Mega Man X (SNES, 1994)

My familiarity with the Mega Man series lies with the original NES games. When I think of Mega Man, I think of characters like Dr. Light and Rush, Mega Man's robot dog. I think of bosses like Cut Man and Snake Man. I also think of how freaking difficult these games are.

Mega Man X

My boyfriend had mentioned Mega Man X to me on multiple occasions, citing that he preferred the series' dark overtones in comparison to the original series. Mega Man X is one of his favorite games, and we even named our first cat "Zero" after Mega Man X's Maverick-hunting companion. He recently picked up Mega Man X Collection at Gamestop, so after all the good things he has said about it, I decided to give it a spin.

He's not as active as the real Zero, of course.

Mega Man X is a totally different creature from the original series. This is Mega Man grown up, and the game is much darker than any of the original NES ones. You play as X, an advanced robot with emotions and free will, who was discovered in the ruins of Dr. Light's lab about 100 years after the original series. This world is inhabited by "Reploids" - other robots with free will. The problem is, because of this free will, many of the Reploids have "gone rogue" - turning to a life of crime and evil. A group of "Maverick Hunters" are formed to take down the Reploids - led by Sigma, an advanced robot who turns rogue himself. Your job as X is to take down Sigma and his Maverick team. 

The opening level.

Like the Mega Man games of old, you can choose which boss and level to tackle first. This is a staple of the series that causes it to stand out from other action platformers of yore. Once you defeat a boss, you gain a weapon which is strong against one of the other eight bosses. For example, Flame Mammoth's Fire Wave is strong against Chill Penguin, Chill Penguin's Shotgun Ice is strong against Spark Mandrill and so on and so forth. Incidentally, this means the most difficult of the eight bosses is whoever you choose to battle first, as you have to rely on your regular X-Buster. The others fall like dominoes if you use the proper weapon.

The eight Mavericks of Mega Man X.

Which is not to say that Mega Man X is easy. Quite the contrary: like the original series, it is still what I would consider, for a lack of better term, stupid hard. Granted, it's a little less difficult than some of the original games, but it's still not for the casual gamer. I had extreme difficulty at certain parts, and threw down the controller more than once out of frustration. One of the best things about this game (and something that helps to ease the pain) is the various upgrades you can get for X. Throughout the game there are multiple power-ups for your weapons, armor, and health. The game also has four hidden subtanks which allow you to store health points for later use. This is imperative during the final boss. It's not easy to find all the upgrades in this game, and some are impossible to know about without the use of a guide. But trust me, it's worth the effort - it's damn fun to go from being beat up to becoming the one dishing out the beating. Killing an enemy in a single shot, when it original took twenty from your X-Buster - now that's a great feeling.

HADOOUUKEN!!

For all the fun had in Mega Man X, I have to admit that the greatest part was playing it while my boyfriend watched. He was my guide, pointing out the hidden items, and advising me on strategy. When I came upon a difficult boss he would cheer me on, and he took over to complete the Armor Armadillo stage five times to get the hidden Hadouken power-up, which I simply did not have the stamina to do! I had lots of fun and lots of laughs, which only goes to show that it doesn't have to be a two-player game to have two-player fun.

Mega Man X is available new and used on Amazon for varying prices. It is also available on the Mega Man X Collection (along with X2 through X6) for PS2 and Gamecube. Finally, there was an enhanced remake with updated graphics and story for PSP, entitled Mega Man X: Maverick Hunter. It also includes an unlockable mode to play the game as Vile, one of Sigma's henchmen.