A Few Fights Against Purprill the Mandroid
46While working on my hard mode no damage run of ZX, Purprill ended up being quite a tricky obstacle. His pattern required quite a bit of sleuthing to efficiently navigate while also demanding precision to avoid his weak point. In the several-hour-long process of learning this battle, I ended up quite addicted to it; hence the reason for this video’s existence. The purpose of showcasing these 4 fights is twofold: First, and most obviously, I’d like to discuss the intricacies of his pattern while also showcasing some fun finishers. Second, I hope to give some insight into my methodology for practicing these segments. Let’s begin.
Starting with some general points. The first thing to note is that when Purprill is in a neutral stance, there are no tells as to what action he’ll perform next. Given that he has some moves with nigh instantaneous startup, such as the sand toss, standing next to him is inadvisable. Next is the matter of damaging him; for this battle, I’m using the ZX-Saber only, so I can’t speak to the efficacy of other methods, but most of what I delineate here should be applicable in general. While grounded, jump slashes aimed at his head are ideal; I never had any issues with accidentally grazing his arms with the Saber. These opportunities are numerous, so getting comfortable performing quick jump slashes is a must. While Purprill is having a blast on his jungle gym, the obvious point of attack is slashing at his legs; this has the potential of knocking him off the ropes.
The primary issue in this fight is accurately parsing what actions to take when he launches his triple orb attack. This move makes an already claustrophobic arena nightmarishly cramped. The ensuing visual confusion can be augmented if he deigns to toss some cluster bombs around as well. I firmly believe that the intention was to visually overwhelm players here. After much careful observation, I was able to determine the following: In any circumstance, it’s unquestionably superior to face Purprill head-on during the orb toss, rather than dashing behind him and wall climbing. I demonstrate both dodging methods numerous times, hopefully, the benefits of facing the orbs are evident. The most important advantage gained is the ability to weave between the orbs and land a jump slash on Purprill during the attack; this dramatically reduces the length of the battle.
The closer Purprill is to you when he tosses the orbs, the easier it is to retaliate. If he’s near the wall opposite to you upon starting the attack, the jumps you have to make between the orbs are absurdly precise; it makes some of Omega’s nonsense look tame. You can see this at the start of the first two fights, I showcase it there since I can consistently manipulate his pattern at that point. In general though, if he’s preparing a far orb toss, I recommend landing a leg slash after he tosses the first orb—his arm will be out of the way briefly—then dashing away.
The cluster bomb explosions have massive sprites, but minute hitboxes; this can clearly be observed at the end of the first fight. This attack is comparatively rare, but dangerous when you’re in close proximity to him, so the general advice of “stay away” is doubly applicable.
Paradoxically, the fight becomes easier after half-health, as his bouncing sawblade attack is added to his repertoire. Not only are both variants easy to dodge, but they offer clear points to punish them, namely, during the transformation back to his regular body and after he lands. Be wary of slashing too early while he’s still in the air, his arms cover his body for just a few frames, which I believe was an intentional design choice to punish hasty players; be clinical with your movements here. Upon landing, it’s possible to hit Purprill with a regular standing slash for extra damage, the positioning is rather tight though. I’m not sure why this works, as the Saber’s sprite clearly overlaps his arms, but I’ll take it.
Now to address this: why 4 fights, and why all the different finishers? Aside from providing some type of variety for entertainment value, this also ties into my practice methodology. When confronting a particularly challenging section, especially a boss, I like to try and expose myself to as many variables as possible. By attempting to dodge and attack in distinct manners, even using suboptimal methods, I prepare myself for whatever outcome I may receive during the battle. Nothing is absolute, I can try to manipulate things to the best of my ability, but there are no guarantees in an actual run. Kudos to whoever at Inti Creates thought up this brain-buster, it was a good workout.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Extended Saber Finish
01:07 - Walking Slash Finish
02:07 - Jump Slash Finish
03:13 - Dash Slash Finish
There’s more I could write, but not enough space. If you have any questions about this battle or specific moments in the video, don’t hesitate to ask. I hope you enjoyed it, thanks for watching.
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