The 32 Bit era begins for the X series beings here with Mega Man X4! It’s a widely beloved game, with many considering it the definitive Mega Man experience. Hell, even I’m nostalgic for this game. It wasn’t my first PS1 Mega Man game, that was X5, but the production value put into this game made this game standout. The cut scenes, the voice acting, the story, Zero actually having a good and unique kit. I knew going in most of the novelty of those particular things weren’t as strong, but being able to experience the pinnacle of Mega Man games again was exciting to me.
It took me quite a bit of time to sort out my thoughts on X4. When I did my first two playthroughs of X4, first as Zero and then X, I was left feeling pretty tepid towards the game. I had fun, I enjoyed my time. But when I finally came here on Backlogged to type out my thoughts and post my review on X4, I just couldn’t find the words to accurately describe how I felt to fill out a review. Just a few middling thoughts that sounded much like my other Mega Man reviews. I didn’t want to just come at X4 half baked, giving general “I feel” statements like my last few, the legacy of X4 feels like it deserves more than that.
So I did the only sane thing and did two more playthroughs as the duo, recorded the footage and took notes to really get nuanced about my thoughts. And then I did two more playthroughs after that. And after all that I have a lot of thoughts about X4. Uh, hope you enjoy?
We’ll start with Zero, my preference is with him and honestly I think the game shines the most when playing as Zero. There’s definitely more of a challenge in going through the Maverick stages, but to that same effect it’s that much more satisfying clearing stages as Zero, especially when you do so efficiently and with low or no damage. Boss fights too feel a little more tense with Zero than his blue counterpart, for the most part anyway (Jet Stingray can suck a dick). There’s a decidedly fun level of player expression with Zero that ages well and shines throughout his kit in this all future installments. Zero is, to me at least, where X4 shines the most and when the highest highs hit.
Before I touch on the little baby beep boop, X, I wanna talk about the level design in the Maverick stages, and where the low points for both Zero and X4 start. The level design in X4 is...fine. There’s a few stages where everything feels really really clean and coherent and fun to go through almost every time, like the Bio Lab and Cyberspace. But for the most part, this game is painfully simple. Both in a lack of cool moments and setpieces in individual stages and the challenge of the levels themselves. The culprit behind this, I believe, is the fact this is Zero’s introduction as a playable character, and with a vastly different kit, a Beam Saber and one projectile on an ammo count from a boss, means Zero has to approach stage and enemy encounters a lot differently than X. This also leaves him hanging on some bosses, where the bosses are designed for a chracter with a gun, and not one with a sword and require either a cheese strat or godlike reactions to avoid taking damage. Dragoon and Stingray being the worse offenders of this.
And where does this leave X? Honestly with the easiest mainline Mega Man game yet. People have bemoaned the later trilogy of the NES Mega Man games for being “too easy”, but at least the level design was never compromised even if the charge shot made enemy encounters and boss fights easier. In this game there’s not really any moments I felt any challenge as playing as X, save on the last two playthroughs as X when I went no armor/no weakness run and had to learn the bosses. Which are very well designed bosses, much easier to appreciate as X. It’s a shame all of them are behind some of the most static and forgettable levels in Mega Man.
And don’t get me wrong, there’s times where I’m able to step outside myself and see where a level design piece might be interesting or challenging to newer players, like the rocks at the begining of Act 2 of Volcano. There are moments in levels I can look back on and step out of myself and see how these things are and could be challenging to new players, but it doesn’t make Jungle or Volcano any less boring to go through on repeat playthroughs. The special weapons aren’t great, only a handful of them felt like they were useful in any give situation. And there are really good bits of gameplay with X, like Cybespace 1 or Snow Base 2. But this didn’t make the challenge of X4 as a whole real or consistent. X4’s stages constantly teeter on boring more often, and while the linearity works on some stages like Military Train where you’re tearing through a military supply and feel like a cool-ass Hunter, it can also hurt in stages like Air Fleet where it just feels like a tedious slog.
All said, X4 feels Mixed. A fantastic debut for Zero that stumbles due to having to compromise for X, and a bland X game that’s that way because of Zero’s debut. And I’m critical, but this game’s still a great play through. It’s a Capcom Mega Man game in the 90s it’s gonna be at least a B-. And X4’s a solid...B+. I think there’s better Mega Man experiences, but X4’s just got this aura around it that just feels classic, and I understand why it’s so beloved. The animated cutscnes for this are still the closest thing we have to a Mega Man X anime, despite being a story and franchise you could tell the team wanted to tell stories with. And while X4’s story is...campy at best and falls apart under any scrutiny, it’s still a fun and again, being able to see more of the Mega Man universe is always appreciated. Us Mega Man fans take whatever Capcom dripfeeds us with worldbuilding and lore.
