In X5 you can, at the very least, grab all the collectibles in the 8 maverick stages in a few as 3 revisits using X and the Wing Spiral trick (watch a video of unarmored X grabbing the Gaea Armor parts to see it in action) Basically you: Use wing spiral -> pause at the height of the animation -> unpause -> repeat This essentially grants you a mini-jump every pause, allowing X to travel long distances horizontally and vertically, which is absolutely necessary in reducing the revisit count. 1. Spiral Pegasus: Begin by securing both the Heart Tank and Weapon Tank. And of course, conquer Spiral Pegasus for the Wing Spiral. 2. Revisit Spiral Pegasus's level and go to the screen with the light capsule, perform the Wing Spiral trick to fly over the spiky platform to the left and land on the platform where you acquire the Gaea Body Parts. (Revisit 1) 3. Crescent Grizzly: You can utilize the Wing Spiral trick to obtain the Heart Tank in the top of that middle area with the spikes. Collect the Sub-Tank and Falcon Foot Parts here as well. 4. Burn Dinorex: Procure the Heart Tank and Gaea Arm Parts. 5. Shining Firefly: Utilize the Wing Spiral trick to secure the Heart Tank at the start. Also grab the EX Tank (dinorex weapon) and Falcon Arm Parts (grizzly weapon). 6. Dark Necrobat: Collect the Heart Tank, Sub Tank, and Gaea Head Parts (firefly's weapon). 7. Spike Rosered: Head to the screen with the light capsule, do the Wing Spiral trick to gain height repeatedly, flying upwards past those spiky obstacles, obtaining the Gaea Foot Parts and completing the Gaea Armor (before the Falcon Armor!) 8. Return to the same stage equipped with the newly obtained Gaea Armor to nab the Heart Tank. (Revisit 2) 9. Tidal Whale: Equip the Gaea Armor to obtain the Heart Tank. (you could grab the heart tank with WS as well in the initial run and its revisit but it doesn't affect the mandatory revisit so just do the first run with Gaea and grab the heart tank) 10. Revisit Tidal Whale without the Gaea Armor to acquire the Falcon Body Parts. (Revisit 3) 11. Finally, equip the Gaea Armor and head to Volt Kraken to seize the Heart Tank in his level. Grabbing the Falcon Head Parts here as well completes the Falcon Armor and... Congratulations! You obtained all of X5's Maverick Stage collectibles in the least amount of revisits~
Finding out Zero’s Black Armor is purely cosmetic is truly heartbreaking because I could *swear* I was doing more damage as a kid even before getting the Z Saber upgrade
5:57 You can get up to the Heart without the falling platform or without the web weapon. You have to do a dash wall jump off the platform right below the Heart
4:41 I never get tired of doing that, it's so satisfying! X4 is so fun because its levels are designed in a way that you can really keep the pace going. The other games have moments like that too, but you can really fly through X4 as a reward for knowing how to react in each situation, and there's hardly any moments in the game that I can immediately point to as frustrating. The least backtracking routes top off those other positives quite nicely! Thank you for rounding out your least backtracking series! They were definitely great videos that highlighted the crafty nature of Mega Man X's design philosophy, taking full advantage of the stage select freedom that is part of why Mega Man 1 was considered so innovative for its time!
Thank you for making this video. While I've never really needed any of these least backtracking videos (as a seasoned MM player 😉), I ALWAYS enjoy hearing you talk about them, so if you keep making MM vids, I'll keep on watching 'em!
thanks for coming back man i didnt realize how recent this video is!, im helping guide a friend thru the MegaMan games and we have played 1-11 and just Started the X series which im way more familiar with and the X3 video helped me out so much, i can get thru 1,2 and 4 in about an hour but X3 has always been a challenge for me to route, and this X4 video is just icing on the cake since i only know Zero lol so thanks again for making these routing videos im sure you have helped many!
X4 is up there with X1 as not only my favorite game in the X series, but one of my favorite games in the entire franchise. They cooked so hard with Zero 's playstyle and even X is pretty cool with the 4th armor upgrades he gets.
X4, and Zero 3 have always been my favorite Megaman games, and some of my favorite 2-D platformers ever made. Very solid games with good flow, level design, and some of the best control in a 2-D platformer.
All this time, and I did not know about that! Though it might be difficult to aim the Ryuenjin to hit the electric web stand instead of Web Spider, I'll have to try that out. Too bad the developers didn't really make Shipuuga more useful...
I just had an opportunity to test the Ryuenjin against Web Spider. I tried to hit the web strand several times, and when Web Spider was as low to the ground as possible. The way Ryuenjin works is that Zero dashes forward slightly - and THEN rises into the air. Zero will not rise into the air at a forward angle. This means that the Ryuenjin attack will hit Web Spider each and every time without any way to hit the web strand first. Therefore, Web Spider does not crash to the ground like when X uses the Twin Slasher above Spider. I'm sorry to say, this myth appears to be BUSTED.
To be fair, it is difficult to get in the right position to hit him without crashing into him, but this has been my preferred method for defeating him for years
I never tried that for either X or Zero. I figured that Twin Slasher was Web Spider's weakness, going by no other boss is weak to it, but it didn't deal any extra damage or stun on hitting it, so I just switched back to just Bustin, as I had a lot of practice as a kid avoiding the webs.
Mega Man X4 is a really fun game, probably my personal favorite in the series. It's honestly pretty crazy how much freedom you're given to collect everything once you get the necessary tools at the start, and the bosses are (mostly) pretty fun to fight assuming you don't cheese them with weaknesses.
