Mega Man X Collection

"Was most definetly worth the year and a half plus wait. :)"

(score and categories are based on GameSpot's rating system)

INTRO:
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Ever since MegaMan Anniversary Collection (MMAC) arrived last year, myself and almost everyone else that's a fan of MegaMan figured (correctly) that if that collection did well, then MegaMan X Collection (MMXC) would soon follow. Well, on January 11, 2006, the wait was finally over and I picked up the first copy of MMXC at my local EB Games store (and a special thank you for my wife Denise who gave me a $50 gift card to EB Games for Christmas). So now the burning question on everyone's mind is this; was it worth the wait? Read on...

GAMEPLAY: 8 (Great)
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(In addition to the overall gameplay quality, I will use this section to also judge how accurate the ports are as well as whether or not any changes made are for the better or for the worse.)

In MMXC, you receive all of the first six MegaMan X games all in one package. Furthermore, you also receive the PLAYSTATION version of X3 (with updated soundtrack and anime cut scenes) plus MegaMan Battle & Chase (a Mario Kart style game with MegaMan characters and 32 bit graphics). While the PS1 games (X4-X6) are dead accurate on the emulation with no noticeable changes (other than having only three save slots per game and much faster load times), there were small changes made to the SNES era ones (X1-X3). Some of the changes for the better include: smoother gameplay w/o the old slowdown from the SNES, save feature while still keeping the passwords too (with a NEAT PS1 style game save interface I might add), and of course, the PS1 version of the X3 game. While many people don't like the X3 soundtrack in that version, I didn't think it was that bad at all. However, being able to pick either SNES or PS1 music would've been nice. As for changes for the worse, they include: an odd glitch in the X1 & X2 games where occassionally you can't fill up all your Sub-Tanks, "damn" is mysteriously now in the dialog in the X1 intro stage yet there's more typos in X1-X3, and MegaMan does not say "Hadouken!!" when using X1's super secret weapon. But all these set backs are very minor. Otherwise X1-X3 are just as you remember them from the SNES days.

As for gameplay quality, all six of these games are good solid games for any gamer who loves side-scrolling 2D shooting action. However, you will get the most enjoyment out of these games if you're already a MegaMan fan and in the case of X6, love a VERY tough challenge.

GRAPHICS: (8--Great)
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(this rating is based on how all the games, on average, compared to games made up to the time the original games were released. This is NOT based on the graphically capablity of games today because then this rating wouldn't be fair)

MMXC features a very nice looking user interface for the main menu, although redoing the teleporter menu from MMAC using MegaMan X and MMX style teleports would've been fun. The graphics for all three SNES era MMX games (X1-X3) are simply beautiful. Plus the fact that X2-X3 used the C4 chip to make the occassional vector graphics possible really gives you the impression that Capcom tried to push the SNES to its graphical limits. Although the X4-X6 games are also very nicely done graphically, you just don't get that same "pushed to the limits" feeling as the X1-X3 games; in fact, the PS1 probably didn't break a sweat running those games. But still, a very solid job on the graphics. Incidentally, X6 does not look as grainy as the original, which is an additional plus.

SOUND: (7--Good)
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Although X1 has some of the greatest video game tunes I've ever heard (especially Storm Eagle, Spark Mandrill, Zero theme, and the first Sigma Stage), the other games' tunes aren't nearly as memorable (except for Bubble Crab in X2 and its remix in X5's Duff McWhallen stage) . Overall though, the games' music/sound effects are quite solid throughout. Unfortunately, the Japanese voice acting from X6 was cut from this game, but thankfully the Japanese intro and ending songs were kept.

VALUE: (9--Superb)
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When you consider that four years ago, X6 by itself cost $30, $30 for X1-X6 plus Battle & Chase is an unbeatable value. Like MMAC, MMXC includes several music tracks and artwork, along with hints for how to unlock the super secret weapons in X1-X3. The only thing keeping this category from getting a 10 was that it would've been nice if it had as many extras as MMAC had. For example, a History of MegaMan (or MegaMan X in this case) feature, a sound/music test for ALL games (not just X1), and a remixed soundtrack for X1-X2 would've all been terrific additions to the extras roster. But still, paying $30 for MMXC beats paying $150+ for the original X1-X6 games any day of the week, and that's ultimately what really counts.

TILT: (8--Great)
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While there could've been more extras in MMXC, this is still a solid "MegaMan X All-Stars" game and is a must have for any MegaMan fan and goes great with MMAC. While both the PS2 and GCN versions are the same (unlike MMAC), I would still recommend the PS2 version since X4-X6 were originally on the PS1 and the SNES controller is almost exactly like the PS1/PS2 controller. So those who already played these games on their original consoles would most likely find the PS2 controller much more comfortable than the GCN controller. Ditto for MMAC.

OVERALL SCORE:
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Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 8
Sound: 7
Value: 9
Tilt: 8
FINAL SCORE: 8.0 (Great)

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/18/06