Mega Man X1-X8 Reviews

I know this is a bit of a strange order, but with the classic and Zero series done, I wanted to finally tackle the Mega Man X series. I've only ever played the first one, which I did really like, but otherwise I'm going into this series fairly blind. I'm excited to see how I end up enjoying them:

Mega Man X: As someone who got into video games during the Gamecube/DS/Wii era, I don't really tend to look a lot of those "untouchable classics" with the same kind of reverence that so many others do. Ocarina Of Time is my least favorite 3D Zelda, I think Super Metroid is great but its controls make it hard to go back to, and I find Super Mario Bros 3's difficulty curve is way too all over for the place. Hell, even in this very series, Mega Man 2 is in the lower echelon of Mega Man games for me despite its iconic status. Mega Man X, though? That game holds up incredibly well. It is still a fantastic action-platformer. It's still one of the best games on the SNES. And it's still one of the best Mega Man games ever made. 

Being the first 16-bit entry of the series, Mega Man X wanted to establish itself as a newer generation of Mega Man, and thus made a lot of really cool changes from the original formula. X can still jump, shoot, and even do a very well-balanced charge shot, but now, he's able to wall-jump. It's a nice addition to the moveset that controls very well and allows for more verticality in stages. X can also get upgrades to his armor, hidden away in a bunch of the stages, and some of these upgrades add even more depth to the gameplay. For example, one upgrade can let X charge all of his boss weapons, a very great addition that gives each weapon a slightly bigger moveset and makes the boss rush a bit more interesting depending on how soon you get the upgrade. But the best one of the bunch is the Leg Upgrade, which lets X do a dash move. I love a good dash, it lets X traverse stages faster, quickly dodge out of danger, and you can even chain it with a wall jump to leap off of walls. That last move, however, is a bit clunky to use here. In later games and the Zero series, you can hold the dash button and wall jump, but here, you need to press dash and jump at the same time which just doesn't feel as intuitive. Outside of that minor gripe, though, X's control is incredibly fluid and he just feels great to play as.

The level design in Mega Man X is absolutely fantastic, starting with that iconic opening stage. While I've never fully completed MMX prior to now, I have played that opening stage several times and it will always be one of the best tutorials in any game ever. But what no one really seems to talk about is just how much fun the standard Maverick stages are as well. Every level is filled to the brim with memorable setpieces and the way the game constantly tosses out new ideas just leads to absolutely perfect pacing. There's the Ride Armor sequences, the elevator in Boomer Kuwanger's stage, the falling rocks in Sting Chameleon's stage, and best of all, the minecarts in Armored Armadillo's stage. But even more, as much as I loved the classic games, there's not a single one that doesn't have some sort of frustrating BS somewhere in its level design. That's not the case in Mega Man X. Every stage is intuitive while still being challenging and each death felt like my own fault. 

I also just adore the way Mega Man X's stages encourage replaying the game in a variety of ways. I praised Mega Man 7's hidden collectibles, but the way you get some of the collectibles in MMX is really cool, like destroying a boat and having it lead you to a robotic sea-dragon that holds a Heart Tank, destroying a watchtower to get a Sub Tank, frantically trying to wreck a drill before it destroys your path to a Heart Tank, and of course, the crazy sequence of events that nets you a hadouken. Even more, there's the fact that beating a certain stage could impact another stage, that certain upgrades can help you pass certain sections, and that bosses have multiple weaknesses that affect them in different ways, all helping to make you want to replay Mega Man X in different orders to see what you missed. Speaking of which, the bosses are pretty solid too, with each having varied attack patterns that are mostly (except Launch Octopus) fun to dodge. However, just like with its SNES successor Mega Man 7, it's pretty easy to stunlock them. I also really liked the lineup of weapons since every single one of them is useful, but I couldn't help but feel they're a bit less varied than the lineups you'd get from the classic series, they're all just different shot types. Still, that's not inherently a bad thing since this consistency means we don't get any duds like Power Stone, Thunder Wool, or Spark Shock here.

Just like with any classic Mega Man game, the X series also makes sure to have some lengthy endgames where you storm the final boss's (usually Sigma) castle. Sigma's Fortress in this game is pretty good, amping up the challenge even more while still not feeling unfair. I don't think it quite reaches the heights of the best classic Wily Castles in terms of its level design, but between the fantastic story beats, great music and visuals, fun boss fights, and high difficulty, Sigma's Fortress feels really climactic here. In addition, I really like the way Mega Man X does its boss rush. It sprinkles out bosses like in MM1 and MM&Bass but it does so thoughtfully without leaving you without health pickups for too long like in MM1 or stretching out a stage like in MM&Bass. And between the charge upgrade and Hadouken, there's a lot of novelty to being able to refight the bosses. I also found the final boss to be incredibly fun, far beyond pretty much any of Wily fights, with multiple unique fights, a fast pace, and a high difficulty that doesn't end up becoming overwhelming like that infamous Wily Capsule in Mega Man 7.

Outside of the game itself, Mega Man X's presentation is great. The story is simple but incredibly tight and effective, introducing X, Zero, Vile, and Sigma pretty much perfectly. The graphics are clean and detailed, really showcasing how much more the SNES could do than its predecessor. Something that you'll probably find consistent in these reviews is that I adore the art direction and aesthetic of the X series, particularly X1-X6. From the SNES era's gritty original trilogy Star Wars vibes to the PS1 era's more digital Y2K-ish look, I absolutely adore the way these games look regardless of their quality. And of course, that soundtrack is absolutely fantastic, easily one of the best on that console. So yeah, as you can tell by how freaking long this review in particular is, I think Mega Man X is really good. The gameplay improvements over classic Mega Man are game-changers, the level design is not only well-executed but immensely fun, the secrets are creatively-hidden, the replay value is nearly endless, the bosses and weapons are consistently great, the presentation is fantastic, and the pacing and difficulty curve is spot-on all the way from the beginning to its fantastic ending. Even the gripes I have with this game are purely nitpicks, it really does live up to the hype as one of the absolute best games in the series.

5/5 Stars

Mega Man X2: Something being "more of the same" doesn't really bother me if it's more of a good thing. For example, The Force Awakens is a bit of an A New Hope ripoff, but A New Hope is good and so is The Force Awakens, so I don't mind too much. Mega Man X2 may just be more of Mega Man X, but seeing how Mega Man X is an amazing game, X2 is pretty great too. It doesn't change or add too much in terms of gameplay but I generally like what X2 brings to the table. For starters, you can dash from the start which I thought was a fantastic idea. It allowed stages to have much tougher platforming that actively required you to dash. Even more, you can now do a dash wall jump just by holding down the dash button, bringing X2 in line with the Zero games I'm more used to and thus fixing the single control issue I had with the last game. We have some more pretty sick upgrades, like being able to dash in the air and shoot two charge shots at once, and the game introduces a new vehicle called the Ride Chaser that basically serves as a fast speeder X can ride on. Unfortunately, it's pretty underused and only shows up in Overdrive Ostrich's stage, but that'll get fixed in later games. X2's final big addition is the X-Hunters, three bosses who have Zero's body parts that you can track down in stages to get them back. If you don't find them or are unable to, you'll have to fight an evil rebuilt version of Zero right before the final boss, which is a decision I like. You can skip the X-Hunters at the cost of a harder endgame, or you can track them down to make things a bit easier for you. However, my one complaint here is that you don't really get a concrete reward for putting Zero together, like some special weapon or the ability to play as him. The only thing you get is an easier final boss, which is a bit on the disappointing side.

As far as the level design goes, X2 keeps up the variety and creativity from the first game's stages. While I don't think X2's stages are as thoughtfully-crafted as the ones in its predecessor, there's still a lot of cool setpieces here, from the aforementioned Ride Chaser segment, to the changing weather in Wire Sponge's stage, to avoiding spotlights in Magna Centipede's stages, to the lava chase in Flame Stag's stage. Wheel Gator's stage was especially cool, as it takes place on a giant tank bulldozing through a city. There are also just as many secrets as there were in the previous game, and they're all still hidden in some creative ways. This is also a rare Mega Man X game with a zero backtracking route which is a really cool challenge for expert players. Unfortunately, the environmental changes from the first game aren't here anymore which removes a bit of that extra detail, but between the X-Hunters and the zero backtracking route, X2 is still pretty open to replaying it. The bosses, on the other hand, are generally a pretty big improvement over in the previous game. While there are some weak fights, usually involving invincibility frames, the lineup as a whole is way more varied than in X1, with way more attacks, and some even having multiple phases. Morph Moth was the highlight here, starting off as a cocoon only to turn into a butterfly halfway through the fight and gain entirely new attacks. It also helps that their weaknesses, while still effective, don't cripple them as much as in the previous game (except for poor Flame Stag). However, that's also partly because the weapon roster in X2 is a bit weaker. While I like that there's more creativity in the weaponry without them all just being different shot-types, we're now back to the issue where there are some really good weapons (Sonic Slicer, Silk Shot) and some really bad ones as well (Magnet Mine, Crystal Hunter).

The endgame is pretty solid too, with the first two X-Hunter stages in particularly really putting X's dash to good use in some fantastic platforming segments. However, there are a few elements that put the X-Hunter Base a notch below X1's Sigma Fortress, particularly an annoying arrow platform room in the third stage and Magna Centipede's stage being reused for the final stage. Thankfully, the final boss made up for it. While not as hard as X1's finale, the fight with Sigma was still pretty fun if a bit strange graphically, and the fight with Zero was just plain awesome. As far as the presentation goes, it's pretty much the same as in X1. The story isn't as tight but I like the addition of the X-Hunters and the hunt for Zero is a solid hook. The graphics mostly look just as good, though the wireframe Cx4 showcases definitely don't look as ground-breaking as the developers thought they looked at the time. However, the soundtrack is probably my least favorite of the X games. It's not bad, it's catchy and there are plenty of strong tracks, but with short loops and less energetic guitars, it's a bit of a disappointment coming off of the previous game's fantastic score. Overall, X2 is yet another really great entry in the Mega Man X series, even if it doesn't quite reach the high bar of X1. While the weapons are weaker and certain new elements are a bit underused, the level design is still really solid, the secrets are still fun to look for, and the bosses, item routing, and core gameplay are actually improved over the first game. Mega Man X2 is more of a good thing, and I think that makes it a worthy sequel.

4.5/5 Stars

Mega Man X3: Mega Man X3 is a pretty average game. It has a lot of cool ideas, but none of it is really explored as effectively as it should have been. X3 adds a few new additions to the Mega Man X formula, but I'm not really a fan of most of it. For starters, you can finally play as Zero, and the game lets you call him in to play as him whenever you want. However, the execution here is flawed. Zero can't collect items, you can't use him in boss fights, and if you die as Zero, you lose the ability to play as him for the rest of the game, which just feels way too punishing. The novelty of getting to play as Zero in the opening is great, but it wears off pretty quickly. The next big change is how Ride Armors work. Now, most levels have pads where you can call in a Ride Armor to use in the stage, and with several different types of Ride Armors, the game has a bigger emphasis on using them to solve puzzles. Sounds like a great idea, right? I mean, it's basically Kirby Planet Robobot but made in the 90s! Unfortunately, you have to unlock Ride Armors, and since those mechs are needed to get a lot of collectibles, it just complicates the item routing and leaves X3 requiring way more backtracking than the first two games. The final big addition is the Bit, Byte, and Vile system, which essentially replaces the X-Hunters from last game. This time, if you don't beat Bit and Byte with their weaknesses, they'll reappear in the final castle making it harder. As for Vile, if you can find his stage before beating all the mavericks, you get a chance to win Zero's Saber. These are fairly cool ideas, but the game doesn't really explain how it all works and the system as a whole feels convoluted. Similarly, there's also this thing about chips that can augment your upgrades and how holding off on them can earn you a powerful Golden Armor in the castle with all the chips, but that's not explained all that well either. Mega Man X3 has a lot of good ideas, just pretty weak execution on all fronts.

