Mega Man Zero 2 (GBA), no damage taken in Phoenix Magnion's stage while achieving an S-Rank (100 points); Active Form only. This video is part of a series; a playthrough dedicated to using only the Active Form for more stylish and fresh gameplay. This is a NG+ file.
Phoenix Magnion (Power Room) Overview:
Decided to tackle this stage first due to it being the best to get Grade 2 charge from the getgo, and Phoenix gives you arguably the best EX Skill in the game for the Z-Saber: Tenshouzan. Granted, I already have all the EX skills due to NG+, but I'm not using them until I defeat the boss that gives it to me. I only did NG+ to have Active Form right away. Digressing, charged Z-Buster isn't as cheap as charged Z-Saber against bosses, so I feel comfortable using it for reliable damage on bosses early on so they won't drag on for too long.
The stage itself is fairly easy, albeit with a couple annoyances here and there. The crawling Pantheons have a random habit of jumping when you get close to them, though this rarely happens. However, if you're on flat terrain with plenty of room behind them, a rolling slash will prevent that. For other situations (and Forms), you just have to pray the RNG doesn't let him jump, because he does it FAST. A single buster shot can push him back and grade 1 chage/single saber strikes kill him outright, but it's still fairly challenging to react on instinct.
The power reactors normally are a non-issue if you're using speedrunning strats. Throwing a charged Shield Boomerang at the edge of the reactor destroys it instantly with the thunder chip (which we don't have yet), but... there's no fun in that. Instead, I opted a more buster leveling effective strat against these. However, once the reactors start having their bullets bounce, you've got to time your shots between the gaps it has before it's ready to continue it's loop. The one that has it's shots slide on the floor can be tricky at first, but once you catch onto the pattern, it's just a matter of patience. Again, I could've used other strats like using it's gap closer to it and destroy it faster with Active Form's aerial rolling slash, but this was for buster leveling.
Getting the full 15 enemy points (yeah, correction for me saying 20 in the text commentary. Apologies) here can drag the stage out a little longer due to the optimal path for it being a "wait and strike", along with the crab mini-boss (who gives you a TON of buster EXP via lemon spam). You could save some time by just grinding at certain spots on the other path, but I wanted to show off this other path since a lot of players don't want to take it.
Phoenix Magnion... not really as hard as people claim he is. I gave him a 4/10 only because he changes the RNG just by merely being on screen for every frame... so he basically just does whatever he wants. I'd say this is bad, but I'm not a dedicated speedrunner who wants best time, so his special attack (which stalls time) is a non-issue. That said, all of Phoenix's attacks are perfectly dodgeable on reaction, as he ALWAYS gives you visual cues on what he'll do next. You can't damage him until he re-appears after a teleport from the ground, so you need to do one bait attack to catch him afterward (with my strat, I used the saber to bait, then the charged shot grade 2 to damage).
If Phoenix flies backward without teleporting, he'll dash directly into you. Since Active Form disables double and triple slash for the rolling slashes, you can't triple slash combo him with the shield boomerang exploit speedrunners use, so I just opted to be more fancy with a well-timed saber slash. If he teleports, he's got several options to attack you from above. But when he reappears, you'll see the position he's in and if you're fast enough, you can just smack him before he even does anything. ANY attack you do interrupts and stagger him, which is why non-charged attacks against him is an unwise idea (unless you WANT to shoot him with lemons all day...).
What gave him a 4 for me is... well, the erupting lava from the floors. It occurs in cycles and isn't an RNG thing, but if he does his special attack (which he turns gold and is invincible during) while that's going on... hoo boy. Let's just say it's not fun to deal with. Doable, but stressful to time your positioning for the two-way dodge. That's why when I see the screen shaking, I just stop and wait if he's on the ground, because Phoenix won't do ANYTHING for a while if you don't attempt to attack him.
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8 сен 2024
