“A treasure nestled within a so-so spin-off?”
As strange as it may sound coming from someone who can remember the most superfluous aspect about any given video game, I can’t quite remember what my initial thoughts were when I first heard that Mega Man X and his comrades would be crossing over into the RPG world. While former series director Keiji Inafune would have little problem in saying no to the idea and having nothing to do with the game’s development, I’m willing to bet I was curious. Sure, I wasn’t exactly thrilled when they announced the team behind the game was responsible for Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter, but given how horrendous some of the games that had “graced” the series by that point were, I figured how much more damage could they really do?
As dangerous as it is to dare developers to do their worst, for most intensive purposes the experience Capcom put forth in Mega Man X Command Mission was far from another nightmare scenario. Unfortunately, dodging the trashcan doesn’t exactly translate into a ringing endorsement either. While the game was capable of standing upright, Command Mission was a rather uninspired creation; there wasn’t really one element of the game that really stood out. As damning as such a decree may seem that didn’t stop me from picking one of these elements and exploring it on a deeper level. In the case of Mega Man X Command Mission it just so happened to be the music.
Before we get too far into what Command Mission’s audio has to offer, I have to admit I’m far from being the biggest Shinya Okada fan out there. Credited with work on the Rockman X7 and X8 Soundtracks, Okada’s taste for techno-flavored pieces hasn’t really enhanced what action-oriented Mega Man has to offer as much as it has (annoyingly) tried to declare war on musical conventions that are fine and are not in need of changing. This isn’t to say a well done techno-infused piece can’t serve a Mega Man game (it’s been done and done well) but when you try and ramrod it down amidst other hard rock/metal influenced pieces in it’s purest form it’s obviously going to stick out like the sore thumb it is.
Here in nut shell is why the musical side of Mega Man X Command Mission works. With Okada being the head composer there are no other influences to battle. In other words Okada was given a blank slate and like a kid with a freshly written check from his grandma he cashes it as hard and as quickly as he can, drenching the canvas with his sound. I can’t say I blame him, I’d love for my ideas to be heard as well if I was a composer, but this opportunity doesn’t really arise for the reason the previous explanation would imply. So how does Okada get away with such a change in style? It all goes back to the idea of crossing over. With Command Mission being a turn based RPG as opposed to an action-oriented side-scroller, did anyone know what a Mega Man RPG was supposed to sound like? The answer, as if it needs to be said, is no. No one had a clue what a Mega Man role playing game was meant to sound like unlike an early Breath of Fire title, titles that were known for their epic, regal flavor.
So given that Okada is one lucky son-of-a-gun for landing the composing role for this game, is his work notable just because it breaks away from the norm or is it notable because it actually has some merit? The stone-cold truth would have me tell you it leans more towards the former, but my experiences with music would have me tell you it’s between the two extremes. As unimpressive and short as some of these pieces really are (check out the insanely insipid “Abyssal World”) there are others that truly bring the score to life. The quick-witted “Maverick Hunt II” and brooding “The Judgment of Truth” don’t seem too special at first but eventually prove themselves as some of the album’s must-listen tunes. Other tracks like the subversive “Unknown Energy” fly under the radar for so long it’s truly something when they finally pop out the woodwork and expose themselves for the wonderful works they are.
Still, if I was going to complement anything present on the Command Mission soundtrack, I would have to pick Okada’s character themes. In the game, some of these characters are as disposable as the cliches they ultimately portray. Yet this can’t be said when “Cinnamon Worries Endlessly,” “The Cheerful Thief Marino” and “Steel Massimo” come across one speakers. It says a lot when a composer can make one reflect on otherwise forgetable characters, the last two being especially powerful and also employed as battle themes.
CONCLUSION:
As one would expect being part of a decent yet rather unimpressive product, the Rockman X Command Mission Original Soundtrack is far from being a must-have release. It’s interesting in a variety of ways but in a world where experiences are a dime a dozen and a click away it’s hard to say how many will justify even a brief excursion. Such truth laid bare, even I’m at a loss as to say how this little devil managed to worm it’s way into my heart - but then again I’m probably the exception and not the rule. Regardless, if you have the opportunity give it a chance, it just might surprise you.
