Do not miss out on this old-school game!
Genre: Adventure
Developer: Capcom
System: Super Nintendo
Total Score: 85/100
Value Score: 8.5/10
• Story: 9/10
o Megaman X's storyline is different from the Megaman series. You play as a character named X who seems like a darker older version of Megaman, he is on the side of the humans and are trying to defeat the Reploids (robot race) who is being led by a sinister villain named Sigma who plans to destroy all of humanity for the sake of his race. Along side X is Zero , new to the series and instantly popular with Megaman Fans along with some similar but new enemies. Although all that sounds nice, throughout the game you wont hear much about the storyline unless you are at the beginning or near the end of the game.
• Characters: 10/10
o Character designs in Megaman X are drastically different from Megaman, as the character designs are alot more mature like, darker and more appealing to the teenage group. No more chibi Megaman and no more chibi enemies, you play as X who is like a reincarnation of Megaman who is deployed to save the humans from the Reploids, you have Zero who is a new character who assists Megaman and plays somewhat a major role throughout the game and the rest of the series. Sigma is the main villain in the game and is trying to conquer the world for the Reploids but needs to destroy humanity before he can achieve that. Along with that, you have a few enemy character generals like any other Megaman game. The enemy designs for regular enemies are well done and they do not repeat in design with different colors as you would see in other adventure games.
• GamePlay: 7/10
o Gameplay is fluid and alot more freedom in movement than in the regular megaman games, however the sheer difficulty of the game in its later parts and the fact some of the jumps you would have to make in certain times of the game will leave you rolling on the floor asking yourself why did they make it so difficult. Other than that, the gameplay consists of the basic X-Buster which is the same as a regular shooting weapon as you would see in Megaman, you can collect armor parts to increase your abilities such as Dash and destroying specific blocks to open up new passage ways, you can collect heart containers to increase health, collect E-Tanks which can be used to restore your health via the pause menu and defeating bosses yields new unique abilities which can help you overcome other bosses and obtain new items.
• Graphics: 9/10
o Megaman X utilizes the SNES' graphics engine like no other Capcom game. Megaman X's visuals are far superior than any other Megaman game that had come out before it, it far out produces better settings, environment and character design than Megaman 7 which was released on the same system. The game includes a better animation rate than the other Megaman games as well. Although you do have the usual SNES like Capcom art designs on the stages, but the character animations and character designs in Megaman X are unique and well made.
• Sound: 9/10
o Megaman X uses a similar sound system as Megaman 7, though with a few changes and all, if you played any other major Capcom IP such as Breath of Fire or Megaman 7 on the SNES than you would easily recognize the sound effects as some of them are recycled into this game, however there are a few unique sound effects exclusive to the game. There is also one rare feature in which no other version of Megaman X or its sequels have, the ability to use Hadouken (which is a skill) with a voice over, X literally says "HADOUKEN" when he does it, which can only be heard in this version of Megaman X.
• Music: 10/10
o The music score for Megaman X is simply amazing and rivals most if not all RPG game music which is a pretty rare thing for its age and genre. Megaman X's OST will leave you with great anticipation and suspense for the next level and on the battles of enemies you will encounter. This of course yields future games and sequels with amazing OSTs.
• Length: 5/10
o Megaman X's length is probably its most obvious weakness, you have about 8 actual stages with about 8 initial bosses you can select to play against and in. You also start at the beginning level which offers you one mini boss battle turned storyline and along with that 3 additional stages via the Sigma Storyline, it also includes all of the boss battles you played before along with 3 unique boss battles. Overall, the game shouldnt take you more than 5 hours unless you spend having a hard time collecting several of the power ups.
• Replay Value: 6/10
o Although you defeated the bosses within the game, you can easily go back to the stages and re-do them and fight the bosses again. You also have the option to put in certain passwords to go back to certain parts of the game. Other than that, you can always re-play the game without collecting the power ups just as easily (in terms of starting over), but other than that, there is no other re-play value in the game.
• Player Value: 10/10
o Megaman X is an amazing game even if you arent a Megaman Fan, but its a priceless gem for those who are fans of the series and is the origin of a all great series which spawned several sequels, ports, remakes and of course spinoffs. You will surely enjoy the game's amazing gameplay, design, and music despite having a few troubles here and there with the difficulty and some of the gameplay tidbits, regardless of that, this is one enjoyable experience you do not want to miss.