"Was I thrown off course? Alia! Tell me where I am... ... The communication is out?"

―X, upon entering North Pole Area's Another Route, Mega Man X6

An Another Route (アナザールート, Anazā Rūto)^[1] is a type of secret area found in Mega Man X6. They are alternative paths through the game's eight stages, which can be accessed by entering a blue portal hidden within each stage. Every Another Route ends with a fight against one of three bosses known as an Another Boss (アナザーボス, Anazā Bosu).^[1]

Description[]

Another Routes are presumably an effect of the Nightmare. They are hidden throughout the game's eight Nightmare Investigator stages, containing upgrades and Injured Reploids not found in the stage's normal route. Once the player enters an Another Route, they cannot use the Exit function to leave the stage, regardless if the boss of the normal route has been defeated or not. Each ends with an Another Boss waiting in a boss arena, who each offer different rewards upon their defeats:

1. Zero Nightmare: Unlocks Zero for the player to use.
2. High Max: Unlocks the Secret Lab early. If the Secret Lab is already unlocked, he is skipped.
3. Dynamo: Doesn't normally reward the player anything, but striking him with Meteor Rain/Ensuizan drops up to 600 Nightmare Souls per battle. He can be fought an unlimited number of times.

Locations[]

	Amazon Area (Commander Yammark)
	Instead of descending in the teal caves, climb the wire into the ceiling to access a tunnel. At the end, drop down the right side of the tunnel to fall into the portal.
	Inami Temple (Rainy Turtloid)
	In the final Nightmare Rain area before the boss shutter, descend to the bottom-left corner. Air dash through the spikes (or use Shadow Armor) to find the portal hidden behind.
	Laser Institute (Shield Sheldon)
	Instead of opening the Nightmare Laser shutter that leads to the boss arena, open the one in the floor. Maneuver left through another hallway of Nightmare Lasers, then right through a hallway of spikes to reach the portal.
	North Pole Area (Blizzard Wolfang)
	There is normally a cracked wall of ice near the slopes with bouncing Nightmare Ice. Before entering the stage, activate Nightmare Fire by exiting Magma Area - this melts opens the wall and reveals a hidden room with the portal. However, the portal is high up and can only be reached by either traversing a spike pit to climb a ladder or some sort of high jump.
	Central Museum (Ground Scaravich)
	The portal can be found in one of the random Totem Gate areas.
	Recycle Lab (Metal Shark Player)
	Instead of descending the ladder after the second Nightmare Press, continue to the left to find another path. Pass under the press and descend to find a large gap. Cross it using Nightmare Cubes, Magma Blade, Nova Strike, or any other method, and continue past the Light Capsule to find the portal. (Note: The stage's main route - descending the ladder - also leads to a portal, but it is not the Another Route.)
	Weapon Center (Infinity Mijinion)
	After defeating Illumina, the portal is directly in the center of the screen, giving the option to continue right or enter the portal.
	Magma Area (Blaze Heatnix)
	At the fork in the road with two shutters, instead climb the tunnel upwards (Nightmare Iron can help, but if so make sure to have Metal Anchor/Rakukojin to clear the path ahead). Continue to the right past the Light Capsule to reach the portal.

Collectibles[]

• Amazon Area: Injured Reploids.
• Inami Temple: Injured Reploids (Hyper Dash, Saber Plus).
• Laser Institute: Weapon Sub Tank, Injured Reploids (Energy Saver, D-Barrier, Weapon Plus).
• North Pole Area: Injured Reploids (Jumper).
• Central Museum: Injured Reploids (Overdrive).
• Recycle Lab: Injured Reploids.
• Weapon Center: Blade Armor Arm Program, Life Up, Injured Reploids (Life Up, Energy Up, Master Saber).
• Magma Area: Injured Reploids.

Trivia[]

• Laser Institute's Another Route is the only one with a completely different backdrop in its Another Boss room.
• In the Mega Man X6 prototype, Another Route portals were colored green instead of blue and had more frames of animation. This helped differentiate them from the game's other portals, such as those found in Recycle Lab and Secret Lab that simply advance the stage rather than accessing Another Routes.^[2]

References[]