Truly a timeless classic.
When someone asks you "what makes a game timeless", any response you give can be applied to MegaMan X. The graphics didn't push the limits of the console, but the animations were fluid, diverse, and lively. The gameplay wasn't absolutely new and unique, but it took a winning formula and pushed it into a completely different class. The controls are fluid, intuitive, and most importantly, fun.
For those unfamiliar with the game: set around 100 years after the events of MegaMan 1-10 (as of 2011), the player takes on the role of X, a new breed of robot capable of making his own decisions as to what right and wrong really are. Although he questions his place in the world, an uprising lead by the former commander of the Maverick Hunters, Sigma, compels him to join the remaining Hunters to bring Sigma to justice and protect mankind. X joins his new partner, Zero, to defeat rogue reploids in eight stages, culminating in a four stage battle to Sigma himself.
Everything about MegaMan X is intriguing, captivating, and nearly flawless. The story is exactly where it needed to be for a MegaMan title, with just a hint of defeatism not present in the classic MegaMan games on the NES. The methods used to tell the story never seemed invasive, and never really detracted from the gameplay. It breaks away from the classic MegaMan pacing by adding a dash mechanic and wall slide/wall jumping mechanics that increase the depth of the gameplay, changing every stage from a mostly linear experience into what almost feels like a small open world, ready to be explored.
The developers really capitalized on your new mobility options by adding tons of secrets, from extra lives, health capsules, and energy tanks, to the powerful armor modifications left by Dr. Light himself. While the levels rarely had multiple paths that lead to the same goal, they very often had branching paths to dead ends that rewarded your curiosity. Even the order you complete the stages in changes the game.
For a completely new player, the game's replay value is sky high, because I can almost guarantee you won't find all of the secrets on an unaided first playthrough. No, I do guarantee that without having been helped or told about how to do it, a new player will never unlock the Hadouken. Never. Believe me, it's not enough to just know that the Hadouken is in the game, getting it is an entirely new can of worms.
Overall, it isn't nostalgia. It isn't some kind of fond memory of childhood success. This game is outstanding, a paragon of the action platformer genre. Capcom tried seven times after this game's release to replicate its success and only came close (in my opinion) with MegaMan X4, and even then, close is the distance from Earth to the Sun in terms of the level of quality, detail, and love that went into MegaMan X. In the end, he truly was Dr. Light's perfect creation. Accept no substitutes.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
