Current Events > Ah, now I remember why I never beat Mega Man X

(+) Yeah! (+)

Every few years I get it into my head I'm going to replay MMX and finally beat Sigma for the first time. And every time this happens I always end up remembering why I never end up getting over that hurdle.

It's not that he's a cheap-ass piece of shit in his final form with at least one too many things going on, I could eventually power through and git gud if that was the only factor. It's that the whole final stage is literally designed to wear you out. The older I get the more I notice / hate it when a game is just super-duper proud of the new mechanic it's introduced, and boy oh boy does MMX love its wall-jumping.

The dog and Sigma's 1st form are easy as pie once you learn the basic patterns, but they are so fucking tedious with all the near-constant wall-jumping; by the time I get to the final form my creaky middle-aged thumb's worn out and I can't get a good rhythm going and end up getting wiped out despite burning through all four filled sub-tanks. Ah shucks, I died and have to refill my sub-tanks again, no problem! Just spend ten minutes wall-jump shooting these worms and get your old-ass thumbs worn down to nubs before trying again.

After a few tries I got the bright idea that since the game has a save feature (playing the Anniversary Bundle on Switch), I'll just reset and hopefully get to start the stage over with full sub-tanks. Nope, now I have to start Sigma's entire castle over again; whatever motivation remained just crashed into the mountainside.

Anyway, rant over, see ya again in another few years MMX when I get the itch to learn this lesson all over again. I always used never beating the first one as a reason to never try the sequels, but I might finally just say fuck it and see how I like MMX2 and so forth.

A much easier way to refill your Sub Tanks is use a charged Rolling Shield. The bugs can't get through it and die on impact.

I knew what'd it be before clicking. I'm finally good enough that I can just power through Sigma, easily. But the lead up to the final fight is just way too long and tiresome. It's definitely where I got stuck as a kid.

I beat it on easy mode; no fucks given

I'm sorry you had so much trouble with Sigma and it soured your perspective on the game.

I love Mega Man X to death and beat it when I was 5 years old, so I can't exactly empathize with your struggle. I've turned away from other games for mechanics I thought were BS as well.

I felt the same way about this game and then I just said fuck it and used save states to extensively practice every boss. Now I can pretty comfortably beat the game without dying.

ZMythos posted...

I'm sorry you had so much trouble with Sigma and it soured your perspective on the game.

I love Mega Man X to death and beat it when I was 5 years old, so I can't exactly empathize with your struggle. I've turned away from other games for mechanics I thought were BS as well.

Eh, I'd love to say it's purely the final fight that's to blame, but there's a few design nitpicks that have always irked me. A couple that spring to mind is that the dash is too un-fluid compared to the slide in the original series (espeically when you add jumping to the mix), and it's straight-up bullshit that you have to go most of the way back through Boomer Kuwanger's level to get the heart tank with his own weapon.

Having said that, it's still a great game overall; kick-ass soundtrack, great visuals, and the animal framework of the robot masters lends itself to more creative design. I'm just in the camp that still prefers the original series overall (though it isn't without its bullshit as well; give me MMX over MM1 any day of the week).

masterpug53 posted...

and it's straight-up bulls*** that you have to go most of the way back through Boomer Kuwanger's level to get the heart tank with his own weapon.

You can grab that with the charged ice attack that creates a sliding platform.

And it is also possible to just jump up there yourself but it ain't easy.

Honestly, just Hadouken the dog.

Not worth your time.

Its tough holding all those buttons down so you can constantly do the fast wall jumping. And you will be on the wall a ton.

Pales in obnoxiousness compared to the bulk of MMX6.

Never been good at platformers myself. As a kid need Game Genie to to beat any Mega Man game. Having bought the Legacy Collections, started giving them another chance. Got through the original 6 with the help of tools that game added. Still have not gone through 8-11. Tried X1, got though the 8 initial stages, found all upgrades, but have not made it past the first Sigma stage yet.

misterbum posted...

Pales in obnoxiousness compared to the bulk of MMX6.

MMX6 is a war crime.

Umbreon posted...

Honestly, just Hadouken the dog.

Not worth your time.

Actually getting the Hadoken is less worth your time.

If it helps, change dash to L and buster to R

Same it was much easier in the psp remake tho

When I was a kid this game might as well have been impossible. Even as a fan of the NES games I just couldnt get through this

I picked it up again back when the SNES classic came out. I didnt think Sigma was crazy hard but it was taking a number of tries and refilling your tanks every time in the tunnel was a nightmare. I cant remember if I used a save state to skip refilling them or not

Umbreon posted...

Honestly, just Hadouken the dog.

Not worth your time.

Came in to post this. It's an auto-win.

There are easy ways to cheese it.

I could never figure out how to get the hadoken. Did all the steps you're supposed to over and over again and could never make it appear. Almost wonder if there's different versions of the game and some don't have it.

I fill up my tanks in armoured armadillo's stage.

