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Relationships are a peculiar thing. Much like people, relationships grow, die and cause an unbelievable amount of strife from time to time. It's this triangle of emotions that describes my relationship with Capcom's long running Mega Man X series. Love, hate, I could go on and on for hours why one game is great and another is terrible, why Capcom owes its fan base the sincerest of apologies, and how disillusioned the whole mess has left me. But then I'm sure I don't stand alone. Still, given why I'm here and what entry we're talking about, why bring up the long, huge, gargantuan list of transgressions that would rear their ugly heads in the future?
All the drama aside, the original Mega Man X was all about new possibilities. A new console, a new Mega Man in a different time. A more serious time. Gone is the artwork that made the original series look cute and cuddly, in comes a sobering wave of stone and steel. Items like Heart Tanks and Capsules emulate the basic concept of leveling up like an RPG. The music takes on its iconic, hard-rock approach early on. A powerful adversary, one without a shred of morality or decency, arises unsuspectingly from the forces of good. It's these things and more that define and drive Mega Man X forward.
First of all, let's talk about the additions to the game play. Much like the original Mega Man, X has his own version of the Mega Buster called the X-Buster, which can (initially) charge to two distinct levels. Beyond basic weaponry (and the story-based difference between Mega Man and Mega Man X) X has a few extra tricks up his sleeve. With the wall climb, no longer does not quite making a jump spell doom for Mega Man. When clinging to a wall, X can kick the wall and boost himself up; doing this in quick succession will allow him to scale the wall. Later on, additional power-ups will allow X to perform a forward dash, more or less replacing the slide introduced in Mega Man 3. Combining jumping and dashing (even when clinging to walls) will allow the player to jump even greater distances. Other power-ups hidden and provided by X's creator add things like an extra charge level to the X-Buster, the charging of acquired enemy weapons, the head butting of specific blocks and even the ability to cut the damage inflicted by enemies in half.
Other changes also encourage player exploration. Unlike past Mega Man titles, the gauge representing the life sustaining energy in X's micro-fusion fuel tank doesn't start out equal to that of your enemies. By finding a Heart Tank, X can permanently add two additional units to his health bar. It's true that this approach somewhat limits what challenges you can tackle at a given moment by eroding the possible orders one can complete the stages in, but in hindsight it makes fighting through the stages and bosses less about attrition and more about strategy and planning. This is what eventually robs the game of most of its challenge. Like most, I can remember when things like the last boss gave me trouble, but now, and even after long periods away from the game, it's nothing to come back to it, beat it on one life and not have to use a single Sub-Tank. Because of this, it’s hard to have even the slightest since of fear when encountering some of the Mavericks. I mean who really quakes in their boots when they fight Chill Penguin? Spark Mandrill may look pretty intimidating but once you have the Shotgun Ice he's barely going to move a muscle unless he's lucky enough not to get frozen. Ironically, he's even easier in Maverick Hunter X where the other bosses are actually a bit more challenging.
Difficulty issues aside, Mega Man X makes up for it in just about every other category. Game play that doesn't abandon or throw away what worked before, additions that subtlety add to the experience and aren't blind attempts to find something that sticks, solid graphics, tight game play, great level design, the level affecting level effect, a story that doesn't slop on the drama to inane ends - you name it's done right.
While it's true Mega Man X doesn't take any significant risks with its game play and presentation, there is little doubt that the light touch Capcom took in "upgrading" Mega Man for the next generation of consoles was the right way to go, and it ultimately results in what is perhaps the best introductory title the franchise has ever seen. Unfortunately, while one can expect the standard here to be maintained for the next few games, it does nothing to make X and Zero's eventual, backwards slide into video game hell any easier. All regrets aside, the original Mega Man X is suggested playing for anyone interested in the SNES and platforming, while the two immediate sequels are only recommended for die-hard fans.
