Mega Man X: Command Mission

"Everyone’s favorite Maverick Hunter is back, and this time he’s brought some new friends."

Gameplay: 8/10

MegaMan X has returned! OK, so it's not that great, but at least he's starting to branch out. This is a milestone for Capcom, since this is the first true RPG he's starred in. You can't count the Battle Network series, since it has no real RPG elements in it. So, it's on to gameplay.

This, as I said, is an RPG. It happens to be one of the (sarcastically) few turn-based games in the world. You can get a sortie of up to seven units, but only three can be in an active battle party at a time. The game likes to throw random battles your way, so being on your toes can be an advantage.

Controls for the game obviously change depending on whether you're on the field or in the middle of a battle. On the field, the triangle button opens the main menu, the circle cancels any action you want to take and performs a dash on the field, the X confirms actions and forwards conversations, and the square button has no real use. In battles, the triangle opens a menu and cancels attacks you haven't taken yet, the circle and square buttons unleash the sub-weapons your characters have equipped, the X button initiates your character's main attack, the L1 button forces a guard, and the R2 activates the Action Trigger.

Battles are turn-based, with the turn order for the next 8 fighters given on a small queue in the lower-left corner of the screen. This order gives more information than that, as the height of the bars in the queue give an idea as to how much LE (Life Energy, the same thing as Hit Points) a unit has left before they take the dirt nap. Depending on your actions, the turn order could be altered in an instant. The disadvantage for this comes to boss battles. The boss has a full body portrait, instead of a close-up of their eyes or an E1 (used for enemies). The portrait never changes height, so you have absolutely no idea as to how much LE the boss has left. The only tells you can get are if the boss suddenly gets some sort of advantage or changes their tactic. Personally, I'd like to know just how much energy I have to remove before the boss is finally taken down. Again, that's just me.

LE restoration is different from anything I've ever seen done in a MegaMan game. You're given the series' recurring Sub Tank. But this time, healing with it does not mean that you have used up a complete Tank. Instead, depending on your target's status, you can use parts of a Tank to restore varying amounts of LE. This also applies to healing your whole party, so that using a complete Sub Tank completely heals the active party. Restoring the Tank, however, is no easy feat. You have to kill certain enemies, break certain crystals in the field, or rest up at the game's base of operations in order to fill up the Tanks.

Attack options are not too plentiful, but there's enough here to allow you to create some sort of strategy. The sub-weapons are never powerful enough to matter, so it's usually just a way of stalling until either your next turn, or your inevitable slaughter. Main attacks are rather powerful, depending on who uses their attack. You have the option to defend, which can come at an advantage since it pushes your next turn earlier. Defending cuts the damage taken down somewhat, so it's a good idea if you need to heal up. A new concept is the Action Trigger. At the beginning of each character's turn, a small meter below the LE counter increases. This is the fighter's WE, or Weapon Energy, meter. The only way the Action Trigger can be used is if the meter is above 70% full. The meter's level affects the Triggers abilities, so it's best to fill the meter all the way. Each fighter, or unit, has a completely different Trigger from his, or her, teammates.

X has his standard Charge Shot, which attacks all enemies with the WE transferred directly into attack power. Zero uses his Command Arts, where veterans of the Street Fighter Series will fall in love. His WE causes a timer to slow down, depending on how much he has. This allows him to get in more attacks. Axl, who first appeared in MegaMan X7, uses his DNA Change. Like Zero, his WE slows down a timer, which can help a player enter the eight buttons necessary to change into a boss that you've already beaten and use its abilities as your own. Spider, a new character, plays a game of Draw Poker. His WE is used to make better starting hands, and better hands equal better attacks. Massimo, another new guy, fires a massive laser from his lance, with the WE becoming a timer for the player to mash buttons to add to the attack's power and effects. Marino, a new chick, uses to Emotional Reel, or plays a game of slots. Depending on her level, she can play for up to 6 different effects, including a failure attack. Her WE is used to slow down the reels, letting the player match the symbols with ease. Cinnamon, the final new character, is a healer by nature. It's no wonder, then, why her Trigger, Angelic Aide, is a healing move. The WE becomes a timer, forcing the player to rotate the right thumbstick like it was a wheel on a secret door with gold behind it, fast and furious.

