Mega Man X8

"Best traditional Mega Man title of the last decade"

INTRODUCTION
We've been rained upon with Mega Man games all this year, seeing that it's Mega Man's 15th Anniversary. Mega Man has starred in his first (true-to-form) RPG with Command Mission, and the Battle Network series has ushered in a new wave of fans. But for an anniversary, the quality of the titles we were seeing almost made them seem more like nails in a coffin than candles on a cake. Capcom has to be confused, after all; series like Zero and Battle Network on GBA are giving more of the same with each iteration (the Capcom syndrome) which makes critics and most fans upset in the long run. Then they try Command Mission which was mostly received as mediocre, as well as X7's "quasi-3d" style which was shot down as being too deviant from the formula and just plain awkward. Getting Capcom to overhaul a successful formula is like pulling teeth in the first place, so I imagine this left the developers jaded and disappointed.

For diehard fans of the series, I say prepare to rekindle the flame, and for casual but curious fans (like myself), I say don't give up on the blue bomber just yet. Read on if you are at all interested in Mega Man.

GAMEPLAY/DIFFICULTY
FIRST AND FOREMOST! Get this, the game has an Easy, Normal, and Hard mode. Imagine that! See, I might be crazy, but selling a game based solely on how teeth-grittingly tough it is might have proved to be a flawed business model for Capcom. There's nothing wrong with a challenge, but by forcing all potential buyers to be experts with the series, you don't leave much room for growth.

Super Ghouls and Ghosts, another Capcom franchise, makes a good example. It didn't sell in droves when it was released. It's heralded by an elite few who can stomach the frustration and overcome the immense challenge. You might get credentials from your peers for beating the game, but these are the same peers who might have played your copy and, realizing tendinitis and eyeball-gouging frustration headaches weren't quite their forte, didn't end up buying copies for themselves. So while Capcom made it on a lot of "top X of all-time" lists with that one, they probably didn't see much profit. Purists might shun the addition of difficulty levels, but honestly, just switch it to hard mode and be on your way. Maybe some people like Mega Man for more than just the challenge.

Lives are thrown out in this game in favor of "retry chips" (same concept I guess), and if you choose to play on Easy mode, you'll have infinite chances to retry. If you're playing in harder modes but just can't seem to pass an obstacle, you can go to the R&D lab... basically a shop to buy new gear and powerups with the "metals" (your Mega Man currency) you get from defeating enemies in each stage. This feature worked well with games like Mega Man and Bass (one of my favorites) and I'm glad to see it here.

The stages each seem to have a gimmick. Sure things like anti-gravity levels are nothing new to Mega Man, but no one stage is just a "palette swap" so to speak. Each level has something that sets it apart. You might find yourself using stealth, being chased or what have you, throughout a stage. This really stirs things up, and is one of my favorite things about the game. But of the eight starting levels there are two that are merely vehicle chases then a bossfight. While these stages are fun, they are a bit frustrating and kind of leave you wanting more platformer style action.

Like X7 you pick two of the three heroes to go to a stage with, and you can swap between them anytime. Also now you can do double-team attacks (not as cool as it sounds for some reason). But new to this game is the navigator selection, who you pick along with your heroes. The girl you pick will pop up in the stage and notify you if they have some new advice (just hit Select to hear it). You can choose between Alia who is all around advice, Layer who specializes in boss tactics, and Pallette (cringe) who notifies you of secret pathways. A much more enjoyable feature than say, X7's hostage rescuing. Yes, that was scrapped-- this is Mega Man after all, not Metal Slug.

I think nearly any type of player can enjoy this game now, and not just Mega Man fans, and this is a good thing. There's still plenty of challenge to be had, but now it's balanced out.

GRAPHICS
If you didn't play X7, the X series has gone polygonal now. This adds a tiny bit more depth to what you're looking at, and allows for rotating (but still linear) paths. X7 was a hodgepodge of 3D and 2D styles, sometimes even alternating dimensions from room to room in one stage. This was dumped for X8, which is good because the camera was too awkward in those 3d parts anyways.

