Mega Man FAQ/Walkthrough: The Ultimate Guide For PERFECT Normal Gun Gaming

Written by:  Jeremiah DeShetler aka jedisamurai
Email:   [email protected]
Version 2.0
Written from 1/25/04-1/30/04



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Version 1.0
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Completed 1/30/2004.


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Version 1.1
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Nick's Log (1/31/04)

Fixed format consistency problems
Fixed stupid grammatical errors
Reminder about "Avoiding Big Eyes" strategy


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Version 1.2
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Some selective self-editing (2/2/2004)
Deleted a couple repetitive sections to shorten FAQ
Re-worded some sentences
Minor spelling corrections
Eliminated many of my transitional(...)s.  It's a bad habit that I have that I
need to break, because that's semi-colons are for.


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Version 2.0
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2/10/2004
Added Cutman's Blade In The Dark strategy upon requests
Some more minor grammar, spelling, and re-wording corrections
Added an alternate strategy for the two quick jumps on Rock Monster, as well as
a descriptional correction on spacing.
Added additional information on 1st Elecman's full pattern.
Updated my personal speed run record time (w/o select cheat) to 25:59.69.



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
TABLE OF CONTENTS
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


I.      THE FIRST WORD
II.     INTRODUCTION
III.    HOW TO CORRECTLY USE THIS GUIDE
IV.     CONSIDERATIONS
V.      TERMS FOR GAMEPLAY, MOVING MEGAMAN, AND HIT DETECTION
VI.     ENEMY LIST/DESCRIPTION
VII.    THE WALKTHROUGH
a.      Fireman
b.      Bombman
c.      Gutsman
d.      Cutman
e.      Elecman
f.      Iceman
g.      Dr. Wily Stage 1
h.      Dr. Wily Stage 2
i.      Dr. Wily Stage 3
j.      Dr. Wily Stage 4

VIII.   PLAYING THE GAME USING THE WEAPONS:  A QUICK REFERENCE TO SUBSTITUTE
WEAPONS IN KEY PLACES FOR THE NORMAL GUN, ASSORTED BY STAGE
IX.     CUTMAN BEYOND ALL EXTREMES: A FURTHER GUIDE TO COMPLETELY HUMILIATE
THIS STAGE
a.      The Pacifist-- How to beat this stage without shooting (except for
Cutman himself)
b.      A Blade In The Dark-- How to beat this stage while blindfolded!
(Yes, I have done it, and more than once).
X.      ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND OTHER COOL STUFF
XI.     COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
XII.    THE FINAL WORD



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SECTION I.  THE FIRST WORD
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


My hope is that this guide will actually be useful and the descriptions will
help you out.  I have tried to be detailed without going overboard into making
this guide cumbersome for the reader.  It's my hope that it's not a burden to
read.

Everything I have ever accomplished on this game, and any other game I have
ever played, has been done with no usage of emulators whatsoever.  Everything
that is detailed in this FAQ can be done on the REAL CARTRIDGE for the Nintendo
Entertainment System.  You could easily find a perfect emulator run that might
help you, but it will be save-stated thousands of times, and it'll be a run
that cannot possibly be recreated on the real cartridge.

If you have questions or comments about anything in this FAQ, skip down to
Section XII: The Final Word to find out how to contact me.



======DEDICATIONS========


To myself and everyone else who loves Megaman.  Keep it old school and keep it
strong.

To anybody who recognizes my name on the NES message boards.  I read the boards
a lot but don't post that much, so I can't say that I have many friends on the
boards, but it does make me feel good when people remember me after a long
absence.

To Nick M, who encouraged me to write this guide last summer and has helped me
edit this guide.  This FAQ might be too long, but he read every word.

Finally, to everyone at the Mike Tyson's Punch-out board here at gamefaqs.
There isn't a better message board at gamefaqs, or more respecting gamers, than
there is at the MTPO board.  All of you guys are great gamers, and the spirit
of that board should carry over to more message boards at gamefaqs.  So this is
also for BSulpher, Daniel T, Above Average, Jack Wedge, RedTom, Chrome Virus,
and the other regulars of the MTPO board (sorry if I forgot you!).  Special
thanks to mrturk, whose strategies helped me a lot on MTPO.  MTPO is a game at
which I'm also an expert, however, it's not a game that I can develop strategy
for.  I can follow them, but not SEE them in the game.  Matt, your continued
amazing strategies has tremendously helped my gaming and shown me that my
mastery of Megaman is not so unusual.




+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SECTION II.  INTRODUCTION TO THIS FAQ/GUIDE/WALKTHROUGH
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


My name is Jeremiah DeShetler, aka jedisamurai on the gamefaqs message board,
and I'll be your caretaker for this guide through Megaman 1.  Without trying to
sound like a braggart, I will tell you that I have written this FAQ for the
simple reason that I think I have accomplished more on this game than any other
person I know, or have ever heard of, and I think that I can write a better FAQ
than the ones currently posted on gamefaqs.  I mean, honestly, how many FAQs do
you need to tell you that Elecman can be beaten by 3 Rolling Cutters?  But an
FAQ that details his exact pattern to be beaten with the Normal Gun simply does
not exist. That's why this guide is necessary.

I've tried to provide extensive detail for not just playing the game, but for
playing it with only the Normal Gun and giving you strategies for how to do so
HITLESS.  The ultimate goal of this guide is to not help you beat the game,
but to MASTER the game.  I do not claim these to be the only strategies, by any
means.  I believe them to be the BEST strategies, however, and the fact they
are detailed in Normal Gun mode will let the gamer try to do each strategy with
the Normal Gun or translate the knowledge easily into a game using the Weapons.
Feel free to find your own strategies or modify the strategies listed.  In
fact, there are things that I do on the game that are more advanced and take
even more timing than those listed here, but I'm at a point where I've made
even those advanced strategies easy.  The strategies listed below are the ones
that I think almost everybody can follow and have a good chance of executing
successfully.

If you're going to email me with alternate strategies, keep in mind that I
PROBABLY already know about them but for some reason have chosen not to include
them in this guide.  I'm always willing to read about possible new strategies,
just don't expect me to include yours in the guide just because it's different.
If I include it, even if it's something I already knew and simply forgot about,
I will give you credit though.




++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SECTION III.   HOW TO USE THIS FAQ/GUIDE/WALKTHROUGH
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


If you want the story of Mega Man, look at another guide.  I'm not really big
on writing out a bunch of stuff that you already know.  My goal is to help
those who have played the game before achieve a better game.  It is not
designed to teach a new gamer how to play this game; so if you need that kind
of help, this guide is not for you.


This guide WILL NOT, in and of itself, let you become a master of the game.
While this guide will contain a sub-section on Weapons usage to help you out,
keep in mind all strategies in the main section of the guide are for the NORMAL
GUN!!!  Again, I do not claim that my strategies are the only strategies for
achieving perfection in the game, but I believe them to be the best because
they take advantage of 100% occurrences in the game and eliminate much of the
random chance, which other FAQs and strategies would have you rely on or do not
mention at all.



++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SECTION IV.  CONSIDERATIONS AND WARNINGS BEFORE YOU BECOME FRUSTRATED
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



Hey, most of these strategies take considerable skill to pull off.  They take
practice and lots of precision shooting and precision jumping.  Now, they
SHOULD be able to help you out regardless of your skill level to improve the
quality of your gaming.  However, if you're seeking to go for hitless games or
beat the bosses hitless, then you better be pretty good.  I happen to suck at
some games that you might be a master on, and so it would be the same if you
wrote a detailed FAQ and I couldn't follow it.

Remember, before you email and complain to me that my strategies are BS, that a
pattern is a pattern.  The patterns in this game will not fail you if you
perform the correct actions; just be certain THAT YOU DO NOT FAIL THE PATTERN!




++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SECTION V.  TERMS FOR GAMEPLAY, MOVING MEGAMAN, AND HIT/AREA DETECTION
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



This section is not your typical controller section on how to move a
character.  I will try to detail things you need to learn to accomplish in
order to play Megaman (any of the 6 NES Megamans) at an extremely high level.

1)      If I refer to a "space" in measurement terms, this refers to the width of
Megaman on the game screen, or a single block of the screen (like the
invisible blocks).

2)      If I refer to a "pattern", what I mean is that this occurs every time you
play the game if you perform the strategy correctly.   ***NOTE--- If
something is a pattern, it has never failed me, meaning it works 100% of
the time!!!  However, due to human error, both you and I will sometimes
happen to fail the pattern and not execute it correctly.  Before you get
frustrated, analyze your own game.  Maybe you are a half-space
off....maybe your shooting isn't as precise as it needs to be?


3)      The "A" Drop-- When you're on a ladder, hitting "A" will make Megaman let
go of the ladder and drop down quickly.  Ideal for quickly avoiding an
enemy without sacrificing a hit.  Most useful for dropping into a screen
instead of climbing down into the screen.  Many times, the "A" drop is
much better for timing on a screen.  Also, this ability is absolutely
necessary at times for hitless runs and speed runs.

4)      Edge-Jumping-- A critical skill for high-level Megaman play.  An edge-
jump is the term I personally use for the ABSOLUTE furthest on a block
that Megaman can move to...and one more tap would make him fall off the
block.  Learning to do this is a key to great gaming on any Megaman
game.  Sometimes you slowly ease into the spot, but you MUST learn to run
and jump at the precise moment.   A great place to practice is in
Iceman's stage.  When you get to the water at the beginning, take out the
Spine in between the group of blocks.  Now just take running jumps back
and forth over those two areas of blocks...in order to make it from one
set to the other, you MUST be able to edge-jump.  If you can't do it, you
need to wait a split second longer.


=====MOVING MEGAMAN======


Using the above terms, these are the skills you need to execute this guide to
its fullest ability.  They are not entirely necessary to beat the entire game
or execute some strategies, but to execute ALL OF THE STRATEGIES IN THIS GUIDE
you will need these skills.

Precision jumping #1 (height/distance)-- When you jump, Megaman only jumps as
high as the length of time you hold the A button down.  That means you need to
practice taking small quick hops and medium hops, but only just high enough to
take you out of range of the enemy.  If you cannot do this, you haven't a
prayer of executing any strategy in here.  The best thing to do is to find a
spot where there are no enemies; pick a spot on the wall, and take small hops
and try to shoot that exact spot over and over.

Precision jumping (leaving/landing on a platform)-- Learn to jump from and land
Megaman on the very edge of blocks so that you don't have any wasted motion
(again, see the "Edge-Jump" above).  You only need to land him with half of his
foot on the block to hold it...in other words, his area of detection is larger
than it looks.  For example, in Fireman's stage, you only need a single small
tap on the controller to hold the block when you drop from the ladder into the
"Halfway Point" screen.  Landing on a platform the correct way saves you many
hits and is vital for completing certain screens in the game.


Precision shooting-- The most important.  Learn to shoot while you are rising
in the air, and learn to hold your shots until you are falling back down.  Most
gamers only shoot at the apex of Megaman's jump or when he's on the ground.
This limits their ability to play the game.  Sometimes a large hop is needed
for something, but a shot at something in the medium range is required.  Take
the large hop, but ON YOUR WAY UP is when to shoot to take it out, allowing the
jump to carry you where you need to go.  This is critical for when you are
jumping across a gap while an enemy is coming at you.  Also, letting Megaman
reach the top of his jump and not shooting until he is descending again is
vital for some strategies in this game (Elecman, Clone, etc.).  And finally,
remember the title of this section.  PRECISION shooting.  Contrary to popular
belief, it is not necessary to mash the button to have Megaman firing out
50,000 bullets at a time.  Only fire just as many shots as you need.... if
you're running towards a Screw Bomber, don't fire the whole time.  Your timing
is going to be seriously compromised, because you can only have 3 shots on a
screen at a time.  Wait until you're right on top of it, then fire three quick
shots that you KNOW will hit, and you'll take it out before it even shoots.

Changing directions in mid-move-- Megaman has a high level of responsiveness,
even in mid-move.  When you're taking a long jump in mid-air, you can quickly
switch directions and land at almost the same spot you just left from if your
reflexes are quick enough.  This is necessary for the "avoiding Big Eyes"
strategy that I will explain in the "Enemies" section.

Detection area-- This goes for both Megaman and the enemies.  Megaman's hit
detection is one space wide and 2 spaces tall.  Remember, it's not where it
LOOKS like it is; the hit detection throughout the game is based on single
squares and spaces, and NOT how the enemy or Megaman looks on the screen.  For
example, a Flying Shell is shaped like a circle.  However, its hit detection
area is a square.  Hit detection area is the reason why in the Fire Trap area
of Fireman's level, you can inch yourself into the traps until Megaman looks
like he's halfway into it...the Flame's hit range is only one space wide, even
though the shape of the flame makes it looks like two spaces wide.




++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SECTION VI.  ENEMIES IN THE GAME
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



I've had this game for a long time and so I've always used the names for
enemies as they are listed in the instruction book, with the exceptions of the
Hard Hats, so all credit for names goes to the instruction book.  Extraneous
comments on the Robot Masters are NOT in the book :).


Dr. Wily-- The head honcho.  He wants take over the world and take Megaman
out.  If you don't know who the hell Dr. Wily is then where have you been the
last 17 years?

Fireman-- A Robot Master.  He throws fire.  You get the Fire Shot if you defeat
him.  Popular with smokers since he's always good for a light.

Iceman-- A Robot Master.  He throws ice.  You get the Ice Slasher if you beat
him.  Popular at parties for his unique ability to always keep the keg cold,
but not the best conversationalist.

Bombman-- A Robot Master.  He throws bombs.  You get to throw Hyper Bombs if
you defeat him.  He hates kids.  Almost blew one up last 4th of July when he
became offended that the kid only offered him a sparkler to celebrate the
holiday.

Cutman-- A Robot Master.  He throws boomerang blades at you.  You get the
Rolling Cutters if you defeat him.  Long running feud with Papercut-man over
naming rights ended recently when Cutman won a hard fought game of
paper/rock/scissors when Papercut-man betrayed his "cutting" heritage by
foolishly choosing paper.  In a recent interview with jedisamurai of the
Gamefaqs Times, Cutman declared "I was destined to win.  I look better, I'm
stronger, and besides, he was an oxymoron!!!"

