Procyon Lotor presents the
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FAQ version 1.5 --
Zero's Light Sabre!!!
The 9th capsule!
Intro to FAQ:
Well, It's finally here. Version 1.5 has arrived. And with a
power packed Mega Man X 3 secret. It's no Street Fighter 2 power up,
but it's just as great. Mega Man X 3 can be equipped with Zero's sword.
I must thank Ryouga (ryouga19@idt.vivid.net) for alerting me to this
secret. The way to get it eluded us for a while, but the answer can now
be found below in the Doppler stage section.
In v1.3, I have added greatly to the Doppler stage information.
With the help of spectral (spectral@cris.com), I was able to complete the
information about what bosses you face in which Doppler stage. Thanks to
his patient exploration of the game, he pointed out how who you fight
early in the game, and how you beat them, affects who you fight in the
Doppler stages.
In v1.2, I reported about how I found the 9th capsule! This
capsule should make you more than happy! To find out all about it, read
the info below the warning notice before the Doppler stages.
Since v1.0, all maps for each stage are given as they are provided
by the radar helmet. Because I gained most items before I copied the maps,
the actual location of each item was withdrawn and I had to guess as to
the whereabouts of each item. I should be accurate, but if you happen to
notice a mistake, please email me. That goes for any and all corrections
short of spelling mistakes (I know I made pleanty), and any additional
information. Email me at: procyon@netcom.com -- Thank you.
Intro to game:
Mega Man X 3 is the latest chapter in the Mega Man X saga, and is
not destined to be the last as I once thought (I believed it was supposed
to be a trilogy. Glad I'm wrong.) It follows the same standard setup of
all the MMX games: an intro board, 8 stages, 4 "Sigma" stages. As before
there are 8 hearts, one per board, and 4 Energy Tanks scattered about.
And likewise, there are 4 power up capsules presented to you by Dr. Light.
However, there are an additional 4 capsules to be found that allow you to
upgrade one of your powered up components, but, as Dr. Light warns you,
you may only choose to accept ONE of these upgrades. And lastly, there
are 4 models of robotic armor you must find, one of which is needed to
enable the accessing of the rest. In summary, every stage has one heart,
one capsule, and either an Energy Tank or Armor Model.
You are allowed from time to time, in certain parts of each stage
to switch your control from X to Zero. Zero is capable of everything
regular Mega Man is, with the addition of a better charged up Buster.
The fourth level of charge allows for 2 level two bursts, with a final
swing of his sabre thrown on. In this FAQ writter's opinion, there is
no great advantage to using Zero over X with the exception of the better
health bar at the start. But in situations where that would be most
appreciated, you are forced to switch control back over to X anyway.
Zero does not benefit from Mega Man's power ups. Whether Zero manages to
stay alive through the course of the game determines part of the ending.
Strategy:
This particular game is one of the most challenging with very
interactive weapon powers. Three items are of absolute importance:
The Air Dash power up, the N (Chimera) armor, and the Dual Buster. The
last two are needed to get items, but the Air Dash is essential to even
reach some of the bosses, making it the first item you should ever attempt
to get. I'm am not an avid advocator of entering a board to get an item,
and dying to exit the stage, but some beginners may want to consider doing
this to get the Buster and N armor. I mention this because the path I
suggest following puts off getting these items until later into the game,
which in turn forces you to get other items even later.
Boss order is important, as it always is. It wouldn't be a Mega
Man game without and boss order to follow. However, in MMX3, the correct
weapon doesn't do tons of damage like you would expect. What's important
in MMX3 is that the correct weapon _cancels_the_bosses'_attacks_. Some
of the bosses attack you in such a way that they nail you with a barrage
and don't allow you to retaliate. That is why following the order is a
lot wiser to do than before. Only certain weapons will give you the
oppertunity to press your attack on the boss.
Therefore, the best boss to start off with is Blizzard Buffalo.
Not only is he the (possibly only) easiest boss to finish off with your
normal X-Buster, but housed in his stage is the essential Air Dash power
up capsule. I will proceed to each stage here. I will list how to reach
all the items within each stage, as well as how to beat that particular
boss. The listing of each stage will be in the proper sequence one
should take to get through them. Listed in brackets [] will be what is
needed to get that item. A weapon name with a star next to it means the
powered up version of that weapon (requiring the Dual Blaster).
1) BLIZZARD BUFFALO:
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Heart: [N Armor] Early in the stage, you see a bunch of ice cubes. Use
any armor from the armor provider to break each block and go down.
Tank: [Air Dash] The Energy Tank is visible after reaching the surface
from below, high atop the left side of the wall. Jump on the ledge
off to the right, jump towards the tank and at the peek, verticle
air dash. Press left as you come down to cling to the edge and
wall jump your way up.
Power: Air Dash - Again, when you resurface, take all of the highest paths
to the right, and dash jump off the edge to catch the ledge on the
far right. Proceed in side. Note - you must destroy the blizzard
machine to reach this ledge.
Boss: BB is the easiest of all the bosses to take out with the X-Buster.
He's easy enough to dodge with the Air Dash, so power up, blast him,
climb up the wall and when he charges at you, air dash over his head
and proceed to the other side of the room. Watch out when he chucks
ice at you
2) TOXIC SEAHORSE:
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Heart: When you begin your long upward climb through the stage in the
beginning, go up as high as you possibly up the left side.
Armor: [Blizzard*] When you enter the water, fall to the bottom, and jump
to the right of the first gap in the floor you encounter. Power
up your blizzard weapon so it forms a block of ice. Jump on the
ice to ride it to the surface to find the K (Kangaroo) Armor.
Power: [F Armor] Use the armor provider to suit up the F Armor. Fall in
the water and stay on top of the ladges until to reach the fans.
Take the fans out with the torpedoes and jump out of the armor.
Wall climb and proceed to the right to reach the Dual Air Dash
upgrade. It will allow you to Air Dash twice consecutivly.
Boss: TS falls victim to the Ice Shield rather easily. He will jump at
wherever you are, so fire one ice off, and dash under him as he
lands on the ice. Repeat until dead.
3) TUNNEL RHINO:
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Heart: [Volt*] As you first climb up, you'll see a room to the right, with
the heart blocked by a rock. Power up the electric weapon and
release to pound the ground and knock the rock loose.
Tank: Really easy to find. It's in the upper right corner before you
start descending back down.
Power: [Volt*] Radar - Same as with the Heart, you'll find this rock much
later in the stage off the to left as you finish climbing upward.
The Radar Helmet allows you to see where potentially hidden items
are in a defeated stage when you first enter.
Boss: TR can really be as stubborn as a rhino, but he hates acid, so
follow the pattern of air dashing over him as he charges at you,
and spray him with some acid to finish him off.
4) VOLT CATFISH:
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Heart: [Air Dash] Take the elevator that rises between two walls of spikes
all the way to the top (but get off on the right before you get
squashed by more spikes. The trick here is to slide down the left
wall, air dash to the right wall, pick up the heart, air dash back
over to the left and get out without hitting the spikes on the
floor. Keep a steady hand.
Tank: [N Armor] When you reach the area where sparks line the wall, go up
to the armor provider, and take any armor. Then fall straight down
to smash through the floor and proceed to the left.
Power: [Gravity*] Armor - Take the elevator before the outside bridge all
the way off. You'll see some sort of non-functioning lift. Stand
on it and power up your gravity gun and let go. Watch it rise.
Boss: VC hates to be drilled, so let him have some drills and, as usual,
air dash over when he bounds a little too close.
5) CRUSH CRAWFISH:
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Heart: [H Armor] Get the H Armor and suit up at the beginning of the stage
(just below the starting point). When that robot crashes through
the scafoldings, fall down to the last ledge just before the ground
(the third ledge by count) and fire at the wall to get inside.
Armor: [Volt*] At the very beginning, the ground is covered by scaffolds
accept for one tiny area, about 4 "blocks" wide. Power up the
electric weapon and pound through the platform so it falls. Get
the H (Hawk) Armor. It can hover if you hold B down.
