It's slightly more difficult to determine a good order in this game, considering there's not one, but two different loops: Magnetman, Hardman, Topman, Shadowman, Sparkman. Then Snakeman, Geminiman, Needleman. That's the order Nintendo Power gives in their review, and that's what most walkthroughs seem to agree with. I did some fooling around and found another decent order: Topman, Shadowman, Snakeman, Geminiman, Needleman, Sparkman, Magnetman, Hardman. It's really hard for me to determine which I like better. But the advantage of my order is that you get Rush Jet earlier, making some portions of Magnetman and Sparkman's stages that much easier. I also like getting Shadowman and Geminiman's weapons earlier. Yeah, I think I'll go with this order for my walkthrough.
Megaman has the ability to slide for the first time in this game. And You'll certainly be making use of it. Not only do you need it to squeeze under tight passages, but it also makes it easier to dodge certain attacks.
Rush makes his debut here as well, coming in three different forms.
Rush Coil: Rush becomes a springboard to make higher jumps with. You begin the game with it.
Rush Marine: Allows you to maneuver underwater areas with ease. Acquired after beating Shadowman.
Rush Jet: Lets you fly around in the air. Acquired after beating Needleman.
Pickelmen are back in this game, only now they ride around on bulldozer-looking machines. The bulldozer it too heavilly armored; shoot it in the head.
Top Dispensers resemble the Fan Fiends from MM2, only they shoot tops that travel across the ground. The first one is easy to beat, as long as you don't jump off the ladder in his room. Hang from the bottom rung, and you can shoot him without getting hit yourself.
There are two big kitties in this stage as well. They start by shooting a bouncing yarn ball at you, but if you destroy it, it'll send a swarm of robo-fleas at you. It shouldn't be too difficult, however.
Near the end of the stage, you must ride on several top-shaped platforms that spin you around as you stand on them. It's not as hard navigating them as it may seem, however. Just act casual and jump to the next platform at the first opportunity.
Topman: Topman shouldn't be much of a challange. He starts out with firing three tops into the air, which converge on wherever you're standing; just slide to avoid them. He then starts up his Top Spin, and twists around to the other side of the room, where he repeats the pattern. You can't hurt him while he's spinning, so you'll have to hit him with as much as you can while he's throwing tops. The plasma cannon should work just fine, but four Hard Knuckles will KO him even quicker.
You'll fight Protoman near the beginning of this stage. He stays on the ground when he's far away, but starts jumping around and firing when he gets close. So, stay as far away from him as possible, and pummel him with plasma shots until he beams out.
Walking Bombs and Holograns inhabit the next area. The Bombs pace around the floor and make a good-sized explosion if you shoot them, so don't get too close. Holograns generate shadows that make the screen go dark when they're close. You can destroy them to make the lights come back on, but they're usually too high up to hit without a special weapon. They don't do much harm, though. Just ignore them.
The last section involves some careful stepping across some narrow platforms swarming with Parasyus. These robots parachute down and try to knock you off the platforms. Here's a good method to thwart them; start to jump off the platform you're on, then turn your jump around so you land back where you started. This should've triggered the Parasyu on the next platform, so you can now shoot it at a distance.
Shadowman: Shadowman could be one of the hardest robot masters ever. He's very difficult to predict, and his attacks are deadly. He takes three hops, then either slides over to where you are, or throws two Shadow Blades. Only problem is, he's so fast, that by the time you know which attack he's going to do, it's usually too late to dodge it. Your best bet is the Top Spin; four hits and he's done. However, don't get too crazy with it. Since the energy meter drains for as long as you are in contact with the enemy, it's very possible to drain your whole energy bar on the first hit! If you decide to fight with the plasma gun, I sure hope you brought Energy Tanks.
Petite Snakeys occupy much of this area. These stationary snake-heads fire at you when you get close. Blast them as soon as you can. There are also two Big Snakeys. They fire big shots at you in sets of 2-4. It's also hard to jump and hit the head because of it's moving body. An easy way to beat it is to stand right under the head and throw Shadow Blades up at it until it's gone. Hard Knuckles and Gemini Lasers also work well if you brought them.
