Mega Man ZX - Hard Mode No Damage Run [Part 3]
38This is part 3 of my Mega Man ZX hard mode no damage run. This time, I’ll be taking on the remaining Pseudoroids, as well as having a little shindig with Pandora. Here are my notes.
-A general point I’ve yet to posit is the lack of slashing speed the ZX-Saber possesses relative to its ancestor. For ZX, Inti Creates added additional frames of animation to the Triple Slash, alongside changing the shapes of the slashes to be more crescent-like. This has two knock-on effects: Firstly, the triple slash is much slower; deliberate care has to be taken when using it, as it’s highly committal. Second, the range of the ZX-Saber’s slashes, particularly the air slash, is diminished, resulting from the slash sprite changes. The game is designed around these constraints to compensate, and Model ZX is given a much more powerful spin slash to boot, but it’s worth mentioning as a difference Zero vets may need to acclimate to.
-LX is the only Biometal (barring OX) that can move through water in a similar manner to Zero in MMZ. Combining the buoyancy granted by water with the momentum penalty alleviated allows you to jump over most of the stage. The room post miniboss is particularly fast; it lasts roughly 12 seconds.
-Leganchor’s AI is hilarious. Whether an intentional homage or not, his attack selection depends entirely on player position, much like Leviathan in Z1. Knowing this, I set out to find a set of movements to “break” the fight, and what you see play out is the result of that research. In short, standing in the middle will always lure out the two ice dragons. Since they home in on Aile, manipulation is easy; repeating these maneuvers every time will always work; there is no deviation. It’s not the fastest method of winning, but it sure is amusing.
-Purprill’s stage is unique in that the majority of it comprises a long trek back through Area A; unfortunately, there are no Transervers closer by. The opening room of the theme park is practically a straight line, which barely constitutes level design; I add some vertical movement for a bit of spice. The Powmettaur gets shredded by either HX or FX, pick your poison. Do note that with HX your timing and spacing both need to be good to maintain the electric stun, preventing contact damage, as well as making sure to get the proper amount of damage stacking in with the HX triple slash. The last corridor is by far the most difficult section. It’s littered with Mechadragons and popcorn dispensers (yes, I’m serious) which are all too easy to fly right into with HX. The vertical climb is also a nightmare to learn; deftly ascending this crowded sector is no easy feat.
-For details on Purprill you can check out a video I made on that fight titled “A Few Fights with Purprill the Mandroid”.
-Protectos’ stage, Area L, is by far my favorite in the game. Many stages in ZX have some sort of caveat: a miniboss, a rescue mission, or some other pace-breaking sector. Area L lacks these impediments; instead, you’re left with pure, high-speed precision platforming. It lasts just over 90 seconds, but it’s action-packed through and through. The first two rooms are more puzzle-like, demanding careful positioning and knowledge to navigate past the stacks of crates, Galleon Sleds and status-inflicting satellite arrays. Keeping a good flow through these rooms required a particularly long R&D session. The latter two rooms are a blistering race against the clock; flying past everything in an attempt to outpace the missile cycles is exhilarating, and brutally difficult too. The third room in particular is, in my opinion, the most difficult room in the game. This one felt genuinely hopeless at the onset; only after a lot of repetition did a path begin to emerge among the chaos. Any deviation from your planned course in this section will result in failure, the margin for error is disgustingly slim. The last room is far more forgiving; the missile patterns are nowhere near as exacting to work around, but it still requires steady hands and clear eyes to navigate.
-My goal in the Pandora fight was to showcase all of her attacks. This required a frankly insane amount of sleuthing; every action you see in this battle is 100% deliberate, right down to slashing her headpieces twice with a single slash, rather than using a double slash. The number of factors that influence RNG is downright absurd, which made this successful attempt all the more satisfying. Of particular note are the two attacks she uses when detaching her headpieces. The electric line is nail-bitingly tense to avoid with the ZX-Saber; your slash timing needs to be immaculate. Her ice shards are just plain fun to dance around too.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Interlude #4 - Area F-5 to Area J-1
01:36 - Recover the Disk | Leganchor the Gelroid
05:59 - Secure the Biometal | Purpill the Mandroid
10:37 - Protect the Lab | Protectos the Goreoid
16:04 - Stop the Dig | Pandora
Thanks for watching! Questions and comments are always welcome.
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