Mega Man ZX - Hurricaune Speedrun [Hard Mode, No Damage]

This speedrun of Hurricaune the Wolveroid’s stage, Area I, was inspired by a trick I learned from @marcusmayo. Area I has three branching paths leading to Hurricaune. Two of them are lengthy trips through parts of the facility she inhabits, each complete with a miniboss, while the third is an enormous shortcut protected by spikes covering a breakable wall. I always thought that this shortcut was inaccessible without damage boosting; however, a specially placed enemy can save you the trouble of navigating the more treacherous paths.

For the purposes of this run, I’m treating Hurricaune’s stage as an individual level. ZX’s interconnected nature means that, normally, taking things like detours for weapon energy is necessary when considering the game holistically. I arrive with full energy for all Biometals, which is important for LX specifically. This, along with a preset Buster Edit for FX, saves me a decent chunk of time. There are backup options available too.

The opening rainy area is a race against the clock. The goal is to climb up the tall structure next to the Platform Cannons without stopping to wait for their bullets to pass by. It’s narrowly possible to air dash upward past an incoming bullet with some brisk wall jump cancels, but there’s an incredibly crucial bit of knowledge to enable this possibility. When slashing the bottom Platform Cannon, you must initiate the slash well in advance of landing. Model HX suffers a crippling amount of landing lag during an aerial slash animation. If you land in the middle of the animation, you’ll be unable to dash or jump until it’s completed; moving forward with walking speed is possible if you were holding the direction prior to landing. Effectively, you can get “stuck” on the platform, which robs you of the chance to slink past the bullets; it’s a guaranteed snipe for the Platform Cannon.

There’s another major caveat here related to the Platform Cannons’ cycle of movement. To my knowledge, they function on a global cycle. Skipping the cutscene is mandatory, but additionally, the cycle you see here is only guaranteed from a cold boot of the game. For whatever reason, it appears that the value that governing their position is kept in RAM upon a soft reset; keep this in mind.

Next up is the enemy that does players the honor of opening the path forward: the Angle Cannon. The projectile it shoots is capable of destroying the specific set of spikes adorning the rickety wall that Model FX can blast through. As the name implies, you can set the projectile’s angle by attacking the cannon. The fastest way to do this is to set a Buster Edit two blocks forward, then down. Firing three times is all that’s needed before dropping off the ladder and wall jumping toward the now accessible block. Sliding down the wall next to the Angle Cannon and striking it with ZX/HX/LX works as well, but it’ll fire before it’s in proper position, so you’ll have to wait an extra cycle, which in turn changes the placement of the two Platform Cannons later.

The tenebrous halls that compose the shortcut might seem intimidating, but the Crickaleaps lurking within lack any variability. Once you develop a method of trashing them while maintaining speed, you’re golden. I stick with FX for the first dark room; its projectiles pierce through them akin to a charged buster. LX takes point in the second room, with its excellent Halberd slash paving the way.

The two Platform Cannons playing seesaw near the low spiked ceiling introduce some uncertainty. Their exact coordinates during your arrival depend on how cleanly you move up to that point, down to the frame. Earlier is better, of course, but there is something troublesome I observed. I lost a few attempts by dashing into the first Platform Cannon despite not holding a direction, which should result in safely dropping past the ledge at the earliest possible moment. I was unable to determine if I was too early, too late, or somewhere in between when it happened.

Hurricaune’s “fight” ends hilariously quickly thanks to LX Overdrive. It’s really just a check to see if you can consistently perform the requisite inputs to keep her stunlocked by catching her before she rockets up. My method for the first portion is thus:

-Hold left as the warning sign fades.
-Activate Overdrive.
-Jump and dash within a few frames of each other (this works because delayed dash jumps are a returning mechanic in ZX).
-Slash once in the air, again on the ground, then hold the button to begin charging.
-Deactivate Overdrive.

It ends up being a smooth motion of inputs, somewhat like you’d expect in a fighting game. I briefly reposition myself to ensure that I avoid Hurricaune’s weak point during the next combo. When situated, reapply Overdrive and combo a charged slash into a normal ground slash. Lastly, if you lack energy for LX, there’s a large pickup you can swipe on a ledge above the door leaving the second dark room.

Thanks for watching!

[marcusmayo]

Glad my video helped you! I'll return to Zx soon, promise!

[leongyuhinleong]

Well I am glad Marcus Mayo helped you a lot, even though he has recently deleted the ZX videos, not sure when will he return to playing them again. Also you killed that boss with just 4 overdrive boosted swipes without breaking a sweat. Still have a lot to learn about this game, didn’t know you can bypass it’s i-frames like that.

[rebycVG]

I had to rewind the boss fight cause it was finished too quickly. ._.

[LightningEdge]

If you have Quick Charge equipped for NG+ rerun, you can pre-emptively leave an ice platform before his i-frames from the first ground slash dissipates. The ice platform will immediately reapply the stun and damage, allowing you to finish him off with the 2nd cycle. It's more timing-lenient in exchange for 5 total hits instead of 4.