Mega Man Zero 2/Temple of Wind

Items to collect
Elves Obtained: 4:
 * [[File:MMZ Animal Elf Icon.png]] Cyber-Elf Beesult
 * [[File:MMZ Hacker Elf Icon.png]] Cyber-Elf Stocpell
 * [[File:MMZ Hacker Elf Icon.png]] Cyber-Elf M-oreno 
 * [[File:MMZ Animal Elf Icon.png]] Cyber-Elf Birhelp

Mission requirements

 * Clear Time Limit: 3:00
 * Enemies Killed: 28

You've finally made it to the last temple, the Temple of Wind. This is all that's keeping you from gazing into the forbidden territory of Yggdrasil, core of Neo Arcadia. The temple is filled with Mechaniloids just about everwhere you look, and it's secured with plenty blockades the deeper you go. You should make the Active Form your default choice. This is also the place where the final Cyber-Elves are stashed. Collect these, and you'll have the entire mother lode of Elves at your disposal.

Shocking Entry
The front lines have Pantheon Gunners in the vicinity. They aren't terribly dangerous, but you finally, finally, get a Cyber-Elf from them, whereas in the first game, you got it from the start. Tear apart 8 for Cyber-Elf Beesult.

A big swarm of Saranets lurking around could be trouble. Use the Rolling Slash of Active Form against the pack of stingers from the killer insects.

When you reach the first room, you'll encounter the electric barricades from the Bombardment Aircraft. These are noticeably easier. Strike the power coupling with the Triple Shot, and pass through unharmed. For the first, just strike and dash out by the two barriers. Yet again, a Z-Panel isn't worth it.

When you reach the end of the hall and a lengthy barrier coats the floor, it's time to go up. Before the barrier reactivates, dash jump upward off the edge of the device that launches the barrier and hold to the left. Up above is the next power coupling. Freeze this one with Triple Shot and dash-jump off the tip of the small ledge. Catch the ledge on the other side and wall-jump to the top, then fall through the consecutive barriers and leap out of the one at the bottom to the exit before they kick on again. If it's too late, another power coupling is in the upper-right corner, past another Pantheon Guardian. Not much changes, does it?

Climbing With Style
The hallways in this temple are never quiet. More Pantheon Guardians and Saranets show up as you continue your mission. The only way up is by using the moving platforms, but there's a very well-hidden Cyber-Elf nearby. It's smart to come back later for an Elf so far out of the way.

A Forgotten Cyber-Elf
Go completely up the floor until you reach a cliff. Go over the edge and hug the wall down. First you'll discover E-Crystals. Slide further down to the lowest point to find a Cyber-Elf Box. This one has Cyber-Elf Stocpell inside.

Getting back to the mission, watch for a platform to come within jumping range. Ride it up and continue scaling the assortmed platforms moving around as they also come in range. Use wall-jumps and dash-jumps when needed. Don't let any Saranets hit you, either.

The last platform in the line gets close enough to the upper area of the temple to jump off. Two Pantheon Gunners, and a Saranet trio, complete with a Bombnet, cover the area. They won't pose any trouble. Continue to the shutter.

Lightning Speed
More electrified gates close up a maze of enemies. The barriers will only stay off as long as the last coupling you break. Cut through the first Pantheon Gunner and smash the power coupling. Get out of the first barrier, and drop out the second barrier you reach. Hang a sharp right as you fall to land by another coupling. Disable it when it turns on, and you'll have a brief chance to nab a Cyber-Elf. It's in the box on the left, and it contains Cyber-Elf M-oreno. That leaves one final Elf.

If you get the Elf, wait for the barrier again and fire a Laser Shot right to hit the coupling once more. The Triple Shot's delay works against time for this particular barrier. Leap up the left-hand wall with wall jumps until you see another coupling. Don't miss it. Hit it and dash all the way down through the various obstacles in sight, falling to the very bottom-left corner of the room. It has another coupling for you to disable, and a full health refill.