The graphics style looks a lot more like Command Mission, and this really shows in the cutscenes. These cutscenes are really pretty, although the art style used with the characters is slightly different-- which I'm just kind of "eh" about that. The faces are kind of ugly but I guess they're supposed to look more real or something. Some people seem to have problems with the cel-shaded look, but I personally love it and I think the use of color here makes it look a lot better than most cel-shaded games, and this game is proof that the technique is improving the more the designers learn to use it.

The vehicle chase missions, such as the one in the snow stage, look really nice to me. But these bring up a big issue with the game... slowdown. You're bound to see some in these vehicle stages, and sometimes even in the traditional style levels. It's sad to see slowdown is still around on these nextgen systems (and in a "2d" game no less) but you probably could use the additional reaction time anyways. And besides, most other stages look really great and maintain a very smooth framerate.

The bosses are huge and look great with polygons, and the stages have a lot of depth. But no matter how grandiose the graphics, the game probably won't win any awards simply because this is a 2d game. I think if you take delight in the looks of Viewtiful Joe then you can appreciate how awesome this game looks and Capcom's decision to keep 2d gameplay alive even on these next-gen systems.

MUSIC AND SOUND
Yep, cheesy guitar riffs are abound! Personally I prefer the chip-tunes of the old Mega Man games. You know, the 8-bit stuff. Those songs were just a lot catchier, as to where... while this stuff still has the energy, it's largely forgettable. There's something just too MIDI-ish and clean about it, if MIDI-ish is a word. I wish they'd make it dirtier, grittier somehow... and put a bit more "chug" into the beats.

Surprisingly, the menu screens have really tranquil music, and I love that stuff in games. Particularly the save menu, options screen, and Dr. Light's theme are actually some of the catchiest because they sound like the Gamecube system menu music. No gripes about the rest of the music, but no new favorite Mega Man themes or anything. Writing this review, I'm not humming any of the tunes to myself like when I play the NES ones on the Anniversary Collection. You be the judge on if that's bad or not, but I think it's good enough music for what's there; can't expect anything new-school to qualm my elite retro tastes. (sic)

The voice acting is still bad, but better than previous efforts actually. More importantly, the grunts the characters make, like Zero swinging the sword and such, aren't annoying at all. Really, the voice acting can only be as good as the dialogue written for it, and well... it's only a Mega Man game. Most importantly, Axl doesn't sound like a girl now. I never saw the logic in that, the guy has two gats, ready to cap you ghetto style... so why does he sound like Strawberry Shortcake? Even if he is a kid or whatever (I'm not sure), it really just threw me off. But they fixed that... he's still kind of annoying but only because of his snappy attitude, which is fine.

Oh yeah, the character "Pallette". Good god, her voice. Augh. I won't even try to describe it, you have to hear it for yourself.

CONCLUSION
I don't think 2D platforming will ever fully die. Space shooters have aged gracefully and innovated upon themselves, and they've been around forever. We've went from Galaga to Ikaruga; the graphics got better, there's more to worry about, etc. But if you had to describe both games in one sentence... "shoot stuff and don't blow up", on the drawing board... it's the same thing. Even so, Ikaruga still managed to make some waves in today's crazy gaming market.

I wish Mega Man X8 would make waves in a similar way. There are still flaws, but I think that the game is ready for everybody now and not just the Mega Man fans. Viewtiful Joe proved that 2D still works if it's classy, and fans of that game looking for more should definitely look this way. But alas, it's 2004, and even I have to admit that Halo 2, GTA:SA, and Metroid Prime 2 are leaps beyond this game in terms of lasting appeal and grasp. If you live for gaming and found your way through all the hot titles of the winter, then by all means... why not leave some room to sink your teeth into this sleeper hit. And if you're a Mega Man fan, what are you waiting for? Best traditional Mega Man game of the last decade, hands down.

Eight of ten.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/13/04