Mega Man X8

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Mega Man X8 is the eighth game in the Mega Man X video game series. After fan complaints over Mega Man X7's foray into 3-D, Capcom went back to 2-D linear progression through stages, although there are two 3-D rail-shooter stages in the game. Also, an unlockable demo of X8 was featured in the PlayStation 2 version of Mega Man X Command Mission.

Story

X, Axl, and Zero are sent on a mission near the Jakob Tower to investigate a unique crab-like reploid. They manage to defeat it, but are then interrupted by a hail of missiles from Vile, who has apparently been resurrected from his earlier defeat in Mega Man X3. Vile has kidnapped the Jakob Tower project leader, Lumine, for unknown reasons and it becomes the Maverick Hunters' mission to rescue him.

However, what the Hunters do not know is that Sigma has returned once again, this time with his most ambitious plot yet. In Mega Man X7, it was revealed that Axl is the first of his kind, a prototype next-generation Reploid that has the ability to copy other reploids' DNA via a copy chip. In addition, they have subroutines built in to prevent them from going Maverick. In X8, these next-generation robots have begun rolling off the assembly line to work on the Jakob project as they can copy strong bodies to withstand great pressures, presumably at lower cost than building the stronger reploid itself.

Sigma's plan is simple. Contained on every single copy chip in these robots is Sigma's very own DNA, meaning that the next-generation 'Maverick Proof' reploids are in fact able to go Maverick at will. He seeks to scorch the Earth to remove the "old generation" and repopulate it with his "children," a much more efficient method of world domination than his previous attempts. What he did not count on was Lumine. When Sigma is inevitably defeated in his palace, Lumine walks in to take the entire operation over and kill the Maverick Hunters (it can be assumed he would have eventually tried this sans Maverick Hunters anyway). After a massive struggle, Lumine is defeated. When Axl walks up to Lumine's empty shell of a body, however, he is shocked as a tentacle springs from it and damages the crystal on his head.

In Axl's specific ending, this crystal can be seen glowing. When he gains his White Armor, Axl bears more than a little resemblance to Lumine, opening up major questions for a potential sequel.

Characters

Maverick Hunters

• Axl

Axl returns in X8 with his abilities heavily modified. He can now store enemy DNA for use later, can aim while firing (but he cannot move), and gets a new gun with infinite weapon ammo every time a boss is defeated. Many of the Mavericks mock Axl, making note of the fact that he is a prototype new-generation reploid.

• Mega Man X

X plays much like his previous incarnations, though with the introduction of shielded enemies, only his secondary buster charge will break through them. Unlike his sharp character deviation in X7, X seems to have much more resolve for fighting when it needs to be done.

• Zero

Zero's character has taken a cocky turn in X8. His rationale for fighting is simply because it has to be done. He also gains the ability to use different weapons besides his beam saber - fans, knuckles, a Naginata, and a hammer among others.

• Alia

Alia continues the role she's had since Mega Man X5 as X's Navigator. She assists the player in navigating the best route to take in an level. She has X's style as a playable character.

• Layer

A Navigator introduced in this game. She's in love with Zero, but he is apparently oblivious to this. Her expertise is in boss strategy, and can give the player hints as to how to defeat them. She has Zero's style as a playable character.

• Pallette

A Navigator introduced in this game. She knows about a stage's secret capsules and rare metal locations. She has Axl's style as a playable character.

Notable Mavericks

• Lumine

Leader of the new-generation Reploids that are building the Jakob space elevator, Lumine gets kidnapped by Vile in the initial mission and is unseen again unless the player is on Normal or Hard difficulty. In this case, Lumine steps out from the shadows, finishes Sigma off from where the player left him, and reveals his intent to rule in Sigma's place. Lumine loses the first skirmish and then changes into a Seraphim-like form. After a certain amount of time this form will cocoon, and if the player is unsuccessful in defeating the coocoon in a short period of time, Lumine will use his ultimate attack "Paradise Lost" and the player will instantly die.

