Mega Man X Walkthrough

You'll be taking control of Mega Man X, directing him through the eight stages to confront and defeat Sigma's eight Maverick leaders. New weapons, item and powerups will be available, including special weapons gained from defeated bosses, as well as special heart tanks hidden throughout each stage that can increase X's overall life energy. The control structure as very similar to the original series, this time instead of sliding X can perform a dash. Special armor upgrades await X, each one will give him a special enhancement for a part of his body, each one is very important and can greatly assist you. Zero will appear at special points in the game, offering his advice to X. Challenging gameplay makes the first game of the series a real hit, paving the way for the huge storyline ahead.

Listed below are all the bosses you'll encounter in the game. Most bosses (including the first eight) you'll face at the end of each stage, try to save as much life/weapon energy as possible before facing them to even up the odds. Each entry has a detailed description and guide on how to defeat each boss, including which special weapons to use. The first eight bosses are displayed in order of weapon weaknesses. Remember to have sub-tanks filled up before taking on a boss, they can really help you out in a battle.

Acquiring All Items
The fastest route through the game to acquire all the items (quick summary). These steps assume that the player is defeating each Maverick while they are in the stage or are exiting the stage if the boss is already defeated.
 * 1. Chill Penguin's stage. Acquire dash. (1 / 16 items)
 * 2. Storm Eagle's stage. Acquire heart, helmet, and energy tank. (4 / 16 items)
 * 3. Flame Mammoth's stage. Acquire heart, energy tank, X-Buster. (7 / 16 items)
 * 4. Chill Penguin's stage. Acquire heart. (8 / 16 items)
 * 5. Spark Mandrill's stage. Acquire heart. (9 / 16 items)
 * 6. Armored Armadillo's stage. Acquire heart and energy tank. (11 / 16 items)
 * 7. Launch Octopus' stage. Acquire heart. (12 / 16 items)
 * 8. Boomer Kuwanger's stage. Acquire heart (13 / 16 items)
 * 9. Spark Mandrill's stage. Acquire energy tank. (14 / 16 items)
 * 10. Sting Chameleon's stage. Acquire heart and armor upgrade. (16 / 16 items)

Intro Stage
Here it is, the first stage. Head right to meet your first enemy of the game: a Spiky (a spiked wheel). Charge up your X-Buster and defeat it. Behind it is a Gun Volt (a blue robot with no arms and two legs). Jump over it's sparks and missles and destroy it. After it, jump across the gap and run past the semi in the background. You'll find around 8 Crushers (robots with spikes) that can tear up the highway. Defeat them. Moving on, you'll find another Spiky and another Gun Volt. Get rid of them. You'll soon find another Gun Volt. Dispatch it. Jump over the gap and face your first miniboss: A bee helicopter called a Bee Blader. Quickly dispatch it by rapid-firing at it until it dies, killing the Deerballs it creates when nessessary. When it crushes the floor, wait until everything stops falling, and climb the support pylon to the right.

Jump over the pit and kill the Deerball, and advance to the next Bee Blader miniboss. Kill it as usual. Climb the support pylon to the right, and jump over the pit when X reaches it. Watch out for the Spiky; X can either bite the bullet and ignore it, dodge it with a jump, or rapid-fire to kill it. When X reaches the cliff ahead, it will crumble to the ground. Quickly jump to the safe ground, and watch out for the flying mechaniloid that releases timed mines.

The next few platforms have crumbling highway sections, so quickly scurry across them to the supported beams. Ignore the Jammingers (flying robots); they can't do much to hurt X if he stays low. Continue along the straightforward path, avoiding the mechaniloids.

The final stretch of the stage includes several Road Attackers (car-riding mechaniloids); X can destroy the riders and ride on top of the cars, but cannot steer them. A large aircraft, named the Death Rogumer, will lower itself into X's view and will start dropping more Road Attackers! Destroy enough of these to start the battle with Vile...

Vile Ride Armor
This is an unwinnable battle; simply allow X to be obliterated down to one unit of health, and put him in the path of one of Vile's electric projectiles to end the battle.

