Mega Man 4 Boss Order / Weaknesses Guide
Conquer a New Evil Ambition
Written by A.J. Maciejewski for Guides on
Mega Man 4 is a classic and its collection of bosses can be quite tough so here are their weaknesses and the best order to fight them.
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Mega Man 4 Boss Order / Weaknesses
Although the boss order in other Mega Man games is often debated, Mega Man 4 is quite clear-cut. It's still tough, though, so this guide will explore strategies to defeat the bosses along with their weaknesses and some nifty tricks. Without further ado, here is the order: v1d30chumz 100-25-42-211
- Toad Man / Mega Buster (Drill Bomb for 2nd encounter)
- Bright Man / Rain Flush
- Pharaoh Man / Flash Stopper
- Ring Man / Pharaoh Shot
- Dust Man / Ring Boomerang
- Skull Man / Dust Crusher
- Dive Man / Skull Barrier
- Drill Man / Dive Missile
Toad Man Mega Buster
First, we'll take on Toad Man who is the easiest boss to defeat with the trusty Mega Buster. Be careful navigating his stage as the wind will push you at times; the Balloon might help with the trickier jumps. To beat Toad Man, slide or run underneath when he hops around, charge your Mega Buster when you can, and attack whenever he lands. Make sure to shoot him as soon as he starts dancing to prevent him from summoning rain that will damage you substantially. You'll get the nifty Rush Marine after you win.
Bright Man Rain Flush
Bright Man's stage is straightforward but make sure to take a detour down a ladder halfway through for an E-Tank. Bright Man's weakness is Rain Flush and all you have to do to defeat him is deploy it 7 times. Before that, there's a clever trick to outsmarting Bright Man as he only uses his Flash Stopper at certain HP thresholds so if you first hit him with one single uncharged Mega Buster shot then switch to Rain Flush, he'll actually never use it. Avoiding his shots can be challenging so focus on evading while firing Rain Flush whenever you can.
Pharaoh Man Flash Stopper
If you don't have Balloon, make sure to snag it in Pharaoh Man's stage by leaping over the gap with Rush Coil at the end of the starting segment. If you go through the stage normally, you'll be able to acquire an extra E-Tank. Anyway, when you're fighting Pharaoh Man, use Flash Stopper to freeze him in place then shoot him relentlessly. If you do it efficiently, you'll only have to freeze him 4 or 5 times.
Ring Man Pharaoh Shot
Rain Flush comes in handy in Ring Man's stage as it can wipe out the turrets and flying enemies easily. Oh, and Flash Stopper is useful against the hippos as well as the ring-covered eyeball things. You can meet Eddie up a ladder halfway through the level who will hopefully give you an E-Tank. If he doesn't, ignore the item that he spawns and keep exiting and entering the room again until he throws an E-Tank. Ring Man is weak against Pharaoh Shot which you can aim at angles and charge-up to be even more powerful. You can even snag Ring Man on the energy ball that appears above Mega Man's head. All it takes is 5 charged shots and he'll go down in no time.
Dust Man Ring Boomerang
Thankfully, this is a very straightforward stage. The trickiest part is when the ceiling comes down so just plan ahead so that the top 2 junk rows are clear. Also, do the Eddie trick when you meet him to get an E-Tank. Dust Man is easy although not as easy as Pharaoh Man so keep shooting Ring Boomerang, try not to get sucked into him, and once you hit him 7 times, you'll win.
Skull Man Dust Crusher
Flash Stopper helps deal with the pesky cannons at the beginning and can be used to defeat the collapsing skeletons as well. Make sure to get another E-Tank when Eddie waddles his way into the scene. Right after that, collect another E-Tank on the second-top row to the right of the big ladder then after ascending, get a third E-Tank after hugging around the tricky segment; Flash Stopper helps with the enemies here. Skull Man sure is generous! Speaking of which, he's pretty easy, too, as all you need to do is shoot him 7 times with Dust Crusher. However, his shield blocks it so you can temporarily switch to Ring Boomerang for some extra damage.
Dive Man Skull Barrier
I enjoy traversing Dive Man's stage while using Rush Marine which makes it feel like a shoot 'em up and the whale mini-bosses are easier with it, too. Try to snag another E-Tank from Eddie and right after the 2nd whale encounter, you can collect the Wire if you don't have it already by falling down the hole. When you encounter Dive Man, use Skull Barrier to both attack him as well as cancel his missiles. Because it has 2 uses, you'll have to deploy Skull Barrier rather frequently. Thankfully, Dive Man will take a permanent dive after 7 hits.
