Whenever you defeat one of the robot master bosses in one of the eight stages, you will be able to use the unique weapon that robot master was using. When you defeat certain robot masters, a message from Dr. Light will appear, announcing that a new special item is now available.

To use special weapons and items, press during the game to bring up the weapon select screen. To switch between the two weapon select screens, select → NEXT and press . Choose the weapon you want to use by pressing up and down on , and press again to equip it.

As you use special weapons and items, their energy gauges will decrease. To replenish the energy gauge for a special weapon or item, defeat regular enemies and collect the items they drop. The gauges will also replenish automatically when you start a new stage, except in Dr Wily's stage.