Positives:
- Not only a mechanical improvement over what came before, but also just a game that feels really, really good to play.
- Stage design being full of action- and secrets, allowing X to become stronger through more means aside from just stealing bosses' weapons.
- Good boss fights with varied patterns, making it fun to learn- and master their battles. Also, good designs and themes.
Negatives:
- Dash not being available right from the start gives me mixed feelings, even though I can admit it eases veteran players into the game and allows for no-dash runs (up until it's mandatory).
-----------------------------------
''Mega Man has seen a lot of success on the NES, with a total of 6 mainline games on the system. But the final game, Mega Man 6, was released while the SNES already began its domination of the market. It was time for the blue bomber to get an upgrade himself, and if you've been on the retro side of the internet for a while, you're most likely highly familiar with what kind of upgrade he has gotten. It is very tough for me to talk about such a game myself, given how the internet has already sung its praises at every opportunity they were given. Like, what can I even say that hasn't already been said yet about Mega Man X? Short answer: nothing. But I still want to share my personal feelings about the game, if only for making it a good reference point for future reviews of the same variety.
Mega Man has always nailed the formula since the very first game, hence why they could keep it going for so many games with the main differences being better levels, boss fights, and a few gameplay improvements like sliding- and charging the mega buster. So what did Mega Man X do? At first sight, mostly the same with not really that much being different. The tutorial follows a very good show-don't-tell approach to teaching the mechanics, which up to a certain point are mechanics we're all used to. The only real difference shown during this tutorial is that X can wall jump, but that is already a massive change. The approach to level design changes completely given how it can now work more with verticality that is not reliant on just ladders or level-specific gimmicks, but also boss battles now have more varied strategies to them. And that's it for the tutorial really! I could go more in-depth about what Vile's impact is and all that but really, that's not something I personally pay much attention to. I know, I'm a fake gamer, I'm sorry.
Regardless, there is one notable feature missing: the slide. This has been replaced by the awesome dash feature which, like everything else, is a great example of how much of an evolution this game really is. I went into detail on the mechanics so far, but not really about the feel–and boy does the game feel really, really good. It takes the slightly slower approach to platforming from the NES games and makes it faster without losing the strategical approach to anticipating enemy obstruction. The stages have far more action going on in them without being distracting, and the bosses also feel a bit more dynamic. I'll be talking about them a bit later but coming back to the dash, it could be argued whether this not being available right from the get-go is a good design choice or not. It definitely helps players ease into the game, especially if they came from the NES games, but once you've used the dash once, it's unlikely you'll want to go back to not using it. It being available exclusively in Chill Penguin's stage kind of gives you that forced feel of starting with him first, and then following the weakness chart from there. But of course, that last part only applies if you know the weakness chart, and every single other level is doable without the dash so you aren't punished for it at all. I more so bring this up for discussion purposes because I am genuinely curious what people think about the Dash not being part of the default toolkit right from the start.
But it also is a nice segue into one of the best elements of Mega Man X in general: the way X becomes stronger over the course of the game. In previous games, Mega Man only really got stronger by killing robot masters and taking their weapons, with there sometimes being an additional reward like the magnet beam. You had to get through a level and beat the boss, and if you weren't good enough then well… sucks to be you, get better. Mega Man X is still going to test your skills don't get me wrong, but the stages themselves now also give X options to get stronger, like upgraded armour that come with their own benefits like more defense, heart containers for an increased maximum health and last but absolutely not least, permanent sub tanks to restore health. So now if you end up getting destroyed by a boss, you might at least have gotten something from their stage to make life a bit easier for other bosses, even if you don't have their weakness. Though of course, they are not usually in plain sight so your navigational skills of these levels will also be put to the test, and sometimes you already need a weapon- or upgrade beforehand. It's a good thing then that these levels are overall very fun to explore- and/or breeze through, and sometimes also come with added depth to them by another Maverick's defeat having effect on another stage, like Chill Penguin's defeat freezing over Flame Mammoth's stage.
The bosses are still one of the defining elements of the game and no surprises here, they are all still fun. Their patterns are dynamic yet easy to predict the more you fight them, making almost any boss very doable with just the buster and your default skillset. The only one I wouldn't really recommend as first is Launch Octopus but hey, you do you. And in classic Mega Man fashion, one Maverick is weak to another's weapon, which makes the fights even easier. In fact, they become a bit too easy, as this game is also famous for introducing the "Spark Mandrill Syndrome" term. Walk up to him, shove some ice in his face and he will literally not be able to retaliate. But to be fair, this is the only boss that really becomes immobile when shivering in fear of its weakness; the others just take a lotta damage. Overall, the line-up of mavericks in this game is very memorable, and I also appreciate that they went with an animal theme for this subseries of games which opens up a whole new dimension of interesting designs.
Oh, and I usually never bring this up in my reviews since I usually value gameplay- and game design over presentation unless it directly hinders my enjoyment, but the music in Mega Man X? Real good stuff.''
