Mega Man Zero 4

Zero begins the game with this. Operates very much like traditional arm cannons. It fires rapid shots and can also be charged.

This works very much like Zero’s sabers from the X series, except he can actually charge this one.

Zero punches. By itself, this weapon is of little use as it has almost no range and does only average damage. However, you can use this to snatch weapons from enemies or grab objects in the environment.

Charged shots turn into balls of fire that explode into eight smaller shots that fly in eight directions for a brief distance when the super-shot strikes something.

A basic upward flaming saber slash. Useful for setting things on fire.

Zero forms a slash that travels forward. The slash doesn’t particularly look like ice but it acts like ice when it hits things.

When you charge up your buster, this fires an ice spear rather than your normal shot. It travels slowly; you can outrun it at Zero’s default speed.

A downstab that produces two chunks of debris that fly off to either side of Zero.

Zero dashes forward with a lightning lance. If you hit a wall or other object with this, it will produce two lightning orbs that travel along the walls and floors for a short distance.

Yes, it’s actually called this. It’s not the same as the one in the original series; in fact, this one is downright odd. When you charge up your buster, your super-shots output a glowing rectangle that hangs in the air for a few seconds. It is capable of damaging and briefly paralyzing enemies that touch the rectangle.

A Lightning-based shot that operates in a strange manner. As you charge up your buster, Zero forms a small ball of electricity on the end of his gun. This ball can absorb certain enemy shots. Release the button to shoot the sphere forward. The main problem with this weapon is that if you take damage while charging, you lose the special properties of your shot and just end up with an ordinary super-shot. This can make it very difficult to use this against things that are weak against Lightning.

Energy pellets refill your life meter. The small ones refill 2 units—not a whole lot, but it can really add up. They will also fill your Sub-Tanks if your life meter is full.

These globes are the same as energy pellets except that more energy is refilled.

These are like currency, except they’re used to raise Cyber-elves instead of purchasing things. (Which is the same thing, basically.) They come in large and small sizes, just like energy pellets and capsules. Large ones are worth 16, small ones are worth 4.

These are the 1-Ups of this game, which allow you to retry after you die. Generally you will find them lying around stages. They are dropped by enemies, but rarely. Zero can carry up to 9 of them at a time.

These are permanent containers that can be used to store spare energy and carry it around until it is needed. They are reusable and can be refilled as often as necessary. To fill a Sub-Tank, acquire energy when your energy meter is full, and the energy will go to your tank instead. Tanks are used off the subscreen and refill your life meter. You can use a Tank that isn’t yet full, but it might not restore all of your energy.

This eliminates Zero’s horizontal recoil (as seen in the game play stats).

This helmet lets Zero recover health by standing still. However, unlike most other helmets of this type, this will not fill his Sub-Tanks. You will need to use the Cyber-elf that drops life energy pellets for that.

These boots enable a typical double-jump, although note that Zero’s second jump won’t be anywhere near as high as his initial one. Still, the double-jump can really be a lifesaver as well as allow you to reach higher areas.

These boots slow down the speed at which you slide down walls.

Zero charges up faster while he’s using this. Because you can get super-shots and charged slashes off more frequently, this is particularly useful during boss battles.

These boots increase your running speed slightly. Along with the obvious advantages, this can also be enough to outrun certain winds and magnetic pulls that would draw you in or shove you away otherwise.

This body armor allows your saber to reflect certain enemy shots. Doesn’t work against everything, of course.

These boots allow you to walk on ice as if it was normal ground.

These boots prevent you from being pushed by wind or pulled by magnets. However, they only work while you are on the ground. You’ll still feel the effects while you are in the air.

This body armor increases Zero’s defense against spikes. While he is wearing this, spikes and other traps that would normally kill him instantly will simply deal a chunk of damage instead. Note that this does not help against attacks which crush you.

This helmet adds 1 use to all weapons that you swipe using the Zero Knuckle. So for example, if the weapon normally comes with 6 uses, you get 7. Has no effect on weapons with infinite use, of course.

Zero was awakened by Ciel after 100 years of stasis. With his memory gone, most of his past is unknown. He joins up with Ciel’s resistance force to battle Neo Arcadia, which for some reason is trying to eliminate Reploids.

This human scientist was involved in Reploid research before Reploids were banned. Now she runs a resistance group which strives to save Reploids who are being hunted down and destroyed.