The level design is also a bit mixed compared to the last few games. On one hand, there still weren't really any cheap deaths or enemy placements, so it's not like I actively hated any of the stages, but I generally found most of them to be pretty boring. X3's stages are focused more on combat, so they mainly comprise of hallways with enemies littered on them rather than the crazy setpieces of the last two games. Not to say that there aren't some neat ideas here or there, like the level turning on its side in Crush Crawfish's stage, the falling boulders in Tunnel Rhino's stage, and the awesome escape sequence in Vile's stage, but they're pretty few and far between. The simple layouts of these stages also mean X3 is easily the least difficult game so far, which means the developers felt they had to compensate by making X take ridiculous amounts of damage in the early game. However, what keeps all this from fully dragging down the game is that halfway through the game, something clicked. I realized that Mega Man X3 is less of a platformer and more of a hack-and-slash with guns... basically an early version of the Mega Man Zero games! Simple combat focused level design with an emphasis on maintaining your flow, complex enemy AI that actively tries to dodge your attacks, a difficult early game that makes way for an easier second half, lots of fun vertical wall-jumping segments, that's a Zero game alright. I still think X1 and X2 has leagues better level design but when I focused more on trying to keep up the rhythm of taking out enemy after enemy, I still had a surprisingly good time with most of X3. The bosses are definitely weak though, with many of them being very easy to stun-lock. I did really like the fights with Bit, Byte, and especially Vile though, they're probably some of my favorite fights in the series so far. And would you believe it, I actually like the weapons here! It's still not as consistently strong as X1's lineup but the best weapons are some of the best in the series so far, especially the Triad Thunder.

The endgame was, once again, pretty alright. I really liked the first stage with its many moving platforms, and I shouldn't have to say that it's great that X3 didn't reuse levels here. However, I do once again have a few gripes here. For starters, that snail wall in the second stage is incredibly boring. It's not hard, but it's requires a lot of waiting and messing up means you have to do the whole thing again. Also, I'm not a fan of the final boss. The first phase is just projectile spam, and the second phase deals a lot of damage while also having a small and inconsistent hitbox. It's basically Wily Machine 7 all over again. As for the presentation, it's mostly the same as the last two games. The story is decent if once again not as tight as the last two games', and the spritework is still pretty good. I played the PS1 version which came with some sick cutscenes before every stage, and a much, much better version of the soundtrack. The SNES version of X3 has some uncharacteristically bad music that overuses the same ear-grating MIDI guitars, but the synthy PS1 music is actually really good, even if it's a bit uncanny seeing an SNES game with CD-quality audio. Overall, Mega Man X3 is a bit of a mixed bag. It has a lot of ambition, a surprisingly strong lineup of weapons, and a great sense of combat flow, but most of its new ideas are poorly executed and it's dragged down by some pretty bland levels and weak bosses. It's a perfect middle-of-the-road Mega Man game, not bad in the slightest, but it rarely ever excels at anything.

3/5 Stars

Mega Man X4: Before talking about Mega Man X4 as a game, I wanted to start by addressing the elephant in the room: The voice acting. Something I've noticed about Mega Man as a series is that Capcom really sucks as localizations. Mega Man 8, X4, X7, and ZX Advent all suffered from bad English dubs, and the games that didn't have voice acting still struggled with shoddy translations. And that's not to mention the Guns N Roses names in X5 (which I admittedly kinda like). Look, I enjoy bad voice acting, it's funny! I crack up at "WHAT ARE WE FIGHTING FOOOOOOORRRR?!" every single time. "Dr Wahwee" is just hysterical to me. "BURN TO THE GROUND" is an absolute classic. But it's also hard not to feel bitter that Capcom put so little effort in the dub for X4 specifically because it detracts from what is actually a pretty solid story. While X4's story does have its problems, particularly involving underused characters that you don't get to know much before they die, I think it mostly succeeds in its attempt to be a tragic story about characters with differing ideals having to collide. X and Zero struggling with the possibility that they may turn Maverick after seeing every they think they know turn against them (not to mention Zero being a creation of Dr Wily) is a really compelling conflict, and I like Sigma's role as this manipulative monster who may have been defeated but ended up leaving a lot of destruction in his wake by the end of the game. There's a lot of good elements in X4's story that got watered down or flat-out ruined in the English version, which is a shame because it had the potential to be the best story in the entire X series (albeit still not even close to touching the Zero series). If you're interested, check out the undubbed version of X4, it brings back the Japanese dub, adds subtitles, and retranslates everything, and the story comes across as a lot more clear and well-done as a result.

Part of why I put so much effort into defending X4's story is because, in pretty much every other aspect, this game is amazing! I didn't think you could top X1, but here we are. This is the first Mega Man game for the PS1, and you can tell it was made with the Mega Man 8 engine. The presentation has that same beautiful blend of smoothly-animated sprites and detailed pre-rendered backgrounds, the clean UI is nearly identical in some points, we have FMV cutscenes, and you can even dual-wield X-Buster and weapon just like in that game. And while we're on the subject of the presentation, that soundtrack is absolutely phenomenal, tinged with a sense of melancholy that perfectly fits the game's tone and story. Outside of the engine change, though, Mega Man X4 doesn't actually bring too much new to the table. It mostly just polishes and streamlines the formula to near perfection, removing all of the clutter of X3. You don't have to unlock Ride Armors, theres no ridiculously convoluted item routing, no RNG elements like the X-Hunters or Bit & Byte, and no contrived poorly-explained elements like the chips. Although, I do have to point out that X gets what is hands down his best armor, so between the infinite ammo, Plasma Shot, and Nova Strike, he has never felt this utterly powerful and fun to play. Outside of that, though, the one big change that X4 makes is the ability to play as Zero in his own campaign. And not in a half-baked way like in X3, he has his own sword-combat moveset and instead of gaining weapons, gains entirely new combos to add to his roster of moves. Even as someone who started with the very fluid Mega Man Zero games, Zero controls great in X4, he's fast and fluid, and even has a pretty easy-to-learn exploit called "dash cancel" that adds a bit of extra depth. But best of all, X4 is designed around X and Zero! It doesn't feel like it's built for one character in particular, and both campaigns were fun in their own way. This is exactly what Mega Man & Bass was supposed be, with X4 even having that kind of balancing where levels are harder as X and bosses are harder as Zero. 

With not much in the way of brand new additions, Mega Man X4 truly excels in just how well-designed everything is. The level design is back to being more setpiece-heavy, and it ended up leading to some of the most creative, varied, and unpredictable stages in the whole series. Slash Beast has one of the coolest train levels in any game ever, Storm Owl has a fun airship stage, Jet Stingray's stage is an extended Ride Chaser sequence, Cyber Peacock's stage is built around speedrunning, Split Mushroom's stage is just plain bonkers, and even the more generic biomes like in Frost Walrus's and Web Spider's stages manage to get a lot of unique gimmicks squeezed out of them. While X1's stages are more meticulously designed, X4's stages are still some of the best in the series for their bombast, variety, perfect level of difficulty, and sheer fun factor. The bosses are some of my favorites so far as well, as X4 actually gives them all unique personalities and fighting styles. You can still stun-lock a lot of them as X, but when you're playing as Zero, that's a lot harder to do and you get to really see how engaging these fights are. The weapon roster is pretty solid too, and while none of them are truly anything amazing, I also don't think any of them are all that bad. Every single weapon is pretty useful while also being fun to use, and unlike the many similar shot types in X1, this game's weapons are actually incredibly inventive and unique.

As for the endgame, once again, this is probably the weakest part of X4. This game falls in the Mega Man 3 hole where all of the effort was put into the main stages so the final stages are a bit short and easy. However, the boss fights do a great job at picking up the slack, since you get some of the best fights in the game here. Colonel is a fast-paced and tough rival both times you fight him, Iris's fight may be a bit annoying but it's seeped in tragedy and emotional heft, Double's fight is fun in how ridiculously chaotic and cluttered it is, and the final battle with Sigma is probably my favorite in the whole X series. It's lengthy, climactic, and challenging but also fair, and learning how to dodge all of his attacks felt super rewarding. So even if the stages aren't anything special, X4 still does a good job at ending things on a good note. Overall, while Mega Man X is probably the better game, X4 is my favorite of the bunch. The visuals and gameplay are more slick and fluid than ever, the story is deceptively complex and dark, the soundtrack is beautiful, the levels are all unique and action-packed, the bosses are memorable, the weapon lineup is one of the best in the series, Zero's campaign is a fantastic addition to the formula, and the final boss is great. I love pretty much everything about X4, it's an easy Top 3 contender for my favorite games in all of Mega Man.

5/5 Stars

Mega Man X5: Mega Man X5 was originally intended to be the final entry in the series, and it shows. I think the game's greatest strength is its strong sense of finality, and how utterly and ridiculously bombastic it is, especially in regards to the story. As an originally intended final chapter, X5's story doesn't really work on its own merits like X4's does, but Capcom's willingness to continue upping the ante throughout the game makes it a ton of fun to follow. From the Dr Wily links, to the world-changing Eurasia crash, to the showdown between Zero and X, to the final battle with Sigma, X5's story is big and bold and I adore it. The stakes are super high, and I love the concept of the Mavericks being Hunters forcedly turned Mavericks by Sigma's virus. Seeing Squid Adler turn into a Maverick right in front of you is such a great moment that makes it clear that things got very serious. It also helps that out of the PS1 games, X5 probably fares the best in terms of its localization since there's no voice acting. The translation is probably even worse than in X4 with blatant typos aplenty (though still not bad as the next game), but I do still like the Guns N Roses Maverick names for how lovably ridiculous they are. The soundtrack also helps with that sense of finality, especially in the start and end of the game. Songs like the Title Theme, the Opening Stage themes, Zero Virus 1, X Vs Zero, and the second Sigma theme have such a great sense of gravitas to them, making for one of the more impactful soundtracks in the series even if it's not quite as consistent as X4's. The visuals are a bit more uneven, though. Mega Man X5 uses the same engine as its predecessor so there are definitely elements that look nice, but the new characters aren't quite as well-animated, and the pre-rendered backgrounds just don't blend in as well with X and Zero. It all comes to a head (pun completely intended) with the final boss, as that pre-rendered giant version of Sigma just looks off and sucks some of the tension out of the fight.

So X5 definitely feels like the final entry of the series, but does the gameplay live up to that hype? Eh... not really. I praised X4 for streamlining the formula and getting rid of all of X3's convoluted mechanics but X5 just goes right back in the opposite direction and makes things even more ridiculous. Mega Man X5 stuffs in so many half-baked and ill-conceived ideas that brings down the game as a whole. For example, instead of having two separate campaigns like in X4, you can play any stage as X or Zero. This seems like a nice quality of life feature, but it ends up causing more harm than good. For starters, X or Zero gets an exclusive upgrade depending on who you start with, but Zero's Z-Buster upgrade is so bad that no one would bother starting with him (and hearing his amazing opening music). But then there's the Enigma Cannon. So, X5 has this Majora's Mask system where you have 16 hours to beat all the Mavericks before Eurasia crashes into the Earth, and the more Mavericks you defeat, the greater the chances of stopping that. If Eurasia crashes, Zero goes Maverick and you lose him. Interesting idea, until you realize that even with all the Mavericks defeated, the cannon still doesn't have a 100% fire rate. That's right, this game's ending is entirely down to RNG. This is especially problematic since X and Zero keep whichever upgrades they get, so if you lose Zero, you lose all of those upgrades permanently. This is not good game design no matter how you slice it, and this alone drags X5 down a lot. But there's more, I didn't even mention the parts system that gives you exclusive upgrades for waiting eight days to start taking out Mavericks, Alia's annoying interruptions, Zero getting nerfed thanks to a weapon that cancels out his dash cancel exploit, and the Sigma virus mechanic that literally contributes nothing to the game as a whole. X5 is just a mess of convoluted and confusing mechanics that don't mesh well with each other in the slightest.

After all that, you might think I hate this game, right? Well, not entirely. That first hour or so I spent trying to manipulate the RNG of the Enigma Cannon was absolute torture, but once I actually started to, you know, play the game, I actually had a pretty good time. There's still a lot that this game does right. For example, X5 does introduce some cool new mechanics, like the ability to crouch and hang on ropes. This may not sound ground-breaking but both of these mechanics are utilized pretty well throughout the game, with some boss fights even being built around the crouch. In addition, this is the first game where X can get multiple armors, another really great idea. While I'm not a fan of not being able to equip any upgrades until the whole suit is complete, the idea of picking the best armor for a given situation adds a nice layer of depth. And then there's the item game, which I'm a bit split on. On one hand, the extra upgrade capsules add some extra complexity to the item routing and figuring out the most efficient route here was decently fun. On the other hand, there are some very stupid item placements that pretty much force you to play certain stages multiple times (You have to play Duff McWhalen's stage three times!), so it's not like the route you pick matters, you're going to have to replay most of the stages anyway. Finally, I wanted to praise Dynamo, who's easily my favorite of the "recurring mid-game bosses" in the X series. He's super charismatic, he has a great theme, his fights are fun, and having to fight him in between every few Mavericks was always a pleasant change of pace.

