Ranking the Mega Man X Series – Which Games Should You Play in the Legacy Collection?

Mega Man X

If anything can be said about the Mega Man X series, it’s that its early games found ways to inject new excitement into a tired formula. When the series first came out in 1993, Mega Man had used up all of his Energy Tanks by that point, exhausted by annual releases with very few improvements in between. Something had to give, and that something was a new face for the franchise.

Mega Man X took the bright, colorful world of Mega Man and made it darker, more in tune with the generation it was released into. With an angry, angsty setting, Mega Man was able to compete with the booming attitude of Sonic the Hedgehog and the rough and tough image of the SEGA Genesis. And it worked too! Mega Man X’s tells a much more interesting overall narrative than “OH NO, Dr. Wily is at it again!”

We have the first game to thank for this. Mega Man X took the video game world by storm and is still the overall “best” in the series. The game contains some of the most exciting Mavericks, Mega Man X’s version of the Robot Masters. Storm Eagle, Spark Mandrill, Flame Mammoth, Chill Penguin… so many classics. More importantly, its levels are also a bit smarter than what its compatriots have to offer. Tight jumps, easy to navigate, simple in their design, and yet, deep enough to open new routes for those who want to explore.

That introduction stage alone sets a tone for the game that never lets up. Blazing music, giant hornets, collapsing roadways, speeding cars, and the introduction of Vile. If ever there was a perfect introductory level, Mega Man X’s is it.

Mega Man X also introduced power-ups to Mega Man’s suit that not only changed how he looked but also how the mechanics behind him changed ever so slightly to make the series more exciting. His dash move set a new standard for power platformers approached brief spurts of speed, seen even today in games like Celeste, and powering up special weapons also provided a shocking twist for longtime fans.

To this day, it almost stands alone. Only one other game in the series can compete.

Mega Man X4

Again, in 1997, the series needed a makeover in the face of the PlayStation, and Capcom delivered. Mega Man X4 doesn’t stray too far from the series’ formula, but with the addition of CD technology and the PlayStation’s superior hardware, this game’s effects, explosions, soundtracks, and animations all provided the overhaul Mega Man X needed to keep it from becoming stale like the original series.

Mega Man X4 provides excellent platforming stages with memorable Mavericks waiting at the end of each of them: Magma Dragoon, Frost Walrus, and Volt Stingray leading the pack. Like Mega Man X, its levels don’t go overboard on exploration, finding a balance between the thrills of simplicity and dabbling off the normal path a little bit.

Most importantly, Mega Man X4 is memorable for essentially providing two separate games. At the very beginning, a choice between X and Zero sends players down two separate paths and styles of gameplay. Do you take a traditional route with X and collect projectile weapons of defeated foes, or do you explore the expansive move-set of Zero?

Naturally, you go with Zero every time, but still, X is pretty cool.

Mega Man X4 also comes loaded with easter eggs, hidden suits, and abilities, and those sweet anime cutscenes… like this classic.

Article source: https://www.technobuffalo.com/2018/09/02/ranking-the-mega-man-x-series/