This is a Reploid scientist who helps out the outcast Reploids and makes weapons for Zero.

This scientist was banished from Neo Arcadia years ago when he started the Elf Wars using the Dark Elf and Omega.

A human reporter who has fled from Neo Arcadia with a small band of humans. She was once rescued by Craft.

A conflicted Reploid who wants to help humans, but he is convinced that the only way to do so is to allow Dr. Weil to have his way.

Lunaedge can jump and spin himself up in a ball and bounce around the room. He can also form ice statue doubles of himself which, if you don’t destroy them, will attack you as well. His main attack are the slashes he can make with the things on his arms. Some of them can be quite large, requiring dexterity to avoid them. He reacts to Fire.

This guy can be a pain, which is unfortunate because his stage isn’t really so bad. His shell will protect him from attacks from the back, but you can still damage him from the front. (Sometimes when you do damage to him, he’ll turn around to shield himself. Just wait until he turns back around, and hit him again.) His most annoying attack is the large laser he fires in a circle. You’re supposed to avoid this by climbing the wall and dash-jumping over him, but just to be irritating, Genblem himself also has little flames coming out of his sides which usually catch you and throw you out of the air. Genblem can also spin around and bounce off the walls as he moves upward, which he usually does as a prelude to using his laser. In addition, he can toss flames and use an uppercut. He reacts to Lightning.

A giant thing with an axe who talks so slowly that even his allies rarely bother to wait for him to finish a sentence. His axe serves to protect him slightly, but just hit him around it. He jumps around and also creates a piece of junk which magnetically draws debris to itself, which might damage you along the way. When the chunk is big enough, it drops to the ground and Magnus slashes it into two with his axe, sending the two pieces flying horizontally in two directions. If you get close he might grab you and fling you, or change your polarity which makes it difficult for you to move and jump. He can also go all to pieces (literally) and attack you with each of his body parts separately (hit his head).

A half drill, half plant-like robot. She goes into the ceiling or the floor and tosses goo (honey?) at you. The globs will stick to you and hinder your jumping and climbing of walls if they strike you; also, they seem to attract hornets. Mandrago can turn herself into a top, and she’ll recover health on sunny mode. Oh, and she can grow little plant things to shoot at you or grab you—these you’ll want to destroy. And she can send bursts of dust across the ground, which you’ll want to stay high for.

(I don’t even want to comment on his name.) This fight takes place on platforms hovering over nothingness. The wind keeps changing directions (watch the direction of the rain). Pegasolata flies and often is too high up to hit him with the buster (he also seems to purposefully move higher when you shoot—smart guy). He swoops and can knock you sideways if he hits you. He tosses eletric spears which, if they hit a platform, “stick” to it for a few seconds, then explode into a burst of shots. He can create a horizontal beam of electricity across the area. He can propel himself forward like a comet. And so forth. One strategy is to make him come to you. Hit him once (with a charged shot or slash), then run to the other side of the battle field and keep firing super-shots off the screen—you’ll score hits even when you can’t see him. If he gets close, whack him then move to the other side. Rinse, repeat.

A chicken, essentially. He hops around and tosses dagger-like things. Parts of the floor move slightly up and down during this battle, which hurts Cocapetri more than it helps him, because it can interfere with his dash attack. He can paralyze Zero with a special shot with a unique graphic, so watch out for it. He can also toss down a little round robot that will walk back and forth until you destroy it. Overall, Cocapetri isn’t a huge threat, although he’s fairly fast.

There will be sunlight in the boss room if you are playing in sunny mode or if you didn’t destroy all of the generators. Titanion herself (at least, she sounds like a she) stays high almost all of the time, out of reach of normal super-shots. Try charged saber slashes. She can fly back and forth shooting flames down at you, and also toss circular blades at you (you can destroy the blades if you do enough damage to them). And she drops bombs on the ground that will blow up into bursts of flame after a few seconds if you don’t destroy them (use the saber).

A squid which can go into a warp hole and then send attacks out the hole at you. But this is actually fairly easy to dodge: just keep moving. He also has long trains of circle-beams which travel in lines and rebound off walls. And he can form ice blocks in the air—er—water. You can destroy them, so they aren’t a huge threat. You can’t climb the walls in this battle field when they are covered in ice, but the water gives you extra buoyancy for jumping.

A stationary cannon that can turn its barrel around to face toward you. They can be found on the floor, walls, or ceiling.

