Mega Man 3/Doc Man in Needle stage

After Mega Man beat the eight Robot Masters, four new enemies appear. The four stages can be cleared in any order. Since Mega Man 3 was made in Japan, let's follow the Japanese reading order: Needle Man's stage first.

Save the Spark Shock and the Hard Knuckle for the boss fight. Use the other weapons freely.

Stage walkthrough, part 1
Item list:
 * 1 large E-capsule
 * 1 extra life
 * 1 Energy can

Enemies list, sorted by appearance:
 * Hari Harry - a porcupine robot; "hari" is Japanese for "needle"; it's especially weak against the Gemini Laser (in the NES version) and the Top Spin (in the remake: wait for the moment when he stops moving).
 * Needle Press - invincible stalactites; slide under them.
 * Giant Springer - a big, red, hemi-spherical robot that shoots homing missiles; it takes 8 shots from the Mega Buster, or 4 shots from most weapons; the Shadow Blade is probably the best way to destroy it and its missiles.

Air Doc Man
Air-Docman has the same weaknesses as Magnetman: Magnet Missiles and Spark Shocks. Only Spark Shocks are able to slip past his tornadoes of death. Running into him does severe damage, so avoid that.

If Mega Man is destroyed during the battle, he will restart from the beginning of the stage.

Stage walkthrough, part 2


Item list:
 * 6 large W-capsules (use them to recharge the Rush Jet)
 * 1 large E-capsules

Enemies list, sorted by appearance:
 * Yambow - "yambow" is Japanese for "dragonfly"; dodge them while flying on the Rush Jet.
 * Parasyu - parachute robots; if they hit Mega Man, they can push him in a pit; dodge them by flying at low altitud on the Rush Jet.
 * Bubukan - a pole-jumping robot; weak against Shadow Blade and Top Spin.
 * Giant Metall - The sub-boss of this stage; the Shadow Blade is the most effective weapon against it.
 * Propeller Metall - they rise, then shoot from above; weak against most weapons.
 * Cannon - an armored hemi-spherical cannon; it can be damaged only when it is open; easily destroyed using a Shadow Blade or Magnet Missile.

Crash Doc Man
Crash Man seems like the grandfather of Hard Man, as their weapons do much the same thing.

Crash-Docman has the same weaknesses as Topman: Hard Knuckle and, to a lesser extent, Top Spin. Using Hard Knuckles on him, he'll be quick work.

In the remake Mega Man The Wily Wars, the Hard Knuckle is too slow to hit Crash-Docman. Instead, if Mega Man uses the Needle Cannon, the enemy will walk back and forth without ever attacking.