I’d love to say thank you. I was doing a Mega Man X 1-4 playthrough, and throughout all of these playthroughs, your guides always came in clutch. I just beat Mega Man X 4 as Mega Man (as it felt right to beat it with him first) 10 minutes ago, and started a few hours ago. When I came back to beat X 3 a few days ago (*Cough* Zero Project *Cough*) your guides always help me grasp an idea of how progressing through the game should look like, ESPECIALLY X 3 that game was so hard! But I have to say, when I started playing X 4 I didn’t really use a video guide until I beat all the mavericks from top left to right, then bottom left to right. When I came to this video I completely forgot that your X 3 video was supposed to be your last one and looked this up and was happy to see it! I got everything thanks to your guide, I killed all the bosses, killed Sigma, and it felt awesome!! Then I look back at this video to give it a like, then I see the date “12 days ago” and my mind was blown!! I couldn’t have found a better time frame to come back and start my X 1-4 playthrough! I’ve been watching your content for years now, loving your insightful reviews of games that most people have probably forgotten by now or have left the public conscious. Your perspective on gaming as a whole is wise, and always entertaining to hear. Honestly to the bottom of my heart, I hope this year goes great for you, and hope one day you’ll reach that one million milestone in the future, you deserve it. From a fan, best of luck to you J. 🏆
I like how 100% in all the X games after X4 requires multiple backtracks. Except X7, which mercifully doesn't require any backtracking if you manage to save all the Reploids in the first four stages (Ride Boarski, Splash Warfly, Tornado Tonion & Vanishing Gungaroo), because that unlocks X, who can get the pieces of the Glide Armor in the next four stages (Flame Hyenard, Snipe Anteator, Soldier Stonekong & Wind Crowrang). Just take Zero to Stonekong, since his double jump is required to get the EX Tank.
I guess I'm in the minority that backtracking by itself doesn't always annoy me. It was always kind of fun in a frustrating way to see something I couldn't reach and be like well what do I need to get up there. And as I go through the levels and gain more weapons and armor and techniques I figure it out. Now backtracking out the absolute ass is another story
@@matthewrock4725 I don't mind backtracking either; I love Metroid, Castlevania and the Metroidvania genre in general, all of which have backtracking baked into their very design, and it can be pretty fun to figure out what lets you go where to get what else. But at the same time, it's fun to see how well you can optimize your route on subsequent playthroughs to cut out as much backtracking as you can.
The timing of this guide couldn't have been more perfect for me. I've been going through the first X legacy collection, and recently beat X3. Going to get starting X4 on my next days off, so this guide has been a great help for me to plan out my playthrough, especially after the backtracking hell of X3.
Thank you for making these. I recently got the Mega Man X collection on Switch, and after struggling against X1 with only the boots upgrade, I decided to look up a guide for the upgrades. That guide was your video on X1. After I got done with that game, I decided to follow your guides for X2, X3, and X4 so I wasn't hitting a wall at the end. Thank you for making these videos because they helped out a lot
My order for this game (for X): - Web Spider - Cyber Peacock (get S on all challenges) - Storm Owl - Slash Beast (to get Twin Slasher) - Magma Dragoon (then backtrack to Web Spider) - Frost Walrus - Jet Stingray - Split Mushroom
TLDW: X: Magma dragoon (heart) Web spider (capsule, heart) Frost walrus (heart, EX tank, weapon tank) Jet stingray (heart, sub-tank) Split mushroom (heart) Cyber peacock (heart, sub-tank, capsule) Storm owl (heart, capsule) Slash beast (heart) Magma dragoon revisit (capsule) Zero: Magma dragoon (heart) Web spider (heart) Split mushroom (heart) Frost walrus (heart, EX tank, weapon tank) Continue in any order you like, with no backtracking
It's so cool to see you do this. I've been playing X4 for a few decades now and it's a pleasure to see more content of one of my favorite games of all time here. Keep bringing us the good stuff, J!
Hey J. You know, it's thanks to you that I enjoy the megaman x games a little more than I already did. And I've been playing for 20 plus years. After watching your guide for megaman x 1 2 3, you inspired me. I did my own version of least backtracking for x4. What I do is I do a weakness order, but I start with Slash Beast. That makes only 1 backtrack as well, needing fire to get the heart in Web Spider. I found X5 and X6 too difficult for least backtracking. I didn't care about X7. But I worked hard and created my own least backtracking run for X8 that I'm quite proud of. All thanks to you. If interested in my notes, hit me up. We can compare notes.
Thank you thank you thank YOU for that guide!! As a subscriber of yours, you helped me beat Mega Man X1 and X2 with minimal backtracking. And thanks to your X4 video (The one from 2022), you, J's Reviews, really made me appreciate the Mega Man X series more than I did during, say, 2022. Godspeed, J!
This was an unexpected surprise. I'm glad we got another least back tracking run. Kudos to the commenter that helped us out. Enjoyed the video as always. Have a nice day everyone.
Dude I rememeber being 12 and getting this as a birthday present underneath clothes and I rememeber ignoring everyone that came to my party and playing it in front of them because I loved megaman so much. Very formative memory
Thats what I love about the X Series( ok X1-4) is you can complete each stage in a diffrent way but its cool to share your strategies with fellow players! Just cool seeing other methods of beatting our fave games!❤
Great guide! I personally prefer to gather the armor pieces first, take care of Slash Beast, and then do Magma Dragoon's stage, but that's probably because I also like to tackle the mavericks and robot masters without their weakness in Mega Man games. On that note, I think X4 is one of the best games to do that with as the maverick fights in X4 are really fun without their weakness.