A modified version of the Shotloid from previous games. This little guy shuffles along and tries to whack you with the axe mounted above it.

A rather simple enemy that walks along and shoots at you. It can also be found on ceilings, though when you walk underneath it, it ends to drop down to the floor.

These come from the Mechameson. They hop forward dropping fiery bombs. Mostly they try to overwhelm you with sheer numbers, but individually they aren’t very powerful.

This guy dips and soars through the air, dropping fire bombs at you. The bombs explode into bursts of flame that travel along the ground for a few seconds. Try to knock the Bongal out of the air before it can drop its payload.

A worm-like robot that comes in varying lengths. It moves slowly through the air and often tries to head toward you, although sometimes it simply circles. A Bonsect will occasionally blow itself up, tossing debris in all directions.

A little cannon that sits on floors and ceilings. It shoots a spray of shots in a wide semi-circle. You can run between the shots, or try to destroy the cannon before it can shoot.

These appear and disappear. They shoot dart-like projectiles in four directions simultaneously.

A cyberspace enemy that can surround itself with electricity. However they are really of little threat—just keep your distance and shoot at them. When they are destroyed the orbs in their centers drop to the ground.

This cannon fires small blue lasers which can change directions once. When the laser gets near you, it will turn so that it is heading in your direction, so this is something to watch out for. The weapon you grab from the E-Laser has similar homing properties.

Another robot that is discharged by the Mechameson. These simply move in circular patterns through the air, releasing balls of lightning. They aren’t very dangerous if you keep your distance.

This acts as a platform during the particle beam stage; you can jump on top of it to reach higher areas to avoid the laser. The Faital will shoot flames out of its sides when it is raised.

A large robot that doesn’t move. Instead, it drills into the ground and kicks up debris which can damage you. Shoot at it from a distance for best results, or slash it while it isn’t drilling.

This is an ice-based tank that moves back and forth, tossing chunks of ice in an arc. If the ball of ice lands on the ground or a wall or something, it will stick for a few moments as a spiky clump of ice. These ice spikes don’t kill you instantly, but they do hurt.

These are a component of the mini-boss in the Artificial Sun stage. I list them here mostly because they are necessary for several parts that you can build, and this is the only place where they are found.

These hang on horizontal lines and move from one end to the other. If you hit them, they’ll pause briefly, then keep moving. When they reach the end of the line they simply blow up. The trickiest part with these things is catching the items they drop after you destroy them, since such items tend to quickly scroll themselves off the screen.

One of the more common enemies. You can destroy the propeller on top separately from the cannon itself. If you destroy the propeller first, the cannon will drop to the ground, stranded. If you destroy the cannon first, the propeller rises upward; jump up and grab the handle underneath and you can ride it up.

These enemies come from the Mechameson. They are surrounded by six ice crystals. They float forward for a few moments, then shoot their crystals outward in six directions. Destroy them before they get a chance to do this.

A relatively fast little critter that will move back and forth trying to get to you. It can jump too, so be on guard. You can usually hear them coming before you can see them.

These frogs tend to hang out safely underwater, often in bottomless pits where you can’t get at them, and lash upward at you with their long tongues. Be careful because their attack can go through platforms and other solid objects to reach you.

This flamethrower is shielded from one side. You can grab its shield with the Zero Knuckle, but it will still continue to blast you with its flames. Attack from a distance for the easiest time.

There are two variations of these, pink and blue, to match the polarities of the magnetic stage. When you are a blue polarity, you will repel blue MagneMines and attract pink ones, and vice versa when you are pink. MagneMines blow up when you strike them.

Like with the MagneMines, there are two versions of this. These jump toward you and also toss debris. Sometimes the debris can take you by surprise when it comes down from above, so keep a sharp eye out.

The mother of all enemies—or at least some of them. This is essentially a container that will continuously release other enemies at periodic intervals if you let it. Like all enemies that release other enemies, these can be useful for item-gathering purposes: just stand there destroying the enemies it is releasing without harming the Mechameson itself, and you have an endless supply of energy crystals, life energy, and so forth.

This thing bounces up and down; it shoots two bullets to either side when it reaches the peak of its jump. If you are on the ground the bullets will usually go right over your head; however, the game designers have a habit of placing MeduHoppers where they will just barely clip your feet with their shots. Knowing when to jump—and when not to—is the key.