Elecman-- A Robot Master.  He throws his Thunder Beam at you and is not to be
messed with, unless you have the strategy (which I do).  I would make fun of
him but he's a badass.  You get the Thunder Beam for yourself if you defeat
him.

Gutsman-- A Robot Master.  Jumps around, shaking the ground, and throwing
boulders at you.  You get the Strong Arm upgrade if you defeat him, which is
necessary to grab the Magnet Beam and continue onward in Dr. Wily's stages.
Furthermore, Gutsman strength makes him pretty handy at moving furniture too.

Blader-- Flying enemy that darts down at you when you get close.  Shows up on
several stages, including the very beginning of Cutman's stage.

Hard Hat (aka Met)-- The only enemy to appear in EVERY Megaman game.  Opens up
his shell to try to shoot you.  Everyone should know who this is.

Flea-- Bouncy-type thing that is the first enemy you meet in Bombman's stage.
Also appears in several other stages.

Spine-- Disk looking thing that slides along the ground.  Moves slowly, except
when Megaman is on the ground beside it.  Appears on several stages.

Octopus Battery-- A four tentacled enemy that moves horizontally or vertically
from wall to wall and tries to get in Megaman's way.  Appears on several
stages, mostly in Cutman's stage.

Screw Bomber-- Mounted on the wall or ceiling, when Megaman is within about 5
spaces it rises up to shoot you.  First enemy you meet on Fireman's stage, and
appears on several other stages.

Watcher-- Appears when Megaman tries to climb ladders in Elecman's stage.  It
opens it's eyes and shoots you with electricity.

Penguin-- It's a flying penguin.  You'll see it on Iceman's stage.

Killer Bullet-- A bullet that flies towards you and explodes when you shoot it.

Flying Shell-- An orange shell that floats through the air and fires an eight-
shot volley every time it shoots.

Wall Cannon (aka Beak)-- Mounted on the walls, they shoot you.  Do you need any
more description than that?

Bombomb-- Bombs that fly up into the area and explode in four different places
in Bombman's stage.  Easy to avoid.

Tackle Fire-- A set of three flames that fly up into the air and then slowly
float down in Fireman's stage.

Crazy Razy-- A weird looking green guy that appears only in Iceman's stage, at
the very beginning.  Shooting it low causes it to separate and hit you, so take
a small hop and shoot it in the face!!!

Foot Holder-- Moving platforms that attempt to shoot you in Iceman's stage.
You need to jump across them to clear the large pit in the stage.

Picket Man-- Appears only on Gutsman's stage.  Hurls pick-axes at you.

Sniper Joe-- A guy in green that appears in Bombman's stage.  Invulnerable
while he has his shield up, shoot at him when he moves it.

Big Eye-- Huge hopping enemy that guards the chamber doors in several stages,
and appear right away to assault you in Dr. Wily Stage 1.  Taking 15 shots to
kill, he actually requires more hits to kill with the Normal Gun than 4 out of
6 Robot Masters and also takes off more energy if he hits you.

----Avoiding Big Eyes Strategy

I originally had this written in Dr. Wily Stage 1, but I have moved it here
because I think it will be easier to see and find.

You immediately have a mighty task to face upon entering Wily Stage 1, in the
form of three Big Eyes.  Now, you ask, "How am I supposed to avoid all three of
these guys without some incredible luck?"  Well, that's why I'm here my friend,
and here's the GUARANTEED way to get by them, if you can execute it.  I gotta
warn you though, it DOES take some decent reflexes.

Run right towards it, until you're about 3 spaces away...then face left.  It
will take another hop towards you.  It doesn't matter whether it's big hop or
small hop...if you get caught up in thinking "Damn, I should have run under him
when he did that big hop," you'll always depend on LUCK and not on SKILL.  So
okay...it's taken another hop, and it's right beside you.  Here's what you need
to do.  JUST before the Big Eye jumps, take a medium sized hop, almost
straight-up, with a slight tap to the left.  Be watching the Big Eye as it
starts it's jump; if it takes a small hop, then keep holding left and land
again and be ready to do the same thing over again.  However, on a big jump,
QUICKLY shift Megaman back to the right and run under him.  Sounds almost
impossible, right?  Wrong....Megaman falls quicker than the Big Eye, and you
can change directions with him in a micro-second if your reflexes are quick
enough.

Hey, I'm not gonna feed you a line of BS....this takes some skill.  But you
wouldn't be reading this FAQ if you didn't want to learn how to improve your
skill.  If being perfect were easy, then the 7 or 8 FAQs already listed would
be plenty, and I wouldn't feel any need for this one.  Whatever happens, don't
get discouraged if you can't execute this strategy.  Even I mess it up
sometimes, it just takes practice and some acquired skill.





++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SECTION VII.  THE WALKTHROUGH aka THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO NORMAL GUN GAMING
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



And here's what you've wanted to see.  Again, all strategies are for a Normal
Gun game, so there's no reason to provide a robot order to fight the stages
in.  You're using the same weapon for all of them.  Just make sure that you go
to Gutsman before Elecman, as you need Strong Arm to get to the Magnet Beam in
Elecman's stage.  In a Normal Gun game, it's still necessary to use Strong Arm
4 times in the game (to get the Magnet Beam, twice in Wily Stage 1, and Wily
Stage 4).  It's only necessary to use the Magnet Beam one time, in Wily Stage
1.

Strategies and substitute strategies for a Weapons Game will be provided in a
separate section of this FAQ, after the Normal Gun strategies.




===========FIREMAN==========


i.)     On the first screen, the first three Screw Bombers can be killed from
the ladders.  You can register a hit without them even standing up if
you fire just under them while still on the ladder (see Hit Detection
section and read the part about it being a square).  Moving right,
stop one space to the left of the Screw Bomber that's below you on the
lower path and wait for it to fire its two shots.  When it's done, run
towards the right, starting your fire about five spaces away from
Screw Bomber on the same level as you.  Five spaces is its sensor area
for Megaman, so it'll try to rise up and kill you and instead meet
your bullets without ever getting a shot off.  Go down the ladder and
do the same on the lower level as you run to the left.  Continue
running towards the right, wait for the flame column and jump for the
ladder.  To guarantee yourself of not getting hit, jump and grab the
ladder as high as you can so the Tackle Fires will come back down the
screen at an angle that favors you.  If they descend directly towards
you, "A" drop down to the ground and they'll fly over you.  Climb the
ladders and continue.


ii.)    On the next screen, simply climb the ladders to the screen above,
ignoring the power-up.  Since you're reading this to NOT get hit, you
don't need power-ups anyway.


iii.)   In this screen, take your time through the two flame columns.  Once
past these, pause 3 spaces away from the laser flame thing and wait
for it to fire.  Run towards it as it's getting ready to shut down,
and edge-jump to miss the remainder of the laser (see Edge-Jumping in
the above section) to miss it.  Jump again to get on the available
block, wait for the above laser to fire, and then continue.  With an
edge-jump, Megaman can clear the next gap without even jumping on the
lower block (this is a good place to practice your running jump from
the very edge of a block to maximize Megaman's leaping distance!!!).
Avoiding the flame columns here is easy, so do this and continue down
to the next screen.  Don't even bother with the ladder, and fall down
the gap.

iv.)    If you fell down the gap, you'll miss the flame column.  Move left,
avoid the other flame column and start climbing down the ladder.  The
Tackle Fire on this screen is a non-factor.  As soon as you're on the
ladder, "A" Drop down into the next screen.

v.)     As soon as this screen appears with Megaman falling, all you need is
one tap and you'll land on the very edge of block with the flame
column.  Start a running jump just as the flame column is re-entering
the ground to avoid it and make the jump to the next one.  Do the same
here to land on the platform with the ladder.  If you get through the
flame columns and they only fire once each, this first set of Tackle
Fire will be a non-factor as they descend.  Or at least they never hit
me.  Continuing to the right across the platforms, you'll probably
have to kill a Tackle Fire or two in the next set of them if they are
falling down in your way (they likely will be).  The flame column
beneath you will be firing just as you are killing them if you're not
taking too long.  Jump directly above the flame column JUST as it
starts to go down, and you'll land unhurt right after it's in the
ground.  It'll be a close call, but that's what playing a hitless game
takes.... being aggressive.  Very quickly jump to the next platform,
wait for the flame column to go down here and immediately jump to the
right.  It's important to move quickly because if you wait on the
platform the Tackle Fire almost certainly is descending upon you at
this point, and with the flame column right beside you, you are
definitely taking a hit.  In any case, climb the ladder to what I call
the Fire Trap Room...

vi.)    The Fire Trap room can be tough to get through, even when you know
exactly what to do.  Here's the trick to it though. Climb the ladder
so that you're next to the gap where the flames are falling down
through the room.  The secret for the first gap is to inch Megaman so
that about 1/3 of his body is into that gap.  It will look like the
flame is hitting the right side of your body, but the beauty of hit
detection will allow you to not get hit.  Whenever you're comfortable,
time the flame by starting your run to the right JUST BEFORE it goes
past you.  By the time you're moving, it will be past.  Remember that
you only have to get Megaman out of hit detection, not necessarily out
of range on the other side.  If it helps, you can also watch the top
of the screen for the first gap.... as soon as you see a new flame
coming down, that's when you run.  You don't even have to watch
Megaman if you do that.  I'm not a big fan of doing it that way, but
it DOES work.  Anyway, when you're through the first gap, go up the
ladder and lightly tap four times to the left.  Megaman will look like
he's barely touching the flames.  Timing is more crucial here.... you
don't want to be as far into the flame as you were the first gap
because you need a running start.  Whenever you're ready, watch the
flames coming down from the top...time your run so that you start
running AS SOON AS you see a flame coming from the top.... the flame
will pass JUST before the hit detection range and you'll get through
BARELY as the next flame is coming down.  Like I said...it takes some
timing to do.

vii.)   On the next screen, go to the right, firing the whole time, to hit the
Killer Bullets as they appear in the screen.   Jump over the first
Spine and climb down the ladder.  Wait until this Spine gets under you
and starts going back to the left.  Drop down and follow it, but let
it get out of the screen (and out of your way!).  If you did it right,
it will disappear, allowing you to continue without getting hit.  The
spine on the lowest level will be moving left as you climb down the
ladder.  Shoot the Killer Bullets as they're flying towards you if
necessary.  Just after the Spine goes under you, drop off the ladder
and run/hop towards the right, shooting the whole time in case the
Killer Bullets are coming.  The Spine will be right behind you, that's
why the hopping is necessary to slow it down.  Jump across the gaps
and keep on running to make the Tackle Fire a non-factor.  If you
stop, they might get in your way.  When you get to the two flame
columns, starting running as soon as the first flame goes down and
jump into the chamber door as soon as you can to avoid the second
flame.

viii.)  In the corridor, simply take your time and jump-shoot to kill the
Screw Bombers.  Remember, their detection radius is about 5 spaces, so
just stay out of range until you kill them.  After the corridor, enter
the chamber to fight Fireman.




BOSS---  FIREMAN


Fireman is the absolute EASIEST pattern to execute in the game.  Don't fire a
shot right away.  As soon as you can move when the fight starts, simply move so
that Mega Man is splitting the 2nd and 3rd block from the left.  While you're
doing this, Fireman will move to between 6th and 7th blocks from the right.
Then just press A + B simultaneously.  You will fire and jump at the same time,
hitting him while at the same time jumping over the shot that he fired at you.
Just keep doing it and he is done.  It cannot get simpler than that.  In fact,
you actually cannot execute a hitless pattern using Ice Slasher, the weapon
that Fireman is weakest against.  At least, I've never gone hitless with the
weapon.





===========BOMBMAN=========





i.)     Be aggressive and come out jump-firing as you move towards the right
so that you hit the Fleas as they jump towards you.  If you hesitate,
they'll probably hit you.  Continue right and jump over the gaps....
hug the wall as the bombs explode and they won't hit you, but as soon
as they're done quickly move on and jump to the next one.  After you
clear these gaps, keep going right.  There'll be Screw Bombers on the
ground, but don't even worry about killing them.  Be aggressive and
jump onto the platform above the first Screw Bomber, landing just at
the edge so you miss its straight up shot.  Pause a moment, then when
its 2nd shot goes by, run quickly to the right and jump onto the above
platform with the power-ups (if you moved quickly enough, the
straight-up shot from the 2nd Screw Bomber just missed you.)  Close
timing, but an easy pattern to execute.    Again, be aggressive and
just ignore the fact that the Screw Bomber is firing beneath you as
you're jumping to the power-up platform.... trust me, it will miss if
you're running.  Pause here a moment in this safe spot (neither Screw
Bomber's shots can reach you from here).  When you see an opening, go
ahead and jump to the right and go up the ladder.  Alternately, you
can drop to the ground beside the first Screw Bomber, then run right
and take all 3 of them out, but it's something that I rarely do.  Do
as you will though.

ii.)    Regardless of what happened on the previous screen, on this next
screen, climb up and kill the first two Wall Cannons as quickly as
possible by firing a single shot as soon as you're level with it.
Again, trust me, even if it's closed when you fire your shot, it will
be open by the time the shot arrives.  When you kill the 2nd Wall
Cannon, Megaman's hand should be no higher than the 3rd rung on the
ladder (if you're counting from the top).  By doing so, you won't even
have to move to avoid the other two Cannons shots, their shots will
simply miss you.  As soon as you can move again, just climb up as
quickly as you can and jump to the left and up the ladder (you don't
have to kill the other two, and they will never hit you if done
correctly).  If you don't think you can move quickly enough, go ahead
and climb up and kill the other two Wall Cannons before
continuing...but you really don't have to kill them if you're fast
enough.

iii.)   On the next screen, Sniper Joe will greet you.  Greet HIM by firing as
you're running towards the right.  Most of the time he'll land on the
screen with his shield wide open, letting you get several shots.  Do
quick hops to avoid his shots when he does fire.  If/when he gets
protective, fire JUST barely over his head.  He'll be stupid enough to
jump up into them.  You gotta be quick to avoid his fast little shots,
but you should waste him without a problem by doing this.  Continue
right until you get to the gaps with Killer Bullets flying at you and
Wall Cannons below.  This section is easy if you pause for a bit on
the top little tower, wait until you see the Killer Bullet flying at
you, and then run off the tower and landing on the area below.  You'll
clear the gap by just running off the little tower with ease, so don't
jump to get across (meaning, don't kill the Killer Bullets, just trick
them into flying halfway up the screen before simply dropping down; I
mean, shoot them if necessary, but with some decent timing, it's not
necessary at all really).  Then take a quick hop/shoot to kill the
Wall Cannon.  You'll clear the gap by just running off the little
tower with ease.  Move quickly to get on the next tower before the
next Killer Bullet comes at you.  Keep going right while shooting to
take out the Killer Bullets as they enter the screen.  At the far end
right climb to the next screen.