Overall Score: 7/10
In 2009, Nintendo’s Game Boy celebrated its 20th anniversary. Outside of making me feel a lot older than I have a right to, Nintendo’s little light gray brick more or less brought handheld gaming to the masses. Handheld gaming may have existed prior to that point but it was much more limited, often times a device being devoted to a single game. Breaking down such barriers is impressive on its own; what is perhaps even more impressive is how the Game Boy and its predecessors managed to hold their own despite usually having the least advanced hardware in the field at any given time. Systems like the Sega Game Gear, the Nokia N-Gage and Neo-Geo Pocket may have come and gone, but some version of the Game Boy was always around.
Still, when it comes to competitors, the PlayStation Portable is generally believed to be the most substantial rival Nintendo has ever faced. The PSP is a lot of different things to different people. From its cool looking discs to its somewhat sagging sales, it’s the kind of machine that screams Sony from the top of its lungs. All jesting aside, it’s also referred to by some with another, slightly negative moniker: port city. To those that grew up during the reign of the original PlayStation, can one look at the current line-up of games and not come down with a case of enhanced déjà vu? Good games may deserve an expanded audience, but they don’t exactly radiate the luster needed to make the PSP a crowning jewel in the current jungle of handheld hardware.
While it may be easy to play the blame game and point out companies that lean towards such a strategy, Capcom deserves a little more credit (or a little less distain) for digging back through the past a little bit deeper for some of their ports, which in the case of Mega Man: Powered Up and Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X contain enough new content to slyly exit port territory and plant a foot on remake island. But as everyone knows, re-imaging the past – or even going as far as rewriting it – is a risky proposition. This pertains to music as well, but before one can pass judgment on these upgraded tunes, one must revisit the tunes of yesteryear.
The Original Mega Man, its Music, the Sequels, and these soundtracks:
For one to gauge the degree of success Toshihiko Horiyama achieves in reshaping the music of Mega Man, one has to look back at the original game itself. Not only that, but one has to expand their view to at least the first sequel as well. Focusing in on the games to the level that follows may seem extreme, but what the environments tell one visually is vital in what Manami Matsumae portrays to the listener. As odd as this may sound in this day and age, Mega Man’s initial adventure on the Nintendo in 1987 was undoubtedly unique. I’m not talking about things like having six bosses instead of the standard eight or the lack of energy tanks, but the impersonal, industrial feel the stages. Other elements, like gun turret traps, the drab color palette and lack of support characters helped fuel the feeling that you were truly alone, that you were charged with terminating six humanoid robots with little to no explanation. All you knew was that they had to be destroyed. Manami took this into consideration when musically depicting the world, and an abstract sense of “isolated solace” found its way into these compositions. Unsurprisingly, there are a few tracks that flat-out break this ideal (like the free-for-all anomaly that is “Cutman Stage”) or bend it (the forward movement in “Gutsman Stage” and the hints of quirkiness found in “Bombman Stage” and “Iceman Stage”) but most adhered to the structure of what is a moody soundtrack that isn’t terribly engaging.
This begs the question: what is the original Mega Man known for? It’s collection of robot masters? It’s insane crash damage when fighting the Yellow Devil? It’s somewhat peculiar and forgettable level design? All of these are good answers, but perhaps the best answer is its place in the evolution of the series. There would be no Mega Man 2 and beyond without it; games with environments that are surprisingly void of the feel outlined above even though they aren’t any less inviting for would-be intruders. This doesn’t make the game any less important in the scheme of things, though it does make it less likely to be brought up in conversation than its predecessors.
So what does all this have to do with the music of Powered Up and, more importantly, this disc? Lots. With the original not topping most people’s favorite lists, was it really the best choice for a remake outside of the fact it was obviously coordinated with the release of Maverick Hunter X? The lower than expected sales figures may have surprised Keiji Inafune but they didn’t surprise me. What did surprise me was Maverick Hunter X ending up in the same boat despite the obvious advantage it had with its success in its original form. From here, it’s easy to see why Capcom decided to package them together in 2009 (in Japan) and included this disc to sweeten the pot. If both games had sold as projected, this release probably wouldn’t exist. That’s irony. Still, the craziest thing professed about Powered Up was Inafune stating that this is how he had envisioned Mega Man from very beginning. Such knowledge out in the open, how does the musical aspect of this “vision” turn out? Read on to find out.
