When talking about video game franchises, some things must come to an end at some point. Nothing can last forever in that regard, whether it's a spinoff of that said series or just business decisions that can affect a game's development. Video games, just like any other medium in today's society, have their unique ways of ending things. A story can end from start to finish in one game, and then the next numerical entry provides another story for us to tell, or they can leave us with an ending or cliffhanger and continue where it left off in the next installment. This game's subject is more on the latter side, as developers/producers want to conclude a story they've told us through previous entries and move on to a new project. What needs to be properly executed when saying farewell to a beloved series is well, the finale. It requires a suitable conclusion of what came before it and not vice versa, or it becomes a jumbled mess; and in the case of Mega Man X5, it falls somewhere in the middle. For how it wanted to end as Keiji Inafune intended, I think it's a solid way to end the series, but there are those particular parts sprinkled in there that just stick out like a sore thumb that left my experience of X5 to be a mixed bag.
The game opens with a new minor antagonist named Dynamo contacting a mysterious voice, which isn't mysterious at all because it's Sigma; hey at least X5 is aware of that because he appears way early on in the game. Anyway, once you begin the intro stage, you are interrupted by loads of text coming from Alia, a Reploid who works as a navigator and operator for the Maverick Hunters. This was where I start pointing out my first issue with X5, the pacing.
She delivers information about recent objectives and Maverick spottings while also guiding X and Zero in the field. There's nothing wrong about giving a little more context as to what's going on in the stage they're in, but she disrupts the Maverick Hunters with loads of dialogue about how to play the freaking game. There's nothing wrong about needing a tutorial for newcomers, but keep in mind, this is the fifth entry to a game that was supposed to be the last in the series, so why do they feel the need to implement it in there? It's a design hindrance to those who have played the previous installments beforehand. This unfortunately carries out to the Maverick stages, informing us of some situations that a first-time player might realize without needing that much text.
What I love about the opening stages of the Mega Man X games is how they start you off with energetic music that'll hype you up while learning the controls. They give off great first impressions of the game, providing a sense of speed and excitement with an appropriate length that doesn't affect the pacing. For X5, I just skim-read through the text as I wanted to progress further, but even that felt long. I feel as if they wanted the same duration to clear an opening stage similar to the previous ones by throwing in text because when we take that away, the stage itself is relatively short.
Anyway, after defeating the Sigma Head, someone occupied Eurasia (an old space colony) and took control of it, scattering a virus and using its gravity systems to set a collision course toward Earth. That someone in question was Dynamo himself, the one I mentioned earlier. The Maverick Hunters have 16 hours before Eurasia wreaks havoc, and they plan on using a large particle cannon named Enigma, but that needs to be upgraded for it to succeed. Signas, the new commander, assigns X and Zero to grab the necessary parts to upgrade the Enigma (with the assistance of Douglas the engineer) before it's too late. To make things difficult, Sigma scattered the Sigma Virus all over the world as you can see through gameplay with those flying Sigma Heads.
I won't talk about the gameplay for too long, as X and Zero play similarly to how they were in X4. Let's start with the minor improvements; you can now switch to either X or Zero, depending on the stage you selected. Yeah, in the character select screen, you still have to choose either Maverick Hunter to start with, but after the opening stage, you can freely choose who you want to play in a particular level. If you're playing this blind, pick X because as a bonus, you get the Fourth Armor from X4 right at the start, as in the whole set. If you choose Zero first, X loses his Fourth Armor permanently, and you're left with his Z-Buster, which sucks. I know the game says X is great for casuals, and Zero is great for veteran players, but I had a much easier time with him compared to X if I'm being honest. I don't know if it's just my multiple playthroughs of the game, but I feel as though the Maverick stages were made with Zero in mind, while I feel the final stages were made with X in mind.
The stages themselves though kinda suck, but before I mention a few of these levels, let's talk about the names of the Mavericks. In the international release back in 2000, the Mavericks were named after members of Guns N' Roses. This was all done by Alyson Court, Claire Redfield's voice actress from Resident Evil 2. She explains in an interview that her then-husband was a massive fan of the band, and that's how we got names such as Axle the Red, Grizzly Slash, and Squid Adler. I think that was a neat little reference, but unfortunately, the Legacy Collection (where I played X5) have changed them back to their original names, and that makes me kinda sad because I'll never witness the true legendary title that was Duff McWhalen.
