I guess it's time for me to stop thinking about Mega Man X as the "new" Mega Man series, seeing as it's been around for ten years and six sequels. In fact, the sixth just hit Japan last month, and is headed our way come October. Predictably titled Mega Man X7, behind the standard name hides a very significant departure: This is the first Mega Man X game to feature full 3D graphics and gameplay. Yes, the familiar sprites are finally gone, replaced by 3D cel-shading, transparencies, and particle effects. And, while there's still a lot of side-scrolling platforming, there's also a significant amount of new 3D sequences. In effect, X7 bridges the gap between old and new, taking the series into the future while respecting its past.
The tone is also just a bit more mature, as seen in the game's CG intro. In it, a cigar-chomping, weary lookin' robot -- let's call him Stogie -- is doing his best to protect a metal briefcase. Hearing a sound, Stogie's bodyguard leaves for a moment to check it out. He quickly finds the source -- two androids from Red Alert, a vigilante group. The scene switches back to Stogie, trying to hide in a storage room. But who's that at the door? Oh, just his bodyguard, or ...? A quick morph reveals the visage of one of the vigilantes, and one shot later Stogie has chomped his last. Intriguing! Well, at least for an X game.
Brave New World
After the weird robot noir of the intro you're plopped right into the first action stage. Pressing L2 lets you switch between two characters, Zero and newcomer Axl. