Obviously, the biggest innovation for this game is that you can play as Bass. It's not quite the same as Megaman. Megaman's abilities are the same as in most games, but Bass's skills are far different. His buster rapid-fires instead of charges, and it can be fired in any direction except straight down. Plus, Bass can dash by tapping the direction you want to dash, quickly followed by holding it. It doesn't get him as low to the ground as the slide does. So he can't go under low objects, but it's still useful for long jumps. Speaking of jumping, Bass can double jump by pressing the jump button a second time in mid-air. Bass can copy robot master's weapons just like Megaman and he uses them in the exact same manner as he does.
Having two different characters to play as certainly adds to the replay value of this game. The game's challenge can be different as well depending on who you pick. Personally, I think it's easier getting through the game with Bass, but I've heard others say they have an easier time with Megaman. So, I guess it's a matter of personal tastes.
Another innovation is the way the stage select is laid out. You only have three robot masters to choose from in the beginning; Coldman, Astroman, and Groundman. But when you defeat one, other stages become available: Beating Coldman opens up Burnerman and Pirateman, Astroman unlocks Dynamoman, Pirateman, and Tenguman, and Tenguman and Magicman's stages are opened by beating Groundman. The most common order I've seen works very well and is fine no matter who you pick: Coldman, Burnerman, Pirateman, Groundman, Tenguman, Magicman, Astroman, and Dynamoman.
In all of the robot master's stages (plus the intro stage), there are numerous data CDs with info on nearly every major character in the original series, including the robot masters. There are 100 CDs in total, and you must play through as both Megaman and Bass to aquire them all. You can access the CD database on the title screen or the stage select screen.
Auto's shop is back. You can access it from the stage secect screen. At the start of the game, he only has a very small selection of items. After beating three robot masters, his inventory increases, and after beating six, he'll be fully stocked.
Unfortunatly, there are no Energy Tanks in this game... :(
This stage is divided into three nostalgic sections. The first part is reminiscent of Fireman's stage. There are flame throwers on the ground and Changkeys will fly out of the lava at you.
In between each section is a corridor filled with Moles from MM2. Just clear them out and keep moving.
The next section is like the boat section of Blizzardman's level. Don't stay on the upper portions for too long or else you'll be smashed into the spikes.
Finally, you'll be treated to a rainly section like in Toadman's stage. Bass should have no trouble, but if you're using Megaman, you should run up to the very edege of a platform before you jump. And make sure there's nothing there to knock you backwards into a pit.
Green Devil: To top off this trip down memory lane, you get to fight the Green Devil again. Don't worry, though; he's been really toned down since you fought him last. He just stands there and shoots globs of goo at you. Shoot rapid-fire shots at the eye to clear all of the slime out of the way, then shoot the eye as much as you can before the goo regenerates. This fight shouldn't last long.
This stage seems quite like Frostman's level, minus those horrible snowboarding sections. (Actually, all of the robot master's levels here seemed to have borrowed somewhat from MM8 stages.) One of the first section also has some of Freezeman's collapsing ice platforms. Move across them quickly.
Later, you'll fight over a spike pit on the collapsing platforms. Try to shoot the enemies down as soon as possible to avoid being knocked into the spikes.
The snowman is a miniboss for this stage, and it guards its domain well. It'll start by sucking you towards it, then launching several smaller snowmen. It then hops around a bit and repeats. Charge up and fire at the head. It can be hard to do, since it's a small part to hit. Some special weapons do a good job as well if you have them.
The last part of the stage has several ice-launching machines. You'll have to ride an ice block form one machine to cross this chasm.
Coldman: This guy is certainly the easiest of the eight. For the first half of the fight, he mostly just stands there launching Ice Walls. You can't fire through the walls, but you can just blast him with a charged shot when you have a clear shot. Bass can just double-jump over the Wall while firing downward at Coldman. Sometimes, Coldman might jump straight up, when he lands, he'll freeze the area where you're standing, so when you seen him jump, you should jump too right before he lands. When his health is half down, he'll add something; he launches a cloud that converges on you and causes you to run slow and prevents you from jumping or firing. This turns you into a sitting duck for his Ice Wall, so try to shoot the cloud down as soon as you can. If you beat Dynamoman, use the Lightning Bolt. It works great, but you won't have enough shots to finish him unless you equip the Energy Saver.
The first major portion of the stage is a vertical section filled with false floors. Try the Ice Wall to find them. Also, look for where the grasshopper-looking robots are jumping back and forth, and jump to the same spots.
This stage is filled with hulking robots that resemble Gutsman. They throw one of three types of balls at you: a standard ball that explodes on what it hits, a blue ball that bounces off things, and a spiked ball that shoots spikes in certain directions after travelling a certain distance. They take seceral hits to destroy, so try to look for a safe sopot to shoot from.
In this part of the stage, spears will shoot from the walls and ceiling at regular intervals. You can block some of them with the Ice Wall, or just be patient and look for the right moment to slide past.
The last stretch has several large Tellys that drop firebombs. The entire lower portion of the screen will be set ablaze, and the fires will kill you on contact. So, if you see one of these guys approaching, look for high ground immediately!
Burnerman: Pyro boy is argueably the toughest of the eight. He's weak against the Ice Wall, but you still need a good strategy to beat him. He mostly dashes around, and eventually stops to do one of three attacks. He may leap into the air and spin around. If he does so, move as far away as possible, since this means he'll dive at you, casuing flames to shoot up around him. He's immune to the Ice Wall while dashing or diving, but he is succeptable to buster shots while dashing. When he jumps and throws three bear traps, that means the Wave Burner is next. Watch where the traps ended up, because if you get stuck in one, you'll be unable to move for a moment. The Wave Burner can block your shots, but the Ice Wall can block it. Try to push the Wall into Burnerman, and keep pushing until you force him into the spike pit on either side of the room. This won't kill him instantly like it does you, but it does a lot of damage nonetheless. His third attack is just standing there throwing propane bombs. If you fire buster shots at this time, he'll switch back to the Wave Burner. Instead, just slide another Ice Wall into him. This battle takes some skill and it might take a couple of tries.
This aquatic stage has many spiked balls floating around in the water. They don't kill you in one hit, but they still do heavy damage. When used underwater, the Wave Burner will create a small whirlpool. Use it to push the spiked balls out of your way.
The path will split eventually depending on whether you have Megaman or Bass. You'll eventually come to a ladder. If using Megaman, ignore it, hop over the spike pit, and slide under the gap in the wall. If using Bass, climb the ladder, and double jump over the spiked balls floating on the water. You'll probably want to dash as well to get a good jump.
In this small corridor, a robotic whale will swim to the left at regular intervals. Afer the whale passes the spot shown above, jump up and slide/dash to get to the other end as quickly as possible before the next whale appears.
This last section has lots of spiked balls, as well as these bubble machines. Step on one, and you'll float in a bubble (like Tenguman's stage in MM8). If you hit something, it'll pop. Try to take advantage of it as well as the high jumping underwater to get to the exit on the far right side.
Beware of the treasure chests that frequent this last area. Some contain power-ups and even CDs if you shoot them, but others are enemies that'll bite onto you and chew up a lot of health.
Pirateman: Priateman comes with some heavy offense. He shoots up to three Remote Mines at you, and he'll encase himself in a bubble shield and bounce around the room wherever there is water. The water constantly sinks, and Pirateman will occasionally stop and refill the room. The Wave Burner does considerable damage to him, even underwater. It will even destroy his bubble shield. It does even more damage to Pirateman if you can get him with it above water. The biggest trick is dodging the Remote Mines. Try to jump high over one so that the first one finishes exploding before you head back down and the second one explodes high above you.
The first part of this stage is filled with falling sand, which can hinder your jumps, along with Metools and those irritating flying robots. Watch for spikes when heading down the vertical section.
Some sections of the stage have quicksand, much like in Pharaohman's stage. Keep jumping to avoid sinking and avoid the worms that fall from launchers in the ceiling.
The next area has several centipedes that emerge from holes in the wall and slither down the tunnel. You'll have to find a safe spot and wait until they pass.
At the halfway point, you'll fight a large centipede mini-boss. Keep to one side of the room and watch for the patterns in which the centipede moves around. The Wave Burner does a good deal of damage, plus it easily destroys the baby-centipedes that this beast will spawn. Aim for the head.
The next area is filled with platforms that will drop you about one second after you step on it. Try to stay in a safe area to destroy any enemies you have to and move quickly. The Sniper Joe near the top may be tricky, since there's no good spots to shoot him from.
The next few rooms involve you having to shoot the statues in the way to get to the other side of the room. The red statues open the door, while the brown ones lower the spikes on the floor or the ceiling. So, you have to shoot just the right statues to get out alive. A simple way to bypass this area is to use the Wave Burner (or angle Bass's buster downward) to hit the statue on the floor in the first room. You'll uncover a ladder, which you can use to skip this part completely.
