On occasion, I find myself compelled to practice various stages and boss fights in any of my favorite games, either randomly or by compiling a list of ideas over time. This particular showcase of battles against Sol Titanion is the result of one such impulse. Here, I'll demonstrate four unique methods of engaging her in combat, ranging from practical combos and punishes to my usual nonsensical dancing and oddities. Here are the details.
First up is the most practical of the bunch. By leveraging the charged Z-Knuckle, you can land 4 hits during Titanion’s Flame Fan, both the Green and Red variants. Zero’s arsenal is primarily ground-focused, so comboing airborne enemies can be a chore. Thankfully, Flame Fan locks Titanion in place for its duration, so using Flame Fang, Sky Chaser and the rolling slash is possible with minimal risk. Flame Fang just so happens to elevate Zero to the exact height necessary for Sky Chaser’s initial hitbox-which manifests above Zero’s head-to hit Titanion.
Strength-wise, the Z-Knuckle is a match for the charged Saber, dealing 7 points of damage to bosses. Obviously, it lacks the boisterous energy geyser of the Saber, but it makes up for its inadequacy in range with speedy execution and precise directional targeting. The charged slash is simply too sluggish to work well in this context, its inelegance makes the whole endeavor more taxing despite its easier-to-aim nature. Additionally, the Z-Knuckle can be charged while the rest of the combo is playing out, meaning that downtime is kept to a minimum.
Second is an illustration of Thunder Stab’s potency when used to punish Titanion’s attempts to lay mines across the ground. When properly spaced, 9 points of damage are dealt, with an opportunity for follow-ups. Equally as important is that interrupting her mines saves a ton of time and trouble dealing with them. I use Flame Fang and Sky Chaser after Thunder Stab, but there’s a major caveat to this combo.
The timing and spacing to land Flame Fang are disproportionately difficult relative to the reward, which is a measly 3 damage. Flame Fang propels Zero slightly forward, so contact damage is all too common if you move too far forward during Thunder Stab. An even bigger problem is whiffing Sky Chaser as Titantion recedes upward, Flame Fang’s execution time is long enough that the likelihood of her flying away before you can hit Sky Chaser is quite high. You have to intercept Titanion with Thunder Stab while she’s quite low to the ground for the full combo to work as intended. In an actual run, I recommend dropping Flame Fang; using Sky Chaser as the sole follow-up incurs significantly less risk and the damage loss is negligible.
The third battle highlights a somewhat obscure piece of equipment: the Auto-Fill head chip. Normally, I’m not one to craft chips in Z4, but after deciding to finally equip Zero with the rolling slash, I looked into what else was available. Auto-Fill immediately caught my eye, its function is as follows: if Zero presently has an ammo-dependent Z-Knuckle weapon whose ammo count is 1 below its maximum value, then the ammo count will be fully replenished after 10 seconds. Unlike Auto-Recover, there’s no need to stand still for the effect to apply, it’s a ubiquitous passive buff.
Naturally, this chip is congruent with weapons that have medium to high ammo pools. The Elec Rod-stolen from the enemy “Raiken”-is a great example of this, allowing for 6 hits that make direct contact. Note that simply striking the ground with the weapon doesn’t deplete ammo while still generating crawling sparks in the same vein as Thunder Stab. With this configuration, you can beat Titanion purely with this weapon and nothing else. It does a fantastic job at highlighting her rather crippling vulnerability to electricity; every single move she attempts can be interrupted while she gets sent reeling and takes a breather. It’s very much the kind of weakness you’d expect to see in the Classic and X series, which perhaps explains at least part of the reason that elemental chips are absent from Z4.
Last, but not least, is a dodging exhibition where I forgo dashing. Here, I deliberately toss myself into as many unique, perilous scenarios as possible for the purpose of demonstrating the various methods available to avoid Titanion’s repertoire through pure movement. Her fans and mines are destructible, but with careful observation, even her trickiest assaults prove futile. The decision to play dashless was made because, quite frankly, it’s not considerably more challenging than playing with the dash. The only point you need to be cognizant of is that the sun is at full intensity here, so move accordingly and with purpose.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Charged Z-Knuckle Combos
00:23 - Thunder Stab Combos & Rolling Slash
00:51 - Raiken Z-Knuckle Weapon & Auto-Fill Head Chip
01:36 - Dashless Dodging Exhibition
Thanks for watching! Questions and comments are welcome as usual.