Thoughts on Mega Man Powered Up:
As expected, with Powered Up’s cute, chibi-esque characters and bubbly world comes the removal of Matsumae’s original moodscapes. The sole survivor in this respect (that’s presented here) is “Wily Stage,” where a happy medium between the two styles is reached, where the darkness is only infused with a side order of peppiness rather than dominating it. This fails to be the case everywhere else you turn, though it leads to some spectacular results. “Boss Battle” gains the most from its upgrade, the beat and layering adding a considerable amount of girth to a piece that was a rather skimpy and sporadic. Speaking of things being a little less sporadic, “Fireman Stage” has also grown in a similar respect with thicker synths eliminating the illusionary gaps between the notes while enhancing its pulse. “Wily Boss Battle” also comes out ahead, acquiring the kind of haunting depth that was sorely missing from the original.
When it comes to the remainder of the tunes (save for Cutman’s) just add a cup or two of happiness to the themes you know and love. Obviously, such a formula does little in dissecting new additions like “Timeman Stage” and “Oilman Stage” which makes them extremely hard to judge. One can’t help but think how they would have been presented on the NES with the game’s initial tones in check. Such thoughts only lead to uncertainty, although one certainly gets the idea that it’s hard to amend the past, much like it is when taking in Oilman and Timeman’s designs in when thinking of the game’s robot master crew.
However, when it comes to conflict, nothing tops Horiyama’s introduction of a new central theme. It’s not the that the composition itself causes the problem, but the fact I thought Mega Man already had a central theme, the one it ended with and shared with Mega Man 2. Given the game’s emotional facelift, the theme is more than appropriate yet overreaching in its effort considering how previous games got by without such connections - Mega Man Zero tried this with its “Area ZERO” theme which never really grabbed me. This isn’t to say that thematic reprises can’t serve the series, but they are simply few and far between in these action games compared to RPGs, games which generally have more bases to cover.
In the end, given the revamped, colorful world Toshihiko was presented with, it’s my belief that he did what he could with this score while staying in bounds of what was expected. Furthermore, I don’t think anyone else could surpass his work with such restrictions in place, but the fact remains that Horiyama can create far more superior music when he’s allowed to craft his own compositions (i.e. Mega Man X4) instead of prettying up old ones, something that mirrors Powered Up as a product as a whole.
Thoughts on Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X:
Although it may not seem like it given their different textures and polar opposite worlds, it’s almost too good to be true that selections from Mega Man Powered Up share a disc with those from Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X. While I may have gone on about the lack of freedom Horiyama had above, the arrangers for Maverick Hunter X had even less freedom. Restrictions and expectations based solely on preconceptions may not exactly be fair, but the amount of success Mega Man X received on the SNES compared to the NES debut means things are going to be scrutinized on a different and altogether higher level. A lot of this has to do with the idea that the series musical direction was at full term by the first game and that each subsequent soundtrack didn’t really evolve as much as they took on the faces of the composers behind them.
Unfortunately, it’s one of the most unfavorable “faces” that takes the reigns here - Shinya Okada. While Okada may have others by his side - Kento Hasegawa and Seiko Kobuchi - it does nothing to ease my feelings that this group knows next to anything about Mega Man music, unlike Naoto Tanaka or Ryo Kawakami. Okada’s obvious penchant towards techno-flavored pieces has managed to worm its way into games like Mega Man X7 and X8, where it has more or less tried to (annoyingly) declare war on convention. In all honesty, it was only with Mega Man X Command Mission – a game that had very little to do with that series’ canon – were it didn’t run afoul and actually worked. Capcom basically gave him a blank check with that game, and he cashed it as hard and as quickly as he could because no one had any idea what a Mega Man RPG was meant to sound like. In many ways he succeeded (I actually enjoy and appreciate the Command Mission soundtrack for what it is) and got his wish of drenching a game with his sound. Sort of. It’s not too big of a stretch to state a title like Command Mission lacks the clout of an action oriented Mega Man title, thus the audience reached was significantly smaller. Enter Maverick Hunter X. But what happens when you take away the freedom to create a new, original score that Command Mission afforded? You get a hybrid that screams “I want credit too!” Intelligently, instead of completely fighting against the grain, Okada and crew play a game governments employ to increase their own power. Knowing that a complete one-eighty in terms of policy (in the case style) is suicide, they ever so slightly chip away at ideas and opinions in order to achieve their goals. To put it another way, it’s easier to rewrite history a little at a time than to do it in one fell swoop. This is the sole concept that the experience revolves around, and like the governments they parallel, they do a more than efficient job in doing it. However, efficiency and strength are two different beasts, and it’s pretty obvious the reason this version is efficient is because of the strength of the original, underlying material. Need some proof? Check out “Theme of VAVA.” It’s amazing how terrible this piece is despite how appropriate it is for the character it represents. Be that as it may, the only other piece that truly winds up in any kind of trouble is “Sigma Battle 2” where an effort to make the piece more epic winds up creating an ugly mass of instrumentation.
