Magma Dragoon

"... You're so naive. ... Listen closely. I let the Sky Lagoon fall! And I'd do it again! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

- Magma Dragoon

Magma Dragoon, known as Magmard Dragoon (マグマード・ドラグーン) in Japan, is a dragon-based Reploid from Mega Man X4. Once the leader of the 14th Special Unit, he betrayed the Maverick Hunters, becoming a Maverick himself, all for a chance to duel with X and Zero.

History
Magma Dragoon was once a dutiful Maverick Hunter, being the commander of the 14th Special Unit, and became acquainted with X and Zero of the 17th and 0th Units respectively. Dragoon secretly always wanted a fight-to-the-death duel with the two legendary Maverick Hunters. A chance for this came when Sigma came and promised him what he desired most. Sigma ordered him to destroy the floating colony of Sky Lagoon, and Dragoon did so by sabotaging the colony's power reactor and having a giant Mechaniloid named Eregion wreak havoc on the colony as well. This caused it to crash onto the city below it. This not only killed thousands of innocent civilians, but resulted in Repliforce (who were on patrol in the area for helping at the time) being blamed for the incident, pushing General into starting a bid for Reploid independence which in turn was viewed as a coup d'état by the Maverick Hunters. Then, Sigma ordered Dragoon to work for the Repliforce, and aid them in their coup. After the Sky Lagoon incident he hid in a volcano to goad X and Zero into fighting him. When defeated, he apologizes for his actions, stating how he had always dreamed of fighting X/Zero, and that "a mysterious man" (Sigma) offered him that chance, which he simply could not refuse.

Strategy
X can defeat him easily with Double Cyclone. Zero on the other hand will have a much harder time, and will have to get creative in order to damage him with the Raijingeki. When encountering him, if the player can manage to bring the Ride Armor with close to full health, it may be possible to defeat Magma Dragoon before the Ride Armor is destroyed. Otherwise, probably the safest (but still dangerous) strategy is to cling to the right wall as much as possible only coming down to attack or to possibly avoid a Shoryuken or the fireballs he throws in to the lava under the wall to make the lava erupt (which will result in death if touched). If on the ground the player will have to either dash or jump over his Hadoukens. When he hunches over and opens his mouth, he's preparing to unleash a long stream of fire; this can be avoided by jumping over him, by climbing up the wall, or if playing as X and have gained the Fourth Armor Foot Parts from Web Spider's stage, hover. Dragoon will also perform a flaming downward kick, which is easily avoided by dashing under him. When his health is down to half, Dragoon will rear back and roar, causing large fire balls to rain down from the ceiling; afterwards he will continue on with his normal attack patterns.

Most bosses show the ability that the player will gain during the battle. For X, his Rising Fire is a fusion between Dragoon's Hadoken and Shoryuken. Zero's Ryuenjin is very similar to the Shoryuken as well, as he nearly does an uppercut action with his Z-Saber.

Powers and abilities
Magma Dragoon has great speed and strength, his fighting style being very similar to Ryu, Ken, Sagat, Akuma, and to a lesser extent Adon and Dhalsim from the Street Fighter series. He has most of his moves in common with Akuma.


 * Hadoken (波動拳, Hadōken; "Surge Fist") - Magma Dragoon releases between one to three fireballs from his hands saying the word "Hadoken" while standing or kneeling. This move in general is similar to Sagat's High and Low Tiger Shot while it's execution is identical to Ryu, Ken, and Akuma's Hadoken.
 * Rising Fire (ライジングファイア, Raijingu Faia) - Magma Dragoon uses a fiery jumping uppercut and says "Shoryuken (昇龍拳; Shōryūken; "Rising Dragon Fist")". This move is similar to Ken's Hado Shoryuken, Sagat's Tiger Destruction, or Akuma's Goshoryuken.
 * Dive Kick (急降下, Kyuukouka; "Nosedive") - A diving kick similar to Akuma's Tenmakujinkyaku or Adon's Jaguar Tooth.
 * Fire Pillar Attack (火柱攻撃, Kachuu Kougeki) - Magma Dragoon throws a fireball into one of the corners of the area to cause a pillar of lava to rise.
 * Flame Attack (火炎攻撃, Kaen Kougeki) - Magma Dragoon can spew out a continues stream of flames from his mouth. This is similar to both Dhalsim's Yoga Flame and Yoga Fire attacks.
 * Flame Bullet (炎弾, Endan) - When his health is reduced by half, Magma Dragoon releases a storm of fireballs into the air which then proceed to rain down over the entire arena. This is similar to Akuma's Zanku Hadoken.

