Mega Man X5

"The Most Underrated X Game Ever..."

Just like the title said, this is one of the most underrated Mega Man X games ever. Most people look at the superficial features, but do not look at the true, hidden qualities that truly made this game enjoyable and very fun to play. That is, those who loved the Classic series would be happy to see some nostalgic factors tossed in. But that's for later...

Graphics: 6/10

The graphics are the same ol' graphics that Mega Man X4 had. While they may look bad compared to today's standards, for the time they were in they were decent, although not perfect. X and Zero look a bit weird while they are ducking, almost as if they are platforms to stand on, but other then that, the graphics were pretty good.

Music/Sound: 10/10

This Mega Man X game had some of the BEST music out of the entire series. The original themes, such as the Final Sigma battle, sounded well-composed and suspenseful. Not to mention that in the first of the "Zero Virus" stages, the boss theme is a remixed version of the original fortress boss theme from the very first Mega Man game, and in a later "Zero Virus" stage, there is music from the fortress of the very first Mega Man X game! A definite turn-on for die-hard Mega Man fans.

Story: 8/10

The story was decent for a Mega Man game. Sigma hires a mercenary named Dynamo to lead the space colony Eurasia on a path to Earth in order to crash. The Maverick Hunters take the matter into their own hands, and decide that they can either fire the Enigma Cannon or launch a one-man Space Shuttle. However, 8 Mavericks have the parts necessary, and they have 16 hours to recover the parts and destroy Eurasia before it obliterates the Earth. Here, the story can branch into several directions: 1) The Enigma succeeds, 2) The Enigma fails but the Shuttle succeeds, 3) Both the Enigma and Shuttle fail, or 4) Time runs out. There are three different endings depending on what happened, and the climatic battle hinted in X3's ending finally takes place regardless of the outcome...

Gameplay: 7/10

Gameplay is excellent. Depending on whether you start with X or Zero, you will have access to the Force/Fourth Armor or the Z-Buster. For beginners, playing as X with his Force Armor will make their lives much easier, and for the veteran players, taking Zero as their player will be a fun challenge. Plus, once you collect all of X's armor sets, you are able to decide who to take into the stages. However, some of the stages are murder if you haven't played them before, such as the first "Zero Virus" stage. The addition of the duck feature is nice touch; it's about time that X and Zero learned how to duck. The downside is Alia. While she may at times have useful info, there is no way to shut her up and she will tell you the simplest things that every player should already know ("Watch out for that hole! You'll die if you fall in!").

Replayability: 7/10

Well, there's three different endings, each of which would be worth seeing as they all reveal critical plot details not revealed in other places. Your probably wondering how there's three endings if there's only two characters; well, one of the character's has two endings. You probably already know who, but I won't spoil it for you. ;) Collecting the Armor parts and testing them out in the different stages would also be fun, and trying to play through the game completely as one character and then trying the other character also would work.

Rent or Buy?

I would recommend buying this if you are a hard-core Mega Man fan and enjoy nostalgic factors, as this game is full of them. The average Mega Man fan would also enjoy this, but if you've never played some of the previous X games, some things might not make sense. If you are not a hard-core Mega Man fan and simply check games out for their fun factor, try renting it.

This game isn't available in many places in its original PSX form, but it is possible to find a used copy in some places, or you could simply purchase Mega Man X Collection, which has this game on it.

Overall: 8/10

A truly excellent yet underrated game that has many outstanding qualities to make up for its pitfalls. While at some times this may seem frustrating, all it takes is practice to truly master what may be the most storyline-centered Mega Man game in the history of the entire series.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/20/06