Mega Man X3

"Sure the series is becoming repetitive but the fun factor just keeps getting better."

Originally planned to be released on the Saturn, PlayStation, and Super NES but eventually only finding it's way to Super NES (in North America anyway) Mega Man X3 stands as one of the rarest to find, most challenging to beat, and exciting editions to the series.

GAMEPLAY:

The game play is essentially the same as all the others in the series. You control Mega Man X or his buddy Zero (yes Zero is finally a playable character) through eight main stages each full of minor reploid robot enemies and a powerful area guardian at the end who takes the form of some sort of animal. After beating the eight area guardians (who for the record are called the Tunnel Rhino, Blizzard Buffalo, Crush Crawfish, Blast Hornet, Toxic Seahorse, Neon Tiger, Gravity Beetle, and Volt Catfish) you proceed to the enemy strong hold (sound familiar). Each stage has a unique look and feel to it and like it's predecessors they are well designed to offer challenge and fun. Some of the stages include an old factory, jungle, sewer, air port, power center, and a rock quarry. The great features found in all of the previous Mega Man X titles (life tanks, ability to use bosses weapons, upgrade capsules, etc) have returned and some have been expanded on (ex: you can find four capsules to upgrade your weapons as usual but this time it is actually possible to find additional capsules to upgrade these features a second time once you have obtained the first upgrade). As usual the play control is nearly flawless, with easy to master but very effective attacks. In short the game play is the same as always ''great''.

AUDIO/VIDEO:

The graphics are extremely good for a Super NES game (keep in mind that this was one of the later Super NES titles) and still has the classic look of the original Mega Man X game but with added detail and some very cool visual effects (most notably the 3D wire frame effects from X2 have returned and look better than ever). The sound track is also pretty good with excellent tunes in many of the stages such as the opening intro stage, Gravity Beetle's, and Neon Tiger's. Although I liked the music in X3 I prefer the music from the other two Mega Man's over this one. The sound effects are also pretty good just like the earlier editions. Well done in this area.

STORY:

You might think that Capcom would give us the same basic story again, but you will be pleasantly surprised that while it is not the greatest it is quite a bit more original. The story goes like this: In the future where Mega Man X lives a new city has been built which allows reploids and humans to coexist peacefully. Unfortunately some of these robots and their leader Dr. Doppler go berserk, forcing the people to flee. Mega Man X and Zero are called upon to help defend the city against the attacking reploids. Mega Man X and Zero set about liberating the eight main sectors of the city by defeating the powerful area guardians who are controlling them. Eventually they will find Doppler's hidden base and enter it in hopes of finally putting an end to the chaos. There are also some interesting twists to the story such as an encounter with your old nemesis Sigma and Vile.

REPLAY ABILITY:

Mega Man X3 is probably the hardest game in the entire series (that includes X4 and X5) so you can expect a fair amount of challenge in your effort to beat the game. There are several other features that will keep you playing longer including slight variations in the story depending on certain actions that you make. And of course you will probably be kept busy trying to find all the upgrades and other secret items. All in all the game has a fairly good amount of replay and like most Mega Man/Mega Man X titles it is fun to play it through occasionally even after you have beaten it and found everything.

TO BUY OR RENT?:

It's a great game there's no doubt about that and it's a great edition to your Super NES collection, but you might won't to think things over before deciding to get it because unfortunately this games ranks as one the most ridiculously over priced Super NES titles around. Even if you only got the cartridge by itself I am very doubtful that you will find this game for less than $80 (ouch). But if you liked the first two Mega Man's, are very committed to the series, or don't mind shelling out a lot of cold cash to play an excellent title then I would say sure go for it. And just to straighten things out although I am giving this game a higher score than Mega Man X2 (see my review) I actually like X2 better. But because this game improved considerably on an already excellent game I felt it was worthy of a perfect ten.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/30/01, Updated 11/30/01