Back to what I was saying about the level design, there are certain stages that I found to be quite a nuisance. For Spike Rosered/Axle the Red's stage, there are those thorns that spring up when you get close to them when hanging on the rope, and that shit made me fall through bottomless pits a few times. Tidal Whale/Duff McWhalen's stage was a boring slog, as it's a slow auto-scrolling level with three mini-bosses to defeat. Not to mention there is a Light capsule that requires obtaining the Maverick's weapon, meaning I have to back and do all of that boring shit again. Volt Kraken/Squid Adler's stage was the worst level for me as we start with the Ride Chaser with a jump I never had time to react with when starting the stage up for the first time. There are eight plasma balls to obtain to break the wall if you want to reach the castle, but accomplishing that while trying to destroy the walls and not fall to my death was a pain in the ass. It doesn't end there as I make my way down to those mechanisms I have to hit to open those locked doors that remain open for a limited time. Doing these with X was really annoying, but doing them with Zero wasn't all too bad.
X and Zero can now crouch in this game; I don't know why they implemented it now when numerous entries in the series can be suitable for it, but it's a nice little edition. Another minor thing I want to get out of the way is the Injured Reploids; Reploids you can save and be rewarded with an extra life and get a bit of your health back. Again, nothing major, but were welcome editions.
Now let's get to the Armor Parts. I already mentioned the returning Fourth Armor, but there are a total of four armor sets that X can obtain. In the first four Maverick stages, X can obtain parts for the Falcon Armor. I won't get into part specifics, but X can gain the ability to fly while gaining invincibility for a limited time. This feature alone can break the game in half, making the second half feel trivial, but it's so damn fun to use. The other armor added to X5 is the Gaea Armor; collecting the four parts allows X to walk and wall jump on spikes, push blocks, and can charge up his X-Buster fast, but at the cost of slow movement speed, forbids the use of the Maverick weapons, and cannot use the air dash. I only use this armor just to get the remaining heart tanks I needed, but other than that, this armor is useless. Now the way we obtain the armor is a different story. Since the Sigma Virus is spreading around the planet, Dr. Light feels it's unsafe to equip them one at a time, so instead we can't use the armor until all the parts are collected, which is super lame. I get this is a dire situation happening in the plot, but this kills the satisfaction by obtain the parts piece by piece, and obtaining them this way feels like you're making progress throughout. Now Zero doesn't have the cool armor sets as X does, but he does have the same techniques from X4 we can unlock again, which is nice. Finally, we have the Ultimate Armor for X, and Black Zero for well... Zero. Originally cheat codes from Mega Man X4 can now be obtained near the end of the game. The Ultimate Armor is a modified Fourth Armor that increases special weapon energy and can perform the Nova Strike an unlimited amount of times. Black Zero enhances Zero's defense and saber power and increases his weapon energy, and that's about it. These are the best armors in the game and are nice endgame unlockables, and that's all I can say about them.
You know, talking about the armors kind of undermines the emphasis on the new parts system. Ok, so every time you clear or exit a level, you are rewarded with parts that you can augment your armor with, like faster movement speeds, higher jumps, powerful shots, and stuff like that, but you're limited to the amount that you can handle, and if I'm being honest, I barely used this. I never really knew what to do with these parts until I looked up a few reviews (specifically SomecallmeJohnny), and I didn't realize we can do that in X5, but I genuinely believe you're better off without them. I play the game how I originally played it like with the previous X games without needing to touch the new shit.
Another thing that can slightly impact your playthrough of Mega Man X5 is the Hunter Rank. After a Maverick stage is completed, you'll be rewarded with a rank by how fast you cleared it with the highest being SA. I didn't know what they meant when on my first run of X5, but after doing a little research, it turns out it can impact the upcoming Mavericks I face. Let me explain, Alia gives me two options; either "Weapons & Life" or "Weapons & Energy." If I pick life, that basically means I gain an extra life, but if I select the latter, that'll provide me with more weapon energy for the Maverick Hunters. When entering the boss room, there should be a "level #" on the bottom of their health meter, and the increased weapon energy depending on my rank can decrease the level for the Maverick I'm facing, or as how I describe it, whether you want the game a bit easier or harder for the first half of the entire game. The reason I say the first half is because when fighting them again in the final level (obviously), they come back with longer health bars with the same level, and I don't see my ranking until the end credits, so the second half is pointless. When discovering and learning more about the parts system and Hunter Rank, the more I feel they're convoluted and underdeveloped.
