I've replayed this game too many times, with practically every playthrough I've done never been recorded until a couple months ago. I can't even tell you what the playthrough total is, because I simply just play, but it’s close to 20 or more. Megaman X4, a game I originally thought was good and nothing else, now an absolute gem of borderline perfection in my eyes.
Dramatic opener aside, I love this game obviously lol. It's one of the hardest games to write about for me, because it's a game I don't even know how to explain my affinity for. I wanted to make some huge emotional review about why this is amazing and changed my life alongside some quote in reference to the game. That's what I did for Final Fantasy VII after all, my favorite game of all time. But nah, instead I'm just gonna shill the hell out of this game to you readers.
X4 is one of the most well paced platformers out there with enemy and level design made for dashing through at blistering speed. Many of your opponents you can kill rather quickly with good precision or just jump over entirely to keep up a consistent momentum. I don’t speedrun games, but for this one I borderline do. These level layouts I’ve seen tens of times I find new ways to traverse even quicker, and there’s an immense satisfaction of doing so. You’d think after playing it so much I’d get burnt out, but I really don't. None of these levels are bad.
Of course, if you pick Zero, there’s a whole other strategy to this game. Your offense is much greater and quicker, but much riskier and you have weaker defense to compensate. Zero also has to deal with one of the trickier bosses in the game, that being Iris. I find his campaign to be a much more rewarding experience than X because of the increased difficulty, and he’s my preference when it comes to replays. X is still very fun, of course, but his gameplay pace isn’t as fast as Zero.
The production values for this title seem to be pretty high. The anime FMVs and gameplay environments, sprites etc. are loaded with detail. I’m a sucker for 90’s anime aesthetic and the FMVs here deliver, grain and desaturation intact, amazing. The environments are all colorful and vibrant. While I did like the SNES sprites, the hardware shift gave X4 a overhaul to X and Zero’s sprite sets, which in my opinion was for the better. The proportions are a bit weirder, sure, but that’s what I admire honestly. There’s the maverick intro screens with these gradients at the top and bottom, which look kind of dated but it’s all good. Overall this game just seeps with elements of 90’s aesthetic in many areas, and looks great even to this day.
I’m gonna be real with you, I don’t care about the story in Megaman games outside of Zero, Legends, and the RPGs. Love the characters, but I do not take these plots seriously. X4 has a hilariously stupid and convoluted plot which is funny but I find discussion of it rather grating, as I’m more focused on the having fun part. If you like plot discussion, I respect your opinion, but I’m not covering it here. Sorry.
That being said, X4 has a different atmosphere than the earlier games. I think the music is a major contributor here, it’s not as rock focused as X1-X3. In fact, it doesn’t really have any rock inspired music, aside from a handful of tracks. The CD quality audio soundtrack puts more of an emphasis on synthesizers and electronic instrumentation. It feels more like the music is going for an emotional angle, which is interesting. I don’t know if I’d say it’s my favorite Megaman soundtrack, but it’s definitely up there.
If you haven’t played this game already, you owe it to yourself to at least once. Megaman X4 is an entertaining, accessible platformer that has stayed relevant even 25 years later. It’s stayed in my head for over two years, and I don’t plan on letting it go out anytime ever. I’ve had countless experiences discussing my passion for this game with friends and other fans online, and it fills me with joy every time. If you, the reader, ever get to playing it, I hope your experience was even as good as mine.
NOTE: pls change the box art back to the japanese cover it looks way better bruh

I think it's disappointing how Sonic was one of the pioneers of marrying story and gameplay in platformers only for its most recent entry to be one where the two couldn't be more separate. Sonic's always been kind of arcade-y but Frontiers takes it to another level.
Why is the story here locked off behind an arbitrary collectible? Why won't Amy talk to me unless I have 50 hearts I found inside some boxes and busted robots? The cutscenes here just do not take place in the same world as the gameplay.

Levels are accessed through random portals that lead to literally different worlds with no attempt at connecting anything together. Gone are the days of a Sonic game feeling like you're going on one cohesive adventure through a well-defined locale like Angel Island in Sonic 3.

It's a shame because Forces actually made great strides in making sure every level had a justification to exist within the world and the story, and even made sure that they all ended in ways that could lead into the following cutscene, a far cry from the usual goal rings the series employs when it runs out of ground for Sonic to run on.

It's like, alright beyond that, but it didn't exactly blow my mind like it seems to have done for so many other people.

There’s a very short sequence in the endgame of Sonic Generations that takes place right before the final boss. You platform across a series of clocks that start to move as the chaos emeralds are placed in each one. It’s not anywhere close as bombastic or detailed as any of the levels in the game, but this sequence was something that always stood out to eight year old me. The weary and rustic look of each of the clocks, the different ways the platforms turn around, the backing noise that’s usually shortened versions of music from the stages being replaced by the sound of ticking clocks. The ambience of the scene mesmerized me in a way that I hadn’t been before. It’s a small instance that’s likely to be forgotten by most players, but I feel that it changed the way I viewed this vast white void to some degree. As I went about completing each of the missions, I noticed the ways that certain aspects of the stage exteriors that had been consumed by stark emptiness had become more lively with each success I have with progression. Seeing these locations come to life outside of when I’m blazing past them. Once all the missions were complete, exploring the hub world and seeing color brought to every corner of it was a subtle but strangely beautiful experience. I feel that this experience was a sort of catalyst for my love of environments in games, what made me want to explore and see what makes these various virtual worlds tick. And to think that this passion came from an empty white void. I suppose it does speak to how you can find your passion for things in the most unlikely places.