Mega Man X2/Dinosaur Tank

Items

 * Arm Upgrade (need Leg Upgrade)
 * Heart (need Leg & Arm Upgrade & F. Stag's weapon)

Stage walkthrough
This stage takes place on a tank moving through a city. It's not too hard, but the screen will constantly shake which is really annoying.

First thing you'll see is a little door in the ground that spits out bird enemies. Jump over the birds and focus your shots on the door to destroy it. Continue on into the tank, destroying the rolling enemies and heading down the ladders.

After the ladders, don't fall down the hole in front of you. Instead, walljump up the right wall - you'll see a little nub blocking you from entering a hole in the ceiling. If you have the leg upgrade (air dash), slide down the nub and air dash left. If you timed it right, you'll hit the wall and you can walljump up the hole. You can make this jump without the leg upgrade by dash-walljumping off the right wall and using the Strike Chain to pull you towards the wall of the hole, but it's very precise and tricky. Either way, you'll find the Arm Upgrade at the top of the hole. This allows you to charge your gun to a new level, which stores 2 charge shots, and charge your special weapons. Very cool. Fall down the hole and continue.

Keep truckin' and you'll find yourself some ride armor. These things can hover in mid air, punch, dash, the whole 9 yards. Sweet. Jump in and punch the block to continue.

You'll now be on the bottom of the tank. There's an enticing ramp to the left, but nothing awaits you beyond it but death. Curiosity killed the... reploid. Continue right and out-punch the enemy ride armors. You'll need to get out of the armor to climb the ladder, so do so by pressing up and jump.

You'll see a Heart Tank blocked by a wall of spikes. You can get it a few ways, but it's tricky no matter what.


 * First Method - needs the leg upgrade (air dash), arm upgrade, and Speed Burner weapon. Find the raised platform to the right and fully charge (pink glow) your Speed Burner. Jump as high as possible to the left, air dash, then fire your charged Speed Burner (effectively another air dash). If you did it correctly, you should hit the top bit of the wall without any spikes and you can wall jump to grab the heart.


 * Second Method - The exact same as the first method, but you don't need the leg upgrade. Find the raised platform to the right and fully charge (pink glow) your Speed Burner. Dash jump off the platform to the left and fire your speed burner at the peak of your jump. This is more precise than above, but doable.


 * Third Method - Requires nothing! Bait the nearest robot to the right to shoot you, and use the invincibility frames to wall jump up the spikes. This choice is less recommended this cause it's precise and risky.

Once you're done with that, continue up the elevator to the right. These shield baddies will be disabled by charge shots, so use that to your advantage as you rise. More floating platforms to come, this time with birds and shield guys in your way. One more elevator to go. This time, the path branches - you can head left or stay on the elevator going up. If you go up, you'll find a 1-up and the optional boss door. If there's a maverick hunter boss occupying this level, you might wanna head through that door. Click here for more information. If you go left, continue on.

One more outside bit before you take on the gator himself. Tons of birds and rollers out here before a drop. Try to just power through it. Continue back into the tank left when you can. From there, it's just a cannon enemy keeping you from the Gator himself.

Maverick boss: Wheel Gator
You'll notice that there is no floor to this room. Instead, it is oil. Wheel Gator hides in this and occasionally pops out to try to snag you.
 * Weakness: Strike Chain

His first attack is signaled by the oil moving in waves. Jump up on the wall and keep on it. A spike wheel will emerge and circle the whole room. Avoid it and the oil settles. Be careful because this is when he will jump up to snag you. If he gets you, he'll bite you for three damage. If he doesn't, he'll stay out for a few seconds.

His second attack is when he jumps out and charges up the two wheels for his shoulders. He'll fire them above and unto the wall where they will circle up and back. Avoid the wheels and punish him for trying to get you.

His third attack is a spinning attack. He spins and dashes towards you. Jump over to avoid. Be careful; this attack breaks the walls. If you touch the walls where he attacked, it will hurt you.

If you have the S. Chain, use it. That's his weakness. This boss takes a while to beat, so be prepared. He'll give you the Spin Wheel, which is effective against Bubble Crab in the Deep-Sea Base level.