Part 86: CrissCross!

Don't mind me.



Just doing some offscreen collecting. Well, mostly offscreen, I made sure to screenshot any new viruses or rare virus encounters.



Also, new panel type in the Undernet: Eruption panels. They'll be harmless most of the time, but every few seconds they'll shoot out a pillar of fire.



Kettle: You see Kettle viruses much, much earlier in Gregar version because they feature prominently in HeatMan's scenario. Those particular Kettles function differently from Kettles outside of the scenario. Normal Kettles will move around and periodically teleport next to MegaMan, gushing hot water onto the panels around it. Instead of HP, they have a temperature, which starts at 0 degrees Celsius and must be pushed up to 100. The temperature decreases steadily over time, faster and faster depending on the version. The Kettle will then self-destruct and boil over.



We now return you to your regularly scheduled plot.



Mayor Cain gets a call from a certain somebody.



Surprise, the Expo Pavilion Test that sent MegaMan to the Undernet was a trap the Mayor set.



Mayor Cain is actually the 'head priest' of the CultNavis!



Cain gets another call after angrily hanging up on his underlings.



Surprise, he's also the WWW benefactor. Quite a revealing cutscene, ain't it?



Presumably, Yuika or Vic is talking to him.




Wonder what that could be.



A few days later...



The TV even says "Let's go, Lan!" during this cutscene. Yes, they recorded MegaMan during the Operator Navi tests.



MegaMan is embarrassed as all heck. But from here on, if you talk to NPCs, they'll usually remark on how cool MegaMan looks on TV. Fame! Glory! Everything we deserve!



Lan gets a call, however, due to MegaMan appearing on TV.



It's an old enemy. Hated and despised. Lying in wait, for the perfect time to strike and bring ruin upon all we hold dear and enjoy.



Mayl.



NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!



Why. Why. Why must misfortune rain upon me like...rainy things. Words fail me.



Anything but this. Seriously. Please, somebody, anybody, don't make me do this.



Don't make me go back there! They're all so stupid and useless and slave-driving!



Oh thank god.



Right, we get to at least delay the inevitable by doing the last two Crosses of the game.

Also, this is apparently what the other guy's name is.



We'll get DustCross first with Mr. Press.



So this scenario is all about salvaging. You'd expect a rather dull collecting spree, but thankfully this isn't the case.



Lan is decidedly less than enthusiastic about this. Mr. Press has enough enthusiasm for three people, at least.



Mr. Press goes on a brief rant about the importance of recycling, which I'm sure nobody is particularly interested in. This is a LP, not a PSA.



We'll just say he used a Jedi Mind Trick and leave it at that.



Time to operate DustMan.



Thankfully, this vending machine we're currently inside has been connected to the Undernet, so it's not exactly a long trip.



There's no actual time limit, of course. So let's demo what DustMan can do.



His chip attack is DustBreaker, which sucks enemies in his row right in front of him. He then follows up by pounding his hands together and crushing the poor target.



His surprisingly useful charge shot shoots out a minion made of junk that flies ahead and punches the first enemy it runs into, cracking the panel.



At the top of Undernet2, the first junk trader is waiting. The PMD just holds the AntiDamage program, which causes MegaMan to avoid being hit and throw a shuriken at the enemy who attacked him. This would be very useful if it didn't require nearly frame-precise timing of pressing Left+B.



Minigame time.



Okay, so much like TomahawkMan, we've got the entire field to ourselves. Balls of trash will be flung down the rows. There's no penalty for missing any trash.



Press the A button to suck those into the DustChute in DustMan's chest.



There's also bombs mixed in that will occasionally fly down the rows as well. Press B to use DustBreak on those. Don't suck them up or you lose HP. If you miss the bomb entirely and it flies off the screen, there'll be an explosion.

I love the rationale for why the bombs are there in the first place. "Just don't take it too seriously, that's why!"



There are also hearts mixed in occasionally to heal HP.



So just suck up trash with A, break bombs with B. It's very simple. The more trash you suck up, the more the bar at the top of the screen fills up. When it's full, you win.



There's another trader in Undernet2.



Same thing there. After that, we're told to move to Undernet1, where the last trader is waiting.



On the way, RareBigHat! Man, I'm getting a lot of rare viruses lately.



The last trader adds Missiles to the mix for some insane reason. These act like bombs, but are much faster, and come with alarming frequency.



I'd agree with DustMan that this work is laid-back if it weren't for the missiles.



DustMan blows. His attacks are pretty easy to dodge for a boss this late in the game.



JunkJunkie: Already described as his charge shot, this attack involves DustMan shooting out a trash minion down the row that punches MegaMan's panel, cracking it.



Not-PanelShot: DustMan shoots three panel chunks out of his chute.



DustBreaker: He sucks you to the front column and tries to smash you between his hands. We've been over this.



At least we get DustCross!



Before we go over it, Mr. Press asks us to keep it a secret that he connected this vending machine to the Undernet. It'll be a very useful shortcut, so I won't blame him!



The main draw of DustCross is the ability to discard unneeded chips on the Custom Screen, which greatly improves folder fluidity. However, it's an ironically wasteful tactic. It's also weak to Cursor attacks, as you become Breaking element.



Onto Mr. Moliarty's class. I keep reading his name as Mr. Molarity.



I love GroundMan's design. He's a goshdarned DRILL TANK. He looks like he'd combine with other machinery-related Navis to form some sort of giant robot.



He also has a very jive-y way of speaking.



The catch is, this computer connects to Undernet1. So, time for backtracking through SkyArea. Not hard at all.



GroundMan's chip attack has a name I've completely forgotten. But it makes him rush forwards with his shoulder drills extended, and he's completely invincible during the rush.



His charge attack takes a while to charge up, but it causes his head and both of his drills to fly forwards like this. Quite powerful.



RareChampy!



Once we get to CentralArea2, GroundMan proceeds to drop a ton of boulders all over the place.



By packing a crowded area full of boulders...and strapping a dynamite timer on.



It's one of those "press the A button when the meter is full" sort of minigames.



Just break rocks. That's all there is to this. It sounds simple, but the time limit is amazingly strict to get 35 rocks.



Just be careful not to hit the program NPCs...They'll waste precious time!



In some instances, you'll actually want to break through fewer than 4 rocks at a time in order to get them out of the way.



I didn't make it my first time, the dynamite timer got me. It's a tough timer.



The next attempt works out in the nick of time.



CentralArea1 is more of the same.



A LOT more of the same!



But hey, that's all for this rather short, if difficult, minigame!

Onto the last of the LinkNavis!



Giga Panel Breaker: This attack is sinister in its simplicity. GroundMan simply drills a hole in the panel MegaMan is standing on. Prepare to have your movements restricted.



Drill Drive: As seen here! GroundMan launches his drills down all three rows. Dodging this gets tough due to the busted panels.



Ground Grind: GroundMan charges all the way into your back column and stays there drilling. This causes debris to rain from the ceiling, KnightMan/DrillMan style.



100% cross completion achieved!