Mega Man ZX - Hard Mode No Damage Run [Part 2]
43This is part 2 of my hard mode no damage run of Mega Man ZX. With the opening sections of the game finished and Model HX acquired, the pace of the stages really starts to pick up. High-speed air dashing becomes a central focus from here on out. Here are my notes for this part.
-Area G is the first of many playgrounds for Model HX to stretch its wings. Whether you choose to cut down enemies in your way or jump around everything like a parkour addict, you’re gonna have a good time. Or rather, I would say that were it not for the trite recuse mission comprising the middle sector of the level. It’s a shame that the experience is marred by this, as the movement within the rest of the stage is sublime.
-Fistleo represents the first major roadblock in terms of the Pseudoroids. Like Hivolt, this battle comes down to careful choreography, though, out of necessity rather than a desire to dance around. Fistleo’s weak point is his face; as such, highly specific points in his movements need to be leveraged as attacking opportunities. Slashing at his legs while he’s jumping is a prime chance to deal damage, as is keeping him in the middle of the room so you can offset his inextricable healing by slashing his back. Manipulating him into using his three tracking orbs is also essential to achieving a smooth fight, as this pattern guarantees landing at least a jump slash into a double slash. Fistleo’s healing is what necessitates so much effort be put into the battle in the first place; without it, improv would suffice. As it stands, what you see play out is the result of immense trial and error; the time invested was only surpassed by Purprill on account of the sheer chaos of that battle.
-Area K is a highly speed-centric stage by design; a sight into what Area G could’ve achieved without the monotony. Even the first section, which lacks the impending lava, lends itself well to HX’s capabilities. Barring the minor inconvenience of a miniboss, it’s a kinetic left-to-right joyride, one which I was happy to learn. I elected to save weapon energy and make some precarious air dashes over enemies and lava pillars, I felt it was a bit more exciting.
-Flammole’s another tricky boss. Here’s the secret: if you want to save time, you have to slash him every time he burrows vertically across the arena. It might seem risky, but it’s actually entirely consistent to slash his legs on both the up and down cycles. If you forgo this, you’ll be stuck waiting to slash at his head between salvos of flamethrowers and fireballs, which takes an eternity. You need to manipulate Flammole’s position for each burrowing cycle; baiting him to the edges of the screen will allow you enough space to dash away after landing an air slash; the rocks spit from the dirt have a large splash range that’s otherwise very difficult to avoid.
-Prometheus as a standalone battle is bizarre, as he only has one attack that poses any kind of threat at all. Getting these two moves out of the way: when he dashes at you with his scythe, jump slash over him to block his advance, then land your free triple slash afterward. Similarly, jump over him when he trails those energy blades across the walls and floor. Feel free to land as many or as few slashes as you like. The real fun comes from dancing between his flames; the timing for doing so is a bit aberrant. The flames track Aile’s position, just like many projectiles in this series, but there are no visual or audio cues for when, so it all comes down to feel. I’d say they lock on about a half-second before firing. I deliberately avoided destroying the flames or using the walls in order to create something that I found visually satisfying.
-Fittingly, Area F contains the first usage of Model FX, whose sheer firepower can be a sight to behold. It behooves players to acquire FX before arriving here; you’ll save an immense amount of time with the ability to destroy any ice blocks in your path, as well as against the miniboss, whom I didn’t feel compelled to defeat with the ZX-Saber only, like I did in Area E. I switch between HX and FX here, but if you stick with FX entirely, you’ll enjoy the additional benefit of immunity from the ice dust dispensed by the moth enemies.
-Lurerre is probably the easiest level 4 win in the game, so I take the liberty of showing off that it’s indeed possible to reflect her ice beam using the ZX-Saber only. Do be careful when attempting this, as once Lurerre is hit by the beam, a large ice splash can freeze you; normally not something you contend with when using projectiles to circumvent this attack.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Interlude #2 - Area I-3 to Area D-2
02:09 - Fight the Mavericks | Fistleo the Predatoroid
06:43 - Interlude #3 - Area G-5 to Area C-3
07:41 - Attack the Excavators | Flammole the Moleroid
11:09 - Stop Prometheus | Prometheus
13:44 - Find the Survivors | Lurerre the Abyssroid
Thanks for watching! As always, feel free to leave any comments or ask any questions you may have.
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