Chill Penguin's Stage
The stage begins in a snowfield. Continue to the right, killing the Ray Bit (rabbit enemy) and the Axe Max. Watch out for more Bomb Beens until X is safe inside the building.

The path through the building is straightforward; there are no forks in its road. The Bat Bone are useful for recovering X's health and weapon energy, but are otherwise an annoyance. Continue cautiously, as the Spikies will often appear out of nowhere. When about to reach the third floor, don't get frustrated trying to reach the platform; it's difficult, but very possible. You must wall-jump immidiately upon touching it. At the top of the building rests the Leg Capsule, one of the most crucial items in the game.

Continue to the right, practicing the dash-jump, a common technique pulled off by jumping out of a dash. While descending the steps, kill the Flammingles (ostrich enemies), as they will become an annoyance if left alive.

After exiting the building, jump into the Chimera Ride Armor. It can punch enemies as well as execute the dash X just learned. Destroy the igloo with a punch, and continue under the covering. Watch out for other enemies that pilot Ride Armors; they can quickly knock X's armor into a pit, killing him. If all else fails, X can eject by holding Up and jumping. Eject from the armor when he cannot continue any further with the Armor's lack of wall-climbing techniques.

Climb up the wall to the right. If X has the Fire Wave, dash-jump to the left and destroy the igloos with it to find a Heart Tank. If not, continue to the right and hop over the divider. Hop over the pit and dash forward! Snowball-throwing enemies lurk ahead, and when they are not on the screen, they will use powerful, hard-to-avoid attacks. When on the screen, they only use pathetic attacks. Kill them up close, and enter the boss gate...

Chill Penguin
Chill Penguin has a wide variety of attacks, and using the Fire Wave, his weakness, will not put him into a predictable pattern, unlike other bosses. He will use the following attacks:
 * Shotgun Ice: A chunk of ice fired at the other side of the screen
 * Reflect Shotgun Ice: A chunk of ice that bounces and slides along the ground
 * Frost Rebound: A belly slide attack, going across the screen and bouncing off the opposite wall
 * Penguin Jump: A jump attack, difficult to dodge
 * Freeze Wind: Pulling a chain at the top of the screen, creating a wind to the left or right
 * Chill Wave: An ice breath attack, freezing X and creating two penguin sculptures
 * This is always followed by either an Shotgun Ice attack, a Frost Rebound, or the Freeze Wind attack

Dodge the Shotgun Ice attacks by staying on the walls. Chill Penguin is invincible during the Frost Rebound, so don't bother trying to attack him then. If X is on the wall too long, Chill Penguin will use his Penguin Jump attack. The Chill Wave attack is slow, but if X is caught in it, he will freeze and will be subject to any of Chill Penguin's attacks.

The Fire Wave will quickly destroy Chill Penguin, but using the X-Buster is effective as well. A few shots of either weapon will quickly decimate Chill Penguin.

Reward: Shotgun Ice

Items

 * Leg Capsule: At the top of the building; It is impossible to miss.
 * Heart Tank: After the Ride Armor segment, jump onto the roof to the left and use the Fire Wave to destroy the igloos.

Storm Eagle's Stage
Storm Eagle’s demise wreaks Spark Mandrill’s home.

At the beginning of the stage, jump onto one of the cargo platforms that moves along a track. Carefully "wall-climb" on the side of one of the cargo platforms above X to scale it. Stay away from the Sky Claws; they will drop X into the pit at the bottom. Jump off of the cargo lifts at the top, and continue over the top of the "Airport 1001" sign.

There will be several rotating cannons on top of towers that raise and lower periodically. Destroy the front cannon and ride the tower. If X has the Leg Upgrade, dash-jump onto the control tower and shoot the window. Inside will be a dangerous robot; Kill it with repeated shots to break the windows. Continue forward to score a new Sub-Tank.

There will be several platforms with Flamers (fire-shooting robots) on them. Kill the Flamers quickly, and jump onto the platforms. Repeat this to reach the other side of the chasm. Repeat this to cross the adjacent chasm. Continue forward to reach a tall tower.