iv.)    Easy screen.  Climb to the top as quickly as possible.  As soon as you
get to the top, just jump to the left and go up the ladder.  Need to
be quick though at the top of the ladder, the Killer Bullet will be
right behind you.  You shouldn't have to fire a shot.

v.)     On the next screen, the Flying Shell will be coming towards you.
Don't kill it at first and let it fire.  Kill it before it fires it's
2nd round of shots and get onto the one-space block.  Another Flying
Shell will be coming when you do.  Don't even bother killing it.  Just
let it fire its first shots and they will miss.  As soon as it's done
firing, jump up and across the blocks to the other side of the
spikes.  Two more Flying Shells will be coming, but if you hit the
ground running and don't stop, neither will hit you with its shots
(although, you may have to take a small little hop as you're running,
just to be certain).  Jump onto the ladder and just fire to the right
to kill the next Flying Shell before it gets off a shot.  Climb to the
top of the ladder and move one space to the right.  Another Flying
Shell will be coming by this time, and by standing here, its next two
sets of shots will miss Megaman.  After those two shots, just fall to
the bottom, ignoring the Sniper Joe guarding the Extra Man.  REMEMBER,
GETTING THE ENEMIES (ie the Flying Shells) TO REACT THIS WAY DEPENDS
ON YOU NOT HESITATING WHEN YOU SHOULD BE MOVING!!!!  Go right until
you get to the Sniper Joe guarding the chamber door.  Just jump up and
fire shots, and eventually Joe will move his shield to try to hit you
and your shots will hit him.  He'll miss you because by the time he's
fired, you'll be back on the ground.  Repeat until he's dead and enter
the chamber.

vi.)    In the chamber, you can just jump down the right side and 90% of the
time you won't take a hit (occasionally the last Octopus Battery will
get you).  To guarantee success, I climb down the ladder at the first
screen and then "A" Drop down the ladder on the next screen when I see
an opening.  On the 2nd screen, as soon as I see them away from the
right side, then I drop and fall to the right.  Do as you wish; it's
your choice.  Just jumping straight down the right side is ALOT
easier, there's just that small chance you'll take a hit.




BOSS---  BOMBMAN



Bombman has no SPECIFIC patterns, but he can only do so many things.  I
recommend staying near him at the start (meaning, land in the chamber on the
right side).  The fight can go three basic ways...


1)      Bombman will do a small hop to try and jump on you.  Run under him to the
right, turn and fire, and he will do a hop to the left to try to land on
you again.  Run back under right and turn and shoot him.  He will then
start chucking bombs, or...

2)      He will take a large hop to the left side of the room right off the bat.
Run towards him while firing.

3)      If he's in one corner and forcing you to the other corner, RUN TOWARDS
HIM!!!  Do NOT let him trap you in the corner as this will mess up your
perfect fight.



Important thing to keep in mind is that you want to be close to him before he
starts throwing bombs, because you don't want to be backed into the corner.
Always keep the pressure on by running towards him.  A close proximity will
actually keep him from throwing bombs at all!!!!!  Just watch so that he
doesn't jump on you (run under him if you're close) and keep firing.  Also
remember that if he does throw a bomb, the peak of Megaman's jump carries him
JUST outside the blast radius of the bomb if you're jumping away to the left or
right.  Mostly, if you just keep firing and time your jumps to carry you
outside the blast radius of the bombs, you shouldn't have any problems.





========GUTSMAN========



i.)     Take out the Hard Hats and head right to the moving platform.  Do your
best to jump across the platforms...I wish I could help, but only
practice can help you on this part.  Once you're past the moving
platforms, move yourself to the sixth space from the left and a Blader
will appear.  When it's two spaces away, it will drop down to hit
you.  Jump up and meet it with a shot as it's coming down.  Don't move
too far or the other two Bladers will appear.  After the first Blader
is dead, move forward with a jump-shot to kill the 2nd easily, then
wait for the 3rd to come down at you.  Kill it as you did the first.
Move right until you get to the Picket Men.  Fire as you move right so
that they run right into your shots...to avoid their pickets, pause
for a second while you're shooting them, move forward one space when
they throw their first axe, continue shooting, move another space as
they throw their 2nd axe, and by this time they'll be dead.  Do this
for all four of them.  The tricky one is the 3rd one in a Normal Gun
game, if you want to remain hitless...your timing needs to be near-
perfect, because you have to miss the 2nd axe while landing the last
1-2 shots on him.... plus you have to edge-jump the gap.  Some skill
is required on this part to not die and/or get hit.  Fall down to the
next screen after the 4th Picket Man.


ii.)    On the next screen, just move left a little bit to land on the
platform, and then fall down the middle.  Simply fall down the next
two screens, there is nothing for you here.

iii.)   Now a tricky part, and there's no easy way to say this, but...you need
cooperation from the game itself to get by this particular Big Eyes if
you want a Normal Gun perfect game.  Your best hope is that it keeps
taking small hops before finally getting to the upper level, letting
you simply shoot it to kill it.  Unfortunately, I'm rarely this
lucky.  Try to pick your spot as best you can to run under it.  There
IS a trick to getting by a Big Eyes every single time, but with the
uneven ground here, it makes it impossible to execute in this
particular case.  The "Avoiding Big Eyes" strategy is in the Enemies
section, it just doesn't work here due to the uneven ground.

iv.)    Whatever happened with the Big Eyes, go in the chamber door.  Simply
keep shooting to take out the Hard Hats without them even firing a
shot.  Go and fight Gutsman.





BOSS---  GUTSMAN




Again, no specific pattern per se, but you can influence his movements to a
certain degree.  Typically, if you just keep firing at him and hit him every
time he jumps, he'll die before he can get to you.  Bisect the throwable blocks
beneath you while firing at Gutsman towards the right.  I've found that
bisecting the blocks while firing tends to keep him to the right side of the
screen.  It's not a pattern, just something that after hundreds and hundreds of
games seems to hold true most of the time.   Sometimes he won't even move left
at all.  Eventually though, he'll usually move to the left, so back up a bit
towards the chamber door.  Then you just have to be a good precision jumper, so
that you can time your jump to avoid the earthquake.  After being close for a
jump, he'll move back to the right.  Then you can easily finish him off, he
won't be back.  On rare occasions, he'll come all the way to the far left and
attempt to run into you.  Time it so that you run under on his jump and run to
the right side of the screen, and kill him from there.

***NOTE--- I know of no foolproof strategy for Gutsman.  If you have one, email
me and I'll be glad to include it in the guide.  I doubt there is 100% strategy
for him, because he's pretty easy :).




========CUTMAN=======




i.)     You can simply just over the first three Bladers to start the stage.
Do a running jump over the first, then pause a very brief moment and
jump again to avoid the next two.  Just keep running to the right
after you clear them so they don't get another pass.  Do the same for
the next set of Bladers and the same thing will happen, they'll never
touch you.  On the safe side though, you MAY want to shoot the first
Blader in the 2nd set, or take them all out, but it's not really
necessary to do so.  In any case, continue running to the right and
climb up the ladder as quickly as possible.  Jump to the right and go
up this ladder to the next screen.  If done correctly, you can get by
this entire horizontal screen without getting hit and without ever
firing a shot.

ii.)    On the next screen, jump across the small gap and run towards the
ladder.  Stand at the bottom and wait until the shots go by (you won't
get hit).  After they do, quickly climb up the ladder and stand at the
top.  Wait until the shots go by from the Wall Cannons and again you
won't get hit (trust me, they won't).  As soon as these shots go by,
quickly jump the gap next to Wall Cannon, and jump up beside the next
one.  Pause a moment (it will fire a shot above you), and after this
shot, jump over it and up the ladder.  Again, if done correctly, you
can clear this screen without ever firing a shot.  On the safe side
though, after you've waited on top of the ladder for the shots to go
by, you can just take out the Wall Cannons by shooting them.  But
clearing the screen without shooting is fun too :).

iii.)   On this screen, quickly move to the ladder and make a high jump and
grab on, but don't climb.  The WC on the left will fire a shot just
above your head that will not hit.  After this shot goes by, THEN
climb up the ladder and jump up to the ladder that takes you to the
next screen.  Again, if done correctly, you don't have to fire a shot.
Still, you can easily shoot the first WC if you want, no big deal.

iv.)    On this next screen, simply run to the left, jump onto the ladder, and
climb up the ladder as soon as possible.  At the top, run to the right
and jump up on the ledge above you, then jump on the ladder to the
next screen.  If you just keep moving, you again will not get hit.  If
all of these screens have been done correctly, it STILL hasn't been
necessary to fire a single shot yet.  Again, you can fire if you want
to though, I'm just trying to shorten the FAQ by anticipating Section
IX.


v.)     On the next screen, run and jump-shoot to the right to easily take out
the three Fleas that await you.  Continue to the right and take out
the Octopus Battery that is blocking the ladder.  Wait until the
ladder is clear and climb to the next screen.

vi.)    You can clear this screen without shooting as well, but it takes some
timing.  You gotta wait until the lowest horizontal Octopus Battery is
on the far right and the other two are moving to the left so that you
can quickly jump the ledges to make it.  I won't go into detail.  Just
take your time and kill the OBs :).  Continue upward.  On the next
screen, kill the OB blocking the way, then wait until the one guarding
the path upward moves to the right, then jump up the left side and
climb the ladder to the next screen.  On this screen, simply stay
still until the OB moves down right beside you and kill it.  When the
OB above you is on the left side, jump up the right and climb the
ladder to the next screen.  Alternately, you can jump up the right
side when the vertical OB is on top to get past this screen without
shooting.  Have to be quick though.

vii.)   On the horizontal screen, run to the right and take out the Bladers.
Ignore the power-up and get on the ladder, but don't climb down to the
next screen.  "A" drop down to the screen instead and immediately run
to the left.  "A" drop at the next ladder as soon as you can and bend
your fall around the platform and climb down the ladder to the next
screen.  A Flying Shell will have been passing through this screen,
but you won't get hit if you move quickly.

viii.)  Simply "A" drop into this screen from the previous one and run for
the ladder in the bottom left of the screen.  Moving quickly, you
won't get hit.  Climb down the ladder to meet the Big Eyes.  You don't
even have to fight it.  Just wait on the ladder until it's directly
under you.  When it takes a big hop to try and reach you, wait until
it almost hits the ground again from it's jump, then "A" drop off the
ladder while holding towards the right to go over it.  Run to the
right for the chamber door.  Take out the Screw Bombers here as you
did in Fireman's stage and go and meet Cutman.  Remember the 5 space
radius for Screw Bomber.  For the two on the ground, just fire 3 quick
shots when you're about 5 1/2 spaces away and you'll take them out
before they can fire.  Just take your time for the one on the ceiling.




BOSS---  CUTMAN



EASY pattern, and simple with patience.  At the start of the fight, don't
fire.  Just move down until you're level with him (you'll be right beside the
throwable blocks).  He'll be moving towards the middle at the same time, but
he'll let you get level with him without doing anything to you.  When you're
level, simply fire away and take small hops to avoid his blades.  Shoot him;
take a small hop when the blade is coming at you.  Shoot him again, and then
take a small hop as it's coming back.  Repeat.  The only trouble spot is that
you MUST register a hit JUST BEFORE you jump over the blade as it is coming
back towards you.  If you don't, Cutman might attempt to take a jump directly
into you.  You can usually run under this, but sometimes not.  If you just
execute the pattern though, a hitless victory is guaranteed.



=========ELECMAN=========




i.)     Shoot the Spines to freeze them at the start so you can jump onto the
very edge of the platforms.  Shoot and edge-jump your way to the top
of the screen and climb the ladder.  Make sure you're following your
precision jumping and landing just at the edge so that you're not
wasting unnecessary time.  Go up to the next screen and do the same
thing.  These two Spines are a little tougher as they only have small
platforms.  Freeze the first one of the right side of its platform,
and then shoot the 2nd AS YOU ARE JUMPING ONTO ITS PLATFORM.  Takes
both precision shooting and jumping to accomplish.  Practice as much
as necessary to be able to do this.

ii.)    On the next two screens, quickly climb the long ladders.  Shoot the
Watchers as soon as their eyes start popping out (their hit detection
is a little bit below them, so you can/should actually fire before the
eye even comes out).  One quick shot is all it takes for each one.
Don't wait too long or you're getting nailed.  Ignore the Watchers
that come up from below, if you're climbing quickly, they are a non-
factor.  After these two screens, manage the invisible blocks to get
past the next two screens.   On the next screen, simply jump across
the blocks, ignoring the meaningless power-up.

iii.)   On the next screen, climb the right-side ladder and take care of the
Watchers falling down as you did previously.  At the next screen, get
past the electric beams to continue upward to next screen.  At this
screen, simply climb up the ladder as quickly as you can, jump
straight up to the next ladder, and if you're moving quickly enough,
you only need to time a single shot to take out the first Watcher and
then continue climbing.  If done correctly, the 2nd Watcher will fire
his shot but won't get to you in time as you scroll the screen.
Granted, you can take out all 3 Watchers if you want to climb slowly,
but I don't like to climb slowly.   Besides, it's an unnecessary risk.

iv.)    On the next screen is a necessary usage of something other than the
Normal Gun as you need Strong Arm to get the Magnet Beam.  Get it and
switch back to Ol' Blue to continue.  Climb up the left side.

v.)     On this screen, ignore the other spines and just shoot the Spine on
the middle platform while it's on the far right, which will give you
access to the ladder.  Simple.  On the next screen, just avoid the
electric beams as you climb the ladder.  Also simple.  At the next
screen, do the same thing, ignoring the Flea that takes a suicide dive
down the far left.  It never hits you (although I admire its single-
minded determination and effort to destroy Megaman!).  Continuing
upward, just jump across the blocks on the next screen and climb the
ladder, then avoid the electric beams on the screen after that.

vi.)    When you get to the screen with the Big Eyes, run directly at it as
soon as you reach the top of the ladder.  If it takes a high jump as
you're running towards it then simply keep running!  If it takes a
small hop, slam on the brakes (you should ALWAYS have time to do this
if you're alert!), and run back to the left and go down the ladder to
the previous screen.  Climb back up and the Big Eyes will be reset to
its former position, and try the same thing.  Repeat as much as
necessary to get by it without getting hit.  Remember, if you're
alert, Megaman is responsive enough that you WILL have time to slam on
the brakes and move back to the left if Big Eyes takes a small hop.


vii.)   In the chamber, just carefully climb up the next two screens, avoiding
the electric beams.  Take it one beam at a time and don't get greedy.
At some point, fire a shot to the right side of the screen so that
Megaman will be facing right when he enters to fight Elecman.
******THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!!!******




BOSS---  ELECMAN




Elecman, over the years, gathered a reputation for being possibly the biggest
badass in the Megaman universe.  With only few exceptions, such as Shadow Man,
he was the hardest to defeat with just the Normal Gun.  However, his legend
took a serious blow last year when I started my Normal Gun Dueling Journal and
started a conversation with another poster at Gamefaqs.com.  So, most of the
credit for this strategy goes to poster Technomancer on the gamefaqs.com
message boards, who first pointed it out to me.  I developed the more detailed
descriptions of the pattern myself, but he first told me it was possible for
1st Elecman.

