Mega Man X8 Walkthrough

Mega Man X8 walkthrough.

Note:This walkthrough is only a stage guide. If you want to know how to defeated the boss, click on the boss of that stage. But the information for how to defeat Lumine and Lumine's Final Form is available.

Intermissions
To activate the Intermissions, oddly enough you'll need to lose lives during missions. By deliberately sacrificing yourself and using up retries, eventually an Intermission will activate upon returning to the Hunter Base. The first will be the Noah's Park Intermission, with three more (Central White, Inferno & Troia Base) to follow.

Intermissions primarily offer various ways to save up Metals in either small rooms riddled with waves of enemies or repetitive arenas. You'll have infinite retries to use and the ability to exit at any time.

Intro Stage: Noah's Park
After the cutscene, head right through the jungle. Destroy any Bombees (bee enemies) you see with shots and grab the Metals. Cross the river when you get to it and destroy the Busterds (missile launching enemies). Continue right, destroying the Bombees and groups of Busterds. Soon you'll get to a small lightbulb-like enemy powering itself up using a Bombee. Destroy all these enemies and collect the Metals. Continue right, and you'll go through a few earth tremors before encountering the Maverick that you will constantly fight in this stage: Crabs-Y. Crabs-Y's main attack is that it'll often try to grab and immobilize you.

Intermission
This Intermission will see you trapped in front of the cascading waterfall in Noah's Park (where you fought one of the giant crab mechaniloids). You'll be assaulted by waves of small crabs and bouncing wheels from every direction, including a rogue flying claw. Two numbers appear up on the right, the top indicates your top score for the mission while the lower records total enemy defeats of the current session. Watch out when the claw flies in, after streaking away once it'll fly up out of the screen after passing over your character and come straight down, so stand well clear of the area where it took off to avoid a beating. Eventually all the enemy types will attack at once while the claw flies in and out, so keep yourself moving while attacking. The Hermes Armor's Body Parts H allows you to avoid any kind of damage from the small crabs and bouncing wheels, giving you a great chance of racking up huge scores in the hundreds.

Booster Forest: Bamboo Pandamonium
This stage is all about the Ride Armor. You need the armor to get most of the items. To get the Ride Armor all the way to the end of the stage requires skill. You can raise/lower elevators with the blue switches—put the armor on the elevator, then jump out and hit the switch (the game demo shows this). In a couple of cases, you have to drop the Ride Armor onto moving spikes and let the spikes move the armor underneath a ledge while you jump out and run across the top of the ledge, then jump back in on the other side. Some platforms will move under the Ride Armor’s weight. Note that if you die during the second portion of the stage, you can pick up the Ride Armor again by going to the right, then jumping up and snagging the ledge above you and working your way back left and air-dashing over the spikes. The Ride Armor will be waiting for you up there.

Troia Base: Optic Sunflower
You have to complete training sessions and how well you do determines whether you get the high path or the low path. You can see where you are on the grid in the background. During a training session, you can tell whether you are doing well or not based on the color of the score/timer: white means you are going up a level; yellow means you are staying at the same level; and red means you are going down a level. Note that if you die during the non-training areas (the halls between the training areas), you get docked one level in the training path.

Pitch Black: Dark Mantis
This is one of the more clever stages, although it’s painfully unfair later on if you don’t switch on the lights. If you get spotted in a spotlight, you stop the attack by destroying the shielded robot that is standing near the door that opened in the background, where all the other robots are coming out. Later in the stage you can activate a generator. (Pallette will tell you when you are in the right area if you have her with you.) After a sequence of spotlights, you come out of a hallway into thin air, and normally you would drop downward to continue on. Instead of jumping down, air-dash across. There is an energy capsule there. Climb up the wall; there should be an opening in the wall there, where you will find a short hallway and a sleeping soldier. Transform using Axl (you have to have picked up a soldier transformation before now; you can get them easily by triggering a spotlight then grabbing the DNA from one of the responding soldiers), then do the salute motion while standing in front of the sleeping soldier. He will wake up and open the door behind him. Follow him. You need to jump-start the generator with the lightning weapon (such as Axl’s Plasma Gun) then hit it four times. If you hit it more than four times, it doesn't matter. Now the lights are on; you will be thankful for this later in the stage. (Otherwise, you have to navigate a completely black corridor full of enemies and spikes, lit only by a single enemy that is not invulnerable to your shots, which means if you try to attack the other enemies in the area, you might well take your light source out along with your targets.)