If X has the Leg Upgrade, drop down immidiately. Dash-jump from the edge of this platform to reach a ledge next to several explosive canisters. Fire at them to destroy them, and continue into the alley to find the Helmet Capsule. Make your way back up to the tower.

Continue along the straightforward path, killing Mettools and walking enemies along the way. Eventually, X will reach a cruiser dock, which is a set of platforms that disappear quickly upon contact. Don't look back; scurry across the docking platforms and land on the wing of Storm Eagle's cruiser, which if you notice, is the Death Rogumer from the intro stage. Destroy the Death Rogumer's cannons to reach the boss gate...

Storm Eagle
The difficulty of Storm Eagle depends on wether X has the Leg Upgrade or not. If he does, it'll take some practice, but it will be very easy; if not, be prepared for the worst. Storm Eagle uses the following attacks:


 * Wing Gale: A wing-flapping attack that steadily pushes X towards the edge
 * Storm Tornado: A modified Storm Tornado that pushes X very far towards the edge
 * Homing Eaglet: An egg-firing attack that will hatch four homing eagle chicks
 * Ace Assault: A diving attack that swoops diagonally from the top

Both attacks that push X towards the edge can be easily thwarted by repeated dashes with the Leg Upgrade; without it, X can simply hope for the best and run against the wind. The Homing Eaglet attack can be avoided with erratic movement, or completely destroyed by shooting the egg. The Ace Assault attack can be avoided if X keeps moving in one direction.

The Chameleon Sting can make short work of Storm Eagle, but charged X-Buster shots work just as well. He is vulnerable during all of his attacks. He can be struck during his Homing Eaglet attack if X jumps as high as he can. Hitting him during his Ace Assult cycle requires difficult timing, but drastically speeds up the battle.

Reward: Storm Tornado

Items

 * Helmet Capsule: Drop to the right of a tower near the middle of the stage. Dash-jump to a ledge to the right, and destroy the canisters to the right to reveal the Helmet Capsule.
 * Sub-Tank: Near the beginning of the stage, destroy the cannon on top of the tower that raises and lowers itself. Ride the tower to the control tower, and shoot the window to open up a path. Kill the robot inside to break its windows and reveal a Sub-Tank.
 * Heart Tank: At the beginning of the stage, while on the lifts, leap to the left from the top lift. The heart tank will be on top of the building to the left.

Flame Mammoth's Stage
If X has defeated Chill Penguin, this stage will be much easier than normal; all lava in the stage has been iced over.

The level begins in a factory which builds two kinds of robots: "Dummy" robots that just take up space, and robots from the torso up that shoot laser beams from their eyes. X can sit on top of the dummy robots without being hurt, but the laser robots are just like any other enemy. Both robots go onto conveyor belts and are destroyed in lava when the conveyor belt ends.

Hop across the conveyor belts, keeping in mind these two kinds of robots. When X is past two conveyor belt sections, he will reach an energy pellet and a pit. Jump down the pit and continue to the right. If X has the Head Capsule, prepare to make a difficult jump. Notice the blocks that fill the space between two sections of the ceiling: these are breakable. Dash-jump from the platform half-submerged in lava to this breakable section. Keep on wall-climbing on this section, and parts of it will break off. Don't fall off! Keep breaking this breakable section and climb up to find a passage with the Arm X-Buster Capsule in it. Enter the capsule and jump down.

X is now in an area with several Dig Labors and flame geysers. If Chill Penguin has been defeated, there will be no geysers, and this allows a Heart Tank to be received. Dash along the icy ground, staying low, and X will eventually come to the Heart Tank.

Climb to the top of the room with the heart and continue to the left side of the room. If X has the dash upgrade, jump on the wall that is guarding the Energy Tank, which will destroy it. Enter the hold and grab the Energy Tank. If you've played your cards right, you will have acquired three items in almost no time at all.

Find your way to the right side of the room and climb the walls until you find the next room.

This room contains conveyor belts, but there's a new twist: There are crushers that crush anything in their vertical path, and that includes X! Run quickly underneath them, or face destruction. Drop down the pit to enter the next section.