This is another EASY pattern, and it never fails.  However, BE SURE THAT YOU DO
NOT FAIL THE PATTERN!!!!   I say this because for years I tried strategies so
similar to this, but they were not the same...therefore I failed the pattern,
it didn't fail me. Before this strategy was developed, I hugged the far left
side of the screen and just made sure I was a precise shooter.  I did that for
years, but after finding this pattern, there's no point in doing it the hard
way, is there?


1)      First, before you enter the chamber, you should have fired that shot to
the right like I told you to.  This makes Megaman face right when he gets
to the top of the ladder before the fight starts.  If Megaman is facing
left, the pattern will still work, but you'll have to make Megaman turn
around, without moving left or right at all, to be able to make it work.
More hassle than it's worth.  Take the time to make sure you're facing
right.

2)      DO NOT MOVE EITHER LEFT OR RIGHT AT ALL DURING THE WHOLE FIGHT.  Not even
a tap.  Trust me.  All you need to do is jump at the correct times.  As
soon as you can, shoot Elecman right in his ******* face.  He will be
knocked back a few spaces by your shot, but then he'll move forward
again. Stand you're ground and watch him closely; he'll stop just before
the edge of the chamber door and lift his arms to fire.

3)      As soon as you see him lift his arms, just jump STRAIGHT UP to avoid his
shot.  DO NOT SHOOT WHILE YOU JUMP!!!!  The key to the strategy is to
shoot him ON THE WAY DOWN!!!!  After you hit him, he will be knocked back
the same way he was at the start of the fight, and then charge back the
exact same way!  Do the same exact thing for the victory!!!!  Remember,
the key to timing the jump to avoid his shot is to jump as soon as he
even twitches his arms to fire at you!

4)      Just keep repeating the pattern for the hitless win.  Trust me- he'll
never just run into you AS LONG AS YOU STAY PERFECT!!!  And with this
pattern, Elecman is now YOURS!!!!


Actually, I'm gonna be straightforward with everyone.  Everyone seems to
think that Elecman has a random pattern, because they are always shooting
and he is responding to your movements and shots.  However, in reality,
Elecman has a pre-set pattern and you can force him into it at any time
after the fight starts.  I only urge you to follow the steps listed above to
force him into a pattern most beneficial to you because it's easy to
execute.  But if you want to see his full pattern, just go to the upper left
corner and do not shoot.  Elecman always fires at 3/4 from the left (beside
the chamber door), halfway across the screen, and one space from the left.
You can sit there all day and simply jump over his shots, and he will always
fire at these intervals.  Oh sure, sometimes he jumps forward or backward
for seemingly no particular reason, but if YOU don't shoot, he will always
fire from those intervals.  Any "break" in his pattern is just a programmed
response to a specific action from Megaman.  That's all.  In fact, that's
all any seemingly "random" movements of the enemies are in this game (or any
game); programmed responses to specific actions of Megaman.  It's the
ability to SEE those patterns intuitively and perform the correct actions
that allows some players to be better than others.





==========ICEMAN========




i.)     Immediately take a small jump-hop and fire to start, so that you hit
the first Crazy Razy as he's running towards you.  The hop is
necessary to hit him in the face with the Normal Gun.  If you don't
jump, you'll hit him low, at which point he separates and you WILL
take a hit.  Run to the right.  More Crazy Razys will appear.  If
you're running, as you jump up to the ledge, fire a shot at the apex
of your jump and it will hit and you can keep running without ever
stopping.  Take out these three in that fashion.  Continuing right,
you'll reach the water.  Take your time.  Kill the Penguin as it comes
from the right, and then jump across the gap that the Spine is
guarding.  Using your edge-jump, Megaman JUST clears the gap.  This is
optimal so that you don't have to risk taking two hops and getting hit
by the Spine.  Get yourself through (firing the whole way to take out
the Penguins).  As you jump out of the water, keep firing right to
take out any Penguins that might be coming.  Ignore the Octopus
Batteries guarding the useless power-up and fall down to the next
screen.

ii.)    When you land, you'll be right beside a Spine.  It will go to the left
and then come back to the right.  Wait until the last second to jump
over it and then move all the way to the left.  Wait here a second,
and right before the Spine gets to you, the first invisible block will
appear.  Jump on it and follow the blocks up and out.  Do I need to
describe the block pattern if you've played this game?  You should
know it..well, oh, alright.  From the first block, jump right, right-
up, pause a moment, jump to the left, again to the left, and you're
out.

iii.)   Falling down into the next screen, wait until the blocks start
appearing, then avoid the spine and go to the far right.  When the
lower far right block appears, jump on it.  Then, proceed left, up-
left, big jump to the left, pause a moment, short jump to the right,
straight up, big jump to the right, and you're out.

iv.)    Next is one of the toughest parts in the whole game to get through
consistently without dying, let alone getting hit.  There is no
definite pattern to the Foot Holders, and I can't tell you exactly
what to do to make it all the way across.  But here are my tips...

a.      Move quickly.  Don't stay too long on the same one, unless it's the
last one and you need to wait for it to move higher so that you can
continue.  Eventually, a Foot Holder you already left or the one
you're trying to get to will shoot you and you will die if you keep
standing around on the same one.

b.      Trying to explain as best I can, this is your best chance.  When
you're jumping from Foot Holder to Foot Holder, you need to jump to
the next one when the one YOU ARE CURRENTLY ON takes a shot as the
next one approaches.  Right when it fires this shot, it starts to
move away as the other one is drawing near.  Right after it takes
that shot is when you need to jump.   Ex-  You're moving from the
3rd Foot Holder to the 4th.  The 4th is pulling up to you.  Wait
until the 3rd one fires the shot, and jump immediately afterward.
Doing this across all of the Foot Holders gives you the best chance
for success and getting through unscathed.  Because if you jump
before the shot, as you land on the 4th FH, that shot will be
nailing you and will likely be knocking you off and to your death,
which sucks.


v.)     Alright, whatever happens, we're moving on.  Ignore the Extra Man and
fall down the right side, through the next screen with the useless
power-ups, and continue on to the next screen.  A Big Eyes is here,
but he's manageable.  Fire as quickly as you can at him as you run
towards him.  You should get about 7-8 shots in before he's right on
top of you.  Then, turn around and start moving left.  As you get
Megaman moving left, give him a slight tap to the right so that you
use the ice to let him keep sliding left (a backward slide) while
shooting the Big Eyes to his right.  You'll get the required 15 shots
about 95% of the time if done correctly.  When finished, continue to
the chamber door.  Enter, and Penguins will approach from the right.
Eliminate them without a problem and move through here and take on
Iceman.




BOSS---  ICEMAN



Okay, if you've ever played the game you know the pattern that Iceman fires his
icicles.  Just jump up between the 2nd and 3rd icicles he throws for the first
set.  For the second set, I recommend learning to jump down between the 1st and
2nd icicles, but if you want, you can jump up before the 1st icicle and fall
down between the 2nd and 3rd.  Make sure you move out of the left corner.  It's
harder to time the jumping for the 2nd set of icicles if you don't.  Move about
1/4 into the screen.  Doing this will allow you to make a slight back-tap to the
left, if necessary, to fall down between the first and second icicles in the 2nd
set.  Plus, you can get more shots on Iceman since you are closer and you
bullets will leave the screen sooner.  Mostly, just keep firing and you got
it.  I honestly don't know how to explain it much more than that.




=========DR. WILY STAGE 1=========





i.)     Go by the first two Big Eyes when the stage starts (see Enemies
Section for "Avoiding Big Eyes" strategy").   Don't lose patience if
they don't give you a big hop right away.  On the 3rd one, you only
have about 2 chances on the uneven ground.  If the Big Eye doesn't
give you a big hop on either attempt, then simply run to the left
until the Big Eye is gone, and everything will be reset.  Then you can
try again.  Once you've cleared all three without being hit
(congratulations!!!), you'll have to use Strong Arm to move the
blocks.  Use some nice timing and edge-jumps to avoid the flame
columns, remembering to wait until Megaman is on the edge before
jumping to the next level.  Climb the ladder to the next screen, and
then make your way over to the next ladder.


ii.)    When you climb the ladder into this screen, three Fleas will be
awaiting you.  If they're taking a long jump, you can't make it up the
ladder, so quickly "A" drop down to the previous screen and reset
them.  When you finally get them to take a small hop, climb quickly to
the top and take them out.  Go right and use Strong Arm again on the
blocks and fall down to the lower screen.

iii.)   Try to move quickly through this screen.  The first Killer Bullet will
be moving across the screen as you drop down.  Stand on the upper
platform, and as soon as the next one appears, quickly drop down to
the middle section and jump across the spikes to the right side of the
screen.  By tricking the KB to stay high, it gives you a free shot of
just jumping across the blocks quickly.  Move quickly to the ladder on
the left, as the third Killer Bullet will probably be following you by
the time you drop down the right side.  The key is to just be quick as
soon as you see the 2nd Killer Bullet emerge from the right side of the
screen.

iv.)    There are Foot Holders on this screen, and you can tackle this one of
two ways.  Firstly (and highly recommended), is that you use the "A"
drop from the previous screen.  When you drop, a Foot Holder will fire
a shot that you will land on if you keep falling straight down, but if
you right tap as you fall, you will miss it.  Granted, there's a
slight element of risk, but it's better than the alternative that I
will mention shortly.  The Foot Holders here aren't as difficult as
they were in Iceman's stage, but move quickly nonetheless.
Immediately jump on the first Foot Holder and continue across.  The
other way is a LONG, TEDIOUS process.  If you climb down the ladder,
you can drop when it's safe.  However, the first Foot Holder will then
go into its stubborn S.O.B. Pattern.  Basically, it will fly on the
top of the screen and take about 15 minutes to come into range.  I
have no clue why it does this, but if you feel like waiting, then be
my guest.  Eventually, you'll get tired of waiting and just use the
Magnet Beam, and I wouldn't blame you for it.

v.)     Whatever happens, when you go up the ladder on the far right you will
have to use the Magnet Beam.  Do so to get to the ladder.  Switch back
to Ol' Blue and get ready for the Rock Monster, Gamma, Yellow Devil,
or whatever other name you want to call him.



BOSS---  ROCK MONSTER aka GAMMA aka YELLOW DEVIL



If you've played the game before, you should be familiar with the Rock
Monster's pattern, right?  Well, here's the pattern and I will try to help you
as best I can.

The Pattern----   Medium jump, stand still, small jump, stand still x 2, medium
jump, stand still x 2, small jump followed by QUICK medium jump (see Tips #2
and #3 below for help on this part), wait, stand still x 2, medium jump, stand
still x 3, small hop, run towards right/left and prepare to shoot.

However, I can't help REALLY help you if you know what I mean.  You just have
to be able to do it!!!  You either have the precision jumping skill necessary
to do it or you don't.   On your jumps, you have to JUST BARELY clear the
blocks, otherwise the next block is gonna clobber you.  Keep practicing until
you can just barely clear the blocks.  No wasted motion by jumping too high.
Here's my couple extra tips though...

Tip 1- Megaman should be positioned to four spaces away from the wall on either
side as the body parts are coming from the opposite part of the screen.  After
the first group of parts comes over and you're jumping, you need to gradually
move him another space over.  Optimal spacing should be that after the two
quick blocks, you should be RIGHT BESIDE where he's starting to form up.  As he
continues to form up, move another space after the next medium jump listed
above, then finish the pattern and run away until the eye shoots at you.  If
you start running right after the last small hop, guess where you'll end up
right after the eye fires...yep, about 4 spaces from the left/right of the
screen.  Repeat.

Tip 2- Lots of people have trouble with the one section when the two
consecutive body parts come low.  One is along the ground, and the other flies
one space off the ground.  Everybody clears the first block easily, only to be
clobbered by the next one.  Here's what to do-- on the first block, jump
forward a little bit as you clear it.  When the 2nd block comes, you need to
make a slight back tap of the controller to give Megaman the extra split second
to clear the block.  The split second you needed is what you bought by jumping
forward just a little bit on the first block.  That's the only way I can
explain it.  It's just something you need practice on.  Sorry to be harsh, but
you can either do it or you can't.  Remember that you must JUST clear both
blocks or you're getting nailed.

Tip 3- ***NOTE- I was reminded of this strategy in an email.  My cousin
actually uses it, but I eventually get nailed when I do it.  Maybe it will help
you.***  Credit for reminding me goes to emailer [email protected].  This is
directly from his excellent email.

"I quote this:"small jump followed by QUICK medium jump". Usually on this part
I prefer another strategie, with one big jump leaving 2 blocks, that would
otherwise hit you, behind. I tried, it worked, and is easier than it may sound.
I think this is easier to execute, then jumping two time, because you have to
pay attention not to hold A-Button too long, and this got to be slightly
perfect, (also because the third rock moves on the third horizontal block).
With my strategie you press A-Button for the highest jump possible and
press(hold) one of the direction buttons, depending on from where the rocks
come. And that's it. If the rocks come from the right side you can run straight
to the right side , avoiding two more jumps and trouble in general, somehow it
doesn't work for the left side, only the high jumping works. Needless to say
you have to get a bit close to the first rock coming at the very bottom, and
then jump for this to work, well I guess this is Mega Man feeling. You have it
or you don't have it, like you say."


