Mega Man X4

"Does the Mega Man X series survive the system leap? Certainly."

The Mega Man series has always been one of my favorites. It was given birth on the NES, and it was there that my loving relationship with it blossomed. To me, the Mega Man series has always been more than just another series. It takes the simple idea of pure platforming and mixes it with just enough complex ideas to enhance the experience. At the height of this is the rock-paper-scissors formula that has made the series so famous. You are immediately presented with (excluding the first one) eight different bosses to choose from, each sporting an entirely new level to play through. With these eight bosses comes eight different abilities you can gain from defeating them. These nifty power-ups aren't just for show, though, since each one will be the hidden weakness of one of the other bosses. What this means is that you are given a fine selection of levels, which can be played in any order, with the choice of playing them in any order you want or using your acquired ability to defeat the specific boss that is weak to that certain ability. Such nonlinear gameplay was truly a rarity back then, making the series special. Its design allowed experimentation, variety, and just in general enjoyment from the high quality level and boss design. It is because of this that I have became an addict of the series, an addiction that continues even today.

With my love of the Mega Man series, it was only natural that I would acquire a taste for Mega Man X and its sequels. The MMX series debuted on the SNES, were it took advantage of the superior hardware to create a more advanced vision of what Mega Man once was. Luckily, the changes weren't so radical as to destroy the series. In fact, the MMX series follows almost exactly in the vein of Capcom's first adventures with the little blue bomber, while adding enough innovative ideas to make it feel like an entirely new experience. It is because of this that Mega Man X became one of my favorite titles in the Mega Man legacy, and still remains an absolute masterpiece today. With MMX's success, it was only to be expected that Capcom would shell out less than innovative sequels. But hey, with the quality of the series, I'm certainly not complaining. As expected, X2 and X3 followed in the original's footsteps. It seemed like the X series would be around for a long, long time.

That was until the next generation of consoles made their launch. With this, it would have seemed that the Mega Man series was at its end. The 16-bit era was over, and with it went the once super popular 2D action-platformer genre. With this sad fact in mind, the idea of another Mega Man game seemed pretty ridiculous. But luckily for us, if there's one thing we can always count on, it's that Capcom never knows when to quit! Looking back, I guess it actually isn't that surprising that Capcom made another Mega Man game, but at the time I was absolutely shocked when I heard the news, not to mention excited. And how could I not be excited? It would be another Mega Man game to add to the list, and hopefully one to remember. With this excitement, though, also came fear. And I had the right to be fearful. It was still quite a system leap, was it not? And with this leap could have came the destruction of the entire Mega Man series. Luckily, Capcom's disability to innovate has finally paid off, as X4 embodies the very soul of the SNES series. And for that, we can truly be thankful.

However, upon playing, it is obvious that some things have changed. You might be taken aback a little by the animated cinematic scenes that you are presented with. These scenes flesh out a story that was never possible on previous systems. While the story is by no means incredible, it is a step above previous titles. It varies between the two different characters (one of the biggest drawing points of the game is that you can play as either X or Zero, something that I will touch upon later), but takes you to mostly the same areas. The animated scenes, while not perfect, are a nice touch that enhance the game without becoming to advanced. The animated scenes are a small reminder of what system X4 is made for.

As was expected, the whole game looks a little better. Now notice I said a little, because that is one of the greatest things about the game. The graphics are only a little better than its predecessors. Everything is still presented in the 2D sprite form that represents the MMX series in all its glory. Some might complain about them, but I couldn't be happier with the outcome. Everything is presented in a comfortable manor with a variety of colors and textures. With some exception, it truly looks like a SNES game, making it really feel like the fourth installment of the SNES series, never giving you the impression that things have really changed. Each level has a theme that is presented throughout it, always feeling appropriate. The Playstation is optimized to created beautiful backgrounds and a large variety of well animated characters and enemies, while making sure the entire time that things never get too advanced as to ruin the simplicity that makes everything feel in tune with the series.

The graphics actually foreshadow the entire game, as they represent what Capcom was aiming for. Mega Man X4 is supposed to be a throwback to earlier times, capturing the style of gameplay that made that gaming era so special. It would have been very easy for Capcom to shell out some 3D platforming bastardization of the series, but they were too smart for that (I know about Mega Man Legends, but that was released later, and it wasn‘t a platformer anyway). They knew exactly what fans wanted and created the game with that in mind. X4 neither advances nor progresses the series, instead choosing to follow the style that made the series popular to begin with. This is why X4 plays very similar to previous titles, never doing anything ridiculous that would alienate fans.