Pottons are annoying. They kind of resemble the Bunby Heli, but when they fly over you, they actually detatch their heads from their propellers and try to fall on you.
If you follow this walkthrough, you'll meet your first Hammer Joes here. These guys are a modification of the original Sniper Joe. Their bodies are covered in thick armor, and they swing a deadly ball n' chain. When the eye opens, the Joe is vulernable, but he'll also throw the ball n' chain, so you'll have to be nimble to destroy them.
If you see a canister with a "?" on it, shoot it for a random item.
The last section of the stage is a little tricky. You'll have to ride on upwards-traveling clouds across parts of the area. Meanwhile, small clouds with eyes drift around. If you shoot the cloud, the missile underneath will become exposed and will fly straight at you. I suggest shooting the clouds as soon as you see them to get them out of your way, avoiding gettng knocked into a pit.
Snakeman:Snakeman seems tricky at first, but once you get the hang of fighting him, he's a cinch. He runs and jumps around the irregular-shaped floor, sometimes jumping to fire two Search Snakes. It seems hard to avoid being hit, especially because of the odd floor. However, if you just stay on the higher middle platform, and jump over him as he runs by, you can easilly dodge him. As for your weapons, Needle Cannon works best, but Shadow Blades or Hard Knuckles also do nicely.
Pepe Bombers hop around the first part, shooting exploding eggs. Try to shoot the eggs as soon as they're fired before they explode.
You'll meet Protoman again, but you won't fight him. Instead, he actually helps you by clearing a path for you. Hm...
Poles start out as gelatanous eggs that bar your path, but if you shoot them, they turn into tadpole-looking robots. They're not hard to beat though, and as numerous as they are, it should be easy to collect lots of power-ups.
Deeper in the lair, you'll come across two Giant Pepes. They dispatch regular Pepes at you from the hatch on their bellies. To destroy them, aim for the eyes. Watch out for Yambos, however. Actually, try to take out the Yambos before engaging the Pepes to make thing easier.
The last section features a water area. It should be a breeze with Rush Marine, providing you're sure to grab the energy to refill it. If not, you'll have to be very careful that you don't get knocked into the abyss by Yambos, or the fish below that shoot torpedoes up at you. There are two Energy Tanks to be found here as well.
Geminiman: Geminiman is one odd robot master. He starts the fight by copying himself, then circles the room counter-clockwise with his double. If you shoot at them, they shoot back with normal plasma shots. Use the Search Snake, and just do your best to jump their attacks (Don't worry about which one to hit; you'll take off damage no matter what) After Geminiman's energy is down to half, the copy will disappear. Geminiman will now pace the room, pausing to fire a Gemini Laser every once in a while. Just keep at him, and you should beat him quickly. Remember, though, that he also jumps when you shoot at him, so don't try dropping a Search Snake on him while jumping over him.
Needle Harrys are a major pest in this stage. They shoot needles in all directions, then curl into an invincible ball and roll all over the place. The plasma cannon can destroy the needles, so you can beat them most easily if you just stand in front of them and keep firing.
Spikes will pop out of the ceiling in some areas and try to jab you (these ones won't kill you in one hit, so don't worry too much about getting hit). Slide past them to get by.
The easiest way to dispatch that last Needle Harry you encounter after climbing out of the spike area is to stay on the ladder where it can't get you and fire Search Snakes when it comes out of its shell.
Needleman: Needleman is another difficult robot master if you're only using the plasma cannon. He'll either jump and fire four Needle Cannon shots at you, or he'll try and headbutt you if he's close enough. The latter attack really hurts, so try to keep your distance. Fire the Gemini Laser at him; it's more likely to hit him than not, even if he dodges it initially, since it'll probably bounce off the wall and hit him. You only need to hit him four times with that. If you only have the plasma cannon, I hope you picked up that Energy Tank earlier on, because you'll probably need it.
Electric Gabyoals are commonplace in this stage. They can't be destroyed, so don't even try; just jump between them when their electric barrier is recharging.