Power: [N Armor] After the fall through the scafolds, go right and fall
down the first gap you come to. Bash through the wall with your
suit, and find the Armor upgrade capsule which increase damage
reduction from 50% to (I presume) 75%.
Boss: CC isn't too fond of electricity (seeing as he's underwater and
all) so peg him with that three way electric gun. You have to
get close to him to hit him, which is bad since he will still
probably pick you up and throttle you so be careful
6) NEON TIGER:
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Heart: Right before the entrance to the boss, use that last bug to reach
the upper right edge of the screen above the door.
Tank: Before you have to double back to the left and get higher up, go
as far right and up as you can. Use the bug to reach the upper
right corner of that part of the screen.
Power: [Drill] Dual Blaster - before you have to descend a ladder for
the first time, you'll notice the wall the to right is weak.
Shoot a drill through it and prepare for a very long leap.
Boss: NT won't stick to the wall when he's hit with those spinning blades
so hit him when he's up there and move to the opposite side (so you
don't get hit when he flies over to the other wall). Repeat until
he's finished.
7) GRAVITY BEETLE:
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Heart: As far as I can tell, all you need to do is beat the Hornet to
make those blocks in the lower hanger disappear. The heart is
in the upper left corner of the first hanger you enter.
Armor: [Air Dash] You'll see the armor on a high ledge when you climb out
of a building (the sky is all yellow and you're on a moving ship).
Just wall climb up to the jump, jump out to the right a little, and
veritcle air dash to catch the ledge before you drop.
Power: [N Armor] Find the armor provider high above the ground somewhere
close to the end of the stage and select an armor. Stay in it and
keep going right (and you'll have to dash jump up some small
ledges to advance upward) until you can't go right anymore and
bash the wall down. You'll get the Buster upgrade, which allows
you to store damage in your gun and, when fully charged, release it
by shooting Super Shots without having to charge up your gun. It
is possibly (in my opinion) the most useful upgrade and it helps
a lot in the "Sigma" stages.
Boss: GB is stopped by the Tiger's ray shots. Just hit him when he stops
flashing from being hit, and he'll stop and hop foward a little.
Air dash over when he's a little too close and keep on hitting him.
8) BLAST HORNET:
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Heart: [Air Dash] up the left side of the wall after the little hangers
and (if you haven't beaten Vile yet) that stupid ship scene where
all you do is destroy boxes. It's just before one of the doors.
Armor: [Drill] This is the most important armor to get of them all since
you can't use the armor providers without attaining this one.
When you're over the little hangers, and you must destroy those
crates to get below the bridge, turn left and drill the weak
section of the wall. Blast the box inside and proceed down.
Shoot the little machine holding the armor hostage.
Power: [H Armor] Get to the armor provider early in the stage and select
Hawk Armor. Then take a dashing leap off the ledge to the right
and hover over to the other side. You can get the helmet upgrade
which allows you to regenerate health just by standing still.
Don't overestimate the advantage of this upgrade. It's useless in
a battle and you're still better off with the Blaster upgrade.
Boss: BH is a major pain without the gravity gun. But it seems like all
you need to bug this bug is a little gravity in the room and you
hurt him without even hitting him. So just pump out those pods.
**************************** SUB-BOSSES ******************************
The sub-bosses, Bit, Byte, and Vile, are important in the game.
The way that you fight them in the Maverick stages determines who or what
you will fight in the Doppler stages. You are not required to fight Vile
early in the game, but if you don't, you face a more difficult version of
him later on. You must fight and beat Bit and Byte, but you will only
truely defeat them if you destroy them with the appropriate special weapon.
BIT: Bit is pretty slick. He fires one of two things, either a ring to
keep you grounded (just wiggle back and forth to free yourself), or
a heat seeking fireball. The main strategy to defeat him is to jump
up when he's on his way down from his own jump. He will try to
intercept you at whatever level your on, so if you stay on the ground
you will get smacked. Force him to fly over you by jumping and nail
him with some powered up shots. While he doesn't like electricity,
the best weapon to hit him with is the Ice shield, especially since
if you fire at him at just the right time, he'll fly right into it.
