Welcome to the 2nd topic in the Rate and Discuss series! This time it's about a weapon that certainly makes the cut, the Blade Arm!
The Blade Arm is a fairly popular weapon. It's actually the only other close-range weapon outside of the Drill Arm. While getting in close can be risky business, often times the reward can be worth it.
In the first Legends game, the Blade Arm was crafted from two items; a toy Zetsabre won by beating the A-Rank challenge in Beast Hunter, and a Pen Light that you can find by digging around in the sub-ruins (how do these things get down there?). As far as upgrade costs go, you're only going to spend 38000z to fully upgrade it, which isn't too bad considering the fact that most of it goes towards the range anyway.
Using the Blade Arm causes Megaman to do a single slash. A small beam flies out as well, and goes farther depending on the range upgrade. The weapon isn't overbearingly powerful, although it can get the job done. Note that if used close enough, the blade and beam will both hit the enemy, doing increased damage. With this you can take out a lot of minor enemies out in one shot, but larger enemies like Karubun, Skarukurusu, and Firushudot will be able to take the hit. The bad thing about this is that if you don't stun the enemy, they'll still hit you.
One downside to this weapon is that it's startup time isn't too quick. You're liable to get smacked in the face by the thing you were trying to slash, which can be quite frustrating. I strongly suggest mastering tech rolling if plan to use this weapon, because you'll otherwise lose a lot of health if you're not careful. This also isn't the best weapon for taking down enemies in numbers. It doesn't have the fastest recovery, so you're liable to get jumped if you get surrounded; and in that case, you'll want to use your buster anyway. It's not the best weapon for boss fights either, as getting that close to most bosses is hard enough, let alone the fact that you won't be able to hit them with it. You can hit Juno's 2nd form with this, although the damage payoff is not worth it at all, and he'll probably hit you anyway due to the lag it has.
In Legends 2, the Blade Arm received a well-needed overhaul. This variation is made from the Zetsabre and the Beam Blade notes. The Beam Blade notes are easy enough to get; they're in a chest located at the Kimotoma ruins on Saul Kada island. The Zetsabre is another ballgame altogether; no matter how you slice it (sorry! ), it's going to take some work to get it. You either have to take the 100-question quiz or pay 2,000,000z to the mayor of Pokte Village for it. I recommend you take the quiz (with aid of a FAQ, if need be), as you're going to need the cash for upgrading the weapon itself.
The Blade Arm costs a whopping 2,010,000z to fully upgrade, topped only by the Homing Missile, Crusher, and Shining Laser. It's prices were slashed (
) down to 1,000,000z in the PSP version. The energy is probably what you'll want to upgrade first, as this weapon sucks a lot of it quickly. The attack and range are worth it too.
About the weapon itself, the Blade Arm now allows you do do a 3-hit combo by pressing the button twice. Megaman makes two wide-ranged swipes sideways (better range depending on how much your range stat is upgraded), and then comes down with a leaping slash. Note that you are fully invincible during the 3rd slash; but be careful, you don't want to propel yourself off of a ledge and into something like lava. The weapon also shield breaks, which means that it can take off the shields of Gorubeshu, as well as hitting enemies who are invincible to the buster in certain frames, like Galgalfummi.
The weapon has plenty of attack power, particularly when upgraded. You'll find yourself easily wiping out Tron and Bon at Kimotoma ruins, as well as most reaverbots you meet. Once you get the range upgraded, you'll find yourself hitting enemies at different angles, such as directly beside you. And with infinite energy, there's a lot you can do.
Really, the main weakness of the weapon is the fact that you can't hit anything from a distance with it, like the Gomoncha battle for example. Granted, you have your buster, but otherwise, this weapon simply won't cut it (sorry!). Otherwise, you have a solid close-range weapon which is pretty darn useful!
On a closing note, one other cool feature of the Blade Arm (both versions) is that it makes this cool sound-effect when you swing it. It's pretty unique and separates it from other sword type weapons in the Megaman series (a particular red reploid comes to mind). Overall, I rate the MML1 Blade Arm a 6.5/10, and the MML2 version an 8.5/10
Post your opinions/ratings/thoughts here!
P.S. If you want me to rate a specific weapon next, let me know!