Flame Mammoth
When you meet Flame Mammoth, you'll notice that there is a long conveyer belt below you. When the battle begins, he will use several attacks against you, such as shooting fire balls at you and trying to jump and crush you. When he jumps, just before he lands jump up as the impact he makes with the ground can cause X to lose his footing for a few seconds. When Flame roars, the conveyer belt will change direction. If he fires out an oil slick and hits it with fire, it will ignite and you'll have to dodge the flames. His weakness is the Storm Tornado, but you can just use the X-Buster and continue charging your weapon and firing at him. If he corners you, jump up the wall and wait for the right moment to jump off.

Reward: Fire Wave

Items

 * Heart Tank: You may have seen it as it is in clear view, but when the fire is still around you can't reach it. Once you defeat Chill Penguin, the fire will disappear from this level and you will be able to walk underneath the platform and find the energy heart.
 * Sub-Tank: Once you have the boots upgrade, jump up to the highest platform where all the enemies throw axes at X. Once at the top platform you will find an extra life. Dash and jump off the left side of the platform and you will land on the wall where the tank is concealed. Destroy the blocks covering it by jumping off them and then take the sub-tank.
 * X-Buster Capsule: You will need the helmet upgrade to reach this one. When you reach the area where all the platforms are with the enemies who throw axes at you, go to the start of this area and you should see some exposed blocks overhead. Dash and jump to the left off the platform and try to grab onto the blocks. When you make it, jump off the blocks and X will begin to break them. Keep jumping up and you will find a small room with the capsule. The X-Buster upgrade will allow X to charge up his weapon even higher than normal which will release a huge energy blast. This upgrade will also allow him to charge up the special weapons as well.

Gigantic Generator: Spark Mandrill
The mini-boss of this level can be defeated by using the X-Buster and dodging its attacks. When you face Spark Mandrill, he will probably charge and try to punch you. He will use this attack often, so be careful. He will also often fire out large spark spheres which fly out across the floor and up the walls and can cause heavy damage. His charges can also cause major damage. If he jumps to the top of the screen, he'll climb across the roof and drop down when you're under him, so be ready to dodge him as he falls. If you have the Shotgun Ice, this boss should be fairly easy to beat. When he charges at you, fire once and he will freeze for a few seconds. Wait for him to break out of the ice, and then fire again. Keep doing this until he runs out energy.

Reward: Electric Spark

Items

 * Heart Tank: As you come to a ladder in a corner which leads down to the rest of the level, if you jump up the wall you will see this heart sitting on a small ledge. There are two ways to reach this heart. You can use the Boomerang Cutter to reach it, or if you jump off the wall using the boots and jumping from the right spot, you can jump around and grab on to the edge of the platform to reach the heart.
 * Sub-Tank: You may have seen this one before, but you couldn't reach it before. It is found near the start of the level. When you climb up the first ladder, climb down the next one and keep going forward and you should find it. To get the tank you will need the Boomerang Cutter. Stand near the wall and fire, but you might need to fire while falling from a jump so that the projectile fires downward and reaches the tank.

Underground Mines: Armored Armadillo
For the best results, make sure you have the Electric Spark when you battle Armored Armadillo. His main attack is a rolling attack in which he will fly across the room and bounce off the walls in an attempt to crush X. He will also often fire energy beams out of his forehead. You will find that if you shoot him with the X-Buster, he will block most of your shots with his shield. You can still defeat him this way, but if you use the Electric Spark, he will be electrocuted and his shield will fall off, leaving him open for attack. Continue shooting him with the Electric Spark while dodging his energy beams and you will eventually defeat him.

