Mega Man X2/The Opening Stage

The Maverick Reploid Factory
The quest begins at the outside of the Maverick Reploid Factory, the place where the last remnants of the Mavericks are reported to be gathered. It is up to X and his group of Hunters to enter and destroy the Mavericks.

As the stage starts you'll notice it has a little bit of action happening, with X whisking across the landscape while energy beams miss him and end up hitting his friend. X crashes his bike into a robot outside of the factory, and Ready appears on the screen.

So it is that you must now start, and to begin with clear away that machine before it can hurt you. Get used to controlling X, for you'll need to become accustomed to dashing, jumping and firing the buster all at the same time if you wish to get to the end of the game.

Most of what you encounter will prove a tad unamazing, such as the hopping drones that take very little time to dispatch. The main hallway that you enter will also have robots which drop down, blocking your route. Simply shoot them until they explode, as they lack any sort of offensive abilities.

As you progress further you'll notice a quickly downward sloping path, with an aerial drone buzzing about. Dispatch the drone and then continue downward, but be careful since at the very bottom on the leftmost side is a pit filled with dangerous parts that will hurt X.

Instead, leap onto the Drone construction bay and continue along the path, heading to your right. Even though the drones that are being made aren't fully completed they can still hurt you if you get hit by one of them, so avoid them and use the construction bays as safe havens. You'll notice, after getting past the area where the drones are being made, a strange arm like thing sticking down from the ceiling. Walk up to it and it will grab you, then throw you to the right. Hold right and try to jump up the wall there, then head over, jumping up the wall past that to reach the ladder.

This is where things can get dangerous, since after the ladder you'll be in a part where the walls slowly close in on X. Climb up the walls by jumping up them as quickly as you can and reach the top before it's too late! You might notice a drone hovering at the very top. While you can, you do not have to kill this drone, and this won't be the last time you see something like it again.

After getting past that area head to your right, leaping up and grabbing onto the ladder to ascend higher. There will be no opponents in this area, so if you're still having issues with understanding how to wall slide and wall jump you should practice here. Once more you head rightward, until you reach a hole which has an energy pellet on a small ledge. Fall down this hole, and get prepared to face off against the stage boss. You will notice at the bottom of the hole is a door, which automatically opens and lets you through, then closes behind you. This isn't going to be something unique, as all bosses will be found behind doors like that one, and midbosses tend to cower in their own rooms as well.

You'll notice that when he shows up a bar fills up. That is the boss life. Aim for his head and keep on firing, try to use fully charged up shots. You'll discover that this fight is extremely easy. After it is defeated the big reploid will flicker a few times, then explode causing debris to fall about, which you do not have to worry about. X will take his leave, and you'll be done with the stage.

This will then open up to a cutscene featuring three dark shadowy figures. These are the X-Hunters, and you will learn more about them as you battle the Mavericks in the game.

Tips
X is capable of more than just hopping and shooting little balls of energy, like Mega Man. He is capable of sliding down walls when you press the direction button in the direction of the wall. This will give you a more controlled descent.

You can also wall hop, by leaping from the wall slide, pressing against the wall and hitting the jump button again. This is a good way to quickly ascend, and is invaluable in some boss fights. You can increase your lateral spead by pressing dash when jumping from walls.

Remember, X has a buster that is capable of multiple levels of power. Holding down the fire button begins a charge process. The first level surrounds X with blue balls of energy, the second being more of a white-yellow hue.

X may seem weak now, when you look at his health, but as the game progresses you'll discover Heart Containers that increase his maximum health and armor parts that will give him such abilities as even more charging potential, or increased resistance to damage. Seek these out, as they will be integral in your success as X.