After the barrier goes down again, jump up to the ledge above the coupling, then dash up, off the edge, and to the barrier generator while slicing up the Pantheon in mid-slide. The exit is in sight, plus a free Z-Panel. Being in an odd place, the door might be spastic when you try and use it.

The Final Ascent
Small ledges stick out from pillars in the biggest room of the temple. You can drop down by the entrance without fear of dying. There's an hidden area with E-Crystals.

The Complete Set
As you go up the ledges, beware not to hit + A. This makes you dismount them. While you go up, you'll encounter the last kind of enemy in the game, but it's a familar one. Barrier Counters are hovering around the area, and you can't hit their front sides without the photon shield absorbing the energy. If enough attacks hit the shield, a Barrier Counter uses the energy for a gunshot. Hit them when they turn around with charged attacks. When 5 are beaten, you receive the final Cyber-Elf of the game, Cyber-Elf Birhelp. Nice job! You can now discover a secret reward from having every single Cyber-Elf.

The climb up also has a few Poplans, Toitanks and Top Gabyoalls in the way. Poplans burn with Fire-element attacks, and you can run under them when they spring up to attack. Toitank bullets can be countered with the Shield Boomerang. Top Gabyoalls are a pure nuisance. Beware how you jump, because one could be waiting in the fray for you. Stun them to get past them when leaping onto the platforms between the ledges.

Elpizo's Revenge
After you get by the various combinations of enemies thrown at you, you'll reach the boss, and the outer confines of the temple, which stand at the door to Neo Arcadia's innerworkings. You'll enter a room filled with massive energy reactors, and a gap that Zero automatically crosses. He suddenly bumps into Harpuia, who already has his hands full. He's out cold before Elpizo. He did a good job at pounding him down with the Baby Elves, except... they're not that powerful to cripple a Guardian.

Elpizo is delighted to see Zero, because he's got something to show his comrade. There's an ominous dark sphere hovering above his head... It's the ultimate power... the Dark Elf!

The Dark Elf is the perfect Elf, designed to bring peace to the world. Elpizo is repulsed by the humans and how they dismiss Reploid's needs and rob them of their energy. He's preparing to destroy Neo Arcadia to make them a distant memory, but he's not obtained the full power of the Elf from the seal. If Elpizo wants it, he has to destroy X. Harpuia snaps awake after hearing this, because everything he values is in danger. Elpizo's temper blows up so fast, he doesn't even let him lift a finger, using his new powers to snare him in a barrier. Elpizo sincerely wants him dead for the agony he put him through in Neo Arcadia, mocking Harpuia for his disrespect, being so weak compared to him, and how superior he's become. Elpizo's power-madness is complete- he thinks he's invincible.

Feeling time is getting away, he decides to put his plan into motion for a celebration of new history in the making, and leaves the Baby Elves with Harpuia and Zero, while he enters Yggdrasil. The Elves fly over Harpuia and plunge into his chest, flooding him with evil energy. Harpuia tells Zero to kill him before the Elves take control and stop Elpizo, but Zero hesitates. It's a foolish mistake. Harpuia is forced to assume Armed Phenomena Mode, glowing green with mass swirling around him.

Harpuia is gone. In his place is a condor-shaped fighter jet!

Boss: Raptor Harpuia
Enfused with the Baby Elves, Harpuia has lost all control over his body to the elves and has been forced to transform into his Armed Phenomena. He does not wish to fight Zero anymore. All he wants to do now is protect his master, but that choice was taken away from him. He cannot break free from being a living puppet. which leaves only Zero to bring him down. Regrettably, you will have to inflict a great deal of pain to Harpuia, until you purge those Cyber-Elves out of his body. Switch to the Ice Chip. You'll need to strike Harpuia's head to hurt him. You've got a difficult fight against an enemy stuck in the form of a raptor plane with air superiority on its side, ammunition, and some especially vicious attacks designed to generate weather warfare.

