Grenade Man

Grenade Man is first in the current (2014-2023) any% route because of Rush Bike. Also Flash Grenade is a solid weapon

You can get an easy Bolt in part 1 with no time loss (any% route), and at least 1 more in part 2 if you need extras for some reason (beginner strats involving additional shopping)

Grenade Part 1 - General Tips

There are two bolts in this half of the stage. Only 1 is collected in Any%

Remember the Mega Ball can be carried in front of Mega Man, letting you charge the buster while killing "dribbling" the ball to defeat an enemy.

The first section of this stage is one of the more technical sections of the whole game and demands knowledge of this. Note the first and last enemies are killed with a carried Mega Ball while also charging the buster. (This gif could have added a money jump too.)

grenade-1-start.gif

(Also remember if you have the Hyper Slider - this strat does not work as you will out-slide the mega ball. This fact is only relevant if you load an end-game save file that has the Hyper Slider to practice this stage.)

Always Be Sliding. Small slides and money jumps (sliding off a ledge into a ball jump) save small amounts of time that add up (though none are strictly necessary for beginners).

You should save at least 12 Mega Balls for the mid-boss, Ururunn. (The giant floating trash eye).

General Information

The sets of exploding boxes in this stage come in 2 colors. A set of continuous colors will explode if one explodes, and stop at the other color's boxes. Any level of charge shot (half or full) will "pierce" a box, destroying all boxes in its line of fire (this is most obvious at the early giant wall of boxes).

Bolt Considerations

Any% collects the bolt on the high platform before the mid boss.

40 Bolts should collect the bolt at the start of the second screen as well. (See Grenade Man Bolt Locations)


Ururunn

Ururunn.png

HP: 32

Damage Chart:

M. Buster

M. Ball

T. Hold

F. Bomb

I. Wave

T. Claw

1:2:3

3

1:3

2

3

3

A. Crush

W. Balloon

F. Sword

H. Sniper

R. Bike

R. Bomber

16

2

3

2

1

2

Damage Values:

Contact

Junk 

Falling Junk

Ball of Junk

3

3

4

3

From The compendium

Your location in the boss room is believed to affect the chance of Ururuun diving. By staying around the center area of the room we’ve concluded from extensive testing that this lowers the chance of a dive. However this is just speculatory and could be a case of still having too small a sample size.  Depending on if Ururuun is on the left or the right side of the room, we recommend standing in these approximate locations: 

(Images of the middle of the room go here)

Other Considerations

It's easy to have your Mega Balls destroyed by garbage in this fight. Be careful about your ammo (especially in a no reset scenario).

Remember you can angle Mega Ball shots by holding up, if needed.

It is decidedly faster to kill Ururunn when lower to the ground, however it is RNG whether or not you have this opportunity. It has not been measured whether it's faster to kill Ururunn at the highest point of its swoop or wait for it to float to its normal position.

Each "dive" costs about 4 seconds. You cannot damage Ururunn after a dive until the trash surrounding it breaks off and you can see the eye.

Grenade Part 2 - General Tips

There are two bolts in this section. Neither are collected in any% and one requires a revisit after Sword Man. 

Be careful to not drop a Mega Ball on top of the first ladder. Summon Rush Bike as soon as you are up top.

Be careful not to drop into the pit near the hammers on Rush Bike.

Land on the Red Bomb with Rush Bike to prevent the Joe from spawning (as long as you don't jump again)

While it is theoretically possible to Rush Bike Double Jump up the ladder and keep Rush Bike to the end of the stage, it is not RTA easy to do. 

Grenade Man - Boss Fight

Grenade Man.png

HP: 40

Damage Chart

M. Buster

M. Ball

T. Hold

F. Bomb

I. Wave

T. Claw

1:2:3

1

1:1

2

1

4*

*Reflecting Grenade Man’s Flash Bombs with Thunder Claw will deal the same amount of damage as a direct hit.

A. Crush

W. Balloon

F. Sword

H. Sniper

R. Bike

R. Bomber

0

1

1

1

1

2

Damage Values:

Contact

Flash Bomb

Dash Attack

Small Grenades

Girders

4

5

5

3

4


Strats

 

The Buster fight with Grenade Man is difficult to optimize.  Using half-charges is advisable, since they deal 2 damage and take less time to charge.  However, we also recommend opening with a full buster charge, and using a full buster charge after Grenade uses Crazy Destroyer, as this reduces the amount of charge shots needed by one.

The fastest Grenade pattern involves him using horizontal Flash Bombs, since he remains on the ground for longer when using that attack.  You can increase your chances of getting this pattern by being on the opposite side of the room from Grenade when he chooses an attack.  However, keep in mind you can only get this attack twice in a row, as he will always dash on his 3rd attack.

It is possible to double hit Grenade Man in the refight by hitting him on exactly the same frame with a reflected Flash Bomb and a Thunder Claw.  However, we currently have no setup to do this in RTA.

If Grenade Man is killed on the fall in the second fight, his health pickup will despawn and you will teleport out immediately. (PSX release)

 

Bolt Locations - Grenade Man

There are 5 bolts in the stage. Only 4 are collectable on your first visit; the fifth requires Flame Sword. 

Only 1 bolt (the second bolt in half 1) is collected for any%.

First Half

Credit for this image to the MM8 Compendium (https://i.imgur.com/bMoVz45.png). Destroy the blocks in the order of the (white) numbers. 

Grenade-1-bolts.png

The second bolt is on the high platform before the mid boss. This bold is collected in any%.

Image credit again to the MM8 compendium (https://i.imgur.com/9aFeEWr.png)

Grenade-2-bolts.png

Second Half

This bolt requires Flame Sword to light the fuse.

Genade-3-bolts.png

The next two bolts can be collected on the first run. Neither is collected in any%, though the second one is quick. If you are collecting the second bolt, ride Rush Bike all the way.

Grenade-4-bolts.png