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"Zero... I don't think that justice is destroying Resistance forces. But, as long as they try to disobey humans, destroying them is my goal."
—Harpuia, Mega Man Zero 2

Sage Harpuia, known in Japanese as Kenshō Harpuia (「賢将」ハルピュイア KenshōHarupyuia, Kenshō literally meaning Intellectual Commander or Wise General), or simply Harpuia, is a member of the Four Guardians in the Mega Man Zero series. He served as the secondary antagonist in Mega Man Zero, the main antagonist for the first half of Mega Man Zero 2 (later an anti-hero), and a supporting character in Mega Man Zero 3.

Harpuia was created from X's DNA data for the purpose of aiding humans resettling the Earth after the destruction of the Maverick Wars and Elf Wars. He was a military general of Neo Arcadia, commanding the Strong Air Battalion (烈空軍団 Rekkū Gundan, literally "Army of the Fierce Sky"). He wields two beam sabers called Sonic Blades (ソニックブレード Sonikku Burēdo).

Harpuia lives on through Biometal Model H in the Mega Man ZX series.

Design[]

Rockman X DiVE Harpuia concept art1

Concept art detailing Harpuia's Mega Man Zero 3 redesign.

Like his siblings, Harpuia's armor is based on his biological data origin, X, with thematic alterations. His armor is colored green, symbolizing his alignment with wind and lightning. His helmet is mounted with wing-like extensions that bear resemblance to a Valkyrie's helmet, and powerful wing-like thrusters are mounted on his back. He wields two identical energy-based Sonic Blades.

Harpuia received a small redesign in Mega Man Zero 3, altering the green and gold highlights along his body and shortening the white on his heels. These changes are not depicted in his sprites.

In his Armed Phenomenon form, Harpuia's armor expands to become a fighter jet aircraft in the shape of an eagle. Harpuia's head appears at the helm, giving the impression of a human-headed bird, bearing a great resemblance to a Harpy.

Personality[]

"You will pay dearly for your futile resistance, Zero!"
—Sage Harpuia

Originally, Harpuia was a stubborn and loyal follower of X and later his duplicate Copy X. He was proud to serve such a heroic leader and fulfilled any task given to him with absolute obedience and without any hesitation. However, things began to change when he suffered his first defeat in decades at the hands of Zero. His pride fell down to Earth and he slowly began to realize that battles couldn't be won if one didn't have the will to truly do so. In the Ciel's Memory drama tracks, he also was shown to have a slight rivalry with Fighting Fefnir, especially when the latter implied that another loss like with Zero will result in his demotion after Harpuia rebuked him of complaining about fighting the Resistance directly instead of sending Pantheons to do the job due to it being a direct order from Copy X.

Harpuia matured during the course of the story, becoming more and more like the real X in terms of character and determination, sharing the same opinion that humans and Reploids in fact can live in peaceful coexistence, but will still destroy every Reploid who tries to threaten humanity.

The first instance of his true nature is at the beginning of Mega Man Zero 2, when Zero collapses after endlessly fighting Neo Arcadian forces for a year following the defeat of Copy X. As soon as he collapses, Harpuia arrives, riding on the griffin form of the revived Aztec Falcon. He could have easily destroyed the unconscious and heavily weakened Zero and yet brought him to the newly created Resistance Base without causing hostilities. This hints at a sense of fairness and that he is learning that the Resistance and Zero are not so different from him. The only other Guardian who seems to realize this is the deceased Phantom, who only attacked Zero in Cyberspace to test his worth as a being, having learned the truth of the legendary hero.

He shows contempt towards the Resistance, even if his character had evolved by then, as he seemed disgusted at the idea that they rescued him from Omega and repaired him, if only because it would've been a blow to his pride as they were still enemies considering their sides.

History[]

The Four Guardians work around the world to clean the pollution caused by the Maverick Wars, as well as the Elf Wars. At some point, Harpuia, along with his three siblings, became military generals of Neo Arcadia, responsible for the overall safely of Neo Arcadian inhabitants, both humans and Reploids. Harpuia, given his unrivaled superiority in the sky, was appointed to become the leader of the Strong Air Battalion, Neo Arcadia's air forces. It is only when the Resistance becomes active that all four are called back to Neo Arcadia by Copy X.

