Bombman!

 


Bombman Stage Overview- Bombman’s stage is first on my list as it provides a good place to get an understanding of Megaman’s movements, and the stage itself is pretty straightforward. It contains a few explosive enemies, which can be easily dealt with if you keep your distance.

Bombman Stage Enemies- Kamadohma, Boom Boom Boom, Screw Driver, Blaster, Sniper Joe, Killer Bomb, Gabyoall, Man Bu, Adhering Suzy

Bombman Stage Walkthrough- No sooner than you arrive and take a few steps forward, the first Kamadohma (leaping robot) starts to jump towards you and attack you. Hitting these things on the ground with the standard Mega Buster is impossible when they’re on the same plane as you, so wait for them to take to the sky and then shoot them down. They only take one hit to destroy, so fire off a pair of shots just to make sure you don’t miss and risk having it smash into you. Five of these baddies will show up and try to take you down as you jump over the first few ledges, so take them down as quickly as they show up to avoid being chased by a small army.

After a short break, you find yourself facing a small chasm next to another set of ledges. Don’t approach this too fast just yet, as a “Boom Boom Boom”-type bomb will jump out of the pit and explode above it, sending four smaller objects onto the ground around it. Double back for a second to avoid the blast and proceed forth over the pit before another one shows up. After the first pit four more will be in front of you. Instead of doubling back like the first one, run forward into the wall in front of each pit- the debris will fly over your head and you can jump forward and repeat until you clear this area.

After escaping the bomb pits, you find yourself over looking a small cliff with a Screw Driver (roto cannon) at the bottom. These things spray a five-shot patter of plasma that attacks it’s sides, directly over head area, and two 45-degree areas between, and they fire twice before sinking back into the floor for a few seconds. Stand on this ledge in the center and wait for the two shots to sail over you head before going down the ledge and opening fire on the cannon. If you’re quick enough, it’ll raise up as soon as you touch the ground and you’ll destroy it before it can even fire another shot, allowing you to continue forth. A few steps after destroying the first Screw Driver, a second will appear- destroy this one as quickly as possible and you can avoid any damage. After that, watch for a somewhat hidden Screw Driver to pop out from just behind a floating block and kill it fast.

After the three Screw Drivers have been dealt with, you’ll find yourself in an area with two small health pick ups, a large weapon energy item, and a ladder at the very top-right corner. Hopefully, you won’t need any of the items and you can proceed up the ladder.

Once the screen changes, you’ll find the ladder to be a very tall one with a battery of four Blasters mounted vertically on a wall next to another ladder to your left. Honestly, it’s very tough to avoid being hit at least once unless you memorize the pattern of the guns. To make matters worse, the Blasters are shielded whenever they’re not firing, so you can only destroy them when they’re firing in their automated pattern. Luckily, they only take one shot to destroy, so destroy them one by one as you move up the ladder. Remember that you’ll be knocked off the ladder if you’re hit, so push “up” as soon as you get shot to avoid falling to the screen below and having to start this fight all over again. As a reward for you battle, a large heath item will be waiting on a ledge beneath the second ladder, so grab it if you need it and proceed up the third ladder to the very left.

After making your way up the ladder, keep moving to the right and you find the first Sniper Joe of the game. These guys can be tough to deal with if you’re not patient, so shoot only when they’ve made a shot of their own or are jumping. They’re shielded from any attack, so you’ll have to wait for their moves and avoid any shots they make by leaping over them. This’ll probably take a bit longer than any other enemy fight before, so stay patient to avoid unnecessary damage. Once the Joe has been killed, keep moving forward and you’ll run a small stretch of ground before finding a Killer Bomb headed right for you in a zigzag pattern. Instead of destroying these things, you’re better off attempting to jump over them, as when you shoot them they explode and a rather large and very damaging explosion happens that you do not want to find yourself in.

