Air Dash BootsAcquired At: Desert Base
Required: Spin Wheel
Effect: These boots allow X to dash left or right while in mid-air
Location: Towards the end of the level before Ostrich's boss door will be a vertical drop. On the right is a ledge with a wall made of blocks the Spin Wheel can break. Break through and grab the upgrade.
Double BusterAcquired At: Dinosaur Tank
Required: Air Dash
Effect: X can now charge to the 4th level allowing him to fire two charged shots and charge up weapons gained from mavericks.
Location: Upon entering the tank, head to the end of the corridor and climb up the right wall. There will be a hole in the ceiling. Use the air dash to get into it and climb up to grab the upgrade.
I. Tracer HelmetAcquired At: Energen Crystal Mines
Required: None
Effect: This helmet detects secret paths with a tracer.
Location: In the early/middle area of the stage, drop into the chasms by sliding down the wall. In one chasm, there will be a tunnel at the bottom of the left wall. Defeat the enemies and head through. You will see a pod seperated from you by a wall. Hidden from you is a hole in the ceiling of the tunnel, keep jumping to find and walk through to reach the pod.
Giga Crush ArmorAcquired At: Robot Junkyard
Required: I. Tracer, Spin Wheel
Effect: After taking a certain amount of damage, X's weapon energy for this weapon fills. He can then use all the energy to create a powerful area blast that hits everything on screen.
Location: Upon entering the junkyard facility, start probing the area with the I. Tracer. It'll eventually mark a spot on the floor. Use the Spin Wheel on that spot to tunnel down to the pod.
Heart Tanks
(needs to be ported to the wiki!)
These heart-shaped tanks permanently expand X's maximum HP and can be found in each of the eight Maverick stages. Note that some of them require X to have earned additional upgrades and weapons before becoming accessable.
Bubble Crab
After the sub descends through the first horizontal gate, equip Bubble Splash and charge it up to make the bubble barrier.
In water, the barrier adds a hi-jump and the ability to jump on the surface of water. Descend past the barrier and jump up a bit right of the gate to find a small ledge with the tank on it.
Crystal Snail
After you enter the suit of armor near the beginning of the stage, backtrack to the left a short way before dropping down the first gap you encounter. Press the jump button while falling to slow your descent, allowing you to land the armor on a small platform down below. From the platform, you must dash-jump in the armor as far as you can to the left. Press the jump button while you're in the air to prolong your flight, and be prepared to bail out of the suit as it is about to plunge to its death.
With good timing, you can reach a small platform with the heart tank. Up above is a small transport platform waiting to take you back.
Flame Stag
As you run up trying to escape the lava, you'll see a Heart Tank blocked off by a barrier enemy. The X buster lacks the power and speed to open and allow you to escape. However, the charged Spin Wheel will take it down quickly allowing you to grab the tank and continue escaping.
Overdrive Ostrich
If you manage to keep your bike as far as the second base facility, you'll be able to drive it onto an extremely long bed of spikes and retrieve the tank at the end of it.
Alternatively, if you don't mind losing a life you can also do this. First, charge up the Speed Burner and dash all the way to the small part of ceiling and cling to it. Drop down and use the Giga Crush. While executing hold down the buster button to charge up while executing the crush. Pause the game and switch to Speed Burner and execute the dash once again to grab the tank and fall to the spikes.
Wire Sponge
At the start of the level, climb up the left wall to grab the tank.
Magna Centipede
In the first area of moving blocks, you need to move through as quickly as possible. At the final gorge you must dash jump to catch a block about to head off and use it to jump up into a hole in the ceiling for the tank.
Wheel Gator
This takes a lot of timing and practice. After going through the underside of the tank in the armor you will see a wall of spikes with a heart tank above it. You'll need to use a ledge and time a Speed Burner Dash perfectly to reach this tank without dieing.
X-Hunter Doors
(needs to be ported to the wiki!)
Once you have defeated two Mavericks (excluding the intro Maverick), the X-Hunters will appear in random stages. You can pinpoint their location using the map. To battle these X-Hunters and retrieve Zero's parts, you must find them behind "X-Hunter Doors."
"Silk Shot" Areas
(needs to be ported to the wiki!)
In certain areas of the game, the Silk Shot (Morph Moth) will be disabled. By charging up the Silk Shot, X can absorb multiple health items. This method can be repeated infinite times. This is the quickest way to fill up the Sub Tanks. When at the correct spot, the I. Tracer can locate these "Silk Shot" areas.
#1. Desert Base (Overdrive Ostrich)
Hop on the ride chaser, and reach the first chasm. Once there, backtrack left, and leap over the ledge. Exit the ride chaser to encounter a lot of dirt. Use Spin Wheel (Gator) to "dig" your way into the "Silk Shot" area.
#2. Deep Sea Base (Bubble Crab)
Follow the Submarine Fish until it reaches a horizontal gate. Once the fish opens the gate, slide down the left wall. You will uncover a secret passage to the left. Travel left to find the "Silk Shot" area.
#3. Energen Crystal (Crystal Snail)
After the sub-boss fight, you'll encounter a large green block. This green block will force you to backtrack to avoid death. Near this area is a ladder that seemingly leads to a dead end. This dead end is the "Silk Shot" area. Note, however, that X absorbs weapon-recovery items here (instead of health).