Raptor Harpuia's first attack is usually a wave of dumb-fire missiles. A missile bank on his transformed body opens and dumps out several large, fast-moving missiles that fly in a straight horizontal line, aimed perpendicular with Zero. They may not be able to lock onto you, but if they make contact and detonate, they knock off a big amount of hit points. You can blow up the missiles prematurely by shooting them with charged Buster shots. Uncharged plasma rounds don't damage the warheads quickly enough to blow up the missiles unless you have the X Form activated. If you can't stop the missiles in time, dash jump over the incoming payload. Listen closely to Harpuia when he is using this attack: he's screaming "Yamero!!", or, "STOP!!" Harpuia is actively resisting the Baby Elves as he is forced to fight and it is putting him through great agony. Though it is unpleasant to think about, you'll have to put him out of his misery the hard way.

Harpuia sometimes dives down to make an eagle swoop, lowering his talons for the kill. Dash under and out beneath him.

If Harpuia flies offscreen, he's going to pull an unusual trick. Unusual for a side-scroller, this attack is not vertical, horitzontal, or diagonal. It is a transverse attack from the horizon of the screen. Harpuia attempts to divebomb from the background and sweep around at a step angle of entry. Dash out of range before he does. You'll get hit if his talons make direct contact with you.

Harpuia sometimes pulls out two swinging electrical tethers that keep you from coming near him. Wait for both to stretch out far enough to dash out from under him. When the first tether is swinging backward, he'll bring out the second tether to thwart your efforts to escape. That's the moment to flee. You can also grip the side of the platform at your own peril.

Harpuia also has two gigantic wind turbines on his wings. When these activate, they create a wall of cyclones like his old EX Skill. Switch to Active Form and fight the wind with your heightened dash abilities, or this attack may push you to your death! Normal dash abilities can still allow you to get past the cyclones, but you have to mash the button to resist the torrent of air flow. You can also cling to the wall of the platform, but it's way too narrow to stay perched on it for very long. You'll have to use an aggressive series of small and rapid wall-jumps to avoid sliding off or leaping back into the path of Harpuia's cyclones. If you manage to punch through the cyclones, you have a chance to hit Harpuia from the back and inflict damage without colliding with him.

EX Skill: Sonic Hurricane
When his HP drops under half, Harpuia EX Skill comes out. He creates an atmospheric pressure bomb from his head crystal, then unleashes it. When it explodes, it mimics a hurricane vortex, sucking in pieces of the room with gale force winds. After it takes in a few tons of raw material, it reverses direction and spits them back out again. Try to stick to the edge of the room from underneath Harpuia while the junk continues to scatter. Keep the Z-Saber charged for any debris that comes close. You can clear away a lot with the Laser Shot, Triple Shot, or a Shield Boomerang throw. However, none of these moves provide a constant form of protection for Zero. For that, you need to use the Chain Rod's spin attack as a frontal guard that can chop up incoming debris, but it lacks the strength to destroy the debris effectively. To play it safe, switch to the Power Form if you have obtained it and spam the Chain Rod's charged attack until the hurricane disperses. This Form will amp up the damage inflicted by the Chain Rod and easily slice up debris without the worry of it slipping through your defense.

Harpuia's certainly become a raging storm indeed. He deserves this, but honor comes first. You have to save him! Give him a few strikes to head, and he's finished.

A Warrior's Plea
With some short circuits, the Elves disconnect from Harpuia and he reverts back to normal. He's completely wasted, and very close to death. He can barely speak, but he commands Zero to protect Master X and the world from Elpizo. Zero understands quite well. Harpuia uses his reserve power to teleport to a repair bay. Only Zero is left to stop Elpizo...

You've narrowly escaped death, prevailed through over a dozen fights, collected the various Forms, Cyber-Elves, and EX Skills. Now comes the last, ultimate task at hand: Elpizo must fall! Your final encounter awaits in the sacred chamber known as Yggdrasil... Neo Arcadia's threshold.