The boys are back in town, one last time.

Mega Man X 8 could not exist without the front flip into the dirt that was Mega Man X 7. X8 feels in every way like what X7 should have been. I don’t want to say that it was an apology for X7, but the amount of things they got right here is like they’re overcompensating.

The most important lesson learned from X7 is keeping it 2D. I don’t necessarily think that Mega Man X NEEDS to be a strictly 2D game series, but the way X7 botched it means they weren’t ready for it yet. With X8, they played it safe and stuck with what they knew and for whatever that’s worth, it’s a better game for it.

The biggest reason for this is there is no targeting system to accommodate three dimensional play. You shoot right in front of you, simple as that. This gives Axl, a character I loathed to play as in X7, a more interesting playstyle. To set him apart from X, his weapons have analogue aiming. Due to his stop-and-pop combat and lack of heavy damage, I still don’t find him to be nearly as viable or fun as X or Zero. I find that stop-and-pop style to be pretty antithetical to Mega Man as a whole but hey, he’s got something besides “X but way worse” so I’m happy for him I guess. He’s still a Scrappy Doo ass character though.

X is as reliable and fun to play as ever, and his new Neutral Armor brings back the toyetic nature of the X series in full force. The Neutral Armor is a blank slate (looks pretty cool too, I like the “collar” that comes up high enough to cover his mouth) that you can mix and match parts from the attack-focused Icarus set (the red one) and the mobility-focused Hermes set (the blue one). The customizability of the Neutral Armor is one of my favorite things about this game. The gunpla-ness of the X Armors has reached its endgame, you can literally kitbash the Neutral Armor into something that fits your playstyle. This is of course made pointless by the secret Ultimate Armor having the best of both armors, but if you’re not using a code, you can’t get that armor without beating the game first.

To round up the cast of playable characters, X8’s treatment of Zero is proof of the Mega Man X’s series’ head over heels love for that guy. It’s not misplaced love, he’s a cool guy. This is also the best Zero has been handled in any of the Mega Man X games. Every skill you learn from a boss is naturally incorporated into his moveset, and it isn’t something like adding an air dash or a double jump (Zero starts the game with those things). They sat down and looked at Zero’s kit and asked what could be added to it, rather than taken away and given back. Furthermore, nothing feels clumsily added either, like taking one of X’s weapons and just giving it to Zero. He’s always been a solid character to play as, but X8 gives us the most polished Zero in any game he shows up in. Except maybe Marvel vs. Capcom 3…

Anyways

The toy box nature of Mega Man X does not stop with X’s kitbash armor, no. Not by a long shot. Zero gets himself a whole arsenal of weapons to play with. From a hammer to battle fans, each weapon has a signature move tied to one of the boss skills. The brass knuckles turning most of the skills into a Street Fighter move is very fun and I like it. But the D Glaive. Oh, the D Glaive. What a weapon. Named from the Hindu goddess of motherhood and war, the Durga Glaive is Zero’s best non-New Game+ weapon for its sheer range alone. This weapon turns Zero into a long range fighter. Spamming the jump slash is enough to take out entire rooms of enemies. There are certain parts of the game where optimal play is needed to get a reward and the D Glaive is the tool for the job. Its so satisfying to swing this thing around. It’s too good. I’m glad the D Glaive is there because the hammer is kinda dumb.

The weapons and armor are just a fraction of things to find in the levels of this game, there is a buffet of upgrades and goodies to get your hands on and then buy in the in-game shop. You’ll be backtracking, you’ll be resetting because you missed something, you’ll be farming for cash at Earthrock Trilobite's level. It’s maybe an artificial extension on the game, but it’s a good enough game that I’ll take any excuse to spend more time with it. Doing Avalanche Yeti’s stage more than once is pretty stupid though! It’s not a great level!

To save yourself a bit of time, I recommend getting the D Glaive from Dark Mantis’ stage as soon as you can (you’ll need to beat Gigavolt Man-O-War first, another not great level) and then clear Optic Sunflower’s stage as best as you can to get the Metal Generator for a steady flow of cash as you go through the game.

Alright I’ve waited long enough, I’ve said enough good things about this game. It’s time for my biggest gripe about Mega Man X 8.

I don’t like the visual style. Everyone looks weird. Axl comes out relatively unscathed but good lord X and Zero look extruded and maligned. The classic bell-bottom boots that Mega Man founded are gone. X’s buster is too busy, he has gray on his boots where it wasn’t needed. The “ear” parts of his helmet have the letter “X” incorporated into it, a design move I really don’t agree with. He looks more cylindrical, I hate it. And Zero? Oh, the massacred my boy. You look at him for a second and everything looks fine, but then he turns around and his beautiful flowing hair has been reduced to a thin dangling rat tail. What where they thinking???

It should be said though that this game is solid enough to make me forget about my misgivings with the visual style. The game is rendered well, I just wish there was a mod that made the boys look more Classic.

Speaking of the boys, I think it’s nice that you can eventually play as the girls, your navigators that have been yapping in your ear the whole game. Layer is very good and I like her and it’s insane that they got away with her body-stocking-underboob design.

I have beaten Mega Man X 8 three times and 100%ed it at least one of those times. I thoroughly enjoyed latest playthrough, though I’m willing to admit that was because I had just come off of Mega Man X 7. I’m also willing to admit that X8 has enough merit to be enjoyable without having to put yourself through torture beforehand.

I recommend Mega Man X 8. Take your time with it, because lord knows we won’t get another one any time soon.