Serges

Serges, known as Sagesse (サーゲス) in Japan, is one of the X-Hunters of Mega Man X2. A brilliant Reploid scientist, his vast intellect makes him an integral part of the organization. It seems that he came up with the Unification Project, a plan to resurrect Zero and use him for their own purposes.

First Encounter
When encountered in one of the hidden rooms, Serges rides a low floating spiked platform called the Flying Circle and will release mines onto the floor via a hatch on the bottom of the platform. It is best to try and destroy the mines as he drops them, as he can quickly line the floor with them, restricting the player's movements, and stepping on them causes heavy damage. He also attacks by spin-jumping into the air and firing off energy shots from his hat in a circular motion. Serges protects himself with an energy barrier and is invulnerable while it is active. The barrier is created by his platform and only protects him while he is on it, making him an easy target while he is flipping around and shooting his little energy shots. The barrier is programmed to activate when the FIRE button is pressed. This is important because it will activate while the player charges up a shot, but not when the player releases that shot. The player can use this to their advantage by making sure the first charge shot hits, and saving the second one for when he's away from his pod.

While it is wise to destroy the mines Serges covers the floor with, it is also a good strategy to leave them there, as having so many around will cause slowdown (at least on the SNES version). The player can take advantage of the slowdown to dodge Serges' many energy shots with less stress. Combining the slowdown with understanding how his barrier works, makes for a much easier fight. Serges will also continue to do his flipping energy shots attack if he has all his mines placed, leaving himself outside the protection of his barrier more frequently. It is also worth noting that if X charges up Silk Shot, Serges will pause and laugh for as long as the player continues to hold down the FIRE button, and the shrapnel is attached to X's Buster, giving X an opportunity to fire away at him as his barrier will be down. His weakness in this encounter is the Sonic Slicer. If the player is clever, instead of striking Serges directly head-on with a Sonic Slicer, the player can fire it at a wall, allowing it to rebound and strike Serges from behind - his barrier does not seem to protect him from rear assaults, or when the FIRE button has not been pressed for a while after a weapon has been fired. Another advantage of the Sonic Slicer is that if you have the X-Buster upgrade, you can charge the Sonic Slicer which will release several Sonic Slicers vertically in a wide spread that will come down & take out some of the mines (or all of them if you aim right).

The third method is to use the Spin Wheel on the barrier when he is on the platform. The Spin Wheel can also be used to sweep the mines off the floor. When he jumps and scatter shots from his hat-like head part, time your charged X-Buster right and hit him-because while jumping Serges won't be covered by the barrier.

Second Encounter
Serges is encountered again in the second X-Hunter stage, and will be piloting an enormous machine named the Serges Tank that takes up a large portion of the right side of the screen, with four platforms moving up and down in the room. The floor is also lined with spikes, which can make this battle a bit tricky. He attacks by firing a variety of energy balls and laser beams from the four cannons mounted on the front of the vehicle, after two of the cannons are destroyed he will close in destroying two platforms in the process. After, the remaining cannons are destroyed, the front of the machine will be blown open and Serges will continue to attack by firing large energy bullets (that split four ways) via the small cannon mounted on the bottom of his cockpit. The Giga Attack is very effective, as it is one of the quickest ways to tear the machine open to expose Serges. This also has the benefit of causing him to destroy only one platform instead of two, giving the player more room to maneuver during the second stage of the battle. Charged Silk Shots, Sonic Slicers, Speed Burners, and Magnet Mines are also good choices. Especially charged Silk Shots are just as effective as the Giga Attack in destroying the cannons and ripping the machine open.

After the machine has been blown open, stand on the bottom part of the tank below Serges' cockpit and keep hitting him with fully charged Sonic Slicers. His projectiles can still hit X, but they rarely will as long as the player does some simple dodging from time to time; X is also relatively safe from being knocked onto the spiked floor.

Mega Man Xtreme
As with the second encounter in Mega Man X2, he approaches from the right. The four barrels fire slow moving projectiles, with the exception of the bottom portion, which is a highly damaging laser. Destroy the outer set of guns with Electric Spark - if done quickly, he will not advance all the way.

Once the outer guns are destroyed, the player can attack with Speed Burner. If X runs out of energy, the player may want to switch to Storm Tornado, since that is the easiest method to land a hit (even though he only takes minimal damage). He is also slightly weak to Rolling Shield, however it is sometimes hard to hit him with it. The X-Buster will also suffice, as long as it's fully charged.

