've adopted a new format for the time being, experimenting
with dividers and nifty number stuff and whatnot. Let me know what you think by
getting a hold of me at <[email protected]>. This is the account under
which I handle all my FAQ- and review-related mail, so if you need to drop me a
line with regards to anything that's wrong with this FAQ, or any suggestions,
requests, or complaints you have, catch me there. I check it frequently but am
slow to answer, so bear with me.

That's all for the introduction - quick and to the point. Enjoy the walkthrough!

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= | =============
2 | BASIC CONCEPT
= | =============

Since unlike most of the other NES Mega Man games, Mega Man 3 does not offer
its exposition at the title screen, I'm going to have to pretty much whip
something up from scratch - not difficult, considering the long-standing
derivative tradition of the series. Basically, Wily has constructed eight new
Robot Masters to do his evil bidding, so that they may distract Mega Man
while he makes plans to steal the Gamma Superweapon and take over the world
with it.

However, not only must he battle the eight new Robot Masters, demons from
Mega Man's past shall haunt him as well. Included in this game are also all
the robot villains from Mega Man's _previous_ outing, totalling SIXTEEN
outrageous boss battles, many of which he will have to engage in twice! It's
all too much! And not only that, but Wily's castle is full of more surprises,
twists, and turns than ever.

And not only that, he's got a BROTHER! Mega Man, the little blue experiment
that could, has had bestowed upon him - of all things - a brother. Sure, he
has a sister, but what does she do all day except clean up everyone's messes
around the house and make sure Dr Light doesn't get into Mega Man's secret
stash (tee hee)?

So of course, in 1990, it was the Blue Bomber's roughest, toughest mission
yet. It stands today as one of the landmarks of the series, and in some
people's eyes, it's even the best that the NES saga has to offer. So dive in
with me, if you will, as we indulge in what is indubitably one of the NES's
best platformers of all time....

M E G A M A N 3 !

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= | ========
3 | CONTROLS
= | ========

Mega Man got a variety of new moves when he came into this game, including a
plethora of new toys courtesy of his robo-pooch Rush and the ability to slide
through narrow crevices. To get through the game, you're going to need to
know these and use them well.

Note that for individual weapons, the control schemes for those are listed
along with those weapons in the Items section, which follows this one.

And now, for your reference, a model of the standard NES controller:

_____________________________________
| _________________________________ |
| | _ | |
| | _| |_ Nintendo | |
| | |_ _| ___ ___ _ _ | |
| | |_| (___) (___) (B) (A) | |
| | ¯ ¯ | |
| ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ |
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
_
_| |_
|_ _| The D-pad
|_|

>> Choose "Start Game" or "Pass Word" at the title screen.
>> Cycle among the 8 Robot Masters in your quest to decide which one to
fight.
>> Walk left and right.
>> When in the Rush Marine or on the Rush Jet, you can move in any direction.
>> Move through the pause menu (drawn in a nifty little table below).
>> Go up and down ladders.

_ _
(B) (A) The A and B Buttons
¯ ¯
>> Press A to jump.
>> Press B to fire your weapon. Some weapons have different patterns and ways
they can be used, but all weapon usages are listed in the Items section
that follows this one.
>> Hold Down and press A to execute a nifty slide maneuver. You will need to
master this technique early on if you expect to get anywhere.
>> If you have a Rush utility equipped, press B to summon Rush from the great
beyond. You can activate each Rush tool by basically jumping on it. If you
don't use Rush within a few seconds of calling him though, he'll go back
to the mysterious sky from whence he came.
>> Enter dots on the password grid.
>> Confirm menu choices with the A button as well.

___ ___
(___) (___) Start and Select

>> Begin the game.
>> Enter a Robot Master's Level.
>> Bring up the pause menu. Press Start when the cursor is highlighting the
"Next" option to switch between pages.
>> Once again, Select goes neglected. Poor mistreated Select button ;_;

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= | =====
4 | ITEMS
= | =====

Mega Man got a plethora of cool new toys to play with in his third game,
thanks in no small part to Dr Light creating the robo-pooch Rush and Dr Wily
creating a slew of new Robot Masters for Mega Man to lay the smack down on.
This section will shed light on every last collectible in the game, as well as
offer a few strategies on their best uses. People who are really just using
this FAQ for a quick hint on what will kill a certain Robot Master would do
well to check this section out, although I have a way with puns. Don't worry,
nothing too cryptic ^_^


-- | ----------------
4a | Pause Menu Table
-- | ----------------

For reference purposes, here's a diagram of both "pages" of the pause menu.


Page 1 O===============================================O
| P |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| GE |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| |
| ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ XL: xx |
| NE |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| HA |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| |
| ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ET: xx |
| \/ MA |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| TO |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| |
|NEXT ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ |


Page 2 O===============================================O
| SN |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| RC |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| |
| ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ |
| SP |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| RM |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| |
| ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ |
| \/ SH |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| RJ |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| |
|NEXT ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ |


-- | -------
4b | Weapons
-- | -------

Now you get to learn what all those nifty little two-letter abbreviations stand
for!

P = Presumably stands for Plasma cannon (that's the best I can come up with,
anyway). However, in this walkthrough, I will refer to the default
weapon as the Mega Buster despite the fact that that particular term did
not come around until Mega Man 4 the next year (1991). Since the phrase
is now commonplace within the series, I will assume that you know that
when I say "Mega Buster," I am referring to Mega Man's regular weapon -
the "P" gun, if you will.

Blue energy refill devices will not replenish the Mega Buster; that's
what black and white dots and spheres are for. The Mega Buster can fire
no more than three bullets at a time (probably to prevent too much slow-
down, because this game already has quite a bit of it).

NE = Needle Cannon. Allows you to fire needles straight ahead. The Robot
Master that this works on is a real snake in the grass.
COLOR SCHEME: Brown/white

MA = Magnet Missile. When you fire this weapon, it will travel in a straight
line, then up or down depending on where its target is located, sort of
working like a homing missile. It's not too hard to figure out who's
weak against this weapon, if you catch this author's drift.
COLOR SCHEME: Red/gray

GE = Gemini Laser. Press the B button, then sit back and watch as it bounces
off of any surface in reach. It will disappear after caroming off walls
for so long or if it goes offscreen. You'll be on pins and needles as
you try to figure out which Robot Master to kill with this laser.
COLOR SCHEME: Sky blue/white

HA = Hard Knuckle. Press B to fire a fist that initially moves very slowly
and then picks up speed as it moves along. Use this on a particular
Robot Master and you'll be at the top of your game. In some situations,
the Hard Knuckle can also break through certain types of walls. Also,
you can control the direction in which it moves (either up or down) with
the D-pad once you've fired it off.
COLOR SCHEME: Navy blue/gray

TO = Top Spin. This is a weird weapon; to use it, jump in the air, then press
A and B simultaneously while in the air. Mega Man will spin around, a
process which somehow damages certain enemies. Though it does not have
many practical uses throughout the game, the ones that it does have are
extremely important. You'll know beyond a shadow of a doubt which of the
eight Robot Masters to use this on.
COLOR SCHEME: Gray/pink

SN = Search Snake. Mega Man will release up to three of these snakes, who
will crawl around on the floor and walls in search of their target. I
can't think of a witty, obtuse play on words to go with this weapon, so
I'll just be blunt and say that it defeats Gemini Man =)
COLOR SCHEME: Green/white

SP = Spark Shock. Mega Man will put forth from his arm cannon a small ball of
electricity. Not only does it have a magnetic personality, it can also
temporarily paralyze smaller enemies in a field of lightning.
COLOR SCHEME: Sherbet orange/white

SH = Shadow Blade. By far Mega Man's most versatile weapon, you can fire it
in a number of different directions - even diagonally! Useful in a
number of situations, especially once you reach Dr. Wily's castle. A
little spark of a thought may even inspire you to use it on one of Dr.
Wily's Robot Masters.
COLOR SCHEME: Purple/light purple


-- | --------------
4c | Rush Utilities
-- | --------------

Mega Man 3 introduced a canine companion for the Blue Bomber in Rush, who has a
trio of tools that Mega Man can make good use of. One of them he starts out
with; the other two he must get from defeating two particular Robot Masters.
Whenever Mega is using Rush for whatever reason, his color scheme is red and
white.