So what does this mean? It means that X4 is truly a sequel to the series, with all the expectations that come with it. It didn't take me long to realize that nothing had changed, and I couldn't have been more thrilled. The system jump hadn't ruined it, because the entire point of the game was to stay true to its roots. This is evident from the moment you start playing. I ran through the classic MMX introduction level (although this one's was a bit stale, sadly) and then was thrust onto the standard menu screen, with eight different bosses to choose from. Nothing had changed. It was exactly what it should have been and exactly what I wanted it to be. It was with this realization that I entered the Jungle level and began my adventure.

And to my delight, everything came out surprisingly well. Level design is solid when it isn't exceptional, with a fairly interesting variety of levels to play through while keeping in mind that good level design is always better than a cheap gimmick. And there are some great levels, too. Cyber Space ranks you by how fast you can complete an area, awarding you if you make it in time. Marine Base is a fast paced frenzy on a Land Chaser. But more than these interesting little ideas is the simple fact that all the levels feel well designed and balanced. Each level moves at an appropriate pace, promising a fair variety of different enemies and areas. The idea that the levels are split in two sections (halfway through you reach the end of the first area and it will load to the next one) annoyed me a little, but it's not a huge deal. I have to say that I'm disappointed with the hidden secrets in the game, since there aren't a whole lot and they aren't that much fun to find anyway. But in the end, any flaws in the game's levels can be overlooked by the great design of them.

And at the end of these levels, of course, are the bosses we have come to expect from the series. I would love to tell you that they are perfect, but I would be lying. After six Mega Man games and three Mega Man X games, it is obvious that Capcom is running out of ideas (Split Mushroom!). As with all the games of the X series, the bosses are animals (and in this case, fungi) instead of people. While not all the bosses are horrible (most of them are pretty good, in fact), they are still a tad bit disappointing. The biggest problem I had was that the weapons you gained made some of them too easy. Take Cyber Peacock for example. On his own, he is fairly hard, but use X's Soul Body technique and you can prevent him from even hitting you, defeating the match without as much as a scratch on you. The same goes for Zero (I'd tell you the name of his special move if it wasn't a fancy Japanese name that's hard to remember and even harder to pronounce). I prefer when abilities aid you in battle, not hand you the win on a silver platter. However, the bosses are still fun. There's a nice variety of them and tend to have creative attack patterns. Plus it's always fun to beat them all without using any of your special abilities.

Before I conclude this review, I feel it is important to talk about the biggest innovation in the game; the ability to play as two different characters. Those familiar with the series are surely familiar with Zero, the Saber-wielding friend of X. Finally, after all this time, he has become a fully playable character. His close-range fighting techniques promise for a different experience that X's. While they each play the same levels and bosses (excluding the last few battles), there's never a moment were the game feels like it was designed with a specific character in mind, ensuring that both characters are fun to use. Besides the different combat techniques of the two, there is another thing that makes them special; they gain different abilities from defeating bosses. While X follows the tradition of beating a boss and gaining an ability to help him defeat the next one, Zero instead learns the bosses technique. What this means is that while X is gaining a variety of different powers, Zero is instead learning new techniques to enhance himself as a fighter. This is one of the key factors in making the two characters truly different.

So which character did I like more? Well, believe it or not, I actually liked Zero more. But wait, if this is a Mega Man game then how could you possibly prefer Zero? That's the thing. Even though I had more fun with Zero, I still had a great time playing as X. And that's one of the greats things about Mega Man X4. It provides two different characters to choose from, each fun to play and each entirely different. This is one of the key factors in X4's success. Why did I like Zero more? Well, I found his more aggressive and fast paced fighting techniques to be a refreshing change, while I also took the time to use the variety of moves he can learn to my advantage and improve my skills. Don't fear, though, for X is still as great a character as ever. He has the same smooth control and variety of abilities that we have come to expect from him, promising the classic experience that I was hoping for in X4.

In conclusion, Mega Man X4 is truly a continuation of the X series. It doesn't do anything radical or incredibly different that would change the series, and that happens to be a good thing. It is simply another installment in the world of Mega Man X, and one worth playing. X4 does little to take advantage of the advanced hardware, instead sticking the core elements that pulled me into the series in the first place. You owe it to yourself to play this game, and don't be surprised if it gives you the urge to hunt earlier MMX installments, either. In a time were 2D platformers are slowly fading away, X4 is a brilliant throwback to the roots of the X series and Mega Man itself. Capcom's stubborn refusal to innovate has rewarded us handsomely, and the reward is Mega Man X4.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/06/04