Mega Man X6

Below you will find my opinions on Mega Man X6

Notable Differences: (1) Hints are shown by button icon and activated by pressing the button (2) Zero playable after being found (3) X has Zero's Beam Saber (4) You can dash by pressing the jump button twice instead of separate button (5) Voice Acting still in Japanese (6) Three Ways to Reveal Fortress (7) Reploids can be attacked (8) Reploids' state stays the same even after death (9) Stage Layout changes depending on Last Stage Visited (10) Rapid Fire and Auto Charge can be turned on in options (11) Charge Shot is Smaller in Size (12) Part Chart (13) Reploid Chart (14) Maverick-Hunter Rank RPG Element

Difficult Mavericks: "Rainy Turtloid" weakness is technically "Ice Burst" (From Blizzard Wolfang) but attacking his green gems and hanging on the wall just a hair longer so he turns the wrong way will ultimately help defeat him, "Infinity Mijinion" weakness is technically "Guard Shell" (From Rainy Turtloid) but using focused charged attacks on him and his duplicates will ultimately do the job, "Shield Sheldon" weakness is technically "Metal Anchor" (From Metal Shark Player) but I found staying close and ducking when he tosses his shells made defeating him way easier than expected.

Useful Weapons (Using X): "Ground Dash" (From Ground Scaravich) breaks or moves blocks in Recycling Area, "Ice Burst" (From Blizzard Wolfang) forms a small ice boulder on the ground, "Meteor Rain" creates a water bubble that goes up then down and when charged, bubbles rain down across the screen.

Useful Weapons (Using Zero): "Ensuizan" (From Rainy Turtloid) gives Zero a circular slash. "Hyoroga" (From Blizzard Wolfang) allows Zero to stick to ceilings.

"Yammar Option" : Obtained from Commander Yammark, this weapon has so much potential. Three little dragonflies circle around you, doing physical damage when encountering enemies and obstacles. Press once to initiate (or refill if ones were lost), press again to have them fire, or charge to have them fire automatically diagonally in random directions. Each dragonfly can withstand three hits and are able to fire slightly below or above your character without using any energy. You can fire alongside your primary weapon. Even in the case of Zero, the dragonflies will fire when pressing the saber attack button.

Useful Armor: X begins with "Falcon Armor" which reduces damage, allows charged shots, and air-dash. "Blade Armor" includes extended saber slash, able to freeze in place before dashing, and dashing vertically.

Review: Levels are heavily tweaked with multiple pathways. It isn't uncommon to find hidden passageways to parts or reploids. Each level is also broken up where one can venture to the Maverick room or travel through a crystal portal to an X-Hunter room. The stage must be restarted to explore both areas. Although the idea of visiting one stage effecting another is interesting, the majority of the time I found myself forced to backtrack in order to remove a certain obstacle blocking my way. The levels themselves are a nightmare. "Blaze Heatnix" stage has you defeating the same miniboss about 8 times. "Blizzard Wolfang" stage has you dodging giant snowballs. The worst is "Metal Shark Player" stage, forcing you to get through a trash compactor for the entire level with limited checkpoints.

Stage Notation (copied from MMHP Website): Although the stage layouts themselves are static, certain elements of them are variable. When you visit one stage, it will have an effect on one or more different stages. This effect lasts until a new one is applied. Stage effects can’t overlap; they replace one another. So if one of these is restricting you, just exit the stage, visit another stage, exit out of that stage, and come back. Repeat with different stages until you get the features you wish. The below lists what effect a stage has and which stages it affects:

Amazon Area: “Spy flies” (Laser Institute, Magma Area)
Laser Institute: X/Zero-shaped “viruses” (Inami Temple, North Pole)
Magma Area: Falling magma boulders (Weapon Center, North Pole)
Central Museum: Breakable blocks (Laser Institute, Recycle Lab)
Recycle Lab: Silver blocks (Central Museum, Magma Area, Weapon Center)
Weapon Center: Spotlights (Amazon Area, Inami Temple)
Inami Temple: Rain (Central Museum, Amazon Area)
North Pole: Iced floors (Recycle Lab)

Fortress Notation: There are three ways to unlock the Fortress - defeat High Max, defeat all 8 Mavericks, collect 3000 or more Nightmare Souls. However very much like Mega Man (1), Mega Man X6 Fortress cannot be completed unless X has Air Dash, Jumper Part, and Ice Burst weapon. There are also plenty of other areas that can get you stuck unless you have the right equipment. The equipment is also very dependent on you finding and saving very specific reploids. Losing them can ultimately mean not being able to finish the game. If you are able to get through the fortress, you will fight the most annoying Fortress bosses ever. "High Max" generates shields that cannot be bypassed unless you use "Blade Armor's" extra long blade-slash ability or "Shadow Armor's" super-charge ability. If not, you are forced to dodge him numerous times, waiting for the one brief moment when he releases them. This can take at least 7 minutes without the armor. However without the ability to dash across a section later in the level "Shadow Armor" is not recommended. "Gate," the boss that comes after "High Max," must be defeated by destroying his own portal orbs directly in front of him. This must also be done in a room filled with tiny platforms and a bottomless pit. At this point I gave up all hope in completing this game.

7-4-2016