Okay now- using whatever strategy was most comfortable, after you clear all the
parts, watch that the shot from RM's eye doesn't hit you.  After the last body
part, simply run towards the opposite side of the screen.  That shot will never
hit you if you do.  After it goes by, then turn and fire.

PATIENCE!!!  You WILL NOT be able to hit Rock Monster every time.  Sometimes
the eye appears too high for the Normal Gun to get the hit on it.  It's just
tough **** and you gotta deal with it, and pouting about it won't help at all.
Get ready to dodge again.





==========DR. WILY STAGE 2=========




i.)     Bladers will be coming toward you at the start of the stage.  Just
move slowly and bring them into the screen one at a time and take them
out.  Fall down through the invisible block (on the left side,
preferably) and get ready to face Cutman.

ii.)    CUTMAN Rematch---  In the rematch with Cutman, simply follow the same
pattern as the first time you fought him.  It's the same fight; he's
just on your left this time instead of your right.  There's not much
to this battle.  If you're having trouble following the same pattern
as before, make sure you are falling as close to him as possible, on
the left side of the invisible block on the previous screen.

iii.)   After wiping out Cutman again, you'll fall into a screen with Screw
Bombers.  Stand above and a space to the left and wait for them to
shoot, then move on.

iv.)    ELECMAN Rematch---  As far as I know, I'm the first to completely
develop the pattern for 2nd Elecman.  To this day, I have never seen
it in another FAQ or seen it discussed on any message board
whatsoever.  In the rematch with Elecman, he has a definite pattern,
and it's similar enough to the first time but not exactly the same.  I
got your back though.  You'll fall into the chamber on the right side
of the screen.  Take note of the left and right corners of the screen,
this is where the fight will be won.

a.      When the fight starts, don't shoot.  Move Megaman into the right
corner.  Elecman will charge directly at you, but he'll only fire
when he's about one step away from you.  Naturally, you should jump
over this.  After the successful jump, you can return fire or not.
It doesn't matter.  I recommend holding your fire for now.


b.      After his first shot, Elecman will move away from you and into the
exact middle of the screen.  He'll fire again from here, so jump
and avoid again.  Again, return fire or just stand there, it
doesn't really matter.  Again, I recommend not firing, it's better
for timing.

c.      Now, after he fires from the middle, he'll move into the far left
corner (you are still in the right corner).  Don't shoot- LET HIM
GET THERE!!!!  He will fire from the far left, so return fire and
jump over his shot as it approaches you.  For the rest of the
fight, he will only fire from the left corner.  Shoot him, and
avoid his shots.  It's that simple.  I recommend firing one shot at
a time, because of the occasional occurrence of #4...

d.      On occasion, one of Megaman's shots will miss, and Elecman will
jump towards the middle of the screen.  If this happens, DON'T
SHOOT AGAIN!  Just stop shooting for a moment, and Elecman will run
back towards the left.  If he starts moving toward you, and you
keep firing, he'll keep charging you.  If you stop shooting, he'll
run back to the left and continue the pattern.  Then resume
performing the pattern.  It's that simple.

v.)     As you fall into the next screen, you'll be greeted by bombs.  Hug
towards the left as the first one comes up and jump as the bomb lands
to avoid it.  Quickly move on and do the same thing.  On the next two
bombs, you'll likely have to bend your jump a little bit to avoid the
explosion.  When you get to the far right, of course you should
continue down the ladder.

vi.)    Next up are two of the toughest screens on the game to get by without
taking a hit while using only the Normal Gun, even if you know exactly
what to do!!!!!  On the first screen, ignore the first Octopus Battery
and the Extra Man as they are both useless.  Go down and kill the next
Octopus Battery.  The last OB is TOUGH!!!!  As it gets to the right,
you have to fall down, and then jump back up while simultaneously
turning Megaman around and firing a shot that hits the OB.  And you
have to do this five times!!!  The key is not to press the issue.  If
you miss the shot, SO WHAT!?!!?!   I have to tell myself that all the
time.  Take your time and you'll come through.  When you finally get
by it without taking a hit, good job!

vii.)   After getting by that toughy, welcome to the next screen.  You gotta
drop down into the small gap, try to hit the Octopus Batteries, then
quickly jump back up.  This screen might be even tougher than the
previous one since the OBs seem to move a little quicker here.  Try to
hit the OB on top first (as you fall down), and then immediately jump
straight back up.  The key to this screen is landing Megaman on the
very edge of his foot when you're standing on the upper ledge.  After
you take out the upper OB, you can drop down and fire five quick shots
to take out the other one relatively easily.  Take out the 3rd OB
that's moving vertically and climb down the ladder.

viii.)  And here's ANOTHER tough one with the Normal Gun (note that when
using Weapons, using Fire Shot would wipe out the last three screens
without a problem.)  Anyway, as you climbed from the last screen, just
hang on the ladder and bide your time.  What you want is for the top
and bottom OBs to move to the right, quickly followed by the middle
OB.  When you see this pattern from the OB's, quickly use the "A" drop
when the middle OB is about halfway across the screen (you'll barely
miss it as it'll hit the right wall JUST as you reach the bottom),
then run to the ladder as quick as you can and start climbing down.
I'd say about 80% of the time they do this right away.  Occasionally;
you might have to wait a few minutes for it.  If it's taking too long,
the one alternative is to drop down just as they are moving to the
left, EXTREMELY QUICKLY take out the top OB, then jump over the bottom
two as they come back to the right.  I've only done that twice, as
it's tough to get the necessary five shots off to kill the top OB
before you get hit by the lower two.  In any case...

ix.)    Just "A" drop down the ladder and move toward the right to completely
avoid the Wall Cannons on this screen.  Climb down the ladder to the
next screen.  Here, hold onto the ladder for a brief moment to let the
Octopus Batteries get to the left side of the screen, then drop down
and fire like crazy!!!  At the minimum, you have to take out the top
one so that you have a chance to jump over the bottom one.  Optimally,
you should take out both of them.  Need to be quick though.  When
those are dispatched, fall down and take out the Wall Cannon.  Shoot
and/or jump over the OB and climb down the ladder to meet up with the
Clone.




BOSS---  CLONE MEGAMAN




Ah, our friend the Clone.  Okay, now this is a pretty tough strategy to
execute, but it's quite similar to the 2nd Elecman strategy.  Still, it might
be tough to explain.  I shall try my best.



1)      At the start you will be near the middle.  Jump up to avoid the Clone's
opening shot, and then make for the left corner.  Don't shoot, just stand
there and watch.  Now watch the Clone; he will run towards you.  When he is
one space away from you, you need to jump up to avoid his shot.  Shoot him
on your way back down (as you did with Elecman in the 1st fight.)  The Clone
will start running away from you, but turn and shoot again at halfway across
the screen, then 3/4 of the screen from the left.  Then he'll start running
back towards you, firing at the same intervals.  HE ALWAYS FIRES AT THESE
INTERVALS!

2)      Now, the real deal.  Here's the step-by-step process for easy viewing.  Now
you just have to be patient and execute the strategy.

a)      Avoid the opening shot, get to the left corner.
b)      The Clone will be coming for you.  When he gets one space away, jump up
to avoid his shot, then shoot him on your way down.  Fire ONE shot.
Hopefully you hit him :).
c)      The Clone will run to halfway across the screen, turn, and fire.  Jump to
avoid but don't shoot.
d)      The Clone will run to 3/4 from the left, turn, and fire.  Jump to avoid
but don't shoot.
e)      The Clone will come back to halfway and fire.  Jump to avoid.  The 3/4
shot and this shot come very quickly, so you need to jump twice in a
short time to avoid them both.
f)      The Clone will come back to the point one space away from you.  Jump to
avoid and return fire with ONE SHOT.
g)      Repeat steps c. through f. until the Clone is defeated.

And there you go...once considered one of the toughest fights in the game,
reduced to Just Another Fight.  The most important thing is just patience.





==========DR. WILY STAGE 3==========




i.)     As soon as you land in Wily Stage 3, you gotta move to the left so
that the Octopus Battery doesn't move down right onto you.  Then take
both of them out.  Wait for the horizontal OB to give you an opening
to fall down the right side.

ii.)    In this screen, you'll land on a platform.  There's a Screw Bomber on
the ceiling and 3 OB's near the bottom.  Drop down when the top OB is
moving to the left and quickly take it out.  Move towards the left so
that you can get under the Screw Bomber to avoid its shots (underneath
it, one space to the right).  Be patient, and when both OB's blocking
the low path are on the right side, take a jump to the left   Be
careful, as sometimes one of the OB's will pick this moment to move
back to the left to try and hit you.  Make sure you're taking a high
jump to give yourself time to adjust Megaman's flight.  If an OB DOES
move back to the left, adjust course and make Megaman fall down in
between them.

iii.)   In this new screen, you'll land on the upper platform again.  There's
another Screw Bomber on the ceiling and three more OB's.  Wait for the
top two OB's to move back to the right before dropping down and moving
against the left hand wall.  Quickly use small hops while firing to
take out the top OB, and then normal standing shots to take out the
2nd one (the 2nd one will probably be moving back left when you finish
it off).  Try not to move right while you're killing the OB's or
you'll trigger the Screw Bomber to shoot at you.  After finishing
that, maneuver yourself under the Screw Bomber and wait for an opening
to drop into the next screen.  Just fall down the left side, but don't
hold against the left wall as you fall (or you'll hit a Screw Bomber
when you enter the next screen.)

iv.)    In this screen, there's two Screw Bombers to make life difficult for
you.  If you fell straight down and didn't get hit, then don't move.
Nothing will hit you from where you are standing.  Keep watch for an
opening towards the left, but be patient; it can be tough to get.  But
this far into the game, if you're still hitless or have taken very few
hits, you don't want to waste a hit.  Make your move to the left when
both Screw Bombers stop firing, and then do your best to take a jump
and adjust yourself in the air to fall where the OB's aren't stationed
or moving.  (Occasionally, you will get lucky and both will be on the
left side of the screen, so simply fall down into the next screen :).

v.)     Now you're in the Long Corridor.... maybe the easiest section of the
game.  Just start moving at a full run and jump over everything.  You
don't even have to fire a shot if you just run all out.  Just take
small hops over the Penguins and the Killer Bullets.  When you get to
the very end, slow down just SLIGHTLY, as a Killer Bullet can
sometimes nail you just before you enter the Bubble Machine chamber.
Jump over the KB and enter to fight the Bubble Machines.




BOSS---  BUBBLE MACHINES




The Bubble Machines.  You have to face seven of them.  They enter the screen
from the left side, the top, or the right side.  I'm sure we all know this.
For the first five, simply hang in the bottom left corner and fire like mad.
It takes ten hits to kill one, but you should definitely have enough time to
get the hits in without a problem.  The only problem you'll encounter out of
the first five Bubble Machines is if the 5th one comes down from the top.  In
this case, you need REALLY quick fingers to kill it before it hits you.  If you
have quick fingers you won't have a problem, if not, then sorry.  Now, we get
to the real problem, and one thing that sucks about this game.  There is no way
(that I know of) to guarantee yourself of not being hit by the last two Bubble
Machines in a Normal Gun game.  Flat out, you need some luck and cooperation
from the game itself to succeed, which I hate depending on, but in this case
you have no choice.  You basically have to follow the laws of averages and
probability.  Here's why....

i.)     If you stay in the left corner, it is IMPOSSIBLE to kill the 6th or
7th Bubbles Machines if they enter the screen from the top or from the
left.  They simply move way too fast to get enough shots in to kill
them with the Normal Gun.  I've tried many times.  So that means you
have to hope they both come from the right side.  For each trial (one
BM comes out), there's a 33% probability that the outcome that favors
you will actually occur.  However, if you insist on hanging out on the
left, you need BOTH machines to come out from the right.  The
probability of this happening is 11%.

ii.)    If you stay in the right corner, it is IMPOSSIBLE to kill the 6th or
7th Bubble Machines if they come from the left side of the screen.
Not enough time.  This means you need the BM to come from the right or
the top.  For each trial, you have a 66% chance of the favorable
outcome.  The probability that BOTH the 6th and 7th BMs will enter
from the right or top is 44%.   Obviously, I recommend hanging out in
the right corner.  You just need to hope that probability is on your
side :).

With the above being said, it's your choice on what to do.  Do whatever you
feel you can execute the best.  But here's what you need to do, depending on
what course of action you chose...


a)      If you decided on the left corner, and by some miracle both BM come from
the right, then you should be able to get a couple shots as it first
flies by.  Move into the middle of the screen (on top of the blocks).
Standing on the topmost block is the only real safe spot on the screen
when the BMs are moving around the outside.  Avoid the tiny bubbles (flat
out, this take TREMENDOUS skill) the BMs shoot at you, and hit it as it
goes around the outside.  You COULD stay in the left corner, but the
chances of not getting hit are very slim.  The tiny bubbles, or the BM
itself since it's moving so fast, will likely get you before you kill the
BM.

b)      If you're in the right corner, as I recommend, then here you go.  If the
BM comes from the top (best thing for you), you can get at least 4 or 5
shots as it comes down.  Be moving to the middle on top of the blocks as
soon as you can.  Avoid the tiny bubbles the BM shoots as it flies around
the outside and keep hitting it when you can.  Usually you can kill it
before it even completes a full circuit around the screen.

c)      If you're in the right corner and the BM comes from the right, get the 2-
3 shots that you can get before it gets out of range.  Move to the
topmost block in the middle.  Remember, if you're on the topmost block,
the BM passes under you without hitting you.  Avoid the tiny bubbles the
BM shoots and get hits when you can.  It'll usually complete 2 circuits
around the screen before you get enough hits to kill it.



And there you go.  This is an extremely hard strategy to execute, as you need
some luck.  And even when you get lucky, you need to be extremely quick to
avoid the tiny little bubbles each Bubble Machine spits out at you.  ***With
its random chance and difficult jumping to avoid the tiny bubbles, this is the
screen where I most often lose my perfect Normal Gun games!***

If anybody knows of a foolproof strategy to determine the order that the Bubble
Machines will enter the screen, email and let me know.  I will include it in
the next update and give you full credit!





