Top 8 of the Mega Man X series
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Like any good sequel, X2 takes everything from the original and turns it up a notch. It's bigger and badder, and some of the best platforming on the snes.
The original is still a favorite among many, in that regard some might even say X is the MM2 of the X series, I'd say X2 is MM3. X2 was my go to game for several years.
The weapons in X2 are well implemented. I love when you can use power ups not just as weapons but to cleverly get through obstacles like embedding a bats (Batton Bones) in crystal to get over a floor of spikes. There's plenty of secrets to find throughout the stages, meanwhile the catchy music will give your ears orgasms.
The level designs and mavericks offer plenty of challenge, you even get bad ass speeder bikes (R.I.P. Green Biker Dude), not to mention even more powerful armor upgrades and arguably the coolest looking armor to date. (Please, the powers that be, make a figure of X in Giga armor.)
This game is a masterpiece.
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X4 is another step in the right direction for the series. Now with Zero as a fully playable character, there's two games in one here, with two completely different play styles.
On one hand you got your traditional X game, on the other a close combat game with Zero. Zero's power ups are different as well, instead of projectiles you get special moves you execute with inputs like you would in a fighting game.
X4 is one of the easier games (aside from the final boss) but it's just good solid fun platforming. For those looking for a more challenging experience, Zero's playstyle is sure to offer it.
Depending on who you select, there's some differences in the story and supporting cast, with some great fully animated cutscenes, despite the cheesy voice acting. We actually get to learn more about the lore here and Zero and Sigma's past.
As any good Mega Man game, the soundtrack is catchy and memorable, I listen to it on a regular basis. In my opinion, the visuals are the best looking in a Mega Man game to date, no blocky polygons found here, just beautiful 2D sprites.
This is absolutely a must play for Mega fans! There's a reason why it's a PSone greatest hits title. If you missed it back then, you owe it to yourself to pick X4 up. It just so happens that X4 finally got a PSN release for PS3 and Vita, so hop to it!
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The game that brought Mega Man to whole new heights.
X has a bunch of fancy bells and whistles. Mavericks offer more challenge than any Robot Master, and we get a darker more sinister tone compared to the lightheartedness of the original. The soundtrack is a solid reminder of why Mega Man is also named Rock Man.
What else can be said? X is a classic in ever sense of the word.
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Absolutely sick! This game is a breathe of fresh air after the dastardly X7. The platforming has been taken to 11, it's challenging and rewarding. X8 has great cutscenes and voice acting, despite the story being convoluted, I enjoyed it.
Top that off with some great music worthy of the name Rock Man, your ears will be happy. X8 has alot of replay value, massive amounts of unlockable content and secrets to keep you playing. You can even unlock and play as the three navigators, Alia, Layer and Pallete.
X8 is a huge step forward for the X series. Now, ...can we get X9 please? Rather than the X series going retro, my hope is we get more of this. If you love Mega Man and missed out on this game 10 years ago, it's due time you dust off your PS2 and hit ebay to land yourself a copy of this awesome game.
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X5 is decent, with gameplay is similar to X4. There's some new ideas that probably sounded better on paper, like the countdown timer. The timer ties into the game's plot and makes going back to explore stages not worth while.
As well as not just one but a four alternate armors, with different features like allowing you to walk on spikes. However you have to gather parts for all these armors and that goes back into the timer being a problem.
X5's plot is where it starts getting convoluted. The production values leave something to be desired as well, instead of cheesy but still great animated scenes, we now get still-images with plenty of reading material.
When you look passed X5's faults, the game is still a lot fun to play and at the end of the day, that goes a long way.
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X3 is a fun title, but not one I go back too often. Gameplay is more or less the same from X and X2.
X3 doesn't do anything to stand out. However, there's some fancy new ride armors, and you can play as Zero for the first time by switching out with him through the pause menu but you'll switch back for boss fights.
Zero however only has one life, if you lose Zero once, he's gone for the rest of the game. Zero also is rather clunky in X3, he has this weird chunkiness to him. He's not very fun to play as in this game.
The music in the SNES version is pretty bad. There's a couple catchy tracks for sure but the instruments are not as varied and have a grating quality. It's not Mega Man quality, that's for sure. The actual compositions are not that bad though, so I recommend getting the Saturn or PSone version of the game. Which also feature some neat animated scenes.
Over all a decent game, worthy of a Mega-fan's attention but not one I'd often recommend to the average person.
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X5 was originally intended to be the final chapter for the X series but Capcom went ahead and pushed out another one. The result is some lazy level designs, and flawed, you can even get stuck and be forced to restart.
Who knows what the hell is going on in the story at this point. The best thing X6 has going for it is it's soundtrack but if you can look passed all it's faults, there's still fun to be had when you're a Mega fanatic like me.
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In X7, you should think of the traditional 9 stages as the 9 circles of hell, the camera being Satan himself. Cringe worthy dialogue, voiced by what sounds like unpaid interns.
The awkward camera angles are are usually locked, even when you do have control, you can only pan it horizontally with L1 and R1, leaving you frustrated as enemies spray you with shots from off screen. Also have fun trying to discern where you're positioned when jumping from platform to platform.
Levels are barren and uninspired. it's what you'd expect from a generic 3D game, even the rare 2D sections don't have much going for them.
For icing on the cake, X isn't playable until you rescue 64 reploids, that'll take you about 5 stages at the very least. Instead you get to play as the new comer Axl, tagged up with Zero. Ironically the clunky controls make Axl the the easiest character to use in the game,with his rapid fire and hover abilities. Good luck playing a close combat game with Zero.
The soundtrack is forgettable, sometimes intolerable but you'll be too caught up with the awful gameplay to notice. That said, there's a few stand outs tracks.
As someone who recently forced himself to beat X7 just to be able to say I have, I can see a 3D X game maybe working but it didn't work here, X7 is a poorly designed game. To the game's credit, the visuals have a nice cell shaded look. That's probably the nicest thing you'll ever hear me say about X7. What happened here?
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