• Sigma

Sigma makes his tenth appearance in the X series as the leader of eight reploids guarding key points for the successful building of the Jakob tower. The player is made to think he/she is fighting Sigma in his Mega Man X body after the traditional secondary boss fights, but this turns out to be a next-generation robot posing as the Maverick leader. Sigma is found later on the Moon where the player fights and defeats him. Given the actions of Lumine and the lack of traditional Reploids on the Moon to infect with his Virus, it seems very unlikely that Sigma will return in any future installment (chronologically) of the X series.

• Vile

Vile (Vava in the Japanese version), who was first seen in the first MMX game and has not been seen since X3, returns in X8 in Sigma's employ (and as fanservice). His character serves as little more than a lackey this time around. He will fight you as a miniboss in some stages, as the main boss at the top of Jakob, and once more (with his ride armor this time) at Sigma's Palace. His fighting style is very reminiscent of his appearances in previous X games.

Gameplay

Mega Man X8 is a traditional platformer. X, Axl, and Zero have character-specific attributes to assist them in navigating the terrain and defeating enemies:

*Axl has the ability to fire his gun in any direction, glide horizontally for short distances, and stick in place on a wall as long as he is firing. He also has a 'copy shot' which allows him to assimilate the DNA of certain enemy reploids and take their forms for a short time.

*X has the most reliable and strongest shot in the game. When armor capsules from Dr. Light are found, he can equip the armor parts received to heighten his abilities. Such upgrades include the ability to "shadow dash" straight through enemies, fire a continuous laser for a charged shot, and even take damage without flinching at all.

*Zero is a mêlée fighter and as such does not have a long range shot. He uses many different weapons that will increase/decrease his range and power and can even use Sigma's blade upon purchasing it in a clear file. He is also the only character that can double-jump (jump, then jump again in midair).

Maverick bosses

English name	Japanese name	Form	Stage	Copied weapon	Learned technique	Special arms	Weakness
Optic Sunflower	Optic Sunfloward	Sunflower	Troia Base	Shining Ray	Tenshouha	Ray Gun	Green Spinner/Youdantotsu/Blast Launcher
Gravity Antonion	Gravitate Ant-Onion	Ant	Primrose	Squeeze Bomb	Juuhazan, Ganzanha (K), Dairettsui (T)	Spiral Magnum	Shadow Runner/Rasetsusen/Black Arrow
Dark Mantis	Darkneid Kamakil	Praying mantis	Pitch Black	Shadow Runner	Rasetsuken, Senpuukyaku (K)	Black Arrow	Shining Ray/Tenshouha/Ray Gun
Gigabolt Man-O-War	Gigabolt Dokragen	Jellyfish	Dynasty	Thunder Dancer	Raikousen, Raijinken (K)	Plasma Gun	Crystal Wall/Rekkyoudan/Bound Blaster
Burn Rooster	Burn Kokekokker	Rooster	Inferno (Drop Dead in the Japanese version)	Melt Creeper	Enkoujin, Enkoukyaku (K)	Flame Burner	Drift Diamond/Hyouryuushou/Ice Gatling
Avalanche Yeti	Ice-Snow Yetinger	Yeti	Central White	Drift Diamond	Hyouryuushou, Shouryuuken (K)	Ice Gatling	Thunder Dancer/Raikousen/Plasma Gun
Earthrock Trilobyte	Earthrock Torirovich	Mole bug	Metal Valley	Crystal Wall	Rekkyoudan, Zekkyoudan (B)	Bound Blaster	Squeeze Bomb/Juuhazan/Spiral Magnum
Bamboo Pandamonium	Bamboo Pandemonium	Panda	Booster Forest	Green Spinner	Youdantotsu, Renyoudan (D)	Blast Launcher	Melt Creeper/Enkoujin/Flame Burner

Upgrades

In X8, X obtains a new armor called the Neutral Armor when he finds his first armor capsule. The parts can be changed to X's liking.

