RockmanPM Forums

AquaTeamV3 · **on:** September 13, 2013, 01:27:39 AM

So I'm watching one of HideofBeast's vids, and I picked up on a small detail about X3 that I never noticed beforehand. I always knew that defeating Blast Hornet opened up the wall to grabbing Gravity Beetle's heart tank, but apparently there's a lot more to it than meets the eye.

Gravity Beetle's aircraft is delivering a shipment of containers to Blast Hornet's area (I'm assuming it's a weapons facility of some sort). If Gravity Beetle isn't dead when you get to Blast Hornet's stage, you'll have a miniboss segment that has X destroy the contents of said containers. These containers more than likely held the parts/weapons for a few enemies throughout the game.
Recognize these guys? Its name is Head Gunner Customer, and it appears as a recurring enemy throughout the game. After defeating Blast Hornet, all instances of it aside from Doppler's Lab get replaced with it's lesser cousin, Head Gunner masspro:

It can be assumed that after destroying Blast Hornet's operation, they don't have the funds/manpower to keep producing the more powerful, customized version of Head Gunner, so the mass-produced version will have to do.
These guys also leave Hornet's Stage after his operation is shut down.
Oh yeah, the boxes that get in your way in Gravity Beetle's stage? Those are more than likely shipments that had yet to be delivered. After defeating Blast Hornet, the packages had already been shipped off so your path to the heart tank is now clear.

For all I know I could be extremely late with this and everyone else knew this stuff, but I thought it was pretty interesting how the two stages tie into each other like that. X1 had something similar, but it wasn't as subtle. I always liked how the plot elements in the earlier X series games weren't necessarily spelled out for you. I'm still not a huge fan of X3, but I can appreciate some of the details the game has a little more now.

Soultrigger · **Reply #1 on:** September 13, 2013, 01:43:20 AM

I knew about the Blast Hornet -> Gravity Beetle stage effects, as well as the downgraded Head Gunner. I imagine most people do since it's a requirement to get Gravity Beetle's Heart Tank. It's a nice touch in an otherwise somewhat messy game.

There's also the Gravity Beetle, Boomer Kuwanger sibling connection that becomes referenced again with Herculious Anchortus and Kuwagust Anchus in the Zero series. Random trivia I'm sure most veterans are familiar with.

I love HideofBeast's videos. His snarky commentary and insane gameplay are always so entertaining to watch.

Ladd Spencer · **Reply #2 on:** January 15, 2014, 05:24:14 AM

I don't know if this thread is too old for me to be posting in it (the entire section of the forum is dead, so it's hard to gauge), but this is really interesting. I was aware of course of the crates, mini-boss, and the downgraded red to green guys, but never noticed the other enemy missing from the stage, and never thought that much of it. X3 is a highly underrated game, and thinking about stuff like this makes me like it more.

Fxeni · **Reply #3 on:** January 15, 2014, 11:53:24 AM

Yeah, I liked how they tried to bring that element back from X1. It was a nice touch.

Ladd Spencer · **Reply #4 on:** January 15, 2014, 08:55:40 PM

My only real gripe with X2 and X3 is the clunkiness of the double buster. Drops you from a ladder, makes you stand out of a dash. It's messy. The good thing is that without the Arm Part in X3 the Z-Saber is faster charged than with the Part.