RC = Rush Coil. Mega Man begins the game with this accessory. When you call
on Rush and he comes, jump on him to get a springy boost to higher
ground that you can't reach with a normal jump.

RM = Rush Marine. If not for a couple of areas where it just makes life a tad
easier, the Rush Marine would be a totally useless object. You get it
along with the Shadow Blade after defeating Shadow Man. Rush will turn
his body into a submarine that can shoot bullets like Mega Man's default
arm cannon. Obviously, this seaworthy vessel is rather unwieldy on land.

RJ = Rush Jet. Convenient and speedy. Rush will lie flat and allow you to
surf the skies on his back. The lazy may use it to easily bypass areas
with tricky platforming, but you will also encounter a few areas where
its use is necessary. The Rush Jet only uses energy while you are
standing on it, so if you're low on RJ energy and need to conserve it,
jump repeatedly to stave off the onset of its sudden disappearance.


-- | -------------
4d | Energy & Life
-- | -------------

Anything that's not a weapon or otherwise gives Mega Man a temporary boost in
his travels falls into this category.
___
_ / _ \
(_) ( (_) )
\___/

^ Energy refills. Crudely drawn as they are, you ought to get the general
idea. The small one is a black-and-white blinking dot, and only refills two
bars of energy; the large sphere will give you substantially more life.
Sometimes these can be found in places where you can just grab them for
your convenience, but most often enemies will drop them after being killed.
_ ___
|-| ( O )
¯ ¯¯¯
^ Weapon energy refills. To refill the energy for a particular weapon, equip
that weapon and then grab one of these babies. The small one, as with the
life energy refill, only replenishes two bars of life, while the other
gives back roughly a fourth of your energy meter. After each Robot Master
stage, all of your weapon energy will be refilled; this is, however, NOT
the case in Dr. Wily's castle, where you must constantly keep your energy
totals in check as they do not automatically max out after each stage.

-----
| E |
-----

^ Energy tank. These can be saved for a time when you are very low on energy
and need a total refill, usually during boss battles late in the game.
In this game, Mega Man can hold as many as he can collect, up to 99 (though
reasonably you'll end the game with maybe two or three, if you're lucky),
whereas in the previous adventure he could only hold four at a time.

_________________________
| I can't draw very well. |
| Just picture Mega Man's |
| face in this space. |
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Where Mega Man's face would be, you would know that it's an extra life. These
are relatively rare throughout the journey, so when you see one, grab it up!

-----
| ? |
-----

^ Question containers. These are the rarest sight in all of the game, but the
best thing is that they can contain anything! From a tiny energy refill to
an Energy Tank, this container knows no bounds. What you'll get from it is
a total surprise! Who knows what fun and excitement lies within one of
these shiny boxes? (The prize inside is in fact very random; repeated
experiments with save states and emulators have proven this.)

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= | ===========
5 | WALKTHROUGH
= | ===========


-- | -------------------
5a | The 8 Robot Masters
-- | -------------------

The game begins rather abruptly, launching you directly into the menu that
allows you to select a stage without any sort of prior exposition at the title
screen. You can't just face up to Dr. Wily without any sort of training or
experience, oh no! First you'll have to dispatch his eight new and unique Robot
Masters, who each have their own very powerful ways of doing you in.

As with all Mega Man games, however, there is a particular order you can defeat
them so as to make the journey much easier. All bosses are unnaturally
vulnerable to at least one weapon, and if you can figure out that order (or
read it as I present it below), you've got it made in the shade with a glass of
lemonade.

However, I must warn you that my order is rather unorthodox, as I have been
experimenting a lot lately in order to work around the elusive Snake Man. Most
walkthroughs have him as having to be defeated by the Mega Buster, which if
you've seen his lair's layout is not so easy a thing to be done. I've fixed
this by beginning the game with Gemini Man, which is actually a rather easy and
comfortable place to start your mission, even if he has a tendency to move
extremely fast. You'll see as it works itself out below.


---- | -------------------
5a-1 | Quick Order Summary
---- | -------------------

Here is my suggested order for tackling Wily's eight robotic menaces:

1st - Gemini Man (use Mega Buster, an Energy Tank or two)
2nd - Needle Man (weak against Gemini Laser)
3rd - Snake Man (weak against Needle Cannon)
4th - Top Man (defeat using Mega Buster, it's super-easy)
5th - Shadow Man (weak against Top Spin)
6th - Spark Man (weak against Shadow Blade)
7th - Magnet Man (weak against Spark Shock)
8th - Hard Man (weak against Magnet Missile)

There are a couple of reasons I'm going against a few established norms here.
First of all, Gemini Man's stage is a GREAT place to stock up on some
essentials. There are one or two guaranteed Energy Tanks lying around the
joint, especially if you take the time to demolish all the little tadpole eggs
littering a few areas. Those often give out great rewards if you're willing to
persevere and take down every last one. Plus, he's not so hard a boss as you
might imagine if you're good at timing your jumps.

Eventually this leads to Snake Man, but by then you will have the perfect
weapon to combat him - the Needle Cannon. Most walkthroughs have you defeat him
with the Mega Buster, which is a slow and arduous process which, if you're not
so light on your feet, can waste precious Energy Tankage. This bypasses that
nonsense and allows you to defeat him with ease using a weapon that he's
vulnerable against. You must then go on to defeat Top Man with your regular
weapon, but let's face it - throwing pebbles could hurt Top Man.

This is the order I will follow in the walkthrough, so just scroll down or use
the order summary as a reference to get where to need to go. Without further
adieu, let's jump in and start killing evil robots!


---- | ----------
5a-2 | Gemini Man
---- | ----------

Starting off with a rather spacey level may seem kind of weird, but we're going
to use this opportunity to stock up on a few key items, like extra lives and
Energy Tanks.

The first area takes place out in the black midnight sky and is a basic
exercise in jumping over bottomless chasms and pumping your arm cannon for all
it's worth. You'll meet up with some robots who arc down and drop pillars of
fire on you, along with some cybernetic penguins who release bouncing eggs.
Nothing too difficult. When you reach Proto Man, he will not do battle with
you, but will instead deactivate the large mechanical hole plug that stands in
the way of you advancing. When he beams back up, it will explode. Hang a hard
left while falling to get into an alcove containing an extra life. Don't worry
about the energy refill to the right; you ought not need it.

Ahead is a wall of tadpole eggs blocking your progress. This is where the extra
life-hunting comes into play. If you have the time, stay around and shoot all
these tadpole eggs and the swimming floaters that pop out of them, then watch
in disbelief as a windfall of extra lives and energy drowns you like crazy. If
you can, try to reach the question container hidden at the top of the stack
too, and hope that it contains something useful. When you've cleaned the eggs
out, head up the ladder to the far right.

After two more walls of eggs (on the second one, use the Rush Coil to get to
the top if you can't pull off the curving jump), slide through the crevice to
the large open area. You'll face a few robo-dragonflies and some giant penguins
with wind-up heads who like to release smaller ones from their stomachs. Make
quick work of all of these minions and fall in the pit to the right.

