Snipe Anteator

"The annals of history contain endless records of war... The "madness" will never end."

- Snipe Anteator

Snipe Anteator, known as Snipe Ariquick (スナイプ・アリクイック) in Japan, is an anteater-based Reploid and member of the Red Alert syndicate in Mega Man X7.

Characteristics
Snipe Anteator was a Reploid with the design of a hunched-over anteater, possessing a long snout, stripes painted along his limbs, and black claws. He also had a large pack of some kind attached to his back, which slid along the floor behind his feet, similar to the long and bushy tail of a real anteater.

Snipe Anteator was Red Alert's technology specialist, one whose skill in interfering with cyberspace was unmatched. He appeared to be a wise elder figure within the ranks of Red Alert, with plenty of knowledge to spare about the Maverick Hunters. Axl noted that he was skilled at reading people and their emotional states, and that he gathered data on those he battled. He often spoke cryptically, even taunting Zero about his past as a Maverick. He also waxed philosophical with X, revealing his beliefs that Reploids would forever be slaves to the cycle of war and that creating a utopia would be impossible.

Strategy
Some of the challenge in this battle stems from the long, but narrow battlefield, and the close, overhead camera angle that makes dodging attacks difficult. Anteator himself is a slow, easy target, but this is balanced out by his tendency to quickly shift his position out of reach when damaged, fire off attacks in rapid succession and liter the battlefield with hazards.

Anteator gains use of certain attacks in stages as his health drops to certain amounts:
 * Spiral Claw: Anteator claps his claws together, sending a pair of spiraling energy through the column. They can expand to cover most of the column's width, but start decreasing in size and dissipate as they reach the far ends. This attack is dodged by simply jumping over them, moving as far to the sides of the column as possible, or by sometimes standing at one of the far ends. Anteator uses this attack at the start of the battle and will use it repeatedly until he has suffered enough damage.


 * Soldier Ant: Anteator spreads these small ant-shaped proximity mines around the column in sets of three. The mines are stationary, but one must be wary of the large blast radius of their explosions. The mines will also detonate on their own after remaining undisturbed for some time. Like Spiral Claw, Anteator will use this attack exclusively until he has suffered enough damage.


 * Homing Missile: Anteator generates a large cannon on his back and fires missiles in sets of three. Due to the long, but narrow space to maneuver, these missiles can be difficult to avoid.


 * Laser Pod: When Anteator's health is knocked down to half, he will summon up to six airborne sentry guns that follow behind him. They can not be destroyed, and their quick shots are difficult to dodge. As Anteator's health drops even lower, the pods fly around independently of him and out of reach, firing off shots wildly.


 * Dead End Kiss: As Anteator wanders about, he will occasionally stop and lash out with his tongue. If it connects, he will hold the character briefly, before retracting his tongue and inflicting a small amount of damage. The attack has considerable range, spanning the length of the entire column.

Anteator's weaknesses are X and Axl's Moving Wheel or Zero's Zankourin, but his tendency to move around the column makes it difficult to hit him with either. Other attacks such as Volt Tornado, Raijinshou, Gokumonken, or even some of the characters default weapons are more effective against Anteator damage wise. Especially X's charged buster shots, as they can strike Anteator through the column and do sizeable damage.

Dialogues
X= Snipe Anteator: Hahahah! Splendid! Even better than expected.

X: How long must this madness go on!

Snipe Anteator: Hahaha! Let me ask you - how long has this madness been going on?

X: ?!

Snipe Anteator: The annals of history contain endless records of war... The "madness" will never end.

X: You're wrong! We can create a world without war. Utopia is not just a dream!

Snipe Anteator: You can't build a utopia on top of the graves of rebels like myself.

X: But...Even so...I... I must follow my beliefs! Zero= Snipe Anteator: Hohoh! Very well! But you've forgotten your true mission.

Zero: ...? My true mission?

Snipe Anteator: I see data buried deep within you... Is it memories of the future? Or false images of the past?

Zero: ...

Snipe Anteator: Blue - the lies that have infested the earth. Red - those destroyed and sealed away forever.

Zero: Hm! I don't know what you saw, and I don't care either. My "true mission" is to defeat you, here and now!

Snipe Anteator: Hahahah... You certainly are driven.

Zero: I don't have time to listen to your prattling. Ready yourself! Axl= Snipe Anteator: Hohoh! So you've come, little one?

Axl: Isn't it about time for your retirement?

Snipe Anteator: Ah-hah, this little one is a big talker! Shouldn't you concentrate on being granted Hunter status?

Axl: Ah, man! You always were good at figuring people out...

Snipe Anteator: Hohoh! Yeees. And of course, I know why you're here too. So why do you think I'm here?

Axl: Know thine enemy, is it? You're a real pain, geezer.

Snipe Anteator: Hohoh!! Now, I want you to fight like normal. I need to get good data on you, boy!

Axl: Fine with me. I'm no good at holding back anyway.

Other Media
Snipe Anteator appeared in the Rockman X7 4Koma Manga Kingdom shorts.

Archie Comics
Snipe Anteator appears in Worlds Unite as part of Sigma-2's Maverick army, recreated using the power of the Genesis Portals and Unity Engines.

Trivia

 * Snipe Anteator has a brief appearance in the last issue from Dreamwave Productions' Mega Man comic.
 * Snipe Anteator is the only boss in X7 that does not go into hit stun after being hit with the right weapon, making a "perfect victory pattern" impossible. Other bosses in the X series to also have this include Storm Eagle and Flame Mammoth from the first game.
 * Snipe Anteator is the only Maverick in X7 (and, perhaps, the last Maverick in the entire X series) to make any mention of Zero's original purpose as a Maverick, and/or make any reference to Dr. Wily, as he states that Zero has forgotten his "true mission".
 * Snipe Anteator's dialogue with X is a reference to X's original role in the Mega Man Zero games. Had he not been replaced with Copy X late into production, X would have become a tyrant who did indeed attempt to build a "utopia" over the graves of rebels.
 * Likewise, Anteator's dialogue with Zero is also a nod to Copy X as well as Omega, Zero's murderous copy. "Blue: the lies that have infested the Earth" is a reference to Copy X falsely presenting himself as the true X to the public and instituting a violent, murderous regime of targeting and executing innocent Reploids as Mavericks. "Red: those destroyed and sealed away forever", is a reference to all the millions of humans and Reploids killed by Omega, and the fact that Zero sealed himself away permanently after defeating Omega as he felt that his very existence was a threat to peace on the Earth.
 * His Japanese name "Ariquick" is derived from "arikui", Japanese for anteater.