Red

"Axl... He's right... It's my time...  Let me go first... You're still young...  No need to rush..."

- Red

Red (レッド,) is the leader and namesake of the group Red Alert, a syndicate that hunts Mavericks, but he himself became Maverick. His organization was progressing along pretty well until Red met up with “the Professor” and changed his plans. Eventually, he regrets forming the alliance with the Professor, and after being defeated by Axl, tells him and his friends to leave him to die in his base (he earlier set it to self destruct).

Strategy
Red disappears and reappears on random platforms throughout the entire battle. It's not recommended to stand in the center of a platform, as he could appear there at any moment. He also has two “ghosts” of himself that attack the player - there is no way to damage these, so just jump to another platform to avoid them.

There are two main strategies here:
 * One is to wait until Red appears, then quickly jump over onto his platform (try to approach him from behind; he won’t notice as quickly then) and hit him with the Explosion/Hadangeki weapon, then immediately leap off onto another platform. Red will freeze for a moment, then produce a tornado and disappear. This technique works best for Zero, because X and Axl will run out of weapon energy long before he’s through.


 * Another strategy is to use X or Axl, and hit Red from a distance. He'll counter-attack every time he's hit, so either jump to another platform to avoid it, or dodge in place. (Jumping onto another platform is recommended, but the player risk getting knocked down into the pit.) With X, hit him with fully-powered shots. For Axl, try the G-Launcher.

Notice that sometimes Red appears and immediately begins forming tornadoes on some of the platforms around him; he can’t be harmed when he’s doing this and he disappears immediately after, so just concentrate on finding a safe platform. The Volt Tornado also takes a good chunk off his health, and Sniper Missile can be used to hit him from a safe distance, so those can be combined with other attacks as well.

Between Sigma/The Professor
??? (Sigma): "Heheh...You're something else."

Red: "Who goes there?! Show yourself!"

??? (Sigma): "Don't you find the Maverick hunters to be a bit too much of a nuisance?"

Red: "Maverick hunters?! Well sure, I don't like them... But they've got nothing to do with us. We'll do as we please, hunters or no. Get lost! I don't even know who the heck you are!"

??? (Sigma): "Me? Let's just say... I'm a sympathizer with your cause."

??? (Sigma): "He possesses incredible talent."

Red: "Oh, you! Don't surprise me like that. You mean Axl's imitator ability? Yeah, I have no idea how he does it, but it's our secret weapon. Without him we wouldn't work half as fast."

??? (Sigma): "But his talents are wasted as things stand..."

Red: "What?! What do you mean?"

??? (Sigma): "Would you be willing to place a wager on my little idea?"

Red: "?!"

??? (Sigma): "Heheh, you see that? This is what one can do with DNA data."

Red: "Amazing! I had no idea that DNA data could provide so much power! You're incredible!"

??? (Sigma): "Well, I hope I've proven my abilities to you. But this is only the beginning. If you give me the chance, I can make you invincible."

Red: "What?! You mean I could be even stronger?!"

??? (Sigma): "Absolutely. But in order to do so, we'll need the mouse that ran away. He must collect more data! And then... then I will make you the strongest hunters that ever lived!"

Red: "But that won't work. He'll never come back. We've set him free. And as for our power, we have quite enough. I thank you, truly. But we already are undefeatable."

??? (Sigma): "Hmph, you don't need any more power, huh? Well, that could be true in your case. But he... He still has an unfinished job."

Red: "What's that supposed to mean? An unfinished job?"

??? (Sigma): "There is vital data still missing. The most powerful Reploid data is not yet in my hands..."

Red: "You... You used us?! And Axl?! We've had enough of this. We won't search for him for you. And we won't attack any more innocent Reploids. Not one!"

??? (Sigma): "Well, I'm disappointed in you. I thought you'd be a bit more useful. But let's do this democratically..."

Red: "What the?! What's wrong guys?! What are you doing? YOU! What have you done to my pals?!"

??? (Sigma): "Oh, consider it payment for the power ups I gave you. Well, what'll it be? If you don't follow my orders, they'll never return to normal. Get Axl back, along with X's data!"

Red: "!!!!!" 

Between Axl at Crimson Palace
Red: "So what took you so long?"

Axl: "Well, if it isn't Red? Long time no see."

Red: "We've advanced... Thanks to the "Professor"... Hmph, but we've still been reduced to this."

Axl: "Well that explains it. And where is this "Professor" now?"

Red: "Like always, I have no idea. Probably closer than we think."

Axl: "Gotcha. I'll be on my guard."

Red: "Well, I know you didn't come here just to talk. Shall we get things started?"

Red: "Hahah, you're really grown up, Axl. You hear that? This place is done for. I... I set it to self - destruct... Hrk... in case of an emergency."

Axl: "No! Red, you're coming with us!"

Axl: "C'mon, you can still make it!"

Zero: "Stop it! Hurry up, or we'll be buried here, too!"

Red: "Axl... He's right... It's my time... Let me go first... You're still young... No need to rush..."

Axl: "REDDD!!!!!" 

Quotes

 * This is it. Ready to rock? (To Axl in the opening cutscene.)


 * You getting this, hunters!? I am Red, leader of your friends here at Red Alert. I never imagined our little friend would end up in your hands, but in any case, I want Axl back. Now, don't you worry. I know he won't come back easily. So how about this? Like you, we are hunters. We've trashed our share of Mavericks. So how about a duel? A duel to determine who the real Maverick Hunters are. I'm sure you won't mind if we use the Mavericks that we've captured so far. So, the last one standing wins! If we lose, we'll surrender Axl to you. And if we win? Well... We'll leave that to your imagination!


 * Well, pretty big talker, for a retiree! We could care less about deadbeats like you. We just want Axl. He IS there, isn't he? Now you just sit tight, my boy. Ahahahahah!

Production Notes
Designer Comments "I had the grim reaper in mind when I designed Red. I gave him bags under his eyes and a sharp scythe to give him an evil look. The white lines I put in here and there are supposed to look like bones, and although it may not be the most original idea, I made the center of his torso look like a face with the pointed shoulder pieces being sharp horns." - Tatsuya Yoshikawa