If there was any platform game I've been following for pretty much it's entire existence, it's been the Mega Man series. Sure, it's pretty much the same deal over and over again, but something about it makes it that much more addicting. Capcom stepped the intensity up a couple more notches with the Mega Man X series for the Super NES, showing a much more mature side of Mega Man we hadn't seen before. Each sequel made the story line a bit thicker, incorporating more characters into the mix of the war between Mega Man X and the Mavericks, lead by the ever-venomous Sigma. With the departure of the Super NES, Capcom took the X series to the next stage with Mega Man X4 on the Sega Saturn and, a short while later, the Sony PS1, and this was easily the best X game of the series up to this point. Everything centers around a new rivalry between the Maverick Hunters and a group known as Repliforce, a plan for both which goes horribly awry. So it's up to either X or Zero to save the day. This is the first game to mark the ability to play as Zero, now wielding a new powerful saber (you can choose to play as him from the get-go for the entire game and bypass all the ridiculous choosing screen between the choosing screens in X5-8). Both X and Zero have their own personal storyline, though this series tends to lean a bit more towards Zero's (which is starting to grow on me; I'm sure, sadly, more people would be interested in Zero's side of things, having seen X's for three games). They both possess differing attacks and strategies (X's X-Buster and armors versus Zero's Z-Saber and various slash attacks), intertwining characters relevant to their stories, and a good deal of action in between. I even think X's effeminate voice fits much better than in Mega Man 8! (it's much better than his Japanese-boy-in-puberty moaning in X6 and whiny punk voice in X7). Plus, the use of anime-style cut-scenes gave the game a sleeker, more personal look; anyone can slap together a cut-scene in the game, but the animation gave it a stronger sense of drama. This was the best game to date until, three years later, Capcom continued to release more sequels to the series, much to my surprise and delight, to varying degrees of success; either a hollow shell of it's former glory (Mega Man X5), a rush job to appeal to the marketing of it's predecessor (Mega Man X6), or a debacle into 3D that sorta went wrong (Mega Man X7); though I say these things, I do enjoy those three titles very much. It's just that they were lacking quite a bit and had much to live up for after X4. Thankfully, Capcom once again got the recipe right and released Mega Man X8, which was easily the best since this game in question. If you haven't picked up or played this game, you are truly missing out and should be urged to check it out!
