What makes a video game sequel unnecessary to exist? Video games are no strangers when it comes to sequels, and the sole reason these follow-ups exist is to capitalize on a popular game, but it can also be a way to expand on these previously-told stories or create new ones in this expanded universe they want to envision. Sequels can range in quality, but they garner attention and that's why they're so common in different mediums, but sometimes, stories come to an end with the intent of the producer moving on from a project to another. But with a major franchise such as Mega Man in the hands of a big corporation such as Capcom, they can greenlight more sequels on a particular franchise going against the creator's intentions, and this was the case with Mega Man X6. Releasing a year after X5 and a year after the release of the PlayStation 2, X6 was solely made just to continue with the series and obviously money; and after experiencing X6 myself, yeah, this does feel like it was made in a year. This was where the X series started to dip in quality as the game was criticized for its sloppy level design and its newly implemented system, and while I agree with these opinions, I didn't have an awful experience compared to most, and I'll touch upon why that is.

The gameplay is more of the same as previously, are you surprised? Added to X's arsenal is Zero's Z-Saber; it has its own designated button and can be used to slice down enemies and blocks that are in your way. It took some getting used to when having both the X-Buster and Z-Saber in X's hands, but once I did, the more I started to love the hybrid as there are some instances where the saber can be more effective to slash down than just primarily shooting, and that was genuinely the most fun I had with the game. Let's move on to the Armor Upgrades as we got two new sets in X's collection. The Blade Armor is nothing special except for its noteworthy mechanic the Mach Dash; when holding the jump button for like five seconds, X will perform a quick air dash that covers a lot of distance. The last new armor set is the Shadow Armor. When equipped, X can walk and wall climbs on spikes, his normal shot fires shurikens randomly at three different angles, and his charge shot produces a powerful Z-Saber slash, but he cannot air dash and is unable to use special weapons. This is a better version of the Gaea Armor in X5 and is easily the best armor set in the game, but similar to X5, you cannot equip them unless you got the whole set, which again, is kind of dumb. The Falcon Armor returns from X5 but the rocket move has been nerfed to a one-second invincible air dash, which is kind of a bummer, but it's understandable why they did this. Now if you're playing this game for the first time, stick to the Falcon Armor until you obtain the armor sets, because armorless X sucks dick in this game, and it feels as though the levels were designed around the armor sets more than just simply tweak them for all playable version of X. It is possible to beat the game without them, but you'll be suffering through hoards of enemies and death spikes that you cannot see on the bottom of your feet. Zero plays the same as before, meaning he's still fun to play, so I don't need to explain his move set again.

Let's move on to the sole reason why people hate Mega Man X6 so much, the stages. Now outside of a few areas such as the insta-kill ice blocks in Blizzard Wolfang's stage or the circular mini-bosses in Blaze Heatnix's stage, I didn't find the Maverick stages to be that bad. I think they're kind of fun if you're someone like me who plays Mega Man X games carelessly, progressively moving forward while taking damage. The second reason why people hate some of these stages is the aggressively annoying task of saving the Reploid hostages. X6 expands upon the Reploid system by containing every Maverick stage with injured Reploids with a total of 128 to collect. Some of these Reploids give you nothing, but some carry parts, so it's more of a requirement to rescue them in order to obtain them. Here's the catch however; there is a common enemy in the game called Nightmare Viruses, and you have to destroy them because if you don't destroy them in time when they're near a Reploid, they'll brainwash them into a Maverick and you have no choice but to destroy them, and when that happens, that hostage you failed to save is permanently gone, and so does the specific parts some of them carry. Your only choice into rescuing them all without failure is by resetting the game and reloading your save. Now I've failed to save like 10 hostages, and I think most of the spots weren't too bad, but locking you out of an important piece that is useful for upgrading your abilities is terrible game design and should never be allowed in a video game.