The level design, while not as consistently solid as in X4, is still super varied and at times very fun. Sure, Duff McWhalen's stage is absolutely horrid and Squid Adler's stage makes a bad first impression to say the least, but we also have Izzy Glow's dynamic castle stage, the fun gravity shenanigans of Dark Dizzy's stage, the frantic bomb defusing in The Skiver's stage, the lava waves in Mattrex's stage, and of course, Grizzly Slash's ridiculously fun truck stage, because levels taking place on moving vehicles are always bangers for some reason. I don't make the rules. But then there's the boss fights which are just absolutely fantastic, hands down my favorite lineup in not just the Mega Man X series but probably also the classic games too. Every single fight is unique and memorable, from Duff McWhalen attacking you with ice blocks, to The Skiver fighting you atop a moving plane, to Izzy Glow's slick teleportation. The bosses also don't get as easily stun-locked as in X4, and the ones that do may still have a desperation move to keep you on your toes. The sheer variety and creativity on show for every single one of the bosses made them easily the highlight of my playthrough. The weapon lineup is a bit mediocre, though. It's not a bad roster of weapons and they mostly have their uses, but it's not creative in the slightest and pretty much every single one feels ripped straight from another game. The Dark Hold? That's just the time freeze weapons from MM2 and MM4. Wing Spiral? Basically the Air Shooter. The Tri-Thunder? Literally just the Thunder Beam from MM1, it's even the weakness of a certain boss shared between the games, more on that in just a sec.

Then there's the endgame, which might just the greatest "final castle" in any Mega Man game ever. I keep bringing up how X5 was meant to be the last X game and it especially shows in these last few stages, which feel like they've had the most effort put into it. Stage 1 brings back Quick Man's lasers and a harder version of the Yellow Devil, both infamously tough Mega Man setpieces that I absolutely adored. Stage 2 references the first stage of X1's Sigma Fortress (though thankfully makes it slightly less frustrating) and another fun throwback boss in the harder refight with Rangda Bangda. Stage 3 hides the Ultimate Armors for X and Zero that were previously only cheat codes in X4, and it ends with the iconic fight between X and Zero. It's not a super hard fight but the drama, fast-pace, and fun attack patterns make it yet another one of my favorite bosses in the series, made even better by boasting the best music in the whole franchise. And finally, in Stage 4, there's my favorite boss rush so far. Obviously it helps that I love this game's bosses, but the thrill of seeing bosses get double the health only for you to destroy them with the Ultimate Armor is so much fun. And it all culminates in a pretty solid final battle with Sigma, pre-rendered grossness aside. It may seem like X5's final stages are overly fanservice-y, but I think the nostalgia is used in a uniquely melancholy context. Having played so many Mega Man games this past month or so, going through this final gauntlet allowed me to reflect on and be proud of how much I've managed to accomplish.

Overall, Mega Man X5 is a bit of a mixed bag, but one I ultimately enjoyed in the end. It has a lot of new mechanics, many of which are under-cooked and don't mesh with the Mega Man X formula, and the RNG gimmick is absolutely godawful design in every sense of the word. Add in the at times ugly prerendered visuals, bad translation, flawed item game, and Alia, and I'd totally get if you're just not a fan of X5. But for me, I think this game gets as much right as it does wrong, if not more. The level design is diverse and mostly fun, the story is climactic and has a strong sense of finality, the multiple armors are a great addition, the soundtrack is once again fantastic, the boss fights are some of the best in the entire franchise, and the endgame is pretty much perfect. There's just something about X5's atmosphere too. The dark tone, the nostalgic melancholy, the sheer amount of early 2000s neon green, it just hits different for me. Mega Man X5 is still not one of the best Mega Man X games, but even with its flaws, it's one of those games that I'll probably end up having a real soft spot for as time goes on. Compared to the consistently mediocre X3, Mega Man X5 has higher highs and lower lows, but wow, are those highs soaring.

3.5/5 Stars

Mega Man X6: I've had an odd fascination with Mega Man X6 for a while now. From its haphazard aesthetic, to its rushed production, to the bad translation, to the nightmare gimmicks, to all the horror stories about its difficulty, to its shockingly good soundtrack, this was a game I was oddly looking forward to playing just to see how weird it would get. And I was not disappointed, Mega Man X6 is such a mess of qualities, a genuine improvement and iteration on previous Mega Man X games and also one of the most ineptly designed games I've ever played in my life. It's almost charming in its unevenness and stupidity. A similarly bad and brutally difficult game like Mortal Kombat Mythologies (quite possibly my least favorite game ever) would elicit nothing but pure anger out of me, being screwed over by Mega Man X6's game design feels more like a "Haha! Oh, you..." moment. This is a bad game, down there with Mega Man & Bass as one of the worst of the series by a long shot... but I think it might also be a guilty pleasure for me.

But let's start with some of the things X6 does right, because it does do quite a bit right. Mega Man X6 improves on its predecessor in a lot of ways, either fixing or removing most of its bad mechanics. There's no time limit, no RNG (outside of one stage but we'll get to that), and the bizarre Sigma virus stuff is completely gone. Alia's interruptions are entirely optional, you can choose if you want to talk to her like it should've been the whole time. The item placement is (once again mostly) more sensible and less reliant on getting one of the two armors, so there's more variety to the order you want to do things again. X and Zero share weapons, upgrades and (most of the) parts, and there's no way to lose either of the characters. Even if you wait all game to get Zero, you won't have to do much work for him to catch up. And even more, Zero is back to being worth playing as here because not only is his "dash cancel" back, but it's actually easier to pull off! As a matter of fact, with X now having a Z-Saber and Zero now having an actually good Z-Buster, in addition to the many new combat exploits for the both of them, X6 actually might have some of the best combat in the whole series. Just like with the Zero series, I've seen videos of people pulling off these crazy combos in X6, it's like the Melee of Mega Man X in the way the glitches actively improve the game. You can even bring in the Ultimate Armors via cheat codes and break the game even more, it's wonderful. The two new armors are way better than the ones in X5 too, between the very useful Blade Armor and the fun ninja-esque Shadow Armor. But probably the best change is how parts are tackled. In this game, you get parts by saving certain Reploids, with 16 in a stage, and the higher your rank, the more you can equip. I actually really like this system because not only is it way easier to understand, but the concept of hiding extra perks and upgrades behind collectibles is a neat method of giving X6 more exploration and replayability. Not to mention the fact that each stage has an alternate route that usually leads to a reward or more Reploids, which just helps to give X6 so much freedom.

In terms of its presentation, Mega Man X6 isn't too different from its predecessor. The story obviously isn't as intense as in X5 but it has some intriguing ideas that were once again mangled by a horrific translation. The graphics still look alright and do a good job of capturing a post-apocalyptic atmosphere, but once again, the pre-rendered backgrounds and bosses don't look all that great. And the soundtrack is one of my favorites in the whole franchise, the blend of synth and wailing guitars does a great job at setting a melancholy mood that perfectly fits X6's tone. So yeah, Mega Man X6 has a lot going for it, but the problems start to sink in the moment you pick your first Maverick, likely Commander Yammark. It's smooth sailing at first, but then you see your first Nightmare Virus, and the game immediately plummets in quality. Because while X6 does fix a lot of X5's awful mechanics, it introduces a bunch of bad ideas of its own, some of which are arguably worse. So in Mega Man X6, you increase your rank by collecting Nightmare Orbs which are dropped by the aforementioned viruses. Not a bad idea in theory, a collectible that you get from enemies is something the classic games did really well. However, only the Nightmare Viruses drop these orbs, and they're spammed into every single level even when they don't fit just so that you can get orbs. Even worse, Nightmare Viruses can infect Reploids permanently. That's right, you can lose access to parts and collectibles for the rest of the game. Permanently missable collectibles is awful game design and almost as bad as the RNG. But then there's the Nightmare Effects, where playing a stage will cause other stages to be affected by some sort of gimmick, like dimmed lights or enemies that block your shots. X6's stages are already not the best designed, so these shoehorned-in gimmicks make them nearly unplayable at times. 

Speaking of which, then there are the levels, which range wildly in terms of quality. There are actually a few stages I liked alright, like the Opening Stage, the exploration-driven Rainy Turtloid's stage, and the fairly simple dodging challenges of Blizzard Wolfang. However, the majority of X6's levels are not just brutally difficult, they're just lazy. Blaze Heatnix's stages makes you fight the same mini boss five times in a row. Ground Scaravich's stage doesn't just have RNG rooms, the enemies feel randomly placed as well. And Infinity Mijinion's stage is just a straight line with enemy spam. Even some of the better stages feel lazy, like with Commander Yammark's mantis spam and Shield Sheldon's ridiculously short length (edit: After thinking about it for a bit, I believe this was actually on purpose because Sheldon's stage was meant to invisibly guide players to Nightmare Zero. Not bad, X6). And the endgame stages are filled to the brim with dumb design choices like segments that force you to use a specific armor, blind jumps, and a room where lava rises but the game never indicates that the lava is rising until you get hit. The bosses aren't much better, though, especially coming off of X5's phenomenal lineup. The Mavericks are pitifully easy since we're back to being able to easily stun-lock them, but even Zero is now able to completely rip them to shreds without a second thought. Even Sigma, the final boss, is an absolute wimp here! On the other hand, literally every other boss is absolute torture. High Max and Nightmare Mother are especially bad, with beefy health bars and long periods of invincibility that cause their fights to drag on, and on, and on. The weapons aren't much better, since X6 has one of the most unbalanced lineups in Mega Man history, rivaling the king of unbalanced weapons: Mega Man 2. Yammark Option is the Metal Blade equivalent here, not just the best shield weapon in Mega Man history but probably the best weapon period. It's so good that pretty much every weapon is rendered entirely null outside of boss weaknesses.

I probably should give Mega Man X6 a 1/5. With bad level design, thoughtless enemy placement, incredibly uneven boss difficulty, the awful Nightmare mechanics, odd visual style, and an unbalanced weapon roster, X6 probably deserves it. However, I just can't bring myself to do it. For starters, X6 still does do some stuff right, like the amazing soundtrack and atmosphere, great sense of freedom, collectibles, fun and breakable combat, and the many fixes of X5's issues. And especially compared to the game directly after it, this is still Mega Man X, so the gameplay is still inherently fun. But even with the stuff it fails at, Mega Man X6 fails at it so ineptly that I can't help but find it oddly charming. Ground Scaravich's, Blaze Heatnix's, and Infinity Mijinion's stages are so bad that I find it kinda funny. High Max and Nightmare Mother are such awful bosses that I'm still in disbelief about how they passed testing, if there even was testing to begin with. The bizarre pre-rendered models, the horrendously botched translation, it's all just so entertaining to me. And even with its many flaws, I was engrossed enough to keep pushing through the BS to get all the upgrades, visit most the alternate routes, and even save a large amount of the Reploids. As a comparison, I didn't even bother going for the CDs in Mega Man & Bass! Mega Man X6 is easily one of the worst Mega Man games, but it's also just such a guilty pleasure. It's a mess, but it's my mess.

From a game design perspective: 1/5 Stars

From a personal enjoyment perspective: 5/5 Stars

Overall: 3/5 Stars?