If I may suggest a different order that allows you to do only 1 back track AND have most weaknesses at the same time it would be 1. Web Spider (Buster Only) 2. Split mushroom (Web Is weakness and makes heart tank easier) 3. Cyber Peacock (Split soul helps with orbs and is weakness) 4. Storm Owl (Web for Arms upgrade and Peacock weapon is weakness) 5. Jet string ray (Buster Only) :( 6. Slash Beast (string ray is weakness) 7. Magma Dragoon (Twin Cutter and Arms upgrade allow you the chest upgrade and you already have storm owl for weakness) 8. Frost Walrus (Flame and web can get you everything you need) 9. Back track to web spider for heart tank. Thats the easiest play through I can think of for this game.
I wish I waited for this vid to know about split mushroom’s weapon on cyber peacock stage bc I went through like 30 minutes of trying to get S ranks for X
Fun trick with Zero while fighting Sigma: the gun he uses in one of his third phase bodies doesn't have any collision, so running into it can't hurt you. Just double jump through it and use the spinning slash. This is also the only game where the slash dash cancel glitch isn't affected by one of the Maverick techniques, so it should still work on his floor form if you time it right.
The thumbnail is amazing and I am glad that this series returned but if you are interested you can maybe do a least backtracking guide for the improvement mods for X5 and X6. Since they change the game quite a bit It could be see a guide similarly.
Thanks for bringing back this series. I would appreciate if you did the second half of the X series (Due to the latter entries being more difficult to 100% with the complicated X5 part system, health upgrades being tied to rescuable reploids in X6 and 7, rare metals in X8, etc) but if not I understand.
Another reason to save Slash Beast for last with Zero is because the weapon that would be his weakness for X (Ground Hunter) is just an air dash for Zero, and Raijingeki, his new weakness for Zero, doesn't reset his attack patterns, so it's a good idea to collect as many upgrades as possible before facing him.
Great video! I use very similar route orders to yours. For X, I prefer going to Storm Owl as my third boss, so that I can get the X-Buster upgrade as soon as possible. However, Storm Owl is probably the hardest boss to beat with the buster, so it comes with a risk. For Zero, I prioritize getting the double jump, and the air dash, as soon as possible. Something that I wanted to make note of, just in case you weren't aware of it: for some reason, half-charged buster shots are extremely effective against Magma Dragoon. Not only do they do good damage, but he doesn't still invulnerable for too long after you shoot him, so you can just keep pumping him with half-charged shots and he will go down quickly. Another reason to go to Magma Dragoon first! I am not sure if a "least backtracking" route for X5 even would exist. However, I do have a route for X6 that I would say is probably the most optimized possible route that you can have through the game.
I mean.. if you want to beat the game in an interesting fashion as X or even Zero, here's the order I believe works best.. Start off with Dragoon, and carefully do a damage boost jump dash to the ledge where the heart upgrade sits. Follow up with Frost Walrus and use the fire upgrade to collect the heart and weapon tank. We'll return once Spider is dealt with as X or Mushroom as Zero. Next, just deal with Stingray and Slash Beast, as with good timing and proper skill, anyone can get all their items on the first try. Following this four man rush is Colonel, so deal with him through Frost Tower as X, then go to Spider, and collect your boots and Heart as X. Follow this up with a trip back to Walrus to grab the EX tank, and then proceed to collect the items in Mushroom, Peacock and Owl's stages before taking one last trip back to Dragoon for the Armor upgrade. And that is my order for X4.
For anyone who doesn't know, Magma Dragoon has a very short invincibility window, allowing you to spam small charge shots to beat him quickly. Zero's ice attack can beat the Split Mushroom miniboss pretty quickly, too.
I would suggest for x 1. magma dragon (get his weapon) 2. Spider (get heart tank, leg upgrade and his special weapon) 3. strom owl (get arm upgrade !) Leg part and arm part is the most important item in the game anyway. After you can air dash and plasma shot, you ready to destroy anything
A bit of a correction, Sub Tanks in X4 and onward do get slightly refilled even when you're not at full health, which makes filling them significantly better.
you know, it's nice to have a new Megaman Guy. it used to be Clement, but he kinda died off. Thanks J. It's good to have a worthwhile replacement who's not just a lore channel.
Personally, after Web Spider I go to the Split Mushroom stage, then Cyber Peacock and then Storm Owl. After that I go to the snow level (forgot the boss name) and just finish the weakness order. This allows me to get the Buster and Body upgrades earlier, and, correct me if I am wrong, still get every item without backtracking (minuss body upgrade, of course)! EDIT: This route only works for X, as far as I am aware
As X: ONLY ONE PIECE OF ACTUAL BACKTRACKING (cuz you need Twin Slasher AND the Buster upgrade to get the Body upgrade from Dragoon's stage)!? As Zero: Follwing this exact order makes NO BACKTRACKING AT ALL!? Idk, man. Seems like X4 is The King of Fighters amongst "Least Backtracking" runs. Very cool stuff!!
Mega Man X4 has easily some of the best routing in this series, its crazy how everything in this game is peak. I know you probably wont do it but I'd kill for an X5-X8 Least Backtracking video those would really interesting watches especially with how complicated they can get. Looking at X5 6 and 8 specifically
6:15 - Excellent video so far! Also enjoying your other Mega Man X videos. There is one minor oops at this point though. The head parts of the 4th Armor and Ultimate Armor allow X to use Maverick weapons infinitely as long as you *don't* charge them. Using the X-Buster upgrades to charge the Maverick weapons will still consume weapon energy.
6:40 - Although it's not really relevant to the "least backtracking" theme of this video, one little trick that I didn't know for a long time is that both Ride Armors in this game have "Charge Shots" just like X does... sort of. The red one found in Magma Dragoon's stage will hold up its laser "claw", and do a massive swipe when released! The blue one found in Storm Owl's stage will show a charge animation at the Buster, and release a spread of three homing shots that deal massive damage to enemies.