Beyond the music and the perceived motives behind it, there is another item of interest buried within the soundtrack. The title for the opening stage music “Opening Stage ~Theme of X~” brings up a question on how one perceives opening stage themes. Has anyone ever thought of these pieces as more than just area themes? Personally, I never started viewing them as character themes until X4 when the music in the Sky Lagoon changed depending on which character one played as, which (combined with their reappearance in the game’s ending FMVs) more or less implied them as such. Zero’s dedicated themes in X1~X3 also did their part in implanting such a view in the listener. However, looking back at this particular composition, it’s not hard to see how it can be seen as more than a backdrop for the chaos and destruction Sigma’s minions are causing throughout Abel City. Thinking about it now, it also personifies the confusion running rampant throughout X’s mind as he works his way towards the center of Vile’s disturbance.
When all is said and done, there is little doubt that the arrangers of Maverick Hunter X aimed to take a previously successful score and make it their own. What’s confounding about this is how such a feeling exists even though they don’t do anything truly radical, like forging a new main theme. If anything, it’s a thinly veiled plot that hardly encroaches on the original music at the heart of the matter, and while it’s neither harsh nor abrasive, it has nowhere near the longevity that any of its crafters had hoped for.
CONCLUSION:
In the end, the music for both games covered on disc try their best to make one re-envision the origins of what are two of the most important Mega Man series to date. Unfortunately, as blunt as it sounds, the truth is that neither score is likely to act as a gateway to either series musical continuities for newer, younger listeners. In terms of overall quality however, Toshihiko’s work on Powered Up pulls ahead for not taking itself too seriously or as seriously as Maverick Hunter X’s self-serving techno edge. As surprising as this may sound coming from a true-blue Mega Man fan, this disc will mostly likely only end up in the collections of those who consider themselves as completionists, something I once viewed myself as not to long ago but have grown beyond.
Overall Score: 7/10
"Nice, but it's too late for love...."
In 1983, Def Leppard released the classic rock song “Too Late for Love.” Despite how perfectly that song describes my current feelings towards the dismal fate that awaited the conclusion of the Mega Man X series, I know that singer Joe Elliott couldn't have been singing about Capcom's failings given the series first brick wouldn't be laid until a decade later. So, that said, when we get right down to it, is Maverick Hunter X a nice remake? Definitely, I couldn't imagine telling anyone anything otherwise. Still, nothing short of a case of amnesia can make me forget that Mega Man X5 was mediocre, X6 was cash-in garbage, X7's 3D wrote a check it’s tush couldn't cash and that X8 stuck out in bottom of the ninth in the storyline department. Indeed, it is too late for love and the curtain has definitely fallen.
However, such painful chapters aside, Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X is yet another in a long line of solid remakes for the PSP. I'm not as under whelmed as that last sentence makes me out to be but there really isn't that much to say. If you liked the original, you'll be right at home here. I love how even subtle changes (mainly the rearrangement of the capsules) changes the true and tired path I've relied on for years to get through the original, and it's nice to see that some of the bosses (like Storm Eagle and Armored Armadillo) have been made a bit more challenging. Unfortunately, that last part that doesn't always hold true. There are several occasions where the game is actually easier than the original when set on normal difficulty. Why would you make a boss like Spark Mandrill an even bigger pushover, allowing him to be frozen with every shot of the Shotgun Ice? Same goes for the last boss who’s been even given a new (and insanely pointless) attack, and don’t even get me started on how deadly the overdone knock-back from enemy attacks can be.
As small as such follies are everything eventually comes back to the storyline and the unlockable “The Day of Sigma” video. Given that the only back-story the original had to go on was passages from Dr. Cain's journal in the instruction manual, The Day of Sigma offers a treasure-trove of information on how the conflict between the mavericks and humans started. It's great to have some more narrative to chew on, but adding to the vast list of inconsistencies that plague the series canon at this point is unwise. On another, somewhat related note, why are some the in-game animations almost comical in nature? X's running animation, Launch Octopus' hit animation and Bospider's landing animations make me think twice about the X series being more serious in nature than original series.
