Mega Man X4

System: Playstation

Review

Game Type: 2D Platform
Run, jump, shoot. 8 bosses, each one you kill gives you a new weapon. If you're not familiar with the Mega Man series after over 20 games you need to nip off and shoot yourself in the head pronto.

Gameplay: 80/100
Finally, finally you can play as Zero for real! In X3 you only got to use him for a tiny part of each stage, and switching characters all the time simply wasn't worth the effort. Now he has a whole separate storyline, his own anime cinemas, even his own attacks from each of the 8 bosses. Since any of these special moves can be executed at any time with a simple button combination, Zero might even be the character of choice (almost reminds me of Shinobi III, although the special controls need a bit more work). Unfortunately you can no longer switch between Zero and X at will, but that hardly ruins the game.

Graphics: 90/100
The graphic style is almost exactly the same as Mega Man 8, meaning you can expect beautiful animation (God, Zero's hair is cool) and backgrounds, but the character art could use a bit of work. The characters could stand to be a bit larger and a lot more detailed. But this probably won't bother players too much. The FMV anime cinemas are cool but like in MM8 they're practically all still shots.

Sound: 10/100
Aaaaggghh! Is Capcom trying to kill me? This is the worst dub I have ever heard, videogame or otherwise. You'll be appalled at the voices even if you're not a pro-sub otaku like me. The in-game samples are only mildly annoying, but the cinemas are completely ruined by the awful voice acting (and the story could have actually been decent, too). It actually diminished my enjoyment of the game. I don't think I've ever recommended importing the Japanese version of a game after its American release, but if you're a true Mega Man fan you might actually want to consider getting Rockman X4 instead.

Overall: 80/100
I don't think even the Japanese version would have gotten a 90 rating from me, though. The boss designs just aren't as polished as in MM8, making some of the fights tedious, and the overall game is way too easy. (I beat it with Zero the first night and got all the special items, too). Since this is basically just a rehash of Mega Man 8 I can't recommend getting both unless you're a die-hard Mega Man fan.

Codes

X's Ultimate Armor Highlight X on the Player Select screen. Press C, C, L, L, L, L, L, L, hold L1 and R2, and press Start. (In Rockman X4 press X instead of C.) During the game enter any of the armor capsules and X will be given a suit with all the special abilities and unlimited use of the Nova Strike attack.
Zero's Black Armor Highlight Zero on the Player Select screen. Hold R1 and press R, R, R, R, R, R, release R1, hold C, and press Start. (In Rockman X4 hold X instead of C.) During the game Zero's armor will be black instead of red.

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