To be fair, the original game was nearly flawless and the only things you could really do to improve on it would be giving me the dash as a default move from the very beginning and have something new that the leg armor parts could do in its place, and making the head part more useful, because aside from collecting another part, it's pretty much worthless. Does Maverick Hunter X do that? Nah, it's pretty much the original game with a little more story, which is appreciated, anime cutscenes, and a new coat of paint that looks pretty good for a PSP game. I don't get why they changed the armor capsule locations, though, it didn't really add anything substantial to the experience, but it was a harmless change, so whatever.
But that's just one part of this version, there is some really cool extra content like a prequel OVA that is unlocked after you beat it for the first time, and a new mode where you play as Vile in an obviously non-canon retelling of the story from his perspective. What sets him apart from X is the fact that Vile (unfortunately) can't dash, but he has many different upgrades you can play with and picking up which ones will be the most useful is the key to conquering the stages, which are harder then the ones from X's campaign.
There is one fatal flaw that makes Maverick Hunter X worse than the original, though, it's the fact that they fucked up the dash jump. I thought it was a problem with the emulator, but then I looked this up online and people who played it on an actual PSP also had the same issue, sometimes the dash jump just won't work and you'll do a regular jump instead. On the ground, it's easy to circumvent this by just pressing and holding the dash button for a split second before pressing the jump button. Dash-jumping from walls, though? Yeah, now you're at the mercy of X only dash-jumping when he feels like it, which ends up making some of the bosses harder than they should have been.
At the end of the day, a worse Megaman X is still Megaman X, and this is worth checking out for the extra content. It's just a shame that it doesn't do much to improve on the original game, and it's an even bigger shame that it wasn't successful enough to kickstart an entirely new series covering the first game all the way to X6. Imagine a timeline where X6's cool ideas and premise are actually put to good use instead of the shitbag of a game we ended up getting, we really do live in the worst timeline.
But that's just one part of this version, there is some really cool extra content like a prequel OVA that is unlocked after you beat it for the first time, and a new mode where you play as Vile in an obviously non-canon retelling of the story from his perspective. What sets him apart from X is the fact that Vile (unfortunately) can't dash, but he has many different upgrades you can play with and picking up which ones will be the most useful is the key to conquering the stages, which are harder then the ones from X's campaign.
There is one fatal flaw that makes Maverick Hunter X worse than the original, though, it's the fact that they fucked up the dash jump. I thought it was a problem with the emulator, but then I looked this up online and people who played it on an actual PSP also had the same issue, sometimes the dash jump just won't work and you'll do a regular jump instead. On the ground, it's easy to circumvent this by just pressing and holding the dash button for a split second before pressing the jump button. Dash-jumping from walls, though? Yeah, now you're at the mercy of X only dash-jumping when he feels like it, which ends up making some of the bosses harder than they should have been.
At the end of the day, a worse Megaman X is still Megaman X, and this is worth checking out for the extra content. It's just a shame that it doesn't do much to improve on the original game, and it's an even bigger shame that it wasn't successful enough to kickstart an entirely new series covering the first game all the way to X6. Imagine a timeline where X6's cool ideas and premise are actually put to good use instead of the shitbag of a game we ended up getting, we really do live in the worst timeline.
9 Comments
That's understandable, I would prefer it to the original if the dash jump was better programmed
I'm with you Ryu. Aside from the dash thing, it's missing a lot of details. For example, The street lights don't illuminate the stage depending on the player's location in the intro stage, and X no longer has icy breath in Chill Penguin when low on health. Also platforming just feels a bit off due to the change in how zoomed in the game is and the resolution switch. It's no wonder they balanced the Sigma levels around the player not having the dash, which makes them absurdly easy should the player collect it beforehand. In fact, all the balance changes just make it feel like an easier experience all around even on hard mode. The simpler platforming in the Sigma stages, Electric Spark covering the entire screen, Chameleon Sting/Rolling Shield comboing with other weapons, etc.
The worst change to me though is Vile in the main story. He felt outright unstoppable in the original, especially since he couldn't be damaged which made Zero's introduction scene hit like a truck. Being reduced to an easy boss who has to resort to cheapshotting X doesn't quite fuel my motivation to become stronger the same way or show how far X has come during the 2nd Vile fight. And this is more subjective but the original pixel art and chiptune music are just timeless in comparison to the low budget 3D models.
The worst change to me though is Vile in the main story. He felt outright unstoppable in the original, especially since he couldn't be damaged which made Zero's introduction scene hit like a truck. Being reduced to an easy boss who has to resort to cheapshotting X doesn't quite fuel my motivation to become stronger the same way or show how far X has come during the 2nd Vile fight. And this is more subjective but the original pixel art and chiptune music are just timeless in comparison to the low budget 3D models.
l don't even think megaman x is the best x game anyway x4 says hi l just like maverick hunter x for an expanded narrative too but hey its really preference
That makes sense. I love X4 too, it's easily my second favourite after X1. As of rn my rankings are probably
X1 > X4 > XCM >= X2 > X5 > Xtreme 2 > X3 >= MHX > X Challenge > Xtreme > X6 > X8 > X7
X1 > X4 > XCM >= X2 > X5 > Xtreme 2 > X3 >= MHX > X Challenge > Xtreme > X6 > X8 > X7
Yeah, some of the changes were strange to say the least, especially Vile being a beatable boss in the first stage, but I ended up getting used to them with time. I definitely agree about the original having aged better visually, pixel art will always age better than 3D textures and models to me, but I feel MHX looks decent for a 3D rendition made in a handheld console.
I'm curious about X8's placement in that ranking though, I don't think that game is anything special myself, but usually people hype it up to the heavens and it always seemed weird to me. I don't consider it worse than X6, or even a bad game at all, but I would still rather play any other X game besides X6 and X7 over it.
I'm curious about X8's placement in that ranking though, I don't think that game is anything special myself, but usually people hype it up to the heavens and it always seemed weird to me. I don't consider it worse than X6, or even a bad game at all, but I would still rather play any other X game besides X6 and X7 over it.
X8 is a competent action-platformer on its own, but as a huge fan of the series I can't get into it at all. Too many gimmicky levels, one of if not the worst difficulty curves of any video game I've played, and the changed upgrade system just artificially pads the game out too much. I speedrun other games in the series because I appreciate they don't waste my time; I can get all the upgrades quickly just by memorizing their locations and I get to use them instantly.
based, fuck mega man x8. milquetoast ass game.
The stages being too gimmicky and the grinding the new upgrade system brought in are what made me not like X8 all that much as well, it almost feels like a tease because it had fantastic controls for a MMX game, only for a big portion of the rest of the game to barely feel like MMX. Guess I'm more willing to tolerate that over putting up with bullshit stage designs like the ones from X6, at least it's more of an inconvenience as opposed to something that frustrates me.
ThisThingOfOurs
2 years ago