Using the menu can give you the ability to activate a player's Hyper Mode, altering their stats for a few turns. For some this is an advantage, especially Marino, who's speed is tripled during her Hyper Mode activations. Others are negative, like Axl and Spider, who's speed are cut when they activate theirs. X and Zero can earn a second Hyper Mode, which kicks the game into “I'll let the player kick the crap out of me” mode, making the game way too easy to beat. The Hyper Modes only last a few turns, and the only way to increase them is to use an item that's so rare that there are only a handful in the entire game. This means that a little forethought is needed in order to take advantage of your best Modes.

Items in this game are none too impressive. There are certain items that can heal status effects, or attack enemies, but these are really quite useless. The only reason to use the offense items is if you don't have anyone that can take advantage of a weakness. Most of the status items are pointless to use, since most of the effects are nullified as time passes. The only ones you have to manually heal are Virus (or poison) and Blind, since these are the only ones that are permanent.

Winning battles nets experience, obviously. What may be a little too unrealistic is the fact that the experience gained from killing the enemies is divided among everyone, even the ones that didn't fight. This means that little Cinnamon can sit back safely leveling up at the same rate as everyone else. This can also make things unfair, as you can fight with your favorite party, but if you have to switch a character out in the middle of a game, you may not be used to their abilities and may get torn up. It's recommended that you get acquainted with everyone, or face the consequences.

Field actions are extremely limited. All you can do is move around, interact with items that are not pre-rendered, and boost forward. That's all there is to it. There are Item crystals scattered along the areas, with most of them being one shot wonders. Break it and it's gone for good, unless you have already maxed out your inventory on it.

The main menu is where most of the changes are made. You can change each character's equipment, which affects their stats. You can use the Sub Tank as well, so you can heal your characters if necessary. You can check their stats as well. What this has to do with gameplay, I don't know, but it's handy none the less. Things are pretty easy to maintain, so there's really no reason to worry about things too much.

Sound: 7/10
If you've ever played a MegaMan game, then you know that any voiceovers are not the greatest in the world. Sadly, this is true for MMX: CM. The high point is that the voice actor for X himself has been vastly improved to prove that he is, indeed, a man and not something undecided. I love MegaMan games, so this has to be bad if I'll rip on this.

Sound effects are not too astounding, either. Many attacks have quite disappointing sound effects backing them up, if you want to call them that. They have no sort of essence needed for the major attacks. Even Zero's Z-Sabre is woefully underpowered in the sound department. It's just a good thing that the sounds aren't absolutely horrible, or the experience of this game would be completely ruined.

The only real high point is the background music. While there are a few annoying tracks that you have to put up with, the music for the most part is pretty good. Some tunes are catchy, and the ending theme, “Parts,” is the best of them all.

Graphics: 7/10

As expected in a MegaMan game, the game is not very pleasing to look at. At best, it looks as though it was made for PSOne. After battles is very bad, as each character has a one-liner they use repeatedly throughout the game. This would tolerable, if they would move their mouths when they talk. This only occurs in after-battle sequences, however, so we're spared from having to see this the whole time. The rest of the game looks OK, but I'd like to see a MegaMan game like MegaMan 8, something that is gorgeous to the eye.

Story: 6/10

Storylines have never really been the MegaMan legacy's strong suit. It's no surprise that this game is no different. The basic core of the story is about X and Zero being dispatched to a mining island name of Giga City. An uprising has occurred, and the heroes have been sent to put it down. The story is pretty weak, and it tries hard to create some twists in the plot. The problem with these is that it's way too easy to spot the twists, which kills the whole point of the story. Had Capcom invested more time into this, it might've been better. It's just unfortunate that the story seems somewhat rushed.

Lifespan: 3/10

This is the game's breaking point. Basically, once you beat the game, your done with it. Sure, there are tons of unlockables you can hunt for. But, most of them are not worth the effort needed to unlock them, even if all it takes is breaking a few item crystals. It's not the thing a game like this needs in order to increase its longevity. In fact, it's the thing that absolutely kills it. Unless you love the story, you will not play this game a second time, that's all there is to it.

Overall: 7/10

It's a good game, but does not manage to stand out in the legacy it has found itself in. This game is mainly a rental, but you can still have fun with it. In a shocking turn of events, MegaMan X: Command Mission manages to maintain the Capcom Status Quo.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/04/06