The home stretch has small mole robots that chew up the ground, creating pits. Try to shoot them as soon as you see them to keep the ground intact.
Groundman: Groundman has a good-sized grab bag of attacks. First, there's his trademark Spread Drill, which he may or may not spread out all the way. He'll also jump into the ground to shoot up someplace else, ala Drillman. If he jumps into the ceiling, watch for him up there, as he'll emerge as a giant drill bit extending all the way to the ground. He'll do this three times before he comes back down. Groundman also morphs into a drill-tank, that speeds along the ground for a bit. the best weapon is the Remote Mine. Attatch one to him, but don't detonate it. When he jumps into the ground or the ceiling, it'll explode then, damaging Groundman and cancelling whatever he was going to do. Keep this up and focus on dodging in the meantime.
Your first challenge is a mass of red balloons that burst right after stepping on them. You must move fast, but the screen auto-scrolls here, so you shouldn't rush ahead too much. there are also there really deadly pink clouds that grab you and stop you from jumping. If one get's you, you have little hope to keep from falling, so destroy them as soon as you see them. The Wave Burner works best. (Note the spikes on the ceiling near the end of this section. They don't show up very well on the GBA version, so be extra cautious.)
The next area is a much wider space with rising green balloons. These don't burst when you stnd on them, but they can still be destroyed by your weapons. Make your way to the right, avoiding the numerous pits and spikes. Bass should have little troubel since he can double-jump. Megaman can use Ice Wall to easily cross a spiked area.
Watch for cracked pipes. If you shoot them, they open up and air shoots out of them, which can blow you into enemies or spikes.
Tenguman: Tenguman has improved himself since MM8. He now floats higher up, so it's tougher to just jump up and shoot him. His attacks are a bit different as well. His Tornado Hold will now have the same effect as his wind ball from before; try to push you over the edge.He'll also drop down, then charge and slash at you with the Tengu Blade. Whenever you see him pause, take the chance to pummel Tengu with the Spread Drill. Don't bother to split the drills, unless he's going to dodge the big one, for the large drill does much more damage.
The first part of the stage has some sections where you must ride a locomotive across a chasm. Don't be fooled; you can't stand on the tracks. You must stand on the green part of the trains (just like Clownman's stage in MM8). Use the Spread Drill to knock the flying robots out of the air to avoid getting knocked off your ride.
Be very weary of the little toy soldiers in this area. If one grabs onto you, you won't take damage, but you will lose bolts at an alarming rate.
The big bear wheel will smash through the floor. Just keep your distance from it and let it break through until you can go through the door at the bottom of this shaft.
The last part of the stage can be most irritating. The blocks with spikes will rotate whenever the bell strikes in the background. Watch it for your chance to leap to the next platform without being gouged by spikes. They won't kill you instantly, but they do considerable damage. Be sure to keep the flying robots at bay as well.
Magicman: Magicman has an assortment of deadly tricks. The worst is his trademark Magic Card, which will recover his own health as well as damage you if it hits. You must be ver agile to avoid it as well. The best way to deal with Magicman is to run over and slice him up with the Tengu Blade (He begins the fight in the center of the room, so you don't have to run too far). Don't use the projectile; the inital slash does more damage, and it stuns him for a moment. He'll counter with a magic orb or the Magic Card. Jump either and slash him again. Repeat until he's had it.
The first section has some platforms that fall as soon as you step on them. Move quickly and shoot any enemies that appear from solid ground.
A strange panorama appears after that, with enemies moving around in the background. Some will pop out of it and attack you. Just shoot any that appear in front of you and keep moving. Take extra care when crossing pits. This is one of the best spots, by the way, to earn bolts. Just hang around here for a while and keep blasting the endless waves of enemies that appear for plenty of bolts, health, and an occasional 1-up.
There are two of these memory puzzles that show up in this stage. If you've played Simon, this should be familiar. Just memorize the pattern of flashing buttons, and repeat the order. If you succeed, the door ahead will open. If you fail, the gun on the ceiling will shoot at you and you must try again.
More appearing/disappearing platforms. Yay. Bass's double jump can make this shaft so much easier, especially if you got the Treble Boost already. If using Megaman, you must be very light on your feet to clear this area. The Ice Wall can be helpful to give yourself an extra step, which will hopefully give you a bit of a head start.
Astroman: Astroman's attacks and fighting styles are completely different from MM8. He'll hover above you, occasionally attempting to dive-bomb you. He'll aslo use the Copy Vision to make duplicates that will shoot orbs at you while he continues to dive-bomb. Astroman can also open holes in the floor, causing Up-n-Downs to fly out. Your hands seem to be quite full in this battle, but the Magic Card will slow him down quite a bit, and it will also destroy the copies instantly. Remember you can angle it up.