As you avoid the Killer Bombs, you’ll note how this part of the stage looks exactly like the bomb pits from the start of the stage, with Blasters mounted on the walls instead of Boom Boom Booms jumping out of the crevices. Continue to avoid shooting the Killer Bombs while taking out the Blasters as you go, making constant progress. The Killer Bombs won’t stop coming as you make your way up a ladder at the end of the second series of pits and you’ll be faced with a small maze of ledges patrolled by Gabyoalls. These things are annoying and can only be frozen for a second with the Mega Buster, and with the Killer Bombs continuing to stream forward, it’s best to do your best to avoid these enemies by jumping over them, which can be tricky. Gabyoalls speed up when you’re on the same level as them and slow down when you jump, so you’ll have to leap over them just as they’re about to crash into you. Thankfully, you don’t have to actually go down the zigzag maze and you can just keep going right all the way until you reach the ladder in the upper right corner. Get up that ladder fast, man.

You’ll be on another long ladder as the screen changes (this screen is a return point in case you die in a part after this), with a short series of blocks that you must use to jump to the ladder on the left side of the screen. The Killer Bombs are still coming, so move quickly and jump over them when you have to. After you get up the ladder, you’ll be faced with your next challenge- spikes. In this game, spikes mean instant death even if you’re “invincible” after an enemy has hit you, so avoid standing at the edge of a block for too long. As you use the series of ledges to get over the spikes, a few Man Bus will slowly come from the right side of the screen, replacing the Killer Bombs. These things shoot out a pattern of 8 shots in assorted directions when they stop for a second. And of course they’re bullet proof as they travel, so only shoot them when you see the whites of their eyes.

After getting over the small area of spikes, avoid any other Man Bus and you find another ladder. Go up and you see a Sniper Joe guarding a 1up in a small room midway down the fall from the top of the ledge. Walk over the side of the ledge and keep pressing “right” to land on the entrance to the room. Luckily, the Joe is on a ledge lower than you, so he can’t shoot you. Fire a few shots at him whenever he jumps to eventually end him and take your bounty. 1ups are really hard to come by in this game, and with no E-tanks to work with, they’re your best friends. Get them whenever you can.

After doubling back out of the room and down the ledge, keep running right until you’ve come across a large step in front of the door to Bombman’s room. A sniper Joe will be on top of the step waiting for you, so stay on the lower lever and shoot him whenever he’s vulnerable. By now, you should know the deal with these guys, so take the time to properly defeat them and avoid taking damage you don’t need to take. Enter the door by walking into it. Past the door, you’ll be in a hallway with a steep decline with a ladder in the center. Jump on top of the ladder and proceed down until the screen changes.

Once the screen changes, there’ll be four Adhering Suzies moving to the left side. As soon as they’re all on the left side of the ladder, jump off and curve to the left, grabbing onto the ladder as the screen changes again. Wait for the second batch of Suzies to move to the left and jump down again to have a little powwow with Bombman…

Boss Fight: Bombman- For his Wily Wars appearance, Bombman has changed his battle tactics slightly. In the NES version, he would never be anywhere near one of his own exploding bombs, meaning you could stay near him and avoid his bombs while taking whatever shots you could as he jumped over you. In the WW version, he’s a bit braver and he’ll be right there as his Hyper Bomb explodes. Naturally, it doesn’t damage him, but it’ll smack you around if you get caught in it. Still, try to stay near him to keep him jumping around. Even though he’s a bit more difficult in this game, he’s still fairly easy to beat compared to the other Robot Masters, and it’s possible to avoid being hit once. Just steer clear of the Hyper Bomb’s slow moving radial blast while avoiding Bombman’s crazy jumps and you should do just fine even without the Fire Storm (Bombman’s weakness). This fight shouldn’t take very long, and you’ll most likely have your prize in around thirty seconds.

Weapon Profile: Hyper Bomb- After beating Bombman, you’ll get his signature weapon. While the concept of having some big ol’ bombs is cool, they run on a fairly long timer. Quicker enemies will be able avoid it’s blast with ease, so timing is hard to get down to a science with this weapon. It’s not particularly useful in most stages, but it does have a few shining moments later in the game. It’ll be most useful when you take on Gutsman.

Oh hell, let’s just say it…Bombman’s weapon sucks. There. I said it. Happy?
 


Next Stage: Gutsman