Mega Man Zero[]

Zero first encounters Harpuia as the boss of the "Rescue Colbor" mission. He fires energy waves from his twin blades and attacks mostly from above, and also manipulates wind and electricity. He is vulnerable to Ice elemental attacks. Zero fights against the Four Guardians again in Area X, the last stage of the game, but they are defeated by him and one of them (Phantom) dies. Copy X orders them to retreat and fights against Zero alone.

Mega Man Zero 2[]

MMZ2 Scene 04

Harpuia rescues Zero as he collapses in the wilderness

After Copy X's death, Harpuia becomes the leader of Neo Arcadia. He doesn't reveal the fate of Copy X, as the citizens would erupt in a panic if they found out that their "savior" is dead. He finds Zero unconscious in a desert and decides to take him to the new Resistance Base. While he wasn't spotted, Hirondelle claims that he saw green wind blow in the sky for a moment.

After Elpizo's Operation Righteous Strike, Harpuia sends a ship that carries a bomb meant to destroy the Resistance Base, but Zero stops the ship. When Zero goes to the Crystal Cave looking for Elpizo, he finds the wreckage of the ship, but Elpizo escapes with an IFF Beacon, as part of his quest to find the Dark Elf. Before Zero can go after Elpizo, Harpuia appears and the two do battle. Later, Zero fights him again, in the last temple before Yggdrasil (the last stage of the game), and Elpizo uses the Baby Elves to activate Harpuia's Armed Phenomenon form, forcing him to fight Zero against his will. Harpuia tells Zero to kill him and stop Elpizo. Zero does not kill Harpuia and fails to stop Elpizo from destroying X's body, which was being used to seal away the Dark Elf. Harpuia continues as the leader of Neo Arcadia until two months later when the space ship Forbidden Ark arrives, and on it, Omega.

Mega Man Zero 3[]

MMZ3 Scene 07

Harpuia confronts Copy X upon his alliance with Weil

Harpuia appears in the first stage right outside the Derelict Spacecraft, where he warns Zero to stay away. After Zero and Omega first do battle, he reappears to challenge the massive Reploid himself. However, the revived Copy X appears and says that Omega and Dr. Weil are now two additional allies, and Harpuia has to stand down.

After returning, he implored on Fefnir and Leviathan's condition (they were severely injured from their attack on Omega earlier), but he learned that the medical support and maintenance teams were prevented from working on them due to Dr. Weil's orders piling up, much to Harpuia's irritation. In addition, only three subordinates, including one human, were actually able to work on Fefnir and Leviathan, but they lost consciousness after the transfer was complete and thus put into critical condition. Harpuia also conversed with the Eight Gentle Judges, who were behaving violently. Harpuia learned the reason for their erratic behavior in the same conversation: Weil had made various changes to the Eight Gentle Judges.[1]

Harpuia tries to warn Copy X about Weil (Harpuia didn't, with good reason, trust him), but Weil appears to say that the Dark Elf was found in Area Z-3079, a human residential district. Harpuia offered to go and procure the Dark Elf with Fefnir and Leviathan after he speeds up their recovery (presumably due to his distrust of Weil, anticipating that he'll most likely intend to do something drastic in regards to capturing it), but Copy X not only denied the request, but also disbanded the Four Guardians. Citing their failures in both halting the Resistance as well as allowing the Dark Elf to escape, Copy X disbanded them and made Weil the commander of Neo Arcadia's military. Later, after the city was destroyed with a missile to take the Dark Elf, Harpuia tries to fight Omega, expressing anger at Weil's decision to launch the missile at Z-3079 as well as Weil labeling it justice. The fight is short and one-sided, as Harpuia is unable to damage Omega thanks to Omega absorbing the Dark Elf. Omega retaliates with his new power and soundly defeats Harpuia. Harpuia is injured and Zero rescues him, taking him to the Resistance Base. After recovering, Harpuia leaves the base, viewing himself as a Neo Arcadian, even though he realizes that he is at best "used goods" due to being stripped of his authority and driven out to his disgust.

MMZ3 Mini Game Harpuia

Harpuia riding Aztec Falcon.

Harpuia appears at the end of the game with Fefnir, Leviathan, and X, to help Zero stop Omega. The Dark Elf appears and hovers over Omega, seemingly protecting him, but the Four Guardians attack and weaken him. They share one final conversation while pummeling Omega, vowing to protect humans even if it is at the cost of their lives. Zero then finishes Omega off, resulting in a giant explosion that consumes them all in light.

