Mega Man X Collection

"It's Maverick Huntin' Season! Ready your busters, men!"

Yup, it's that time of year again! Or rather, a whole bunch of'em in one single disk. Capcom slaved over a hot computer screen, porting each of X's adventures into one big megamix. Lets cover the different parts of the game, and see what it adds up to, eh?

Visuals: 1-9/10

Okay, it's a bunch of things on one big thing. Some range from 32-bit to an enhanced version of 32-bit graphics. Each one plays rather smoothly. Most gamers can see that, which is good, and can judge if a game is piss-poor, or awesome.

Gameplay: 8/10

In some titles (or all of them), you can choose from either the buster-shooting Mega Man X, or the beam saber-wielding Zero. Each one has a different storyline, which leaves plenty of replayability, which we'll cover later on in the review. You take on the evil Sigma, and his army of animal-like robots known as Mavericks. Hence the heroes being called "Maverick Hunters". When you kill off one of Sigma's minions, you gain their weapon, which is different between X and Zero. You can go after the next creature, which is weak to said weapon. The thing that makes up the bulk of the game, is the ability to choose which of the Mavericks you want to hunt down and tear apart, which can lead to you eventually getting all of the Maverick's artillery. Some differ in different games, but they all stick to the shoot-n-jump formula that many gamers love.

Music: 10/10

Another focal point Keiji Infafune (head honcho of the Megaman franchise) wanted to enforce all the way in each game. They have good electric guitar synths, some are very orchestral (such as Duff McWhalen's stage in Megaman X5). It makes for a very fun gaming experience.

Replayability: 7/10

Remember the storyline I mentioned earlier? You can choose between two heroes, and see the adventure through their eyes. They will both have differential boss fights, as well as a similar goal: to end all Maverick tyranny. In most stages, you can find different parts for X (such as the fabled golden armor, which can really upgrade most of his attacks, or does it just make him look cool?), and plenty of health capsules and weapon energy capsules in each stage to replenish your hero's energy and health. That oughta keep you glued to your Gamecube for a few weeks, eh?

Buy or Rent?

Definitely worth a buy. There's plenty of unlockables and games to keep you occupied for quite a long time. You can usually find it at your nearest retailer for $29.99 (in the U.S.). If you rent it, you won't have much time to keep it for beating the game, save for Gamefly, I suppose.

Overall Game Score: 9/10

Here at GameFAQs, I saw most users clamoring for a collection of Megaman X titles on one game. I'm proud enough to say that there wishes came true. The difficulty in the game is rather high, so if you're not hardcore, this isn't for you. There will be a few moments in the game where X will utter the word "damn", so if your tykes at the controller, you may want to turn of the tube. Looks like Keiji made a compilation that everyone will keep playing for a number of years. And you can be one of them.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/13/06