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| SNES REVIEWS!! | MEGA MAN X |
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| MEGA MAN X |
GRAPHICS: 9.0 MUSIC: 9.0 REPLAY VALUE: 7.0 ADDS TO GENRE: 6.5
FUN FACTOR: 8.5
MADE BY: CAPCOM RATING: E - Everyone GENRE: Action Platformer
Mega Man X is, to me, one of the funnest action platformers on the Super NES. The game is fast, fluid, and action packed.
The game is one of few platformers that actually has a pretty good, and very cool, story. The presentation of the game is also just plain awesome. It does things that I haven't seen in any other game (Besides other games in the X series). Kinda reminds me of a cartoon or something. A very cool cartoon. Right from the beginning you know this game is going to be cool. As soon as you power on the system, you are greeted to a cool intro where it shows and explains the various specs of X's suit. His helmet, legs, chest/armor and X Buster. It then discribes the story. After that, just watching how the name "Mega Man X" comes onto the screen is awesome.
This game is very flashy. When you select a boss it presents them, showing a picture and their name, in a very cool way. It's something you just have to see. If I had a presentation rating, I'd give it 9.5 in that category.
The game itself is very fun to play. The story is told through other characters you meet (Such as Zero [your ally], or the evil Vile). When you first meet them, a box will pop up and they will say something. In addition, lots of times thing will happen, such as Zero fighting the bosses and stuff like that. It's all very cool (I won't spoil anything for people that haven't played it).
The first level is kinda like a training ground for the levels to come. It's pretty easy and straightforward. After the first level, you are presented with eight different levels that you can choose from. The level select screen shows each of the bosses, which are spread out around the screen. In the four corners are different options you can select, each one will give you different information about the level or boss (Each boss has their own level). In the middle square it will show the info that you selected. You can choose for it to either display a picture of the level, a world map of where the levels are located, or info about the boss, including their name, and weapons or moves they will use. The last one will take you to the master of the game's levels once you have beaten the eight bosses.
Each boss has a certain power that you will absorb once you beat them. All the bosses are weak to another boss' power. So you will want to use some strategy and think about which levels to enter, depending on the last boss you fought and what weapons you want or need.
There are various items spread around the levels. Each level contains a Heart Tank, which if collected will raise X's energy bar by a little bit. Also found in some levels are Sub Tanks. There are four Sub Tanks in all, once a Sub Tank is collected, X can fill them with extra energy if he collects energy capsules when his energy is maxed out, for emergency use.
Also, some levels contain special Capsules, which when found and entered, will upgrade various parts of X's suit. These however are hidden and have to be found. In addition, there is one very special secret capsule that will give X the power to shoot a Hoduken ball, taken straight from Street Fighter. It's even performed the same way.
Once you defeat a boss (Which are called Mavericks), you will receive a special power from them, which you can switch to at any time by pressing the R and L buttons, or selecting them from the Status Screen by pressing START.
The controls in the game are very intuitive, and once you learn them (Y to shoot your X Buster, B to jump, and A to use your dash technique, once you've found the capsule) you will be jumping, climbing up walls, and sliding all over the place with ease and precision.
The graphics in Mega Man X are also very good. With vibrant colors and lots of cool special effects. The animation is nice and fluid and also very good.
Another cool thing about Mega Man X is the music. Most of the music is very cool. It fits the game very well. The sound effects are also right on target. And fit the game perfectly.
The only real problem with the game, is once you've beaten it and collected everything, there isn't much incentive to play it anymore. Other than just to experience it again. It's a fun game and you probably will play it again, but you can grow tired of it fast. Since all you really do is jump, shoot, and destroy enemies. It can get rather repetitive, but it still manages to remain fun. The game can also be hard and frustrating if you don't know the game well. It's quite hard the first time you play it. But after repeated play, you will learn the enemies and boss' patterns and attacks, plus the layout of the levels, and it gets easier. Once you get a hang of the controls, you will be able to dodge attacks and blow up multiple enemies very easily.
All in all, I'd say Mega Man X is a very fun game, but won't last very long. I've had it for a long time, and you will most likely either never play it again once you've found and done everything, or just play it every once in a while to relive how cool it is.
If you don't own the game, I recommend you don't hesitate to pick it up if you see it somewhere. It's very fun and cool and I can almost guarantee you won't regret buying it.
PLAYERS: 1 SAVE: PASSWORD
DID I THOROUGHLY BEAT IT? Yes
I collected everything (Heart Tanks, Sub Tanks, and EVERY capsule, including the secret Hodeken one), and beat all the bosses and sub bosses. Even though I had beaten the game many times before, I went ahead and played through the game and beat it, then did the review right after I beat the game so it was still fresh in my memory :-)
(Note about the rating: Mega Man X came out before the ESRB started the ratings system, but if it came out today, it'd get an 'Everyone' rating. You might be able to find some copies of the game with the `KA' - Kids to Adults - rating, if it was re-released, but I'm not sure if it was or not.)