Like the other Four Guardians, Harpuia was neither shown nor mentioned at all in Mega Man Zero 4 - this leaves the fates of Harpuia and his comrades after Omega's death unclear. Prior to the Japanese release of Zero 4, a blog entry on UCapcom stated that X and the Four Guardians were assisting humans outside Neo Arcadia in escaping Dr. Weil. Artwork featured in the Vile's Incident booklet also showed X and the Four Guardians watching the fall of Ragnarok in Cyber-elf-like robes. However, Mega Man Zero Official Complete Works instead stated the remaining three of the Four Guardians were killed in the explosion of Omega. This contradiction was addressed in the Q&A segment of MM25 Mega Man & Mega Man X Official Complete Works, where Takuya Aizu explained that Neo Arcadia had officially recorded the Four Guardians as deceased, but this didn't mean they weren't still secretly alive somewhere.[2]

Mega Man ZX series[]

Biometal H

Biometal Model H

Main article: Model H

Harpuia has a cameo appearance as a toy in the background of the giant crane game in Area H-3.

Harpuia also appears as Biometal Model H. Before the events of Mega Man ZX, Ciel discovered Model W, a piece of Ragnarok infused with Dr. Weil's soul that has the power to corrupt machines and humans alike. To combat this threat, Ciel made six Biometals. One of these was Biometal Model H, infused with the spirit, wisdom, and power of Harpuia. Vent/Aile where able to use this Model by Double Megamerging with Model X. It further gave evidence it was Harpuia by stating it fought for humans centuries ago.

In Mega Man ZX Advent, Model H is stolen and used by Aeolus. Model Z suggests that Model H is working with him against his will, as Model H was made to fight Model W, and Aeolus was trying to awaken it. However, Aeolus does share many of Harpuia's notable personality traits, such as his dedication to perfection, as well as Harpuia's determination and pride.

Powers and abilities[]

As a Reploid based on the original X, Harpuia is an extremely powerful warrior in his own right. Harpuia is a Reploid with terraforming capabilities used to aid restoring the Earth. He must combine with a giant Mechaniloid to employ his full power, but even on his own he is able to manipulate a weather orbit, allowing him to control the weather over a limited area. He is also an extremely powerful opponent, who is versed in a variety of battle skills. His main ability is his dual-wielding swordsmanship with his Sonic Blades, which he supplements with masterful wind and lightning manipulation and a high speed, nimble flight ability. These skills make Harpuia a difficult opponent due to his high-speed and the use of multiple attacks styles.

Harpuia is usually airborne, but will land when hit. In Mega Man Zero this makes Harpuia an easy boss with his weakness as he will always attack with Triple Slash before returning to the air. If the player can stun him in mid-air, and land a charged ice slash after he does the Triple Slash combo, he will repeat the attack every time he is hit with ice, unless the player takes too long to attack. This strategy is less reliable in Mega Man Zero 2 as he may also use Mirage Dash or go straight back into the air.

Sonic Boom Sonic Boom (ソニックブーム) Damage: ?
Harpuia dashes upwards and releases a crescent-shaped energy wave towards Zero.
Plasma Bit Plasma Bit (プラズマビット) Damage: ?
Levitates in the middle and starts firing off several homing projectiles.
Izuna Drop Izuna Drop (イズナドロップ) Damage: ?
Falls across the screen to capture Zero to bring him upwards and smash him into the ground.
Triple Slash Triple Slash (三連斬り Sanren Giri) Damage: ?
While on the ground, Harpuia launches three energy waves from his sabers.
In Mega Man Zero, this attack is always followed by a Sonic Boom.
Thunder Strike Thunder Strike (サンダーストライク) Damage: ?
Harpuia focuses his power to make a thunder fall on Zero's position.
Only used in Mega Man Zero 2.
Mirage Dash (ミラージュダッシュ) and Rising Blade (ライジングブレード) Damage: ?
While on the ground, Harpuia dashes at high speed to attack with a slash, and follows with a rising slash.
Only used in Mega Man Zero 2.
EX Skill: Thunder Prison (サンダープリズン) Damage: ?
Harpuia charges up and creates a cyclone that pushes Zero towards the thunderstorms created on both sides of the screen.
Only used in Mega Man Zero.
Super Sonic Boom EX Skill: Super Sonic Boom (スーパーソニックブーム) Damage: ?
Harpuia launches a large Sonic Boom.
Only used in Mega Man Zero 2.