One last tip: Colonel is actually weak to Frost Walrus's weapon, when playing as both X and Zero. For General, when playing as X, the weakness is the Twin Slasher. But yeah, as Zero, being able to stand on General's fist and DECIMATE him with just a repeated first Saber Slash in the combo - that's really something!
This was perfectly timed! I just bought the x legacy collection yesterday and x4 is the one game I haven’t played yet. It’s awesome so far but I hate how there’s a small delay before the dash. It throws off my timing cause I’m used to x1-3
I could've sworn that in Slash Beast's level, there was a collectible inside one of the train cars and you needed to break it with the ride armor to get it. I could just be thinking that the health up just falls when you destroy the car, but since I've never lost the ride armor on that stage and I try to destroy all the cars anyway, I gather it there.
I could never make that jump to the Heart Tank in Magma Dragoon's level, so I just used Web Spider's ability to make a temporary wall to cross the gap~
Literally what the hell?! I JUST did an X run of X4 earlier today when this just happens to get posted! (The order I went was Dragoon, Spider, Mushroom, Peacock, Owl, Walrus, Stingray, Beast, then backtracked to Dragoon to get chest piece)
I found that as x the best route is start with slash beast and then just follow the weakness order, you only need to backtrack to web spider for the heart tank.
I did the whole run with Zero without any backtracking. Here are the stages I do in no backtracking order: 1. Split Mushroom (Heart Tank) 2. Magma Dragoon (Heart Tank) 3. Frost Walrus (Heart Tank, EX Tank, Weapon Sub Tank) 4. Jet Stingray (Heart Tank, Energy Sub Tank) 5. Slash Beast (Heart Tank) 6. Web Spider (Heart Tank) 7. Cyber Peacock (Heart Tank, Energy Sub Tank) 8. Storm Owl (Heart Tank) So, yeah. That’s how you do a no backtracking run with Zero in X4
well this is the order i never went by, probably making my playthroughs as X more frustrating, haha. i mostly go as Zero though, because his story and cutscenes are cooler.
Great vid as always! If I remember correctly, Zero's Black Armor is not purely cosmetic - it reduces damage and your saber is able to destroy certain projectiles from enemies. Correct me if I'm wrong or if this was an X5 thing.
Well megaman x1, 2, 3 and 4 are my favorite megaman x games of all time! While other half megaman x games are just meh (especially x7!) well thanks for making this amazing video, keep up the good work 👍🏻
It was a good game, but HATED the graphical change from SNES era. It felt super sluggish compared to the previous, idk why. Also, imo the sprites didnt looked as good.
Mega Man X4 is my favourite game in the series, its item hunting with the least backtracking is so fun, before X5 fucked that up.
God X5 is such a fucking mess
Same. Which is one of the reasons why I bought just Part 1 of the X Legacy Collection.
@@mathewbouse1105 Sadly agree. Even its pros are outweighed by the cons.
In X5 you can, at the very least, grab all the collectibles in the 8 maverick stages in a few as 3 revisits using X and the Wing Spiral trick (watch a video of unarmored X grabbing the Gaea Armor parts to see it in action)
Basically you: Use wing spiral -> pause at the height of the animation -> unpause -> repeat
This essentially grants you a mini-jump every pause, allowing X to travel long distances horizontally and vertically, which is absolutely necessary in reducing the revisit count.
1. Spiral Pegasus: Begin by securing both the Heart Tank and Weapon Tank. And of course, conquer Spiral Pegasus for the Wing Spiral.
2. Revisit Spiral Pegasus's level and go to the screen with the light capsule, perform the Wing Spiral trick to fly over the spiky platform to the left and land on the platform where you acquire the Gaea Body Parts. (Revisit 1)
3. Crescent Grizzly: You can utilize the Wing Spiral trick to obtain the Heart Tank in the top of that middle area with the spikes. Collect the Sub-Tank and Falcon Foot Parts here as well.
4. Burn Dinorex: Procure the Heart Tank and Gaea Arm Parts.
5. Shining Firefly: Utilize the Wing Spiral trick to secure the Heart Tank at the start. Also grab the EX Tank (dinorex weapon) and Falcon Arm Parts (grizzly weapon).
6. Dark Necrobat: Collect the Heart Tank, Sub Tank, and Gaea Head Parts (firefly's weapon).
7. Spike Rosered: Head to the screen with the light capsule, do the Wing Spiral trick to gain height repeatedly, flying upwards past those spiky obstacles, obtaining the Gaea Foot Parts and completing the Gaea Armor (before the Falcon Armor!)
8. Return to the same stage equipped with the newly obtained Gaea Armor to nab the Heart Tank. (Revisit 2)
9. Tidal Whale: Equip the Gaea Armor to obtain the Heart Tank. (you could grab the heart tank with WS as well in the initial run and its revisit but it doesn't affect the mandatory revisit so just do the first run with Gaea and grab the heart tank)
10. Revisit Tidal Whale without the Gaea Armor to acquire the Falcon Body Parts. (Revisit 3)
11. Finally, equip the Gaea Armor and head to Volt Kraken to seize the Heart Tank in his level. Grabbing the Falcon Head Parts here as well completes the Falcon Armor and...
Congratulations! You obtained all of X5's Maverick Stage collectibles in the least amount of revisits~
@@kol-des looks like the Wing Spiral does the work for you
Finding out Zero’s Black Armor is purely cosmetic is truly heartbreaking because I could *swear* I was doing more damage as a kid even before getting the Z Saber upgrade
Placebo
Yeah, my friend also told me that.