1) While wall climbing to avoid Sigma, you don't have to worry about wall jumping with a dash.
2) Dashing using to be annoying for me until I changed the dash button to R. That was it, and made the controls so much more comfortable.
3) The dog and Sigma can both be hadouken'd pretty easily.

sfcalimari posted...

I could never figure out how to get the hadoken. Did all the steps you're supposed to over and over again and could never make it appear. Almost wonder if there's different versions of the game and some don't have it.

Did you die the required amount of times too?

Distant_Rainbow posted...

Actually getting the Hadoken is less worth your time.

It isnt hard to get, and one hit kills bosses. They have spent years trying to beat the game.

I once did a speedrun against my friend. My friend went for Haduken, I just played normally. Haduken would take longer as it requires all collectibles, as well as some forced deaths.

I got to the spider boss in Sigmas stages. She was a bit behind, but once she got Haduken, she ripped through everything and eventually beat me. It is worth getting, and honestly just takes a few extra minutes.

I want to say Sigma takes two Hadoukens, but every other boss goes down in one.

ssjevot posted...

I want to say Sigma takes two Hadoukens, but every other boss goes down in one.

I've never been able to land Hadouken against final Sig, actually. But rolling shields tear him up pretty hard too.

Anyway, yes, typically, the only things that can survive the Hadouken are mini bosses, because they have 64 HP and the Hadouken deals 32. But I don't know how this works for final Sig because he's immune to the lemon buster.

Yeah Sigma is horrible to deal with

2Pacavelli posted...

Yeah Sigma is horrible to deal with

Full sub tanks, and rolling shot. Plus, he has a rhythm where if you can get into it, you can take him down quickly. But yeah hes definitely the hardest part of the game ( obviously). He also seems the most of of place, not really having a rest period after attacks.

HudGard posted...

Its tough holding all those buttons down so you can constantly do the fast wall jumping. And you will be on the wall a ton.

I recently tried playing again and that's what was messing me up.

I always kept the default control scheme for the SNES ones, but I curl my index finger over to push the A button.

It's kind of uncomfortable, but it's not like this is a game that takes hours to finish. It feels a lot weirder to me to actually use the shoulder buttons on a SNES, lol.

When the series moved to PS1, I took the opportunity to update my control scheme. It's far from conventional, but I like it:

X: Jump
O: Dash
Square: Special
R1: Buster/saber

The O/A and X/B arrangement is perfect because of dash jumps. You can hit the O/X area at an angle with your thumb and dash jump almost immediately. I'm sure the same thing is possible with shoulder dash, but I like the way this feels.

Evillink2000 posted...

MMX6 is a war crime.

Best soundtrack though, Ill always give it that.

misterbum posted...

Best soundtrack though, Ill always give it that.

Everything about X6 is fantastic on paper. It just tripped over itself and tumbled down the stairs in the execution and they shipped it before somebody could be like "how about we slow these donuts down a bit" or "hang on, let me try this level with Shadow armor."

ReturnOfDevsman posted...

I've never been able to land Hadouken against final Sig, actually. But rolling shields tear him up pretty hard too.

Final form is immune to the Hadouken iirc.

I don't think the final form is immune to the Hadoken but it is so hard to pull off the Hadoken against the final form because you have to be standing in the *exact* right place and time it perfectly, and all it takes is for the platform to move a bit weird and you're hit and there goes your hadoken

The hadoken is a pretty good way to cheese through Sigma's dog and his first form though

ReturnOfDevsman posted...

Everything about X6 is fantastic on paper. It just tripped over itself and tumbled down the stairs in the execution and they shipped it before somebody could be like "how about we slow these donuts down a bit" or "hang on, let me try this level with Shadow armor."

Apparently Keiji Inafune didn't even want to make MMX6 (his goal was for MMX5 to be the final X game and then for the series to continue to the Mega Man Zero games) and like, Capcom greenlit MMX6 and made it without his input. Game was hella rushed, no doubt.

I'd say Mega Man X4 was probably the peak of the series to me

At least Sigma's hit box is huge on X compared to the fight in X3. That battle is royal pain every time.

KFHEWUI posted...

At least Sigma's hit box is huge on X compared to the fight in X3. That battle is royal pain every time.

And the problem with that one is you actually have to aim *above* his head, but his attacks in X3 are much easier to dodge. In X1, the stupid lightning bolts on the platforms are such a pain in the ass and you have to stand very carefully, meanwhile the bottoms and sides of those platforms can hurt you, which is just amazingly fun.

Is his hit box bigger than I remember? The fight is relatively simple with Rolling Shield, but Buster Only is a pain in the dick because being slightly off means the entire shot pings for 0, and it takes forever to charge another shot.

That does 1 pip of damage. And I think you can also drop charge if you get hit with certain attacks.

Kudos to the absolute cracked people who can do this fight with no upgrades or take no damage.

Umbreon posted...

Final form is immune to the Hadouken iirc.

Not to my knowledge spoilers obviously I forgot this is only stage 1 I apologize for my mistake, it has been far to long since I fought them it seems and my memory really sucks.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BSKv6DBXBMY

Hopefully you can get it to uncover if wanted, I cant for some reason.

