Mega Man X (video game)

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Mega Man X, released in 1993 by Capcom, is the first game in the Mega Man X series. The first subseries of the popular Mega Man series, it was made primarily as a stepping stone between the NES and SNES incarnations of the original series (Mega Man games were released on the ailing NES as late as 1994). In Japan, it is titled Rockman X. It was released on the SNES first, then ported to the PC in 1995. The game was remade in 2006 as Mega Man Maverick Hunter X (Irregular Hunter X in Japan), for the PlayStation Portable.

The game was re-released on January 10, 2006 as part of the Mega Man X Collection for the Nintendo GameCube and the PlayStation 2.

Story

The instruction manual for Mega Man X contains "The Journal of Dr. Cain", in which the story leading up to the events depicted in the game is narrated through excerpts of Dr. Cain's personal journal. According to the journal, Dr. Cain, an archaeologist searching in the year 21XX for fossil records relating to Mesozoic plant life, accidentally discovered the ruins of a robotics research facility that had once been operated by the legendary robot designer Dr. Thomas Light. Among the ruins, Dr. Cain found a large capsule which contained a highly advanced robot the likes of which the world had never seen before. This robot, Mega Man X, had human-level intelligence and emotion. Fascinated by the genius of Dr. Light's design, Dr. Cain studied X and Dr. Light's few remaining notes. With X's help, some months later, the first "replicate android" or Reploid (in Japan, Repliroid), a robot who can think, feel, learn, and grow exactly like a human, was made. Within the year, the design had been standardized and Reploids were being mass-produced.

However, with the free will given to a Reploid came the possibility of criminal activity previously unknown to robots; such rogue Reploids were said to have "gone maverick" and were later referred to as Mavericks (in Japan, Irregulars). As the public outcry against the few Maverick incidents became too great to deny, the government stepped in, and under the advice of Dr. Cain, formed an elite military police organization called the Maverick Hunters. The Hunters would capture or disable any Reploids that posed a danger to humans, provide damage control at Maverick uprisings, help with disaster recovery, and perform other tasks as needed.

For the leader of the Maverick Hunters, Dr. Cain designed a very special Reploid, one with a very advanced thought system. This Reploid, thought to be immune to whatever defect of manufacture, design, or social conditioning caused Mavericks, was named Sigma. Sigma headed the Hunters for about three years before the very head of the Maverick Hunters himself became a Maverick, taking the vast majority of the other Hunters with him. Sigma seized control of a small island and drove all human occupants out. Claiming that the humans were "inferior" and that they were limiting the growth and potential of Reploids, he called for his followers to begin a massive extinction effort. It seemed, with only one remaining Hunter able to fight (the mysterious Zero of Unit 17), that all would be lost and human extinction would become inevitable. But X, guilt-ridden at having helped design such a ruthless and warlike race, decided to join forces with Zero and attempt to stop Sigma at any cost.

Characters

Mega Man X

X is heralded as being the first robot to think for himself, as well as having his own feelings and emotions. He was discovered by Dr. Cain in a capsule sealed by Dr. Light to be opened thirty years later after he was encapsulated (although X was in actuality sealed for 100 years). Using X as inspiration, Dr. Cain created a new race of robots called Reploids. Some of these robots turned "maverick" and began to threaten the existence of the human race. X feels it is his duty to protect humans, which serves as the main conflict between the Reploids and the Mavericks.

Zero

While his origins are mysterious, Zero allies with X in his fight to defeat the Mavericks, showing up from time to time to help X out of tough situations.

Dr. Light

As the creator of X, Dr. Light felt it necessary to seal him away until his capabilities and reliability could be confirmed so that he would not harm any humans. Dr. Light appears as a holographic image inside capsules that enhance X's abilities.

Vile

Vile is the top commander of Sigma's Maverick army who does everything he can to crush X's and Zero's efforts to topple the Mavericks. Vile was shut down due to his violent behavior, but was reactivated when Sigma started the rebellion. This recurring enemy shows up twice in his mobile armor suit in order to get the advantage over X, although he is very maneuverable on foot. He is patterned after Boba Fett from Star Wars. In fact, his original Japanese name was Vava, clearly similar to Boba.

Sigma

Sigma plans to start a new civilization of Mavericks without the presence of humans. Because of his intents, he is hunted down relentlessly, but is guarded by his Mavericks to impede the efforts of the Maverick Hunters. Sigma is one of the Reploids Dr. Cain built from information gleaned from X himself. After going Maverick, Sigma has apparently determined that the human race is inferior to Reploids and must either be enslaved or killed.