If all the above wasn't enough, the biggest question Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X raises is why did Capcom feel a remake was necessary in the first place? I recently replayed Mega Man X on the SNES late last year and – to no surprise – it's held up extremely well over the years, much more than its two immediate successors. Unlike Lunar: Silver Star Harmony where another whirl helped change my opinion about the underlying product to a certain degree, this take does little to enhance or dilute my thoughts on the experience at its core. In other words, the time spent updating this classic could have been spent doing something much more productive. Then again, given the state of creativeness in the world of video games today maybe not.
CONCLUSION:
Despite the contempt I hold for some things Mega Man, I know I can't hold Maverick Hunter X responsible for the sins of its successors, which are technically its forbearers in this case. Unfortunately – or perhaps fortunately – this doesn't change the fact it really didn't need to be remade, nor do any of its sequels. The game is worth nabbing and adding to your collection if you can get a good deal on it, just be aware that it's still a shallow product despite being an enhanced version of a SNES classic.
Overall Score: 7/10
"A solid sequel that is interesting for all the wrong reasons"
Third time's the charm. Like most sayings, it's a classic that we use every now and then. The only things that are for certain are death, taxes, and sequels. There's always a sequel, even if it's unjustified. All jesting aside, it may surprise some to know that Mega Man X3 was the sequel that almost never was....
Gazing upon a clipping saved from an old issue of Nintendo power (Volume 78), Greg Ballard, President of Capcom USA, proudly announces the canceled cancellation of Mega Man X3, claiming "Mega Man X3 represents Capcom's commitment to the Super NES... and Mega Man's millions of fans." Despite how tongue-in-cheek that statement sounds now with eight plus games in the series, I can remember how blasphemous the thought of a canceling a Mega Man game sounded to me back then. Unfortunately, as much as I wanted X3, the closest I ever got to it during my childhood was the time I rented it and I proceeded to tromp through it in a single night. Actually, I take that back, it was more like a handful of hours.
That said, one might say that's a good thing. Why fork over sixty to seventy dollars for a game that offers such a short experience? Point taken, but when you're that young you never think about the longevity of your purchases. Even after that brief experience with the game, Mega Man X3 would remain "the forbidden fruit" for years to come. X3 was "the one that got away." Ironically, that long awaited meeting would come to fruition - thirteen years later. Unfortunately, as most know, a lot can change in thirteen years, and when it comes to this particular series, it has. The rest of the narrative pretty much writes itself; even the most devoted fan can become disillusioned with a whole body of work even if only some of it is bad. Of course, there are times where one can find their own truths within such a quagmire. I think I've discovered and accepted my truths with most of the chapters of this convoluted saga, X3 being no exception. So what is that truth? Mega Man X3 may be somewhat more interesting than some of the other games in the series, but it's interesting for all the wrong reasons.
Unlike Mega Man X and X2, the majority of Mega Man X3 was handled by what Keiji Inafune calls "outsiders." As would be expected, all of the game's artwork and character design may have been handled internally, but many other elements where not. Mega Man X3's music, for example, was handled by an outside group called the Minakuchi Engineering Staff. That's not exactly the most revealing piece of information. However, years later, the actual employee (of the Minakuchi Engineering Staff) responsible for the music would be revealed: Kinuyo Yamashita. As it turns out, Yamashita helped compose music of the original Castlevania during her time with Konami, and such a rock-laden approach can be heard here.
So what does Kinuyo's score have to do with the core experience at the heart of X3? Lots. While I'll admit she hits (Gravity Beetle, Toxic Seahorse) as much as she misses (opening intro, capsule theme), the rough texture of her pieces parallels that abstract "edginess" and wreck loose feel that first took hold in Mega Man X2 but was absent from the "clean" original. Once again, there is a real sense of danger to the proceedings that isn't related the game's difficulty level but is provided by unavoidable, single-entry characters like Bit and Byte (the Nightmare Police), not series mainstays like Sigma and Vile. Also returning from X2 is the concept of cause and effect. Accomplishing certain feats earlier on (mostly defeating or destroying certain adversaries) changes how some things unfold in the second half of the game. It's nothing truly dramatic, a different boss fight or two, or a slightly different ending, but it adds a bit of replay value where it is sorely needed. The rest of the game plays out as one would expect, not broken but not inspiring.
CONCLUSION:
Far from the missing crowning jewel I billed it as in my adolescence this one is purely for the fans. More of the same usually isn't a bad thing when it comes to Mega Man, but then it's nothing to get excited about either. That said, I have to cast my vote for the SNES original when compared to the CD-based version released in the Mega Man X Collection. The full-motion videos are nice, but the remixed music simply doesn't gel with graphics from a previous generation. I'm glad that Mega Man X3 managed to find it's way off the drawing board, but in all honesty, it's only because it's the stepping stone that made the series fourth (and perhaps best) installment possible.