Be careful on the pink platforms; when you step on them, they rapidly accend toward the spiked ceiling. Jump to the next one as soon as possible to avoid being skewered.
At one point, large blocks of garbage will drop from chutes in the ceiling. You can shoot it to get it out of your way, then slide past before another one falls.
The last portion has lots of those pink platforms, as well as Screw Bombers trying to knock you into the abyss. Proceed with caution, making sure all Screw Bombers are destroyed before advancing on the pink platforms. Or you can do it the easy way and call Rush Jet :p
Sparkman: Sparkman has some attacks that are tough to avoid, but he's still easy overall. The odd terrain is similar to Snakeman's, so try to get to the center platform to avoid getting jumped on. Sparkman's attacks will alternate between a spread of sparks in eight directions, then a charged electrical shot towards wherever you're standing. Make sure you're in a good position to dodge it! The best weapons are either Shadow Blades or rapid-rire Needle Cannon shots.
The first section is inhabited by MagFlys. These critters don't do much; just pick you up and carry you around. It's easy to move yourself out of their magnetic grip, just don't do so over a pit!
You'll fight Protoman again in this stage. He has the same attack pattern as in Shadowman's level, so use the same tactics against him.
Remember the Springers from MM2? Well, get ready to meet their big brothers. Fortunatly Giant Springers are succeptable to plasma shots, but these guys shoot homing missiles at you as well. If you get close to them, they'll bounce around, which stops them from firing. This gives you a good chance to shoot them.
There are large electromagnets in this stage. Take care one doesn't draw you toward the pits.
One of the last sections is a large series of pillars that must be scaled using the old appearing/disappearing platforms. It can get somewhat irritating, so just use Rush Jet to skip it all!
Magnetman: Magnetman has an easy pattern and can be disposed of without too much fuss. He takes a couple of hops to the other side of the room, where he either jumps and fires three Magnet Missiles at you (just keep moving to avoid them), or puts up his magnetic barrier. He's totally shielded while this is on, and it draws you towards him. Just run or slide the other way. The plasma cannon is plenty for destroying him. Use Spark Shock if you want to get especially nasty...>:D
Havsubees inhabit some parts of the stage. They're kind of like Pipis; they drop a wasp nest that spawns five Chibees that attack you. Unfortunatly, the nest can't be destroyed. You can get rid of the Havsubee, however, by backtracking once its ready to drop its payload. Once you scroll it off the screen, return and it should be gone.
Another major hazard are Wanaans. Those green cylinders hide a bear-trap-looking robot that will do substansial damage when you walk across it. Solution: just slide across, and they'll miss you!
The Mecha-Monkeys have been modified since last time. When they see you, they jump and hang from the ceiling. If you get close enough, they'll drop down and attack fiercely. Unfortunatly, they usually stay out of reach. You can try bouncing up with Rush Coil and shooting them, angling Shadow Blades up at 'em, or some fancy rebounding with the Gemini Laser. Magnet Missiles also work, but you may want to save them for later.
Protoman fights you again in the last part of the stage, but its a bit different from the last couple times. The floor isn't flat, so he just jumps around, shooting at you. You sould be able to handle him by now though; he's still easy to figure out.
Hardman: Hardman follows an easy pattern. He fires two Hard Knuckles, then jumps and tries to crush you, then starts the process again. Dodge the Knuckles as best you can (they return to him, making them tough to avoid) and shoot a Magnet Missile when you have a clear shot. Don't worry about aiming; as long as you face him, the Missile should home in on him. Just don't rapid-fire him, or you'll just waste your ammo. He's invincible for a brief period after you him him, so wait until he's done flashing before firing another Missile.
After all four robots are defeated, you must fight through Sparkman, Needleman, Geminiman, and Shadowman's levels again and fight Doc Robot, who uses the same techniques as the robot masters from MM2. Unfortunately, you don't get their weapons, so it doen't matter what order you take.
The level is the same, but different. There are now some spinning wheels that act as conveyer belts, and more spikes. The Giant Springers have moved in also.
