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I'll Say It: Mega Man X Is Better Than Regular Ol' Rockman
I miss Mega Man X. We were going through some of our old favorites around the office yesterday for OMG SUPER SEKRIT GI PROJECT, and Bryan brought up Mega Man X4. Cue twenty minutes of reminiscing about the awesomeness of X4, the relative merits of X and Zero, and lamenting the best-forgotten turds X6 and X7. I've got a copy of X8 at home that I should load up for some up-rezzing courtesy of my PS3...just as soon as I finish FF XII (I'm in Balfonheim just past the 40-hour mark, so it should be soon).
Yes, I think I'm going to play X8 again before Uncharted 2. You got a problem with that?
Anyway, from the perspective of a guy who owns original boxed copies of every single game in the MMX (and MM Zero and MM ZX, for that matter) series, no current titles scratch that itch.
In the hands of an accomplished player, X and Zero fly around the screen as fast as any blast processing-enhanced rodent. The mobility granted by the combination of dashes, jumps, and wall-slides is utterly unmatched. For one thing, it's amusing on a basic level to be able to haul ass like this. More importantly, though, it allows a lot of creativity in how you approach a tricky stage or boss fight. X's toolbox is much more diverse than Rockman's, and in the context of gameplay as simple as a 2D action/platformer, that counts for a lot.
Furthermore, I'm sorry, but X's weapons crap all over Rockman's (Metal Blades, of course, excepted). Even the basic charged X-Buster takes care of more business than just about anything Rockman has. The special armor that X gets access to later on dramatically changes the gameplay, granting new mobility powers as well as improved combat capabilities like better Buster shots or less power drain from special weapons. Oh, and one final thing: Plasma sword. The Shadow Armor in X6 (which turns X into a ninja, more or less) almost makes up for that game's terrible other aspects.
Capcom, please make more MMX games as XBLA/PSN/WiiWare titles. I will love you forever. And you don't even have to do silly NES emulation things like in MM9; we'll forgive you if the games look modern and awesome.
Also: Plasma sword. Speaking of, LucasArts should make a MMX-inspired Jedi 2D sidescroller...how awesome would that be? Nah, how about more Ahsoka instead? Good call, geniuses.
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