========DR. WILY STAGE 4=========




i.)     Well, here we are, the final road.  Let's do this thing.  To start,
don't even use the blocks and immediately go for the ladder on the
left.  Climb and take out the first two Watchers as they appear
(they'll be close...quick shot needed!).  You'll be near the top when
you shoot the 2nd one, so continue climbing and the 3rd Watcher won't
even get a shot off at you before you hit the next screen.  In this
screen, simply climb up and eliminate the Watchers as you did in
Elecman's stage.

ii.)    Continuing on, use Strong Arm to throw the block out of the way and
switch back to Normal Gun.  Take your time through the Screw Bombers
that are up next; patience is again the key.  The first Screw Bomber
is on the ceiling under the 2nd Gutsman statue, so stop and fire from
the gap underneath the first Gutsman statue for an easy kill.  Repeat
for the next Screw Bomber you encounter.  You won't be able to hit the
next two Screw Bombers, so stand in between them and they won't hit
you.  Wait for an opening when they stop firing and move on.  The two
Screw Bombers after this will have one mounted on the ceiling and one
on the floor directly beneath you.  Stand at the edge of the platform
so that you can jump up into the gap and hit the upper Screw Bomber
first (but don't fall down so that the lower one can hit you with its
low shot!).  After you take out the ceiling, then take out the floor
as usual.  Finally, move further onto the right and take out the last
Screw Bomber as you did the previous ones.

iii.)   Next up is the moving platform.  This can be a tough jump even when
you know exactly when you should jump.  The first part is easy though,
just jump on the moving platform, and when you get to the gap, go
ahead and jump on the single block.  Wait for the platform to come
back from the right and prepare yourself for a standing edge-jump.
When you see it, get ready to time your jump for when the...uh,
hinge...of the moving platform reaches the left edge of the ladder.  I
hope that explains it well enough.  It takes great timing to get the
jump down.  When/if you land on the platform, QUICKLY jump again onto
the ladder to avoid being dumped down into the spikes.  Go into the
cylinder and prepare for the home stretch....

iv.)    BOMBMAN Rematch---   GET OUT OF THE CORNER QUICKLY!!!  As soon as you
can move, run to the right.  He will jump directly at you and pin you
in the corner if you don't.  Try to follow the same strategy as the
first fight.  It's a little tougher to execute though; with the warp
capsule on the left side, the screen is a bit smaller, giving Bombman
a better advantage.  If you've gotten this far, you should be able to
handle him though.

v.)     FIREMAN Rematch---     Slightly tougher than the first time.
Obviously, you need to get out from under the capsule as soon as
possible.  However, you need to be JUST outside the capsule for the
A+B jump-shoot pattern to work correctly.  If you move any further, he
breaks the pattern.  So don't move too far.  If you get the right spot
though, it's the same exact fight as the first time.

vi.)    ICEMAN Rematch---    No difference in strategy once you get out from
under the capsule.

vii.)   GUTSMAN Rematch---     TOUGH!!!!  Gutsman WILL try to run into you
this time!  Open fire right away and don't stop.  In the first match,
avoiding getting knocked off your feet by the earthquake wasn't as big
a deal, since you had plenty of time to recover when he tossed the
block at you.  This time, you MUST avoid the earthquake, or you're
getting nailed.  Whether he does it right away or pauses before doing
it, he'll eventually get to the far left.  Carefully time it so that
you run under him when he jumps toward you.  This is very tough, but
ABSOLUTELY can be done.  If you succeed, run to the far right and
continue firing.   He should be almost dead by now anyway.  ***On VERY
rare occasions, Gutsman will stay exclusively on the right side of the
screen.  Whatever Higher Power you believe in is being kind to you if
this happens.  So make sure you thank Him/Her :)***



Run towards the right as there is nothing here and go through the chamber
door to finally fight....




BOSS---  DR. WILY




1)      The first gun is the hardest part of this.  There's no specific
pattern to the first part, however you can once again influence its
firing ability to some degree.  You need to jump-shoot right away to
hit it, so do this.  After a few hits, run under the gun until you are
a half space to the right of it.  You are in the right spot if the gun
itself changes direction to fire a backward shot.  Hard to explain,
but the gun is facing forward normally, but it will turn quickly to
face right, in order to be able to fire a shot that will actually hit
you.   After you see the gun fire that shot, and then move to the
left, get your shots in, and then repeat the process.  It's important
that you make the gun face right for that one shot to give you time to
dart out, get your few hits in, then come back under the gun again.
This strategy takes a decent amount of precision jumping and reflexes,
but influencing the gun in this way gives you a much better chance of
pulling it off.

2)      The second gun has an easy pattern, although executing it can
sometimes be tricky since the ship is constantly moving, meaning you
must also constantly move.  You need to hit the jewel/ruby type
looking thing.  Just stand a space in front of it at all times and the
swirling disc type shot that Wily keeps firing will simply circle and
miss you.  When you see openings, jump up and get a shot in.  You have
to shoot at the apex of your jump to get the shot to register with the
Normal Gun.  The ship will be moving left and right this entire time,
so you have to make sure you inch yourself along to maintain that
half-space distance so that you don't get hit.  For your first
attempts at Wily, I recommend shooting the jewel thing only when the
ship is moving to the right.  It's much easier.  After awhile, you'll
be good enough to hit it no matter which direction the ship is moving.


And there you go.  How'd you do?




+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SECTION VIII.  PLAYING THE GAME USING THE WEAPONS:  A QUICK REFERENCE TO
SUBSTITUTE WEAPONS IN KEY PLACES FOR THE NORMAL GUN, ASSORTED BY STAGE
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



This section is for those gamers who want to play the game using the actual
weapons they acquire from the Robot Masters (or the Magnet Beam) to maximize
their gameplay potential.  This section will not be incredibly detailed;
rather, the letters in the outline correspond to the same exact screens as
those letters do in the Normal Gun Guide.  They simply reference back to the
Normal Gun strategies explained earlier and tell you what weapon would work
well in that screen and/or situation other than the Normal Gun.

However, to be perfectly honest, once you get used to not relying on the Robot
weapons, you'll find that most situations in the game lend themselves better to
use the Normal Gun anyway.  The Robot Weapons, really, end up being a crutch.
Sometimes, they flat out hinder your growth in skill in the game!!!
Nevertheless, this section is here to help you out as much as possible.


Since you could start with any of the Robot Masters, and I can't anticipate
what weapons you might have with you when you tackle each stage with Weapons,
I'll just assume you are starting with Fireman.  I always do.  His Weapon is
the most beneficial to you and allows you to use the Robot Weapons you acquire
to their maximum benefit.  If you use a different order, then you'll just have
to figure it out for yourself.




========FIREMAN========



If you're coming here first, then it's exactly the same, since you don't have
any weapons.  Go read the above section.  If you're not here first, then you
likely have the Ice Slasher that you got from Iceman.


i.)     No change, unless you want to take out the Screw Bombers with the
Thunder Beam or Rolling Cutters, if you have them.
ii.)    No change obviously, as you are simply climbing ladders.
iii.)   If you have the Magnet Beam, simply create a step to the upper ledge.
The two power-ups handy will refill it anyway.  If you have the Ice
Slasher you can freeze the flame columns and do the same thing.
iv.)    No change.
v.)     No change, unless you have the Thunder Beam, in which case you can
take out the Tackle Fire if they are descending directly towards you.
I guess you could also freeze the flame columns if you have the Ice
Slasher, but it doesn't really make a difference.
vi.)    If you have the Magnet Beam for the Fire-Trap Room, then simply create
a step on the left side to get to the ladder.  If not, then there's no
change.
vii.)   No change, unless you want to freeze the flame columns by the chamber
door with the Ice Slasher.  In the corridor, freeze the Screw Bombers
with Ice Slasher and they won't be able to shoot.




BOSS---  FIREMAN


Fireman is weakest against the Ice Slasher you got from Iceman, but the Normal
Gun hitless strategy WILL NOT WORK with Ice Slasher.  At least, I've never been
able to make it work.  You'll take two or three hits if you use it.  Might as
well just use the incredibly easy Normal Gun strategy.




=========BOMBMAN=========


If you're following my recommended order, Bombman is up next.  The addition of
Fire Shot can make quick work of this stage, but BEWARE!  It can be a hindrance
to hitless gaming in a couple cases.

i.)     Fire Shot has the nice addition of a sweet shield with it, so just
equip it right away.  If you happen to miss the Fleas with your shot,
the shield will take them out.  Proceed through the bomb section as
noted above.  You can follow the same strategy as above to jump and
avoid the Screw Bombers next, or you can waste them with a single Fire
Shot.
ii.)    Use the Normal Gun strategy on this screen.  Fire Shot shoots too
slowly and you'll likely take a hit.  The Normal gun fires much
faster.
iii.)   Fire Shot will kill Sniper Joe a little bit faster, so use it if you
like.  Other than Sniper Joe, the Normal Gun is still your best option
for everything else here.
iv.)    No change.
v.)     No change, unless you have Ice Slasher.  If so, freeze the first
Flying Shell and no more will appear.
vi.)    In the corridor, the Fire Shot will kill the Octopus Batteries in one
shot, so you can slowly climb down the ladder and eliminate all of the
Octopus Batteries to guarantee that you don't get hit.  It's not
really necessary to do that, but then again, it's not really an option
that you had with the Normal Gun.



BOSS---   BOMBMAN


No real change in strategy here, although Fire Shot will kill Bombman a little
quicker.  Also, if you miss with the shot, Bombman's short little hops will
probably cause him to run into the Fire Shield for a little bit of free damage.
Other than that, it's really just the same fight, only a little bit easier.




===========GUTSMAN=========


If you're still in order, than Gutsman is next.  This might be the one stage
that it's significantly easier to go hitless on if you use Weapons than with
the Normal Gun.

i.)     No change at the beginning.  Jump across the moving platforms to cross
the pit.  Change to Fire Shot to take out the Bladers.  Even if you
miss, the Fire Shield wipes them out.  BIG change next, as the Picket
Men can be taken out by a single Fire Shot.  Eliminate them easily.
ii.)    No change here.
iii.)   You have a better chance to take out Big Eyes with the Fire Shot.  If
you have the Ice Slasher, you can freeze Big Eyes in the middle of a
jump and run under him.  If necessary, don't even wait for a big jump.
If you freeze him at the apex of his small hop, there's enough room
for Megaman to run under him.
iv.)    No change for the Hard Hats.



BOSS---   Gutsman


With the Hyper Bombs, you only need three shots.  Just make sure you drop them
so that he won't be jumping away from them and be out of range.  In other
words, don't toss them clear into the right corner, because they won't hit as
he's coming left.  Toss them in the middle of the screen to be sure that they
hit.  Easy.




==========Cutman===========



If you're still with me, then Cutman is up next.  Fire Shot easily takes out
many of the Octopus Batteries in this level.  Other than that, the other
possible Robot Weapons you might have don't mean much.


i.)     No change.
ii.)    No change.
iii.)   No change.
iv.)    No change.
v.)     On the first four sections, as detailed above in the
Walkthrough, you can easily pass them by not firing.  Use Fire
Shot if you want, but it's not really necessary.  Here, Fire
Shot might help you take out the Fleas a little quicker, and
if you miss, the Fire Shield will back you up.  Other than
that, no change.
vi.)    On these screens, use the Fire Shot to wipe out the Octopus
Batteries easily.
vii.)   No change; use Fire Shot if you want, but not necessary.
viii.)  No changes, unless you desperately want to kill the Big
Eyes with Fire Shot.  The Fire Shot takes out the Screw
Bombers easier in the corridor as well.



BOSS---  CUTMAN


Using Strong Arm, you can walk to the exact spot as in the Normal Gun
strategy.  Nail him with the throwable block.  Cutman will definitely
try to jump on/over you at this point, so it might be difficult to get
the other throwable block without getting hit.  Just move to the right
and finish him off with either the Normal Gun or Fire Shot.

Honestly, Strong Arm is more trouble than it's worth.  Even with the heightened
damage, it causes Cutman to break pattern and go random.  For hitless games,
this is not desirable.  The Normal Gun strategy is 100% guaranteed if executed
correctly.




==========ELECMAN=========


Now we're at Elecman.  Weapons can make quite a bit of difference in your
performance on this stage, but using them at the wrong time can also be a
hindrance.

i.)     Use Fire Shot or Rolling Cutters to easily take out the
Spines.
ii.)    No change.  Don't make the mistake of using Fire Shot on the
Watchers.  It comes out slower, so they actually have a BETTER
chance of hitting you.  Just use the Normal Gun.
iii.)   No change.
iv.)    No change.
v.)     You can now take out the Spines along the ground with Fire
Shot, and if you're really lazy, use the Magnet Beam instead
of jumping across the blocks two screen above the Spines.
Other than that, no change.
vi.)    Use the Magnet Beam to start making steps and go OVER the Big
Eyes to guarantee yourself of not being hit.
vii.)   No weapons can help you climb better, bud.



BOSS---  Elecman


Equip Rolling Cutters and just shoot him to start.  Follow the pattern
if you want (it will work, but you only need 3 shots anyway, so why
bother?).  Get up on the throwable blocks and hit him twice more to
finish him.  Easy any way you slice it, pun intended.




========Iceman=========



If you're still following me, Iceman is last.  The addition of the Magnet Beam
can work wonders for you here.


i.)     Use Fire Shot (or the Thunder Beam) on the Crazy Razys to easily
take them out.  You don't even have to jump.  Continue through
the water, using Fire Shot to take out both the Spines and the
Penguins with ease.
ii.)    Use Fire Shot to take out the Spine, then jump on the invisible
blocks as normal.  Save the Magnet Beam for now.
iii.)   Use Fire Shot to take out the Spine.  Jump on the blocks or use
the Magnet Beam, it doesn't matter
iv.)    Your life is made much easy by the Magnet Beam.  Use it to go
across the pit, just make sure you don't linger on one step for
too long and it disappears on you.  Be sure to drop down and get
the power-up halfway across (watch that one of the Foot Holders
doesn't shoot you).  Continue across the pit with Magnet Beam,
being aware of the Penguins coming from the right.  You shouldn't
have any problems.
v.)     Get the energy power-ups for the Magnet Beam if you need them,
then use the Magnet Beam to go over the Big Eyes without breaking
a sweat.  Wipe out the Penguins with the Thunder Beam, if you
want, and go fight Iceman.