I kind of prefer that way because now I can play as Black Zero without having to consider it cheating.
You were doing extra damage in your _heart_ , and maybe that's all that truly matters in the end 🤔
So I wasn't the only one who thought that.
5:57 You can get up to the Heart without the falling platform or without the web weapon. You have to do a dash wall jump off the platform right below the Heart
4:41 I never get tired of doing that, it's so satisfying! X4 is so fun because its levels are designed in a way that you can really keep the pace going. The other games have moments like that too, but you can really fly through X4 as a reward for knowing how to react in each situation, and there's hardly any moments in the game that I can immediately point to as frustrating. The least backtracking routes top off those other positives quite nicely!
Thank you for rounding out your least backtracking series! They were definitely great videos that highlighted the crafty nature of Mega Man X's design philosophy, taking full advantage of the stage select freedom that is part of why Mega Man 1 was considered so innovative for its time!
Thank you for making this video. While I've never really needed any of these least backtracking videos (as a seasoned MM player 😉), I ALWAYS enjoy hearing you talk about them, so if you keep making MM vids, I'll keep on watching 'em!
next time in J's Reviews: "so you want to beat X5 with the least backtracking? well you have my condolences, see you in X6"
he already covered it in his review of X5, but he's recommended you play the game with the improvement patch to do it.
thanks for coming back man i didnt realize how recent this video is!, im helping guide a friend thru the MegaMan games and we have played 1-11 and just Started the X series which im way more familiar with and the X3 video helped me out so much, i can get thru 1,2 and 4 in about an hour but X3 has always been a challenge for me to route, and this X4 video is just icing on the cake since i only know Zero lol
so thanks again for making these routing videos im sure you have helped many!
X4 is up there with X1 as not only my favorite game in the X series, but one of my favorite games in the entire franchise. They cooked so hard with Zero 's playstyle and even X is pretty cool with the 4th armor upgrades he gets.
X4, and Zero 3 have always been my favorite Megaman games, and some of my favorite 2-D platformers ever made. Very solid games with good flow, level design, and some of the best control in a 2-D platformer.
@@theimpersonator7086 X1, X4, and Zero 3 are definitely the GOATs
So glad that you're bringing this series back. Even though I don't follow these guides. I still find them facinating watches regardless.
Perfect timing! I'm waiting to get my taxes done and I'm playing X4 on the Switch so I need a guide to do less backtracking.
I Play X4 On the switch too!
How old are you? 25?
@@derekmaullo2865 What does that have to do with anything? LOL
@@dnmstarsi I think you misunderstood. You must be a kid because you don't have taxes
@@dnmstarsi Also your pic sucks
2:21: as Zero, whenever he’s hanging from a line, hit that line with Ryuenjin and it’ll knock him down just like when you use Twin Slasher as X
The risk of crashing into Spider on the way up is too big, though...
All this time, and I did not know about that! Though it might be difficult to aim the Ryuenjin to hit the electric web stand instead of Web Spider, I'll have to try that out. Too bad the developers didn't really make Shipuuga more useful...
I just had an opportunity to test the Ryuenjin against Web Spider. I tried to hit the web strand several times, and when Web Spider was as low to the ground as possible. The way Ryuenjin works is that Zero dashes forward slightly - and THEN rises into the air. Zero will not rise into the air at a forward angle. This means that the Ryuenjin attack will hit Web Spider each and every time without any way to hit the web strand first. Therefore, Web Spider does not crash to the ground like when X uses the Twin Slasher above Spider. I'm sorry to say, this myth appears to be BUSTED.
To be fair, it is difficult to get in the right position to hit him without crashing into him, but this has been my preferred method for defeating him for years
I never tried that for either X or Zero. I figured that Twin Slasher was Web Spider's weakness, going by no other boss is weak to it, but it didn't deal any extra damage or stun on hitting it, so I just switched back to just Bustin, as I had a lot of practice as a kid avoiding the webs.
Mega Man X4 is a really fun game, probably my personal favorite in the series. It's honestly pretty crazy how much freedom you're given to collect everything once you get the necessary tools at the start, and the bosses are (mostly) pretty fun to fight assuming you don't cheese them with weaknesses.
I’d love to say thank you.
I was doing a Mega Man X 1-4 playthrough, and throughout all of these playthroughs, your guides always came in clutch.
I just beat Mega Man X 4 as Mega Man (as it felt right to beat it with him first) 10 minutes ago, and started a few hours ago. When I came back to beat X 3 a few days ago (*Cough* Zero Project *Cough*) your guides always help me grasp an idea of how progressing through the game should look like, ESPECIALLY X 3 that game was so hard!
But I have to say, when I started playing X 4 I didn’t really use a video guide until I beat all the mavericks from top left to right, then bottom left to right. When I came to this video I completely forgot that your X 3 video was supposed to be your last one and looked this up and was happy to see it!
I got everything thanks to your guide, I killed all the bosses, killed Sigma, and it felt awesome!!
Then I look back at this video to give it a like, then I see the date “12 days ago” and my mind was blown!! I couldn’t have found a better time frame to come back and start my X 1-4 playthrough!
I’ve been watching your content for years now, loving your insightful reviews of games that most people have probably forgotten by now or have left the public conscious. Your perspective on gaming as a whole is wise, and always entertaining to hear.
Honestly to the bottom of my heart, I hope this year goes great for you, and hope one day you’ll reach that one million milestone in the future, you deserve it.
From a fan, best of luck to you J. 🏆
Oh my God J! I just now realized that my comment was the one that made you do this video! Thank you so much for the shout out it's a huge honor!