- Not only a mechanical improvement over what came before, but also just a game that feels really, really good to play.
- Stage design being full of action- and secrets, allowing X to become stronger through more means aside from just stealing bosses' weapons.
- Good boss fights with varied patterns, making it fun to learn- and master their battles. Also, good designs and themes.
Negatives:
- Dash not being available right from the start gives me mixed feelings, even though I can admit it eases veteran players into the game and allows for no-dash runs (up until it's mandatory).
-----------------------------------
''Mega Man has seen a lot of success on the NES, with a total of 6 mainline games on the system. But the final game, Mega Man 6, was released while the SNES already began its domination of the market. It was time for the blue bomber to get an upgrade himself, and if you've been on the retro side of the internet for a while, you're most likely highly familiar with what kind of upgrade he has gotten. It is very tough for me to talk about such a game myself, given how the internet has already sung its praises at every opportunity they were given. Like, what can I even say that hasn't already been said yet about Mega Man X? Short answer: nothing. But I still want to share my personal feelings about the game, if only for making it a good reference point for future reviews of the same variety.
Mega Man has always nailed the formula since the very first game, hence why they could keep it going for so many games with the main differences being better levels, boss fights, and a few gameplay improvements like sliding- and charging the mega buster. So what did Mega Man X do? At first sight, mostly the same with not really that much being different. The tutorial follows a very good show-don't-tell approach to teaching the mechanics, which up to a certain point are mechanics we're all used to. The only real difference shown during this tutorial is that X can wall jump, but that is already a massive change. The approach to level design changes completely given how it can now work more with verticality that is not reliant on just ladders or level-specific gimmicks, but also boss battles now have more varied strategies to them. And that's it for the tutorial really! I could go more in-depth about what Vile's impact is and all that but really, that's not something I personally pay much attention to. I know, I'm a fake gamer, I'm sorry.
Regardless, there is one notable feature missing: the slide. This has been replaced by the awesome dash feature which, like everything else, is a great example of how much of an evolution this game really is. I went into detail on the mechanics so far, but not really about the feel–and boy does the game feel really, really good. It takes the slightly slower approach to platforming from the NES games and makes it faster without losing the strategical approach to anticipating enemy obstruction. The stages have far more action going on in them without being distracting, and the bosses also feel a bit more dynamic. I'll be talking about them a bit later but coming back to the dash, it could be argued whether this not being available right from the get-go is a good design choice or not. It definitely helps players ease into the game, especially if they came from the NES games, but once you've used the dash once, it's unlikely you'll want to go back to not using it. It being available exclusively in Chill Penguin's stage kind of gives you that forced feel of starting with him first, and then following the weakness chart from there. But of course, that last part only applies if you know the weakness chart, and every single other level is doable without the dash so you aren't punished for it at all. I more so bring this up for discussion purposes because I am genuinely curious what people think about the Dash not being part of the default toolkit right from the start.
But it also is a nice segue into one of the best elements of Mega Man X in general: the way X becomes stronger over the course of the game. In previous games, Mega Man only really got stronger by killing robot masters and taking their weapons, with there sometimes being an additional reward like the magnet beam. You had to get through a level and beat the boss, and if you weren't good enough then well… sucks to be you, get better. Mega Man X is still going to test your skills don't get me wrong, but the stages themselves now also give X options to get stronger, like upgraded armour that come with their own benefits like more defense, heart containers for an increased maximum health and last but absolutely not least, permanent sub tanks to restore health. So now if you end up getting destroyed by a boss, you might at least have gotten something from their stage to make life a bit easier for other bosses, even if you don't have their weakness. Though of course, they are not usually in plain sight so your navigational skills of these levels will also be put to the test, and sometimes you already need a weapon- or upgrade beforehand. It's a good thing then that these levels are overall very fun to explore- and/or breeze through, and sometimes also come with added depth to them by another Maverick's defeat having effect on another stage, like Chill Penguin's defeat freezing over Flame Mammoth's stage.
The bosses are still one of the defining elements of the game and no surprises here, they are all still fun. Their patterns are dynamic yet easy to predict the more you fight them, making almost any boss very doable with just the buster and your default skillset. The only one I wouldn't really recommend as first is Launch Octopus but hey, you do you. And in classic Mega Man fashion, one Maverick is weak to another's weapon, which makes the fights even easier. In fact, they become a bit too easy, as this game is also famous for introducing the "Spark Mandrill Syndrome" term. Walk up to him, shove some ice in his face and he will literally not be able to retaliate. But to be fair, this is the only boss that really becomes immobile when shivering in fear of its weakness; the others just take a lotta damage. Overall, the line-up of mavericks in this game is very memorable, and I also appreciate that they went with an animal theme for this subseries of games which opens up a whole new dimension of interesting designs.
Oh, and I usually never bring this up in my reviews since I usually value gameplay- and game design over presentation unless it directly hinders my enjoyment, but the music in Mega Man X? Real good stuff.''