Battle Quotes

 * Note: These are only present in the Japanese version of the game.

When Playing as X
Sky Lagoon: Pre-Crash= X: You're Dragoon from the 14th unit!

Dragoon: This isn't good, X! That Maverick just destroyed the power reactor!

X: What?! Then the Sky Lagoon will... come crashing into the ground!

Dragoon: It's too late, X! It's time I made my escape. I suggest you do the same... don't do anything reckless on the way out, okay?

X: The city below will become a sea of flames. Many people will perish... I have no choice but to escape from here and head to the city below! Confrontation: Pre-battle= Dragoon: X... You've arrived.

X: Dragoon! Why did you betray the H.Q.!?

Dragon: Heh... You'll have to defeat me first.

X: But... We're allies!

Dragoon: ... You're so naive. ... Listen closely. I let the Sky Lagoon fall! And I'd do it again! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

X: No! Those were innocent people! You're not Dragoon! Just a Maverick!

Dragoon: You got that right! Power up X! It's time you showed me what you can do! Defeated= Dragoon: ... You... are... strong... X...

X: Such a waste... Why Dragoon?

Dragoon: ... Always... wanted... to fight... you. ...Then ...he ... appeared ... and

X: He appeared? Who?!

Dragoon: ...told me to work for Repliforce. To goad you into fighting...

X: You did it just so you could fight me?

Dragoon: ... was worth it... for a final duel...

X: Dragoon!!!

When Playing as Zero
Sky Lagoon: Pre-Crash= Zero: Dragoon!? You're in the 14th unit. Why...?

Dragoon: This doesn't look good, Zero! That Maverick took out the power!

Zero: What! Then the Sky Lagoon will... come crashing into the ground!

Dragoon: Yes... and destroy the entire city.

Zero: We have to do something!

Dragoon: It's too late. I must escape now. You'd best do the same, Zero...

Zero: Damn! If the Sky Lagoon falls... it will be disastrous! There's no time... I'm going down! Confrontation: Pre-battle= Dragoon: Zero... It's really you!

Zero: Why did you betray us?!

Dragoon: .........

Zero: Answer me, Dragoon!

Dragoon: I have no answer for you my friend.

Zero: Dragoon! Defeated= Dragoon: ...I ...wanted ...to ... defeat... you... ...Then ..he ...appeared...

Zero: He? Who!?

Dragoon: ...He ...told me... he'd give me power.. only if I worked... for Repliforce...

Zero: ...What!?

Dragoon: I couldn't... refuse the offer... Sorry Zero...

Zero: ...Dragoon!!!

Rockman X4 (manga)
Magma Dragoon appeared in the manga version of Mega Man X4, after the Repliforce launched their coup d'etat and battle for independence against the human government. After X terminates Web Spider, Zero watches on from afar, and Dragoon appears behind him. Noticing this, Zero pulls out his saber, and asks Dragoon what he wants from him. Dragoon then tells Zero that he did not come to fight him, and Zero apologizes and puts away his saber. Dragoon gives off a strong aura as he walks past Zero, which startles him, as he feels murderous intent from him. Nevertheless, they both part ways.

Dragoon later appears after X has obtained the Ultimate Armor and had just brutally killed Storm Owl, along with the rest of his Repliforce air fleet. Dragoon emerges rising from the ground underneath him, and challenges him to a fight, saying power is the only thing that matters, not the "law of heaven" or the "law of the land". Dragoon is eventually defeated and blasted in half from a charged shot by X.

Archie Comics
Magma Dragoon is among the many Mavericks cloned by Sigma-1 to serve in his multiverse-conquering army in Worlds Unite. He went to the world of Street Fighter to set an Unity Engine in Metro City, but is defeated by the new Team Sticks.