Reward: Rolling Shield

Items

 * Heart Tank: When you drop down a long shaft, you will land behind the large bulldozer-type enemy, who will charge forward and break down the rock walls in front of it until it falls into the spikes. To find the heart, you must destroy the bulldozer before it reaches the area where the heart is, otherwise it will destroy the wall and you won't be able to reach it. Once you destroy it, jump up the wall to find the heart.
 * Sub-Tank: When you drop down a hole and the bulldozer starts to pursue you, keep going until it falls into the spikes and explodes. Go back to where it began its rampage and there will be a sub-tank waiting there.
 * Hadouken Capsule: The Hadoken Fireball is a secret weapon which works much like Ryu's fireball from Street Fighter II. To find it, you must have defeated all the eight bosses and have all the powerups listed above. Go to Armored Armadillo's stage and go through the level until you reach the last mine cart. When you fly out of the mine into the open air on the cart, before it falls, jump onto the wall just above the door leading to Armored Armadillo's room and take the energy refill that lies up on a platform. Exit the level and repeat this three more times. On the fourth time, there will be a capsule there with the energy refill. Dr Light will appear dressed as Ryu and he will give you the weapon. To use it, you must have full energy. To actually perform the attack can be difficult if you are playing the PC version on a keyboard, as you have to press down to forward (left or right) and then fire to shoot it. It will also sometimes work if you press down and left or right at the same time and then fire. If successful, the blast can destroy anything in one shot, including all the bosses in the entire game! (Except Vile when he's in his armored carrier).

Marine Base Entrance: Launch Octopus
When you encounter Launch Octopus, he will use one of his tentacles to taunt you with. He will then begin to fire several missiles out of his tentacles which will home in on X. He will also sometimes shoot out larger missiles which will fly across the screen. Occasionally he will jump up to the top of the screen and create a huge whirlpool in an effort to suck X into the vortex. Try to stay out of contact with Launch, as he can grab you and sap energy away, refilling his own energy. To defeat him, hit him with the Rolling Shield when he is on the ground before he fires any missiles. If you run out of the Rolling Shield, use the X-Buster to defeat him.

Reward: Homing Torpedo

Items

 * Heart Tank: As you proceed in the level you will find a machine that fires up a whirlpool underwater which can push X up to the surface of the water. The second one you find will push you up to the surface and you will see a large green submarine on the surface to the right. Jump on it and shoot at the small glass window. When the sub explodes, it will fall and destroy the spikes below you, continue on and you will find a large serpent creature below the one you usually have to fight. Destroy it by shooting its tail or head and you will find this heart.

Kuwanger Tower: Boomer Kuwanger
When you find Boomer Kuwanger, he will teleport into the room. You will notice that during the battle he will often teleport around the room to try and appear near X. He will often fire out a boomerang cutter and tries to grab you now and then. If he charges at X and grabs him with his horns, he will throw X up to the roof and cause damage to him. Try to jump out of Boomer's way when this happens. To defeat him, use the Homing Torpedo and wait for Boomer to start moving again before firing another shot.

Reward: Boomerang Cutter

Items

 * Heart Tank: When you come outside and climb up the side of the tower, once at the top you will see this heart on a platform above you which is out of reach. To get this heart, after defeating Boomer Kuwanger re-enter the stage and use the Boomerang Cutter to retrieve the heart.

Forest Base: Sting Chameleon
Sting Chameleon can be very difficult if you don't have the Boomerang Cutter. He will appear out of the wall and attack. He will often jump down and shoot his long tongue out which causes heavy damage if it hits you. If he jumps up and hangs from the roof with his tongue, he will shake and spikes will drop from the roof. He will also climb up the wall and whip three projectiles out at X. If he disappears into the wall, you should still be able to see him as he moves around and appears somewhere else. To defeat him, use the Boomerang Cutter when he is hanging from the roof and climbing around on the wall. This weapon should cause a lot of damage to Sting and you should defeat him fairly quickly.

Reward: Chameleon Sting

Items

 * Heart Tank: When you exit the forest and find a large cave where all the rocks fall from the ceiling, you will notice a large hole in the ground just at the entrance to the cave. Slide down the left wall of the hole and the screen will move down revealing another area underground. You will see a rock wall on the right which can be destroyed by jumping off the blocks of the wall. Once you destroy the wall, stand on the platform where the wall was and dash and jump to the right. Don't worry about falling into the hole, as the water will allow X to jump further and you will land on a platform with the heart on it.
 * Armor Capsule: When you reach the large cave, dash and jump off the edge of the platform before the cave and jump up onto the top of the cave. You will find a small open area above where you will fight a mini-boss. Shoot the boss in its head with the X-Buster and make sure you stay away from it as if you are too close, it will shoot out one of its arms to try and grab X. Once you destroy it the capsule will appear. The Armor upgrade will allow X to become much more protected against attacks, as damage inflicted to him will reduce by half.