Rush Coil yourself up to the large energy ball if you need it, then go down to
the water area and again use the Rush Coil to propel yourself to the first
block. Along the way you're going to have to deal with fish launching bombs up
to you and more of those pesky dragonflies, so keep on your toes and always be
jumping and firing. Dip into the water for the extra man, then get the Energy
Tank just to the right of that and equip Rush Coil so you can refill it with
the large weapon energy capsule sitting there. Head back up and slide through
the crack, getting ready to face a dragonfly who comes near you. Hop along the
single blocks to the end of the line, where another Energy Tank waits for you
in a somewhat compromising spot.

Head up the ladder and kill the two spring-heeled robots before climbing up to
the massive machine hopping on plungers, which you kill from the safety of the
tall ladder you are attached to. To get him from there, just hold right and
press B to start firing. He's only vulnerable when his furrowed eyes are
visible, so pump him full of plasma at those times. When he's been demolished,
climb the ladder, drop down, and head through the cage doors to Gemini Man.

=============================================================================
B O S S : G E M I N I M A N
=============================================================================

Gemini Man has this creepy way of splitting up into twins, and he'll be a lot
easier later on when you have the benefit of Search Snake, but for now you'll
have to make do with the Mega Buster. He moves very fast and traps you in his
crossfire while both of him are on the ground. Just pump lead into either one
and eventually he'll revert to his singular form once you've gotten him down
to half of his energy. Whatever you do, try not to touch him - that will take
away more of your life than anything. Getting hit by his barrage of bullets
isn't too bad, just don't let it happen to much. You will more than likely
have to use one of your Energy Tanks, but it doesn't matter; you collected two
in the level! When he's dead, you'll get the Gemini Laser as a reward for your
hard work.


---- | ----------
5a-3 | Needle Man
---- | ----------

The metropolitan cityscape that Needle Man has taken over is quite spacious,
but there's no time for sightseeing. It's time for the Blue Bomber to get down
to brass tacks.

The first screen is full of shiny white porcupine-like mechanoids that shoot
their quills out at you. Shoot them as much as you can on sight. If you can't
kill it before it starts to roll around, skip it. They're extremely hard to
take down after they start rolling. Instead, make a quick trip to the next
screen, featuring some cannons that fire bouncy red balls (that actually hurt
you!) and the ever-present Mets, those little hardhat dudes that always come up
with new ways to assault our blue hero.

The next screen begins in darkness, and you'll have to slide past some
retracting/expanding spikes, which oddly enough don't kill you where smaller,
more stationary ones will. Make it out alive and you'll be rewarded with an
Energy Tank that you have to Rush Coil yourself up to to get. Grab it and move
ever upward, killing the green guys from the safety of the ladder (shoot to the
right or left when Mega Man is hunched over at the top). They're only able to
be hit when their eyes are open and they've thrown their nunchukas or whatever
those things are. Take them out, then kill the plunger-hopper before heading to
Needle Man's lair.

=============================================================================
B O S S : N E E D L E M A N
=============================================================================

Needle Man is quick work with the Gemini Laser. In fact, he may not even cross
the screen at all! Don't even think about tackling him with the Mega Buster.
That's a sign of someone who's lost all capacity for sensible thought. Let the
Gemini Laser reflect off the walls and do their job. You'll see that when one
hits him, it takes away a fourth of his life. Now there's results! If he does
cross the screen, try to slide under him, but try to hit him directly with the
laser if at all possible. This shouldn't take too long to get done, and you
shouldn't have to worry about an Energy Tank. When he's finished, you'll get
not only the Needle Cannon, but the Rush Jet as well - a useful utility.


---- | ---------
5a-4 | Snake Man
---- | ---------

Start off by plowing through the bouncing robots and snake heads, then climb up
and jump over the bullets that the snake heads fire down at you. Wait for each
successive round of ammo, then jump up the steps and kill each head. When you
go up, you'll face your first huge snake. It appears intimidating, but the
pattern of the big red flashing shots is easy to deduce. Jump, and the first
shot will go under you and the second will go over you. When it's demolished,
move forward.

Blast through the domed propellerheads, who drop their contents when they pass
over you, and the upside-down snake heads. There are two large energy spheres
up ahead; grab them, as odds are you'll probably need at least one by this
point.

Move through the winding corridor that serves as a checkpoint to a large open
area with some champion pole-vaulter-bots. They're invincible with their poles
in hand, so tear through them when they've launched themselves and start to
run. Move up through the nunchuka-tossers and you'll come to a room with two
possible paths. To the right, the ladder leads to a narrow but tall chamber
with two question containers in it. Pop 'em open; you never know when you might
get something nice like an extra life or an Energy Tank!

When you have whatever rewards came of said containers, climb back down and to
the other ladder, which leads up to another giant snake. Upon killing that,
you'll have to make a long jump to low ground; only jump from the very edge of
the high snakey plateau and you'll make it. At last - daylight! At the top of
the first column is a large energy orb; climb the ladder to get it if you need
it. From there, go up the ladder to the far right, kill the ladder-dwelling
spider, and go up to a tricky aerial atmosphere.

Watch as you stand on the bronze pillars with caged sides; clouds will come out
of them that you can stand on. Use these clouds to hop from one column to the
next. To get rid of the wavy-moving cloud nuisances, shoot them once to turn
them into torpedoes that are on a straight-line trajectory, then just jump over
them. This can be a difficult area to navigate, but if you know what you're
doing in terms of going around the bullet guys, it's not difficult at all. And
at the end of the line, it's mano-a-mano with Snake Man, baby!

=============================================================================
B O S S : S N A K E M A N
=============================================================================

Snake Man can be beaten with either the Mega Buster or the Needle Cannon, but
if you have the latter, your job will be a lot easier. Unlike with some
weapons, you don't have to wait for him to get done flashing to fill him full
of needles; you can just do it repeatedly, allowing you the leeway to get hit a
few times while you beat him silly with a plethora of sharp pointy objects. If
you don't have the Needle Cannon, prepare to do lots of jumping and make sure
your aim is spot-on. With the Needle Cannon though, Snake Man will probably
fall before you know it. When you defeat him, you'll receive the handy Search
Snake.


---- | -------
5a-5 | Top Man
---- | -------

You can't blast through the bolts that screw onto each other until they're
fully assembled. The best solution is to wait them out and then move ahead
after you've shot them down. You also have to deal with those pesky robots that
only take hits when they're hopping. Luckily, there's a large energy sphere on
the high road at the end of the screen; grab it if your enemies start annoying
to an unruly degree.

Climb down the ladder, but don't let go; stay on and point your gun to the left
so you can get the top-dispensing robot from a safe distance. When his tops
fall to the bottom of the steps and disappear, let go and move on. When you get
to the screen with a high road and a low road, take the high road for an extra
life and a large energy orb. You'll have to deal with a lot of graphical
flicker from construction machines and the like, so if you can't see, just
blast a few of them in the head.

After two Mets, you'll face a giant robot cat that vomits mechanical bouncing
yarn balls at you. Jump to evade them and shoot repeatedly at the cat, who
surprisingly doesn't take many shots to kill. Get yourself down the ladder he
was guarding and kill the next top-dispenser you see. The screen behind him
will open up into another giant kitty. You'll probably be able to kill it
before its yarn balls bounce off the screen, but if you don't, you have to deal
with some nasty fleas that pop out of its back. Regardless, you have to get it
out of the way to move on.

Kill the Met when he runs down off his high block to your ground level, then
grab the big energy refill if you need it. The jump over the threatening spikes
is kind of tough to get by, but if you make it, you'll have to slide through a
series of thin holes to get to the level's final top-shooting squatter. Get
past him and make the easy journey of a series of spinning tops that move
through the air, and you'll be at Top Man.

