PlayStation 2

Mega Man X Collection

So, if you've been a Mega Man fan since the '80s, or if you're a young tyke who's just starting to realize the grandeur that is Mega Man, you really can't go wrong picking this one up, especially considering that it's budget-priced. And, with what look to be some really sweet Mega Man games on the horizon for the PSP, this is a great way to reawaken that old Mega-mania. It'll certainly beat the pants off that Crash Bandicoot-dementia you had last week.

This collection has all the masochistic fan needs, even if the lack of genuinely interesting extras doesn't offer everything you want. Don't be scared away by the difficulty - up-and-coming gamers should consider these a rite of passage.

I learned two things while playing Mega Man X Collection. First, I still totally rock at hunting Mavericks with either X or Zero. Second, nobody can port an old franchise to new hardware like Capcom. On either PS2 or ‘Cube, this is literally a perfect translation of the first six Mega Man X titles (and Mega Man Battle & Chase, which nobody cares about).

Mega Man's plot is simple: You play a futuristic robotic bounty hunter who travels through different worlds to defeat renegade fellow machines. Part of the fun is discovering the Achilles heel of each boss by experimenting with various weapons obtained from other felled bosses. The stages are long, challenging, and cleverly peppered with hidden areas and additional enhancements.

When Capcom released the Mega Man Anniversary Collection in mid-2004, it became quite a hit. It seems that fans had been waiting for a compilation of the Blue Bomber's classic games for some time, and were rather grateful when Capcom finally got around to releasing one. Of course, people weren't satisfied with just one collection. Everyone had barely gotten past Anniversary Collection's first loading screen before they were asking, "When is the Mega Man X collection coming out?"

There are really only two groups of people who need to pick this title up. If you’re a die-hard Mega Man X fan who is missing a game or two, or if you’ve always wanted to try the series out but the lack of availability of the games has always put you off. If you love robots and enjoy a good challenge, Mega Man X Collection is for you.

The Mega Man X series takes place in the future where there is a huge battle between the Maverick Hunters, a group of heroic robots who like humans, and Mavericks who hate humans and wish for their extermination. This evil group is lead by a malicious robot Sigma. Like I mentioned earlier, the series was slightly edgier and darker in tone, and has a very anime feel about it. Even though this is the case, deep down this is a Mega Man game tried and true, as players will have the ability to select and go through various stages to defeat crazy boss robots, talking their unique powers and using them for your own personal use.

Mega Man X Collection isn't nearly the resounding success that Capcom's first Mega Man compilation was, but it's far from a failure. Any fan of the Mega Man X series that doesn't already own all these games in some form or another ought to give this collection a try; it does a fine job of chronicling the series' ups and downs, and provides a good measure of extra content to back it up. Certainly, the package would have benefited from more in the way of unlockable content--especially since there are really only two truly great games on this comp, and the rest merely range from solid to mediocre. But as it is, X Collection will please the series' longtime fans, and serves as a good primer for those who never had the opportunity to check out these games back in the day.

As far as retrogaming compilations go, Mega Man X Collection is what you call a mixed bag. In some ways, it's completely excellent; in others, it's hardly wonderful. Fortunately, Capcom's done more good than bad here -- for starters, they've sorted out the issues that plagued 2004's Mega Man Anniversary Collection. The sometimes-janky port quality has been polished up, for starters, making MMXC one of the most solid and faithful compilations to date.

The office fell in love with Atomic Planet's great Mega Man Anniversary Collection a few years back and we've been hoping to get an X compilation to follow it up for quite some time now. Needless to say, our wish has at last been fulfilled and now that Mega Man X Collection has finally been released, our retro library feels a little more complete... though to be honest, the set isn't as impressive as the last one.

The X series debuted in the early 90's on the SNES with a darker, more mature feel designed to expand on the tried and true formula of the original NES titles. The main difference lies in the progressive, overarching plot dealing with human/reploid (fancy word for robot) conflict and some very grown-up ideas about this self-proclaimed 'race' of androids seeking freedom and realizing their dream of a robotopia. That's pretty intense for a side-scroller.

The Mega Man X Collection is a respectable compilation of the blue bomber's other adventures, though it pales a bit in comparison to the Anniversary Collection released a couple of years back. With only seven games to that title's 10, it's strange that Capcom didn't add some more value to this product. Remixed music, and perhaps the inclusion of Mega Man Soccer--another lost gem of the series--would have upped the ante just enough to make this a must-buy for old-school gamers everywhere. As it is, only hardcore Mega Man fans really need to check out X Collection. And even then, it'll be just as much a reminder of how the series has suffered as it will be a joyful trip down memory lane.