Speaking of underdeveloped, I feel the same way when it comes to its story. I feel as though the story has some plot holes that left me with some questions, like with Dynamo. I know he's the one responsible for the whole Eurasia crisis, but I don't know what the hell happened to him after fighting the hunters just for sport. I know Mega Man games don't have the greatest stories out there; hell, X4, my favorite game in the series has a messy story. Certain things were left unanswered, and this is no different from how I feel about X5's story and character development.
There are three endings you can obtain in Mega Man X5; two ending for X (good and bad) and Zero's ending, with all of them leading to the same fate and conclusion, but are worth checking out if you're curious or want to be a completionist. Though the bad ending can be total RNG when you reach the point where the Enigma cannon was unsuccessful and have to proceed with a new plan, which in all honesty depends on luck. Similar to my experience with X3, X5 has an overreliance on backtracking, with all of the armors and multiple endings I can achieve, not to mention the heart tanks that X nor Zero can get when switching characters, so it feels as if I have to do multiple playthroughs.
I feel the story overall is ok. I think X5's ending does a fine job of concluding the series as Inafune intended so he can work on the Mega Man Zero series, but as we all know by now, Capcom made a sixth installment with Inafune which sort of retcons the endings.
I like to share a few of my favorite songs from the X5 soundtrack before I wrap things up. I love the remix for Bubbly Crab's Stage from Mega Man X2 that was used in Tidal Whale/Duff McWhalen's Stage. There are a few songs from older titles that were arranged as if the soundtrack was a celebratory piece to give the proper sendoff to the X series. The Boss theme is my favorite standard boss theme in the series so far, symbolizing the intensity and if the Mavericks' fate was decided upon. X vs. Zero is my favorite song to come out of X5, symbolizing their destined duel and their awaited fate. The Credits theme is a perfect way to end the X series if it was only concluded with this mainline entry. It feels as if we're rolling through memories of someone you've been with through all of the hardships you've faced. I wouldn't say this is better than X4's soundtrack, but it's still solid overall.
Mega Man X5 feels like another mixed-bag entry in the series. While I think the story and music are decent, everything else they've added to the table feels like it's tacked on, vague, and underutilized, and I feel as if the team was adding things just for the sake of adding things. While this isn't my least favorite game in the series, this is another one I don't see myself replaying the most.
The game opens with a new minor antagonist named Dynamo contacting a mysterious voice, which isn't mysterious at all because it's Sigma; hey at least X5 is aware of that because he appears way early on in the game. Anyway, once you begin the intro stage, you are interrupted by loads of text coming from Alia, a Reploid who works as a navigator and operator for the Maverick Hunters. This was where I start pointing out my first issue with X5, the pacing.
She delivers information about recent objectives and Maverick spottings while also guiding X and Zero in the field. There's nothing wrong about giving a little more context as to what's going on in the stage they're in, but she disrupts the Maverick Hunters with loads of dialogue about how to play the freaking game. There's nothing wrong about needing a tutorial for newcomers, but keep in mind, this is the fifth entry to a game that was supposed to be the last in the series, so why do they feel the need to implement it in there? It's a design hindrance to those who have played the previous installments beforehand. This unfortunately carries out to the Maverick stages, informing us of some situations that a first-time player might realize without needing that much text.
What I love about the opening stages of the Mega Man X games is how they start you off with energetic music that'll hype you up while learning the controls. They give off great first impressions of the game, providing a sense of speed and excitement with an appropriate length that doesn't affect the pacing. For X5, I just skim-read through the text as I wanted to progress further, but even that felt long. I feel as if they wanted the same duration to clear an opening stage similar to the previous ones by throwing in text because when we take that away, the stage itself is relatively short.