BYTE: I used to hate this guy, but now I'm pretty fond of him. He's a LOT
easier than you might think. The stratgey is simple. Power up your
gun and let him throw one of those pods against the wall that
messes up your jump. When he does that, before he rushes at you,
jump at the wall, jump off and air dash over him, and nail him with
your charged shot. Peice of cake with a little practice. He doesn't
seem to appreciate the Tiger's ray shot very much, but he absolutly
hates the Drill. It keeps him at bay a little longer so nail him
with it for a sure victory.
VILE: You can reach him from three points (that I know of at least): In Volt
Catfish's lair, that first elevator you come to will take you down
to a teleporter, and in Crush Crawfish's board, you will see a lone
power up, but the plank is part illusion, and you fall through to
another teleporter that takes you to the same place. And lastly, in
the Buffalo stage, there is that little room below the ladder that
leads to the surface that you must drop down the pit to reach.
Fighting him is tough and I suggest putting it off until you have
only one boss left to fight and as many power ups as you can get.
Typical air dashing strategy is my best advice while pumping him
with powered up X-Buster shots. When he loses his armor, keep
pelting him. Spinning blade shots seem particularly effective.
---------------------------- WARNING ------------------------------
Do not read on if you don't want to know about the Doppler stages!!!!
---------------------------- WARNING ------------------------------
*** 9th CAPSULE!!! ***
Well folks, the elusive 9th capsule has been found by your's truely.
This one will blow your mind. Dr. Light tells you that you can only select
one upgrade for your system. Well, how would you like to have them ALL?
No problem. All you need is all the hearts, all the power ups, NO UPGRADES,
and all 4 Sub Tanks. Proceed to the first Doppler stage and reach the
pit the appears before those chutes that releases those spiked balls. You
MUST have full energy (but you don't need 4 full tanks). Drop down the left
side of that pit and if you've met the conditions, prepare for the most
amazing transformation you've ever seen Mega Man take in his life.
*** ZERO'S LIGHT SABRE ***
The only precondition for this, oddly enough, is that you beat Vile
(and by beat, I mean make him explode with the spinning blades) and that
Zero is still alive. You aren't required to have a specific set of power
ups. You can have nothing, or everything including the 9th capsule. When
you are in the 2nd Doppler stage, get through the water and pause at the
door before the bug like mid-boss. At this point switch to Zero! Go in
and fight the bug with Zero until it's defeated. When you beat it, it will
fly down on Zero and explode, leaving Zero damaged. MMX3 will come back
and Zero will pass off his sword to you. Use it with Mega Man just like
you do with Zero, power up until you flash green.
DOPPLER STAGE 1: If Zero has died before this stage, then he will not aid
you in stopping the spiked ceiling from falling. You must
destroy the ceiling device yourself.
If you did not defeat Bit and Byte with the appropriate
Special weapon, you must fight them again. If you did
defeat them, you face the "mask".
* Bit & Byte - Use the P. Bomb and keep powering it up so those bugs
fly at him whether you're getting nailed or not.
* "Mask" - The first thing to do is nail the snout. Then go for the
rest of him. The Drill is the wepon of choice. Not terribly
challenging to beat. Just watch the acid on the floor.
DOPPLER STAGE 2: If you did not defeat Vile, you must face him now. If
you did defeat him, you must fight a wasp like mini-boss
and there will be more water in the stage and you face
the "Squid".
* Vile - Pretty much the same as described above, just more
agressive. Use the same strategy of air dashing the Goliath
(and use Drills) then using the Blades on the lone Vile.
* "Squid" - Hates electricity. Not hard.
DOPPLER STAGE 3: Note that the center pillar in the boss telepod screen
give you power ups when you shoot at it.
Dr. Doppler - Acid works great. Just don't hit him when
that green field shows up, or any shot you make heals him!
DOPPLER STAGE 4: Make sure you have 4 full E. Tanks. Just go nuts and nail
Sigma with Spining Blades (Aim for the head so the you
don't have to worry about the shield). Heal yourself and
get ready for Kaiser Sigma. Nothing but the X-Buster is
effective (and this is where the Buster upgrade is GREAT!)
so power up and nail his head. You'll need to hit a little
high to damage him at all.