This record came in at least 15 days ago, apparently. I want to run GBA for this, though I am only hoping these strats apply for GBA.
Rockman.
YellowDevil
The beginning of this is a boring dodgeball fest. Shoot the 1st Mettori, 2nd Drixnol, and on your way out, the 3rd Drixnol. Water section: Damage boost your way past the 1st high platform using a Canodumb. 2nd, not needed, unless you are too slow. 3rd, damage boost is optional, just to invis your way onto the other water platform. Shoot the 2nd cannon on your way out, or it will shoot you. Heading towards a ladder, charge shot and 3 small shots will delete the upcoming Canodumb. This guy got sniped by a Drixnol on the way out, shoot it. 2 flying viruses should be shot down. Rain will push you back, beware. This guy landed on a Mettori, not sure how to cover that. Not sure if luck, but he managed to get a Sniper Joe to lower his defenses to spam shoot him to deletion. Blues gets no love. King will jump off-screen, leaving you to deal with YellowDevil.
Start with a charge shot, leaving the eye to be exposed early, then buster spam it to deletion. YellowDevil should not have a chance to do anything.
Coldman
Blast everything in your way until the 1st ladder, leaving the only out-of-way flying virus. (Yes, this game is particularly boring to explain, I have no idea what convinced me to do this.) Shoot the Mettori, leave the Batty alone, shoot the Pengy. (...then climb up the Laddy, charge up your Busty... #BadJokeEXE) Dodge the Bunny, this next section should be straightforward, do not fall. Buster spam the Snowroll's head. Up top, use the lower path.
Coldman
Charge in with a charge shot and 2 small shots. Dodge the Ice Wall...until Coldman summons a Cloudy. Unlike EXE, this Cloudy will slow you down by sticking to you. Shoot it before it gets too close. If you are quick, you can Charge/small shot Coldman before the 2nd arrives.
Burnerman
Okay, I laughed at this a little. You will approach a room involving a Sniper Joe, behind whom lies a camera barricade. Use Ice Wall as a platform to jump in behind him and move on. Those huge viruses can be damage boosted through. A clown-ish flying virus will show up, above whom is another camera barricade. Use an Ice Wall into it, then jump on it, through the barricade again. Slide through these barricades using Ice Wall, or you will fall. The top is tricky. Instead of sliding on it, immediately jump into the ladder. Counter the incoming Bouncing Ball with an Ice Wall, jumping toward the ladder. Dodgefest the pokers. Low path slide, damage boost the Canodumbs, Ice Wall the Big Bomb. (You have no idea how boring this to type about. NO IDEA!) Damage boost for the ladder...quickly...before the Forest Fire--- DUDE, I AM SO BORED BY THIS, I CANNOT EVEN MAKE A DECENT JOKE! THIS IS STRAIGHTFORWARD IT REALLY IS!
Burnerman
Ice Wall is Burnerman's weakness, and not just because of it being made of water. Burnerman will use Wave Burner (after spreading floor traps) in order to lure you into a spike pit on your side. Use Ice Wall to push him into the spike pit on his side instead. Apparently, you do not need to wait for Wave Burner, just do not let him jump.
Pirateman
...I see why this boss was rejected as an EXE Boss.
Not the ladder, go all the way to the right. Drop down using the next ladder. Do not climb back up. Underwater whales, this is so. Entirely. Creative. Use an Ice Wall to push you up as you damage boost, at the beginning of this room and the end. Wow, that was quick as hell. They do not call this a speedrun for nothing.
Pirateman
...REALLY!? PIRATEMAN!? CHANGE YOUR NAME! Bandit Boat Keith sounds more threatening, but *that* game is far more boring, personally. Pirateman, whose creator could use a late, dry slap, will through fake-*** Flash Bombs at you. Dodge, then use your Wave Burner...underwater...which is totally legit, because spinning, warm water is painful. SERIOUSLY, WHO CAME UP WITH THIS!? ...Occasionally, he will wrap himself inside a bubble, after when you may toss him like a salad with your...Wave...Burner... Know what? Next Boss.