Primrose: Gravity Antonion
You can flip the rooms around by touching the buttons. (You’re technically altering the gravity, but the game nicely turns the entire room around on the screen so that you don’t have to play upside down.) Red buttons will flip you entirely over, whereas green buttons do a 90-degree turn. Don’t drop blocks on your head! The Runnerbomb-like enemy that Axl can turn into is invincible to most spikes. He’s not invincible to the large spikes on the tops of some blocks, however, like the ones in the mini-game, which can only be passed by simply avoiding the spikes and blocks and following the pattern.

Metal Valley: Earthrock Trilobyte
As soon as you enter this stage, a giant crazed Mechaniloid, named Yellow Brontes, will drop down and start chasing you. You start out the stage being followed by Yellow Brontes, an invincible robot. He keeps pace with you and attacks you occasionally. After you reach the far right side of the stage, you have to hit a lever high on a cliff to trigger a crane to hit the robot’s head. Do this a few times and the robot will turn around and run away. Chase it back to a building. Enter the building. Inside, you’ll eventually come to the robot again. This time keep dashing back and forth from one side of the room to the other hitting the switches high in the walls. These will cause the crane to hit the robot’s head. Do this until it is through.

Dynasty: Gigabolt Man-O-War
This stage is all about chasing Gigabolt Man-O-War (who is in a UFO form) through a futuristic city while on a floating Ride Chaser. During the stage, you'll encounter glowing billboards. Don't hit them, as you'll lose speed. Instead, let Gigabolt hit them. The billboards will collapse if he hits them.

During the entire chase don't stop firing at your target, you'll know you've hit home when he briefly flashes red. Watch out for the multitude of projectiles he often spews out to attack you with, at first he'll lay out exploding bombs. If they detonate use the Quick Strafe to zip around the latent explosion. With enough of a pelting Gigabolt will begin to show wear and tear with flames and smoke billowing from his backside, so you'll know you're getting there. Try to grab as many of the Metals scattered about along the way, especially when Gigabolt drops red ones. After taking enough damage he'll generate a group of small jellyfish projectiles and launch them at you, just be ready to sneak out of their way. Eventually you'll return to the beginning of the circuit and head around for another lap, just be sure to keep up with Gigabolt and take him down quickly, otherwise after a few minutes he'll escape and you'll automatically lose (the screen flashes red for some time before he escapes). It may take you a few tries to conquer Gigabolt, just don't give up. Once you've belted him enough he'll retreat and land on a floating platform where you'll face off against Gigabolt on foot.

Central White: Avalanche Yeti
Jet-bike stage number two. Unlike with the Ride Armor, when you take a hit, your character takes the damage, not the bike. The shape of your bike’s shots depends on your character. For best results, weave back and forth while firing away. When facing the mini-boss, dash forward to get into range, then blast it.

Inferno: Burn Rooster
This is the stage where you have to navigate auto-scrolling vertical tunnels. It’d be so much nicer if the screen wouldn’t auto-scroll... Anyway, in the middle of the stage is a breather—a corridor full of spikes instead of auto-scroll. After you beat the Maverick, you have to escape from the stage in another auto-scroll section. Note that the flying robot that Axl can copy only appears in Normal or Hard mode. In Easy mode, your navigator will still tell you about it, but the robot itself is nowhere to be found.

Jakob: Vile V
This stage only goes in one direction: up! The entire stage is an elevator. Very easy level. Just don’t fall off.