You’re gonna be hard pressed to find a better Action Platformer on the PSX, and even though I’m harsher than most it’s a good game. I think there’s definitely more complete and fun Mega Man experiences out there, but this still a must play for Mega Man fans.
It took me quite a bit of time to sort out my thoughts on X4. When I did my first two playthroughs of X4, first as Zero and then X, I was left feeling pretty tepid towards the game. I had fun, I enjoyed my time. But when I finally came here on Backlogged to type out my thoughts and post my review on X4, I just couldn’t find the words to accurately describe how I felt to fill out a review. Just a few middling thoughts that sounded much like my other Mega Man reviews. I didn’t want to just come at X4 half baked, giving general “I feel” statements like my last few, the legacy of X4 feels like it deserves more than that.
So I did the only sane thing and did two more playthroughs as the duo, recorded the footage and took notes to really get nuanced about my thoughts. And then I did two more playthroughs after that. And after all that I have a lot of thoughts about X4. Uh, hope you enjoy?
We’ll start with Zero, my preference is with him and honestly I think the game shines the most when playing as Zero. There’s definitely more of a challenge in going through the Maverick stages, but to that same effect it’s that much more satisfying clearing stages as Zero, especially when you do so efficiently and with low or no damage. Boss fights too feel a little more tense with Zero than his blue counterpart, for the most part anyway (Jet Stingray can suck a dick). There’s a decidedly fun level of player expression with Zero that ages well and shines throughout his kit in this all future installments. Zero is, to me at least, where X4 shines the most and when the highest highs hit.
Before I touch on the little baby beep boop, X, I wanna talk about the level design in the Maverick stages, and where the low points for both Zero and X4 start. The level design in X4 is...fine. There’s a few stages where everything feels really really clean and coherent and fun to go through almost every time, like the Bio Lab and Cyberspace. But for the most part, this game is painfully simple. Both in a lack of cool moments and setpieces in individual stages and the challenge of the levels themselves. The culprit behind this, I believe, is the fact this is Zero’s introduction as a playable character, and with a vastly different kit, a Beam Saber and one projectile on an ammo count from a boss, means Zero has to approach stage and enemy encounters a lot differently than X. This also leaves him hanging on some bosses, where the bosses are designed for a chracter with a gun, and not one with a sword and require either a cheese strat or godlike reactions to avoid taking damage. Dragoon and Stingray being the worse offenders of this.
And where does this leave X? Honestly with the easiest mainline Mega Man game yet. People have bemoaned the later trilogy of the NES Mega Man games for being “too easy”, but at least the level design was never compromised even if the charge shot made enemy encounters and boss fights easier. In this game there’s not really any moments I felt any challenge as playing as X, save on the last two playthroughs as X when I went no armor/no weakness run and had to learn the bosses. Which are very well designed bosses, much easier to appreciate as X. It’s a shame all of them are behind some of the most static and forgettable levels in Mega Man.
And don’t get me wrong, there’s times where I’m able to step outside myself and see where a level design piece might be interesting or challenging to newer players, like the rocks at the begining of Act 2 of Volcano. There are moments in levels I can look back on and step out of myself and see how these things are and could be challenging to new players, but it doesn’t make Jungle or Volcano any less boring to go through on repeat playthroughs. The special weapons aren’t great, only a handful of them felt like they were useful in any give situation. And there are really good bits of gameplay with X, like Cybespace 1 or Snow Base 2. But this didn’t make the challenge of X4 as a whole real or consistent. X4’s stages constantly teeter on boring more often, and while the linearity works on some stages like Military Train where you’re tearing through a military supply and feel like a cool-ass Hunter, it can also hurt in stages like Air Fleet where it just feels like a tedious slog.
All said, X4 feels Mixed. A fantastic debut for Zero that stumbles due to having to compromise for X, and a bland X game that’s that way because of Zero’s debut. And I’m critical, but this game’s still a great play through. It’s a Capcom Mega Man game in the 90s it’s gonna be at least a B-. And X4’s a solid...B+. I think there’s better Mega Man experiences, but X4’s just got this aura around it that just feels classic, and I understand why it’s so beloved. The animated cutscnes for this are still the closest thing we have to a Mega Man X anime, despite being a story and franchise you could tell the team wanted to tell stories with. And while X4’s story is...campy at best and falls apart under any scrutiny, it’s still a fun and again, being able to see more of the Mega Man universe is always appreciated. Us Mega Man fans take whatever Capcom dripfeeds us with worldbuilding and lore.
You’re gonna be hard pressed to find a better Action Platformer on the PSX, and even though I’m harsher than most it’s a good game. I think there’s definitely more complete and fun Mega Man experiences out there, but this still a must play for Mega Man fans.