Right Door, 2nd from the top. Use the D-pad to control your bomb's flight--- Know what? After this, I will not even consider running this game. I just...no. Anyone else can run it. I know I said I wanted every *** WR I could feasibly get my hands on, and I stand by that, but typing out this forum thread makes this very game boring as hell. I just thought I would let any reader know that, alright? Even Partners in Time is a better type out than this, retrospectively speaking! Just go 1 door down, light the fuse, light the crystal, grab your bolt... 2nd door on the left, spawn Ice Wall into the Crystal. Auto, buy the charge kit, the spike kit, and some flamey picture... I can read Japanese, but this guy is going fast. This *is* a speedrun, after all. That set aside, too boring to read, anyway.
Astroman
...without Magic Card. This is a feat I *must* observe. If you cannot damage the Sniper Joe, damage boost him. ...Look, at this point, everything is visibly straightforward. My head hurts from typing this out. Watching this sounded exciting, but typing it out was a terrible idea. I already started, I am going to get this over with. Use Ice Wall to speed boost your way up the ladder. (Metroid: Zero Mission. Maybe I should watch a WR for *that* game, then take notes.) *** the code, use Ice Wall to clip your way through the door. On that note, this is a 1-try thing. If you fail, you are better off simply getting the code, from my visible, untested experience. This must happen 2x. There are platforms returning from Iceman and Heatman. Go for the lower door, not the higher exit.
Astroman
Semi-charge buster spam him. My main issue with this boss: Unlike the previous game, he will purposely try to ram into you. I CANNOT DODGE THAT ***! Maybe *you* can, but I cannot! I am working on it, though. *jaw drops, falling through bottom screen, back onto top screen, onto head* Okay, he did it. He dodge Copy Vision spam, and he did not get any viral holes. Well, then.
Dynamoman
I hate this guy. HE RECOVS! I HATE THAT ALMOST AS MUCH AS I HATE TELEPORTING! Ice Wall the destroyable barriers, then Wave Burn the virus in front of the ladder at the bottom of this room...and the electrical crap after, and the electrical field after that. This next section will go by fairly quickly, if you can keep things stable Ice Wall push it, then ride it across the entire room. It will break, but you can maintain it by blasting every virus up high, buster spamming floating destructible platforms. I do not recommend Wave Burner, simply because I believe it will automatically destroy your Ice Wall. This was untested, though. As far as I know, anyway. If your Ice Wall falls, jump off before you do, as well, then generate another. At the end, you will see a Ladder and some spikes. Ice Wall speed boost onto the ladder. Sub-boss time. Wait, never mind, *** that, Ice Wall clip.
This next portion will be hard to explain, and screencapping is pointless. There is a light that will slowly show you the majority of the room, including the intended exit. Slowly. Copy Vision to shoot it, servers know why, the runner does, too, then fall down, slide, run a little, jump, slide again, then run, all in the western direction, into the next section. The light will show you a SURPRISE SPIKE PIT! jump over it, onto the platform on the other side, then drop down into the next room. Keep west, falling your way down into the next room. Go right, fall, immediately go left, when you can then jump and climb a hidden ladder, then go west into the next room. This guy essentially slides and jumps over pits, shooting any viruses which could slow him down, but he hits some. Not sure if you can dodge those, and if you can, if it would be faster.
Dynamoman
How I did this: Shoot him with Copy Vision, running out before he recoved all of his health.
How the runner did this: Semi-charge + small shot spam, then quickly shoot his regenerators. Copy Vision in the air, as a backup, then shoot in his direction. Dead.
Groundman
Falling amidst the sand could speed your descent. Damage boost every lizard but the 4th, whom you will Ice Wall in the face. Throw a Flash Bomb (because that is exactly what the are) in the top left portion of this room. The giant worm will take massive damage. It will then stare at itself as it pokes something large out of the ground. Shoot it in it's face, before you find out what happens next. WHOOOOOOOOA! Okay. You will see some metallic platforms. They will tip, and if you stand on them too long, you will fall. Lightning Bolt in the range of the tipping platform, resulting in a zip! Climb up the ladder. Sniper Joe. assess it. Damage boost. Destroy everything in this room, proceeding right as you go along. Climb down the ladder, use Ice Wall to push you down the sand faster, then run your way through the door on the right side of this long room. Ride an Ice Wall, shooting everything up until the Sniper Joe, then jump off.