I beat Sigma pretty regularly as a teenager but yeah, now as an adult if I replay MMX I completely lose steam at Sigma's fortress.

Umbreon posted...

Is his hit box bigger than I remember? The fight is relatively simple with Rolling Shield, but Buster Only is a pain in the dick because being slightly off means the entire shot pings for 0, and it takes forever to charge another shot.

That does 1 pip of damage. And I think you can also drop charge if you get hit with certain attacks.

Kudos to the absolute cracked people who can do this fight with no upgrades or take no damage.

Yeah, buster only is very tough for that one. Rolling Shield is the way to go...plus you have to be very patient and wait for the platforms.

Mistere_Man posted...

Hopefully you can get it to uncover if wanted, I cant for some reason.

That's just beating the dog and the first form. I seem to recall reading that it *is* possible to hit him with the hadoken in his final form, but even if so, it's incredibly difficult to time and probably not worth the effort.

Mistere_Man posted...

Not to my knowledge spoilers obviously

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BSKv6DBXBMY

Hopefully you can get it to uncover if wanted, I cant for some reason.

(That's phase 1.)

SSj4Wingzero posted...

Yeah, buster only is very tough for that one. Rolling Shield is the way to go...plus you have to be very patient and wait for the platforms.

That's just beating the dog and the first form. I seem to recall reading that it *is* possible to hit him with the hadoken in his final form, but even if so, it's incredibly difficult to time and probably not worth the effort.

Oh then I apologize, I havent played in a long time, and my memory sucks.

Umbreon posted...

(That's phase 1.)

Sorry I forgot.

I remember reading it was possible somewhere, but I've never successfully done it myself, so I'm not really sure to be honest. You have to hit him at such a high angle and the platforms rarely reach that position.

As someone who plays through 1-6 every year or two, Sigmas second form takes two Hadokens, but youll never hit him with them without save states and patience, so its not worth trying.

I have a weird way of playing them though. I like to be as powerful as possible at every point. So I basically do:

1. Enter every stage, get all possible power ups / heart tanks / sub-tanks.
2. Die til I get back to stage select.
3. Enter the next stage and repeat.
4. Do this for all stages.
5. Go beat the boss I want.
6. Repeat 1-5 until Ive beaten them all.

So for example, Im X1, before I ever try to fight a boss, I have the armor upgrade, the dash boots, a couple sub-tanks, a few heart tanks, etc. Then I beat Chill Penguin, then Flame Mammoth, then Storm Eagle (order Ive always done), get the Helmet and Buster upgrade, use the Buster upgrade and Chill Penguin weapon to get Boomers heart tank (if I havent gotten it already from perfect dash jumping), etc.

For 4, I do one as Zero and one as X.

For 5 and 6, I do one as Zero, one as X, and one with bosses and power ups evenly divided between Zero and X.

I do this for every game in the series. Im not sure why.

Umbreon posted...

Kudos to the absolute cracked people who can do this fight with no upgrades or take no damage.

I did it with no upgrades, save the buster. I even password hacked to remove the dash.

The platform the Storm Eagle rematch is on is awful because you can only just grab the wall on the other side before you hit the death zone at the bottom of the pit. That killed me a number of times, and you have to do it both before and after the fight.

Anyway, while it felt good to pull it off, it was overall a lot more tedious than fun, so I never tried it again after I finally pulled it off. Launch Octopus killed me a lot too because of his move where he pulls you toward. Also much harder without the dash. And that Spark Mandrill miniboss was a nightmare.

My goal is always to try and beat every single boss with as little backtracking as possible

I might try to do this:

Beat Chill Penguin first (you miss out on the heart tank) so you get the Dash Boots
Then beat Storm Eagle (he's pretty easy to beat with the X-Buster), you can pick up his heart tank, sub-tank, and the helmet
Then go to Flame Mammoth - I believe you can get his heart tank, sub tank, and the buster upgrade
Then I guess go back to Chill Penguin and get this heart tank you missed
And then probably Spark Mandrill (his stage is easier if you beat Storm Eagle first), you can get everything except the sub tank which requires the boomer kuwanger cutter (I think the heart tank *can* be gotten without it, but it's hard)

And then after that it's pretty straightforward - Armadillo, then Launch Octopus, then Kuwanger (after this go back to Spark Mandrill and get the Heart and Sub tanks if necessary) and then Sting Chameleon. I remember that Sting Chameleon's stage has an armor enhancement that involves beating this stupid mini-boss

SSj4Wingzero posted...

And then probably Spark Mandrill (his stage is easier if you beat Storm Eagle first), you can get everything except the sub tank which requires the boomer kuwanger cutter (I think the heart tank *can* be gotten without it, but it's hard)

That's how I always get the S-M heart tank. It takes a few tries, but it's not nearly as bad as the arm upgrade.

ReturnOfDevsman posted...

That's how I always get the S-M heart tank. It takes a few tries, but it's not nearly as bad as the arm upgrade.

Beating that robot for the armor is always the first thing I do besides the dash boots.