Mega Man X4

"I was a bit too hard on this one before...."

I was going to wait until Mega Man X5 was released before I revised my X4 review, but, I just can't wait any longer! Well, anyway, in my initial review for Mega Man X4, I really trashed the game. I mean it. I blew it away. But, X4 isn't really too terrible. I was just expecting alot from it, and recieved...less than I expected. Well, let's get right to it.

I've never really understood the entire X4 storyline, but, it goes along the lines of this. You are either Mega Man X (our little, blue, robotic hero), or Zero (the blonde guy that everyone knows and loves). You are a Maverick Hunter, a police officer of sorts, that seeks out and destroys potentially dangerous robots (''Mavericks''). To compensate for Maverick outbreaks, a Reploid (a robot that can think for itself and make it's own decisions) leader for the Maverick Hunters, Sigma, was created. It turned Maverick, and was destroyed. Another attempt to cease Maverick activity came in the form of a Reploid scienstist named Dr. Doppler. It too became Maverick, and was destroyed.

To compensate for these failures, the Reploid Force (Repliforce) was created. Their directives consisted of maximizing Reploid efficiency, increasing Maverick Hunter troop response time, and to prevent further Maverick activity, among other things. After being in service for five months, the Repliforce was evaluated. Maverick Hunters were responding too late, and Maverick action was building at an alarming rate. The Repliforce was proven ineffective and potentially dangerous.

Mavericks are attacking the Sky Lagoon. The enemy appears to be the Repliforce! It's your job as either X or Zero to stop the Repliforce, and their Maverick army. But, has the Repliforce been wrongly judged? Are they truly Maverick? It's time to solve this mystery in the present, and confront the mysteries of your past....

Graphics- The one thing that really stands out in Mega Man X4. The graphics are stunning! The sprite graphics are very large and highly-detailed (X never looked so good!), as well as well-animated (Capcom went nuts when animating Zero's hair. Check it out, girls!). Basically, this is a huge graphical improvement over any of the previous games in the Mega Man series. Even the anime cutscenes are fabulous! The only gripe I have is that some of the backgrounds seem somewhat drab and uninspired, like in Magma Dragoon's stage. Great graphics, though.

Sound- This is something I've never liked about X4. The sound. Sure, some of the sound effects are pretty cool (like some of the weapon effects and explosions. I particularly like the high-pitched hum of X's X-Buster charged to full power), but, some of them...well.... It's the voices that really plague this game. Most people whine about Mega Man sounding too girly, but, I find Mega's voice to be oddly appropriate (too some degree). X's voice is no problem (at least he has a good voice actor). It's Zero who drives me up the wall!!! If he says ''Yeah!'' one more time, I sware.... Oh! Sorry. The guy who does Zero's voice has to be the worst voice actor in the entire game. Pair up his ''yeahs'' with Jet Stingray's ''yeahs'', and you'll soon be begging someone to rip your ears off! Well, enough about that. On to the music.

The music in X4 is pretty crappy for a Mega Man game. Most of the tunes are pretty bland and unenjoyable, and have some bad instruments used in them (where are the guitars? WHERE?!). Some songs are just annoying (I really hate the Maverick battle theme...I really do.... Zero's theme really blows, too. If you can't tell by now, I really...dislike Zero). But, there are a few minor exceptions (like Jet Stingray's theme, both of Frost Walrus' themes, a song used in the last few levels of the game, and X's theme, to name a few). Overall, though, I think Capcom could've done a much better job. The sound department fares rather poorly, for the most part.

Play Control- No problems here. The controls are smooth and responsive. If you're having difficulty controlling X or Zero, it's your fault, not the game's.

Challenge- Ugh. This is what I hate most. Alot of the bosses have very easy-to-learn attack patterns, and don't offer much challenge (except Magma Dragoon. I salute you!). The X3 bosses had many different patterns of attack, and often changed them and became even more deadly when heavily injured. Not true here. It's mostly just point, shoot, evade, and repeat while the bosses try miserably to kill or even slightly injure you. This becomes even worse when you find a weapon that's effective against them. This doesn't apply to all of them, though, as some can really kick your butt! The basic enemies offer little resistance, as well.

The levels offer little in terms of challenge, also. They're terribly short for one. I don't like starting a level, then meeting the level's boss two or three minutes later (Storm Owl, I'm looking straight at you!). Not only are these levels short, but, they're extremely linear. You, mostly, just head right and blast everything that gets in your way (this is the theme of Slash Beast's level). This may have been good during the early days of the NES, but, this game was made in 1997, for cryin' out loud! If that weren't bad enough, each level has a ''continue point'' which lets you fully recharge your energy, and let's you restart from that location if you run out of lives. This would be helpful if the levels were actually tough, but, they aren't. This seriously limits the challenge of this game. At least the special items are pretty tough to find.

But, if you really want a challenge, I suggest playing as Zero. His weapons and techniques are pathetic, and he can't upgrade his armor, or steal weapons from Maverick leaders. I found playing as Zero to be highly overrated, and not very fun. Stick with X if you wanna' party! Yeah, baby!

Replay Value- There are many items to collect (about 17 things for X, and 12 for Zero), and finding them all could take several tries (since many are pretty well-hidden, or, require special weapons or techniques to reach them). Plus, if you beat one character's game, you can play the other's game. What happened to X and Zero working together? Those were good times....

Other Gripes- It seems as if X's storyline was an afterthought, like very little effort was put into it. Zero's game offers a much more interesting storyline, as if he were the focus of this game (which he seems to be). Zero even had alot more anime cutscenes than X. And, of the few scenes that X did get, he only appeared in one! Zero was in every single one of his scenes, but, X was nowhere in sight! X got really short-changed in this one. Geez, didn't these two used to be a TEAM?!

Overall- This game is pretty good if you like Mega Man X, but, is really fun for the Zero fans (who this game is created for, obviously). I definitely suggest trying before buying, as Mega Man X4 isn't as great as many reviewers claim it is. It's still a fine game, though, and nice for when you're really bored, and just want to play a game where you blow everything to smithereens instead of applying much thought or strategy. This game just makes my craving for a sequel even stronger, though, and only succeeds in teasing me until X5 comes out. Hopefully, Capcom will apply more thought and less Zero into their next installment. Anyway, have fun! And, enjoy the graphics. They are, without a doubt, the best part.

Other Suggestions- If you liked Mega Man X4, I suggest trying Mega Man X2 for the Super Nintendo.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 09/10/00, Updated 02/22/01