Anyway, after defeating the Sigma Head, someone occupied Eurasia (an old space colony) and took control of it, scattering a virus and using its gravity systems to set a collision course toward Earth. That someone in question was Dynamo himself, the one I mentioned earlier. The Maverick Hunters have 16 hours before Eurasia wreaks havoc, and they plan on using a large particle cannon named Enigma, but that needs to be upgraded for it to succeed. Signas, the new commander, assigns X and Zero to grab the necessary parts to upgrade the Enigma (with the assistance of Douglas the engineer) before it's too late. To make things difficult, Sigma scattered the Sigma Virus all over the world as you can see through gameplay with those flying Sigma Heads.
I won't talk about the gameplay for too long, as X and Zero play similarly to how they were in X4. Let's start with the minor improvements; you can now switch to either X or Zero, depending on the stage you selected. Yeah, in the character select screen, you still have to choose either Maverick Hunter to start with, but after the opening stage, you can freely choose who you want to play in a particular level. If you're playing this blind, pick X because as a bonus, you get the Fourth Armor from X4 right at the start, as in the whole set. If you choose Zero first, X loses his Fourth Armor permanently, and you're left with his Z-Buster, which sucks. I know the game says X is great for casuals, and Zero is great for veteran players, but I had a much easier time with him compared to X if I'm being honest. I don't know if it's just my multiple playthroughs of the game, but I feel as though the Maverick stages were made with Zero in mind, while I feel the final stages were made with X in mind.
The stages themselves though kinda suck, but before I mention a few of these levels, let's talk about the names of the Mavericks. In the international release back in 2000, the Mavericks were named after members of Guns N' Roses. This was all done by Alyson Court, Claire Redfield's voice actress from Resident Evil 2. She explains in an interview that her then-husband was a massive fan of the band, and that's how we got names such as Axle the Red, Grizzly Slash, and Squid Adler. I think that was a neat little reference, but unfortunately, the Legacy Collection (where I played X5) have changed them back to their original names, and that makes me kinda sad because I'll never witness the true legendary title that was Duff McWhalen.
Back to what I was saying about the level design, there are certain stages that I found to be quite a nuisance. For Spike Rosered/Axle the Red's stage, there are those thorns that spring up when you get close to them when hanging on the rope, and that shit made me fall through bottomless pits a few times. Tidal Whale/Duff McWhalen's stage was a boring slog, as it's a slow auto-scrolling level with three mini-bosses to defeat. Not to mention there is a Light capsule that requires obtaining the Maverick's weapon, meaning I have to back and do all of that boring shit again. Volt Kraken/Squid Adler's stage was the worst level for me as we start with the Ride Chaser with a jump I never had time to react with when starting the stage up for the first time. There are eight plasma balls to obtain to break the wall if you want to reach the castle, but accomplishing that while trying to destroy the walls and not fall to my death was a pain in the ass. It doesn't end there as I make my way down to those mechanisms I have to hit to open those locked doors that remain open for a limited time. Doing these with X was really annoying, but doing them with Zero wasn't all too bad.
X and Zero can now crouch in this game; I don't know why they implemented it now when numerous entries in the series can be suitable for it, but it's a nice little edition. Another minor thing I want to get out of the way is the Injured Reploids; Reploids you can save and be rewarded with an extra life and get a bit of your health back. Again, nothing major, but were welcome editions.
Now let's get to the Armor Parts. I already mentioned the returning Fourth Armor, but there are a total of four armor sets that X can obtain. In the first four Maverick stages, X can obtain parts for the Falcon Armor. I won't get into part specifics, but X can gain the ability to fly while gaining invincibility for a limited time. This feature alone can break the game in half, making the second half feel trivial, but it's so damn fun to use. The other armor added to X5 is the Gaea Armor; collecting the four parts allows X to walk and wall jump on spikes, push blocks, and can charge up his X-Buster fast, but at the cost of slow movement speed, forbids the use of the Maverick weapons, and cannot use the air dash. I only use this armor just to get the remaining heart tanks I needed, but other than that, this armor is useless. Now the way we obtain the armor is a different story. Since the Sigma Virus is spreading around the planet, Dr. Light feels it's unsafe to equip them one at a time, so instead we can't use the armor until all the parts are collected, which is super lame. I get this is a dire situation happening in the plot, but this kills the satisfaction by obtain the parts piece by piece, and obtaining them this way feels like you're making progress throughout. Now Zero doesn't have the cool armor sets as X does, but he does have the same techniques from X4 we can unlock again, which is nice. Finally, we have the Ultimate Armor for X, and Black Zero for well... Zero. Originally cheat codes from Mega Man X4 can now be obtained near the end of the game. The Ultimate Armor is a modified Fourth Armor that increases special weapon energy and can perform the Nova Strike an unlimited amount of times. Black Zero enhances Zero's defense and saber power and increases his weapon energy, and that's about it. These are the best armors in the game and are nice endgame unlockables, and that's all I can say about them.