BOSS---    ICEMAN

What a joke with the Thunder Beam.  Just end this farce by shooting quickly 3
times.  You can actually kill Iceman before his first volley even gets anywhere
near you.





=========DR. WILY STAGE 1==========


Now that we're all on the same page and I don't have to guess which weapons you
have, we'll continue.

i.)     Big difference here.  Use the Ice Slasher to freeze the Big Eyes when
they're in the air and simply run under them while they are frozen.
Use Ice Slasher again on the flame columns to ease your life a little
more.
ii.)    Skipping ahead one screen, enter this screen with Thunder Beam ready
to go.  It'll take out the Fleas no matter what kind of jump they
take.
iii.)   Go through this screen as you did before.
iv.)    Use the Magnet Beam to bypass the Foot Holders.
v.)     No change.



BOSS---    ROCK MONSTER


The pattern is never going to change, you can just kill him a little quicker
now.  Have the Thunder Beam equipped and do the same thing as you did with the
Normal Gun.  No problem.





==========DR. WILY STAGE 2===============


Continuing onward, Dr. Wily's 2nd stage will be made a little easier by you
actually using your weapons this time.


i.)     No change.
ii.)    No change.  Use Fire Shot if you want but it's not like Cutman is
actually a threat to you.
iii.)   No change.  You might want to use the Thunder Beam to take out the
Screw Bombers, but it's not really necessary.
iv.)    With the Rolling Cutters, start off firing and you will almost
certainly get two hits with the same shot (once going out, one coming
back).  Fire again as soon as you can and you'll probably take Elecman
out before he even gets a shot off.  I'd jump anyway though just to
make sure :).
v.)     No change.  Still gotta bend your jumps around the Bombombs.
vi.)    BIG change.  Use Fire Shot or Thunder Beam to easily take out the
Octopus Batteries.
vii.)   Keep using Fire Shot and make your life easier.
viii.)  10,000% easier with Fire Shot or Thunder Beam.  Wipe them all out!
ix.)    No change with the Wall Cannons, unless you want the energy capsule on
the left side of the screen.  In this case, stand by the ladder on the
bottom right, face right, then fire one shot.  The Thunder Beam goes
up and will take out all four, leaving the way open to get the energy
capsule.  On the next screen, follow the same strategy as you did for
Normal Gun, but using Fire Shot makes the timing much less tight.




BOSS---  Clone Megaman


Now, you COULD use weapons on your Clone here, but he's going to fire back with
the exact same weapon.  I'd just use the Normal Gun strategy if you want to go
hitless.  If you feel that you MUST use a weapon, then follow the same strategy
and use Fire Shot.




===========DR. WILY STAGE 3==========


This stage is reduced to nothing with weapons, as you shall see.


i.)     Use Fire Shot or Thunder Beam to easily wipe out the Octopus
Batteries.
ii.)    Fire Shot or Thunder Beam are good here to wipe out the OB's; also, a
Rolling Cutter can take out the Screw Bomber if necessary.
iii.)   Again, your choice of Fire Shot, Thunder Beam, or Rolling Cutter.
iv.)    Use the same weapons again.
v.)     No change in the Long Corridor.



BOSS---    BUBBLE MACHINES



Reduced to nothing now that you have weapons.  Ignore the throwable blocks for
now and don't use Thunder Beam, or you'll wipe out the throwable blocks as you
shoot the Bubble Machines.  Just use the Normal Gun on the first three Bubble
Machines, then switch to Gutsman and use Strong Arm for the last four.  One
throwable block takes each one out.  Can't get easier than that.




============DR. WILY STAGE 4==========


Again, the home stretch.  Nothing much to this stage either, now that you have
the usage of your weapons.


i.)     No change.
ii.)    Grab the power-up if you need it for anything.  Use whatever you have
energy for to take out the Screw Bombers.  Since you're trying not to
be hit, you're likely either very low or completely drained of Fire
Shot, Thunder Beam, and Rolling Cutters.  Still, you should have
plenty of Ice Slasher.  Freeze them and continue.
iii.)   Use the Magnet Beam instead of trying to make the difficult jump.
Start climbing down the ladder and wait for the moving platform to
come back to the left, and then "A" drop down to land on it.  Get the
Yashicshi (the funny-looking thing on the right, restores all weapon
energy and health).  Get the Extra Guy if you want to.  Jump on the
moving platform if it's there to get back to the ladder, or simply use
the Magnet Beam to get to it.  Go up and have your rematches with the
Robot Masters.
iv.)    Equip Fire Shot and eliminate Bombman as you did before.
v.)     Use the Normal Gun on Fireman and execute the 100% strategy.  Why
waste hits by using Ice Slasher?
vi.)    Use Thunder Beam and wipe out Iceman.  If he actually gets any shots
off at you this time, you can just duck back into the capsule to avoid
the hits.
vii.)   Use your Hyper Bombs to eliminate Gutsman.  Try to land them about one
space right of the middle of the screen to be sure they hit him.
viii.)  Equip Fire Shot and get the power-up before you enter the door.



BOSS---    DR. WILY


On the first gun, use Fire Shot to take it out with ease.  Or rather, fire one
shot and then keep jumping up beside it to let the Fire Shield take care of the
rest.  Wipes it out in no time flat.

On the jewel-ruby looking thing, follow the same strategy as the Normal Gun
game.  Use Fire Shot or Rolling Cutters as they both get multiple hits every
time you fire them.  The same pattern holds true as it did in the Normal Gun
game, you can just kill him a little quicker.



And there's your weapons guide.




++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SECTION IX.  CUTMAN BEYOND ALL EXTREMES: A FURTHER GUIDE TO COMPLETELY
HUMILIATE THIS STAGE
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


This FAQ is probably too long already.  It might even be useless; with save-
stated emulator runs, people are probably learning more from those than they
are reading a simple FAQ on a subject.  I haven't decided if the existence of
this section will be seen as a further challenge to gamers, or a testament to
how sad it is that I've played and mastered this game so much that this section
is even being written.  Either way, here it is, and hopefully those gamers who
love this game as much as I do can appreciate it and pull it off.



====THE PACIFIST: HOW TO BEAT THE STAGE WITHOUT FIRING A SINGLE SHOT=======



This first section will help you defeat Cutman's stage without ever shooting a
single weapon.  As a disclaimer, the best you can do without firing is only
taking two hits.  There are two Octopus Batteries that block your way, and they
are impossible to avoid.  In preparation for this section, I played this stage
several times, and my best was 3 hits (or, one extra hit besides the minimum).
Following the outline section in reference to my strategies for the Normal Gun
stages to find out what screen I am currently describing.


i.)     Follow the instructions in the Normal Gun section.
ii.)    Follow the instructions in the Normal Gun section.
iii.)   Follow the instructions in the Normal Gun section.
iv.)    Follow the instructions in the Normal Gun section.
v.)     On this screen, run quickly to the right.  Hope that the first Flea
takes a long jump over your head.  Avoiding the next two is tricky.
The best thing for you is if the 2nd Flea is just landing and the 3rd
is going into the air.  Moving extremely quickly is required to not
get hit, but it's possible.  If you do take a hit, make it only one,
and keep moving on.  On the right, there will be an Octopus Battery
guarding the ladder; there's nothing you can do to avoid since you are
not shooting, so take the hit and move on.
vi.)    Pick your spot on the first screen.  Best scenario is when the lowest
horizontal OB moves to the right and the upper two move to the left.
Quick move past all of them and out of the screen.  Medium difficulty.
On the screen, another OB will be blocking you.  Since there's nothing
you can do, take the hit and move on.  On the next screen, wait until
the vertical OB is on the top and the horizontal one directly above
you is on the left.  Jump up the right and to the next screen.  Not
that difficult.
vii.)   The Bladers can be tough to avoid.  You can jump the first one pretty
easily, but the next two are tough.  It's quick timing, but wait until
the 3rd one just barely twitches to come towards you and jump over it.
Any sooner or later and you take the hit.
viii.)  No change on the screens with the Flying Shell.  Avoid Big Eyes as
you did before.
ix.)    In the corridor, run directly at the Screw Bomber on the ground.
These two will be tough to avoid.  You must time your jumps so that
you jump over the first volley of shots, and then IMMEDIATELY jump
again to go over it.  If done right, the shots will miss.
x.)     Take out Cutman.  If you beat Gutsman first before coming here, you
only need two shots to finish this entire stage.  Congratulations!!!!



Conclusion--  With just a little practice, this is pretty easy to do. Trust me.
On average, I'd say I take approximately five hits each time I do this.  So,
without shooting or collecting any power-ups, I finish the stage with half of
the life bar.  Remember, the lowest number possible is 2 hits, since the two
Octopus Batteries block the way.  My best is 3 hits.  Will you be the first to
only take 2 hits?




======A BLADE IN THE DARK: HOW TO BEAT THE STAGE WEARING A BLINDFOLD=====


This strategy was not listed in the first couple versions of this guide.  I
didn't want to waste the time or unnecessarily lengthen the FAQ if the interest
wasn't there.  But due to a couple emails, I've finished it up and it's ready
to go.  So here it is.


I tried doing this on a whim one day.  It actually started out as a joke when
my brother-in-law was watching me play Kingdom Hearts for PS2, and we ended up
discussing insane challenges.  I began telling him about Megaman and Mike
Tyson's Punch-out and I made a joke that I could beat Glass Joe with my eyes
closed (anyone can!).  Knowing my skill at Megaman, he made a crack that I
could probably do it on Megaman.  I simply laughed it off.  But as I got to
thinking about it, I began to think, "You know what?  I bet there's at least
ONE stage that I can actually beat blindfolded."

It didn't take long to see that the only two stages in which this could even be
remotely possible is Cutman and Wily Stage 3 (this section to come in an update
in the near future).  The other stages just have way too many jumps and Pits of
Doom to fall in.  So I concentrated on just playing Cutman, and surprisingly,
it did not take me long.  In fact, it only took ten games and 28 lives to do
so.  There's only two possible pits to fall in, and both can be avoided.  So
without delay, let's get to it.


1)      First of all, this will not be easy.  It doesn't actually require more
skill; what it requires is concentration, sharp ears, and a sharp
memory.
2)      Before you start, play the game with the sound turned down VERY low,
just barely audible.  Take note of the layout of every screen, the
enemies, and listen for every little sound.  You need to attune your
ears to sound of Megaman's jumps and landings and the sound enemies make
when they get shot or shoot you.  Learn to listen for combinations of
sounds (you get shot, but you don't hear yourself land, meaning you fell
down to the previous screen.)  These are all considerations and very
important.
3)      You may want to have someone sit with you while you do this.  Tell them
to be patient and only help you when you it's obvious that you are
totally clueless.
4)      I'm going to assume you only have the Normal Gun when explaining this.
Obviously, if you have Fire Shot (aka The Daredevil Effect) or the
Thunder Beam (not recommended), feel free to use them.  Warning though-
they may change your strategy on some screens.  I leave it up to the
reader to figure out how to best use these other weapons, and don't
blame ME if you're using them and you get stuck on the same screen
because you took out an enemy you weren't supposed to.
5)      If I refer to "inching yourself one space LEFT or RIGHT", this means
lightly tap the controller about 15-20 times.  This will make Megaman
move approximately one space.


To start, jack the sound WAY UP on your television, as high as it can go or you
can stand it.  Your best friend will be your EARS when trying this blindfolded
game.


i.)     You will land on the edge of a throwable block to begin.  Taking
a big jump to the left should land you exactly at the bottom of
the ladder.  Jump and press UP to climb the ladder.  You
succeeded if you did not hear Megaman land with squeaky
footsteps.  If you did not succeed, take small little hops while
pressing UP until you don't hear yourself land.  So I don't have
to say it over and over, follow the same instructions anytime
you need to find a ladder.  Moving on, when you're sure you are
on the ladder, hold UP long enough to be certain you're on the
top. Take two full jumps to the right (be sure you don't stop
holding right on the jumps).  The first will land you on top of
the throwable block, the 2nd will land you on the other side of
it.  Be shooting the entire time so that you can take out the
first Blader that will be coming.  Listen for the sound of its
death to be sure you got him.


ii.)    To finish up this horizontal screen, take two big jumps to the
right, shooting the whole time.  You should hit the 3rd Blader
with a shot.  Stop after two jumps and shoot normally.  You'll
PROBABLY take a hit from the 2nd Blader, but 99% of the time
you'll take it out as well.  Walk to the right until you're
certain you are next to throwable block on this ledge.  Jump up
on it and walk slowly forward until you hear the squeak of
Megaman falling off the other side.  Inch yourself forward and
fire like crazy until you hear a Blader being hit.  Take a full
jump forward and stop.  Shoot for a couple seconds; the other
two Bladers shouldn't be coming yet, but if you went too far
they will.  Hopefully they didn't.  Run forward and AS SOON AS
you hear Megaman's squeaky footfalls land, be firing and you'll
take both Bladers out.  After this, keep jumping to the right
until you hear the Wall Cannon and stop.  Listening carefully,
you should only hear one of them right now.  Move carefully
right until you start to hear the other Wall Cannon shooting
(should be two spaces left of the ladder, if your eyes are
open).  Move a little right and start jumping like crazy.  Keep
jumping around until you hear a gap between the quick squeaky
jumps.  If you start getting hit by WC fire, you've gone too far
right.  When you hear the gap between squeaks, jump and hold UP
(again, if you don't hear yourself land, you got it).  Climb
until you are sure you made it to the top.  Once you're on top,
take a full jump to the right and you should make the gap.
Press right and climb the ladder.


iii.)   Sorry for the previous long section.  Inch yourself one space
LEFT (see #5 above).  Take a full leap LEFT.  If you heard
yourself land, you made it.  Move all the way to the LEFT.  If
not, you fell to the previous screen.  When you get to the left,
listen for the sound of Megaman getting shot.  When this
happens, you are one space left of the ladder.  Take a leap and
climb up.  Pause a moment, you're safe right here.  Inch
yourself one space RIGHT and you'll still be safe.  Time a full
jump to the RIGHT when you hear the Wall Cannon fire stop.
Should have no problem making it.  Keep jumping to reach the top
and the ladder.


