When you begin the revamped Spark Man stage, the first thing you will likely notice is that the overhead ladder is missing. Lure the suctioned eyeball down to your level, or jump and hit it from below with shadow blades, then use Rush Coil to spring up to the above ledge.
Next you'll climb the ladder at the top left side of the screen, and you should again have shadow blades equipped so that you can take out the robot that will come scurrying down to greet you.
From the top of this ladder, head right through a hallway that looks familiar but isn't really. You'll find rotating gears throughout. These can be used as ledges to reach new heights. Because they spin, though, you'll only want to hop on them quickly before moving to safer ground. As you use these gears and proceed to the right, watch out for the spark-emitting enemies that should already be familiar to you, and watch also for robots that materialize and join together before gliding toward you (the ones that first greeted you in Top Man's stage).
There are some bottomless pits along the way, but you shouldn't have much trouble working your way to the right end of the hallway, where a ladder leads up into the next room. Here, some gears are suspended over a pit of spikes. Just hop quickly across to the ladder and this won't be a challenge at all.
At the top of that ladder, be ready to take out a robot before sliding through a passage and finding a gate that leads to the first boss robot encounter in this area.
Doc Robot - Metal Man
The best strategy here is to use your regular arm cannon shots. There's nothing in your inventory that will do a particularly good job of hitting for more damage, and you really want to work to maintain your distance. It seems to work best if you are on the far left side of the screen, while Doc Robot is on the right side chucking metal blades your way.
If you're on the left side, you shouldn't have much trouble dodging each barrage of blades (they seem to come no more than three to a group), and you'll also avoid direct contact. Any time you bump Doc Robot (in this stage or elsewhere), it's going to eat off almost a third of your life meter, so caution is always good. This particular battle will last a fair while, but you should come out of it relatively unscathed.
With your first Doc Robot encounter ended, it's time to continue onward. You'll next be able to collect a large energy capsule, before dropping down a lengthy, spike-lined shaft. The trick is to always stay at the center as you're falling, so that it's never very hard to dodge out of the way if the next screen reveals spikes a little closer than you would like. As always, one touch of the spikes spells the end of Mega Man.
When you reach the bottom of the shaft, you'll continue right through hallways lined by the security panels that are so fond of generating walls of electricity. These aren't terribly hard to avoid. In fact, you can sometimes bring them into view, turn quickly around, then turn around again and cause the panels to vanish.
Past the panels, you'll find a more formidable challenge in the form of columns that drop those heavy, instant-death blocks. As before, let one fall and then quickly pass through to the next ledge. If it's going to be a tight squeeze, a slide from the top of the first block to fall will typically carry you to safety.
When you get past the crumbling blocks, you'll find the gate leading to this area's second Doc Robot encounter.
Doc Robot - Quick Man
Though the regular arm cannon worked wonders against this guy in Mega Man 2, a more useful approach this time around is the search snake. If you get near enough to lob a few of the snakes at your opponent, you'll find his life drains quite rapidly. Alternatively, you can use the gemini beam, though a miss with that weapon is more devastating.
Since Doc Robot moves so quickly, it's quite likely you'll suffer a fair amount of damage. As usual, your best defense is a solid offense. Also, be careful to avoid what boomerang shots you can, though at least they are preferable to direct contact (and may in fact work in your favor by making you invulnerable for a brief moment).
When the battle with the second Doc Robot ends, you'll have completed the level and the game will award you your new password.
Password: A-1 (red), A-3 (blue), B-5 (blue), D-2 (red), D-3 (blue), F-4 (blue)
NEXT: Gemini Man Stage