I like how 100% in all the X games after X4 requires multiple backtracks.
Except X7, which mercifully doesn't require any backtracking if you manage to save all the Reploids in the first four stages (Ride Boarski, Splash Warfly, Tornado Tonion & Vanishing Gungaroo), because that unlocks X, who can get the pieces of the Glide Armor in the next four stages (Flame Hyenard, Snipe Anteator, Soldier Stonekong & Wind Crowrang). Just take Zero to Stonekong, since his double jump is required to get the EX Tank.
I guess I'm in the minority that backtracking by itself doesn't always annoy me. It was always kind of fun in a frustrating way to see something I couldn't reach and be like well what do I need to get up there. And as I go through the levels and gain more weapons and armor and techniques I figure it out. Now backtracking out the absolute ass is another story
@@matthewrock4725 I don't mind backtracking either; I love Metroid, Castlevania and the Metroidvania genre in general, all of which have backtracking baked into their very design, and it can be pretty fun to figure out what lets you go where to get what else.
But at the same time, it's fun to see how well you can optimize your route on subsequent playthroughs to cut out as much backtracking as you can.
The timing of this guide couldn't have been more perfect for me. I've been going through the first X legacy collection, and recently beat X3. Going to get starting X4 on my next days off, so this guide has been a great help for me to plan out my playthrough, especially after the backtracking hell of X3.
Nice guide man little bit of a shame we won't get a guide for X5 through X8. But hey at least you made a cool guide video
Thank you for making these. I recently got the Mega Man X collection on Switch, and after struggling against X1 with only the boots upgrade, I decided to look up a guide for the upgrades. That guide was your video on X1. After I got done with that game, I decided to follow your guides for X2, X3, and X4 so I wasn't hitting a wall at the end. Thank you for making these videos because they helped out a lot
My order for this game (for X):
- Web Spider
- Cyber Peacock (get S on all challenges)
- Storm Owl
- Slash Beast (to get Twin Slasher)
- Magma Dragoon (then backtrack to Web Spider)
- Frost Walrus
- Jet Stingray
- Split Mushroom
TLDW:
X:
Magma dragoon (heart)
Web spider (capsule, heart)
Frost walrus (heart, EX tank, weapon tank)
Jet stingray (heart, sub-tank)
Split mushroom (heart)
Cyber peacock (heart, sub-tank, capsule)
Storm owl (heart, capsule)
Slash beast (heart)
Magma dragoon revisit (capsule)
Zero:
Magma dragoon (heart)
Web spider (heart)
Split mushroom (heart)
Frost walrus (heart, EX tank, weapon tank)
Continue in any order you like, with no backtracking
It's so cool to see you do this. I've been playing X4 for a few decades now and it's a pleasure to see more content of one of my favorite games of all time here. Keep bringing us the good stuff, J!
Hey J. You know, it's thanks to you that I enjoy the megaman x games a little more than I already did. And I've been playing for 20 plus years. After watching your guide for megaman x 1 2 3, you inspired me. I did my own version of least backtracking for x4. What I do is I do a weakness order, but I start with Slash Beast. That makes only 1 backtrack as well, needing fire to get the heart in Web Spider. I found X5 and X6 too difficult for least backtracking. I didn't care about X7. But I worked hard and created my own least backtracking run for X8 that I'm quite proud of. All thanks to you. If interested in my notes, hit me up. We can compare notes.
Thank you thank you thank YOU for that guide!! As a subscriber of yours, you helped me beat Mega Man X1 and X2 with minimal backtracking. And thanks to your X4 video (The one from 2022), you, J's Reviews, really made me appreciate the Mega Man X series more than I did during, say, 2022. Godspeed, J!
Hey man, I love you're content, and love the sly Cooper hype that you're channel provides, keep up the good work man!!!
Your x1 video guide really helped me actually enjoy the game and in turn caused me to become a mega man fan. I’m glad this series is back
This was an unexpected surprise. I'm glad we got another least back tracking run. Kudos to the commenter that helped us out.
Enjoyed the video as always. Have a nice day everyone.
Ah, my first PS1 game that I played. Love it for nostalgia and the meme-worthy dubbing XD
Dude I rememeber being 12 and getting this as a birthday present underneath clothes and I rememeber ignoring everyone that came to my party and playing it in front of them because I loved megaman so much. Very formative memory
Man I recently took the X legacy collection and ur guides have been so helpful! Thanks a lot!
Thats what I love about the X Series( ok X1-4) is you can complete each stage in a diffrent way but its cool to share your strategies with fellow players! Just cool seeing other methods of beatting our fave games!❤
A yes, X4, the last X game that was actually kind of fun to play
Great guide! I personally prefer to gather the armor pieces first, take care of Slash Beast, and then do Magma Dragoon's stage, but that's probably because I also like to tackle the mavericks and robot masters without their weakness in Mega Man games. On that note, I think X4 is one of the best games to do that with as the maverick fights in X4 are really fun without their weakness.
If I may suggest a different order that allows you to do only 1 back track AND have most weaknesses at the same time it would be
1. Web Spider (Buster Only)
2. Split mushroom (Web Is weakness and makes heart tank easier)
3. Cyber Peacock (Split soul helps with orbs and is weakness)
4. Storm Owl (Web for Arms upgrade and Peacock weapon is weakness)
5. Jet string ray (Buster Only) :(
6. Slash Beast (string ray is weakness)
7. Magma Dragoon (Twin Cutter and Arms upgrade allow you the chest upgrade and you already have storm owl for weakness)
8. Frost Walrus (Flame and web can get you everything you need)
9. Back track to web spider for heart tank.
Thats the easiest play through I can think of for this game.
