If you are reading this blog than you have probably been playing Mega Man games for most of your life. The series has been part of the fabric of gamer's childhoods since the first game debuted in 1986. I still remember seeing a picture of that lantern fish from MM2 in the old Sears Catalogue and dying to play the game. It's one of the ten games that had the most impact on me as a kid. Mega Man is still fairly popular these days, and it seems that they've always been able to keep updating it enough so that kids still connect with the character. It's one of those game series that seems proud of the fact that kids play the games as well as adults. That's why I find Mega Man X4 so interesting. This is one of the darkest platform games I have ever played, but somehow it still feels like a regular Mega Man game. They didn't go 90s extreme or give the characters gritty makeovers. Instead they found the darkness hiding just under the surface.
(How could it be so serious? It's got this goofy looking guy)
On the surface everything seems normal. It's the first X game to come
out on Playstation, so of course it is better looking than the earlier
games. Actually, it's one of the best looking PS1 games out there. The
developers wisely stuck with the 2D perspective. so instead of a bunch
of ugly polygons we get stylish anime cutscenes. They are still a
pleasure to look at even after all these years. The voice acting is bad
in the typical late 90s fashion. All the bad guys sound bored and tired
while the good guys are way too energetic at all times. It would be a
while before voice acting found its goldilocks zone.
On the surface everything seems normal. It's the first X game to come out on Playstation, so of course it is better looking than the earlier games. Actually, it's one of the best looking PS1 games out there. The developers wisely stuck with the 2D perspective. so instead of a bunch of ugly polygons we get stylish anime cutscenes. They are still a pleasure to look at even after all these years. The voice acting is bad in the typical late 90s fashion. All the bad guys sound bored and tired while the good guys are way too energetic at all times. It would be a while before voice acting found its goldilocks zone.
(No platform game is complete without a snow level)
I also greatly enjoyed that level design in this one. I have played through the original Mega Man X and always thought that the levels were uninspired. I feel bad because everyone loves that game so much. In this game every level is something different. There is a timed evil computer level and a high-speed shooter to go along with more classic environments like jungles and snow. The set-up is normal for the series. You fight eight robot bosses, have a couple of interludes, and the move on to the endgame. It is very fun, but very typical. It could be a cozy sweater of a game if not for the dark storyline.
(I love the stairs even though it had been done before)
In this one everyone is sad and confused. Sigma, the series' main antagonist, is able to get different robot factions fighting against each other while X and Zero try their best to figure out what's going on. The conclusion is that everything is a mess and they will probably have to turn evil at some point. This time around many of the bosses are old friends of the heroes and are either misguided or believing that they are doing the right thing. This makes killing them carry more gravity than it usually does. In most of the games the robot bosses are simply evil and don't have any other motivations. This game uses the fog of war to make everyone more sympathetic. Friends will betray friends with only the big boss Sigma seeming to actually be evil. It all leads up to a couple of downer endings for X and Zero. Expect more fear and disillusionment than celebrating. It really took me by surprise.
I am not overly familiar with the X series in general, but I know that this one gave me an experience that I wasn't really prepared for. It was cartoonish game safe for kids which also brought up big philosophical questions. It's an anti-war game that also features robots on motorcycles. It is a formulaic game that also poses a great amount of challenge. The levels have to be learned, and some of the bosses are brutal. X and Zero are both playable characters, and neither one of them make it very easy. I probably fought the final boss 30 or 40 times total. The victory left me feeling satisfied, but the questions posed afterword made me wonder if all this fighting meant anything. I don't often feel so confused at the end of a game, and this is why it's one of the great ones on Playstation. It's also still affordable. Some of the earlier X games go for hundreds of dollars. This one can usually be tracked down for less than 30. It is a winner no matter how you look at it.
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