Armed Phenomenon[]

When Harpuia activates his Armed Phenomenon, his body transforms into a giant green and white plane modeled after a harpy, with giant wings and two claw-like feet. In this form, he attacks with powerful dash attacks, as well as generating chains made of lightning energy and generating tornado with his two thrusters located within his wings. He is also able to fire several missiles from his body.

Air Assault Air Assault (エアーアサルト) Damage: 3
Harpuia charges horizontally across the screen.
Air Rush Air Rush (エアラッシュ) Damage: 3
Harpuia flies off-screen and charges at Zero's position from the background.
Missile Missile (ミサイル) Damage: 3
Harpuia fires a series of missiles at Zero.
Thunder Wiper Thunder Wiper (サンダーワイパー) Damage: 3
Harpuia generates two wrecking ball-like projectiles that swing in a pattern whilst moving slowly towards Zero.
Tornado Capture Tornado Capture (トルネードキャプチャー) Damage: -
Harpuia summons a tornado from his thrusters that try and push Zero off the edge of the stage.
Magnetic Typhoon EX Skill: Magnetic Typhoon (マグネットタイフーン) Damage: 3
Harpuia releases a wind sphere that pulls debris and then launches them.

Data[]

Mega Man Zero:
Area: Subway Ruins
Mission: Rescue Colbor

Mega Man Zero 2:
Area: Crystal Cave
Mission: Chase Elpizo
Zero's EX Skill: Kougenjin

Quotes[]

In-battle quotes[]

Action Japanese Translation Audio
Base form
Plasma Bit 行け!(Ike!) Go!
Triple Slash テイッ!(Tei!) Tei!
Triple Slash (3rd slash) / Sonic Boom ハァッ!(Haa!) Haa!
Izuna Drop, catch 捕らえたぞ!(Toraeta zo!) I got you now!
Izuna Drop, execute 落ちろ!(Ochiro!) Fall!
Thunder Prison 逃がすか!(Nogasu ka!) I won't let you get away!
Thunder Strike 貫け!(Tsuranuke!) Skewer him!
Stunned うぅっ!(Uu'!) Oww!
Armed Phenomenon
Pre-battle はああああっ!(Haaaaa!) Haaaaa!
Missile やめろ!(Yamero!) Stop!
Stunned ぐわああっ!(Guwaaa!) Guwaaa!
Two health bars depleted 俺は…!(Ore wa...!) I...!
Main article: Harpuia/Quotes

Other game appearances[]

Mega Man X DiVE[]

Harpuia appears as an S Rank Hunter Program, marking the first time he is ever playable in a game. His two Active Skills are Triple Slash and Sonic Boom.

Gallery[]

Videos[]

Etymology[]

  • Sage Harpuia's first name references his sage-like wisdom and poise, while his second name is derived from the ancient Greek word for Harpy, mythological spirits with bodies of eagles and the heads of women.

Trivia[]

  • Harpuia being repaired at the Resistance Base and fleeing is similar to when Bass was repaired at Dr. Light's Lab and trashing the lab in Mega Man 7.
  • Harpuia is referred to as "Master" by his subordinates in Mega Man Zero 2 (presumably inheriting the title from Copy X after his demise and Harpuia inheriting the role of Neo Arcadia's leader).
  • During the battle against Zero and Harpuia forced in his Armed Phenomenon form caused by the Baby Elves, whenever he starts to releases his rocket he will say "stop". This due to the current situation after hearing Elpizo's plan which is destroying X's body to break the seal off of the Dark Elf, he did not want to fight Zero but instead to just protect his master.
  • Harpuia appears to have shown somewhat "masochistic" traits. It's implied in Mega Man Zero 2, when Zero defeats him at the Crystal Caves, Harpuia mentions that he enjoys the pain, making him feel "alive", and that Zero is worthy, and then teleports out.
  • Megumi Ogata, Harpuia's voice actress, also did the "Hadoken" voice clip for X when he uses the aforementioned move in the first Mega Man X game.


  1. Remastered Tracks Rockman Zero Telos - Drama Track Translations
  2. "Takuya Aizu: Neo Arcadia's official archives don't show any records of activity for those three after that incident, so they are officially treated as deceased. However, it is entirely possible that they continued to function beyond Neo Arcadia's sensors, so we can't say for certain that they're truly gone." - The Answer. MM25 Mega Man & Mega Man X Official Complete Works. August 2013. Pg. 431.
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