=============================================================================
B O S S : T O P M A N
=============================================================================

Top Man is by far the easiest boss in the game. You can easily whip him with
the Mega Buster, or probably with a blade of grass for that matter (although
for future reference, he's weak against Hard Knuckle). Pump him full of plasma
bullets when Top Man throws his tops in the air, then either jump or slide to
avoid them - I prefer jumping myself. When he spins, it means two things: 1)
he's invulnerable, and 2) he's about to cross over to the other side of the
screen. Watch carefully and jump over him when he speeds over. Repeat the
entire process and laugh mightily as he goes down like the
Titanic after the iceberg collison. You'll get Top Spin for beating him, which
may seem thoroughly useless, but trust me, it's not ;)


---- | ----------
5a-6 | Shadow Man
---- | ----------

Take either path down the lava falls and slide efficiently past the little guy
shooting endless streams of ammo (if you mess with him, you'll get hit). After
a few more enemies, you'll have your first battle encounter with Proto Man. His
pattern is ridiculously simple to overcome; he'll walk a little bit, then jump
a whole lot while firing. Stay on the ground and slide beneath him when he gets
near you, firing at him on those occasions when he's away from you. He's a
quick kill; the ground over to the left will explode when he beams himself up,
allowing you to continue.

The next room has a tendency to turn dark a lot. Don't worry about the
anti-light bulbs at the top; just move past them, jumping when necessary to
feel around the land. If you can shoot one, do so, as destroying it will return
light to the room. When you fall, the room will turn light again. Grab the tiny
weapon energy refills that you don't need and move through the rising corridor
below, which is full of those annoying things that are only vulnerable when
hopping. Once you clear those, it's time for a tricky journey over a cold,
unforgiving bottomless pit.

Jump to the right, but then back to the ledge you were standing on each time
you jump to a new platform. This will lure the parachuting robots out of their
hiding places above the screen and allow you to shoot them from a safe
distance; if you just go cruising into it, you'll get hit and knocked off into
the abyss. (If you're really lazy, you can just Rush Jet over the whole thing.)
Once you get past the pit, kill the hopper and the two dragonflies that zip
toward you to get to Shadow Man's domain.

=============================================================================
B O S S : S H A D O W M A N
=============================================================================

Shadow Man is tough to beat with the Mega Buster, and less so with the Top
Spin. The problem with the Top Spin is getting physical; you have to actually
touch Shadow Man with it for it to work, which oftentimes results in you taking
a hit, and direct hits from touching the bosses always hurt more than their
weapons. So use an Energy Tank if necessary, or sacrifice a life and wait until
you have full life to tackle him.


---- | ---------
5a-7 | Spark Man
---- | ---------

Head up both ladders, killing the walking eyeball along the way. The best way
to get through the parallel conduits that occasionally shoot a line of
electricity between themselves is to keep up a steady stream of walking and
jumping to shoot the plugs that pop out of the pipes in the ceiling. Two rooms
ahead, you'll have to jump across some blocks that move up when you stand on
them. Don't stand on them too long or you'll eat spikes for an instant death.
Pass through two more electric lines and you'll make it to a room where you can
use the Rush Coil to grab some pick-me-ups.

Shoot through the line of eyeballs, then take the enormous four-screen fall to
a clear area. To your right are some machines that dispense large blocks of
compressed garbage. If you're quick with the Buster, you can shoot through the
first one to fall without the second one landing on top of you, but the less
adept will want to opt for jumping over one when it falls.

In the next room, slide through the small tunnel for some tiny weapon energy
refills (which you shouldn't need). When you get to the top of the steps,
you'll have to deal with the bolts from Top Man's level and the blocks that
move up at the same time. For the easiest way through, stand on the second
block until you move up and hit the bolt. This will keep you from dying because
of the spikes, and will allow you to make a series of easy jumps to avoid the
rest of the bolts that come your way. Make sure to tap the A button to make the
jump smaller though, or you may get hit and fall into a pit. When you're in the
clear, equip the Shadow Blade and go take on Spark Man.

=============================================================================
B O S S : S P A R K M A N
=============================================================================

With the Shadow Blade in your possession, you can pretty much go willy-nilly
while fighting Spark Man. He can't really do too much to hurt you if you stay a
sufficient distance away from him. The Shadow Blade works much like a
boomerang, and if it doesn't hit Spark Man on the first shot, it may do so on
the rebound. Since he's slow and dull-witted with a predictable attack pattern,
Spark Man is the second easiest boss yet (nothing beats Top Man). You'll get
the Spark Shock when you kick his butt.


---- | ----------
5a-8 | Magnet Man
---- | ----------

You can resist the pull of the flying magnets by holding Down on the D-pad, but
go ahead and jump to shoot the ones you can reach. When you reach the ladder,
you'll climb right down and hear that familiar whistle that means you're about
to fight Proto Man. He uses the same jumping strategy here that he did in
Shadow Man's stage, so he'll be an easy one to take out. When you defeat him,
go down through the hole that opens up following your victory.

Shoot the large domed enemies as fast as you can to prevent the blue homing
missiles they shoot from coming at you in excess. There are two of these, and
the blue missiles are easy to jump over and destroy when they come back around.
The next screens contain a barrage of walking eyeballs like the ones in Spark
Man's level; blow through them while using the pull of the electromagnets to
your advantage and keep moving until you come to a screen with a pattern of
appearing blocks.

An obvious solution is to use the Rush Jet to go over the whole shebang and
avoid the whole ordeal of having to move over the blocks, and if you have the
Jet, that's what you should do. If you don't have that luxury, however (most
people often start with Magnet Man as their Robot Master order), here are
diagrams counting out the patterns for the blocks. The numbers indicate when
they appear in the sequence.

_
_ |1|
_ |3| _ ¯ _
|5| ¯ |4| |6|
¯ _ ¯ ¯
_ |2| _ _
|1| ¯ |6| |5|
¯ ¯ ¯

Not the best sketch, I admit, but it should work for all intents and purposes.
Here's the second part of the screen:

_
|4| _
¯ |5|
_ _ ¯
|2| |3| _______
¯ _ _ |electro
|1| |1| |magnet
¯ ¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

A lot easier than the first one, no doubt. And now, the easiest one yet, albeit
situated over a bottomless pit. You can avoid trouble on this one by not using
the first two blocks altogether.

_ _
|3| |4|
¯ ¯ _______
_ _ |electro
|1| |2| |magnet
¯ ¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

And finally, the last pit, in which you should avoid tangling yourself up with
the electromagnet installed into the wall by not using the second block at all.
Climb up the ladder whenever you make it safely across the room full of
dematerializing platforms.

_
|1| _
¯ |3| _
_______ ¯ |4|
electro| _ ¯
magnet| |2|
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯

As you climb up the ladder you'll find a so-far-inaccessible area that you'll
have to go up to find the way to. Your energy should be fine at this point, so
you really shouldn't need it. Don't bother coming this way unless you really
need some of this stuff (and don't use Rush Jet as an excuse if you used it to
bypass the blocks, because you're still at a point in the game where everything
is automatically refilled after each level). Kill the stationary robot with the
spinning head and then head up the ladder, taking out Mr. Homing Missile Dome
before heading in to do battle with Magnet Man.

=============================================================================
B O S S : M A G N E T M A N
=============================================================================

A bit of applied logic will tell you that electricity and magnets don't mix, so
naturally, you'll want to use Spark Shock against him. It's tough to get in
good hits on him though; he's usually either on the ceiling shooting magnets at
you or on the ground pulling you toward him with extreme magnetic force. All of
these can be avoided with some deft repeated sliding, and luckily, it doesn't
take very many hits to kill Magnet Man (a whopping four!). Should you decide to
take him on first with the Mega Buster, he's a bit more difficult due to the
extra work it takes to kill him.


