Capcom's Mega Man franchise was an enormous success and the series spanned 5 games in a period of 6 years. Even with 5 games in the series, Mega Man was not know for its innovation and most of the games, while excellent, recycled the same basic formula. After the release of the Super Nintendo in 1990 Capcom decided to revamp the Mega Man series with a darker tone for an older audience. The product of this would be Mega Man X, an evolution of the franchise that changed the way we think about Mega Man.



The story in Mega Man X, like the rest of the game, was more mature than the lightheated "Good vs Evil" plots in the Classic series. Set 100 years in the future, a scientist named Dr. Cain discovers the ruins of Dr. Light's old research lab. Among the rubble, he finds a capsule containing Dr. Light's final creation, Mega Man X. This new robot is called a Reploid and has the ability to make decisions and feel emotions. Using X as a basis, Dr. Cain creates many more of these robots, which are used to help perform hard tasks too dangerous for humans. Unfortunately, some of these Reploids catch a virus that causes them to go insane or "Maverick." Lead by their commander Sigma, a group of peace keeping Reploids form the Maverick Hunters to put an end to the destructive Mavericks. In a shocking turn of events, Sigma catches the virus and goes Maverick along with 8 other Maverick hunters setting up the events of the game. Joined by fellow Maverick Hunter, Zero, you must defeat Sigma and restore the world to peace!
Like most other Mega Man titles, almost none of the story is actually told in the game, but who plays Mega man for its story anyway?



The gameplay is where Mega Man X shows that it's not only the step forward from the Classic days of stopping Dr. Wily, but also a legendary game in it's own right. The basic formula from the NES era Mega Man days stays in tact here as well. You have 8 Mavericks to choose, each having a level filled with treacherous jumps and deadly enemies. Instead of having the titular "Man" title like older games, the Mavericks are animal based which is a fresh spin on the formula. You still gain new weapons upon defeating the Mavericks, but there are new items scattered throughout the levels for you to seek out. X still plays like a Mega Man game though, and anyone who has played one of the previous Mega Man games will feel right at home leaping gaps and blasting foes to smithereens. When playing the intro stage, you might notice that X has a life bar quite a bit smaller than previous Mega Man games. One of the aforementioned new items is the Heart Tank. Much like Heart Containers from the Legend of Zelda series, these increase your life bar upon being collected. Each of the 8 Maverick stages has a Heart Tank and some require either special weapons or certain events in order to be collected. Gone are the E-tanks of the Classic days, replaced instead by Sub-tanks which are hidden in 4 of the stages. Sub-tanks work slightly differently than the E-tanks did. Instead of being a one use health refill, the Sub-tanks can be filled and used as many times as you wish, but you have to fill them by collecting energy pellets at full health. There have been some changes to the way X handles though. You can wall jump from the start of the game and that addition alone differentiates X from the Classic games. The ability to wall jump not only makes differentiates X from the previous games a bit, but it also makes you feel more agile and even more in control of the character. The last addition to the game are the upgrades X can get. These upgrades, left by Dr. Light in capsules, are once again, hidden in the levels and give you a variety of new abilities. These upgrades do things like halving the damage you take, letting you charge the special weapons, or break blocks with your head. Chief among these abilities is the Dash. The ability to dash may not sound like much at first, but when coupled with the wall jump it really opens up a whole new game experience.
Some people prefer the Classic Mega Man gameplay style of straightforward action and platforming, but I think the collectibles in X give the game a little more depth and replayability. The sense of progression as you slowly become more powerful with each upgrade and Heart Tank is something you won't find in the old Mega Man games. If you din't enjoy backtracking or searching for items, then you might not like this addition to X but I think most people will welcome the change.



Both the Audio and Visuals have received a major upgrade with the jump to a 16-bit system. The Mega Man series were some of the finest looking games on the NES but Mega Man X surpasses them with ease. There's a great amount of detail in all of the levels and the character sprites are delightfully detailed. Even with the darker tone, everything looks cartoony and bright. The audio has received a makeover as well, with the turn to more of a rock styled soundtrack that fits perfectly with the rest of the game. You'll be hard pressed not to jam along when you hear the 16-bit electric guitars during Spark Mandrill or Boomer Kuwanger's stage. Here are a few of my favorite tracks in the game:

Intro Stage

Storm Eagle

Spark Mandrill

Boomer Kuwanger



Mega Man X does something most other series couldn't do. It not only improves on the already outstanding gameplay from it's predecessors, but it creates a whole different game experience entirely. The additions to the game may not seem huge at first, but upon playing it, you really see how they change the way the game is played. Some people who aren't fans of item collecting might not enjoy the game as much, but it's not as serious as a game like Metroid and it helps Mega Man X stand out on its own. The level design is superb and the difficulty is spot on. Anyone, whether fans of the Mega Man series or not, should give this game a try. Not only is it one of the most accessible Mega Man games around, but it's a lovingly crafted masterpiece and a true gem in the already star-studded Super Nintendo library.

Score: 10 out of 10