Overall Score: 7/10
"A truly standard sequel. Nothing more, nothing less...."
1995, maps in the latest Nintendo Power, sixth grade, an upcoming birthday, a short-lived neighborhood rental store, a sleepover party, a seventy dollar price tag and a friend's skull smashed into my living room floor by another guest. The amount of memories triggered by the mere mention of Mega Man X2 is simply staggering. In April of 1995 all I could think about was getting my hands on this cart, continuing the battle against the malicious Mavericks.
Looking back, I can't help but wish I could travel back in time and recapture that magic, that unique combination of patience, desire and blissful ignorance that defines childhood. That ability to not overanalyze anything - and I mean anything - at all. Unfortunately, those days don't last and retrospect and insight eventually crash the party. As much as I enjoyed (and still enjoy) the SNES, I can't say I miss paying ridiculous prices for cartridge based games, although I can certainly question what I was thinking when I shelled out seventy bones for Mega Man X2.
Don't get me wrong. This isn't a case of buyer's remorse that's been festering for fifteen years, but in knowing what I know now, that X2 is the definition of a standard sequel, I can't help but think that money could have been spent on a more captivating gaming experience. Given how wise a majority of a child's purchases are however, that may be too much to expect of my younger self. Still, with the forethought of the place the game once held in my personal hierarchy, what makes X2 worth hanging onto? The answer is rather surprising....
Gameplay wise, Mega Man X2 is pretty much identical to its predecessor: progress through mostly liner stages collecting heart tanks, sub tanks, and cleverly hidden capsules while maintaining one's health on the way to the area's quote unquote boss. Beat the boss and take their weapon; use those acquired weapons to take advantage of enemy weaknesses in future encounters. After defeating the grunts, take down the kingpin (gee, I wonder who THAT could be?) and save the day.
Okay, so it's a bit more fun than my slapdash explanation is making it sound, but in general X2 only adds a few new wrinkles to what players experienced in the original. The most important of these is the introduction of a group of three Mavericks (it was originally meant to be four but the female member was scraped due to the limits of the Cx4, as was Violen's second form) that call themselves the "X-Hunters." Eventually, the player learns the "unification" is just a fancy term for stealing Zero's parts and slapping him back together to get his "revenge" on you for "letting him die." Depending on whether or not X hunts down and defeats the X-Hunters for Zero's "parts" during the main eight stages of the game, there may or may not be an extra boss in the final level of the game that accounts for the game's two possible scenarios.
Black and white as that may seem, the X-Hunters prove to be much more than the key to the game's outcome. While I'll admit I'm not exactly goo-goo gaga over these characters themselves, they do add an element that was missing from the original Mega Man X. That element is danger. Looking back at certain Mavericks in that title, some of them hardly left me quaking in my boots, and in a way that dampened the effect certain moments in that game had on me. This really isn't the case in Mega Man X2, where there is a strange sense of abstract edginess, even dirtiness to everything that fights against the clean feel of the original. Much like the opening cinematic says, "a real war is about to begin" and the kid gloves are off. Even Yuki Iwai's peculiar musical score plays into it as does the immediate sequel Mega Man X3.
As impressive as it is for the series to change it's temperament without utilizing major changes in presentation or game play, the effect can only go so far. Additionally, while I wouldn't want to change the game from its final form, I do have to question the usage of the Cx4 chip and the sacrifices made to utilize it. Mega Man X2 probably would have found a wider audience with a lower retail price and larger print run, something the Cx4 prohibited, and is the reason why carts still fetch a decent amount of cash on the secondary market. Of course, today's prices are about half of what the game went for originally, but the game hasn't held its value for the right reasons.
CONCLUSION:
Taking in all the above into consideration, Mega Man X2 on the SNES is mainly geared towards the true blue and perhaps slightly disillusioned Mega Man fan. Those with a mild interest should steer clear of procuring the actual cart and just find a copy of The Mega Man X Collection for the Gamecube or PlayStation 2. As for this Mega Man fan, while I'm glad I've managed to retain my copy throughout all these years despite my decaying faith in the series, it's far from the trophy I once considered it.
Overall Score: 7/10
"An excellent start to a series that would eventually drown in its own excrement"
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.
CONCLUSION:
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 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. 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.
Overall Score: 9/10
“A treasure nestled within a so-so spin-off?”