---- | --------
5a-9 | Hard Man
---- | --------

As soon as you see a bee fly in, STOP WALKING! This gives you some leeway to
shoot the miniature ones that come at you when the bee drops the flower it's
carrying. Continue through the parade of these until you get to the cave part
of the level. Don't make too much of the green boxes strewn about; claws pop up
out of them, but the delay is long enough that you can simply walk across them.

After picking up the big energy sphere along the way, climb up the ladder and
Rush Coil up to the huge plateau where one of Snake Man's minions is throwing
his weapons at you. At the next screen, you'll have your first taste of some
robotic monkeys. They'll torture you by pouncing on you if you try to move past
them, but you can paralyze them with the Spark Shock, so equip it to get by the
three monkeys you'll face in the screens ahead.

After the three monkeys, you'll face some tall Mets driving forklifts. When the
path forks off and you have a choice between taking the high road and the low
sliding tunnel, take the high road for an Energy Tank freebie. Climb up the
ladder nearby and kill the Met before returning to the outside, which you'll
find is littered with claw boxes. Hot-foot your way over them while trying to
avoid the wrath of the bees. When you make it to the other side and down the
ladder, now you've got Proto Man to deal with.

Proto Man's a bit harder here than he has been in his previous incarnations,
because now he's constantly jumping. It's tough to beat his system of constant
hopping with occasional shooting, but you'll find you take the least damage if
you stay near the middle and jump over him when he's coming up to the middle.
If you need to use an Energy Tank, do so, because this can be a difficult
battle for Mega Man novices to get over. When you defeat him, the entire middle
ground will disappear. Grab the big energy refill; it's only a couple more easy
screens till you reach Hard Man.

=============================================================================
B O S S : H A R D M A N
=============================================================================

Hard Man is a bit tougher than the other bosses since you can't just pump him
full of whatever weapon you're using in random fashion like you have most of
the other bosses. Being almost entirely metal, it logically follows that the
Magnet Missile will be what brings him down in a hurry. He shoots two Hard
Knuckles at you before jumping in the air and coming down on you headfirst like
a giant evil anvil. Shoot your Magnet Missiles one at a time, and make sure
they connect, because they have a tendency to run out very quickly. With full
energy, you can easily take him down, but use a Tank pick-me-up if the
situation absolutely calls for it. He shouldn't be too hard (baha) unless you
run out of Magnet Missiles, then he's a nightmare. When you beat him, you'll
get the Hard Knuckle, and from here, the game turns way different.


-- | --------------------
5b | Mega Man 2 Revisited
-- | --------------------

Now that you have the eight initial Robot Masters out of the way, four of the
stages will be eliminated. You'll have to revisit four of them though, because
Dr. Wily has another trick up his sleeve. Not only has he created new enemies
for you to face in this game, he's brought back the eight menaces from Mega Man
2 to do you in as well! Don't think about getting their weapons though - your
weapons will work just fine against them. It will take a little bit of lateral
thinking to figure out which weapons will work, but if you give it some thought
- or look at this walkthrough - you'll be cruisin' and bruisin' through Dr.
Wily's castle in no time. Since there's no specific order to the levels now
that you have all the equipment in the game at your disposal, we'll just go
clockwise starting with Spark Man.


---- | -------------------
5b-1 | Spark Man II
| Metal Man/Quick Man
---- | -------------------

With the ladder at the beginning of the level now gone, you'll have to use the
Rush Coil to get up there. Let the walking eyeball come down to your level
before killing it, then spring up there. Upon getting up there, equip Gemini
Laser. You'll see why when you go up the ladder; there's a bug crawling along
it. Aim at a wall and shoot, and the laser will bounce off and kill the bug in
one hit. Amazing, no?

At the top of the ladder you'll find a few changes since the last time you were
here, the most notable being some visible conveyor belt ends that you can stand
on. Kill the flying pronged plugs as you move along. Don't worry about using
Rush; even if it looks like you need him, you won't. After another small screen
of this, you'll encounter some of those dome dudes from Magnet Man's stage.
Shoot through them as you slide through the small tunnels and you'll soon come
to a boss door. Now? A boss door _now_? But it's so early in the level, it
can't possibly be the end! Fear not, it isn't. You're only halfway through. Go
through the doors to face Metal Man.

=============================================================================
B O S S : M E T A L M A N
=============================================================================

Metal Man is very quiet and not troublesome in the slightest ... as long as you
stay on your side of the level. About the most he'll do is jump and throw
sawblades at you, and it's just your job to jump over them as he tosses them
your way. Best of all, Magnet Missile is his weakness, so you don't even have
to go to the trouble of aiming your gun! How nice of him! Just go through the
motions, firing one magnet at a time so as not to waste them. He'll be down in
no time, allowing you to move on.

* * *

You'll be rewarded with a major energy refill as soon as you leave Metal Man's
empty domain, but it won't do a lick of good if you can't slide through the
tunnel to safety. You see, there are now instant-kill spikes lining the walls
of what was once a completely safe freefall. Hold Right on the D-pad while
sliding out of the crack to make it out. You only have to change directions a
couple of times, but just make them slight shifts. Any drastic movements and
you'll find yourself eating spikes for breakfast. When you get to the bottom,
heave a sigh of relief.

The path ahead zigzags and makes you deal with the parallel electricity lines
and the bolts that speed in and screw into each other. Deal with each one
slowly and individually; don't get caught up in too much at once. At the next
screen, just move past the granite blocks as quickly as possible, as some of
them are situated near pits and you won't be able to shoot them in time to pass
through the next one to fall. At the end of line is the speedy and aggressive
Quick Man; he's tough, but stick it out.

=============================================================================
B O S S : Q U I C K M A N
=============================================================================

A number of weapons work against Quick Man with varying success (he is pretty
fast, after all), but none so much as the Search Snake, which has a good chance
of reaching him even though he's in the air the majority of the time. He has to
land at some point though, so slide under him and then turn around and get in a
few quick snakes when he walks toward you. Under no circumstances should you
allow him to jump directly on you, because that generic robot he's downloaded
himself to hurts like a mother. Just slide and keep the snakes coming and he'll
go down before you know it. There are no pleasantries after the fight this
time; Mega Man simply beams up, and you go on to choose the next stage.


---- | -----------------
5b-2 | Needle Man II
| Air Man/Crash Man
---- | -----------------

The sprawling urban metropolis that once housed the difficult Needle Man is now
dark, and you must traverse it once again, this time with two bosses to fight.
Start by pummeling the porcupines that start out ahead of you, making sure not
to fall into the spike pit at the end. Climb down and you'll be in an area
similar to the one before that had retracting and expanding needles. When you
get to the end of them, use the Rush Coil to spring up to either the ladder or
the energy refill, whichever commands your attention first.

Atop a very high ledge you'll see an extra life. DON'T USE THE RUSH JET TO GET
IT! You'll need the Rush Jet later on in the level to get across a very wide
expanse. Instead, kill Dome-Head and Rush Coil up to the next ladder. You will
need the Rush Jet to get to the Energy Tank across from you though, and I
highly recommend grabbing it. Once you have it, you can jump straight down to
the right and get the extra life. Fall back down and circle back around, Rush
Coiling up to the ladder that will break you out of the circle. Kill the
porcupine guarding the boss door, then go through to face Air Man. Equip Spark
Shock before entering.

=============================================================================
B O S S : A I R M A N
=============================================================================

Spark Shock will take him down with the most of ease, but it may be difficult
for you to get through this battle without using at least one Energy Tank.
(Luckily, you picked one up just a few screens ago - right?) For the tornadoes
he shoots that are just above the ground, slide under them and score the hits
before he can unleash the next wave. After three waves, he'll move across to
the other side of the room, which is probably the best time to bust out your
own torrent of electricity. Don't bother jumping over the tiny tornadoes, as it
almost never works. You can beat him without using an Energy Tank, but odds are
you'll end the battle with very little energy left. Don't worry about it. There
are chances along the way to recover.