I like your least backtracking videos a lot :)
X4 is the best with this
I wish I waited for this vid to know about split mushroom’s weapon on cyber peacock stage bc I went through like 30 minutes of trying to get S ranks for X
finally!! i'm currently doing a megaman playthrough and was looking for your video about x4 in december. gonna play it again!
Fun trick with Zero while fighting Sigma: the gun he uses in one of his third phase bodies doesn't have any collision, so running into it can't hurt you. Just double jump through it and use the spinning slash. This is also the only game where the slash dash cancel glitch isn't affected by one of the Maverick techniques, so it should still work on his floor form if you time it right.
i’m glad you did this, i’m always looking for new ways to run through x4
This is great! It's the careful planning of a TAS, condensed and narrated.
I love your vids on the X games! It was what bought me to your channel!
Couldn’t be happier when I saw this video uploaded. Thank you so much for the hard work
The thumbnail is amazing and I am glad that this series returned but if you are interested you can maybe do a least backtracking guide for the improvement mods for X5 and X6. Since they change the game quite a bit It could be see a guide similarly.
I did an almost 100% quite recently before seeing this video, but was actually unaware the EX Tank even existed. Thanks for informing. Good vid.
Thank you for doing this video. I was worried after X3 that you would absolutely not do anymore of these.
Thanks for bringing back this series. I would appreciate if you did the second half of the X series (Due to the latter entries being more difficult to 100% with the complicated X5 part system, health upgrades being tied to rescuable reploids in X6 and 7, rare metals in X8, etc) but if not I understand.
Another reason to save Slash Beast for last with Zero is because the weapon that would be his weakness for X (Ground Hunter) is just an air dash for Zero, and Raijingeki, his new weakness for Zero, doesn't reset his attack patterns, so it's a good idea to collect as many upgrades as possible before facing him.
I've been waiting for this video to happen for 3 and half years and the day has finally come.
Great video! I use very similar route orders to yours. For X, I prefer going to Storm Owl as my third boss, so that I can get the X-Buster upgrade as soon as possible. However, Storm Owl is probably the hardest boss to beat with the buster, so it comes with a risk. For Zero, I prioritize getting the double jump, and the air dash, as soon as possible.
Something that I wanted to make note of, just in case you weren't aware of it: for some reason, half-charged buster shots are extremely effective against Magma Dragoon. Not only do they do good damage, but he doesn't still invulnerable for too long after you shoot him, so you can just keep pumping him with half-charged shots and he will go down quickly. Another reason to go to Magma Dragoon first!
I am not sure if a "least backtracking" route for X5 even would exist. However, I do have a route for X6 that I would say is probably the most optimized possible route that you can have through the game.
i dont even play this game anymore, but i just happy being here. great video as always
Greatly appreciate your working dedication to your videos. Also yes best be done at x4. The amount of times I tried to run X6 lol.
I mean.. if you want to beat the game in an interesting fashion as X or even Zero, here's the order I believe works best..
Start off with Dragoon, and carefully do a damage boost jump dash to the ledge where the heart upgrade sits.
Follow up with Frost Walrus and use the fire upgrade to collect the heart and weapon tank. We'll return once Spider is dealt with as X or Mushroom as Zero.
Next, just deal with Stingray and Slash Beast, as with good timing and proper skill, anyone can get all their items on the first try.
Following this four man rush is Colonel, so deal with him through Frost Tower as X, then go to Spider, and collect your boots and Heart as X.
Follow this up with a trip back to Walrus to grab the EX tank, and then proceed to collect the items in Mushroom, Peacock and Owl's stages before taking one last trip back to Dragoon for the Armor upgrade. And that is my order for X4.
Bro I definitely needed this, I think when speedrunning this game, this’ll be very useful!
For anyone who doesn't know, Magma Dragoon has a very short invincibility window, allowing you to spam small charge shots to beat him quickly.
Zero's ice attack can beat the Split Mushroom miniboss pretty quickly, too.
"X is the easier playthrough"
Me: Laughs in Dash/Cancel attack
I would suggest for x
1. magma dragon (get his weapon)
2. Spider (get heart tank, leg upgrade and his special weapon)
3. strom owl (get arm upgrade !)
Leg part and arm part is the most important item in the game anyway. After you can air dash and plasma shot, you ready to destroy anything
Since its release, X4 is easily my favorite game of all time.
A bit of a correction, Sub Tanks in X4 and onward do get slightly refilled even when you're not at full health, which makes filling them significantly better.
you know, it's nice to have a new Megaman Guy. it used to be Clement, but he kinda died off. Thanks J. It's good to have a worthwhile replacement who's not just a lore channel.
Personally, after Web Spider I go to the Split Mushroom stage, then Cyber Peacock and then Storm Owl. After that I go to the snow level (forgot the boss name) and just finish the weakness order. This allows me to get the Buster and Body upgrades earlier, and, correct me if I am wrong, still get every item without backtracking (minuss body upgrade, of course)!
EDIT: This route only works for X, as far as I am aware
i love mega man x4 so much its one of my favourite games ever made
I've waited four years, and it's finally here.
Fuck yeah.
I love x4 my favorite character is double. Too bad they didn't give doubles character more screen time and flesh the character out more,
As X: ONLY ONE PIECE OF ACTUAL BACKTRACKING (cuz you need Twin Slasher AND the Buster upgrade to get the Body upgrade from Dragoon's stage)!?
As Zero: Follwing this exact order makes NO BACKTRACKING AT ALL!?
Idk, man. Seems like X4 is The King of Fighters amongst "Least Backtracking" runs. Very cool stuff!!