Groundman
Flash Bombs stick to him, but in either case, when they detonate, he falls to the ground. Whatever. Do not let him use Large Drill.
Tenguman
This autoscrolling section. What this guy did, during this entire section. Do not go too high. Remember, Mario Balloons pop when you stand on them too long, or even jump early. Luigi Balloons do not pop, as far as I can remember. Remote Bomb is your friend, that is all I can say here.
Tenguman
Spread Drill. In his face. Do not do what I did.
What I did (see end of video, preferably 8 minutes in.):
Magicman
Welcome to the rip-off of Clownman's stage. How? You will see in a minute. These soldiers are special. Not only do they come in recolors, they drain your bolts, not HP. I almost got a heart attack, watching this guy Ice Wall damage boost onto the next platform. He managed to simply slide and Ice Wall his way through this entire stage, then damage boost through the spinning spiked platforms.
Magicman
Tengu Blade. Spam while vulnerable. Win.
Complete the 5 remaining Crystal rooms, opening King's areas.
Area 1
He ran into Autos place, buying 2 of the sparkly symbol.
He used Lightning Bolt to Zip through the wall on the left. 2nd worm, use Ice Wall. You will pass ball-throwing viruses. Remember, lower patch, Tengu Blade on the virus. Ice Wall, jump into the ladder, or else.
There are 2 ways to delete this boss.
1 (What I did): Spawn Copy Vision under the vase, then lift it, allowing your copy to shoot it, so you can cover the monkey.
2 (What the runner did): Charge Shot spam, shooting the monkey, in case it appeared.
Area 2
Welcome to your local viral hall of glory, where the worst of the worst join forces to do you in. Copy Vision is your only friend (literally.), as the rest of the section is just climbing ladders.
This sub-boss was a pain in my *** on GBA. It supposedly has 5 weak points. Time to see how this guy covered it.
Lightning bolt for it's guns, Flash Bomb for it's head turrets (you can wait to detonate them.), Flash Bomb and Ice Wall for it's Soldier cabinet. Dead.
This section is ridiculously short as well. Damage boost, using Wave Burner to open a way through to the ladder.
I used Forte for a number of reasons. He can shoot in all directions, he can slide jump, and he can double jump. Sounds adequate for that much needed boost of confidence. Even if you have no idea where these platforms will spawn!!!!!!!!!
Our runner figured out they spawn in equal intervals and distances. Spread Drill in the middle, possibly separating this sub-boss into 2 pieces. Spread Drill for it's lazor turret. Stay away from those Bright Bombs, they will ruin your day. Good luck guessing how high the next platform is. As soon as the sub-boss died, our runner suicided. That did not stop him from appearing in the next section. Yes, the chests are mimics. Ice Wall to platform boost, then Spread Drill to get through the runway.
King
He has a shield. *** him, though, just use Lightning Bolt to clip into the ground, running into the next room. King is now Grape Soda Purple. The Tank and Flying Fortress return, both pissed off that you made them get new paint jobs. They merge into 1, then nose sniff the King into the control seat cockpit. In the process, a platform appears, something only possible for Rockman. Use this Platform to Charge Shot the King in his face, or use Lightning Bolt to stop the Megazord's attacks. Most of them, anyway. The combination could send this trio of terror exploding. No one ask me why the runner ran into the robot for lower HP, I am lost.
Wily area
Remember us? All of us? Each area is tailored to each Boss, telling you who is up next. Do not die, even if this guy is Damage Boosting through the day. He damage boosted, then quickly slid on spikes. I doubt that was a cheap tactic of some other sort. Dynamoman's Lightning Bolt will fly into the air and smite you. That is, unless you use Copy Vision as a dummy. So far, I am guessing less HP = more damage. Lightning Bolt clip again. I almost got a heart attack again, post-Groundman, he had to run back onto a platform, after almost getting sniped into oblivion. The lag is real.
Wily
The definition of insanity: Doing the same thing, over and over again, expecting different results. 1st, he brings his friends back from the dead, then he shows up in his old-*** Machine 8. You can lure him into ground pounding, but buster spam his face. Apparently, during phase 2, Lightning bolt gives invulnerability frames.
Excuse me while I mourn the loss of approximately 3 hours of lost time, while searching for a different game to consider speedrunning. Not this 1, no. Out of the many I intend to, not this 1.