Mega Man X7: I... I couldn't do it. I couldn't bring myself to play even more than thirty minutes of this awful, awful game. I tolerated the BS in MM&B and X6 because, at the very least, the core gameplay was still fun. The characters still had snappy movement and fluid combat that I felt confident controlling it, so even when I got stuck in what seemed like an impossible situation, I knew that I would be able to find my way out of it through skill. This does not apply to Mega Man X7. Mega Man X7 not only has the awful level design, bosses, and weapon roster from X6, but on top of all that, the gameplay isn't fun in the slightest. It's slow, plodding, irritating, and just plain dull. It's easily the worst Mega Man game, and probably one of the worst games I've ever played. Since I haven't played the whole thing, I wanted to mostly structure this particular review as a list of the things that put me off of playing it:

• The characters move so slowly, and even the presence of a dash doesn't help things since you can't build up momentum. It makes it super hard to dodge enemy attacks and frankly just makes the game less fun.
• Newcomer Axl's copy shot is utterly useless. Don't use it.
• They seriously neutered Zero. Not only is he slow but he has no reach and his attacks don't do any damage, X7 completely ruined one of the most fun gameplay styles in the whole series.
• I know this has been said ad infinitum but why isn't X playable at the start? It's a Mega Man X game, not an Axl and Zero game!
• The fixed camera in the 3D sections is absolutely horrid, it's such an awkward angle and the whole top-down perspective just doesn't work for me. 
• Enemies take way too many hits to die, it's actually way easier to just brute force your way through them. In the 3D sections, you can usually even walk around them!
• Even more, apparently Capcom decided to reduce all your damage values in half for the US version. I have no words, this is one of the dumbest design decisions I've ever heard.
• Why do attacks cause your character to stagger and fall? Why is this a mechanic in a Mega Man game?
• The lock-on is so finicky, especially in 3D. I would've actually preferred they just let you shoot manually even with all the depth perception issues.
• The weapons are borderline useless most of the time.
• Reploids don't just die to Nightmare Viruses now, they die to everything! Now they're even more hard to get!
• WHY IS THE RIDE CHASER SO SLOW?!
• The loading screens. Just... the loading screens.
• The voice acting is really bad, even outside of BURN TO THE GROUND. Everyone in the cast slowly enunciates every single word in their lines in the same monotone, it's like this is their first time voice acting.
• The cutscenes aren't much better since the characters are hardly ever animated. They just stand around, not even moving their mouths half of the time.
• Above all, on top of just being a poorly-designed game, Mega Man X7 is just boring. X6's bad elements are so hilariously inept that I find them kinda funny, but X7 just feels so dull. The gameplay isn't inherently frustrating, it's just so slow-paced that I find it boring. And the worst thing a piece of media can be, in my opinion, is boring.

I try to be as open-minded as I can when consuming pretty much any form of media. Even in this series, I praised Mega Man & Bass for its presentation, weapon roster, and the few good levels it did have. And as bad as X6 was, I found a lot to like about it and even called it a guilty pleasure. But Mega Man X7 is a game that felt nearly irredeemable to me, at least outside of the typically strong soundtrack. It's the first Mega Man game that I just couldn't bring myself to finish, it was just that painful. Everything in X7 is just so slow and boring, from the gameplay to the combat to the gimmicks to the line delivery. It amplifies everything that sucked about X6 and removes all of its redeeming factors, and makes for a game that I can confidently say is one of the worst I've ever played.

0/5 Stars

Mega Man X8: I'll be honest, I couldn't really bring myself to finish X8 either, though not for the same reasons as X7. I ended up playing a lot longer than X7, and actually bothered to at the very least try out all the Maverick stages. It's definitely an improvement in a lot of ways and a really solid platformer in its own right... but I just couldn't really get into it like I could pretty much any other Mega Man game. There's something about the direction of the series in X7 and X8 that just doesn't gel with me, so I want to figure out why while also praising X8 for the several things it did right.

So let's start with the positives. Gameplay wise, Mega Man X8 basically feels like a good version of X7 without any of the 3D sections, meaning the entire game is in 2.5D. This is awesome because I love 2.5D games, and we have plenty of twists and turns in the road as well as enemies and bosses that interact with the background. The core gameplay is way faster-paced compared to X7, and I'd actually say these are some of the smoothest controls in the whole X series. X, Zero, and Axl move and attack incredibly quickly, and these shifts allow for a much more fast-paced and frantic game. Best of all, I actually like playing as Axl this time! He has multi-directional aiming, which basically makes him like Bass from the classic series. The Copy Shot still sucks, but otherwise, this is an improvement. The team mechanic from X7 was also improved, since one teammate dying doesn't mean the other does, and you even get a Double Team Attack. X8 also improves on some elements from games prior to X7, particularly regarding Alia. Now, you have three navigators, each with different strengths, and you can even choose to not use any if you find them annoying. The general presentation is also a lot better, with the animations being a bit less janky, the visuals being a lot more polished and detailed, and the game having a very pretty mystical style to it giving X8 an identity. The voice acting is also leagues better, probably the best I've heard in a Mega Man game so far, and apparently, Sigma isn't the final boss here, which is a great twist. The soundtrack is honestly one of the weaker ones in the X series due to being a bit generic, but it still has a lot of great tracks, with Primrose in particular being one of my favorites in the series.

As you can see, in terms of its core gameplay, X8 is fantastic! This game had the groundwork to be one of my favorite entries in the series, but it's not. A big problem I have with X8 is how it deals with items and collectibles and the like. Reploids are gone again, as are the Nightmare Viruses. Now you find Rare Metals hidden in stages that you can use to create parts (now called chips) that you can equip on the characters. However, in addition to all of that, X8 also has these triangle-shaped coins you can collect either by defeating enemies or searching around the stage, and you need to use those to buy the chips. I really like this idea in theory, but in execution, there are a lot of issues. The first issue is the fact that most of the Rare Metals are hidden away just like any other upgrade from the last seven games, meaning a lot of them require that you have the right character with the right ability. This differs from the Reploids in X6 and X7 where most of them are possible to get regardless of who you're playing as and what armor or abilities you have, but that's not the case in X8, meaning you'd have to do a lot of backtracking if you want so much as a fighting chance. (It also doesn't help that unlike in X6, you need to be X if you want to get Armor pieces, making things even more inconvenient). The next issue is the fact that most of the chips cost a lot of money, meaning you'll likely have to backtrack even more and grind for money. It's like the Cyber Elf system in Mega Man Zero all over again. Oh, and speaking of Mega Man Zero, why did they bring back Retry Chips?! 

And then there are the levels, which are as much of a mixed bag as you could get. Mega Man X8 is a very gimmicky game, to the point where there isn't a single normal Maverick stage. We have two Ride Chaser stages, an entire stage based around the clunkier-than-ever Ride Armor, a minigame stage, an auto-scroller, a stealth stage, a puzzle-based stage about flipping gravity, and a level based around a mini boss chasing you (I thought we were over than in X5). And look, I'm all here for variety, and some of X8's stages are decently enjoyable. As a Super Mario Galaxy enjoyer, I'm always down for some good gravity shenanigans so I liked Gravity Antonion's stage. Some of Optic Sunflower's minigames were pretty cool too, especially that Cut Man easter egg. And I actually thought Avalanche Yeti had one of the more fun Ride Chaser segments in the series. However, these gimmicks were very hit-or-miss and it really drags down the game since we have this incredibly strong gameplay core that just isn't utilized as well as it should've been. Metal Valley was a drag, I hated controlling the Ride Armor here compared to the normal cast, and auto-scrollers and stealth stages always suck. And from what I've played, the bosses and weapons aren't all that great either, leaning more on the forgettable side.

So why did I quit X8? I think it's just because I didn't enjoy a lot of the stages, and since X8 encourages you to do a lot of backtracking and grinding, I felt less and less interested in finishing it. The game has incredibly strong gameplay, lots of great quality of life improvements, and a solid presentation, but the shop system, level design, and item game just drags it down from being one of my favorites. I also just don't think it helps that Mega Man X7 and X8 feel so disconnected from the rest of the series, not just because of Axl but because of how the entire overarching story has changed. I don't want to be the type of person who claims the X series overstayed its welcome and should've ended with X5 or X6, but I feel like at the very least, Capcom maybe should've pulled a ZX and started a whole new saga. It's a lot easier to think of X1-X6 as the Mega Man X games and X7 & X8 as the, I don't know, "Mega Man Axl" games? It sucks that I'm once again ending a Mega Man series on a bum note, so I want to restate that I loved the first six Mega Man X games, maybe even more than the classic series! I guess it's just that X7 and X8 really aren't my speed.

2.5/5 Stars

Here's my final ranking:

1. Mega Man X4
2. Mega Man X
3. Mega Man X6's personal enjoyment rating
4. Mega Man X2
5. Mega Man X5
6. Mega Man X6
7. Mega Man X3
8. Mega Man X8
9. Mega Man X6's quality rating
10. Mega Man X7

And now that I'm done with the Mega Man playthrough, here's my Top 10 entries in the series, with an honorable mention going to my guilty pleasure, X6:

1. Mega Man Zero 4
2. Mega Man X4
3. Mega Man Zero 3
4. Mega Man 3
5. Mega Man X
6. Mega Man 7
7. Mega Man 9
8. Mega Man X2
9. Mega Man 5
10. Mega Man 8

If you want to see how I'd rank all of the games, here's a tier list of sorts:

• S Tier: MM3, X1, X4, Zero 3, and Zero 4
• A Tier: MM7, MM9, MM5, and X2
• B Tier: MM6, MM8, X5, Zero 2, ZX, and ZX Advent
• C Tier: MM4, MM10, X3, X6, and Zero
• D Tier: MM1, MM2, and X8
• F Tier: MM&B, X7

Underrated/Overlooked Games In My Favorite Series

Whether they followed up beloved titles, didn't come out at the right time or on the right console, or... let's face it... released on a handheld, some games just don't get the reception or recognition that I feel they deserved. So, here's my chance at talking about the games I feel are either underrated and overlooked, as well as why they aren't as well-liked or well-known as I think they should be.

Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins: Have you ever felt like most 2D Mario games felt a bit stale in their environments and level gimmicks, with the same grass desert, water, ice, forest, mountain, sky, and lava worlds in roughly the same order? Well, Super Mario Land 2 is the game for you, easily one of the most inventive and impeccably-designed Mario games in the series. Don't let the fact that it's a Game Boy game fool you, SML2 is filled with creative setpieces like entering a giant robotic Mario, going to space via giant bubble, shrinking and platforming across a giant house, and traveling through a Halloween-themed world of pumpkins. Not to mention an open world hub that lets you play the worlds in any order you want, modify the environment, and unlock hidden bonus stages. There's creative bosses, new items, minigames that actually give the coins a practical usage, a great soundtrack by Totaka, and a brutal final level that makes for one of the most memorable in the series. People do not talk about this game enough and it's a damn shame, it's easily one of the best experiences you can get on the Game Boy.

Why Isn't It More Well-Liked: Handheld games really don't get the respect they deserve a lot of the time and Super Mario Land 2 is a huge example of that. Pretty much everyone who has played SML2 really likes it, and I know for a fact that if it had released on SNES, it would be held up as one of the greatest video games of all time.

Mario Party 8: I was so close to picking Mario Party 4 as my underrated Mario Party game, but I frankly have more of a love-hate relationship with it. It has its great elements and it's a game I frequently come back to, but my goodness is it flawed. Mario Party 8, on the other hand, is a game that unabashedly love despite generally being considered to be one of the weaker entries in the series. Because sure, the motion controls do not work great and it does drag down the minigame lineup quite a bit, but what Mario Party 8 nails probably better than any other Mario Party game are the boards. Just in the prior two installments, each board boasts a unique gimmick, but unlike in 6 and 7, every single board is fun in its own way, doing something creative and new or improving on prior board gimmicks. King Boo's Haunted Hallway might be the best board for tag battle to date, Shy Guy's Perplex Express is hands down the strongest linear board in the series, Bowser's Warped Express turns the awful star stealing boards from 6 and 7 into a fun game of Uno, and Koopa's Tycoon Town improves on Windmillville's coin concept and became my favorite board in the series. I also do think there are plenty of standouts as far as the minigames are concerned (Grabby Gridiron, King Of The Thrill, Sick And Twisted), as well as games that use the motion controls in very creative and fun ways (Spector Inspector, Rotation Station, Breakneck Building, Speedy Graffiti, Thrash And Crash). The game has a cool and cohesive carnival theme, a whole bunch of solid extra content, and one of the best character rosters in the series. For me, that's all I'd want from a Mario Party game.

Why Isn't It More Well-Liked: There are two big reasons here. First, there's the motion controls, which frankly don't work the best all of the time in this case. I totally understand if that puts you off Mario Party 8 entirely. The other reason is that the series was just oversaturated at the time. We already had four Mario Party games release for Gamecube in the past few years and now we're getting two more games (8 and DS) on the same year?! It was only until the series started to decrease in quality once NDCube took the helm when people started to look back on this era of Mario Party more fondly. 

