Mega Man X Legacy Collection: MMX1 All Upgrades, Sub Tanks & Heart Tanks

During the hot summer months, there aren’t a whole lot of new games to cover — so let’s dig into the classics. The Mega Man X Legacy Collection includes one of the best games of the 16-bit era, and Mega Man X is still a stone-cold classic side-scroller. It’s got that perfect difficulty balance, and enough extra stuff to explore to make ventures into one of eight levels a fun ride. There’s a lot to find, so if you’re a returning player or a newbie and need help locating everything, here’s where to look.

There are three types of upgrades in Mega Man X — armor upgrades, sub tanks, and heart tanks. The armor upgrades are the best of the bunch; get them to gain a dash ability, extra armor, and a helmet that can crack through breakable ceilings. You’ll even get a bigger charge to your Mega Buster. The sub tanks and heart tanks are purely optional, but they’ll make live so much easier if you get them all. Check out all the locations in the complete video above, or keep scrolling for the text guide.

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MMX1 All Upgrades, Sub Tanks & Heart Tanks | Locations Guide

There are three types of upgrades we’re covering here — Armor Upgrades, Sub Tanks, and Heart Tanks. All of them are located in hidden areas on specific boss stages. If you missed any of these upgrades the first time around, you can always replay a stage to get it later.

Armor Upgrades

Dash (Leg Upgrade): Chill Penguin’s Stage – You can’t miss it. This is an upgrade most people will get first — if you’re following our boss order. The upgrade capsule is right in your path. This upgrade allows you to Dash.
Armor (Torso Upgrade): Sting Chameleon’s Stage – To get this upgrade, you’ll need the Dash. Around the beginning of the stage, you’ll find a hole with a Heart Tank inside. Climb the wall to the right to reach an area above the cave, then avoid the falling rocks. Defeat the mini-boss to reach this armor upgrade.
Helmet (Head Upgrade): Storm Eagle’s Stage – Later in the level, continue until you reach vertical platforms and a fence you need to wall-jump over. Fall off the opposite side of the fence and look for an optional passage you can dash to. Destroy the explosive containers to reach the helmet upgrade capsule. This allows you to destroy breakable blocks by jumping into them.
Charge Shot (Buster Upgrade): Flame Mammoth’s Stage – You’ll need the Helmet and Dash upgrade to reach this. Once you drop into the area with the lava, you’ll see breakable blocks to the left, above the first platform. Break through using the Dash / Helmet upgrades.
- You’ll also get this upgrade for defeating Vile in Sigma’s first end-game stage.

Sub Tanks

Sub tanks can be used to refill your sub-weapon’s ammo. There are four sub tanks in MMX.

Sub Tank #1: Storm Eagle’s Stage – After wall-jumping up to the upper platforms at the start of the stage, destroy a turret and ride the platform up to a tower with windows. Shoot through the window and destroy the enemy inside to find this sub-tank.
Sub Tank #2: Spark Mandrill’s Stage – Stay at the bottom floor of the level and continue to go right, using the ladders to stay low. Eventually, you’ll reach a dead end with a sub tank visible — use the Boomerang Cutter sub-weapon to grab it through the wall.
Sub Tank #3: Armored Armadillo’s Stage – Find the hole you need to drop down with the spiked robot chase below. Instead of dropping down, slide down and wall-jump back up after activating the robot. The sub-tank is located behind the robot that busts through the cave wall.
Sub Tank #4: Flame Mammoth’s Stage – In the room with lava on the floor, when you reach the upper platform, you can go left to find a 1-Up. From here, dash and jump to reach a wall on the far left. Wall-jump up, then wall-jump off the breakable blocks to reach the sub-tank.

Heart Tanks

Heart Tanks can be used to refill X’s health gauge. There is one Heart Tank in every standard level.

Heart Tank #1: Chill Penguin’s Stage – After getting into the Ride Armor, continue until you reach a cave. There’s a small pillar to the left of the cave entrance — use it to jump, then jump out of the Ride Armor. Time it right and you’ll be able to reach the platform above.
Heart Tank #2: Spark Mandrill’s Stage – Past the first robot turtle enemy, climb the high wall with wall-jumps until you find the heart tank just sitting on a platform above. Perform a wall-dash to get it, or use the Boomerang Cutter to grab it.
Heart Tank #3: Armored Armadillo’s Stage – Unlock the Flame Wave sub-weapon, and then drop down into the passage with the mole robot, after the second minecart sequence. Destroy the mole robot as fast as you can, then you’ll find the Heart Tank in an upper alcove.
Heart Tank #4: Launch Octopus’ Stage – Later in the stage, use the wind tunnels to reach the surface of the water. Jump onto the green ship on the water, and cause it to sink. Follow the sink down to find that it has created an optional path you can take. Enter it and defeat the mini-boss.
Heart Tank #5: Boomer Kuwanger’s Stage – Found on a balcony, on the top-right corner of the exterior of the level. It’s hard to miss, but difficult to collect. You can use the Boomerang Cutter to grab it, or use Shotgun Ice to create an ice platform.
Heart Tank #6: Sting Chameleon’s Stage – When you reach the green-ish cave, slide down the hole to the left of the cave entrance. Slide down to find some breakable blocks. Break them with wall-jumps (Dash Upgrade), then dash and jump right from the platform to reach a hidden tank.
Heart Tank #7: Storm Eagle’s Stage – Ride the moving platforms in the sky until you find the highest point in the beginning of the level. When you reach this point, ride the platforms and then jump from the top-left corner, dash-jumping left. If you make it far enough, you’ll land on a rooftop with this heart.
Heart Tank #8: Flame Mammoth’s Stage – Return to this level after beating Chill Penguin. At the axe-throwing miners, you’ll find the heart tank on the lava floor, in the bottom-right corner. Freeze the lava to reach it safely.