* * *

Immediately after leaving Air Man in the dust, you'll have to use your Rush Jet
to get over an ENORMOUS pit. Plaguing you along the way will be a near-endless
parade of dragonflies and the parachuters from Shadow Man's stage. Move slowly,
but not _too_ slowly - with every passing moment, your Rush Jet is eating up
fuel, and if that fuel runs out, he'll disappear without so much as a warning,
leaving you between a rock and a hard place. Grab the fuel refills along the
way until you get to a ladder leading up to the pink pole-vaulter you found in
Snake Man's stage. Kill him and move right.

You'll be faced with a giant Met who spits out smaller Mets and big red balls
and moves up and down. His weak spot is in the cross on his hardhat, so fire it
at while staving off the constant barrage of smaller minions. It doesn't take
many hits to do him in; when you do, go ahead to find some Mets who have
propellers on their hardhats and can fly. They have a predictable pattern, just
study it and blow them away when they hit the ground. After some ball cannons,
another titanic Met, and a rolling porcupine, you'll get a huge energy refill
and the chance to fight the incendiary Crash Man.

=============================================================================
B O S S : C R A S H M A N
=============================================================================

Unfortunately, Hard Knuckle is what works best against Crash Man, and it's so
difficult to use! Crash Man is unnaturally aggressive, far more so than he was
in Mega Man 2. He'll be walking toward you and walking toward you, and you
think at some point that he's going to jump and rain Crash Bombs down on you
... but he doesn't! Use these times when he goes on a relentless walking spree
to give him a good hard fist in the face, plus any others when he happens to
land right in front of you or in reaching distance. Fortunately, it only takes
four to take him down; if it took any longer, one might go insane! After you've
defeated him, move on to the next stage without hesitation.


---- | --------------------
5b-3 | Gemini Man II
| Flash Man/Bubble Man
---- | --------------------

The first area is just a variation on the beginning part of Gemini Man's
original stage, but the penguins have been replaced with bugs and the
platform-hopping is a bit tougher. When you get to where Proto Man was last
time, you'll find that spot already cleared out (whew!). Hang a hard right and
take the high road when you fall in the pit, but don't worry about the question
container as it takes the Rush Jet to get to whatever's inside. Unless when you
open it you find it contains something of the utmost importance, like an extra
life or an Energy Tank, move on and blow through the wall of fish eggs to the
right, digging for rewards as you go. Don't go for the question container at
the top of that pile either; it's largely not worth it. Another sort of fish
egg plateau follows that one on the next screen. Obsessive fish shooters will
reap the most rewards, but the impatient will want to move directly ahead to
Flash Man's lair.

=============================================================================
B O S S : F L A S H M A N
=============================================================================

Use either the Needle Cannon or the Gemini Laser against Flash Man. You can
follow the logic that the laser is made of light and light moves faster than
time, or you can use the absurd process of thought that allows needles to
defeat a guy who can stop time. Either way, I recommend the Needle Cannon,
simply because it gets the job done faster. Try to be in the air when Flash Man
freezes the place, simply because you're a harder target that way. He's easy
enough, though; you shouldn't have too much trouble with him.

* * *

As soon as you leave, you'll have to use the Rush Coil to get up to the
plateau. Do that, but avoid the bugs you'll face. Any time you see a block
above you with a hole in it, that means that a robot insect will occasionally
pop out and scuttle toward you. (They can also navigate ladders, as you'll see
a few screens from now.) They're easy to pass though. On the next screen,
you'll be at one of the few crossroads in the game where you have to use the
Rush Marine to get by. It won't even take half your energy, so don't worry
about getting the fuel at the lake's surface. Just get to the other side,
revert back to the Mega Buster, and slide through to the next screen.

Here is where you'll discover that your jumping ability in water is many times
that which it is under normal circumstances. You'll use this to your advantage
a little bit later in the level, but for now, it's relatively unimportant. Make
your way through two screens of bugs falling out of cracks and scaling ladders,
and then you'll be at another boss door.

Seeing as how you've just taken a dip in water, let's think for a moment. What
did Pokémon teach us was water's weakness? That's right - electricity! Good old
Pikachu is good for something after all! Let's take the dive and fight another
Robot Master from the Blue Bomber's past.

=============================================================================
B O S S : B U B B L E M A N
=============================================================================

You'll see spikes at the top of Bubble Man's watery domain, and this should
serve as a loud and clear warning not to jump too high or you'll die. Bubble
Man is easy to kill even with about half an energy bar, because he can't hardly
get you when you're sliding. Use this to your advantage and slide under
anything possible, because unless you're good at cutting your jumps short by
just tapping A instead of holding it, there's a good chance you'll die if you
jump. Make Bubble Man suffer by feeding him a steady diet of Spark Shocks, and
you'll have another revisited stage under your belt.


---- | -----------------
5b-4 | Shadow Man II
| Wood Man/Heat Man
---- | -----------------

Gone is the lava cascade of the previous level's incarnation, and in its place
are treacherous spikes which you clearly should not touch. When falling to the
fourth screen, be sure to hang a right, because there are some spikes below
that you'll fall on if you don't move. When you get to where Proto Man once
was, you'll find in his place a large plunger-bouncer-bot. Slide under him and
skip him to get to the area where in the original it would get dark when the
glass domes passed overhead.

There's a bit of a change here, however; some small platforms that will open up
when you stand on them, dropping you to the ground below when they do so - if
there is any. The toughest sequence to cross is the second one, as it's
situated over a very dangerous pit. There's no shame in using the Rush Jet
here! You don't need it anywhere else anyhow, so you're in the clear. After you
get past that, it's an easy road to the very difficult Wood Man.

=============================================================================
B O S S : W O O D M A N
=============================================================================

I'll be honest: Wood Man is probably not only the toughest of the Robot Masters
you'll face that came from Mega Man 2, he's one of the hardest bosses in the
entire game. His firing of his Leaf Shield and the leaves he rains down upon
you from the sky are timed such that they're nearly impossible to avoid. Needle
Cannon works best against him, but you have to be very slow and methodical with
it, and you have to shoot one needle at a time, and when he comes over to your
side, you have to get away from him without taking a direct hit. If you have
full energy, you can barely pull it off without the aid of refills, but more
than likely this is a battle that will require one Energy Tank to pull off
properly. Fortunately, there's a large energy orb just behind the other door.
You'll probably be begging for sweet mercy by the time you get to it. Patience
is required, but even if you use the infinite energy Game Genie cheat to pull
it off, you'll need it to beat this hunk of junk.

* * *

Once you have the energy refill, fight off the three Snake Man ball-and-chain
tossers up ahead. The next screen will open up into a large area full of those
parachuter dudes from the previous time you were here and from Needle Man's
reincarnated stage. Employ the same tactic of getting them to come out of the
woodwork by jumping forward and quickly retreating back to whichever ledge you
were on. This on top of the hoppers you'll encounter can be a real hassle. When
you make it to the other end, you'll face a Dome-Head with those pesky little
blue missiles he shoots. If after defeating him you have half of your energy
bar or less, use an Energy Tank, because we're about to get up close and
personal with Heat Man.

=============================================================================
B O S S : H E A T M A N
=============================================================================

I just don't understand the logic behind this one: Top Spin defeating Atomic
Fire? Top Spin would create a wind, and wind fans flames! It doesn't put them
out! Then again, this is coming from a country whose cartoons and video games
typically characterize tigers as dogs ...... oh well, can't dwell on it =T

Anyhow, don't tackle this guy with anything less than full energy. Press A and
B at the same time in midair to use it, taking away an indeterminate amount of
damage from the opposition. When you hit him, Heat Man will catch on fire and
speed over to where you're standing, at which point you should move and repeat
the process until he's dead. You'll probably end the level with very little
energy, but that's what it takes, and look on the bright side: you never have
to face these eight Robot Masters again! Sweet! Now that you've beaten him,
it's time for a fight with a slightly familiar face.....


