Mega Man X: Command Mission

"So much better than I had hoped"

Let's face it. Megaman (let alone, X) is not synonymous with Role-playing games. Battle Network games aside, this game attempts to change this ideal, and does so very well.

Story - 6 / 10
Gotta admit, the storyline is......Original for typical RPG's, but common for MM games. Stop robots, as robots, to protect robots. Basic MM (usually, he protects humans, but oh well) Not bad, but not great.

Gameplay - 10 / 10
The thing about normal RPG's are the boring battle systems. Picking attacks from a menu and such tend to be tedious. This game give turn-based battles a twist. Outfit a character with a number of sub-weapons and 'Force Metals' to increase their abilities. Then, use any combination of Sub-Weapons and Basic attack / Trigger Action. It simple, yet genius. If things get tough, as most boss battles tend to be, throw each character into their own individual 'Hyper Modes' and destroy the enemies! Animations of characters are very fluid. and Walking around on the world hub is not hard. Best of all, the carmera WORKS! YES! It can be controlled with the c-stick or centered behind with L shoulder button.

Music / Sound - 8 / 10
WARING - THIS GAME CONTAINS THE USUAL MEGAMAN VOICE ACTING! Now that you have been warned, the music and sound of this game is pretty good. Most of the music is pretty short, and does repeat. I, for one, liked the music, so it really didn't get too repetitive. The sound effects are good. Sword slashes, and Buster / Gun shots sound good. Just like Megaman games. Unfortunately, the voice acting is terrible!!!!! Better than the acting in Star Ocean 3, though, but it is still bad. Anyone who played MM8, MMX4, and MMX7, knows what I'm talking about. Yikes. On a side note, the battle voices aren't that bad....Except Axl.

Length - 5 / 10
Yep. This is a short one. Not saying that is a bad thing, but still. After about 20 hrs, the game is finished. The game is divided into 10 chapters, or as some could say stages. However, while the game is 20 hrs by itself, I'm proud to announce....

Re-playability / Extras - 10 / 10
This game, even though it is short, had plenty of extras / unlockables / and stuff to do after - the - fact. Plenty of Hidden bosses before the final boss AND after the final boss. Challenges that are completed to unlock worthwhile concept art (that's right, it's good art!) Some customization options for X, hidden weapons, and Hyper Modes, bring this game's play time to about 40-50! Nice, huh?

Multiplayer - .......Umm...Yeah, not in this game

Characters - 8 / 10
Characters are good in this game. They are generic on the outside, in original on the inside. We already know X, Zero, and Axl, but Spider, Massimo, Marino, and Cinnamon are the new ones. I won't spoil them for ya though.

Rent or Buy
Buy. Definintely. If you're a Megaman Fan, buy it. If you're an RPG fan, buy it. If you like games, buy it. It is a nice diversion that won't disappoint!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/27/04