You know, talking about the armors kind of undermines the emphasis on the new parts system. Ok, so every time you clear or exit a level, you are rewarded with parts that you can augment your armor with, like faster movement speeds, higher jumps, powerful shots, and stuff like that, but you're limited to the amount that you can handle, and if I'm being honest, I barely used this. I never really knew what to do with these parts until I looked up a few reviews (specifically SomecallmeJohnny), and I didn't realize we can do that in X5, but I genuinely believe you're better off without them. I play the game how I originally played it like with the previous X games without needing to touch the new shit.
Another thing that can slightly impact your playthrough of Mega Man X5 is the Hunter Rank. After a Maverick stage is completed, you'll be rewarded with a rank by how fast you cleared it with the highest being SA. I didn't know what they meant when on my first run of X5, but after doing a little research, it turns out it can impact the upcoming Mavericks I face. Let me explain, Alia gives me two options; either "Weapons & Life" or "Weapons & Energy." If I pick life, that basically means I gain an extra life, but if I select the latter, that'll provide me with more weapon energy for the Maverick Hunters. When entering the boss room, there should be a "level #" on the bottom of their health meter, and the increased weapon energy depending on my rank can decrease the level for the Maverick I'm facing, or as how I describe it, whether you want the game a bit easier or harder for the first half of the entire game. The reason I say the first half is because when fighting them again in the final level (obviously), they come back with longer health bars with the same level, and I don't see my ranking until the end credits, so the second half is pointless. When discovering and learning more about the parts system and Hunter Rank, the more I feel they're convoluted and underdeveloped.
Speaking of underdeveloped, I feel the same way when it comes to its story. I feel as though the story has some plot holes that left me with some questions, like with Dynamo. I know he's the one responsible for the whole Eurasia crisis, but I don't know what the hell happened to him after fighting the hunters just for sport. I know Mega Man games don't have the greatest stories out there; hell, X4, my favorite game in the series has a messy story. Certain things were left unanswered, and this is no different from how I feel about X5's story and character development.
There are three endings you can obtain in Mega Man X5; two ending for X (good and bad) and Zero's ending, with all of them leading to the same fate and conclusion, but are worth checking out if you're curious or want to be a completionist. Though the bad ending can be total RNG when you reach the point where the Enigma cannon was unsuccessful and have to proceed with a new plan, which in all honesty depends on luck. Similar to my experience with X3, X5 has an overreliance on backtracking, with all of the armors and multiple endings I can achieve, not to mention the heart tanks that X nor Zero can get when switching characters, so it feels as if I have to do multiple playthroughs.
I feel the story overall is ok. I think X5's ending does a fine job of concluding the series as Inafune intended so he can work on the Mega Man Zero series, but as we all know by now, Capcom made a sixth installment with Inafune which sort of retcons the endings.
I like to share a few of my favorite songs from the X5 soundtrack before I wrap things up. I love the remix for Bubbly Crab's Stage from Mega Man X2 that was used in Tidal Whale/Duff McWhalen's Stage. There are a few songs from older titles that were arranged as if the soundtrack was a celebratory piece to give the proper sendoff to the X series. The Boss theme is my favorite standard boss theme in the series so far, symbolizing the intensity and if the Mavericks' fate was decided upon. X vs. Zero is my favorite song to come out of X5, symbolizing their destined duel and their awaited fate. The Credits theme is a perfect way to end the X series if it was only concluded with this mainline entry. It feels as if we're rolling through memories of someone you've been with through all of the hardships you've faced. I wouldn't say this is better than X4's soundtrack, but it's still solid overall.
Mega Man X5 feels like another mixed-bag entry in the series. While I think the story and music are decent, everything else they've added to the table feels like it's tacked on, vague, and underutilized, and I feel as if the team was adding things just for the sake of adding things. While this isn't my least favorite game in the series, this is another one I don't see myself replaying the most.