Sigma 1: Fortress Grounds
At the start of the stage, Zero will appear with X and form a battle strategy (Zero will go in first and X can slip in while the main defence force is occupied). The first little bit of Sigma 1 starts with a few of the giant turtle robots that love to launch bombs at you. The Storm Tornado makes quick work of them. After that, you come to an area with many hover platforms suspended over a bottomless pit. Hop from platform to platform, watching for enemies while doing so, and you'll make it into the castle. Shortly after the first hallway and a few ladders to climb, you'll be at a boss door where Vile will be waiting for you. Zero will chase Vile in and you'll have to follow. Once inside, Vile will be riding his armored carrier and Zero will be imprisoned. Like the first fight with Vile, you can't beat him while he's in his mech. Let him stun you to end the fight and Zero will break out of his prison and use all of his power to destroy Vile's mech. This is where the real fight begins. Vile attacks by dashing at you, using his stun beam and dropping bombs while suspended in mid-air. However, he does have three (yes three) weaknesses. You can use either Shotgun Ice, Electric Spark or for best results, Rolling Shield. With Vile dead, X will find that Zero has been gravely damaged from destroying the mech that Vile was riding. If you didn't get the X-Buster upgrade from Flame Mammoth's stage, Zero will give you his arm cannon which will power up your X-Buster the same way the capsule upgrade would. Afterwards, you'll see Zero die and then it's back to action. The next part of the level has laser traps that fire at you if you trip the sensors. Luckily, you can avoid them easily by dashing into the first springboard. If done correctly, you will continue a chain reaction and bounce from one springboard to the next until you are passed all laser traps. We then come to a vertical section full of enemies (a perfect place to test out your X-Buster upgrade). To get through here quickly, charge up your Chameleon Sting and use it. The charged up version acts as a temporary invincibility mechanism allowing you to pass through enemies and climb the walls fast. At the top is another boss door. This time, you'll be fighting Boomer Kuwanger for a second time. Like the first fight, use Homing Torpedo to kill him. Finally, X will traverse through one final hallway full of small enemies before the final boss of Sigma 1. Before entering the final room, refill your life as this boss can be kind of tricky. The final boss of Sigma 1 is Bospider-an armored mechanical arachnid. It has two different attacks: it deploys miniature spiders to attack X, and it rushes down to the floor by jumping from pole to pole with the aid of webs that join the poles. Keep in mind that the web patterns change all the time, which is what makes Bospider kind of tricky. When he reaches the floor, his core will open briefly (that's his one weak spot). Hit it with either a super charged X-Buster shot, or use Shotgun Ice which is his weakness. And once Bospider is dead, ON TO SIGMA 2!

Final Sigma Stage: Sigma's Machine
This stage is simple, just wall climb, defeating the Creepers and fill up your Sub-Tanks, your Rolling Shield, your Shotgun Ice, and your Electric Spark. When you're ready, climb up the walls and enter the gates. At the top, you'll find Sigma himself, but first he talks a bit, then he sics his pet dog, named Velguarder, at you. Velguarder is very agile, and can breathe either ice (wich moves in a rainbow pattern) or fire (which travels in an upwards arc). Dispactch Velguarder with the X-Buster, the Hadouken, or the Shotgun Ice. After a second speech Sigma removes his cape and draws his lightsaber, then the fight begins. Avoid his lightsaber and hit him with the Electric Spark when he's on the walls. After the fight, Sigma becomes his final form: Velguarder Sigma. Sigma's head will attach itself to a large wolf-shaped machine. Sigma is too high to hit, so you'll have to jump on his claws when they fall down (you'll get hit if you stand underneath them), but beware, as he shoots lightning from them. Sigma can also fire lasers and breath fire. The Rolling Shield will make short work of him. If possible, try to stand on the side of his claws. That'll make you less likely to be hit by lightning or fire. Also there will be times that Sigma move his claws across the room and try to make you crash into his head. Jump to the other claw to avoid this.