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Mega Man X6
From The Mega Man Universe
Mega Man X6
Rockman X6
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| Game Info
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| Developers
| Capcom
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| Publishers
| Capcom
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| Release date
| December 01, 2001 (US)
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| Platforms
| Sony Playstation
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Welcome to Mega Man Network's official coverage for Mega Man X6, the sixth installment in the Mega Man X series. On this page, you'll find an overview of the game, its mechanics, and links to our guide and resources for this title.
Story Information
In the wake of Earth's ruin, a young scientist named Gate finds a mysterious piece of rubble that soon corrupts him. Along with the mysterious Reploid Isoc, they send out an elite team of previously-destroyed Reploids to search for and destroy the Zero Nightmare - an apparition of Zero created by Gate to fool humans and Reploids alike into thinking Zero instigated the disaster and had returned from beyond the grave. They succeed in propagating this to many of the Reploids, and X heads back into battle armed with Zero's Z-Saber to do his own investigating, while confronting a new virus called "Nightmare" and trying to uncover what really happened in those final moments with Sigma...
Main Article: Mega Man X6 Analysis
Game Overview
For the most part, X6 is essentially a continuation of Mega Man X5, as the gameplay execution is almost exactly the same. The primary "catch" in the game is Zero's death from X5. One of X's sidequest goals is to find out what truly happened in his friend's final minutes, but the manual couldn't be more obvious in telling you that Zero's alive. In fact, it won't take you long at all to "find" him. Once you do get him back as a character, he plays somewhat differently from X5. His triple slash now has a rising strike for the third slash, and he can fire his Z-Buster (which is actually pretty decent in power) with the Special Weapon button. Like X5, X begins the game with the previous game's armor, though the Falcon Armor no longer has the ability to fly (it's replaced with a damaging air dash). The two-armor system is also used in this game. The primary armor, the Blade Armor, is pretty good for mobility and general all-purpose use. Its ability to use Charge Saber is less than useful, however. The Shadow Armor resembles the Gaea Armor from X5 in that it cannot use special weapons, but the armor itself is designed for stealth. The charged Saber attack is very powerful, and its Giga Attack is extremely useful (try it on the Nightmare Mother). The Ultimate Armor is also available (it's black and gold this time, however), but it can only be used via a code on the title screen.
X6 has a general theme of having more-than-difficult level designs (in fact, there is one in particular that you can only get through with the Blade Armor unless you equip a variety of jumping parts) while having simplified bosses - Blaze Heatnix's stage is a definite example, as is Metal Shark Player's. Infinity Mijinion is an exception only in that beating him is nothing more than an endurance test to see if you can withstand him throwing everything plus the kitchen sink at you.
Overall, X6 is basically X5 with new bosses and new levels. The game falls apart in a number of key areas, such as the armors being unbalanced, the horrendous level design, and the seeming lack of effort in terms of the translation (overwright?) - some of the dialogue is downright painful. The Japanese vocals and soundtrack is kept intact as well. In its own right, X6 is a decent title, but it's not as fun to play as previous ones.
Characters
Maverick Bosses
X6's order is pretty straightforward, though sometimes the weapons gained by X and "the resurrected Hunter" (natch) aren't as useful as they could be. Still, the order is the same regardless of whether you use X or Ze... uhh... "the Hunter" to tackle them.
- Commander Yammark - Yammark falls easily to any weapon. Later on, though, use the Ray Arrow/Rekkoha to waste him even faster.
- Ground Scaravich - Both characters should use the Yammar Option and just strike Scaravich's body with the circling dragonflies.
- Blaze Heatnix - If using X, use the charged Ground Dash. Zero is better off using his Saber as opposed to the unwieldy Sentsuizan.
- Blizzard Wolfang - Use the Magma Blade/Shoenzan for an easy victory and simply avoid his dashing attacks.
- Rainy Turtloid - First, destroy the green crystals on his shell, attack him with the Ice Burst/Hyoroga, then dodge his buzzsaw move.
- Metal Shark Player - Stay in close and use the Meteor Rain/Ensuizan for hefty damage (and a funny animation). Hit him quickly to prevent him from using his DNA resurrection attacks.
- Shield Sheldon - The Metal Anchor/Rakukojin works best provided you can hit with it, but you don't get many clear chances.
- Infinity Mijinion - Bring the pain. The Guard Shell can reflect his Ray Arrow attack, but the bigger concern is the bubbles and multiple clones he creates.
Boss Strategies
These strategies detail information on how to defeat the major bosses in the game.
- Giant Mechaniloid D-1000 - The Giant Mechaniloid, like the obstacle blocks in this stage, is really a way to ease the gamer into knowing when and where is the proper time to use the Z-Saber. Cling to the wall and slash at the small sphere powering the mechaniloid and he'll fall, taking off a significant amount of life. If you can help it, try not to be under it when this happens, and if you must pass under it, do it with a quick dash to get to the other side. Once it's defeated, Zero Nightmare will come and play out a story point.
