- "How dare you destroy my unit! You'll pay for this with your life!"
- ―Storm Owl, Mega Man X4
Storm Owl, known as Storm Fukuroul (ストーム・フクロウル Sutōmu Fukurouru) in Japan, is a horned owl-based Reploid from Mega Man X4 who is a member of the Repliforce, an organization branded as Mavericks because of their desire for independence.
Characteristics
Storm Owl is a Reploid with an appearance derived from an owl, featuring round eyes with metal plumicorns and a hooked beak. His body is round, and he wears a military beret on his head. He has large epaulet-like shoulderpads that function as wings. His right arm sports an arm cannon similar in appearance to X's Buster and Storm Eagle's arm cannon.
One of the Repliforce's most resourceful generals, Storm Owl is a well-regarded member by the entire staff. He is especially skilled at night-time operations, and is so proud that he will absolutely refuse to follow orders that do not come directly from his superiors. He does not get along with Chill Penguin at all, due to somebody once confusing him with a penguin as a result of his appearance and short stature.[1]
Owl does share some respect toward the Maverick Hunters, as he did salute them with his buster arm when they arrived to stop his role in the coup d'état.
History
Before Owl joined the Repliforce, he was a Reploid who was prominent enough to be friends with Maverick Hunters such as fellow aerial Reploid Storm Eagle. When Sigma launched his first rebellion against mankind for Reploid supremacy, Eagle was among Sigma's followers. X ultimately had to kill the rogue Maverick Hunter Eagle in battle to put a damper in Sigma's rebellion, resulting in Storm Owl resenting X.
Sometime afterward, Owl joined the Repliforce. A very proud soldier, Owl was extremely resentful when he and his associates were branded as Mavericks by the Maverick Hunters for refusing to disarm after a Maverick catastrophe they were in proximity to for investigation. When Repliforce launched a rebellion in response, Owl played his part by setting a course for the combat zone and launching Repliforce's Air Force to attack a city.[2] The purpose of this was to distract the Hunters and give the rest of Repliforce sufficient time to build their Final Weapon colony to launch into space.
After the Hunters confronted him on his airship after he used it to attack a city, Owl refused their requests to stop his part in the coup and surrender. Owl engaged them in battle, forcing them to destroy him, his pride going before his fall.
Strategy
Storm Owl spends almost the entire battle airborne and can even fly off-screen, which can make him seem tricky to fight. However, his movements can become predictable, which only leaves his wide arsenal of attacks to deal with. He favors attacks that directly target the player, such as homing cyclones or swooping in with his talons, so proper dodging is a must. He uses much more difficult attacks with low health, meaning he should be finished quickly to avoid an onslaught.
However, his weakness to digital interference is quite crippling; X will have no trouble dealing with him using the Aiming Laser. Zero's use of Rakuhouha is riskier, as the damage Storm Owl takes from the attack multiplies with each projectile hit. This means Zero can deal tons of damage to Owl by using Rakuhouha point-blank, but it leaves himself open to damage in return (fortunately, Rakuhouha refills when Zero takes damage, meaning it can be replenished somewhat throughout the battle).
|
Swoop (急降下 Kyūkōka)[3] |
|---|---|
| Storm Owl swoops with his talons to grab the player. On hit, he lifts them and slams them into the floor. | |
| Damage: 9 | |
|
3-Way Shot (3wayショット 3-Way Shotto)[3] |
| Storm Owl releases a fan of feather projectiles in three directions. May be performed from the top of the arena downwards, or from the floor upwards. The projectiles can be destroyed with the X-Buster or Z-Saber. Owl stops using this attack after losing half of his health. | |
| Damage: 6 | |
  
|
Cyclone Attack (サイクロン攻撃 Saikuron Kōgeki)[3] |
Storm Owl unleashes energy cores surrounded by vacuum cyclones. There are three variations:
| |
| Damage: 6 | |
|
Giant Tornado (巨人竜巻 Kyojin Tatsumaki)[3] |
| Storm Owl summons three tornadoes under the player's feet. This attack is only used when he is below half health. | |
| Damage: 9 |
Quotes
Dialogues
Storm Owl: How dare you destroy my unit! You'll pay for this with your life!
Storm Owl: Why did you judge us as Mavericks!?
Zero: Wait! Stop the coup!
In-battle quotes
- Note: These are only present in the Japanese version of the game.
| Action | Japanese | Translation | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-battle | 目標捕捉！５分以内に撃破する！(Mokuhyō hosoku! Gobu inai ni gekiha suru!) | Target acquired! I will destroy him in five minutes! | |
| Pre-battle | 我々を敵に回した報いを受けよ！(Wareware wo teki ni mawashita mukui wo ukeyo!) | Face retribution for becoming our enemy! | |
| Pre-battle | ヒヨッ子めが、地面にへばり付いていればいいものを！(Hiyokko-me ga, jimen ni hebari tsuite ireba ī mono wo!) | Accursed little bird, you should've stuck to the ground! | |
| Cyclone Attack | そこか！(Soko ka!) | There you are! | |
| Cyclone Attack (desperation) | 奥の手だ！(Okunote da!) | My trump card! |
Other appearances
- Storm Owl is fought alongside Storm Eagle in the X Challenge from Mega Man X Legacy Collection and Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2.