• Icarus Armor - The Neutral Armor with all four I-Parts attached. The Icarus Armor possesses the Giga Crash used by the Glide Armor.
• *Boots-I - Allow X to jump higher.
• *Helmet-I - X is protected by an energy field when he jumps, but only on the way up; the field also damages enemies.
• *Armor-I - X isn't knocked back when he takes damage, and all the health he loses turns red, making it possible to recover it; however, the Recovery Gauge also drains faster.
• *X-Buster-I - X's fourth-level charge shot is a powerful laser beam. The lower-level shots also take on the next level's ability (i.e. firing without charging produces a first-level charge shot). X can also charge special weapons.

• Hermes Armor - The Neutral Armor with all four H-Parts attached. The Hermes Armor possesses the X-Drive, which temporarily increases the armor's powers.
• *Boots-H - X can run faster and can use the Shadow Dash, during which he turns invisible and cannot be harmed.
• *Helmet-H - X can charge his weapons faster.
• *Armor-H - X becomes invulnerable to weak enemy attacks.
• *X-Buster-H - X's fourth level X-Buster shot becomes a three-way (or five-way when the X-Drive is activated) spread shot, and X can also charge special weapons.

Trivia

• Cut Man makes an appearance in a hidden fight near the end of Optic Sunflower's stage. Accessing it requires having a save on the memory card, or by entering a special button password on the title screen (Left, Circle, Up, Triangle, Down, X, Right, Square, L1, R1, L2, R2). The PC version has a different way of accessing him: You'll have to instead earn top ranks in the level scenarios. He appears in his sprite form from the original Mega Man 1 with unaltered music. The only changes are that sound effects are a bit updated, the room is now viewed at a slightly different angle as to not be so flat, Cut Man can throw his Rolling Cutter higher to reach walls and ceiling where your character might be, and Cut Man himself displays a very Paper Mario-esque effect when turning around.

• Capcom has stated, prior to its release, that X8 marks the end of Sigma.

• The game includes biblical references, including the stage Noah's Park (Noah's Ark), the orbital elevator of the Jakob Project (Jacob's Ladder), and Lumine's ultimate attack, Paradise Lost, which is also a poem that deals with the fall of Lucifer in Christianity. Interestingly enough, Lumine desired to destroy mankind along with non-new-generation reploids.

• Mega Man X not only has many Gundam references, but also Canadian C-list voice actor Mark Gatha (English dub for G Gundam's Domon Kasshu) playing the role of X.

• Gigavolt Man-O-War's stage is the only Maverick stage in the Mega Man X series to not contain any hidden areas or items.

• Many fans consider the text that appears in the opening cutscene, "Paradise Lost", to be the game's subtitle, although it is never officially acknowledged. There is no official explanation for the text. However, this shares the name of a critically-acclaimed literary piece named Paradise Lost (1667) by John Milton. Mega Man X8's and Paradise Lost's stories share some parallels. "Paradise Lost" is also the name of one of Lumine's attacks.

• Mega Man X8 marks the first time that Japan didn't get the game first. The game was first released in the United States (December 7, 2004), then in Europe (February 11, 2005), and then finally in Japan (March 10, 2005). Between the U.S. and Japanese releases, a couple of minor additions were added to the Japanese version (one new opening cutscene and Japanese dialogue). The PC version was a slightly different matter; the Japanese PC version coincided with the PS2's (and, notably, had the English version included, complete with voice overs and the "Mega Man" title). Europe had the PC version released a while later, while the US version was released exclusively as a part of GameSpot's "digital purchase" program on March 8, 2006 [link].

• The Jakob Orbital Elevator is very similar in concept to the one that can be seen in the anime (2001).

Notes

The Opening Theme music of Rockman X8 is called "WILD FANG" by Janne Da Arc.

The voice-overs were done by Ocean Group, a Canadian based voice-over studio who did work on various anime films and movies, namely Dragon Ball Z [1996-1998 Dub] and Inuyasha. They were considered mediocre by professional game reviewers ^{[link] [link]}, but were very well-received and appreciated by many fans, considering the poorly done voice-overs of Mega Man X4 and Mega Man X7.

External links

• [Official homepage]
• [Speed Demos Archive] - Speedruns

 

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