Dynamo's factory stage naturally has lot of conveyer belts. They get faster the longer you stay on them too.
This stage takes after Grenademan's level, so take notice of the colored blocks. If you destroy one, it'll wipe out all adjacent blocks of the same color. Some hide spikes so look before you leap.
The stage's mini-boss is pretty dangerous. It consist of two wall-mounted cannons that fire homing shots and occasionally fire a dual-pouered laser beam that is nearly impossible to dodge. Furthermore, if you destroy one, another will take its place. The object is to take out the hatches where they're spawning from. Use the Copy Vision, since it not only does a lot of damage, but it also lures the homing shots away from you.
Next is a series of pitch-black rooms. Only a small light orb slowly circling the room will show what parts are safe to cross, and what parts have spikes. Just be patient and you should be okay.
The final stretch is another conveyer belt section.
Dynamoman: Dynamo is another hard boss, but if you know how to counter his attacks, he shouldn't be so bad. He'll always start by jumping to the other side of the room, then he'll dash back and forth a few times. The he'll send a set of electrical walls at you or surround himself with lightning orbs. The walls can be avoided by destroying them or by jumping or sliding/double jumping. The lightning orbs serve as a shield and a prelude to the Lightning Bolt. Use the Copy Vision to absorb the orbs and cancel the attack. Copy Vison also does a lot of damage, along with charged shots. But it's not over yet; when Dynamoman's health gets low, he'l jump into his little apparatus in the ceiling and recharge his health. Bass has an easier time here; just angle his shots up at both sides of the machine to temporarily disable it. If using Megaman use Copy Vision to take out one side while racing to the other side and shooting it.
What a lovely way to start off the fortress. Bass can double jump over this spike pit, but Megaman has to cross it the hard way, by puching an Ice Wall across it and riding it across.
Most of this stage is made partly of other hazards from the robot masters' stages. One part has Astroman's rising floors. Procees slowly and when you feel the floor moving, step back.
Now that's an odd way to do the appearing/disappearing floor bit. Megaman has to slide in between the gap they make. Bass, again, can just double jump.
Here's another tough part of the stage. The gunk that's falling will puch you downward, making jumping the gaps difficult. Megaman sould use the Ice Wall for some added height.
Uh, okay. This boss is the barrel on the right side of the screen. The spot to hit is the head that peeks out from the bottom, but it isn't exposed unless you stand on the left platform. Apparently, you don't want to stand on it too long, or you'll fall into the lava. Stand on it until you have a good shot at the head, but be careful of the missiles it fires as well. To make matters worse, a monkey comes down and throws coconuts at you. You can't destroy it, but it'll go away for a while if you shoot it a few times. Keep a very careful eye on the boss's health; when it's destroyed, the platform will plunge into the lava, so be sure you jump off it as you go for the final shot.
This stage consists mostly of bosses with minor stage areas to cross in between. The first boss is the King Tank. There are three sections you must destroy to defeat it; thr front red gun, the launcher on top, and the door in the back. The first to can be destroyed most easilly with the Remote Mine. Attatch one and wait on the bottom section until it opens up. That's when its vulernable, so detonate the bomb then. The Energy Saver really helps here. The back door dispatches those annoying green toy soldiers. Again, wait on the bottom and fire the Magic Card up at it when it opens.
The next boss is the King Jet and it's perhaps the toughest boss in the game. You must jump across platform after platform while the Jet tries to knock you off. Use charged shots and aim for the glass dome on top. The Jet will often send bubbles at you; some have power-ups, others have a nasty device that makes a flash and blinds you for a moment - not good when the timing of your jumps is crucial. It'll also fire large firsts solely for the purpose of destroying the platforms or knocking you off on. Finally, it'll sometimes open the front section to reveal a red jewel, charging for a huge cannon blast. You can stop it by hitting the jewel with a Remote Mine.
King: When you first fight King, he'll have his shield up. It reflects all of your attacks back at you, so don't even bother attacking. Just focus on dodging for now. The X-Lasers he fires will always travel in the same pattern; down, down, up, down, up. Just jump over the ones that arc down, then slind/doublejump over those that arc up. After three volleys of X's, Protoman will show up and destroy the shield. Now's your chance to hit him. Equip the Energy Saver with the Lightning Bolt and just blast the crap out of him. He'll always dash to the other side of the room after being hit by it, so be ready.