Rockman.
YellowDevil
The beginning of this is a boring dodgeball fest. Shoot the 1st Mettori, 2nd Drixnol, and on your way out, the 3rd Drixnol. Water section: Damage boost your way past the 1st high platform using a Canodumb. 2nd, not needed, unless you are too slow. 3rd, damage boost is optional, just to invis your way onto the other water platform. Shoot the 2nd cannon on your way out, or it will shoot you. Heading towards a ladder, charge shot and 3 small shots will delete the upcoming Canodumb. This guy got sniped by a Drixnol on the way out, shoot it. 2 flying viruses should be shot down. Rain will push you back, beware. This guy landed on a Mettori, not sure how to cover that. Not sure if luck, but he managed to get a Sniper Joe to lower his defenses to spam shoot him to deletion. Blues gets no love. King will jump off-screen, leaving you to deal with YellowDevil.
Start with a charge shot, leaving the eye to be exposed early, then buster spam it to deletion. YellowDevil should not have a chance to do anything.
Coldman
Blast everything in your way until the 1st ladder, leaving the only out-of-way flying virus. (Yes, this game is particularly boring to explain, I have no idea what convinced me to do this.) Shoot the Mettori, leave the Batty alone, shoot the Pengy. (...then climb up the Laddy, charge up your Busty... #BadJokeEXE) Dodge the Bunny, this next section should be straightforward, do not fall. Buster spam the Snowroll's head. Up top, use the lower path.
Coldman
Charge in with a charge shot and 2 small shots. Dodge the Ice Wall...until Coldman summons a Cloudy. Unlike EXE, this Cloudy will slow you down by sticking to you. Shoot it before it gets too close. If you are quick, you can Charge/small shot Coldman before the 2nd arrives.
Burnerman
Okay, I laughed at this a little. You will approach a room involving a Sniper Joe, behind whom lies a camera barricade. Use Ice Wall as a platform to jump in behind him and move on. Those huge viruses can be damage boosted through. A clown-ish flying virus will show up, above whom is another camera barricade. Use an Ice Wall into it, then jump on it, through the barricade again. Slide through these barricades using Ice Wall, or you will fall. The top is tricky. Instead of sliding on it, immediately jump into the ladder. Counter the incoming Bouncing Ball with an Ice Wall, jumping toward the ladder. Dodgefest the pokers. Low path slide, damage boost the Canodumbs, Ice Wall the Big Bomb. (You have no idea how boring this to type about. NO IDEA!) Damage boost for the ladder...quickly...before the Forest Fire--- DUDE, I AM SO BORED BY THIS, I CANNOT EVEN MAKE A DECENT JOKE! THIS IS STRAIGHTFORWARD IT REALLY IS!
Burnerman
Ice Wall is Burnerman's weakness, and not just because of it being made of water. Burnerman will use Wave Burner (after spreading floor traps) in order to lure you into a spike pit on your side. Use Ice Wall to push him into the spike pit on his side instead. Apparently, you do not need to wait for Wave Burner, just do not let him jump.
Pirateman
...I see why this boss was rejected as an EXE Boss.
Not the ladder, go all the way to the right. Drop down using the next ladder. Do not climb back up. Underwater whales, this is so. Entirely. Creative. Use an Ice Wall to push you up as you damage boost, at the beginning of this room and the end. Wow, that was quick as hell. They do not call this a speedrun for nothing.
Pirateman
...REALLY!? PIRATEMAN!? CHANGE YOUR NAME! Bandit Boat Keith sounds more threatening, but *that* game is far more boring, personally. Pirateman, whose creator could use a late, dry slap, will through fake-*** Flash Bombs at you. Dodge, then use your Wave Burner...underwater...which is totally legit, because spinning, warm water is painful. SERIOUSLY, WHO CAME UP WITH THIS!? ...Occasionally, he will wrap himself inside a bubble, after when you may toss him like a salad with your...Wave...Burner... Know what? Next Boss.
