Mega Man Zero 4 - Pegasolta Eclair Pacifist Run

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I present to you an absurd exercise in RNG manipulation and precision platforming.

Clearing Pegasolta’s stage, the Hanging Gardens, as a pacifist isn’t exactly the most welcoming assignment. Tempestuous winds, dense cloud formations, and obtrusive terrain are complimented by one of the most annoying enemies in the series, making traversal a serious hassle. This challenge demands remarkably crisp movement and in-depth knowledge of game mechanics in equal parts. Adding to the pain, for this run, I don’t leverage Tractor Shot whatsoever, instead opting to slither past every foe and obstacle with Double Jump. The icicle-lobbing Animal Elf, powered up by virtue of having Cerveau christen it, takes point during both instances of combat for a proper hands-off approach.

Describing the difficulty here as front-loaded would be a gross understatement. The jumps between the first Glacial and the surrounding pillars are the most grueling ones in the stage. Aligning Zero with the markings on the floor tiles, then walking forward and performing a delayed dash jump will narrowly get you by without getting frozen. Directly following that is a lovely bit of self-inflicted misery; I perform a continuous wall jump off the second ground pillar, giving Zero enough height to elegantly glide past the last pillar.

The start of the next room doesn’t let up. The winds intensify as you approach the set of four Variants, two of which see fit to descend from the skies above. There’s no option but to carefully land on the corners of each block, with the last one requiring an exact double jump and corner landing while Zero is occluded by a passing cloud—quite evil. Using wall jumps to your advantage isn’t an option, as it’s both slower and interferes with RNG manipulation. Why is the latter relevant during this stage? Well, let’s talk about the Triaformers.

Literally anyone who has ever completed Z4 laments the existence of Triaformers. These three-pronged, star-spewing nuisances are responsible for many meetings with bottomless pits and spikes. Their movements are erratic and difficult to understand. I thought them to be completely random in the past, but as it turns out, their initial positions upon entering camera view and their subsequent movements appear to be governed by the same RNG value that determines boss patterns. Most enemies either follow a set pattern or are slow enough for Zero to blitz regardless of RNG. Not so with the Triaformers; they call for proper discipline.

Examples of actions that influence RNG in Z4 are wall jumping, firing Buster shots at a wall, and letting a Cyber Elf spawn sparkles. Wall jumps are the pertinent action here. Before arriving at the first Triaformer, I wall jump only once off a pillar, as mentioned. A visual indicator of good RNG is that the Raiken near the first door will always drop a small Energy Crystal. After the Variant gauntlet, I double jump directly atop the tall pillar without catching the wall; this causes the Triaformer to move up-left, granting passage by dashing underneath. The rest of the section follows the same principle; every single movement is meticulously planned, including the little wall jump off the stairs prior to the miniboss.

It’s imperative that you don’t skip the miniboss cutscene. Doing so will scramble your RNG to the current number of frames elapsed. I have to use the Cyber Elf to fight, but its particles cycle RNG, so I need to activate and deactivate it at the same time, every time. Deactivating is easy; just mash start after the dragon is felled. Activation, then, is handled by walking forward until Zero is beneath the dragon’s claws, then pressing start. It’s an easily repeatable action that nearly guarantees the Cyber Elf will generate the same number of particles during the fight. New particles spawn every 33 frames, so you’ve got about a half-second of lenience to work with.

Zero’s positioning during the fight needs to be strictly adhered to, ensuring persistent icicle hits that don’t deviate in their timing. The dragon will exhibit a consistent pattern, so deactivating the Cyber Elf afterward will produce dependable RNG. This assiduous routine is in service of rewarding Zero with some remarkably smooth sailing through the second half of the stage. Observe how every single Triafomer present within is cooperative, flying away from the critical path. Aside from a few mildly delicate moments, such as the jump over the first Mechameson, nothing really presents an obvious threat. For perspective, I managed to ace this section on my first attempt after making it past the miniboss.

One could argue that skipping Pegasolta’s cutscene betrays the spirit of all I’ve described. With the RNG I had, he would have started the fight with Lightning Assault, but manipulating Pegsolta past the first few hits is impractical, so I chose to gamble with my fate instead.

Thanks for watching! Any questions and comments are welcome as usual.







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