Mega Man X3

"Third time is not the charm"

When I first heard about this game, after playing the first 2 in the series, I knew Capcom wouldnt let me down. When the game finally came out, It just didnt feel right. Kinda like Capcom rushed it out the door (like they did with Mega Man 6 for the dying NES).

-Intro-
After defeating Sigma for a second time in Mega Man X2, Mega Man X and his friend Zero have established a headquarters and are both in charge of Maverick hunting teams. Peace returns for a time but then Reploids start going Maverick once again. A Reploid name Dr. Doppler sets out to create an anti-virus for the the Reploids that go maverick. He succeeds and he creates a Utopia called Dopplertown. But once everyone settles into Dopplertown. Dr. Doppler himself goes Maverick and 8 new Mavericks set out to attack the city and Maverick Hunter Headquarters. Mega Man and Zero have to stop this new attack. (A few years ago I would have given this the worst story ever in a mega man game but then X5 came out)

-Gameplay-
The same side scrolling madness of the last 2 games has returned with all the features from X2. Mega Man can still do his water jump, and wall jump, and dash jump, and if you get the right up grades you can do even more. Dr. Light has hidden 8 capsuls (4 with normal upgrades and 4 with super upgrades and if you play your cards right you can actually get every upgrade). The robot ride armor is back (with 4 to choose from this time, The Frog is the most useless one). But what makes this game stand above the other two games is ZERO is finally playable. Yes you can now control Zero in the intro and in different parts of the game. But if you kill him he's out for the rest of the game. Zero attacks with his blaster and sword. But you cant upgrade Zero so he is only good for the first part of the game. Mega Man upgrades are actually quite stupid this time. (the helmet upgrade isnt even worth getting). Same basic control from the last 2, but really stupid upgrades.

-Graphics-
The C4 chips makes polygons characters possible but this really isnt used to it maximum ablitity. Other then that, the same grapics from X1 and X2 make this game last time you see the classic sprites from greatest system ever, the SNES.

-The Audio-
This game gets the award for ''Most Tone Deaf Game'' in the series. Dont know what I mean, listen to the tunes in Neon Tiger's level. The only really good tunes are in Gravity Beetle's stage and Crush Crawfish's stage. Even X5 for the PSX has better music then this game.

-Replay?-
The fact you get to play as Zero is pretty cool and that really is the only reason I even keep this game around. There are 3 different endings but the third one is way way hard unless you have a guide or something.

The Final Tally:
Story: 4 (One of the worst stories in a Mega Man game)
Gameplay: 6 (Same as the last 2 but with some really dumb power ups)
Graphics: 8 (Same as the last 2, this the last ''Classic sprites'' in the series)
Audio: 2 (Subpar or just Bad tunes in the levels. Only 2 exceptions)
Replay: 6 (You'll play only to be Zero)
Final Score: 6.5
GameFaq Score: 7

If your new to the X series go with 1 or 2. If your a veteran then X3 is probably worth getting just because of Zero. Capcom pretty much rushed this one out the door so they could get it on the dying SNES. I hope Capcom doesnt do the same to X6.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/16/01, Updated 11/16/01