Mega Man X5

"Capcom remains true to it's 2D roots!"

A friend of mine once told me: ''It's not a Capcom game unless it's got a good 3 or 4 sequels attached to it.'' Granted, this was around the late eighties/early nineties, with only about 3 or 4 games to the little blue guy's credit. (With the X series, at best, being little more than a glimmer in Capcom's eye.) In retrospect, nearly a decade later, I can come to the safe conclusion that truer words were never spoken.

Now, keeping this in mind, one general rule of gaming series has always been ''quantity sure as hell doesn't always mean quality.'' And while this remains true, even to the Megaman series, (it's had its share of clunkers in the past) it's apparent after playing this game Capcom went that extra mile to prove this theory wrong and work their little magic to craft what can easily be called one of the best games the enduring Megaman legacy has to offer.

I'm not really going to go too deep into the story here, mostly because I can't really tell you anything fresh or new you haven't already heard from any of the other reviews for this game. (Not to mention the fact that I, unfortunately, haven't as of yet played X4, of which this game is heavily reliant on. I am working on correcting this situation immediately.) Long story short, Sigma is back (AGAIN) ready to take his revenge (AGAIN) on our heroes, X and Zero. This time, the duo will find themselves in a race against time to stop an impending crash to the Earth from an incoming space colony. There's obviously a bit more to it than that, but it leads into more intricate plot issues which I'm not going to discuss here...

While Megaman and his buddies have never exactly been well-known for making any truly remarkable gameplay leaps from each game to the next, I must say I am truly proud with this one. Right from the boot, you can tell this is not just your regular Megaman game. For one thing, for the inexperienced player, a quick little training mode to get into the swing of things as fast as possible; a very good idea for a gamer who may just be making his foray into the world of Megaman.

Once you are heavily involved in this world, though, you will begin to notice more and more little additions to the series which really show you Capcom still cares about its 2d gameplaying. Multiple forms of armor for X to pick up have been scattered throughout the levels, in the form limb capsules retrieved from pods by the series mainstay, Dr. Light. Retrieving all of these pods to complete the full set of armor is indeed a challenging task, one which also helps to kick the replay value up a notch. Each suit comes fully equipped with new abilites and attacks for X to master, which you can mix and match to see which you prefer. Even Zero wasn't left unnoticed, as he too can pick up a special armor power up somewhere in the game. See if you can find it...

Another interesting addition is the admittedly cool parts system. Now after beating one of the game's 8 bosses, you not only receive their weapon, but the option to choose a part from the which can be equipped to your character later in the game. There are 2 choices per boss, coming in the forms of ''energy+'' and ''life+'' and each having a different effect on how X or Zero performs, allowing them to do things like shoot faster, jump higher, hyper dash, etc.

Several other additions to the game make your experience more enjoyable, mostly in the form of branching storylines. Not only do you have 2 different characters to choose from, but you have different endings (I said endingS!) for each, different relationships with other characters, and several different methods of accomplishing the game. If you wish, you can ditch the whole method of ''beat-all-8-bosses, steal-their-powers, and proceed to the endgame stages: and simply head right towards the last battles. Beware though, doing this might have some severe consequences in the game, most noticeably at the end. You don't HAVE to follow the path, but you might regret it if you don't...

Other than that, you're killing the same 8 robots and beating the few final levels (in this case 3) of the game that you've done so many times before. Of course, change is not necessarily a good thing, and I would not have Capcom abandon this method for the world. My one complaint I do have with Capcom in this area was the whole design of the bosses, right down to their implementation in the game. Not only do their names get honestly stupider every succeeding game (not in the cute, funny, simplistic ways of the original series, but in dull, uninteresting ways), but we are treated to undoubtedly the WORST cast of Megaman villains ever. Now the X series has never been the pinnacle of boss designs in the first place, but I've seen every villain this game has to offer and beaten them many times, using different methods, and mastering my techniques with each of them. I don't think one damn character can stick out in my mind as being cool or original.

Graphically, the game aims to please on many levels, from hooking older players who loved this stuff from years before, to the later 3D-influenced generation who until now remained skeptic as to whether 2D games still have something to show off these days. And once you get past the fact that this game is a 2D platformer placed on a machine which is, essentially, built primarily for 3D games, you really start to point out some cool little effects in the game. Both X and Zero are animated superbly, and are very large and full of detail.

The stages themselves are quite a sight to see as well. One of the cooler ones allows your character to proceed up a spiral staircase, which spins in a cool 3D effect remniscient from those Mickey Mania* scenes. The levels are also very varied in design and approach, so no two levels will ever feel the same. In one level, you're traversing across a bullet train car-by-car as it nears explosion, in another, you're shooting through a trashy wasteland in your cycle dodging various obstacles.

Much like the graphics and gameplay, the sound is full of nostalgia. However, unlike most other areas of this game, the de ja vu effect of the music in the game sometimes works against it, with some tunes in the game being done using ridiculously constructed techno midi-ish sounding tunes which seemed like they were INTENDED for a Super Nintendo game. Had these same scores been redone using the PSX's full audio potential, they most likely would have come out fine. This is especially true with the hair-pullingly repetitive Save Game screen song. Don't worry, most of these examples are minor, and the game at times can also showcase some really impressive numbers as well. The intro music at the beginning is pretty, as well as quite a few stages, (one of my favorites is a level involving an underwater battle with a large submarine combined with a great old-school track) and the final battle music is truly awesome. I just wish the last stages of the game all didn't use the same music:(

Control....... what, this is a Capcom game, isn't it? I would be ashamed if the control from this game was anything less than standard Capcom perfection, and like usual, they delivered.

So, to pretty much sum things up, Megaman X5 has what is needed to satisfy a wide range of the gamers out there. If you remember the days when Snake Man was king and two buttons were all that was needed to get the job done, don't even hesitate to purchase this game NOW. If you're a born-and-raised 3D generation fan, it's worth checking out X5 just to see what a great era of gaming you might have missed out on. Anyone else will surely be taken in by the games simplistic yet highly addictive gameplay. And if you were just one of those waiting on the sidelines to see how the finished game finally turned out, just know this: ''the Blue bomber lives.''

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/29/01, Updated 04/29/01