Anyone who has played Mega Man III has quickly learned to only use the inherited top spin attack sparingly, as it antithetically drains your energy and life as soon as you hit an enemy.

But wait…over on Toastyfrog’s Gamesprite forums, user dtsund claims that the top spin attack is actually pretty useful:

Truth is, if you just hurl yourself right into foes (like any sane person would), you’ll suck through the energy bar very quickly, but it has a trick to it.

If you do the Top Spin when not touching any enemies, you don’t use any weapon energy*. Basically, its energy loss completely depends on when you’re touching an enemy with the attack. It also counts as hitting during invulnerability time, hence the tons of stories of quickly-drained life bars. You see, its energy loss depends on how much contact you make with your target when you hit it, so it’ll suck energy like crazy if you throw yourself right onto foes. However, if you just make enough contact to strike the foe with the edge of the attack, you can kill it or cause it damage with minimal energy loss.

The video above (and after the break) are proof of this claim. So there you go. Never underestimate the power of a seemingly gimped weapon or attack.

via The Megaman Network