Mega Man X2 stats
* Stats applies to both first and second encounters.
 * Power: 10300rp
 * Speed: 12300rp

Mega Man X2

 * Cannon Driver
 * Barite Lastar
 * Garakuta Robot
 * Bat Bone type G
 * Fishern

Mega Man Xtreme

 * Cannon Driver
 * Disk Boy 08
 * Barrier Attacker
 * Pararoid R-5
 * Pararoid V-1
 * Bat Bone Type G
 * Tubamail-S
 * Tubamail Generator

Archie Comics
Serges later appeared alongside various other Mavericks in the Worlds Unite crossover between the Archie Comics Mega Man and Sonic the Hedgehog lines.

Quotes

 * "This is their leader. His name is Mega Man X."


 * "Our Mavericks will keep him busy until we are ready."


 * "Collection is preceding as scheduled. However, we are having problems with the control chip."


 * "I am not sure our Mavericks can hold him long enough. We may have to intervene."


 * "Greetings. We have all of Zero's parts."


 * "I am Serges and I cannot allow you to stop the unification! It is for the good of all!" (First encounter.)


 * "You have merely delayed the inevitable. We will meet again..." (First encounter, defeated, but escapes.)


 * "This is impossible! The prophecy must be fulfilled!" (Second encounter, defeated.)

Trivia

 * When fighting him in one of the Maverick stages, it is possible to be hit and take one unit of damage from Serges's cape by jumping just after his health bar is filled up. Though it only does one unit of damage, this will instantly charge the Giga Crush if the player has acquired it.


 * It is unknown why Sagesse was changed to Serges in localization, as Sagesse would more accurately fit in with his fellow comrades' names; it is the French word for "wisdom".


 * He, along with the other X-Hunters, has a short cameo appearance in the animated opening scene of the Sega Saturn, PlayStation, and PC versions of Mega Man X3.


 * Serges and the X-Hunters also make a cameo appearance in the opening cutscene of Mega Man X5.


 * Like Isoc, there is a prominent theory that Serges is none other than Dr. Wily. This is because, in the Japanese game script, Serges is the only character to have mentioned Dr. Light (Sagesse: "Being defeated by the robotic memento of Light yet again... Such regret...", ). His Japanese profile points out his appearance resembles "a legendary mad scientist who terrorized the world."  In his first radio conversation, he distortedly refers to X as Rockman X ("Rock... e..X..." ), while in the same game Sigma mentions Zero being one of Wily's numbers ("However, Zero.. why... he was.. the last of... Wi.. num.. bers....", ), both of which are unlikely to be common knowledge. There was also the fact that he was capable of rebuilding Zero, whose internal systems are still stated to be a mystery by Signas in X5.  Keiji Inafune's reluctance to answer as to whether or not Serges is Wily, whilst at the same time quick to state Dr. Weil is not Wily is also seen as a compelling argument for Serges being Wily.
 * Another theory claims that Agile, Violen, and Serges are all Dr. Wily, just split amongst three minds and aspects. At least, Serges bears an uncanny resemblance to Wily in both face design, and hairstyle.
 * Much like Dr. Wily (who usually resorted to a number of gadgets, floating saucers, and over-sized vehicles), Serges rarely fought with his own power. The Serges Tank carries its builder's name like the Wily Machine as well as its usual weak spot in an initially shielded cockpit.
 * Branching off the theory of Isoc being Wily, another prominent theory that exists suggests that Wily may be a stream of consciousness that transfers bodies as a host. This may explain how Serges was able to build a new body for Zero despite remaining unanalyzable, how Wily possibly built Sigma a body, and how Isoc possesses such knowledge of Zero to achieve immobilization. It should be noted that upon defeating Gate with Zero in Mega Man X6, a voice coming from Isoc's shell of a body, clearly labeled as "??," proceeds to call him the strongest robot. Furthermore, Isoc's body is clearly inactive, giving credibility that Wily is a stream of consciousness.


 * If Serges is not the first X-Hunter defeated in one of the stages, he will disappear from the map as soon as the other two are defeated. If Serges was defeated first, the other two will not flee until the sixth Maverick is defeated.