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team: Dream Team's definitely gotten a bit of a resurgence in popularity as of late, but man, I remember when this game first came out to a very divisive reception. The abundance of tutorials, the change in art style, the crushing length were particularly noteworthy issues, and Dream Team was generally considered to be the weakest game so far. While I do agree with these problems, I don't think they're nearly as bad as people make them out to be, and the things Dream Team does do right makes for my second favorite entry in the series. Pillo Island is a super cool location with a variety of fun environments, and I'd actually say the 2D sections in the Dream World are more fun than the similar 2D sections in Bowser's Inside Story due to the abilities Luigi can do. Speaking of Luigi, Dream Team's story gives the guy a full-on character arc and it's fantastic. No other Mario game outside of maybe Galaxy fleshes out a character this much, it's almost a full on character study! While one could criticize the new 3D artstyle for lacking the charm of the previous games, it does allow for some of the most vertical and fun-to-explore environments in the series. And then there's the battle system, which is hands down the series' best! Pulling off attacks and dodging your enemies' attacks have turned into full-on minigames, and it leads to a fantastically varied lineup of bosses. And of course, I can't talk about Dream Team without bringing up its amazing soundtrack, probably Yoko Shimomura's greatest work, which is saying something given that she's my favorite video game composer. Dream Team has its issues, but they're so miniscule in the scope of what this game does right. BiS is my favorite for its story, pacing, and Fawful, but Dream Team is a very close second for me. 

Why Isn't It More Well-Liked: As I said, the tutorials, length, and shift from 2D sprites to 3D sprites are probably the biggest complaints of Dream Team from what I've heard. It probably also didn't help that this game followed the widely beloved Bowser's Inside Story.

Paper Mario And The Origami King: In a series that's essentially split in half between two entirely different types of games, I'm the rare type that likes all of the Paper Mario games (yes, even Sticker Star). I like the original trilogy for their mechanical depth, darker plots, and creative character designs and environments. I also like the recent three entries for their exploration, humor, and paper aesthetic. But Origami King stands out as my favorite in the series. It may not be a true RPG, but by merging many of the aspects that I love about the Paper Mario franchise, it turned out to be one hell of a fantastic adventure game. Between the ridiculous amount of collectibles, connected world unlike the prior two games, and plenty of very fun and memorable environments (Shogun Studios and Snif City being the highlights), exploration is better than ever. While the character designs still aren't super original, the characters themselves are more fleshed out than ever before, leading to a story that combines Color Splash's humor with a strong emotional core that made for some really heartbreaking and impactful story beats, definitely the darkest story in a Mario game since Super Paper Mario. The presentation is phenomenal, as not only are the papercraft environments downright stunning but the soundtrack is an absolute beast. And hell, I even like the ring-based battle system! It's not super complex but it's snappy and engaging, especially during the surprisingly tough boss fights. Paper Mario And The Origami King is that rare game that, despite its roughly 30-hour length, had pretty much no rough points. I enjoyed this game the whole way through, and that really speaks to how good it is.

Why Isn't It More Well-Liked: Well, for starters, it's not a full-on RPG like the first two Paper Mario games, and the supposed character mandates didn't help (though I think Intelligent Systems did a good job of skirting around it). Origami King did win more people over to the modern Paper Mario games, but there are still many who just wish the series would be like how it used to be, and that's perfectly valid.

Donkey Kong Country 3: Double Trouble: The SNES Donkey Kong Country games are so close in quality for me that it's hard to say which one's the best, though it feels a bit sad to see people almost immediately discount DKC3 as the worst of the three. Look, I get it, I hate Kiddy Kong too, but I actually think DKC3 might be my favorite of the SNES games. DKC1 is a very well-paced series of platforming challenges, but it's on the simple side. DKC2 is also fantastic with the best music and atmosphere by far, but it swings a bit into the opposite direction of being too gimmicky for me. DKC3, on the other hand, strikes a happy medium. Each level focuses on an entirely original concept that it then proceeds to toss out the window so it can move onto the next, keeping DKC3 fresh and inventive throughout, but with a few exceptions, I found most of the stages to remain platforming-focused and, most importantly, fun. Certain elements are streamlined here too, with the Animal Buddies (who I actually don't really like) being less involved than in 2, and the collectible tracking being way better executed than in the first two games. The boss lineup is probably my favorite too due to its sheer creativity, with Arich, KAOS, and Bleak being especially memorable. I also love the very ambitious hub, with its side quests, minigames, and vehicle upgrades. And even more, I really like Eveline Fisher's more atmospheric and ambient soundtrack, and find it immensely underrated in its own right. People sell it short since David Wise didn't work as much on it and that's a big shame, it hits a bit different than the first two soundtracks but still hits in its own way. I love the SNES Donkey Kong Country games, I got 100% completion on all of them! But I don't agree with the claim that DKC3 is some sort of step down or a regression. It's just as good of a platformer as its two predecessors, if not moreso in some aspects.

Why Isn't It More Well-Liked: This is a bit of a tricky one, but I have a few potential reasons. For starters, Donkey Kong Country 2 is so unanimously beloved that literally any game would feel like a step down for a lot of people. Kiddy Kong is a pretty useless and lame character, David Wise not working on the soundtrack was also probably a big influence, and there's the fact that this game came out around when the N64 was releasing. 

Legend Of Zelda: The Minish Cap: The Minish Cap is my second favorite 2D Zelda game behind Link's Awakening, it's the closest thing we have to a modern 3D entry like Wind Waker or Twilight Princess literally flattened into a 2D space. I wouldn't say it really excels at anything in particular, it just feels like a perfect Zelda experience. The overworld is densely packed and filled with secrets, with the infamous Kinstones sidequest really encouraging you to search every nook and cranny and interact with every NPC. The shrinking mechanic allows for plenty of great puzzles, and Ezio (the partner who shrinks Link) is easily one of the best and funniest partners in the series. The dungeons are also great throughout, with Temple Of Droplets and Palace Of Winds standing out as some of my favorite 2D dungeons. And the item roster is so freaking creative, with the Gust Jar, Cane Of Pacci, and Roc's Cape being super cool items that only appeared in this game and nowhere else. The artstyle is also super lush and colorful, and the music is fantastic for a GBA game. 

Why Isn't It More Well-Liked: It released on a handheld console, easy.

Kirby's Dream Land 3: I've already talked about this game in my Kirby retrospective so you can check that out for my full thoughts, but I'll just sum them up here: Kirby's Dream Land 3 is a fantastic game that was sadly in the shadow of the most iconic Kirby games in the series, with solid level design, an expansion and improvement on the animal friend and collectible mechanics of Dream Land 2, fun multi-phase bosses, a beautiful pastel artstyle, a typically strong soundtrack, and a final boss so gory one might mistake it for a creepypasta. I absolutely adore this game and think it deserves way more credit than it deserves.

Why Isn't It More Well-Liked: It came out after Super Star, simplified the combat a bit, and it released in 1996. Generally much of the same reasons as Donkey Kong Country 3.

Sonic CD: Oh, boy, here comes Sonic, the series where pretty much every game can be considered underrated in its own way. Honestly, I think people tend to sell much of this series pretty short. I think most Sonic games are good at worst, with all the games I actively dislike mostly just suffering from glitchiness (except for Secret Rings which is just fundamentally flawed at its core). Sonic CD is actually one of my favorite 2D Sonic games, right behind 3&K and Mania. Let's get the obvious praise out of the way, this game looks and sounds fantastic. The colorful and poppy 90s aesthetic is absolute beautiful, and the JP soundtrack is still my favorite in the series for its banging selection of house and new jack swing tunes. It feels like I'm being teleported to this glorified and surrealist version of the 90s every time I play Sonic CD, it's such a vibe. As for the gameplay, many seem to criticize the level design for being basic and aimless, and I actually used to agree. However, then I tried to beat the game 100% and go for all the good futures, and everything just clicked for me. Sonic CD is a game built around exploration, so all of its levels feel like these sprawling momentum-driven playgrounds. The level design didn't even feel aimless any more since every block seemed perfectly placed for effective navigation, where you could find a path from one point of the stage to another incredibly easy. All of the level gimmicks were fun to engage with and utilize to your advantage, and figuring out how to time travel in each stage felt like an engrossing and meticulously thought-out puzzle. If you want a Sonic game all about playing around with momentum, then Sonic CD is probably your best bet. It's a game built around momentum, at least as long as you're willing to play by its rules.

Why Isn't It More Well-Liked: I think the mystique and high expectations really hurt CD for some people. The game came out on the Sega CD, which no one got, but was praised to no end. All most people knew about CD was the frankly awesome opening cutscene where he ran through an environment super fast, which they would be able to see in the Sonic Mega Collection. So the Gems Collection came out and people finally got to get their hands on CD, I'm sure there were a lot of people who were disappointed that it was a very different game than what the opening indicated.

Shadow The Hedgehog: The way I've heard people talk about Shadow The Hedgehog, I initially thought it was a glitchy and broken mess on par with 06 and Boom, so color me surprised when I decided to give it a go and actually had a really good time with it! Granted, Shadow does have its flaws. The edgy tone and story is as laughable as everyone says it is, and while I don't despise the mission structure (I even kinda enjoy Lost Impact), this game would very much be improved if you could just play the stages in a normal order from the get-go. Still, as far as gameplay is concerned, Shadow The Hedgehog is really solid! It's practically a sequel to Sonic Heroes, a game I already really like, that manages to polish up and fix some of its weak points. The gunplay is simple but snappy and fast-paced compared to Heroes' combat, the button layout was improved, the Triangle Jump feels great, and the rail grinding is the best in the whole series, balancing the momentum-driven skill of the earlier games with the polish of the later games. I also like a lot of the levels here, with every weak stage we have bangers like Digital Circuit, Cryptic Castle, Prison Island, Sky Troops, Circus Park, Cosmic Fall, and one of my favorites in the series, Lava Shelter. Not to mention the soundtrack is great as always. The problem with Shadow The Hedgehog is that its edgy tone comes off like it's trying too hard and puts people off, but if you can look past its cringeworthy exterior, you'll find a solid entry in the series that fans of Heroes and the Adventure era could totally be able to get behind.

Why Isn't It More Well-Liked: This game could've been the best thing in the world and it would probably still be hated to no end due to the circumstances that led up to it. Sonic Heroes was already a divisive game, in terms of both the gameplay and Shadow coming back, so a Shadow spinoff that uses the Heroes engine was never going to be a smash hit with the fans. The fact that this game decided to hop on the trend of edgifying its cartoon animal characters and giving Shadow a gun only further turned it into a massive laughing-stock. Also, I know a lot of people don't like the mission structure so that's probably another big straw.

Sonic And The Black Knight: Similarly to Shadow, I remember hearing nothing but hate for this one. People claiming that Sonic with a sword is stupid, the motion controls ruined the experience, and most bizarre of all, that it was somehow worse than Secret Rings (a game I genuinely despise, by the way). Nowadays, the game gets a bit more praise and I think that's well-deserved, especially because of the overall presentation. The story is genuinely well-written, with a nice blend of drama, humor, moral ambiguities, and great characterization for Sonic. The visuals are incredibly impressive for the Wii, with stages like Deep Woods, Titanic Plain, and Shrouded Forest boasting some downright stunning vistas. And the soundtrack absolutely slaps, meshing together classic Crush 40 buttrock with RPG-esque folk music to make for one of the best in the series. The gameplay is definitely the biggest sticking point, and while it's definitely on the simple side, there's something really addicting about it. The fast-paced combat and brisk stages make for a thrilling shot of adrenaline every time I play, one I can actually enjoy since pretty much all the control issues from Secret Rings have been fixed (and if you really can't stand the motion controls just play on Dolphin and tie the waggle to a button). I totally get it if the gameplay is too mindless for you (rather that than actively broken or annoying though), but there is genuine love put into this one that really shows. I really do like some of the later games, but Black Knight is a fitting end for my personal favorite era of Sonic (the whole Adventure era, not just the Dark Age games).

Why Isn't It More Well-Liked: It really came out at the wrong time. Sonic with a sword may have passed at some other point in time, but the guy's reputation was at his absolute lowest and this game just echoed the similar controversy of Shadow getting a gun. But even worse, this game released the same year as the Wii Motion Plus. Simple waggle-based games just weren't cutting it anymore, and Black Knight's control scheme ended up being a massive dividing point for those who were willing to give it a change. It also didn't help that similar games like Super Paper Mario and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, which would be more praised for their stories than their gameplay, similarly didn't reach the heights of popularity they would eventually reach over time. Back then, I just don't think people cared as much.

