Spoiler Level: Medium (specific mechanical and level spoilers, basic story spoilers)
CW: very minor swearing.

I played on a SNES with a CRT, got most of the upgrades, and died countless times. I also logged my opinions during play.

Mega Man X is a game I wish I’d gotten to sooner. It’s radical, and totally emblematic of what made the series a mainstay for three generations of consoles and then some. The level design is tight and crunchy, with varied platforming and tricky enemies. Likewise, the bosses pack a real punch, and the whole experience is rounded out with a healthy dose of exploration and hidden goodies.

Let’s talk about those levels. They take the form of linear gauntlets with occasional short branching paths, and they also keep their length in-check, avoiding excessive scope which might have deterred players when they inevitably run out of lives. There is some impressive variety here, with each level feeling distinct in both theme and form. Some are open and airy, others tight and claustrophobic, and all feature distinct set pieces and varied environments, with my personal highlight being the mech suit sections. Some levels also experience marked shifts after completing certain criteria, enhancing revisits and replays: Spark Mandrill’s stage experiences a power failure, gaining flickering lights and losing some electricity traps, while Flame Mammoth’s conveyor belts grind to a halt.

These linear gauntlets are peppered with enemies that tightly follow the classic model of introduction, development, and culmination. Difficulty scaling is organic, with levels selecting a reasonable subset of enemies and evolving their usage via clever placement and context rather than excessive variety or changing behavior. This empowers the player, benefitting observation more effectively than would be possible with more varied enemy types. Broadly, the roster of enemies is exceptional, and all are a joy to learn and defeat. Each stage is also capped off by a Robot Maverick fight which holistically tests the player’s accumulated skill.

Mega Man X thrives on progression. X transitions from a slow underdog to a lightning-fast cannon, capable of reducing enemies to mere dust without breaking a sweat. Character progression is intelligently left mostly optional, benefitting observant players and synthetic challenge runs alike. Optional upgrades include Reserve Tanks, stat upgrades, and core moveset extensions, with most requiring clever spatial reasoning or critical thinking; even plainly visible abilities, such as the dash, can be intentionally skipped. This leverages player expression brilliantly - the choice of order in which levels are tackled and the varying quantity of found upgrades inject variety into every playthrough. The mandatory upgrades are even more diverse while remaining mercifully ignorable, still permitting synthetic challenge runs. Each Robot Maverick that X defeats grants him a unique weapon, and they’re all good - my favorites are the Storm Tornado and the Homing Torpedo.

The game’s progression, level design, and enemy design all come to a zenith with the final gauntlet: Sigma’s Fortress. As it follows the standard levels, it is free to provide a sharp upward difficulty curve. Enemies and stage layouts are mixed in diabolical new ways, requiring exacting precision from the player. However, this is a Mega Man game, and the Maverick weapons come into their own here, each excelling in particular use cases and allowing the player to substitute some amount of precision for planning. It’s excellent. This extends to the new bosses, which punctuate each stage of Sigma’s Fortress with a hefty challenge.

Then, the player reaches the final boss, and it all goes to shit. Sigma presents a gargantuan difficulty spike that nearly breaks the game in two. A novice player will die. A novice player will die repeatedly. A novice player will die ad nauseam. It truly cannot be understated, and countless players have undoubtedly given up right before the finish line. Buckle up, because it’s time for the long haul.

The first phase is very reasonable. It will take a few tries to learn, but can be cleared quickly without taking damage. The second phase, however, is not so kind. Sigma’s movement is erratic, and his attacks are incredibly difficult to dodge. However, with enough perseverance, this too can be conquered, only for the final phase to toss the player from the frying pan into the fire.

It cannot be understated how unprecedented this is, but it gets worse. While the player is graced with effectively infinite lives and Reserve Tanks by way of the enemies directly preceding the fight, this grinding takes an excessive amount of time, and, more importantly, an excessive amount of wall jumps. This final boss caused me physical pain - the design really is that needlessly hostile. Additionally, a player may wish to comb the standard levels for additional upgrades, but this is a trap. For whatever reason, this resets the player’s progress through Sigma’s Fortress!* However, with enough tries, a determined player will defeat Sigma and finish the game.

As for the rest of the game - the nitty-gritty - Mega Man X is good. The music is passable but I wouldn’t go back to listen to any of it. Some levels contain annoying sections, such as the submarines in Launch Octopus’ stage, but they are ultimately minor. The slide could have been polished further, letting the player simply hold the button to achieve full air speed. Floating platforms could be less janky. Ultimately, however, these complaints are minor, and the game still shines brightly, despite the absurdity of the final boss fight.

So, can I recommend this game? Absolutely. Mega Man X remains thrilling to this very day.


*This may have been caused by a password load between sessions, but it is still utterly goofy.