Mega Man X4 has easily some of the best routing in this series, its crazy how everything in this game is peak. I know you probably wont do it but I'd kill for an X5-X8 Least Backtracking video those would really interesting watches especially with how complicated they can get. Looking at X5 6 and 8 specifically
There's also a way to get the body armor by using the mech glitch in MMX4 just an addition for having minimal backtracking.
Mega man x 4 brings style
This game along with X1, definitely feels the most rewarding to complete, even without any kind of completion bonus
Colonel's weakness is Frost Tower/Hyouretsuzan, so it also pays to beat Frost Walrus before the halfway point with X because of that.
Let’s go I have been waiting for this for so long
6:15 - Excellent video so far! Also enjoying your other Mega Man X videos. There is one minor oops at this point though. The head parts of the 4th Armor and Ultimate Armor allow X to use Maverick weapons infinitely as long as you *don't* charge them. Using the X-Buster upgrades to charge the Maverick weapons will still consume weapon energy.
6:40 - Although it's not really relevant to the "least backtracking" theme of this video, one little trick that I didn't know for a long time is that both Ride Armors in this game have "Charge Shots" just like X does... sort of. The red one found in Magma Dragoon's stage will hold up its laser "claw", and do a massive swipe when released! The blue one found in Storm Owl's stage will show a charge animation at the Buster, and release a spread of three homing shots that deal massive damage to enemies.
One last tip: Colonel is actually weak to Frost Walrus's weapon, when playing as both X and Zero. For General, when playing as X, the weakness is the Twin Slasher. But yeah, as Zero, being able to stand on General's fist and DECIMATE him with just a repeated first Saber Slash in the combo - that's really something!
Aha so a year after I picked up this least backtracking series you finally made the X4 one. I kinda looked up a guide for it a year back though 😅
This was perfectly timed! I just bought the x legacy collection yesterday and x4 is the one game I haven’t played yet. It’s awesome so far but I hate how there’s a small delay before the dash. It throws off my timing cause I’m used to x1-3
I could've sworn that in Slash Beast's level, there was a collectible inside one of the train cars and you needed to break it with the ride armor to get it. I could just be thinking that the health up just falls when you destroy the car, but since I've never lost the ride armor on that stage and I try to destroy all the cars anyway, I gather it there.
I could never make that jump to the Heart Tank in Magma Dragoon's level, so I just used Web Spider's ability to make a temporary wall to cross the gap~
I know sometimes trying to take the route with less backtracking can be a pain when it comes to doing a video guide for a game like the X series.
Love that you can bring a ride armor into a boss fight . Curse you vile 😅😅😅
So all we need now J is a guide for x5 x7 and x8 and that should be it for the x series I'm pretty sure I'm not forgetting any other game
Mentioning x7 but not 6 is CRAZY. But you ain’t wrong tho 😅
Literally what the hell?! I JUST did an X run of X4 earlier today when this just happens to get posted!
(The order I went was Dragoon, Spider, Mushroom, Peacock, Owl, Walrus, Stingray, Beast, then backtracked to Dragoon to get chest piece)
Perfect. Im playing mega man x4 for the first time so this helps :). Thanks
Commenting before watching: This is my most replayed video game of alltime from start to finish, lets see if you can teach me anything. 👁️
I found that as x the best route is start with slash beast and then just follow the weakness order, you only need to backtrack to web spider for the heart tank.
Heck yeah another Megaman (X) video!
This is a nice coincidence. Im just playing X4 on the legacy collection.
I did the whole run with Zero without any backtracking.
Here are the stages I do in no backtracking order:
1. Split Mushroom (Heart Tank)
2. Magma Dragoon (Heart Tank)
3. Frost Walrus (Heart Tank, EX Tank, Weapon Sub Tank)
4. Jet Stingray (Heart Tank, Energy Sub Tank)
5. Slash Beast (Heart Tank)
6. Web Spider (Heart Tank)
7. Cyber Peacock (Heart Tank, Energy Sub Tank)
8. Storm Owl (Heart Tank)
So, yeah. That’s how you do a no backtracking run with Zero in X4
well this is the order i never went by, probably making my playthroughs as X more frustrating, haha. i mostly go as Zero though, because his story and cutscenes are cooler.
Great vid as always! If I remember correctly, Zero's Black Armor is not purely cosmetic - it reduces damage and your saber is able to destroy certain projectiles from enemies. Correct me if I'm wrong or if this was an X5 thing.
Exclusive to X5 _and_ X6.
That wasn't a thing in X4.
The buffs were added from X5 onwards.
This is a guide of a Awesome game!
It’s been a long time coming.
I beat this game at least 100 times. I just like your videos.
Been waiting for this.
I love this series, least backtracking runs are sick
Before I watch the video, I must say all the levels have an amazing soundtrack so I don't take issue backtracking.
I know you don’t like the newer games. But will you be making one of these for Megaman X5-8?
While not a recommended route I do Jet Stingray's level first as u can get a life upgrade and sub-tank first without upgrades
Well megaman x1, 2, 3 and 4 are my favorite megaman x games of all time! While other half megaman x games are just meh (especially x7!) well thanks for making this amazing video, keep up the good work 👍🏻
You can use lightning web to get the ride armor to where the body part is.
It was a good game, but HATED the graphical change from SNES era. It felt super sluggish compared to the previous, idk why. Also, imo the sprites didnt looked as good.
For the second section of cyber peacock's first part just time the soul body and take the lower route I found it the fastest way to past this part
after the first boss (for me it's the spider) as X is basically just a CC chain to the remaining boss
I might need to replay the game as Zero finally
Yeahhhhhhh finally , I hope we get all the others too