The first game I’d like to talk about here in detail is Megaman X. Ugh, OK, before that I’d like to get 2 things out of the way. First, the internet and I can never decide whether he has a space in his name. Rockman is always Rockman, but if want to search for Megaman games on an online shop or something I always have to try both spellings. It’s nobody’s fault really, but it’s annoying. At least you can say that all the games in the uberfranchise have that word in them (except Misadventures of Tron Bonne, but I’m not gonna play that. And Rockboard doesn’t contain Rockman but never mind that one) Anyway during this I am going to omit the space because it’s easier that way.
The other is that I have really grown to hate the name “Blue Bomber”. It just sounds stupid. It’s a real lame nickname that only barely describes the guy, and I just wince every time I read it. Maybe I’ll get over this eventually. Anyway, this point is kinda irrelevant to the subject at hand, which is X1.

So for the first time, I got some Wii points recently. I had gone through the store and checked it all out, and decided the first thing to try would be X1. In my Super Nintendo days, I liked games like Yoshi’s Island and DKC2. Megaman was not really on my radar. I definitely remember playing some X game on a friend’s console at some point, because I remember the multiple levels of charging. But my first real introduction to a love for the series was with Zero for the Gameboy Advance. Me and my friend bought the first two on a trip to Japan and played them to death. It didn’t matter that we didn’t understand the story, the characters and cutscenes were enough for us to piece something together and the replayability is very high. My first and greatest love in Megaman canon is the Zero series. And really, I haven’t actually played many other games in the series—so what kind of MM fan am I?

A few years ago I got back into gaming in a big way, after having a dry patch through part of high school and uni. Part of this involved researching series I used to be interested in, and getting back into them. Unfortunately, some of the games that are essential playing to some series are hard to come by. But there is plenty for fans to see, especially if they’re catching up. I read many wikis, found tie-in comics, watched some YouTube videos. I also scouted some fansites, and picked up a bunch of RSS feeds. The most dedicated sites are a joy to read, because they are passionate about their series. Two great examples of this, in their own ways, are the DKVine and the Metroid Database. The best fansites also have a podcast, and I found the TMMN Megacast an enjoyable listen on my commutes. Adam, Jesse, Tabby and Andy are highly entertaining hosts with a deep knowledge of Megaman and even I, with no actual game experience, had a great time listening. I think someone can be a fan with no game experience, but I also happen to love gaming. I am slowly working through many games, and as I think Megaman is a very strong series, I picked up a few of his games. I breezed through Megaman 2 (iOS port) on easy mode, and loved the extension of the Zero series that was ZX Advent (DS). The first ZX is next on my list. Which brings me to X (finally).

The Megacast reviewed X1 at one point, saying it was the best X series game, that it was all downhill from there. I also had at this point basically mastered the Zero series, so my expectations for this game were high. Too high, as it turns out. What I experienced was a strange beast, so obviously an extension of the Classic series, but not extending far enough. I could also see the bones of what it could further evolve into (Zero). Apparently somewhere along the way the series got bogged down and bloated, but this game was a little barebones. I had fun with it, but it didn’t come close to matching Zero in my eyes (or my fingers’ muscle memory.)

The first thing I noticed was how different the controls were to GBA Zero. I don’t know why, but I expected it to be closer to that. In fact it’s essentially a Classic game with the Classic formula, with some changes and additions. Even the Maverick intro theme is the exact Robot Master intro theme! Anyway, as I played through the game that same idea kept coming back: This is a halfway point. Too firmly rooted in the Classic series framework, but with interesting advancements. More complex controls and powers. More interesting characters and dialogue scenes. I didn’t enjoy it as much as those who grew up with it seemed to though, because I had seen where this direction was heading: the Zero series, which just seemed better in every way.

Still, I very much appreciated the complexity of the game as compared to what I had experienced of Classic, Megaman 2 (also regarded as the best entry in its series). From what I understand, some elements of this complexity were backported in a way into 7, M&B, and 8, but here I only have the “best games” of the series to compare. And there is no comparison. Perhaps it was the fiddliness of the iPhone controls or the inherent dislike I have for NES fidelity, having grown up a generation later, but X surpasses Classic by miles. If only because it is closer to my Zero ideal. Let me go into a bit of detail.

X1 doesn’t do a great job telling a story. The opening cinematic is very evocative but not expository. Not necessarily a bad thing, but after going from the title screen directly to the intro stage, I was a little lost. At the end of the intro stage, suddenly things start happening. Vile shows up, he demolishes you, Zero comes out of nowhere like a badass and says some stuff. But all the dialogues are a bit out of context. At this point I realise that games from this generation, I should probably read the manual. This helps, but it’s a little threadbare. I’m not sure if this is a localisation thing, but the whole premise was not well established. Par for the course for Megaman in general I think, though so whatever. It’s about gameplay, right?

The gameplay is pretty good, especially after you get the dash boots. It felt so wrong after Zero, not having dashing. I don’t expect the little peeny Classic guy to dash, but X should dash! Luckily I knew to do Chill Penguin’s stage first, and after I got that first capsule things really picked up. Of course, the physics are a little weird, and I really miss the Z-Saber, but hey most of ZX Advent you don’t have a sword so I told myself it was fine. And after a few Mavericks down, I enjoyed the weapon changing mechanic. It took way too long to get charging for them, though, and you end up with a lot you don’t use. I feel like most Classic and X games are probably like this.

The Mavericks were cool, but as a Megaman fan, I feel they are extremely under-characterised. I know a lot of devs only care about gameplay, but c'mon, give them a line before I fight them! I guess I can always read the manga or something. And for that matter, what is Sigma really about? How does he present himself to his henchbots? Are they just infected by an incurable virus or is there an attractive ideology to this guy? I expect this to be developed in later games, but apparently the gameplay starts to suffer down the track as well. Maybe I’ll get to them one day, but this game didn’t exactly convince me playing the whole series was essential, except that I would one day get to control Zero. :D

The different power-ups hidden in the stages was a great idea, well implemented, and I felt good for finding these rewards. I feel like they helped too (well, except for the block breaking helmet). I was frustrated that use of a sub-tank completely drains it, no matter how much energy it restores, though. Ah well. Oh and the hadouken was awesome.

The final boss? Climbing that shaft each time you die was annoying, but at least it let you farm those worm guys for health. The dog was interesting, fun to dodge and shoot. Sigma’s first form was OK, not enough moves and when you learn how to game him fairly easy (just like Harpuia in Zero 1&2). His second form was just plain bad. Only like 2 attacks even damage him, and it’s hard to hit. His attacks aren’t very interesting either, they just do loads of damage. It doesn’t feel dangerous, not within the game. The strength of his attacks made it feel exciting to fight him, but I feel like that’s a little artificial. He just sits there and moves his hands. And any boss where you stand on his hands always seems a little silly. “Hey, I’m just gonna stand on here. Hold still while I shoot your face”.

OK this is getting very long, I do apologise. Congratulations if you read down to here, I’m still learning how to write well really so thanks for reading. Wrap up time.

All in all I think X1 is a good game, I don’t regret the purchase. But I really just view it as backstory to my favourite Megaman series, Zero. As far as that goes, it’s good to see the origins of something you love and I enjoyed it while I played. But I got the hadouken, I saw the 2 or 3 stage variations, I saw the Bubble Bat in Armored Armadillo’s stage. Now that it’s done, I don’t feel I ever need to revisit it again. But I do recommend it for those who are willing to do a bit of outside research to flesh out the world a little more than the game did.

Oh and my wife’s comment: “Looks hard and not fun. Too much of the same! And dying.” Maybe that says something about my skills, eh? Until next time.