- Zero Nightmare - Zero Nightmare can be hard to defeat if you challenge him before you've gained many power-ups. But it is also necessary to defeat him early if you want to play as Zero through most or all of the stages. Cling to the walls as much as possible and do carefully placed dash-jumps to avoid his variety of attacks. Hit him with the Z-Saber when you get the chance, and then leave before he recovers, because he will probably dash into you. Keep using these strategies until he falls.
- Dynamo - He's back, and high on DNA Soul to boot. The recommended weapon is Ice Burst for X and Hydroga for Zero. Hit him once, he'll be stunned and jump to the other side (make sure you duck or jump out of the way when he jumps or you'll be damaged). Then simply repeat it. You can learn his pattern of attacks and battle him directly, clinging to the wall and dodging them. This isn't extremely hard either, but using his weakness makes him much easier.
- Nightmare/Mother - Nightmare Mother can be pretty tough, and it's a good idea to bring two full Sub-Tanks and the Life Recover Limited part. This will be like 3 life refills for you. The Nightmare Mother circles the room trying to hit you. Jump over it by clinging to the walls or doing Zero's double-jump. Once it stops the rotation, it will let the two "eyes" loose, which will attack. Attack them as they attack you, and try to avoid their fire, ice, and lightning attacks. These are hard to predict and dodge, so the battle is really mostly a test of endurance. If you brought along the two Sub-Tanks and Limited part, therefore, you should be fine. When it's down to about half life, it will circle faster, making your straight up jump maneuver a wise choice to dodge it if carefully timed. Just use the Sub-Tanks when necessary, and if playing as X use the Giga Attack moves as often as you can.
- High Max - You'll face High Max a total of three times in the game. The first time, you can't beat him, so just "lose" the battle. When you encounter him in any of the substages after beating Zero Nightmare, he's an extreme pain. For one thing, you cannot win here unless you have at least one special weapon, preferably the Magma Blade/Shoenzan, Meteor Rain/Ensuizan, or the Ray Arrow/Rekkoha. With X, you must first strike him with a charged Buster shot to stun him, then quickly follow up with a special weapon attack to damage him. Zero is the exact opposite - stun him with a weapon, then attack with your Saber. Really, it's his attacks that make the battle difficult. The third time you face him, it's the exact same strategy; just compensate slightly for some new attacks.
- Gate - Gate is pretty tough, but this is mostly due to the inane layout of his room. His weakness lies not in hurting him, but in the "gates" that he releases. Try to make them come towards you by standing still, and then jump away to dodge and destroy them quickly. They will let off three shards in either direction, and if these hit Gate they inflict damage. Some of the gates can be rather threatening, releasing Nightmares, taking away your ability to do certain functions, altering the gravity in the room, or destroying one of the few platforms you have to stand on. Tread lightly and move as much as possible when not trying to target a gate. If Gate himself hits you, you can fall in the pit rather easily. Use your Sub-Tanks or Life Recover here if you must, and Gate will be defeated.
- Sigma - Sigma just made me want to cry. Compared to some other bosses such as Infinity Mijinion, High Max, and Gate, Sigma is rather simple. The Metal Anchor/Rakukojin is the weapon that hurts him the most, but you can settle for the X-Buster (or the Z-Buster) or Saber if you like. Really, he just inches towards you occasionally creating some form of an energy-based attack. You can repel the attack with Metalshark's weapon, however, so beating Sigma shouldn't be a problem.
- Sigma Final - We learn that Sigma is half-insane, driven mad from the effects of spreading his virus so thin in X5. Tough break. This Sigma is pretty easy, especially considering that most of his green obstacles and projectiles will drop life energy when destroyed, making it even easier for you to pummel him into submission. Stay directly underneath Sigma's chin for the majority of the battle. Here, Zero can slash away with the Saber to hit him, and X can as well, though the attack isn't as strong. If you want to face him head-on, the Ground Dash is the weapon to use, but you must hit Sigma when his mouth is open - a task that is actually a bit hard to do without taking damage yourself. When he gets close to death, Sigma will use an attack that can't be dodged merely by staying under his head. However, when you get to this point, if your life is at an okay state, it's probably a better strategy to ignore the attack and keep slashing at him to inflict as much damage as possible. With a little time, Sigma will be destroyed rather easily.
Mini Review
...Though it seems that we are rather venomous towards the game's presentation (and it is a bit of a step down from X5, we think), it's not horrible and the odds of it affecting your enjoyment of the game are minimal at best. Because this is still a pretty well-constructed game, and it does offer a semi-honest, pretty old-school challenge, something a lot of games released these days can't boast. Also, the changing storylines, multiple endings (another good idea kept from X5) and the fact that you can always rescue more Reploids or gather more Souls or do better than you did before help as far as replay value, not to mention the special prize you get for finishing the game.
Main Article: Mega Man X6 Review
Trivia
Special Features
As written on the Mega Man X6 box
- The next action packed adventure in the Mega Man X legacy - help find Zero!
- Mega Man X can now access Zero's sword as a new weapon
- Collect stronger powerups by rescuing as many reploids as you can
- New Nightmare System - randomizes level maps, enemies and endings based on how you play the game
Related Resources
Mega Man X6 Script
Press Releases
CONSUMERS DEMANDED AND CAPCOM DELIVERS MEGA MAN X SERIES CONTINUES IN MEGA MAN X6
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