Capcom was at a bit of an impasse at the dawn of the 16-bit era. They had worn their mascot character Mega Man down to the ground with six separate releases on the original Nintendo Entertainment System. Were they to continue the franchise they would have to make considerable changes to the formula, and so that’s what they set out to do. Rather than directly continuing the original story they instead designed their first traditional Mega Man release as a spin-off. They took a much darker route from the typical franchise fare, and based it in the same universe but one hundred years later. A friend of mine got this title as a hand me down and we played it religiously for months. This was what really got me hooked on run and gun action side scrollers. Summer months always make me think of the franchise, and since I’ve already reviewed all of the original Mega Man titles I figured that now was as good a time as any to revisit X. This might just be the best installment in the entire franchise, and it holds up remarkably well even today.
As I’ve already mentioned, Mega Man X takes place in the same world as the original titles but one hundred years later. Mega Man, his sister roll, inventor Dr. Light and the villainous Dr. Wily have long since perished. One day an archaeologist, Doctor Cain, discovers the ruins of an old robotics manufacturing facility. This just so happens to have once been owned and maintained by the now legendary Dr. Light, and it is here that Cain finds a robot preserved within a capsule. This is X, an android far more advanced than the original Mega Man. He has human level intelligence, emotions, and even free will. Dr. Cain takes X under his wing and uses him as a model for creating a significant number of robots (reploids) based upon his schematics. Unfortunately with their unfathomable intelligence and free will these reploids have the potential to go rogue and commit crimes. Such mischievous androids are called ‘mavericks’ and an organization is established to put these foul robots down. This is headed by the most advanced reploid of them; Sigma, who (due to his advanced technology) is thought to be impervious to that maverick affliction. That’s not the case as he defects and becomes the leader of the maverick forces. X is enlisted into the maverick hunters along with a similar model named Zero, and the two set out to defeat Sigma and his army of robots. There’s a new villain, protagonist, and cast. Capcom really did a good job of mixing things up.
Despite this being a spin-off title X plays in a very similar fashion to the mainline Mega Man titles. This is a side scrolling run and gun platform title where you shoot enemies rather than jumping on top of their heads. Your main weapon is the X buster which fires pellet shaped shots, and holding the fire button charges this for a larger and more powerful burst. Your life bar is located on the left side of the screen and depletes each time you are touched by an enemy or struck by their projectiles. Defeated enemies drop restorative capsules, and running out of energy, falling down a pit, or touching spikes on the walls results in death. The major first difference you will notice is the fact that you’re forced to play through an introductory stage in the beginning. Upon completing this you’re brought to the familiar stage select screen and can complete the levels in any order you choose. In typical fashion these are divided based on the element of the boss in question. What’s interesting is that, instead of being robot master men, the mavericks are based upon animals instead. It’s a twist that I like because it not only differentiates this from the main series but also allows for a wider range of possibilities. The mavericks introduced in this installment are very imaginative.
There’s inherent strategy in choosing the order in which you would like to complete the stages. This is nothing new for the Mega Man franchise, but Capcom stepped things up even more for X. You’re armed with only the X buster at the beginning, but as you defeat each boss you’re given use of their primary attack. While your default weapon can be used infinitely all others have a power meter that depletes with use. Each of the eight main mavericks are weak to the weapon of another. While you’re going to need to face off against at least one of them with just your buster there’s a set order after you manage to defeat one of them. The bosses introduced in Mega Man X include Chill Penguin who gives you the super cool shotgun ice weapon that breaks apart and reflects off of surfaces. Then you have Spark Mandrill whose electric spark emits two vertical beams after hitting an enemy. Next up we have Armored Armadillo. His weapon, the rolling shield, is a little boring to be honest. It’s just a circular shot that fires straight forward. Launch Octopus is your token water themed boss who upon defeat grants you use of his homing torpedos which track on-screen opponents. It’s one of the most useful tools in the entire game. Boomer Kuwanger is a little boring because he just gives you a boomerang style shot. Sting Chamelon offers up his useful three directional shot. You get the long winded (ha!) storm tornado from Storm Eagle, but it’s not one of my favorite weapons. Flame Mammoth is one of my favorite mavericks, and his flamethrower fire wave shot is pretty cool too. Capcom had a fresh start here and they did a great job with the boss designs.
Capcom expanded upon the old ‘one boss is weak to a specific weapon’ and took it to a new level. Now you’re given additional effects against some of the mavericks by exploiting their weaknesses. For example, the shotgun ice freezes Spark Mandrill in his tracks allowing you precious time to get away from him. The electric spark completely destroys Armored Armadillo’s armor and shields so that he can no longer block attacks. Sting Chameleon climbs on the walls of his lair, and one hit from the boomerang cutter knocks him off thus preventing his airborne attacks. This is a really cool expansion on the old rock paper scissors system, and goes a long way to reinventing the franchise. In addition completing stages in a particular order can actually have a huge effect on another. Defeating Chill Penguin before Flame Mammoth causes the lava in the latter’s stage to freeze over making it significantly more easy. Defeating Storm Eagle before Spark Mandrill causes his level to have power outages. Lastly, when you defeat Launch Octopus it floods Sting Chameleon’s stage. This makes progress dynamic, and is a really cool feature. On another note it should be pointed out that X is much more agile than the original Mega Man. By default he can cling to and slide down walls which enhances the platforming experience and allows for some extremely fun scenarios. Hidden in many levels are capsules left behind by Dr. Light, and these give you even more abilities. The first allows you to dash by pressing forward twice or with the A button, another is a helmet that allows X to break specific blocks with his head, a set of armor decreases damage taken, and yet another lets you charge all weapons for more powerful effects. This is a fantastic addition to the franchise.
I’ve always loved the evolution in graphics from the original games to this. Sure, the hardware is significantly better allowing for much better visuals, but Capcom completely changed the art style this time around. Instead of being short, stocky, and like a child X takes on a more hardened adult look. In addition even classic returning enemies appear grittier than in past installments. The models animate with a significant number of frames, and they move very smoothly. X changes colors as you switch weapons just like the original Mega Man, but the additional pieces of armor he finds also alter his look. The backgrounds are fantastic with significant detail by 16-bit standards. Additionally the game takes advantage of the hardware allowing for a lot of effects such as animations and other neat tricks. The mavericks are a lot larger than their robot master contemporaries. They look just like the animals they depict, but the robotic theme is carried over nicely. The soundtrack is another matter. This is one of the single best video game soundtracks ever composed. The new electronic style fits the franchise extremely well. Every stage theme is incredible with Storm Eagle’s and Launch Octopus’ taking the cake. The best song in the soundtrack however is that of Sigma’s first stage. It’s so good that I used this as a ringtone on my phone for many years. Capcom really knocked all areas of the aesthetics out of the park with this release.
Mega Man X is simply one of the best run and gun platformers ever released. What started as a spin-off resulted in the best game in the entire franchise. The level designs are insane and make for some of the most memorable gameplay scenarios across all video games. This is easily one of the best Super Nintendo games which is saying a lot. The only minor issue I have is that this is limited by a password save system instead of battery back up, but with a game this good that’s just nitpicking. This is an incredible game.