Sonic Lost World: So, one of the most common criticisms I've heard about Sonic Lost World is that it's a Super Mario Galaxy clone. But the thing is... Mario Galaxy is my favorite game of all time. How the hell is that supposed to be a bad thing? The inspirations it took from Galaxy, with its creative planet-hopping levels, was what got me interested in Lost World as a kid, and I still find it a ton of fun. Sure, it's pretty slow-paced and you can argue that makes this a "bad Sonic game", but that still doesn't make it a bad game on its own merits. Sonic Lost World is a very polished platformer, especially by Sonic standards, and is filled with fun and memorable stages that play around with gravity in some really fun ways. The rail-grinding, casino, dragon dance, honeycomb, and dessert stages are fantastic, as well as the first levels of pretty much every world. The music is as fantastic as usual, the visuals are bright and colorful, and while a bit underused, Sonic's more robust and platforming-centric moveset fits the game perfectly. I will be frank and say that I do have some issues with Lost World, as it does have some weaker stages, the Deadly Six are pretty dull villains, and the story is really bad, but I still think it nails what truly counts in a platformer for me. I also can't overstate just how much the sheer level of polish helps keep this game in my good graces, as bugginess is a pretty common trend in Sonic games, even ones I like. Sonic Lost World is clean and all the effort that went it to it shows, if only the rest of the series had this much polish.

Why Isn't It More Well-Liked: After Colors and Generations focused on fleshing out the boost formula and became two of the most well-received games in the series, Sega would immediately decide to try an entirely new style of gameplay. Yeah, no wonder it wasn't too well-received. Not to mention that while Lost World being a lot like Mario Galaxy is a great thing for me personally, the fact that Lost World seemed to take way more inspiration from the Mario series in terms of its story, antagonists, aesthetics, gameplay, level design, and pacing does feel like a pretty serious offense for those who prefer Sonic to Mario. And even those who like Mario may find Lost World to be just an imitation of the games they love.

Other Sonic Games: Seriously, the shaky reputation of the Sonic series means there are so many underrated Sonic games, so here's a few more. Sonic 2 8-Bit is really good as long as you play the Master System version. There's no screen crunch, the boss fights are fixed, and you'll be able to really get the most out of this fun and ambitious title. Sonic The Fighters is a surprisingly fun fighting game with some really expressive squash and stretch animation. And then there's Sonic Rush & Sonic Rush Adventure, which are fairly well-regarded, but a lot of people haven't played them and they don't get the praise they should get since Dimps made them. And trust me, as someone who doesn't quite love the Advance games, the Rush games are some of my favorite 2D Sonic games. The boost mechanic is fun and complex, the level design is challenging and dense with fun gimmicks, the 2.5D Klonoa-esque bosses are some of the coolest in the series, they introduce my favorite character in the series (Blaze), and the soundtrack and visuals have such a fantastic sense of style that hasn't been replicated. Rush Adventure is probably even more underrated than the first since if you put aside the grinding, the levels and bosses are even better than in the first game, and there's a lot of content to sink your teeth into if you want to devote the time to it.

Why Aren't They More Well-Liked: The Game Gear version of Sonic 2 singlehandedly tanked that game's reputation. It's the version everyone played because it's the most accessible (it's even in the aforementioned Gems Collection), yet it's also a pretty awful port that doesn't do the game justice. Sonic The Fighters is too simple for fighting game fans and not fast enough for Sonic fans. As for the Rush games, you probably guessed it by now... they released on a handheld console.

Mega Man 5-7: Yeah, that's right, I'm putting three games here for the Mega Man series! I just played the classic Mega Man series recently and reviewed every single game, and what really surprised me was how much I ended up enjoying a lot of the "unpopular" ones. Like, Mega Man 2 is good and all, but so many fans tend to just write off a large chunk of the classic titles even though I think a decent chunk of them surpass that game pretty easily, particularly Mega Mans 5 through 8. Mega Man 5 is ridiculously polished and has a great balance between creative level design (Gravity Man, Wave Man, Charge Man) and fairness, along with boasting one of the best soundtracks in the series thanks to Mari Yamaguchi. Mega Man 6 has a cool and well-utilized new gimmick in the Rush adaptors along with some beautiful and unique level settings. But the biggest hidden gem in the Mega Man series for me was Mega Man 7. That infamous final boss aside, that game is absolutely fantastic. The level design is some of the best and most complex in the series, the visuals and soundtrack are effortlessly charming, the sense of polish is off the charts, and it manages to bring pretty much every major mechanic from the previous entries and perfects all of them. Not to mention the massive amount of hidden details, secrets, and easter eggs that truly help it stand out among the rest. I'd also say Mega Man 8 is underrated for its great presentation and soaring high points but I'm also aware of that games' flaws and at least understand why people wouldn't like it. But with 5-7, there's no excuse, these games are brilliant.

Why Isn't It More Well-Liked: Mega Mans 5 & 6 were the last two games for the NES, so it made perfect sense that oversaturation would hit hard around this point, regardless of the games' qualities. Mega Man 7, on the other hand, suffered from following up the admittedly fantastic Mega Man X, so people only judged it in comparison to that game rather than on its own merits.

Touhou 13: Ten Desires: I get why Ten Desires is considered to be one of the weaker Touhou games, it does have its flaws. The fact that spirits don't fall is a pretty stupid piece of game design, I will admit, and Yoshika can die in a hole (wait, she's already dead). However, Ten Desires is also one of my favorite games in the series in spite of its flaws. I think a game's difficulty doesn't matter if the game itself is engaging (note, Epic Yarn), so while Ten Desires is one of the easiest games in the series, the bullet patterns, setpieces, and especially the bosses are so creative and memorable that it's hard for me to really care. From Yuyuko's lengthy first boss fight, to Kyouko's sound bubble wall, to Seiga and Miko bringing in other bosses for assist, to Futo's boat, to Mamizou's shapeshifting, (almost) every single boss has a cool gimmick that makes for one of my favorite boss lineups in the series. But even more than that, the ethereal atmosphere in Ten Desires is absolutely amazing, from the neon and purple shades in the backgrounds, to the experimental techno-heavy soundtrack, to the fairly melodramatic lore behind most of the characters. The focus on spirits and ghosts makes for a very somber entry in the series, and it's that somber tone that really stuck with me. Not to mention elements like the creative weapon types for the roster of characters, the return of Spell Practice mode, and the introduction of a very smooth new engine that would be used for the rest of the series (as of TH18). Ten Desires has its problems, but the stuff it gets right, it gets so right.

Why Isn't It More Well-Liked: It's an easy Touhou game with an experimental and divisive soundtrack. Touhou is known for its difficulty and reliably amazing soundtracks. Do I really need to explain more?

Final Fantasy V: My opinions on the Final Fantasy series tend to be weird. I like their worlds, cast, and music, and I think the usual favorites like VI, VII, and IX do reach some incredibly highs, but as a whole, the series just doesn't grab me. I'd much rather gravitate towards Square's other RPGs like Live A Live, the Chrono games, or Parasite Eve. The one exception, believe it or not, is Final Fantasy V. 

Yes, I am being 100% serious here. While FFV may not have the same dramatic scope as its successors, I wholeheartedly believe it is the most well-crafted game in the series. Part of my reasoning for this is the job system, one of Final Fantasy's greatest assets that it doesn't use nearly enough. The job system is a brilliant mechanic, easy to understand but with a massive amount of depth and customization to it. Not only is making and training a build simple and streamlined, but you can essentially swap between an increasingly large selection of builds whenever you want. And every single combination is valid, to the point where there's even a Four Job Fiesta held every year where people randomly roll jobs and try to stick with them. Even more, FFV avoids a lot of the navigation pitfalls other RPGs of the time (or the similarly customizable FFVIII) face with a perfect difficulty curve and intuitive but brisk tutorialization. The overworld is so well-designed in how it keeps growing and expanding every time you feel like you've gotten familiar with it. FFV feels like an RPG for everyone, both accessible to newcomers and complex enough for RPG veterans. I also absolutely adore the story, believe it or not. My favorite RPGs tend to be the ones where I get attached to the cast, and the slim five-character party of FFV is super easy to get attached to, with strong chemistry and a super wholesome found family vibe. They're just so fun to hang out with, it's almost like they're a group of friends playing D&D together (with all the hilarious fuck-ups you'd expect from that premise). And while the story isn't the most serious out there, it's incredibly heartfelt and isn't afraid to punch you in the gut either. Add in a typically stellar soundtrack by Uematsu (with my favorite track in the series) and you get a complete Final Fantasy package that deserves more praise than it gets. It's the purest form of the vision of the original game, a perfect sendoff before the series started going big. 

Why Isn't It More Well-Liked: The most obvious reason is the fact that FFV didn't come out in the west with IV and VI. Not only does it lack the benefit of nostalgia, but it also doesn't mean it lacks that ground-breaking status that the other two games had. In addition, once FFV did come out, we had the added context of games like VI, VII, and X that were far more ambitious and serious. It just felt too light and breezy by comparison. Interestingly enough, FFV is actually super well-liked in Japan. There, it's often in the Top 5 in polls, and is credited for essentially being what IV was for us in terms of boosting the series' popularity.

Soundtrack Retrospective: Mega Man

So, I've been playing Mega Man games a lot lately, and while I'm still working through the X games, that wasn't enough to stop me from listening to every soundtrack in the franchise as well. Similarly with Sonic, a Mega Man game is almost always synonymous with great music.

Let's start with the classic games, all of which boast pretty reliably great soundtracks:

Mega Man: Mega Man's first soundtrack is a lot like the game itself. It's not one of the best, nor one of the worst, but with its simplicity comes a charm that helps it stand out even after all these years. Most of the main Robot Master themes are fairly short, but their catchy melodies, classical feel, and distinct minor keys still help to establish them as some of the most iconic pieces of music in the series, especially in the case of Bomb Man, Cut Man, and Guts Man. The endgame themes are a lot weaker though, coming off as fairly droning and off-beat (with the exception of that haunting Yellow Devil theme).

Highlights: This one's a bit of a no-brainer but Cut Man's theme is the Mega Man theme. It's energetic, catchy, and feels like a distinct part of this specific series. It's also one of the longest and most complex themes in the game and suffers a lot less from the short loop issue compared to many of the others.

3/5 Stars

Mega Man 2: Mega Man 2 is overrated... but not its music! Seriously, this soundtrack deserves all the praise it gets and then some, every single track in Mega Man 2 is a masterful piece of chiptune and an absolute banger. I don't really know what else I can add to the conversation here, I'm not super knowledgeable about what goes into a great chiptune song, so I'm just going to reiterate the point that many others have made: This is rock. It has the same intensity, fast pace, and flair that you'd get from one of the best rock songs, and as a fan of the genre, that makes Mega Man 2's soundtrack right up my alley. And yet, this isn't even my favorite classic Mega Man soundtrack...

Highlights: Isn't it already obvious? It's the first Wily's Fortress theme, one of the all-time greatest pieces of video game music. It's exciting, thrilling, and makes you feel like a badass, I probably wouldn't have noticed Mega Man to begin with had I not discovered this amazing theme in Super Smash Bros 4.

5/5 Stars

Mega Man 3: Mega Man 3 is the best classic Mega Man soundtrack. It takes the sheer energy of the second game's music and adds an extra layer of complexity and emotion. The tracks are lengthier, and have more parts of them. Songs like Needle Man, Proto Man's Whistle, and even the Title Screen theme feel more melancholic than you'd expect from the series at this point, and all the other songs are just ridiculously catchy and intricate, like Gemini Man and Magnet Man. Granted, I don't think MM3's soundtrack is as consistently solid as the last one, but the highs are so incredibly high that it's hard for me to care. When this soundtrack is at its best, not a single classic Mega Man game can top it.

Highlights: Snake Man's theme is my favorite classic Mega Man theme, hands down. It gives me chills every time I listen to it. It perfectly captures the vibe of adventuring into some mysterious ruins, with an eerie yet still catchy verse that loses the intensity in exchange for sheer drama for its beautiful chorus. But then we also got Title Screen, Spark Man, and Wily's Castle 2, which are also all great. Seriously, I can not rave about MM3's music enough.

5/5 Stars

Mega Man 4: I didn't really like Mega Man 4's soundtrack that much at first, mostly because it's sandwiched in between two of my favorites in the series. However, I did warm up to it the more I listened to it, even if I still think it's pretty average for a Mega Man soundtrack. I think the composers knew that this was the fourth game in the series and that they probably had a bit more freedom to experiment, which is great because some of my favorite songs in MM4 were the weird ones, like the smooth Toad Man, the reverse-sounding notes in Dust Man, and the layered chords in Ring Man. However, while most of the soundtrack is at least solid, who the hell thought the password theme sounded good? It's hands down the worst song in the whole series by a mile.