iv.)    On this screen, keep firing left at the top of the ladder to
take out the Wall Cannon.  Take a full leap LEFT and inch
yourself a space further LEFT.  Jump while holding UP to find
the ladder and climb.  You'll know when you're at the top
because you'll get hit.  Take a full jump RIGHT while firing to
take out the Wall Cannon.  Another jump gets you to the far
right and the ladder.

v.)     Flat-out, this is the toughest screen in this entire strategy.
I wasted a couple hours on this screen and the ones below just
because of missed jumps and thinking I was somewhere I wasn't,
so beware of this possibility!!!!  If you're ever unsure of
anything on this screen, the most important thing to remember is
that the middle Wall Cannon ALWAYS fires first.  Listen for it.
Anyway...on this ladder, take a 1 Mississippi count to quickly get
to the top of the ladder and immediately start running LEFT.
Listen extremely carefully for the first sound of Wall Cannon
fire.  AS SOON AS YOU HEAR IT, take a full leap LEFT.  If you
heard the sound of damage, then you didn't make the jump and hit
the Wall Cannon in the gap and fell down to the previous screen.
If you didn't hear anything, then you made it.  Carefully jump
to find the ladder and climb up.  You may take several hits
doing this, so be careful.  Hold RIGHT to be certain you are
against the far right wall (if your eyes are open, you are under
the Wall Cannon).  Inch yourself one space LEFT again (if you
get hit, then you went slightly too far.  If you get hit,
continue as instructed below).  Listen for your spot and take a
running full leap LEFT to get on top of the next row, then take
another running full leap LEFT to get to the ladder.  Hold UP to
get to the next screen and continue holding it to be certain you
are at the top of the ladder.  Listen for Wall Cannons for a
moment, because if you don't hear any, then you were successful.
Congratulations!!!

vi.)    Here, just keep hitting A+B to jump-fire across the area with
the Cutters and the Fleas.  You may take a couple hits, but the
alternative is trying to carefully navigate your way through.  I
COULD tell you how to do this, but it's a pain in the ass.  This
is much easier.  Keep jump-firing until you hear the sound of
enemies taking multiple hits very quickly.  You'll have reached
the Octopus Batteries if you do, since they take 5 hits to kill.
Keep shooting to kill them, and find the ladder as you did
before in Screen 1.  Make the jump to the far ladder as you did
in Screen 1.  IMPORTANT- If you keep standing in one spot and
keep taking hits right here, that means a Flea followed you! Do
your best to kill it or run to the far RIGHT and take a leap to
the LEFT to find the ladder that way.

vii.)   Now you're at the Halfway/Continue screen.  The screens get
easier from here.  When you're sure you've made it here, don't
move from the top of the ladder and simply jump-shoot to take
out the OBs.  When you don't hear the sound of enemies taking
hits, run to the LEFT until you're certain you are against the
throwable block.  Take a leap on top of it.  Jump straight up
and fire to kill the OB moving horizontally above you.  If you
get hit, it WAS directly above you.  Listen for it's death and
take a full leap LEFT to get on top.  Jump-fire to the RIGHT to
take out the next horizontal OB.  When it's dead, take two full
leaps RIGHT and find the ladder.

viii.)  At this screen, you can simply shoot LEFT to kill the OB
blocking the way.  When it's dead, run to the LEFT until you're
certain you are against the wall.  There's an OB guarding the
upper gap, but since you're blind it's impossible to know where
it is.  Just jump straight UP and bear to the LEFT and hope for
the best.  If you didn't get hit, awesome; if you DID, then
simply jump back up again while you are temporarily invincible
to get through.  The ladder is another full leap LEFT, but
there's two OBs moving horizontally that could cost you hits.
You can go for the ladder immediately and hope that they are on
the right, or you can try to find them by jump-shooting.
Regardless of what you do, if you take a hit, then use the
invincibility to your advantage and get up the ladder.

ix.)    When you're certain you made it to the screen, fire to the RIGHT
until you hear the vertical OB meet its death.  There's a
horizontal OB guarding the gap, but once again there's nothing
really you can do since you're blind (Fire Shot is excellent
here, if you're using it.)  Do your best to get up the right
side.  When you're certain that you have, the ladder is right
there.  Jump a full jump straight UP, and tap UP, and you will
be on top of the ladder.  IMMEDIATELY take another jump UP-LEFT
and hold UP to grab the ladder to the next screen.  This is
actually a screen that is extremely easy, once you've done it a
couple times.

x.)     When you're certain that you're on this screen, simply run RIGHT
for a couple seconds, then start jump-shooting to the RIGHT.
Listen for the sound of enemy death, those will be the 1st and
3rd Bladers if done correctly.  It doesn't matter which ones,
those are usually the ones that are killed though.  Regardless,
as soon as you hear two Bladers die, STOP!  Take turns shooting
to the right and left quickly to take out the other Blader.
When it's killed, move carefully to the RIGHT until you hear
yourself land.  You'll be on top of the ladder if your eyes are
open.  Move LEFT to get the large energy pellet as you'll
definitely need the refill by now.  Move back RIGHT, jumping up
and down rapidly.  When you hear a longer gap between jumps,
you've made it to the ladder.  Press down to climb down into the
next screen (if you don't hear the Flying Shell shooting after a
few moments, you're still on this screen!)

xi.)    The next two screens can be extrememly tough, due to the Flying
Shell's interference.  YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.  They go hand in
hand, so I'll describe them together.  Once you're certain that
you are on this screen (you'll hear the Flying Shell), run to
the far LEFT.  You're there if you can jump rapidly, it's only
place on that ledge that you can jump rapidly and hear it.
Quickly inch yourself one space RIGHT and try to climb down the
ladder.  With the Flying Shell trying to hit you, the ladder can
be difficult to find.  If you were able to inch yourself
probably, "A" drop down and shoot to the RIGHT.  HOPEFULLY you
will hear the 'clink' or death of the Flying Shell, which is
extremely nice because you know exactly where you are.  They'll
keep coming, so keep shooting to the right until you're ready.
Move one space LEFT and listen for yourself to land.  When you
hear it, pause for a moment; you'll be okay, this is a safe
spot.  When you're ready, you need to move two spaces to the
right and fall into the next screen.  The important thing to
listen for is the Flying Shell.  Move right until you hear a
SLIGHT pause in the firing (means the screen is scrolling
downwards), and when you get the pause, hold LEFT again so that
you land on the block in the next screen.  Keep HOLDING left
when you hear yourself land and until you're certain you're in
the far corner.  When you are, hold down just slightly to get on
the ladder and then "A" drop into the next screen.  NOTE- You'll
know you're in the far left corner by listening to the Flying
Shell and its shot sequence.  The first set of shots will cause
nothing.  It's second set will hit you.  The third set will
miss.  Repeat.

xii.)   Hopefully you listened to me and "A" dropped into this screen.
If so, AS SOON AS you hit "A" to start the drop, be holding
RIGHT and keep holding it.  There's about a 75-25 chance that
you won't get hit by the Big Eyes by doing this.  You'll fall
just to the right of the ladder, run to the right, and the Big
Eyes will hop over you.  Remember, this game is about timing and
patterns.  It's all in the game programming, so when it's 75-25,
the programming of the game will be responding to YOUR ACTIONS,
which will make the Big Eyes hop over you.  I could explain it
in-depth, but I won't bore you with it.  Anyway, just keep
holding RIGHT until you don't hear hopping anymore and keep
jumping to find the door.  If you actually got hit by Big Eyes,
you probably didn't have the energy to survive it.  However, if
you did, just ignore it and keep moving right and find the door.

xiii.)  The corridor is simple.  Run to the RIGHT and keep shooting
rapidly until you hear the death of the Screw Bomber.  Move
carefully right and take high jumps while firing to take out the
Screw Bomber on the ceiling.  When you start hearing shots
connect, make sure you stop.  You'll probably still be out of
range so there's no danger of being hit.  When its dead, move
carefully right again and keep firing to take out the last Screw
Bomber.  Run right until you hear the chamber door.

BOSS- CUTMAN

This is actually one of the easiest parts of this strategy.  Start out shooting
right away.  After you hear yourself register a couple hits, move so that
you're certain Megaman is in the far RIGHT corner.  Then turn and keep jump-
firing until he's dead.  What?  You expected there to be a technical lengthy
explanation like the rest of this strategy possessed.  Well, sorry, this is all
I got.  It's just a plain old shootout, but you shouldn't have any problem
winning it.


Conclusion- THIS STRATEGY IS FOR HARDCORE MEGAMAN GAMERS ONLY!  And by
hardcore, I mean that you have played this stage so much that you literally
have it memorized.  Because I'll be honest; I didn't even have to turn the game
on to write out this strategy.  It just takes PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.  Be
prepared to invest some significant time doing this.  Even after you've
practiced and prepare, each attempt takes AT LEAST 30 minutes, and that's if
you don't get stuck on a screen for a whole hour.  When I start the stage, I
turn on an alarm and set it for an hour.  If it goes off, I just stop whatever
I'm doing and look to see where I was.  Usually I'm on a screen I didn't think
I was on, or stuck on a certain part of the screen when I thought I was
somewhere else.

If you decide to give this a try, go slowly.  Try to get past the first few
screens, then to the halfway screen, then to the top screen with the Bladers,
before getting to the door.  You WILL NOT be able to defeat the stage on a
single life; I've only done it twice, and both were just lucky when I must have
gotten a large energy pellet from the Screw Bombers in the chamber.  The best
hope you have is that you can manage to get to the halfway screen on your first
life, get to the chamber on your second (you'll likely be low on energy and die
from Cutman himself), before finally taking out Cutman on your last life.

As always, I encourage everyone to find their own strategies and alternate ways
of doing things.  Maybe you'll find something easier to do than what I've
written.  In any case, GOOD LUCK, and let me know if you've had any success!!!





+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SECTION X:  ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND OTHER STUFF I THINK IS COOL
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


=========ACCOMPLISHMENTS===============

Just as a fun little section, here's some things I've accomplished on this
game.  Think of it as bragging if you want to; I'd like to consider it my
resume and qualifications to be able to write this FAQ.  If you have a
challenge for me or you have an accomplishment that you think is unique, write
me and let me know!!!!!

5 Normal Gun only perfect games.
Over 50 perfect games using Weapons.
A 25:59.69 speed run w/o select cheat.  Reached this in the past two weeks
since this guide was first posted at gamefaqs, motivated by continued posting
on the Megaman 2 board about emulator speed runs.  It will be tough, but this
time CAN and WILL go lower!!!
In 1988, beat the game the first time I ever played it using only 1 continue.
Successfully developed and accomplished Cutman's Blade In The Dark strategy.
Starting with Gutsman, defeated game w/o dying using ONLY robot weapons and
without collecting energy refills.  This is tougher than it sounds!!!!

Well, that's about it for now.  I've done a ton of stuff on this game (and
other Megamans), so I can't really remember or post everything I've ever done.
Usually, I remember things I've done as other people post on the message boards
with challenges.


==========SOME COOL STUFF==========


Check out remix.overclocked.org and look for remixes for Megaman.  Check out
the remixer by the name of Injury.  A couple cool remixes for this game,
including an Elecman theme, "Circuit Breaker," and a remixed theme with a kick-
ass title, "Set Me Up The Bomb-man."  Also a nice MM2 opening theme (The
Tallest Building) and an AWESOME song for Megaman 3 using Protoman's theme,
"Blue Reflection."  She's not the greatest singer ever, but she's good enough
for the song.  Also, her voice is perfect for the song and gives it the
haunting tone it needs.  I wouldn't have the song any other way.

Also, the song "Earthbound VenusSignedBananaPeel" is a nice little remix with a
lounge singer feel.  I love it.

Her personal website is http://injury.net/


To be continued.



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SECTION XI:  LEGAL STUFF
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


I've never had to write out one of these, but here it goes.  This guide is the
copyrighted property of Jeremiah DeShetler and currently THE ONLY PLACE THIS
GUIDE MAY BE POSTED is on www.gamefaqs.com.  No other persons, websites,
groups, etc. may post this guide without my permission.  If you read this FAQ
anywhere else, please email me immediately and let me know.  This
FAQ/Guide/Walkthrough is protected by all copyright laws and any person
attempting to steal, use, reproduce, or otherwise misrepresent the information
in this document as their own will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the
law.  There is to be no public usage of this document, aside from being posted
at gamefaqs, without the express written consent of Jeremiah DeShetler.  It is
not to be distributed, except for personal use (meaning, yes, you can print it
out and give it to a friend, but don't be selling it or anything!)

You may download or print out this FAQ from gamefaqs, or even a section, as
long as it is not edited or changed in any way whatsoever.

This guide was written for informational use only.  The name Megaman, the game,
information from the instruction booklet, and any other copyright that might be
valid are still the property of their respective owners, likely and most
notably Capcom.

I hope that was enough.





+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SECTION XII: THE FINAL WORD
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


I want to thank you for reading this guide.  It took some effort and time to
write it, and I had to actually play WORSE to figure out some exact spacing
that I usually do so naturally.  I'd appreciate any feedback that you may have
regarding anything in this FAQ.  I can take all the feedback, good or bad, that
you can dish out.  If you liked it, hated it, couldn't read it cause it sucked,
it was just too long; whatever it was, please tell me about it.  In fact, a
quick email saying "Hey, I read it" would be nice.  It'd at least let me know
how much traffic my FAQ is getting.

Email me at [email protected] with any feedback that you have.  Please
use the subject line "Mega Man FAQ comment/question" so that I just don't erase
it into oblivion from thinking that it's junk mail.

If you don't want to email me, post a topic on the Megaman 1 board at gamefaqs.
I check that board almost every day, though I rarely post on it anymore.
However, if you direct a post towards me, I will certainly answer it as soon as
I possibly can.  Due to work schedule, be aware that I will not have computer
access on Fridays and Saturdays though, so be patient until Sunday for a
response in that case.  I also check the Megaman 2 board fairly often, so a
post directed toward me on that board will likely be answered as well.

Megaman, and the entire Megaman series, is a series of games that I will always
love for its incredibly addictive gameplay and general awesomeness.  I also
love it because, for whatever reason, I was always a natural at this series and
easily accomplished the most difficult of tasks.  I hope this guide has helped
you.

Keep it old school and keep it strong!

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