I'm confused with Mega Man X5...

[kainemaxwell]

Ok, what is up with this time system in X5? Ok, I decided to give it a run on MMX Collection, discovered I already had a Heart Tank from the last time I played it months ago (somehow), and nothing else. Now I understand you have x amount of hours to collect the laser/shuttle parts and 1 hour is knocked off when you enter a stage. I'm playing on Normal, so I'm going through the recommended order (left first, then ride side). I get up to Grizzly Slash, he's a level 3. So what do i have to do to get his level up early so I can get some kind of part and life/weapon up? Or should I not bother until I knock the time limit off by trying to destroy the colony?

[TonyTheTiger]

There aren't too many possibilities so don't worry about it so much. Either you'll stop the colony from crashing or not and the game progresses differently depending on whether or not it happens. In order to stop it from crashing you have to finish the bosses within the time restrictions. All 8 will need to be done, just that by doing it in the "right" order you maximize your chances of not running out of time. If you're finding it too hard to follow the pattern there is leeway built in to allow you to tackle other bosses and build up your stats.

[kainemaxwell]

What about the Maverick's levels and getting parts or life/weapon-ups from them at level 4 and 8?

[Press_Start]

There's no guarantee to the colony's destruction even with all 8 mavericks defeated with the time limit (trust me, I've tried). Strangely enough, defeating Crescent Grizzly first then firing the cannon destroys it (as I can across this accidentally). I found out a specific set combination of weapons, heats, tanks, armor, and possibly time determines whether you get the good or bad ending. I know this for the fact as I've beaten Grizzly's stage with the tank and the colony wasn't destroyed.