- Storm Owl appeared as an Unit Card in TEPPEN.
Other media
Archie Comics
Storm Owl was among the various Mavericks revived by Sigma-1 during the Worlds Unite crossover event in order to invade other worlds. Following the mass attack on the Sky Patrol, they scattered to various worlds to plant Unity Engines. Storm Owl was teamed with Storm Eagle to attack the world of NiGHTS into Dreams..., only to be defeated by their habitants upon the arrival of Tails and Air Man.
Rockman X4 (manga)
Storm Owl appeared in the manga as a Repliforce member, same as in the game. He is first seen with the rest of his Repliforce compatriots helping Zero stop Maverick activity near a dangerous volcano. Owl leads a force of Repliforce soldiers in attacking soldiers on an island and successfully launches a devastating attack against the enemies' factories on the island. After the incident with Eregion, where a city is decimated and Repliforce is under suspicion as being responsible for the attack, he is seen in the Repliforce's private conference room with the General and the Colonel, where they discuss what their next move should be. Owl advocates for a rebellion for independence, feeling it is the only choice left for them to preserve their honor and pride.
Owl then commands his fleet to soar across the skies of the city, broadcasting a live event on their blimps of the Memorial Hall facility where Repliforce's troops and top leadership have gathered for a speech by the General. Owl is in attendance on the stage for the General's speech announcing the Repliforce's defection from the human government and decision to become independent.
Many weeks after the war begins, Owl and the entirety of the Repliforce air brigade that he commanded soar over a volcano and engage in unspecified operations to help the coup. They are brutally shot down by a vengeful X who had also received a massive power-up thanks to the Ultimate Armor he got from one of Dr. Light's capsules. All of Owl's subordinates are killed, and Owl himself is grievously injured. As he lays on the ground with serious wounds, he sits in befuddlement at X's amazing power, saying it far exceeds what Reploids can normally have, and accuses X of being the true Maverick, not Repliforce. X then abruptly kills him with a charged buster shot, and tells Owl that he was a Maverick and the humans made no mistake in deeming Repliforce as such, unaware of the real culprit behind Repliforce's coup.
Gallery
Trivia
- In the Mega Man X Legacy Collection version of Mega Man X4, the sound effects of Storm Owl's third Cyclone Attack is slightly different than the original English version. In the original version, he makes no sound as he prepares the attack, and then the sound effects of the spheres are repeatedly heard until he stops firing them. In the English Legacy Collection version, he makes the same laughing sound that he does when he picks up the player to slam them to the ground. Then, when firing the spheres, the sound effects are cut entirely, except for a brief second when he starts firing counter-clockwise, after which time the sound is gone again.
- In the Legacy Collection, if Storm Owl is injured with his weakness by the player during his desperation Cyclone Attack, the attack will be interrupted and Storm Owl will be injured with the regular weakness animation to go along with it. However, the next time he attempts to perform the Giant Tornado attack, the wind spheres will already be firing from four corners of his body as he is flying to the center, stop when he reaches the center, and then resume again once he performs the animation, making it even harder to dodge.
- Storm Owl is the second boss in the X series to share a name prefix with a previous boss, Mega Man X's Storm Eagle (the first one being Flame Stag, who shares his prefix with Flame Mammoth). The two don't appear to have any relation beyond being based on predatory birds. Coincidentally, the names of both species can be combined to form the name of another, the Eagle Owl.
- In Storm Owl's X4 concept art, it is established that the two were close friends; which in turn led to Storm Owl developing a grudge against X after he defeated Storm Eagle in Mega Man X. This story is similar to Overdrive Ostrich's.
- Storm Owl's Japanese name, Storm Fukuroul, is a combination of the Japanese word for owl, fukurou (フクロウ), and the English word "owl."
- Despite Storm Owl's right arm sporting an arm cannon, he does not actually use it during any of his attacks.
See also
References
| Mega Man X4 | |
|---|---|
| List of Mavericks | |
| Web Spider • Split Mushroom • Cyber Peacock • Storm Owl • Magma Dragoon • Frost Walrus • Jet Stingray • Slash Beast | |
| Other Bosses | |
| Eregion • Colonel • Double • Iris • General • Sigma | |
| X's Special Weapons | |
| Lightning Web • Soul Body • Aiming Laser • Double Cyclone • Rising Fire • Frost Tower • Ground Hunter • Twin Slasher | |
| Zero's Special Techniques | |
| Raijingeki • Kūenbu • Kūenzan • Rakuhouha • Tenkūha • Ryūenjin • Hyouretsuzan • Hienkyaku • Shippūga | |
| Armors | |
| - X - Fourth Armor • Ultimate Armor - Zero - Black Zero | |
| Stages | |
| Sky Lagoon • Jungle • Bio Laboratory • Cyber Space • Air Force • Volcano • Snow Base • Marine Base • Military Train • Memorial Hall • Space Port • Final Weapon | |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Damage Data Chart (X) • Damage Data Chart (Zero) Mega Man X4 Script (X's story) • Mega Man X4 Script (Zero's story) | |