A classic enemy with a classic attack pattern. These are more or less invulnerable while their hats are down, but when they rise up to run toward you, you can hit them.

The mini-boss in the Magnetic Zone stage drops these. I mention them here mostly because you can get parts from the mini crabs to use in building items. There are two variations, a MiniCrabanB and MiniCrabanR.

A mole-like robot with a drill for a nose. It drills its way up from underground and then pokes its head up to shoot at you. The timing of these guys means they usually try to come up right underneath your feet. Sometimes the signs of their presence are easy to miss, so if you know that Molegules will be around, keep your eyes pealed for the tell-tale disturbance in the dirt that signals one’s appearance.

This is like the Axeloid except it has a hammer. These are found only in one stage: the mini-stage event where you save the human encampment. Since you can’t revisit this stage, you have just one opportunity to get their parts. Moloids have a gimmick where they use their hammers to whack the water pumps and spray you with water. This hurts you about as much as when you use your water gun on enemies...

Probably this was supposed to be “NeedleBalloon” but lack of space cut it short. These are essentially balloon fish that shoot off spikes from their bodies. Try to destroy them as soon as you see them and they won’t get a chance to fire.

These crabs run around carrying objects between their two pinchers. Most of them hoist bombs which they will toss at you. There is one variation that carts around a card key instead. You can use the Zero Knuckle to grab the object that one of these things is carrying.

A plant-like robot that grabs at you with its pinchers. If it snatches you, it will chomp at you for a second, then fling you away. This can often result in you getting tossed onto spikes or into a pit or something, so try to avoid being grabbed. You can eliminate these things in one of two ways: either grab them straight out of the ground with the Zero Knuckle, or hit them with a fire-based weapon. Barring that, try to jump over them with the right timing so that you don’t get grabbed.

This thing floats in the air and occasionally sends two balls of electricity rolling along the ground. Just keep an eye out and prepare to jump the spheres as you approach. If you’re fast you can destroy these things before they have a chance to fire.

This cannon pops up and tosses heavy metal balls that bounce and roll toward you. You can only damage the cannon while it is up and firing. When the dome is closed over it, it is relatively invulnerable.

A flying robot that shoots two lasers in diagonal directions to either side. The lasers bounce off floors and walls and such, so be wary.

This tank moves back and forth gathering mud and dirt. If you are underneath it, it will stop and dump its payload over the edge of its platform, trying to hit you with the waterfall of mud. The SandDozer can only really be hurt from behind.

A reoccurring enemy that is even in the original Mega Man games. This quiet robot simply moves toward you. It explodes when it hits something. You can strike it with your weapons to send it careening away from you, where it will blow up when it strikes an object. You can use this to damage other enemies or blow open passages.

These things can be pesky because their throwing star shaped shots can pass through walls, platforms, and any other obstacle to reach you. The Triaformer moves in a triangle formation and produces the three shots, then sends them all toward you at once. If you can destroy the Triaformer before it finishes making its three shots, all of the shots will disappear as well, and you will interrupt its attack.

These fire beams in two different patterns. In particular, they alternate between whether you need to stand directly below them or to either side to avoid being hit. TriRays can’t be destroyed.

A Pantheon-like robot (they’re called Variants here) with claws for hands. This robot likes to hide in snow and pop out at you. Even the snow that it tosses aside when it comes forth can damage you. These robots are relatively fast but have no long-ranged attack.

This robot hangs from horizontal lines and slashes at you with the blade on its arm. Keep your distance and it isn’t very threatening. You can knock it clean off the line with a correctly-aimed blow.

The most common of the Variants; this guy tosses fiery bombs that burst into a brief flame when they hit a platform or the floor. Even the flame can damage you, which, depending on the position of the V.Fire, can make these things difficult to approach. When you hit a V.Fire you interrupt its shot, so this can buy yourself some breather time.

Similar to the V.Fire except this one shoots a missile forward which pauses for a split second, then breaks into a bunch of smaller missiles which spread out before moving forward. Because of this type of attack formation, the missiles cover quite a wide area. The best idea is to destroy the V.Missile and the shots that it fires before the missiles have a chance to spread out.

A crab-like robot that is protected by its shell. Either hit it with your saber, or snatch the shell using the Zero Knuckle. Once the crab is unprotected, it will bounce backward away from you as if frightened, and shoot at you from a distance.