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Tidal Whale

From Mega Man Wiki
Walkthrough
Quotes
Maverick Info
MMX5 - Tidal Whale Art.png
Artwork from Mega Man X5.
X5
Stage portrait(s).
General information
Name(s):Tidal Whale, Duff McWhalen, Tidal Makkoeen
Title(s):Guardian of the Great Sea[1]
Group(s):None
Appearances:Mega Man X5
Inspiration:Sperm whale
Designer:Ryūji Higurashi[1]
Game Info
Weapon(s):Goo Shaver/F-Splasher
Weakness(es):C-Shot/C-Sword
Stage(s):Deep-Sea Submarine Stage


Tidal Whale, also known as Duff McWhalen, or as Tidal Makkoeen (タイダル・マッコイーン) in Japan, is a Maverick from the X era, appearing as one of the main bosses in Mega Man X5. He is a water-themed Reploid based on a whale, who attacks by creating blocks of ice and firing torpedoes. He is the curator of an oceanographic museum who possesses the Hydrogen required for the Enigma project.

In the Games

Mega Man X5

Sprite from Mega Man X5.

Tidal Whale debuts in Mega Man X5 as one of the eight Mavericks on the Stage Select screen. He is a captain of the coast guard and the director of an oceanographic museum, thus controlling access to the Hydrogen needed for the Enigma in the Deep-Sea Submarine Stage. His attacks don't deal much damage, but can easily crush the player on walls or deadly spikes. Defeating Tidal Whale grants Goo Shaver to X and F-Splasher to Zero. His weakness is the C-Shot or C-Sword from Crescent Grizzly, which stuns him briefly. A boss attack rematch with Tidal Whale later occurs in Zero Space Stage 4: Birth.

Other Game Appearances

Other Media

  • In the Rockman X5 manhua, Tidal Whale reprises his role from Mega Man X5.
  • In the Archie Mega Man comic, Tidal Whale appears in the "Worlds Unite" arc as one of the many Mavericks resurrected in Sigma's army. He is referred to as Tidal Makkoeen and is drawn without his correct eyes.

Official Data

Mega Man X5

Guardian of the Great Sea
Tidal Whale
A whale Reploid who is both the director of the robot oceanographic museum and a captain in the coast guard. A man of the sea, he never hesitates when it comes to protecting the oceans he loves, and his quarrels with the Repliforce Navy are never-ending. He attacks by creating ice blocks, and his special weapon Gel Shaver slides along the ground slicing whatever it crosses. To acquire the hydrogen needed to fire the Enigma, the ocean nearest to Hunter Base must be procured, but it is currently protected by Whale.[2][3]

Compendium of Rockman X

MMX5 - Tidal Whale Art.png
Deep-Sea Submarine Stage Tidal Whale
Weapon: Goo Shaver/F-Splasher Weakness: C-Shot/C-Sword
Profile: A whale-shaped Reploid. Although he is huge, he can swim and use blocks of ice to attack the player. Despite his few attack patterns, beware the spikes on the right wall of the arena.
Attack: Effect:
Ice Block A Shoots ice blocks, then fires Goo Shaver for a short time. Then the ice blocks return while he fires torpedoes.
Ice Block B Shoots trios of ice blocks to push the player into the spikes on the wall.
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{{{attack7}}} {{{effect7}}}

Mega Man X Legacy Collection Gallery

MMX5 - Tidal Whale Art.png Tidal Whale
Whale is both the curator of an oceanographic museum and captain of a maritime security force. Never one to back off from a crisis, his tendency to blunder into dangerous situations without a second thought often gets him into disputes with Repliforce's navy. His Gel Shaver weapon tears along flat surfaces, literally shaving away anything in its path.

Behind the Scenes

Developer Commentary

"This is a boss that got vetoed from X4. He got nixed because it was difficult to anthropomorphize a whale. If he wasn't humanoid to some extent, he wouldn't look boss-like. I actually wanted to make him about as large as Walrus, but he ended up rather compact." - (Developer Comments)[3]
"No matter how you tinker with a whale, it still looks like a whale, so I finished this one up comparatively easily. It's a bit of a shock, though, that even though he's a whale, he's smaller than a sea lion (Frost Walrus). While this guy was being developed, he got impossibly strong once his health had decreased. It almost made me cry." - (SEITO, Designer Comments)[3]
"Whale, Pegasus, and Dinorex were designed by Higurashi. They are simple yet refined, without a lot of unnecessary parts. Maybe it's just because I've been working on robots for so long, but my designs always seem to end up more cumbersome (laugh)." - (Haruki Suetsugu)[1]

Nomenclature

Language Name Origin
Japanese Tidal Makkoeen (タイダル・マッコイーン) "Makkoeen" is derived from "makkō kujira" (抹香鯨), the Japanese term for sperm whale.
English Tidal Whale / Duff McWhalen "Duff McWhalen", his name in the initial English release of Mega Man X5, was inspired by Duff McKagan, the bassist of the rock band Guns N' Roses. In the game's Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 re-release, his name was changed to "Tidal Whale" to better reflect his original Japanese name.

Trivia

  • While Tidal Whale's Japanese name indicates that he is based on a sperm whale, the lines on the bottom of his jaw are more indicative of the folds along the underside of a blue whale instead.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 MM25: Mega Man & Mega Man X Official Complete Works. 2013.
  2. Haoh Game Special #188: Rockman X5 Kanzen Kōryaku Guide. 2000.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 (Archived) Capcom Japan official website, New Products, Rockman X5. 2001. (http://www.capcom.co.jp/newproducts/consumer/psrockx5/index.html)