Genre: Platformer
Year: 1993
Developed by: Capcom
Published by: Capcom
Platforms: SNES
#116
Feeling Like: X Factor
I’m not going to be able to say anything about Mega Man X that isn’t better said in the Sequelitis video. It’s yet another example of Nintendo upping the ante on their major franchises when it came to the Super Nintendo. Well, Capcom in this case, but regardless they took almost everything about the 8-bit Mega Man that made them fun and injected it with a heavy dose of guitar wails – both literally and figuratively. Mega Man X and the direct sequel are among my favorites on the system and it’s no surprise to see them both so high on the 500.
Just so many improvements, right off the bat – the tutorial level is among gaming’s best. No dialogue, no giant arrows telling you where to go, just perfect visual cues and set-pieces to tell you everything you need to know. It eases you into the more challenging enemies, it shows (doesn’t tell) that the environment can be altered, it hints that you can jump up walls and world builds a brand new adventure for Mega Man in just a few minutes. It’s lean and outstanding.
Then, as per Mega Man law, you get to choose among your eight robot bosses. They’re all animal themed, with each stage presenting varying degrees of challenge ending with a 1 on 1 showdown of the level’s big bad. All standard fare, except now you have catchy tunes accompanied by a far better sound system.
Chill Penguin, those first few beats!
Spark Mandrill, and Storm Eagle sound like dueling guitarists in a cybernetic music competition.
Even the Stage Clear makes me want to quit my job and pursue a career in fanfare creation.
Mega Man X2’s soundtrack is even better, but that’s not the only reason it’s higher on the 500. I think the general consensus is that Mega Man X is the superior game, but luckily I don’t need the popular vote to justify my silly rankings.
This was one of the first Super Nintendo games I saw and I played it, naturally, at Kasim and Aslam’s. Can I have a single memory of this iconic franchise without those two? If it wasn’t in the coziest basement I’ve visited to date, it was in the brightest, most welcoming attic I’ve ever seen. Either way, there was a good chance the blue bomber (or blue…X?) was somewhere nearby when I came over. I was perfectly happy to be a passive observer, or quip with the occasional comment – particularly if Aslam was playing. Our interests didn’t always line up, what with us being a whole two years older, but they often did. While visiting other friends, we may have conspired to avoid siblings but when I went over to Queen Anne Heights, usually the first question I had was “is Aslam gonna hang out too?”
One of the best things about Mega Man X, and I’d nearly forgotten this, was how the order of stages you tackle will impact others. If you down a ship, it will appear in another boss’s area and has crippled some of the defenses against you. You can flood one stage, you can render a mini-boss’ attack useless in another. That type of synergy is rare, and the game doesn’t bring any attention to it. You’ll only notice if you experiment and keep the map in mind. More show, don’t tell. Brilliant.
Mega Man X introduces maybe the coolest character in the entire series. Zero is like Mega Man, a Maverick Hunter except he has long, super saiyan hair for some reason. I don’t ask questions about whether a cyborg needs minor human-like additions as long as it looks cool. And it does. Oh, and he has a badass theme too.
It may only take a handful of hours to beat and the premise is as simple as can be, but it was an evolution for Mega Man. The action was faster, the movement was fluid, the visuals are varied and colorful, the soundtrack kicks an incomprehensible amount of ass, Zero is as good a wingman as you’ll get and all the classic Mega Man fare is here. Mega Man X is one of the elite when it comes to 2D platformers. Thirty years hasn’t dulled its shine.
The 500 