- "I admire your speeches. But now, allow me to test the result of my experiment on you. Let me see who is the strongest Reploid! This is my final experiment."
- ―Berkana, Mega Man Xtreme 2
Berkana (ベルカナ Berukana) is one of the main antagonists of Mega Man Xtreme 2, working alongside Gareth as the Soul Erasers. She is one of the few female villains of the entire Mega Man X series. Players will face her if they are playing X's story.
Characteristics[]
Berkana appears as a blond-haired Reploid with an overall witch aesthetic. Her armor is mostly blue and white, and she wears a stylized mage robe that extends past her feet, ending in golden spikes. Her helmet has the shape of a wizard's hat with a red crest that extends to a winged form. She wields a golden scepter in battle. Although concealed by her dress, Berkana does possess legs, which have white and red feet.[2]
Berkana is a selfish and reckless individual who has no regard for others, having no qualms over stealing DNA Souls to boost her own strength. She had a bit of a flirtatious side, calling X "cute" in the final stages. She cared little for the concerns of even her right-hand-man Gareth, and arrogantly believed that she could defeat X or Zero after they had defeated their Maverick guardians. Even Sigma admitted that she was far too ambitious for her own good.
History[]
Mega Man Xtreme 2[]
Berkana is a Reploid shrouded in mystery, her creator and time of production being unknown. She works with Reploid research and development and is the creator of her right-hand-man Gareth.[3] She and Gareth began stealing the DNA Souls of innocent Reploids for her experiments, making her the one behind the Erasure phenomenon, specifically the major incident which occurred at Laguz Island and prompted the intervention of the Maverick Hunters.
Berkana speaks with Gareth.
Berkana is first seen in a cutscene after X or Zero have defeated two Mavericks, sitting on a throne while listening to Gareth's report. Gareth believes they should destroy the Hunters immediately, but Berkana disagrees, instead wishing for them to grow stronger from DNA Souls so she can analyze their data. She then expresses her excitement at the thought of meeting them.
When X or Zero have defeated their respective four Mavericks, Gareth challenges them to storm the Laguz Research Laboratory. Upon their arrival, Berkana and Gareth split up to wait for the Hunters, forcing X and Zero to also split up. X goes after Berkana, who reveals that this battle will be her final experiment to see if she has become the strongest Reploid via the power of all the DNA Souls she has acquired. Berkana is destroyed by X, and as Zero defeats Gareth, the DNA Souls the two Soul Erasers had stolen returned to the bodies of the various Reploids they'd once belonged to. This put an end to the Erasure crisis.
If the player is in Extreme Mode, it is revealed that Sigma is the one who planted the seeds for Berkana's plan. However, in a rare instance he admits that Berkana's greed went too far and that she needed to have some sense knocked into her.
Strategy[]
Berkana has mainly two types of attacks: she will throw two varieties of bouncing spheres in X's direction, red spheres with an A on them and blue spheres with a B on them. The letters on the spheres correspond with the Game Boy buttons that will be disabled. If X is hit by the magic shot A, he will be temporarily unable to jump, spikes will appear in the walls, and Berkana will shoot red projectiles that split in two when they touch the floor. If hit by the magic shot B, X will be temporarily unable to attack, spikes will appear in the floor, and Berkana will attack with icicles. After losing half of her energy, sometimes she will release a spiked iron ball that slides slowly through the floor. Her main weakness is the Ray Claw, but she must be struck twice in a row, as the first hit will simply paralyze her and do no damage. If X happens to have Sonic Slicer with him, however, he can make short work of Berkana as it will damage her outright.
- Magic Shot A (Aの魔法弾 A no Mahō-dan):[4] Berkana shoots a red projectile emblazoned with an A. If X is hit, it temporarily disables his jump.
- Magic Shot B (Bの魔法弾 B no Mahō-dan):[4] Berkana shoots a blue projectile emblazoned with a B. If X is hit, it temporarily disables his attacks.
- Shooting (射撃 Shageki):[4] Berkana shoots red spheres that split into fireballs along the floor. Used if X is hit by Magic Shot A.
- Icicles (つらら Tsurara):[4] Berkana casts blue icicles from the top and bottom of the screen. Used if X is hit by Magic Shot B.
- Iron Ball (鉄球 Tekkyū):[4] Berkana summons an iron ball that rolls across the floor.
Other media[]
Archie Comics[]
Berkana appeared as a member of Sigma-1's Maverick army, having been cloned by him using the power of the Genesis Portals. She and Gareth went to the world of Golden Axe, where she was destroyed by Tyris Flare.
Gallery[]
Etymology[]
- Berkana is named after the Proto-Germanic rune berkanan (ᛒ), which means "birch".
References[]