Right Door, 2nd from the top. Use the D-pad to control your bomb's flight--- Know what? After this, I will not even consider running this game. I just...no. Anyone else can run it. I know I said I wanted every *** WR I could feasibly get my hands on, and I stand by that, but typing out this forum thread makes this very game boring as hell. I just thought I would let any reader know that, alright? Even Partners in Time is a better type out than this, retrospectively speaking! Just go 1 door down, light the fuse, light the crystal, grab your bolt... 2nd door on the left, spawn Ice Wall into the Crystal. Auto, buy the charge kit, the spike kit, and some flamey picture... I can read Japanese, but this guy is going fast. This *is* a speedrun, after all. That set aside, too boring to read, anyway.
Astroman
...without Magic Card. This is a feat I *must* observe. If you cannot damage the Sniper Joe, damage boost him. ...Look, at this point, everything is visibly straightforward. My head hurts from typing this out. Watching this sounded exciting, but typing it out was a terrible idea. I already started, I am going to get this over with. Use Ice Wall to speed boost your way up the ladder. (Metroid: Zero Mission. Maybe I should watch a WR for *that* game, then take notes.) *** the code, use Ice Wall to clip your way through the door. On that note, this is a 1-try thing. If you fail, you are better off simply getting the code, from my visible, untested experience. This must happen 2x. There are platforms returning from Iceman and Heatman. Go for the lower door, not the higher exit.
Astroman
Semi-charge buster spam him. My main issue with this boss: Unlike the previous game, he will purposely try to ram into you. I CANNOT DODGE THAT ***! Maybe *you* can, but I cannot! I am working on it, though. *jaw drops, falling through bottom screen, back onto top screen, onto head* Okay, he did it. He dodge Copy Vision spam, and he did not get any viral holes. Well, then.
Dynamoman
I hate this guy. HE RECOVS! I HATE THAT ALMOST AS MUCH AS I HATE TELEPORTING! Ice Wall the destroyable barriers, then Wave Burn the virus in front of the ladder at the bottom of this room...and the electrical crap after, and the electrical field after that. This next section will go by fairly quickly, if you can keep things stable Ice Wall push it, then ride it across the entire room. It will break, but you can maintain it by blasting every virus up high, buster spamming floating destructible platforms. I do not recommend Wave Burner, simply because I believe it will automatically destroy your Ice Wall. This was untested, though. As far as I know, anyway. If your Ice Wall falls, jump off before you do, as well, then generate another. At the end, you will see a Ladder and some spikes. Ice Wall speed boost onto the ladder. Sub-boss time. Wait, never mind, *** that, Ice Wall clip.
This next portion will be hard to explain, and screencapping is pointless. There is a light that will slowly show you the majority of the room, including the intended exit. Slowly. Copy Vision to shoot it, servers know why, the runner does, too, then fall down, slide, run a little, jump, slide again, then run, all in the western direction, into the next section. The light will show you a SURPRISE SPIKE PIT! jump over it, onto the platform on the other side, then drop down into the next room. Keep west, falling your way down into the next room. Go right, fall, immediately go left, when you can then jump and climb a hidden ladder, then go west into the next room. This guy essentially slides and jumps over pits, shooting any viruses which could slow him down, but he hits some. Not sure if you can dodge those, and if you can, if it would be faster.
Dynamoman
How I did this: Shoot him with Copy Vision, running out before he recoved all of his health.
How the runner did this: Semi-charge + small shot spam, then quickly shoot his regenerators. Copy Vision in the air, as a backup, then shoot in his direction. Dead.
Groundman
Falling amidst the sand could speed your descent. Damage boost every lizard but the 4th, whom you will Ice Wall in the face. Throw a Flash Bomb (because that is exactly what the are) in the top left portion of this room. The giant worm will take massive damage. It will then stare at itself as it pokes something large out of the ground. Shoot it in it's face, before you find out what happens next. WHOOOOOOOOA! Okay. You will see some metallic platforms. They will tip, and if you stand on them too long, you will fall. Lightning Bolt in the range of the tipping platform, resulting in a zip! Climb up the ladder. Sniper Joe. assess it. Damage boost. Destroy everything in this room, proceeding right as you go along. Climb down the ladder, use Ice Wall to push you down the sand faster, then run your way through the door on the right side of this long room. Ride an Ice Wall, shooting everything up until the Sniper Joe, then jump off.
Groundman
Flash Bombs stick to him, but in either case, when they detonate, he falls to the ground. Whatever. Do not let him use Large Drill.