The problem I have with the stages themselves is that they're not consistent when it comes to difficulty. Mega Man X6 is cited as the hardest game in the series but not for good reasons as I've touched upon earlier. While the stages have their moments, the Mavericks themselves are piss easy, and some can be easily shot down in less than ten seconds (well except for Infinity Mijinion). The first half I was competent in persevering without much issue outside cheap deaths here and there, but the second half takes everything about good level design and chucks it out of the window. Gate's stages have got to be one of the worst final levels in all of Mega Man, and I only played most of the mainline classic series and about half of its subsequent sub-series. It feels like a test of requirements than a test of skill. Let me explain what I mean by this. Gate Stage 1 has you plummet down to the laboratory and the first thing you see when you hit the ground is a wall of spikes. You cannot wall jump or else instant death, so the two options available are using Ice Burst and using the Blade Armor to air dash or utilizing the Shadow Armor to climb up the wall of spikes, and this depends if you have these armor sets. And this was with X because Zero can get through this efficiently with his double jump as X6 was never designed well with those two Maverick Hunters in mind. Gate Stage 2 is the worst level in the game, bar none, as it culminates into one big shitshow. There are totem poles you have to defeat to progress with moving vertical platforms and blue orb-like enemies that are a bitch to kill, and the nicknamed "impossible jump" if you're using the Shaow Armor as X. There is a trick to get across by sliding down the wall as close to the bottom as possible and dash off the wall and release the charge shot and then use the Giga Attack while you're charging up, and after the animation is over, release your second charge shot to reach the platform. I for the life of me cannot pull this off without bumping X's head into the ceiling, so I gave up on it; not to mention, this stage is split into two parts, meaning if you decide to quit and equip another armor set like the Blade Armor as I did, you have to defeat High Max again and then make your way to Gate. This section of the level for X is abysmal as this is a stark contrast to playing as Zero as he has a much easier section compared to what pisspoor design X received. Gate himself is a jerkish boss to this already jerkish stage. He'll follow you around and then eventually send out moderate-sized orbs that vary in color and abilities that you have to shoot or swing with your sword by getting one of the six shots to hit Gate himself. This fight was hell as you have bottomless pits to worry about, and the battle drags on forever and can release his orbs and destroys the platforms whenever he feels like it. After finally defeating him, my response to all of the suffering was, "fuck this dude, and fuck this stage." The final stage shouldn't be stressful to take care of as it consists of the traditional boss rush we all know at this point, and then defeat Sigma, who was honestly a pushover this time around. The second half felt like whiplash, and I was happy to be done with the game. If you want to learn the "Leap of Faith," check out this YouTube Short here.

https://youtube.com/shorts/xC3V_WnhWAs?feature=share

Before I wrap things up, here are my favorite songs to come out of X6's soundtrack. Blizzard Wolfang's Stage exemplifies the theme of an icicle cavern extremely well as this is my favorite when it comes to Mega Man ice themes. Metal Shark Player's Stage nails the theme of an industrial factory the game was trying to go for. I love the futuristic but sort of creepy vibe in Ground Scaravich's stage as I teleport through randomly-generated sections and destroy the totem poles that are blocking my path. As much as I loathe this fight, Gate's theme is my favorite song to come out of Mega Man X6, and it's a good thing that it's great because you'll be hearing it through dozens of loops. Naoto Tanaka was the sole composer of the game's soundtrack and he previously worked on X5's soundtrack as well, and I think X6 was his best work when it comes to composing Mega Man music, and this soundtrack alone was the best thing to come out of this game.

Mega Man X6 was a mess from start to finish. While I enjoyed the soundtrack and its consistent gameplay, its difficulty was inconsistent with pisspoor level design and fundamentally flawed ideas that aggravate the player like the Nightmare system and the perma-death for the Reploid hostages. It felt like it was made fast and cheap, and it was made fast and cheap. While I think it's a bit overhated, it's my least favorite game in the PS1 trilogy and I wouldn't call this a guilty pleasure game as much as I wanted to. This is a sequel that shouldn't have been made.