I might do this for other franchises I like, but for now I'll just do it with the Megaman X series, since it's both my favorite series within the Megaman franchise as well as one of my favorite series in general, and it's been something I've been wanting for a while.

 

This'll probably end up as a review of the series in a way

 

I don't know how to start this up considering it's my first time making this kind of post so I'll just get to the nitty-gritty. In this series I look back at every game in the series up to the most recent installment(whether it be a main title or a spin-off), and give my thoughts on each installment with some history lessons for those unfamiliar to the series if it's interesting to be brought up(just be warned, there will probably be spoilers, though I'll try my hardest to avoid them).

 

Originally I was simply going to do the entire series in one go but this blog was getting too damn long so I decided to cut it to separate parts. Criticism is welcome

 

Now let's get this going:

 

 

Megaman X(SNES, Wii/Wii U VC, PS2/GC(Megaman X Collection))

 

Set 100 years after the Classic series, the first X game places you in control of a new hero and Dr Light's last creation, Megaman X, some years after being discovered by Dr Cain. Teaming up with the his mysterious mentor/best friend Zero, he must face a new enemy Sigma and his army of evil reploids known as Mavericks.

 

The First Megaman X is platforming bliss, I've probably played through this game more times than any other game I can think of. There's some kind of joy to expect in every level whether it be neat gimmicks or upgrades or the boss at the end of the stage. Speaking of which, the ability to gain upgrades like armor, life ups, and refillable e-tanks are welcome additions to the series and help add replay value to the game by allowing you to find new paths or hidden areas throughout the game that you couldn't reach before. The game also has some of the best controls on the SNES period. A bold statement, but the buttery smooth controls along with excellent level design help make the game one of the SNES's timeless classics.

 

The first 8 mavericks are also my favorite set of bosses in the series, even above the 6 first robot masters, they are difficult but really fun to fight especially if you love to challenge yourself and fight them without their weaknesses. I also like how they tried to make them more interesting and give them a back story in the game's manual(a lot of which is expanded in the manga), and of all of the mavericks I'd have to say Storm Eagle is my favorite maverick as far as the 8 bosses go, both due to having a kickass design and his backstory(and he also makes his appearance by blowing up his own plane, which is always awesome). All that said, Vile, X's rival, is my favorite villain in the entire franchise, and I always found him to be much more interesting than Sigma, especially after the story's retelling in Maverick Hunter X(I'll elaborate more on that when I get to it later)

 

As with most other Megaman games, the soundtrack is one of the best on the console, and easily ranks among my favorite soundtracks period with great songs like Storm Eagle, the Intro Stage, and the first theme of Sigma's Palace.

 

Also fun but obvious fact: Not only is Zero's current design based on X's original design, he was also intended to be the main character. But Capcom changed that because they though he was too different from the Original Megaman

 

I'm really glad this game did as well as it did because this wouldn't be the last time we would see X &Co.

 

 

Megaman X2(SNES/Wii/Wii U VC/PS2/GC)

 

Set 6 months after the events of the first game, X assumes head of the Maverick Hunters and continues to face the Maverick rebellion. During his mission he faces a group of new foes called the "X-Hunters" who continue Sigma's original plans along with some of their own plans.

 

There really isn't much about X2 I can say other than it's much more polished than the original X from a gameplay stand point. The armor upgrades also improvements from X1's armor, introducing the series' first Giga Attack as well as a helmet that's actually useful. The game also has a bigger emphasis on speed due to the Dash being a permanent ability rather than an upgrade like the first game. The addition of Ride Chasers are also very welcome

 

The 8 mavericks are still fun to fight, though they aren't as memorable as the first 8, nor are their weapon's aren't as fun to use. I didn't find the X-Hunters very interesting either, especially compared to Vile, and their fight's aren't as fun either(Violen's in particular is more frustrating if anything). All that said, the story is a great follow up to the original game, even if it's not as interesting.

 

The soundtrack is probably the most underrated track in the series, I really don't think fans give this soundtrack enough credit, especially with gems like the

or the

 

Now on to X3, which I'll probably have more to say about

 

 

Megaman X3(SNES/PS1/Sega Saturn/PS2/GC)

 

Set sometime after X2, it is believed that the maverick threat is finally put to an end thanks to technology designed by Reploid scientist Dr Doppler. However it turns out that they were wrong when mavericks wreak havok among the recently created "Doppler Town" with Dr Doppler behind everything and now X and Zero must face this new threat as well as some familiar foes.

 

X3 was really.....boring, I can't think of any other way to describe my feelings towards it. There are a lot of moments where the games just feels empty or the enemies don't do much. Everything about it feels boring, the story, the levels, bosses. Doppler had some promise, but he just feel like "generic corrupt/evil scientist" in the end. The gameplay is left unchanged and the hidden upgrades are some of the better parts of the game, with the ability to summon ride armors at will(when you find the necessary platform of course). The addition to play as Zero is welcome, even though he just plays like X(the only difference is that he can swing his sword once after a full charge shot). It's also nice to see Vile back to, as his fight was still more fun than just about every other boss in the game.

 

I also find the soundtrack highly overrated. While it has some of the

in the series, it also has some songs that make my and just sound . Almost everything else in between either ranges from "good" to "meh".(it's worth noting too that the PS1 version of the game(which was the one they used for the X collection) features an arranged soundtrack, with most songs sounding a lot worse(the only song that doesn't worse was Zero's arranged theme, which to my surprise, sounded a lot better)

 

In all I personally just find X3 really boring. It's not terrible, far from it in fact, I just don't find it in me to play it as much as other games in the series. All that said however, I still think this game is worth your time if you love the first two games, as there are still plenty of things to enjoy from it

 

Next time I'll cover the PS1 trilogy, starting with the first Megaman Ze....errr I mean X4