Tenguman
This autoscrolling section. What this guy did, during this entire section. Do not go too high. Remember, Mario Balloons pop when you stand on them too long, or even jump early. Luigi Balloons do not pop, as far as I can remember. Remote Bomb is your friend, that is all I can say here.
Tenguman
Spread Drill. In his face. Do not do what I did.
What I did (see end of video, preferably 8 minutes in.):
Magicman
Welcome to the rip-off of Clownman's stage. How? You will see in a minute. These soldiers are special. Not only do they come in recolors, they drain your bolts, not HP. I almost got a heart attack, watching this guy Ice Wall damage boost onto the next platform. He managed to simply slide and Ice Wall his way through this entire stage, then damage boost through the spinning spiked platforms.
Magicman
Tengu Blade. Spam while vulnerable. Win.
Complete the 5 remaining Crystal rooms, opening King's areas.
Area 1
He ran into Autos place, buying 2 of the sparkly symbol.
He used Lightning Bolt to Zip through the wall on the left. 2nd worm, use Ice Wall. You will pass ball-throwing viruses. Remember, lower patch, Tengu Blade on the virus. Ice Wall, jump into the ladder, or else.
There are 2 ways to delete this boss.
1 (What I did): Spawn Copy Vision under the vase, then lift it, allowing your copy to shoot it, so you can cover the monkey.
2 (What the runner did): Charge Shot spam, shooting the monkey, in case it appeared.
Area 2
Welcome to your local viral hall of glory, where the worst of the worst join forces to do you in. Copy Vision is your only friend (literally.), as the rest of the section is just climbing ladders.
This sub-boss was a pain in my *** on GBA. It supposedly has 5 weak points. Time to see how this guy covered it.
Lightning bolt for it's guns, Flash Bomb for it's head turrets (you can wait to detonate them.), Flash Bomb and Ice Wall for it's Soldier cabinet. Dead.
This section is ridiculously short as well. Damage boost, using Wave Burner to open a way through to the ladder.
I used Forte for a number of reasons. He can shoot in all directions, he can slide jump, and he can double jump. Sounds adequate for that much needed boost of confidence. Even if you have no idea where these platforms will spawn!!!!!!!!!
Our runner figured out they spawn in equal intervals and distances. Spread Drill in the middle, possibly separating this sub-boss into 2 pieces. Spread Drill for it's lazor turret. Stay away from those Bright Bombs, they will ruin your day. Good luck guessing how high the next platform is. As soon as the sub-boss died, our runner suicided. That did not stop him from appearing in the next section. Yes, the chests are mimics. Ice Wall to platform boost, then Spread Drill to get through the runway.
King
He has a shield. *** him, though, just use Lightning Bolt to clip into the ground, running into the next room. King is now Grape Soda Purple. The Tank and Flying Fortress return, both pissed off that you made them get new paint jobs. They merge into 1, then nose sniff the King into the control seat cockpit. In the process, a platform appears, something only possible for Rockman. Use this Platform to Charge Shot the King in his face, or use Lightning Bolt to stop the Megazord's attacks. Most of them, anyway. The combination could send this trio of terror exploding. No one ask me why the runner ran into the robot for lower HP, I am lost.
Wily area
Remember us? All of us? Each area is tailored to each Boss, telling you who is up next. Do not die, even if this guy is Damage Boosting through the day. He damage boosted, then quickly slid on spikes. I doubt that was a cheap tactic of some other sort. Dynamoman's Lightning Bolt will fly into the air and smite you. That is, unless you use Copy Vision as a dummy. So far, I am guessing less HP = more damage. Lightning Bolt clip again. I almost got a heart attack again, post-Groundman, he had to run back onto a platform, after almost getting sniped into oblivion. The lag is real.
Wily
The definition of insanity: Doing the same thing, over and over again, expecting different results. 1st, he brings his friends back from the dead, then he shows up in his old-*** Machine 8. You can lure him into ground pounding, but buster spam his face. Apparently, during phase 2, Lightning bolt gives invulnerability frames.
Excuse me while I mourn the loss of approximately 3 hours of lost time, while searching for a different game to consider speedrunning. Not this 1, no. Out of the many I intend to, not this 1.
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