Mega Man 9/Tornado Man

And of course, what Mega Man game would be complete without a "high in the sky" level?

Tornado Man's level gives us some of the most unforgiving terrain in the game, high above the clouds with numerous instant death hazards for the Blue Bomber.

Throughout the level, you will encounter hovering balloon robots. To kill them, shoot the HEAD area, not the balloon area. If you hit the balloon area, they'll fly around unpredictably and be an even bigger threat until they leave the screen.

Magnetic platforms are one of the biggest hazards you'll face. You can stand on these things without falling, even when you get turned upside down. Note that you can only "jump" when on top, if you hit the jump button while you're on the bottom, you'll fall below rather than jumping. Avoid the spikes and don't fall to your death! This is another area where Rush Jet alleviates the pain, but you most likely won't have it yet.

The latter portion of the stage features rain and some cloud-covered platforms. Exercise caution here; the rain can push you back a la the Toad Man stage in Mega Man 4. As always, patience is a virtue. Don't get in a hurry, just take your time and only move forward when you know it's safe.

Tornado Man himself wouldn't be too terribly challenging, if it wasn't for the spikes on the ceiling of his arena. He frequently summons tornadoes, which propel you higher when you jump, making you easy fodder for the spiky ceiling. And sure enough, his weakness is the GROUND-based Plug Ball, which can be hard to hit with. For best results, never jump, and shoot out several Plug Balls. They'll stick to the wall and go around, often hitting him while he lurks near the ceiling. If he comes low, jump (if there's no wind risk) and rain them down on him. He falls to his weakness pretty fast if you know how to hit him with it.

Victory will score Mega Man the Tornado Blow, which causes harmful tornadoes to blow on screen, damaging all in their presence. It can also be used to spin some propeller-driven platforms and increase the height of your jumps. Unfortunately, it's an energy hog, and you can only use it four times before it runs out.