Wind Crowrang

"I wanted to see... See if the Reploid that fascinated him so was really all that great... So, let's see what you're worth!"

- Wind Crowrang

Wind Crowrang, known as Wind Karasting (ウィンド・カラスティング) in Japan, is a crow-based Reploid who is a member of the Red Alert Maverick hunting organization and one of the Mavericks encountered in Mega Man X7.

Strategy
The player faces Crowrang on a plane after fighting their way through his air force. He will launch long-range attacks from a distance in the background and fight face-to-face in the foreground.

Crowrang can perform the following attacks:


 * Tanken: Crowrang uses two short energy blades to perform a series of dashing slash attacks, finishing with a spinning slash. Dash or double-jump away to avoid him.


 * Tanken Boomerang: Crowrang flies off into the background and throws his blades at the player. Staying grounded and dashing to avoid at the right moment can cause most blades to harmlessly strike the deck rather than stop in mid-air and home in.


 * Feather Missiles: Crowrang may fire two homing missiles while airborne. Their speed makes them difficult to shoot down, so it may be best to either dash and jump to avoid them, use Zero to strike them down with his saber, or use Axl to roll through their explosions.


 * Taitari Kougeki: When Crowrang ascends out of sight, he will come down on the player seconds later in a spinning dive-bomb attack. Dash to evade. Crowrang may pause briefly after this attack, leaving himself vulnerable to attack. But, beware as he may follow this attack up immediately with a Tanken dash attack and/or Cyclone maneuver.


 * Cyclone: When Crowrang crouches, he will launch himself into the air, unleashing two walls of six energy blades that each fly to opposite ends of the screen. Zero can double jump over them, and a well-timed roll from Axl can also get by. Another way is to drop off the edge of the ship and cling to its side, allowing the wall of blades to pass overhead.

His weakness is Sniper Missile and Hieijin; these can even hit him in the background. However, these weapons can target Crowrangs projectiles instead, making X's charged buster shots a much better choice when attacking him from the foreground.

Stage Enemies

 * Big Ray
 * Birdy
 * Aperoid
 * Flyer
 * Kyuun B
 * Metall S
 * Pastegunner
 * Runnerbomb

In-battle quotes

 * ''"Slice"
 * ''"Caw"
 * ''"Grrrrr."
 * ''"Cawcawcawcawcaw!"

Dialogues
X= X: Where are you? Come out and face me!

Wind Crowrang: Hmph...I can see it in your eyes... You would prefer to avoid a fight...

X: Yes, of course. I don't want any more people getting hurt.

Wind Crowrang: You really are a soft fool, X. Well then, just stand there peacefully while I erase both you and your silly ideals! Zero= Zero: Before I destroy you, let me ask you a question. What is your real purpose? It can't just be getting Axl back.

Wind Crowrang: I wanted to see...

Zero: ?

Wind Crowrang: See if the Reploid that fascinated him so was really all that great... So, let's see what you're worth! Axl= Axl: This isn't like you. Cooped up in a place like this. I thought you'd fly straight at me, full force?

Wind Crowrang: So you're never coming back?

Axl: You know my answer to that.

Wind Crowrang: Heh, you never change, do you?

Trivia

 * Wind Crowrang has a brief appearance in the last issue from Dreamwave Productions' Mega Man comic.
 * The blue crystal on Wind Crowrang's forhead resembles a Tokin, which is a cap often worn by Tengu in Japanese mythology. This might be because Tengu are often associated with crows.
 * Wind Crowrang shares some similarities with Tengu Man (MM & B version). Both are flying bosses who use blades as their primary weapons and will also try to collide with you. Both are also based on a flying creature, a crow and a Tengu.