-- | -------------------
5c | Break Man Interlude
-- | -------------------

Break Man looks a little different than Proto Man (probably because he's some
sort of evil clone designed to make Mega Man think he's fighting him, or
something - the whole Break Man/Proto Man issue confuses me), but his basic
strategy is no different. Slide under him as he jumps near you, shoot him the
rest of the time. This is one of the easiest battles in the entire game despite
the weird lay of the land, and even getting hit, you shouldn't lose any more
than a quarter of your energy the whole time. When he's defeated, you'll both
beam up, but Mega Man will go to Dr. Light's lab. Evil is afoot, and things
aren't looking good.

Dr. Light tells you that as soon as they got the last element, Wily got ahold
of Gamma and ran off with it. Whatever this means, it's very bad! Thus begins
your escapade into the seamy underbelly of Dr. Wily's fortress, out to get back
that Gamma thing ...... whatever it is......

(Just as a side note, notice the off-brand supercomputer in the background?
Yeah, I figured you would laugh.)


-- | -----------------
5d | Dr. Wily's Castle
-- | -----------------

Before heading into Dr. Wily's castle, the uninitiated should know that there
is a key difference between Dr. Wily's levels and those of his Robot Master
minions, in that your weapon energy is no longer replenished in-between levels.
This means you're going to have to keep some serious checks on your weapon
usage, and that you can't go all willy-nilly with them. If you've just been
blowing weapon energy on bosses and such, that stops here. Only use weapons in
necessary cases, or as I dictate. Now that we've cleared up that difference, we
can move on =)


---- | -------------------
5d-1 | Dr. Wily Stage 1
| The Turtle Launcher
---- | -------------------

Instantly you have the chance to pick up an extra life. It's just a matter of
whether or not you're willing to use the Rush Coil once to pick it up and again
to get back over. It's not too big a strain on your utility's energy, and it'll
be a help at some point, probably. Kill the two top-shooters from Top Man's
stage and get the Energy Tank across from the ladder. These things are laid out
everywhere around Dr. Wily's castle, so don't ever worry about running out.

The ladder leads down into a watery area, thus enhancing your jump power. A
large weapon energy refill is situated in the middle; use it to restore your
Rush Coil to full capacity and shoot the divebombing penguins along the way.
The next ladder will take you up to an extra life hidden behind two green
segmented walls. If you desperately need the extra life, get it. To break these
sorts of walls, you have to use the Hard Knuckle. It's slow, but it's the only
thing you have that gets the job done. Save your weapon energy if you're good
on lives, get it if you're not, but either way, keep moving.

The next screen is a good stop-off to refill any energy you've lost and to get
your second energy tank in four screens. Use a combination of the Rush Jet and
the Hard Knuckle to get it, and use the weapon energy refill in the middle to
return the Hard Knuckle to full. After the pit stop, continue up the ladder.

At the top, kill the first of four ball-and-chain-throwing robots from your
safety zone on the ladder. When he's dead, go to the top and slide under the
pipes, holding Right so that you don't fall into the deadly spikes below. The
former Snake Man minions are easy to kill with the exception of the last one;
he can be easily reached by facing left and firing the Gemini Laser, which will
eventually bounce around and hit him in the back. Two shots will do him in, and
it will leave you clear to Rush Coil up to the ladder he once guarded.

Follow the blocks' natural sequence up to the small chamber holding two huge
energy refills, then wait for the one to appear below the ladder before sliding
back out. The ladder will take you to a cage door, above which there are two
weapon energy refillers. Use one for your Rush Coil (which you'll ironically
have to use to get up to it) and one for your Gemini Laser. Enter the door and
equip the Shadow Blade before falling into the pit.

=============================================================================
B O S S : T U R T L E L A U N C H E R
=============================================================================

When you dive into the water below, a robot will appear over your head that
dispenses an occasional turtle. When a turtle comes out, fire one Shadow Blade
at it to kill it instantly. If you take too long, the turtle will come out of
its shell, but it's only important that you destroy the actual turtle itself;
they are the basis for the turtle launcher's energy above you. The cyclones
coming out of the tubes situated all around you don't hurt, they're just there
to push you around. The launcher will lose more energy with each successive
turtle you kill; five should do it in for good.


---- | --------------------------
5d-2 | Dr. Wily Stage 2
| Return of the Yellow Devil
---- | --------------------------

Jump up through the platforms that open up and drop you and go left first for
an extra life and two weapon energy refills, with which you should replenish
what little of your Shadow Blade and Rush Jet were used in the previous stage.
When you've gotten everything you need, head all the way up to the claw boxes
from Hard Man's stage. Slide past them to encounter the familiar bee with the
flower full of bee babies. You'll face two of these before finding yet another
large weapon energy orb situated before a long bed of spikes, which you'll need
the Rush Jet to cross.

Tell Rush to sit and then jump on his back. There are few enemies to hinder you
along this path, just refills for the Rush Jet and two Energy Tanks (yes, two!)
However, this is a short stage, and there isn't much to it after the Rush Jet.
It places you right at the boss door, behind which is hidden a familiar face
for those who have played through Mega Man's first adventure.

=============================================================================
B O S S : T H E Y E L L O W D E V I L
=============================================================================

If you remember Mega Man's first game, you'll remember a unique villain from
Dr. Wily's castle known as the Yellow Devil, a round entity who seemed to be
made from some sort of evil demon-possessed clay. He'll open his single eye,
fire shots at you, and then disassemble himself piece by piece to move over to
the other side of the level. He's more muscular than pleasantly round in this
game, and has another trick up his sleeve here with regards to getting across
the level, but we'll get to that in a minute. Before entering the room, equip
the Hard Knuckle. The plan is to give him a good black eye.

The Yellow Devil doesn't start out in the room, but makes his grand entrance in
that piece-by-piece fashion. You'll have to think on your toes to dodge each
piece, but a good rule of thumb is to not jump unless it's coming in on one of
the bottom two rows. When he is totally assembled, he'll open his eye, which is
his only weakness. Jump and fire a Hard Knuckle that way, hoping it connects.
The weapon is so slow that you'll have time to get in one hit before the
jumping aerobics start up again.

When he crosses from the left side of the screen to the right, he'll shrink by
columns, and the compacted pieces will bounce across the screen. You can avoid
getting hit by these by standing under the first one, then edging over to the
left a little each time another one comes in. If you have full energy, an
Energy Tank isn't even necessary. Six of these will do the trick, and will
allow you to move on to the stage where Mega Man meets his match - well, three
of his match, anyway.....


---- | ----------------
5d-3 | Dr. Wily Stage 3
| The Clone Wars
---- | ----------------

You'll start out situated under a spinning top-bot that shoots bullets out of
his head. To avoid an altercation, equip Shadow Blade and fire one up at him
from the safe area to kill him instantly. Rush Coil up to the jutting ledge and
slide through the crack to the right. Hard Knuckle through the walls and refill
that same weapon completely, then slide through to the left and go up a screen
for a freebie Energy Tank.

Use the Rush Coil to bound up to the high platform, which leads to an area much
like the one in Shadow Man's stage where the lights turned out when the dome
appeared on the screen. Destroy them when possible to light your way, and don't
forget to get the extra life and the large weapon energy capsule (both require
sliding). When you fall to the next screen, you'll totally bypass a pointless
flail-throwing robot. Drop down a screen and kill both pouncing robots.

The next area contains a few screens with platforms that move back and forth.
The important thing is to not let yourself touch the spikes as you move along.
There is one open spot in each screen where you go from platform to platform in
a hurry and be safe, find it and climb up the ladders, Rush Coiling up to the
Hard Knuckle and grabbing things in the surprise boxes. There's a good chance
that they may contain an extra life or an Energy tank, so they're well worth
going out of the way for before you fight the boss.

