- "Do not misunderstand me. It was an honor for them to have been chosen as experimental samples. It's as honorable as it gets for mean-spirited Reploids."
- ―Gareth, Mega Man Xtreme 2
Gareth (ガレス Garesu) is one of the main antagonists of Mega Man Xtreme 2, dutifully serving his master Berkana as the Soul Erasers. Players battle him in the final stages when playing as Zero.
Characteristics
Gareth is a noble-looking Reploid whose silver-blue armor resembles that of a knight's. He possesses the large shoulderpads and visor of a proper knight, along with a long red cape. His weapons include a beam javelin and an energy shield he can project from his arm.
Gareth at first seems to be a stoic and straightforward Reploid. He is the more sensible of the Soul Erasers, helping to ground Berkana and her relentless ambition. However, deep down he is consumed by the same arrogance as his master. He has a ruthless streak, caring little for the Reploids whose DNA Souls he stole and even disrespecting their deaths. He is also quite arrogant, at first seeing himself as superior to X and Zero, but upon watching them further he comes to respect their power and gives a shallow apology for not fighting them sooner.
History
Mega Man Xtreme 2
Gareth is a Reploid created by Berkana to serve as her right-hand-man. Under her orders, he helped carry out her plan to steal Reploids' DNA Souls in order to create power-ups. This led to the incidents of Erasure occurring around the world.
Gareth appears after X and Zero invade Laguz Island to investigate the wide-scale Erasure incident. He introduces himself as a Soul Eraser who "erases the souls of evil Mavericks" and establishes himself as the island's dominant force. When pushed by the two Hunters, Gareth forces them to battle Laguz Island's eight "guardian" Mavericks before they can meet further. Soon after, Iris deduces that Gareth's true goal in erasing Reploid's DNA Souls is to create upgrades to make himself stronger.
After X or Zero have defeated two of the Mavericks, he speaks with Berkana about the Hunters, regretting having underestimated their abilities. Berkana reassures him that the Hunters are no match for them, and orders him to not intervene yet.
Once X and Zero defeat their respective four Mavericks, Gareth finally accepts their challenge, inviting them to the Laguz Research Laboratory where he and Berkana reside. Upon their arrival, Berkana and Gareth split up to wait for the Hunters, forcing X and Zero to also split up. Zero pursues Gareth, who apologizes for not recognizing his strength from the start, but also tells Zero that the Reploids whom he killed should be honored to have been "chosen as experimental samples." Zero destroys Gareth, and as X defeats Berkana, the DNA Souls the two Soul Erasers had stolen return to the bodies of the Reploids they'd once belonged to. This puts an end to the Erasure crisis.
Strategy
Gareth attacks by throwing javelins and defends with his shield. When he jumps above the screen, he will throw four javelins before he descends again. To get past his shield, either attack him while he is midair or deflect the javelins from his jumping or countering attacks.
- Jump Javelin (ジャンプジャべりン Janpu Jaberin):[2] Gareth jumps and throws a javelin downwards.
- Consecutive Javelins (ジャべりン連完 Jaberin Renkan):[2] Gareth jumps off-screen and rains down four javelins before landing.
- Javelin Counter (ジャべりンで反撃 Jaberin De Hangeki):[2] Gareth defends with his shield, and counterattacks with a javelin if he is attacked.
Other media
Archie Comics
Gareth, along with Berkana and his lion companion, were among the Mavericks revived by Sigma-1 using the Genesis Portals during the Worlds Unite crossover event. They are dispatched to the world of Golden Axe to set a Unity Engine there. Gareth's lion is destroyed by Gilius Thunderhead, while Gareth himself is defeated by Ax Battler.
Gallery
Production notes
Designer Comments
"The order details for Gareth were to make a 'knight and his lion.' Unfortunately, Gareth's lion does not make an appearance in the game itself. If the player could just assume that the lion loyally follows Gareth everywhere, but not in any way that is visually confirmable within the game, that would be great. (laughs)" - Haruki Suetsugu [3]
Trivia
- There is official art of a lion companion for Gareth, though it never appears in-game. Haruki Suetsugu suggested players assume Gareth's lion accompanies him despite never being visible.[3]
- Sigma Beast has a lion face on its chest which resembles Gareth's lion.
- In the game screenshots on Capcom's site, some of Gareth's colors are yellow instead of purple or red.
- Following the medieval theme of the Soul Erasers, Gareth is named after a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian Legend.
- Gareth is the only boss from Mega Man X serise that X cannot fight in any game.
- Some bosses that X cannot fight in the original game but can in others: Iris and X himself in X Challenge, Mega Scorpio in Mega Man X DiVE.
References
- ↑ Mega Man Xtreme 2 instruction manual mistranslation
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Boss File: Gareth, Compendium of Rockman X. p. 136.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Mega Man X Official Complete Works, UDON Entertainment Corp. 2009. pg.81. Retrieved on April 13, 2011.