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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good start for the first next-gen MM spin-off series, February 5, 2003
Mega Man X (1993). The first part of a seven episode spin-off series, and the first one to appear on the Super Nintendo.By the time 1993 came around, the NES was almost dead and everyone's favorite series' of games had to be ported over to the then-next-generation system, the SNES. Many companies pulled it off quite nicely with new-port sequels of games like Mario, Castlevania, Metroid, and others. Obviously, Capcom heeded the calls of their devoted fans and decided to give their most successful series an innovative upgrade, and a new darker look. Thus the Mega Man X series was created. Although a bit cartoony looking (compared to say, X3 and X4), it took the MM series to a whole new level in terms of story, gameplay, and features. Well, here's my synopsis: PROS:
-COMPLETELY ORIGINAL IDEAS. Most every X game hereafter would re-use this game's general formula of "find the armor, beat the bosses". The biggest difference gameplay-wise from the original series is the armor feature. By collecting parts of it, X becomes more able to take on the levels and the bosses (the levels themselves were designed with the dash feature in mind).
-The idea for the "power/animal" bosses is alot more clever and original than the repetitive "power/man" type bosses used in the older games. For instance, Storm Eagle sounds quite a bit more threatening than say, ... Bright Man.
-GOOD MUSIC IMPROVEMENT. Well, the old games had good tunes, but these sound more like upbeat hard rock in terms of quality, than the buzzing NES midi. The loud sound effects are especially fitting for an action game like this.
-STORYWISE, A NICE CONNECTION TO THE ORIGINAL SERIES. It starts out with X being built by Dr. Light. He is very unsure about his new prototype model, so in order to make sure all of X's systems will function properly, he (X) must be locked in a capsule for about thirty years. Light realized that he won't be alive when X awakens, so he buries X for another scientist to find. 30 years later, Dr. Cain finds X and starts to build numerous creations based off of X's design. One of them, Sigma, goes haywire and threatens to destroy all of mankind, so X is sent to stop him. I won't spoil the rest.
-Great balance of gameplay. The action is tough, but not too hard to the point of impossibility. There is plenty to shoot at, and enough great weapons to do so with. I like the new idea of CHARGING UP BOSS WEAPONS. At the cost of more w-energy, a little flame attack can turn into a giant wave of flame pillars. Simply a phenominal idea.
-I LOVE THE IDEA OF BEATING A STAGE IN ORDER TO ALTER ANOTHER ONE. For instance, if Chill Penguin is destroyed, then all the lava in Flame Mammoth's stage will freeze, enabling X to make it through the stage easier and to obtain more powerups. Sadly, this idea was completely ignored for the next 4 sequels until X6, where it returned in the form of a crudely put together Nightmare system. CONS:
-This is the first MMX game, and it shows. Many ideas haven't been brought to their full potential yet, which would happen later in the next few games. A perfect example of this is the ram-helmet upgrade. There is one place where you can use it, but otherwise it's only function is to make X look more fancy. LIKE I SAID, THIS WILL IMPROVE IN THE UPCOMING SEQUELS.
-The levels are decently designed and reasonably long, but like X4, there are hardly any extras to find (however, this IS the first game). Powerups are easy to find for the most part (the dash-boots upgrade IS DIRECTLY IN YOUR PATH). Still, there are more secrets to find here than in any other MM game up to that point.
-Zero and Vile are introduced, but they don't really explain each of them here (Zero would be in X2, and Vile sort of would be in X3). The reason I complain about this is because originally, this was going to be the only game, and it would have been pointless to introduce close characters that wouldn't get a chance to evolve. All things said, I can't really find anything bad about this game. It's a great step up from the old series and has some of the best 2D action gameplay you will ever find on the SNES. Its only slight drawback comes from the fact that the X series is at its concept stage at this point, giving off ideas that will only continue to improve in the next several X games. This game gets 4 stars for good gameplay/sound/story/innovation, all put together into an overall great package. I heartily recommend this game to beginners of the series. Many long-time fans find this to be their all-time favorite X game. While it's certainly not my favorite, it does everything that an oldschool 2D action game should do: deliver pure nostalgic gaming bliss. Besides, isn't that all that MM games need in order to be good? If you haven't played this game yet, either you're too young to care, or you've been living in a hole for the past decade. In which case, go get yourself equipped with Time Stopper, and track down a copy of this game before they all disappear. You won't regret it.
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