Wave Man's stage is arguably the least conventional robot master stage to feature in any of the first six Mega Man titles, and shouldn't give you a lot of trouble. It's a lot of fun.
The first half of the stage consists primarily of what you might call natural hazards. As you head toward the right, you'll ascend along some ducting that is attached to water tanks. Watch out for the cracks along the tank surfaces, though. They spew damaging geysers of water as you get close.
Swinging chains with spiked heads are another concern. They follow an easy enough pattern, so watch them from a distance and then get close as they start to swing away. Slide under the ones that hang from the ceiling, and run under the ones that are positioned along the floor (you can also stand at their center and the chain will pass over your head).
When you get to the far right side of the first corridor, there are two bits of tubing you can ride down. Hop squarely onto the top of the first one, then from there jump to the top of the second one to collect a large energy capsule. Then drop down and let the upper of the two bits of tubing carry you down to the lower screen.
Here, you can grab an easy 1up (watch out for the water geyser) and then drop to another horizontal passage.
As you advance toward the right again, you'll also come across roaming spiked balls. The easiest way to avoid most of these is to let them start up a duct as you stand on it. Then you can slide forward, if you're quick enough, and your slide will carry you over the orb. That's more effective than trying to jump, given your low clearance room thanks to the overhead ceiling.
At the end of that confined space, things will open up a bit. There are five spouts along the ducting here, and bubbles will emerge from each of them. Those bubbles then carry you upward along a few screens, and you have to transfer from bubble to bubble so that you're in position to avoid spikes.
From the starting point, first hop onto the large bubble that materializes from the fourth of the spouts. Ride it up into the next screen, and be prepared to jump left. You'll need to jump along two small bubbles (which disappear quickly if you stand on them from long) and from there to a second large bubble that will materialize. Then ride it up into the next screen. Wait for a little bubble to appear to the right now, but don't jump to it just yet. Let it rise a bit. Then jump to it and from there to solid ground before you're so elevated that you have to worry about brushing against overhead spikes.
Head right and you'll access a checkpoint before hopping into a watercraft.
The watercraft carries you automatically toward the right, where you'll face three enemy types: orange dolphins that approach from the right in quick hops (shoot them, or let them pass over your head), sentient buoys (just shoot them or hop over them) and green robots that ride other vehicles and approach from behind. Position yourself around a quarter of the way from the screen's left side, so you have time to jump over anyone approaching from behind but can also maneuver around the dolphins.
When you survive long enough, you'll face a mid-boss of sorts. This red tank rises out of the water. Once its red mouth has been visible for about a half-second, it will fire a large bullet toward your location. The easiest way to avoid damage here is to wait until the mouth appears, hesitate a split second, and then make a high jump. As you come down, the bullet should pass harmlessly overhead. All the while, you can fire standard bullets at the part of your foe that looks like an old computer monitor. It shouldn't be a difficult fight.
Once your foe goes down, it's back to the standard stuff. Get back into your regular position, but be careful because the other enemies will now come at you more quickly.
It's important also to watch for the moment when the dolphins come at you most quickly. As they do, you'll need to be ready to jump into the air and grab the letter
E that appears. It's easy to miss if you're busy jumping around and not looking forward to its imminent arrival. If you do miss it, you can brush against enemies to intentionally perish, or else you can come back to the stage and get it later. The best option, of course, is to get it right the first time.
At the end of the water run, defeat the waiting red cannon and then pass through the gate to commence your encounter with Wave Man.
Wave Man
His stage was relatively easy, but Wave Man himself is certainly no pushover. If you want to defeat him, you'll need to keep moving and it's a good idea to be ready to attack with the Charge Kick.
When you first enter the arena, Wave Man waits ahead of you and will lift his hands in the air. When that happens, water will burst forth from the concrete, despite the visible lack of cracks. It can do a lot of damage if you collide with it, which is rather difficult to avoid.
Wave Man jumps toward you after that, which is what you want. Run forward and quickly slide through him as he lands, with the Charge Kick activated. The move deals a hefty bit of damage. You can potentially turn quickly from there and slide through the robot master again for a second shot if you're fast enough, or keep moving to avoid more water. Do note that while a slide can potentially carry you entirely through your foe if you execute it properly, you could instead wind up stopping short and taking damage if you try to slide from too great a distance. It's important to keep that in mind, or you'll hurt yourself every time you inflict pain on your foe.
In general, the fight is likely to go best for you if you get in as many attacks as possible in the early going, simply so that your foe doesn't have as much time to whittle away at your life meter. There are harpoons to avoid, as well, but they're mostly just a distraction if you're handling things properly.
Password: B-1 (red), C-3 (blue), C-5 (red), D-5 (blue), F-1 (blue), F-3 (red)
NEXT: Star Man