Gateway: Sigma
From the hangar bay, head right and enter the doors. You'll find a huge gold structure with teleporters on it. Here are the colors of them and where you'll find each Maverick (after you defeat them, you'll find out that they were fakes):

After you defeat them all, you'll have to evacuate. Return the way you came, watching out for the crumbling floor. But when you reach the hangar bay, Sigma will appear. He'll talk a bit, then attack. Sigma has many attacks. One is Sigma Slash, where he'll do a dash slash.
 * Black: Dark Mantis
 * Red: Burn Rooster
 * Orange: Earthrock Trilobyte
 * Purple: Gravity Antonion
 * White: Avalanche Yeti
 * Cyan: Gigabolt Man-O-War
 * Yellow: Optic Sunflower
 * Green: Bamboo Pandamonium

Part One: The Moon: Vile and Goliath Ride Armor
Be advised that the two characters you choose for this stage will be the ones you'll use in the final boss battles, so choose carefully. It's also a good idea to have both Life Tanks filled up and the Prickle Barrier and Spare Energy items in your inventory. So this is it, the final showdown with the Mavericks responsible for this latest crisis. You'll begin on the Moon's surface before proceeding inside Sigma's giant palace. From the outset your Navigator's signal is being jammed, so you'll be going solo. Traverse over the rocky surface and watch out for potholes in the ground. Carefully take out the Reploids wielding freezer rifles and missile launchers, especially around the holes. Not far in you'll encounter a large pit full of spikes (on the moon of all places?) and a missile-launcher wielding Reploid on the far side atop a ledge. Shoot it from the left side and watch out for incoming missiles. With the path clear air-dash or hover over to the ledge to avoid the spikes and move on. Watch out for jetpack Reploids and the flamethrower turrets beyond. Take out the shielded Reploids and sword-wielding varieties across the plateau, and watch out for pits. Eventually you'll reach a tall cliff, climb up and quickly prepare to face a multitude of Reploids guarding the entrance of the palace. With all enemies cleared out, head inside the giant structure. Right inside the entrance hall you'll be greeted by Sigma's doorman (Vile) and face him for the last time in battle, check the bosses guide for tips to send him back to his grave.

Part Two: Sigma Palace: Real Sigma
With Vile suffering his third defeat on record to the Hunters, the doors will unlock and you'll be clear to explore the vast innards of the palace. You're now in for a surprise if playing Hard mode. Before leaving the room your reserve character teleports in to chat with your controlled Hunter. But once your main character leaves, the door slams shut on the other, trapping them inside. A battered Vile reappears on the left, cackling before slamming himself into the trapped Hunter. You get the idea of what befalls them, as you'll be stuck for the rest of the stage with one Hunter. It's still quite possible to make it through alone, and don't worry about your reserve character. Vile's last bid at triumph failed, as they'll make a fated return when you face Sigma. Proceed through the adjacent room and down the corridor. You'll encounter a standard Reploid, but it'll promptly change it's body to mimick the Sigma body you faced in the Gateway mission. You'll be facing an army of these Sigma-Copies throughout the palace but they're aren't the real deal so shouldn't give you too much trouble. Wander too close to the Sigma-Copy and its eye will glint before it unleashes a quick sword slice, so keep your distance. Hammer it with fire from afar and eventually it'll revert back to a normal Reploid before exploding. Watch out for a second Sigma-Copy above, shoot it while up on the right wall. Move on and carefully avoid the spider-turret's fire up on the far left wall. Take it out and climb up, but watch out as you'll encounter another Sigma-Copy. This one will charge up purple energy in its hands before unleashing three small energy balls. After floating on the spot for a split second they'll come straight at you so be ready to move quickly, or alternatively keep in mind that Zero can deflect the balls with a swing of his weapon. Destroy the Sigma-Copy and move on, taking out the spider-turret on your way up the room. At the top you'll face two Sigma-Copies standing side-by-side, one uses the slash attack while the other fires the energy balls, so be careful. With all the enemies cleared out head right at the top of the room.