=============================================================================
B O S S : M E G A M A N C L O N E S
=============================================================================

This is one of the easiest boss battles in the entire game. The best weapon to
use in this situation, through some wacky absurd logic that I'm not able to
understand, is Search Snake. Just find the one that it works on and use four
snakes to end the ordeal. Restrict yourself to the middle and bottom rows,
because it's too much of a hassle to get to the top. After the shortest battle
ever, you'll move on to yet another tier of Dr. Wily's castle.


---- | -----------------------------
5d-4 | Dr. Wily Stage 4
| The 8 Robot Masters, Take Two
---- | -----------------------------

The only weapons that shouldn't be full are your Hard Knuckle, your Search
Snake, and your Rush Coil, and you can refill them all here before dropping
down the pit. Jump over the block of compressed garbage that the trash titan
throws at you when it's just near you and fill him full of Mega Buster bullets.
There are a few energy refills on the next screen for your convenience, and the
question block in the middle will contain one of the four types of energy
refills - no chance for a 1-up or Energy Tank there. Make your way through the
rest of the block-tossing giants and walk into the teleporter behind the door.

When you fall through the pit on the other side, you'll find yourself in a room
with eight teleporters, each leading to one of the eight Robot Masters you
started the game off with. Here's a quick diagram that lays out where each one
is located:


Needle Snake

(you)
Magnet Spark


Gemini Hard Top Shadow


Each time you kill a Robot Master, he'll leave behind a large energy refill;
this is handy, because it keeps you from having to exhaust your supply of
Energy Tanks. Since it would be redundant to give detailed boss strategies
here, I'll just give quick overviews for each boss. Moving counterclockwise and
starting with Needle Man:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

NEEDLE MAN - Four Gemini Lasers to the back or front. It'll be a lot easier
if he doesn't jump all over the place.

MAGNET MAN - Turn around and get off a fast Spark Shock when he jumps over
you. Slide away from him when he sucks you in with his magnetic
pull, and just run away when he launches magnets from the
ceiling.

GEMINI MAN - Load them up with Search Snakes and the clone will go down a
lot faster. Once he's down to half energy, finish him off.

HARD MAN - Use one Magnet Missile at a time, if you pump him full of them,
you'll exhaust your supply in no time flat. Slide under him and
jump when he pounds the ground with his cranium.

TOP MAN - Though Hard Knuckle is slow, it'll kill him faster than the Mega
Buster will. If you're not comfortable with Hard Knuckle, go
with that old-fashioned Buster.

SHADOW MAN - Use Top Spin, but don't go overboard with it. You'll need it
later.

SPARK MAN - This lair is laid out the same way as his old one, you'll find.
Shadow Blade him to death.

SNAKE MAN - Fill him full of needles from the Needle Cannon. An easy match.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once all of the Robot Masters are defeated, you can go through the door in the
bottom right corner. There are eight tiny weapon refills and an extra life in
here. Top Spin gets top priority (ha ha), then fill either Shadow or Spark.
Going through the teleporter will lead you to the next stage.


---- | ---------------------
5d-5 | Dr. Wily Stage 5
| vs. Dr. Wily, Round 1
---- | ---------------------

Fill Hard Knuckle up to the max using one of the energy capsules provided, then
use any weapon energy refills you find in the question containers. An Energy
Tank probably wouldn't hurt either. Equip Spark Shock before sliding down into
the arena below.

=============================================================================
B O S S : D R . W I L Y , R O U N D 1
=============================================================================

The machine that Dr. Wily is in (here's in there, all right, you just can't see
him) walks into the arena very slowly. When you can get an opening, slide in
under one of the nails and start shooting the rotating cannon on the machine's
underside with Spark Shock. (Don't worry about the nail; despite the fact that
it's a pointed object, it won't kill you instantly.) It only takes four of
these to kill it, and if you can get it out of the way before the light sphere
that revolves around gets on the screen, that's even better.

When the gun is gone, the metallic dome will open up at the top of the vehicle.
There are two good methods for offing Dr. Wily here: 1) stay under the machine
and fire Shadow Blades upward at him. This will likely require that you use one
of your Energy Tanks (don't worry though, you should have more than plenty by
now). Or, 2) you can slide out from under the machine and hop on Rush Jet,
shooting at Dr. Wily's dome from the air. This method will take up a lot less
of your energy, even though it takes a bit longer. You don't need Rush Jet for
the remainder of the game anyhow, so it can't hurt.

When you destroy the machine once and for all, Mega Man will go up to Dr. Wily
to apprehend him ...... but what's this? A decoy? Blast! Mega Man will now beam
up and head off to the last stage of the game.


---- | ----------------------
5d-6 | Dr. Wily Stage 6
| vs. Dr. Wily and Gamma
---- | ----------------------

Weapon refills don't matter here as long as your Hard Knuckle and Top Spin are
at full capacity. You should take the time to use your Rush Jet to get the
Energy Tank tucked away at the top of the screen, however, before moving on. If
you have the two weapons mentioned above plus your Rush Coil at full capacity,
move on to the final battle.

=============================================================================
F I N A L B O S S : G A M M A
=============================================================================

Rush Coil up to the platform to the right and then equip Hard Knuckle. Though
you've used it exclusively as a straightforward projectile up to this point,
now is the perfect time to control its trajectory, since it's risky to jump
into the line of fire coming out of Gamma's head. Fire one and hold Up to make
it hit his head. Four Hard Knuckles will destroy Gamma's regular head and clear
the stage for Dr. Wily's souped-up super-evil Gamma head.

Not so fast, though. He may be the almighty super-powerful last boss and
everything, but you have one weapon that can take him down in an instant.
That's right, it's the one you almost NEVER use - Top Spin. Using the
handy-dandy platform that came down along with the new evil Gamma head, jump
bravely to Dr. Wily's head and press A and B at the same time with Top Spin
equipped. You'll take a hit first; do that, then press the buttons to kill him
in a flash. If you don't make it, use Rush Coil to get to the top and try again
(don't use the hand that comes from the right side of the screen; it's too
risky, the spikes on it mean instant death for Mega Man).

When Dr. Wily is dead, Proto Man will beam down among the debris falling from
the sky and save you. Now sit back and watch the nifty little epilogue movie as
it wraps everything up (sort of).

Congratulations on beating Mega Man 3!

==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==

= | ======================
6 | CREDITS AND COPYRIGHTS
= | ======================

Thanks to all the great folks who make this and all my other walkthroughs
possible:

>> My parents, who caught an inkling of genius at a young age and nurtured it
to super-genius in just 19 years =)

>> Andrew Schultz and Brian Sulpher, my greatest inspirations for continuing
to write

>> My friend Neal who introduced me to GameFAQs back in the dreary winter of
2000

>> Anyone who has otherwise encouraged my writing habits or praised them,
giving me even more of a reason to go on

>> CJayC, who has posted every single FAQ I have ever written - much obliged,
sir

>> Any site that posts this walkthrough that I give express written consent
(baha, just like the MLB) to

>> Bagel Bites and Dr Pepper for sustaining me in the wee a.m. hours

This version of this FAQ/walkthrough (1.0) is (C) October 24, 2003 by Snow
Dragon, all rights reserved. If you want to use this FAQ on your website,
e-mail at <[email protected]> with a quick little request for permission
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Above all else, do not plagiarize this guide. It's easy enough to find you out,
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If you use this guide on your personal website, you must not alter the text
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Don't sell this guide for money, instead give it out free to someone should the
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That's all for me, so I hope you enjoyed this FAQ and I hope you enjoy Mega Man
3!