Mega Man X

"Old, yet it still feels like new!"

What can I say about Rockman X (Mega Man X to English players)? I've practically grown up with the game. Ever since I got it at the age of three, it's been a game that has always been there for me when I needed to pop a cartridge into the SNES. Despite this, or maybe because of this, it remains my favorite game of all-time.

I can't really recall when I first got this game, but my brother was setting up the SNES so I was looking at the instruction manual for Rockman X, skimming through the back story and looking at the artwork and screenshots. When I saw Zero for the first time, I squealed out, "A girl!" All that did was make my brother laugh at me.

People, especially those that realize that I am a die-hard Rockman fan, may find this strange, but I was once afraid of the game, most likely because I was a toddler, afraid of both Vava and Sigma. While I may have grown out of it later, the memories of being afraid are still there. Then, when I was six, I mustered up the courage and decided to at least attempt to play through every single game I owned - even if I was terrified of it (to the game's credit, it was not the only one I was afraid of; I was more afraid of Super Metroid than this one). So I popped in the cartridge, and did my best, quelling the fears. I made it through the game, except I died on the final stage.

Anybody looking at the plot will notice the sheer amount of references to Star Wars. Vava resembles Boba Fett in everything but color; Sigma fights with a lightsaber; and so on and so on. Sigma's lightsaber even makes the same whirring sound used in the movies! The plot itself is as follows:

It is the year 21XX, approximately thirty to a hundred years after the classic Rockman series. Dr. Cain is a botanical archeologist searching for plant life, when he accidentally stumbles upon the ruins of Dr. Light's lab. There, he finds Rockman X, a prototype robot that can think, feel, and make it's own decisions. Dr. Light had sealed X off inside a capsule to ensure that he won't become a threat to the world. The thirty year period had ended when Cain found him, so he opened the capsule up. Dr. Cain was amazed with X, so he decided to replicate X's design to make a new species of robots called "Repliroids." All based off of X's design, these robots go out into the world.

However, something goes wrong. Some of the Repliroids decide that they are superior to the humans, and that they should take over the planet. These Repliroids are dubbed Irregulars. The government creates a task force called the "Irregular Hunters", with Cain's latest Repliroid, Sigma, arguably the most powerful Repliroid on the planet, leading it. The Hunters manage to beat the Irregulars back, but then something else goes wrong.

Sigma goes Irregular, and takes just about all of the Hunters with him. Only one Hunter is left, and he is automatically made the leader. X decides to help Zero, the remaining Hunter leader, despite Cain's worries, and heads off to the highway to stop the Irregular threat. He doesn't even get past Vava. Luckily, Zero dashes up and saves him, so now, X must deal with the Generals of Sigma before the two can take on the head honcho himself.

Even though created in the nineties, the graphics could rival any modern game's graphics with the sheer amount of detail. In the intro stage, the lights on the highway even flicker, and there are times where he even goes behind the graphics! There is no 3D animation at all; all of it is 2D. X looks just like his classic series counterpart, with noticeable differences, but this is one of two games where X, like Rockman, has blue eyes, and it is the only game where Zero has brown eyes. And the Mettools on the password screen are very cute.

As for the music, the tunes are catchy and you could easily find yourself humming them and simply pausing the game to just listen. Everything has a sound, down to Sigma's lightsaber slashes. X even makes a splash when he goes in and out of water.

This resembles the classic Rockman series to an amazing degree. Like all but one Rockman game, this has eight bosses which can be tackled in any order that the player desires through a stage selection screen. On aforementioned stage selection screen, there are three options to choose from as to what the middle space shows. By default, it shows a part of the stage that the Irregular resides in. However, it can also show where in the world they are, location-wise, and what their specifications are, such as height, weight, and attack names. When selecting a boss, it even has the same music from the classic series!

X is equipped with a weapons copy system, which allows him to take one weapon from a defeated boss (this only applies to the first eight bosses, not including Vava). The weapons are more than just firepower; if used correctly, they can assist you. At a certain point, you are allowed to charge the weapons! Some weapons are just raw attack power, but others can be used for stealth, speed, mobility, and defense. One weapons can even be used to grab unreachable items.

Along with the weapons copy systems, X can receive upgrades from capsules that Dr. Light left behind for him, which, apparently, only appear to him. These upgrades permanently increase some of your stats, unlike the weapons, which wear off after awhile. While one upgrade, for plot purposes, it placed directly in your path (and is unavoidable), the others take more effort to find. But if found, they can help tremendously. A leg upgrade, a helmet upgrade, a weapons upgrade, and an armor upgrade are available. Interestingly enough, there are two ways to obtain the weapons upgrade, though I won't tell you.

The advantage of the weapons copy systems is the weakness cycle. Every single boss in the game (and I mean EVERY single boss) is weak to another weapons. Usually, the weakness is obvious. For example, Chill Penguin is weak to Flame Mammoth's weapon. Though others are not-so-obvious, meaning that they were probably found through accidents. If hit with a weakness weapon, the robot reacts to it, such as Chill Penguin catching on fire if hit with Flame Mammoth's weapon.

Also available for X to pick up are Heart Tanks and Subtanks. Heart Tanks resemble is spinning red mechanical heart. Eight of them, one in each stage, can be found, and these permanently increase your life meter by two units each. Subtanks resemble a type of armor with an 'E' on them. Four can be found, and they pick up excess energy if X is full. If X is running low and a Subtank has energy, he can use it to fill his meter. However, if used, they will be drained completely.

In addition, X has different levels of weapons. X starts of with three levels, one which fires a tiny pellet, the second one which fires a slightly more powerful shot, and the third one shoots a larger blast. To charge the weapon, simply hold down the shoot button until X begins glowing to the level you want. With the weapons upgrade, X can charge up to another level, four, which will unleash a HUGE multi-hitting plasma blast. Also, the upgrade can be used to charge up weapons obtained with the weapons copy.

X is also able to dash, break certain walls and ceilings with his head, and climb walls. The latter completely eliminates the need for Rush. The weapons themselves can also be used to open up locations and grab items. Also, defeating a boss can also... affect another bosses stage, whether it be for the better or the worse.

Anyways, first you have to travel through the stages of the eight Irregulars and defeat them. The stages are nothing too difficult, but a couple places may frustrate you if it's your first time playing them. Finally, afterwards, you have a rematch with the same Vava that pummeled you in the beginning and are allowed to go and meet Sigma himself. Good luck.

Overall, I really cannot find much to nitpick, except for the storyline, and the only thing I want to nitpick about that is that they never summed up why this suddenly takes 100 years in the future and what happened to the cast of classic Rockman and all. But that's long in the past (no pun intended), and not very important now.

Rating: 10/10. Impossible to go wrong with this.

While I doubt you can buy this in stores, you might want to try used game stores, flea markets, Ebay, and the like. Or simply go back in time and snatch a copy when it came out. But you'll have better luck with the former. =) But if you certainly can find a copy of this now elusive game, buy it.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 02/05/07