Trivia

 * The battle with Dragoon is the first time in the series where players are allowed to bring a Ride Armor into a boss battle.


 * Magma Dragoon is the first Maverick in the Mega Man X series to be based on a mythological or fantasy creature.


 * Dragoon was the only Maverick of the main eight to retain his in-battle dialogue voice clips, which were removed from the game as opposed to translating them as was the case in the then-recently released Mega Man 8. His appearance as a digital simulation in Mega Man X5 re-uses only a few of these voice clips, though they lack the post-processing effects from X4.


 * He is a tribute to the Street Fighter series, using both "Hadōken" and "Shōryūken". His appearance as a dragon further consolidates a tribute to that series, where the ryū in Shōryūken translates to "dragon". Ken's signature move, the Fierce Shōryūken, is mirrored by Zero's Ryuenjin. His dive kick also bears some resemblance to Akuma's Tenmakuujinkyaku (Sky Demon Air Blade Leg).
 * The bead structure around Magma Dragoon's neck is similar to the prayer beads worn by the Street Fighter character Akuma.
 * There is a small plate under Dragoon's chest, which bears the "Heaven/Sky" symbol (天), the same symbol also appears on Akuma's back when he uses the Shun Goku Satsu. Speaking of the Shun Goku Satsu, the sound effect that plays when Akuma KO's an opponent with the move also plays when Magma Dragoon is defeated.
 * The ridges above Dragoon's eyes resemble the signature bushy eyebrows of Ryu and Ken as they were drawn for Street Fighter II. This art style is also evoked by Dragoon's fixed downward scowl.
 * A digitized emulation of him appears as the boss of the training stage in Mega Man X5. If external cheating devices (that enables Special Weapon usage) are used, it is found he has a weakness, that being the Spike Ball (hitting him with it makes him react as though he'd been hit with a Double Cyclone and also shows a Double Cyclone flying around him). However, the damage this attack will do to Dragoon is much smaller than when hit with X's or Zero's default weapons. Also, Zero's technique equivalent, the Twin Dream, does not have the same exact effect on Dragoon as with Spike Ball under the exact same conditions, but it does deal a significant amount of damage.
 * This could be a leftover from the coding used on Mega Man X4, as X5 was made using the same engine and each weapon was just reprogrammed to work differently.
 * In Mega Man X8, when Zero has the K-Knuckle equipped, his Enkoujin is changed into a downwards flaming kick (Enkoukyaku), which is similar to a move Dragoon performs in Mega Man X4. However, it is actually similar to what Burn Rooster uses while crying out "Enkoujin!" in Mega Man X8.


 * Magma Dragoon's descriptive screen after selecting him on the stage select screen is the only time the Maverick Hunters are referred to as the "Irregular Hunters" in a localized version of an X title. This is likely a localization oversight.
 * Interestingly enough this oversight wasn't fixed in Mega Man X Legacy Collection unlike other text from other games.


 * Despite having a desire to fight X or Zero, Dragoon's demeanor is different depending on who it is; he seems cold and hateful towards X (although it could be taken as him trying to goad the normally peaceful X into fighting), while maintaining a friendly respect for Zero, presumably an identical desire expressed by Sigma himself when he turned Maverick. But no matter who he is fought as, it can be surmised that he is a more tragic villain due to actually having remorse for his wrongdoing.


 * The symbol below Magma Dragoon’s health bar is the Maverick symbol instead of the Repliforce symbol, as he was tagged as Maverick due to being the prime suspect of Sky Lagoon's fall.


 * Magma Dragoon is the only of the eight stages bosses in Mega Man X4 (or the Mega Man X series in its entirety) to have post-battle dialogue.
 * He is also the only Maverick boss fight where X and Zero do not perform a victory pose before leaving the stage.
 * On a similar note, the post-battle dialogue Magma Dragoon gives to X and Zero would be a precursor to the Mega Man Zero series, in which most Mavericks would have post battle dialog when defeated.
 * Magma Dragoon ranked #1 on Watchmojo.com's video Top 10 Mega Man X Bosses