Highlights: This might be a bit of an obvious pick but Pharaoh Man's theme is such an easy standout for Mega Man 4. It has a catchy and nearly iconic melody, a great sense of energy, and a fantastic bassline.

3/5 Stars

Mega Man 5: Mega Man 5 is an underrated gem and one of my favorite games in the series. Thus, its soundtrack is also an underrated gem and, you guessed it, has one of my favorite soundtracks in the series. Mari Yamaguchi composed the music of MM5 and right from the get-go, she establishes a unique syncopated chiptune style that's really helps to unify this soundtrack, while also leading to some of the most complex and ambitious NES music I've ever heard. It's cohesive and consistent, while also having pretty much every single track be a jazzy banger. Gravity Man is pure unadulterated Mega Man, Crystal Man is super adventurous, Napalm Man is incredibly catchy and intricate, and Wave Man is beautifully relaxing. Also, they timed the boss theme so it doesn't get interrupted by the health bar filling up. 10/10.

Highlights: Despite all my raving about Mari Yamaguchi's style, my favorite track in the game may not have even been composed by her! While I don't know for sure, from what I've heard, the Wily Castle theme was made by Yoko Shimomura, aka my favorite video game composer. Whether it's Shimomura or Yamaguchi, this is the best Wily Castle theme in the series and one of my favorite Mega Man themes in general. It has such a haunting vibe to it, and gives the endgame a great sense of finality. 

5/5 Stars

Mega Man 6: Mega Man 6's soundtrack is an acquired taste, and ultimately I'm still somewhat mixed on it. On one hand, MM6 has some of the most complicated, intricate, lengthy, and crisp-sounding tracks on the entire NES. Yuko Takehara's more melancholic and grand style really shows in Mega Man 6's music, which has a strong sense of atmosphere and finality to it. Just by listening to the music alone, you can tell MM6 is the end of an era. However, I feel like a lot of the songs here can be a bit slow-paced, even the ones I really like. It's something I've gotten used to over time, but when you're coming off the heels of some of the other more high energy NES Mega Man soundtracks, it can feel a bit odd. At the very least, it's a rare soundtrack where it sounds just as good listening to it at 1.25 speed.

Highlights: The theme for Mr X Fortress is absolutely phenomenal and one of the best Classic themes in the series. It's climactic and hopeful and really captures the vibe of this being the final entry for the NES. 

3/5 Stars

Mega Man 7: Mega Man 7 is the first, and one of the only classic Mega Man soundtracks to not use chiptune, so I was a bit wary that it would feel like the black sheep of the series. I was wrong on both accounts, though, this soundtrack is fantastic! I like chiptune, but it's such a breath of fresh air to have instrumentation that's clearer and easier on the ears, and it allows for a much greater variety of songs. Like many other SNES soundtracks, Mega Man 7's music puts a big emphasis on the bass (makes sense, this game introduces Bass), and it allows for a really groovy soundtrack. The Robot Masters have some great themes here, but the entire endgame is especially strong, pretty much every castle and final boss theme is fantastic. The only thing stopping me from giving it a perfect grade is the theme for Auto's Shop, that's nearly a low on par with MM4's Password theme!

Highlights: Jurassic Jungle is so freaking good. It's energetic, adventurous-sounding, and, as much as I hate to repeat myself, just plain groovy. The central synth is super easy on the ears, and the backing trumpets, bass, and especially the drums all elevate the track.

4/5 Stars

Mega Man 8: If you've seen me bring up my thoughts on house music and DnB, you can probably guess what my opinion on the Mega Man 8 soundtrack is going to be. Mega Man 8 is pretty much the Sonic CD of the series music-wise, an experimental and weird yet oddly consistent and cohesive score that nails that 90s house feel. There are so many strange melodic choices in all these songs that it kind of took some time for me to fully warm up to them, but I came around to truly loving the majority of this soundtrack. I don't care how well it fits into a Mega Man game, this is exactly my kind of music. Also, apparently a Resident Evil composer made the music for this one and it kinda shows, there are some eerie pieces of music here. 

Highlights: While I love the dnb-heavy opening, Astro Man's theme is the highlight for me. It's a great and groovy piece of house music that feels right out of something like Super Monkey Ball, but the most noteworthy part is its weird piano usage that helps give the song a bit of a distorted feel, which fits the stage pretty much perfectly.

5/5 Stars

Mega Man 9: At first, I thought Mega Man 9's soundtrack, just like the game itself, was too derivative of Mega Man 2. But I was wrong, it's better. MM9's soundtrack is probably the most Mega Man soundtrack to ever Mega Man, and that's not at a bad thing at all. This is peak 8-bit rock, and it's filled to the brim with fantastic tunes for pretty much every Robot Master, especially Splash Woman, Plug Man, and Galaxy Man. Mega Man 9's soundtrack is ridiculously catchy, and the more you listen to them, the more they will worm their way into your head. Seriously, try to listen to Jewel Man's theme and not bang your head to the twinkly chiptune. And don't even get me started on the Wily Castle themes, easily some of the best and most dramatic in the series.

Highlights: Flash In The Dark is a fantastic Wily Castle theme, easily one of the best in the series. It's intense, dramatic, and super climactic, with an especially chill-inducing chorus. And yes, it is better than Wily Castle 2.

4.5/5 Stars

Mega Man 10: Mega Man 10's score is a true love letter to the series, bringing back every single prior classic Mega Man composer to work on at least one track. This means that, at its best, MM10 has some of the biggest bangers in the series from the composers of 2, 3, 5, and 8. Some of the tracks really play around with what chiptune can accomplish with songs like Absolute Chill and Deep In Space, which is absolutely fantastic. However, a soundtrack with this many composers could never be consistent, so while Mega Man 10's high points are ridiculously high, it's also a very uneven soundtrack with some lows as well. More specifically, the non-stage themes like the cutscene, stage select, and boss themes are a bit on the lackluster side. I still love MM10's music to bits, but its hit-or-miss nature prevents it from ranking as one of my absolute favorites.

Highlights: As mentioned above, Cybersheep's Dream is Mari Yamaguchi's contribution and it's absolutely phenomenal. Her jazzy syncopated style is shown in full force, and the song does things I've never really heard a piece of chiptune do. Easily one of my favorite classic themes.

4/5 Stars

Mega Man 11: This is the Sonic Forces of the series in terms of music. It goes for a hard electronic style that people will either love or hate, but I tend to leaning towards the former. Good electronica is good electronica and I really like how intense and head-bangy a lot of the tracks in this game are. At its best, we have probably my favorite Title theme in the series, one of the best Wily Castle themes, and one of my favorite lineup of Robot Master themes. However, I will also admit that the music in this game can get pretty samey and repetitive due to using the same instrumentation a lot, and outside of the aforementioned castle theme, there are some pretty weak tracks near the endgame.

Highlights: Fuse Man is so good. Capcom picked the perfect song to use for their trailer theme because this one goes incredibly hard, it's fast-paced, energetic, and just plain exciting. I also love the tense Torch Man theme and the explosive-sounding Blast Man theme.

4/5 Stars

Mega Man & Bass: When I first heard the soundtrack to Mega Man & Bass, I immediately chalked it off as the worst in the series and found it to be super unmemorable. I think that's a bit harsh. While it's true that Mega Man & Bass is one of the weaker classic Mega Man scores and doesn't reach the heights of other soundtracks, it's by no means the worst. If I had to describe the music for Mega Man & Bass in a single word, it would be groovy. The basslines are top-notch throughout, and pretty much every track is super easy and fun to jam to. While the game itself elicits a lot of frustration out of me, the soundtrack feels tailor-made to cheer up whoever is listening to it. Unless you're listening to the GBA version, of course. This soundtrack just doesn't work outside the SNES/SFC.

Highlights: I really liked the theme for the Data Base. It's so chill and nostalgic, a perfect theme to listen to while looking through the history of the classic Mega Man games. But fine, if I had to pick a level theme, it would have to be Ground Man's theme, one of the slickest pieces of video game music ever made.

Original: 3/5 Stars

GBA: 1/5 Stars

My ranking of the Mega Man soundtracks would be:

1. MM3
2. MM5
3. MM8
4. MM9
5. MM2
6. MM7
7. MM11
8. MM10
9. MM6
10. MM&B
11. MM4
12. MM1
13. MM&B (GBA Version)

The fact that MM10's soundtrack is in 8th place for me is a testament to how great these soundtracks are, I could see why someone could pick any of those first ten soundtracks as their favorites out of the classic series.

Next up are the X games. As a whole, I think these tend to have better soundtracks than the classic series... except for one, but I'll get there when I get to it:

Mega Man X: Mega Man X serves as the baseline for how a good Mega Man X soundtrack should sound. It's not my favorite in the series, but it is a fantastic soundtrack with a lot of incredibly iconic and memorable songs. Like with Mega Man 2, there's not much I can really say that hasn't been said about this one. It sounds like a full-on rock album a lot of the time (Boomer Kuwanger is particular could be a goddamn stadium anthem), the SNES bass is absolutely fantastic once again, and pretty much every Maverick theme is phenomenal. But even the non-gameplay themes are great, like the main themes for X and Zero, the title screen, and even the freaking password screen music! 

Highlights: Opening Stage is still one of my favorite pieces of music in the series, it's a truly iconic theme that really gets your blood pumping. However, I also have to give praise to the beautiful and dramatic Sigma Stage 2, which might even be better in some aspects.

5/5 Stars

Mega Man X2: Coming off the heels of the incredible first game's soundtrack, X2 feels like a bit of a let-down by comparison. The tracks are short and a lot more simple, and the general vibe of the soundtrack feels oddly relaxing a lot of the time. I still won't say the music in this game is bad, there are a lot of great tracks and high points, but it's as if the composers knew they couldn't top X's soundtrack and just didn't try. Also, for some reason the SNES MIDI guiltars don't sound quite as good as the ones in X, but they're still tolerable, unlike a certain other Mega Man X game that I have yet to talk about...

Highlights: X-Hunter Stage 1 is a pretty rocking theme that feels like it could fit into the first game's soundtrack perfectly... if it wasn't like barely a minute long, at least. Seriously, these songs are way too short.

3/5 Stars

Mega Man X3: This is the one bad Mega Man X soundtrack. Not just bad by Mega Man standards, it's straight-up bad. I don't want to fault the composer Kinuyo Yamashita too much, she did great work in Castlevania, but I don't think this was one of her better showings. The compositions are fine, if a bit short at times, but the real issue is the godawful instrumentation. The soundtrack uses these MIDI guitars that sound so much worse than the ones from X and X2, which still would have been fine in moderation. However, these guitars are used as the backbone for pretty much every song in the game, which not only makes them feel more homogenous and repetitive than they already are, but also makes for a soundtrack I felt physical pain listening to.

But wait, there's more. Because X3 also got a port to the Playstation and Saturn, where it got an entirely remastered soundtrack that's easier on the ears. While it does feel a bit weird seeing songs that were intended to be rock get turned into synth tracks more akin to MM8 or X4, this version of the soundtrack is loads better and helped me appreciate a lot of Yamashita's ambitious and complex compositions a lot more. 

Highlights: No matter what the version, Gravity Beetle will always be one of the best songs in the X series. While it does still use X3's guitars, the melody is so strong and recognizable that it does bring this track up for me a lot. And while the PSX version isn't quite as rocking as the original, the instruments are a lot easier on the ears and I love the jazzy take it provides for this song.

SNES: 1/5 Stars

PSX: 4/5 Stars

Mega Man X4: X4's music starts an entirely new era of music for the Mega Man X games, switching from the SNES's instruments to a focus on synth and EDM, which is a shift I actually really liked. Dare I say the PS1 era is the absolute peak of not just the X soundtracks but the Mega Man franchise as a whole in terms of music. Mega Man X4 is particularly masterful because I think it has the most cohesive soundtrack out of the X games, blending some of the most adrenaline-pumping themes in the series with a haunting sense of melancholy that perfectly fits the game's story. Songs like Jet Stingray, Final Weapon 1, and Magma Dragoon do a really good job at getting your blood pumping, but my favorites tend to be the more sorrowful tracks like Iris, Cyber Peacock, and X's Opening Stage. X4 just has a vibe to it, and I think it inspired a lot of other indie composers because I can look back to some of my favorite soundtracks like Freedom Planet and Half-Genie Hero and feel that same exact vibe. Also, the basslines in some of these songs are immaculate.

