Game:

Mega Man 8 (1996)

Category:

Let's Play

Duration: 13:31

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4

Time for another stage and boss that I quite like...and the music isn't too shabby either! Sword Man is the seventh Robot Master up, and he resides in what seems to be an ancient temple of some kind. The first half of the stage has four totem heads blocking the path onward that can be removed only by completing four subareas. Each of these subareas is built around the use of one of the special weapons from the first half of the game, as follows:
Subarea 1 - Thunder Claw: Pillars covered in death spikes slowly move toward you, and you must use the Thunder Claw to swing over gaps and to activate switches that open doors and allow you to escape.
Subarea 2 - Tornado Hold: There are locks that have the bottom half simply hovering airborne. Shoot it over to the top half, and then use the Tornado Hold to raise it high enough for the two halves to make contact.
Subarea 3 - Flash Bomb: The area is dark, and the background is completely black. The Flash Bomb lights up the background and allows you to see three colored squares. At the end of the area, you must push three corresponding buttons in the same order that you saw the squares.
Subarea 4: Ice Wave: Your way is blocked by lava-spewing artifacts, and touching said lava is instant death. Use the Ice Wave to freeze the lava so you can get past it.

After that comes the midboss, a sort of...um...gear creature that goes back and forth on the wall above lava and shoots fireballs. Partway through, the fight becomes harder, as you have less room to stand. Beating the midboss grants you access to the continue point and the second area, which is basically just a series of boat rides over lava. You have to use the lava geysers to your advantage to get up to higher ground.

Sword Man himself shouldn't be much of a problem at all, as long as you watch what he does and react accordingly. His body is composed of two parts that can and will separate, and he uses that to his advantage; one of his attacks involves him separating and dashing across the room, then creating a slash of fire with his sword. He can also detach his top half and send it spinning toward you and back again, he can drop a large totem head on you, and he can create a wall of fire that makes him temporarily invulnerable. Beating him gives you the Flame Sword, which is pretty much exactly what the name says: Mega Man slashes with it, and it creates flame in its wake. It's an okay melee weapon, but it's pretty much useless for hitting anything that isn't right next to you. There are other things you can do with it, though, as you'll see in the next couple of videos.

Only one Robot Master stands between Mega Man and Dr. Wily now....

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