Gameplay

The Mega Man series has always been an action game that focuses on "run-and-gun" gameplay. The player takes control of Mega Man X ("X" for short), a Maverick Hunter who seeks to stop Sigma's rebellion against humans. After an introductory stage, the player is presented with a stage selection screen that depicts eight Maverick boss characters.

After the player selects a Maverick to battle, X is teleported into the Maverick's base of operations. The player must dodge obstacles, destroy enemies and other hazards, and keep their life bar as high as possible. Defeating a stage and its boss Maverick rewards X with the boss's weapon, which can be used in a rock-paper-scissors fashion to defeat other boss characters. This mechanic is carried over from the Mega Man Classic series; Capcom maintained the tradition throughout the new series, with a few twists. In the X series, completing a stage may affect the environment of other stages, possibly making them easier or more hazardous.

Boss characters (Mavericks)

English name	Japanese name	Stage	Copied weapon	Weakness
Launch Octopus	Launcher Octopuld	Underwater Base	Homing Torpedo	Rolling Shield
Chill Penguin	Icy Penguigo	Arctic Field	Shotgun Ice	Fire Wave
Spark Mandrill	Spark Mandriller	Power Plant	Electric Spark	Shotgun Ice
Storm Eagle	Storm Eagleed	Airport 2000	Storm Tornado	Chameleon Sting
Flame Mammoth	Burnin' Noumander	Maverick Factory	Fire Wave	Storm Tornado
Armored Armadillo	Armor Armarge	Quarry Mines	Rolling Shield	Electric Spark
Boomer Kuwanger	Boomer Kuwanger	Telecommunication Tower Base	Boomerang Cutter	Homing Torpedo
Sting Chameleon	Sting Chameleao	Forest Area	Chameleon Sting	Boomerang Cutter

The IBM PC version

After the Super Nintendo version was released in 1993, Capcom had the game ported to the IBM PC in 1995. The port was worked on by a group called Rozner Labs, who had also ported Super Street Fighter II to the PC in 1994, as well as creating the original computer version of Mega Man 3 in 1992. The PC version, however, was different from its Super NES counterpart, and is rather frowned upon by many X fans. Many of the differences include, but are not limited to:

• There are no available Ride Armors for the player, but enemies that had them in the original still used them.
• The player can save the game in this version but can no longer input passwords.
• The PC version uses MIDI renditions of the original tunes, but the sound quality is less effective.
• Some enemies were removed from the PC version, and Maverick boss characters can sustain more damage from the player.
• A few bugs that weren't in the SNES version exist in the PC version, such as being unable to jump higher in the water.
• Zero never gives the player the X-Buster upgrade in this version.
• There are no continues for the player to use.

Mega Man Maverick Hunter X Remake

Mega Man Maverick Hunter X (or Irregular Hunter X in Japan) is an enhanced remake of Capcom's 1993 franchise debut of Mega Man X.

Major differences

The differences between the original title and this version include:

• 3D graphics
• A reworked script and backstory.
• VAs for the characters.
• An anime OVA titled, "The Day of Sigma".
• Anime FMV sequences.
• The ability to play as Vile, which includes over 40 new weapons, new music, slightly adjusted stage layouts, and re-worked enemy placement.
• Changed location of upgrade capsules.
• Rearranged areas and bosses in some stages, most notably a certain boss fight in Sigma's Fortress.
• A one level demo of Mega Man Powered Up is also included in this game, containing Cut Man's level. (Also Fire Man's level can be obtained through game sharing.)
• Some boss characters have been redesigned. Some have minor touch-ups such as Chill Penguin, while others like Launch Octopus and Sting Chameleon have been redesigned. They also have more defined personalities and motivations to fight and support the Maverick cause, which gives more background story.
• Boomer Kuwanger renamed to Boomerang Kuwanger in the English version.
• The arm upgrade that Zero gives you is now different from the Dr. Light one, unlike the SNES version in which it was exactly the same.

Most features remain the same, however, including the secret Hadouken attack. As such, the above features may be considered by some to be nonessential to the game, and as such may have been implemented only as fanservice. This is the main reason why they believe the game shouldn't be regarded as a remake in the true meaning of the term. Others argue otherwise, as the game can also be construed to be an attempt to clean up and redefine the canon since a number of contradictions don't really allow the game to sit in the same timeline as the original versions of the X games.

While it is possible that the plot changes were only done to make the game interesting for old players again, and to add to the meager narrative of the original, there is no way to yet determine the intent of Capcom as an X2 for PSP has not yet been announced.