Highlights: As mentioned above, my absolute favorite tracks are Iris and Cyber Peacock due to their melancholic tones. Iris's theme is especially worth noting since it does a lot of the heavy lifting to sell the emotion of a scene that kinda got ruined by the dub, and maintains the trend of tragic fights having amazing music (Iconoclasts & Freedom Planet being good examples),

5/5 Stars

Mega Man X5: X5 is a game with all of its effort put into that final stretch so that the series could go on out a high note, since it was initially intended to be the final Mega Man X game, and I'd say the same is true of the soundtrack. The whole score has this chilling sense of finality to it, like the haunting opening theme that reprises Variable X in glorious fashion, the several bleak-sounding themes like Grizzly Slash and Zero's Opening Stage, the fantastic remixes like Duff McWhalen and Rangda Bangda W, and pretty much the entirety of the endgame, a flawless streak of thrilling and emotional tracks that stand up as the best songs in the series. The whole soundtrack masterfully blends techno and rock together, making for the perfect example of what made the PS1 era of Mega Man X so fantastic. It's also worth noting that this was the first Mega Man game that Naoto Tanaka helped compose. Along with Yamaguchi, he's my personal favorite Mega Man composer and he made a ton of my favorite songs in the series (Sigma 1st, X Vs Zero, Primrose from X8, all of X6's soundtrack).

Highlights: X Vs Zero is my favorite song in not just the X series, but the entire Mega Man franchise. It really sells just how big and important this fight between the series' two main protagonists is. It's high-octane, exciting, emotionally charged, and just plain fun to listen to. I also love Zero Stage 2 for not just being fantastic rave music but quite possibly the inspiration for Reisen's theme from Touhou.

5/5 Stars

Mega Man X6: X6 may not be a very good game but its soundtrack easily one of the best in all of Mega Man. Naoto Tanaka pretty much took the reins on this one, composing the whole score and nailing every single track. Genre-wise, it's a lot like X5's soundtrack but a lot more atmospheric and synth-heavy, almost giving off an 80s vibe with its wailing guitar riffs. It runs the gamut from incredibly calm tracks like the Opening Stage and the hardest rock ever in songs like Blaze Heatnix. Not to mention Ground Scaravich's theme which is basically just the Bomberman Hero soundtrack, as well as the fact that the X Vs Zero theme returns in this game making for a damn near perfect soundtrack.

Highlights: This game has two for me. First, there's Commander Yammark's theme, which is so uncharacteristically calm for a Mega Man game but absolutely works. It has that odd PS1 vibe and the instruments used here are so distinct and pleasant to listen to (those background chords especially, holy crap). On the complete opposite side of the spectrum, there's Infinity Mijinion's theme which is one of the most rocking and intense themes in the series, a theme so epic many have compared it to The Final Countdown. The range of X6's soundtrack is just insane.

5/5 Stars

Mega Man X7: X7 kickstarts the final era of Mega Man X music by switching genres one last time to full-on rock. While the game is once again not that great, I really like X7's soundtrack for its dark and industrial vibe. It's basically Mega Man's attempt at the Shadow The Hedgehog soundtrack, which is great because I really like that soundtrack. While I feel like the soundtrack sticking to the same style means X7's music can feel a bit repetitive (not unlike 11's soundtrack), I still think the general level of quality for these tracks is pretty high and I love the dramatic and operatic tone of some of these songs.

Highlights: In terms of gameplay tracks, Decisive Battle is my favorite song and one of my favorite boss themes in the series. It's a lot different from the rest of the songs in the game but it's incredibly energetic and catchy. However, I also have to single out Code Crush for being my favorite vocal track in the series and capturing the whole vibe of X7's music perfectly. I love the slow piano opening that eventually abrupts into this really menacing rock theme, it's fantastic!

4/5 Stars

Mega Man X8: I'm a big fan of X8's unique mystical-looking 2.5D presentation (which honestly gives me Klonoa vibes), so some of my favorite tracks in the game are the ones ended up being the songs like Primose, Booster Forest, and Lumine's 1st theme that feel really ethereal and unlike anything we've seen in the series. Unfortunately, those songs are few and far between, with much of X8's soundtrack being fairly standard buttrock. Whereas X7 is like Shadow's music, X8 is like Sonic's music, though without anywhere near the same amount of charm and energy as Jun Senoue's stuff. And while I said X7's music can feel a bit repetitive, this is way more of an issue here. Still, I don't really find any of X8's tracks bad per se, and I think one area where the soundtrack excels is in the high-tempo boss themes. Vs Boss, Vs Sigma, Vs Vile, and both Lumine themes are fantastic and rank as some of the best boss themes in the whole series. I also like how this is the only game in the series to have multiple themes for some of its stages. It's always a nice touch when games do that, and makes for one of the largest Mega Man soundtracks to date.

Highlights: Primrose is my favorite theme in Mega Man X8 despite being the most unconventional and unfitting track in the game. I love how, for one of the few times in the game, the guitar is placed in the background of the song. Instead, we have all these weird sitar and chime instruments that make the soundtrack feel so ethereal, and the melody is incredibly complex and catchy. Once again, it feels like Mega Man's take on a Klonoa song, and that will always be a good thing in my book. Also, Jakob is a pretty phenomenal piece of music as well, deservedly the most beloved song in the game.

3/5 Stars

My ranking of the Mega Man X soundtracks is:

1. X5
2. X4
3. X6
4. X
5. X3 (PSX)
6. X7
7. X8
8. X2
9. Literally anything
10. X3 (SNES)

If the classic series' soundtracks weren't good enough, the 1st-4th place picks would probably be the best soundtracks in most other series, which says a lot about how great some of these are.

Finally, I wanted to do the Zero and ZX games. Gameplay-wise, I think these are the best in the series, and their soundtracks are pretty fantastic too:

Mega Man Zero: While definitely the weakest of the bunch, I still really enjoy Zero's soundtrack for what it is. It feels like your standard peppy GBA soundtrack in a lot of ways, but with a bit of an edge to it, and that gives Zero 1 a charming vibe that helps it stand out a bit. Songs like Hell Plant, Intermission, and Enemy Hall are super catchy and memorable, and while definitely not the focus here, tracks like Express UG and Crash do still provide the rock/techno you'd want from the series. There are also plenty of fairly bland and forgettable songs like Resistance and Deadzone, as well as most of the cutscene themes, but the high points are high enough that I ultimately came away liking this one.

Highlight: While my favorite song in Zero is technically the reprise of Zero's theme, the original song that stuck out the most to me was Scorching Desert. It's a really great desert theme that sounds menacing and dark, though with a bit of hope. It also happens to have the "Koopa's Road" chords which always make for a great song.

3/5 Stars

Mega Man Zero 2: Zero 2's soundtrack is absolutely fantastic and a huge improvement on the first. It goes for a more heavy rock style, and sounds shockingly great. Despite the limitations of the GBA's soundchip, the composers were able to pull off some really complex tracks that really blew me away. The first half of the game is especially fantastic in terms of music, between tracks like the iconic Departure, Ice Brain, Gravity, Sand Triangle, Power Born, and the remix of Neo Arcadia. However, the second half of the game is a bit weak in terms of music, in my opinion. It has its great tracks like Silver Wolf, Cool Hearted Fellow, and the credits theme, but either the melodies just weren't as strong or the novelty of the GBA's MIDI guitar wore off. Still, that first half really does have some of the best music on the system.

Highlight: While most may say Departure (and that song is definitely great), Ice Brain was really the track that stuck out to me the most. It's such a chill track with a catchy melody and ice-y synth, and it all sounds fantastic. Also, Gravity is basically the Kashmir riff and that's awesome.

4/5 Stars

Mega Man Zero 3: Zero 3's soundtrack is really just more of the previous game's rock style, so there isn't that much I can say that hasn't already been said. Personally, I don't think Zero 3's music reaches the same high points as Zero 2's, but it does make sure to save all of its best stuff for the end this time around. From Cold Smile onward, the music in Zero 3 really takes a big bump in quality, peaking in the endgame. It's also worth noting that the game also has a bunch of remixes, mostly used during the part where Zero returns to old stages. Outside of the Infiltration remix, however, I found most of them to be inferior to the original, which was a bit disappointing.

Highlight: Zero 3's final boss isn't just the high point of the game in terms of visuals, story, gameplay, and difficulty, it's also the high point in terms of its soundtrack! The one-two punch of the grandiose and dramatic Judgement Day and the fast-paced and energetic Cannonball makes for one of the peaks of the Zero series as far as the music goes.

4/5 Stars

Mega Man Zero 4: So, Mega Man Zero 4's music kind of has an X3 problem where the soundfont chosen for the game just doesn't sound great on its original hardware. The MIDI guitars used in many of Zero 4's songs sound off, and really seem to strain the GBA. Thankfully, though, there are many official remixes of all the Zero games, including the DS remasters as well as the Remastered Tracks, Mythos, and Resonnent Vie albums, so there are many ways to listen to Zero 4's music as intended, which is good because composition-wise, this is hands down the best soundtrack in the Zero series and it's not even close. Where Zero 2 had a rough second half and Zero 3 had a rough first half, Zero 4's music is consistently strong across the board. The music in Zero 4 has a melancholy vibe befitting the sheer finality of this game, while simultaneously maintaining the heavy rock style that the last two games had. Zero 4 also happens to have one of my new favorite leitmotifs in any video game soundtrack ever, used in songs like Esperanto and Holy Land. It's so haunting and bittersweet, I love it!

Highlight: Look, Falling Down is a phenomenal piece of music and one of the best tracks ever made for the GBA... but Esperanto though. It's epic, it's dramatic, it's hopeful, it's bittersweet, it's beautiful, it's haunting, it's easily the best song in the Zero series and one of my favorite themes in the whole franchise.

Original GBA Version: 4/5 Stars? 4.5/5?

Literally every other version: 5/5 Stars

Mega Man ZX: Mega Man ZX's soundtrack is absolutely phenomenal, easily one of the best in the franchise. You can tell that Inti Creates' composers were excited to get to work with better sound hardware with the DS because ZX's soundtrack is nothing but absolute bangers from start to finish. ZX goes for a techno sound with its heavy use of synth, and there's so much energy in every single track. ZX's music is so happy and fun to listen to, it's hard to really say much more other than it's just really good. Please listen to the ZX soundtrack if you haven't already, it's super overlooked.

Highlights: Green Grass Gradation is the obvious pick here, that opening level theme so good it blew me away when I first played ZX. However, my favorite song in ZX is actually Gauntlet. Not only is it a thrilling and energetic banger on its own, but the fact that it's likely going to be the last mission you play makes its reusal of the first mission theme's leitmotif feel all the more climactic and memorable.

5/5 Stars

Mega Man ZX Advent: ZX Advent has yet another really fantastic soundtrack, and dare I say, it could genuinely be better than its predecessor. Well, sort of. Composition-wise, ZX Advent's soundtrack is top-notch, running the gamet from banging techno to somber bits of atmosphere to fantastic ZX remixes. It definitely reaches higher highs than ZX's soundtrack for me. However, Advent's soundtrack sounds a lot more compressed in-game than ZX's did, meaning some of the songs don't quite pack the same punch. It took listening to the cleaner Tunes remixes for me to really appreciate a lot of these songs. Still, even with that compression concern, ZX Advent still has one of my favorite soundtracks on the DS. As much as I love the Zero games, the ZX duology completely blows them out of the water in terms of music.

Highlights: Bullet Drive is flat-out one of my favorite themes in the series. It's so climactic, energetic, and thrilling, and the ZX Tunes version is even better. But of course, I also can't go without highlighting that godly remix of Trap Phantasm from ZX.

5/5 Stars

Here's my ranking of the Zero/ZX soundtracks:

1. Mega Man ZX Advent (Tunes version)
   
2. Mega Man ZX
3. Mega Man ZX Advent (Original)
4. Mega Man Zero 4
5. Mega Man Zero 2
6. Mega Man Zero 3
7. Mega Man Zero

So to cap it off, here's my Top 10 Mega Man soundtracks out of them all:

1. Mega Man X5
2. Mega Man 3
3. Mega Man X4
4. Mega Man ZX/Advent
5. Mega Man X6
6. Mega Man 5
7. Mega Man X
8. Mega Man 8
9. Mega Man Zero 4
10. Mega Man 9