Be very careful in the following room as the entire floorspan is covered in spikes. Carefully jump up the left wall and air-dash over to the exit on the right to move on. Shoot the Sigma-Copy across the way in the next room and carefully jump down to the opening below beyond the spike-lined floor. In the next shaft, take out the spider-turret and keep in mind that there's a life capsule hiding behind the Sigma-Copy above in the corner. Descend the shaft by sliding down the right wall as there's a spike trap in the floor below. Head left to find a spider-turret on the ceiling and a Sigma-Copy generating a protective energy barrier. Take out the barrier as you would any barrier-protected foe and destroy the copy before moving on. Slide down the left wall ahead to find two more Sigma-Copies below. Shoot at them from the wall while watching out for the spike trap below. With both targets neutralized, head right to find a life capsule next to a hole in the floor. Grab the capsule if you need it before falling through the hole. Slide down the right edge and drop down to the entrance below on the right wall, as you don't want to fall into the gaping hole.

The next room contains spikes lining the walls and only a few platforms bridging the hole below, so take it easy. Destroy the lone Sigma-Copy and use a combination of tiny jumps and air-dashes (to avoid touching the spikes at the base of the walls) to get through safely. Up above on the left wall you'll spot a ledge with a full life Refill capsule, but it's a hassle to reach, so don't worry too much about it. Head right to find another shaft riddled with spikes. Carefully ascend the shaft, Zero's double-jump and X's enhanced jump with the Icarus Armor and Ultimate Armor really help out here. Use the safe wall sections to reach the top of the shaft, but be warned that it might take you a few tries to get through in one piece (the Prickle Barrier is an absolute must here). Once above you'll spot two more Sigma-Copies above the ceiling, so head left for now. This next area is very tricky, as you'll need to use the side of the long floating platform to project yourself higher up the shaft. Your ultimate goal is the door above on the right, but there's two ways to get there. If you have Axl, jump over to the side of the floating platform, then carefully jump up and over to the safe platform on the left side of the shaft. From there you can easily jump up and hover over to the door. If you don't have Axl, it'll be very tricky to reach the door, you'll need to jump up high using Zero's double-jump or X's enhanced jump and air-dash at the peak of the jump to just clear the spikes. I can't stress enough how important it is to have the Prickle Barrier in case you do touch the spikes (you won't need it again beyond here). Beyond you'll face the final two of Sigma's clone cronies, break through the first one's barrier and watch out for the second's energy balls. Crush them both and head through the door beyond. Cross the long narrow corridor to find another door, through this one you'll locate a huge elaborate throne room. Walk down the pink carpet, up the staircase and along the open-air hall to find an ugly sight, the real Sigma sitting atop a high throne (Narcissus would be proud). There's no turning back now, so if you need help check the bosses guide for tips on defeating the final trio of bosses.

Final Arena: Heaven's Gate: Lumine
For the thorough information for how to defeat Lumine and Lumine's Final Form, click here.

Lumine is surrounded by the eight colors of the teleporting hatches earlier. He floats around the room and uses the ultimate attacks of the various Mavericks. I’m not sure whether or not his weaknesses change based on who he is emulating. If you’ve fought the Mavericks a lot you should be able to cope with Lumine’s attack patterns.

You have to hit the little Lumine inside the frame. One attack he does is interesting, it’s multiple rings which move outward and then inward, and the rings have breaks in them that you have to dodge through. He also has lasers which are fired at your feet, and some other laser missiles which fly into the air then come down where you are standing. He also sends down yellow shard-like shots which fall in groups with gaps where you can dodge. And he likes to swoop off the screen to the left (jump and air-dash over him). He seems to favor the right side of the screen. Lumine’s ultimate involves him firing off a horizontal line of those yellow shard-like shots, and then they arrange themselves into multiple horizontal rows with gaps and move back and forth.

After you get Lumine down to about 1/4 health, his attack style completely changes. New stage, new music, everything. He remains curled up in his wings most of the time and you have to guard-break him. You can Double Attack him as long as his wings aren’t curled.

Note: Your characters’ health is not refilled between any of the final battles. Also, if you die you have to go through the plot again (where applicable), but this means you can switch out to another character and see that character’s version of the dialogue. Or just skip it with.