Halfway through the stage, you'll have your first fight with Doc Robot, using Metalman's powers. If you fought him before, you should know the drill; he usually jumps and fires Metal Blades only when you shoot at him. If you use Magnet Missiles, though, that'll be no problem.
After The first Doc Robot, there's a long spike-lined hole you must free-fall down. Keep a careful eye out.
On the final stretch, there are more blocks falling through chutes, but there are pits as well. This shouldn't be too hard if you hurry, but if you dilly-dally, you may get stuck and forced down a pit!
At the end of the stage, you'll fight Doc Robot again, this time with Quickman's abilities. I won't suger-coat this; this is one of the hardest fights in the game. Doc Robot's larger size makes him hard to jump over, and he does lots of damage with his attacks. He's weak against Search Snake or Gemini Laser, but he so fast, it's awkward to hit him with either weapon. I suggest the Search Snake, since you can at least fire three at a time. Wait until he's just about to land from a jump, then nail him! Chances are, you'll need an energy tank to get out of this alive...
You'll eventually encounter Doc Robot donning Airman's powers. It's a tad easier to avoid the tornadoes this time, since you can slide, but they do a lot more damage than before as well. You may need the energy tank from earlier on. Use Spark Shock, and you should have more of a chance.
Now for the fun part. You've got a looooooong chasm to cross with Rush Jet thats infested with Yambos and Parasyus. Stay near the top of the screen to pass the Parasyus and blast the Yambos as soon as they appear. Also, you'll have to grab the energy capsules that you'll find along the way. Just be extra careful for the rest of the stage; if you die, you'll restart back at the start of the chasm, and you may not have enough Rush Jet energy to make it across again, meaning you must kill yourself off, and restart the level. >(
In the last section, you'll fight giant Metools. They shouldn't be a big deal, though; just aim for the cross on their helmets.
The second Doc Robot in this stage has Crashman's weapons. He can be quite a pain here; he's weakest against Hard Knuckle, but it's very difficult to hit him, since he jumps whenever you shoot. The best way I've found is to get as close as possible to him, jump and shoot a Knuckle; hopefully, he'll jump right into it. Another possible way is to stand in the middle of the room and to try and anticipate where he'll jump to, then fire the knuckle in that direction. Good luck!
Don't shoot all of the Pole eggs in the next section; some may need to be used as platforms to cross.
Doc Robot's next incarnation is Flashman. Again, his size makes him harder to jump over than the original. It's very hard to avoid being hit here, so it pays to end this fight quickly. Gemini Laser is your best shot, but try not to miss, since you can only fire one at a time.
Next; another water area. No prob with Rush Marine, though.
The last section has little bug-like robots pouring out of holes in the walls and floors. They're more of a nuisance than anything, so just shoot the one in the way and keep moving.
Doc Robot will emulate Bubbleman at the end of this stage. He shouldn't he hard, though. He's as slow as the original was. He even has a similar weakness; Shadow Blade! Spark Shock works well too.
Trap-door platforms abound in the first half of the level. These platforms will only hold you for a split-second, then drop you. You must be very nimble to cross them. Or, if you're a stinker like me, just take Rush Jet for another ride.
As you probably expect by now, you'll fight Doc Robot again at the halfway point. He now has Woodman's abilities. The Leaf Shield does tremendous damage, so avoid it at all costs. Pummel him with the Needle Cannon as much as you can as soon as you jump the shield before he puts up another.
Afterwards, you'll meet several Hammer Joes in a very tight corridor, too narrow to jump over the balls. But, you can slide under them, so use that to your advantage.
The final stretch is just like the original level; crossing through several platforms with Parasyus and Mecha-frogs. Use Magnet Missiles to take them all out, along with the Giant Springer guarding the final gate.
The last Doc Robot has Heatman's powers. Top Spin does the most damage, but you're almost certain to take major damage yourself, unless you've become a Top Spinning god or something. If you're not as sure about that approach, use Shadow Blades.
After beating all four Doc Robot stages, you'll fight Protoman one last time. Only now, he wears a mask, and calls himself Breakman. He's immune to all of your special weapons, but you should have no problem beating him with just your plasma cannon.
You'll be greeted to Wily's new humble abode by Top Dispensers. Search Snakes will easilly knock them off their high horses.
You'll enter another water area that's swarming with Pepes. You might as well take Rush Marine for a his last ride; this is the last water portion in the game.
There are certain walls that can be destroyed with a Hard Knuckle. Most have goodies behind them.
There's a room with appearing/disappearing platforms, but it's not too difficult. You can bypass most of it by just sliding into the area with two health capsules.
The boss is a large mechanism on the ceiling that drops robotic turtles into the pool you're in. You can't damage the main mechanism, but once you destroy all of the turtles, the machine will self-destruct. Shadow Blades will kill the turtles in one hit.
This is a short area, with mostly Waanans and Havsubees. Use the same trick as in Hardman's level to get rid of the bees, and cross the spiked gap with Rush Jet.
Wily has reconstructed the Yellow Devil, and you'll fight it again here. You have no Thunder Beam trick this time, but it shouldn't be a very difficult fight. The Devil makes its enterance from left to right, in the same manner as before; it also moves right to left the same way, taking itself apart piece by piece in a specific pattern, and flinging the parts to the other side. When moving left to right, it will fall to the floor, and the pices will bounce to the other side. Its hard to avoid, but you may be able to fly Rush over them. As for how to fight it, hit the eye when it opens, like before, with the Hard Knuckle.
What can I say? This is a rather straight foreward and easy stage. There is one part where there are two big hoppers in a narrow corridor. The best way to get past them is to stun them in mid-jump with the Spark Shock, then run under them.
The boss is a Megaman clone, like in the first game. Only this time, it has two hologram copies. They run back and forth on three seperate platforms firing plasma shots at you (Luckilly, they don't have your special weapons like the first game, although they do change colors with you when you switch weapons) until they stop in the center and switch places. So, you have to find the copy that can be hurt and hit it as much as you can before it switches. It can be a tedious process, but Search Snakes or Top Spin make it much easier.
The stage is quite short; the only enemies are Junkyard Golems; ugly hulking robots that throw blocks of trash at you, ala Gutsman.
At the end, you'll find yourself in another teleport room, where you fight the robot masters again. Just use the same weapons as before; Shadow on Spark, Needle on Snake, Gemini on Needle, Magnet on Hard, Hard on Top, Snake on Gemini, Spark on Magnet, and Top on Shadow. After beating them all, head through the door on the right to exit.
Nothing here but one of Wily's newest toys, a huge crab-looking mechanoid. First, shoot the cannon on the robot's underside with Spark Shock or Hard Knuckle. Then, Wily will appear in the cockpit. Shoot it with Hard Kuckles, directing them up to hit the cockpit. You can also just call Rush Jet and shoot the cockpit from there.
You now fight Gamma, and boy, what a pitiful robot it is. Just dodge the plasma shots the head drops and fire Shadow Blades up at it. When the first head is destroyed, Wily will be lowered onto the body with a new head. It will now fire oval-shaped plasma shots at you and will try to hit you with a giant claw coming from the right side of the screen. Take care here; the claw can kill you in one hit, but you can jump on top of it to get to the upper platform. From there, jump off and Top Spin like crazy into Wily's cockpit. That should destroy the beastly machine in one hit. Search Snakes will also do the job, but why do that when Top Spin will do it in a single hit?
Ending: Dr. Wily grovels again, but as he does, the fortress collapses, burying Megaman and Wily in the rubble. A shadowy figure beams down and pulls Megaman out. Later, Megaman wakes up in Dr. Light's lab. As Light explains that someone brought him there, they hear a familiar whistle, the one used by that mysterious red robot Megaman encountered earlier. Dr. Light recognizes it as Protoman, an experimental robot he had built before Megaman, but vanished shortly after. Megaman takes a walk to think about this turn of events. Apparently, this would make Protoman his older brother; but is he a friend or foe?
