Mega Man 5 FAQ

Q: What is the world record?
A: 33:32 by ohon. For more runners and times, check out the leaderboard here: http://bombch.us/e3h

Q: Do you play on console?
A: Yes, I play on an AV Famicom with a stock SFC controller plugged in via SNES-to-NES adapter.

Q: Why do you play on the Japanese version?
A: The Japanese version of MM5 saves approximately 18.3 seconds over the US version during the cutscene after Dark Man 4.

Q: Are there any differences between console and emulator?
A: No, they're essentially the same.

Q: Why do you depend mostly on the charged buster?
A: The charged buster in MM5 is extremely powerful and sees more use than any other weapon in the game aside for maybe Super Arrow. One of the big issues with the default buster shot, as well as other weapons, is that enemies in MM5 have 8 frames of invincibility after taking damage. As a result, you can't simply mash your way through the game but instead need to space out shots; charged buster, thankfully, can kill most enemies in a single blow. In fact, MM5's charged buster can kill multiple enemies at once because it pierces through targets assuming the shot in question is what lands the finishing blow.
   Charged buster does have a few disadvantages though. For example, if you take damage while holding a charge your charge will disappear completely. Furthermore, Mega Man cannot charge his buster while sliding, so oftentimes you'll see intentional walking or jumping just to expedite the charge process.

Q: Why are you collecting the letters hidden in stages?
A: Collecting all of the letters unlocks Beat, a bird-type combat support robot who automatically seeks out targets to attack. Beat is useful for Dark Man 2, 4, and Wily Capsule.

Q: What is gravity skip?
A: http://jokaah.com/mmrta/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=185

Q: How does Super Arrow work?
A: Super Arrow costs 2 ticks of energy to use (although 1 energy is enough to make it appear) and will start to accelerate after either a brief delay or when Mega Man stands on it. Once moving, Super Arrow will consume energy as long as Mega Man continues standing on it; energy can be conserved by jumping early on in its flight, or by walking toward the tip of the arrow to continuously fall off and clip back on. Super Arrow is 60% faster than sliding at top speed and does not disappear when you run out of energy.

Q: How do you aggro tigers to jump at you?
A: Pressing the shoot button aggros tigers regardless of whether or not Mega Man actually fires a shot. This also works on the enemies that bounce up and down seen in Star Man's stage and Dark Man 2.

Q: How do you get Napalm Man to only fire missiles?
A: The pattern Napalm Man chooses depends on the distance between you and him: if you're far away, he'll fire missiles; if you're close, he'll throw bombs.

Q: Why the heck do you pause so much during the Charge Man fight?
A: Power Stone is an awful weapon and stays on-screen for way too long. I pause the game after shots to despawn them so I can fire another shot sooner than I could otherwise. I choose to wait out power stone's full duration if Charge Man is invulnerable -- pausing in this case only serves to lose time.

Q: What is double bubble skip?
A: In Wave Man's stage, double bubble skip refers to using small bubbles to transition both screens earlier than intended in the segment preceding the boat autoscroller. Transitioning the screens is more difficult than it may appear to be due to having a fairly tight timing window; simply standing on a bubble as it reaches the top of the screen isn't enough.

Q: Does skipping the boat in Wave Man's stage actually save time?
A: Yes, because the cutscenes to board and exit the boat both involve Mega Man walking for fairly long distances, time that's better spent riding on super arrow or sliding. Skipping the boat also means you get to use a charged shot for the miniboss. It's important to note that failing the screen transition after skipping the boat can result in a softlock: Mega Man -must- transition the screen while in a slide or a jump from a slide.

Q: Do you have any control over Beat or is he just automatic?
A: Beat is automatic for the most part, but you do have some control over him. The most obvious example is that the distance from your target will directly influence the periodicity of attacks due to travel time. Another nuance with Beat is that he attacks when your Y-position isn't changing, so he'll only attack when you're standing on ground or have reached the peak of your jump. Beat cannot attack while Mega Man is turning around. Good control of Beat is much more complex than it looks.

Q: How are you zipping up the Wily 1 boss?
A: If you take damage against his body while shooting it so it rams into you, you'll be sent diagonally upwards and through it. This can be used to zip all the way up to his head, aiding the fight immensely.

Q: Why aren't you sliding as much as possible during the underwater section of Wily 2?
A: In Mega Man 5 (as well as Mega Man 4), you can't jump out of slides when underwater. Good platforming in Wily 2 requires really risky slides and slide cancelling (i.e. turning around).

Q: You can skip the refights?
A: Haha, yeah.

Q: How do you know when you can perform a double hit on Wily Press?
A: Wily Press will move back and forth for either 3, 5 or 7 complete cycles. If he does it 5 times and continues moving, it's set in stone that he's doing the 7 cycle pattern so a double hit can be prepared for and executed accordingly.

Q: Is Beat really the fastest way to take down Wily Capsule?
A: No it actually isn't. In a perfect world, a Mega Man 5 speedrun does not collect the letters for Beat and instead uses charged buster to defeat Wily. The issue with this route is that the odds of a decent buster duel are so unfavorable that acquiring Beat is practically seen as a requirement of the run.

Q: Where can I learn more about Mega Man 5?
A: Mega Man RTA Wiki - http://megamanrta.wikia.com/wiki/Mega_Man_5
TAS Notes - http://tasvideos.org/GameResources/NES/Rockman.html
TAS - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJwk-8Oay3M
Additional Notes - http://nudua.com/mm5/