Changes

• Dr. Cain is on life supporters in MHX, while he appears healthy in the original.
• Dr. Cain is presumed dead after a missile attack set up by Sigma. Although he is shown fading in white, and it is highly probable that he did not survive (especially in his current condition), it can still be somewhat debatable. This means his appearances in X2 and X3 may be nonexistent; and he may be replaced by a new leader if there is ever a sequel. This also brings out Mega Man Xtreme. Dr. Cain was in the first game, and it was referenced in Mega Man X6, so it is part of the mainstream titles. It seems very unlikely that the Mega Man Xtreme series will be remade. If X6 gets remade, then retconned with any references taken away, it may not be considered to count. For now, it's truly impossible to find out what exactly happened to Dr. Cain.
• X is shown to be talking to his creator Dr. Light in the past, while he was being constructed, though his memories of these events are vague at best. He barely recognizes the name of Dr. Light as somebody he should know. In the original, X did not have any memories of his creation and did not know Dr. Light was his creator until after he discovers an enhancement capsule.
• Dr. Light's reason for sealing X is different as well: In the original, Dr. Light sealed X in order to guarantee that X would not break the First Law of Robotics. However, in MHX, Dr. Light worries that humanity might not be ready for X, and seals him so that X would wake up to a world more ready for his arrival.
• Sigma's scar is inflicted upon him when X uses a "Shining Finger"-esque attack upon his face. This contradicts a cutscene in X4, where marks are similarly inflicted on his face by a rampaging Maverick Zero. However, X4's cutscene can be debatable as well, as Sigma's behavior immediately after the fight implied that he immediately began to feel the effects of the Maverick Virus, which is impossible at that point.
• Navigators are introduced into MHX, much like X5 and onward, although the only navigator that speaks to X is simply named "Navigator". Unlike X5 and onward, you don't see the Navigator frequently in MHX.
• The only Reploids to have become Mavericks are Sigma, the 8 Bosses, and several minor Reploids. In the original, it was implied that all or most Reploids had become Mavericks, including the Reploids in the Maverick Hunter base. Only X and Zero were not affected by the virus by means explained later in the series, making them a 2-man army against everyone else.
• Vile's supposed role in the original as Sigma's loyal subject is now gone, and it's shown that Vile acts on his own agenda. He wants to essentially "change the world" and is portrayed to be extremely jealous of X and his accomplishments. He is now very openly against both Sigma and Maverick Hunter alike.
• Vile's scenario is not normally considered canon, as it shows him defeating the eight Bosses himself and then dying from a wound he got when X fired a Charge Shot with Zero not having sacrificed himself (though in this interpretation of the plot, the Charge Shot could have gone through Vile and onto Zero, much like X feared earlier). He also does not consistently use the Ride Armor, his trademark vehicle, as the Ride Armors he uses throughout the game are purely a gameplay implement. (Although it is likely that the opening scene in Vile's story did in fact happen, Sigma releases Vile and tells him he needs his help to take advantage of X's potential.)
• Vile's Ride Armor is no longer invulnerable to X's attacks. This means that he is actually quite easy to defeat while in his Ride Armor. However, Zero's sacrifice isn't rendered pointless as Vile has already managed to ambush and capture X in the claw of his Ride Armor.
• The Arm Part Zero gives X is now different from Dr. Light's capsule. The charge shot is now a red colored version of X's regular charged shot that does more damage than Light's version. This may be in part due to the Light version being powered down somewhat.
• Sigma went Maverick on his own in the OVA, The Day of Sigma, without the influence of the Maverick Virus. It is unknown if he was ever infected, or if the Virus even exists in the new continuity. After he found out that X's worrying may show potential, he decided that the full potential of Reploids are to be brought out.
• Sigma's dying words that the Age of Reploids would not be over are not in the remake, he simply says nothing as he is blown up. He also does not appear after the credits like the original.
• The Hadouken attack seems to have been brought into at least semi-canon from an inside joke. Instead of a joke speech from Dr. Light, an explanation that X has a soul very close to human is given with the belief that X may be able to learn this very human ki-based attack.
• In the original game, Vile makes no effort to get Zero off of his ride armor when he jumps onto it; in Maverick Hunter X, he shakes the armor violently in a attempt to throw Zero off.
• In the original game, Vile defeats Zero and places him in a cage; in the remake, Vile simply leaves Zero's body on the ground, apparently as bait for X.
• Vile has a picture of what looks like wings on his head in this game ,but, in the original one Vile has Sigma's symbol on his head where the wings are in Mavrick Hunter X.

Trivia

It is the first Mega Man game to receive a rating higher than E by the ESRB, receiving an E¹⁰ rating. This doesn't apply to games where Mega Man has appeared in, such as Marvel VS Capcom, with a Teen rating.

External links

• [Mega Man Maverick Hunter X GameFAQs entry]
• [Trailers and FMVs at Gametrailers.com]
• [GameFAQs entry for Mega Man X]

 

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