Drill Man Dive Missile
In this stage, use Rain Flush to quickly dispatch the shielded cannons. There's also an E-Tank reachable with Rush Coil and Flash Stopper prevents the rocks from falling in the next segment. It takes 10 Dive Missiles to defeat Drill Man so just keep launching them his way then run left and right to avoid surprise damage as he'll leap up from underground. You'll finally get Rush Jet for your efforts; yay! 😊
Mothraya Ring Boomerang
When this stage starts, run left for an E-Tank hidden in the snow. Flash Stopper helps a great deal in the collapsing skeleton part and it'll prevent the enemies from ascending the pits, too. When you have a choice of ladders, the left one proceeds while the others have weapon energy. The boss is called Mothraya and it can be bested with 7 Ring Boomerangs so keep shooting them at its red mouth.
Square Machine Dust Crusher
This second Dr. Cossack level is one where you'll need to use Rush Jet to get past a spike-floored area. After that, use a Drill Bomb to destroy the wall that blocks an E-Tank. When you reach the Square Machine boss, 7 hits with Dust Crusher will do the trick. You'll have to hop on the lower platform when it flies by then slide under the middle part's wall and ascend one of the little elevators in order to shoot the red eye that emerges. If you can do this efficiently enough, you can get 3 hits in each time.
Cockroach Twins Pharaoh Shot
Dr. Cossack's third stage features auto-scrolling segments which are rather easy. To grab the E-Tank at the end, use a Balloon at the bottom then hop on it and slide through the gap. After that, you'll battle the Cockroach Twins who are simple to defeat if you use Pharaoh Shot. Basically, charge the weapon up, hit the boss when it goes overhead with the energy ball that materializes above Mega Man's head, and then aim at it and let go of the shoot button to fire the charged-up shot for a quick one-two punch.
Cossack Catcher Mega Buster
In this final Dr. Cossack stage, you'll be given a choice to move down a hole to the right after a Drill Bomb wall or up a ladder to the left. The former path has an E-Tank and is slightly easier while the latter has a 1-Up. Once you've completed this simple stage, the Cossack Catcher is a bit tricky and can be defeated with 10 charged Mega Buster blasts. Try to evade its shots while dashing underneath it to avoid being scooped up by its claw and don't be afraid to use an E-Tank because it can be a somewhat challenging battle.
Metall Daddy Pharaoh Shot
Dr. Wily's first stage is full of Metalls which will make sense once you see its boss. Use Rush Marine in the underwater part to make it easier while a combo of Rush Jet and Wire will help in the rooms with disappearing blocks. Metall Daddy can be defeated similarly to how we beat the Cockroach Twins as you can hit it with overhead charged Pharaoh Shot energy when it jumps then unleash it when it's grounded and vulnerable. It takes quite a few hits (10, to be exact) so keep at it and you'll eventually take Metall Daddy down.
Tako Trash Ring Boomerang
At the beginning of the second Dr. Wily level, slide on the 2nd-highest platform, grab the E-Tank if you need it, and then drop right for an easier time ahead. Get an E-Tank from Eddie, choose the right ladder, and then the left one at the next decision. Anyway, Tako Trash's weakness is Ring Boomerang but you'll have to aim carefully at the green light on its head as you circle around on the platform and jump over its cannon blasts and fireballs. Thankfully, you only need to hit it 7 times which makes it a pretty simple battle.
Robot Masters Revisited
After replenishing some weapon energy and gathering goodies, you'll face off against all 8 of the Robot Masters again. Starting in the top-right and going clockwise, the boss doors lead to: Pharaoh Man, Ring Man, Dust Man, Toad Man, Dive Man, Skull Man, Bright Man, and Drill Man. We'll use the exact same strategies as before except this time, it's a good idea to use Drill Bomb against Toad Man as he's much weaker to that than the standard Mega Buster that we used during the first confrontation; it only takes 7 Drill Bombs to beat him.
Wily Machine 4: Part 1 Ring Boomerang
This first Wily Machine 4 phase requires 10 Ring Boomerangs to defeat it and it's not too challenging as long as you carefully jump and weave through the fireball projectiles while you keep shooting it whenever you have the opportunity.
Wily Machine 4: Part 2 Drill Bomb
After Wily Machine 4 transforms for this 2nd phase, it can be beaten with 7 Drill Bombs. However, they can't reach Dr. Wily's window on their own but there's a little trick. After launching a Drill Bomb, you can tap the attack button again to explode it in mid-air so with some expert timing, keep shooting then detonating Drill Bombs in order to defeat him as quickly as possible.
Wily Capsule Pharaoh Shot
Finally, after your long journey, you can defeat Wily Capsule with 5 fully-charged Pharaoh Shots. If you need to charge some weapon energy for it, just pace back and forth in the hallway before the boss door as you defeat the emerging worm enemies. This battle can be annoying since you can only see the Wily Capsule when the screen briefly flashes. However, you can simply charge the Pharaoh Shot then run and jump around while avoiding its attacks in order to occasionally hit it with the overhead energy ball; easy, right? 😅
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