Super King: King's not done yet. He now combines with the King Tank and King Jet to become a gargantuan mech. The spot to hit is that tiny dome on top where his head is. Megaman has a moving platform to hop on to get the height necessary, and it also protects you from the bombs that get dropped. Bass has no platform and must jump and angle his shots up to hit it. Plus, Bass has to move to avoid the bombs; look for shadows on the floor. The big machine also fires homing shots, which can be distracted with Copy Vision, and it has the Jet's large cannon that can once again be deleyed with Remote Mines.
Rather than a teleporter room, you have one big stage to traverse, and you'll fight the robot masters again is a set order along the way, similar to MM1 & X1. There's one small section that's a bit tricky with the appearing/disappearing platforms; Megaman should use Ice Wall as a safety net while Bass can just fly up to the ladder with Treble. As for the robot masters, the set order is: Coldman, Astroman, Dynamoman, Pirateman, Burnerman, Magicman, Groundman, Tenguman.
Dr. Wily: Here he is, back by popular request. Wily starts out in his big skull mech like in MM8, firing missiles at you, and occasionally trying to ram you. Jump the missiles and slide under/double jump over the mech when it charges. Aim for Wily cockpit, as always, and use charged shots or Remote Mines. After the big mech is destroyed, Wily does the cloaked saucer thing. When the saucer uncloaks, it'll fire a salvo of plasma balls or bombs. Equip the Super Armor or Beat's shield, since his attacks are difficult to dodge, and attack with charged shots or Magic Cards.
1-Up: Gives an extra life. (50 Bolts)
Energy Balancer: If you don't have a special weapon equipped, you'll automatically recover the weapon with the lowest energy when you pick up a capsule. (120 Bolts)
Exit Unit: Allows you to exit a stage provided you already defeated the boss. (50 Bolts)
Spike Guard: Protects you from one hit by spikes; consumed after one use. (10 Bolts)
Com System: Allows you to call Roll for a hint on the stage you're in. (100 Bolts)
Present: Causes a sphere carrying power-ups to appear in the next stage you enter. (50 Bolts)
Enemy Analyzer: Used with Roll's communicator. Roll will also give a hint on the robot master's weakness. (50 Bolts)
Super Recover: When equipped, you recover more energy than normal. (200 Bolts)
Counter Attack: When equipped, your attack power increases when health is low. (200 Bolts)
Auto Charger: When equipped, Megaman's buster will charge automatically without having to hold the button. (Megaman only) (50 Bolts)
High Speed Dash: Lets Bass dash faster and farther than normal. (Bass only) (100 Bolts)
Step Booster: Lets you climb ladders faster than normal. (Bass only) (100 Bolts)
Energy Saver: When equipped, less weapon energy is consumed than normal. (200 Bolts)
Damage Absorb: When equipped, you recover weapon energy when you get hit. (300 Bolts)
Super Armor: When equipped, your defense is improved. (300 Bolts)
Auto Recover: When equipped, you can slowly regenerate health by standing still. (Megaman only) (450 Bolts)
Super Buster: When equipped, Bass's buster shots become more powerful. (Bass only) (300 Bolts)
Hyper Buster: When equipped, Bass's shots can travel through walls. (Bass only) (300 Bolts)
High Speed Charge: Causes the Mega Buster to charge faster than normal. (Megaman only) (150 Bolts)
Rush Search: Lets you call Rush to dig up buried CDs. (Megaman only) (100 Bolts)
Eddie: Lets you call Eddie to drop some power-ups. (Megaman only) (150 Bolts)
Treble Boost: Causes Bass to fuse with Treble and fly around. (Bass only) (200 Bolts)
Beat: Lets you call Beat to put up a shield granting temporary invincibility. (Megaman only) (300 Bolts)
CD Counter: Roll will also tell you how many CDs are left in a particular stage. (100 Bolts)
CD Finder: Causes a sparkling to appear wherever CDs are buried. (Megaman only) (300 Bolts)
Megaman's Ending: Megaman returns to Dr. Light's lab, feeling somewhat down because he wasn't able to save King. Roll then gives him a letter with King's insignea. According to it, King is still alive, and he thanks Megaman for helping him make something better of himself.
Bass's Ending: Bass stands over a cowering Dr. Wily, angry for Wily's using him the way he did. Wily tells Bass that his battle with King was simply to verify his strength, and that the data will soon be used to create a King II. Protoman then shows up and destroys the blueprints for King II, then tells Bass that he'll never defeat Megaman as long as he fights only for his own personal satisfaction.
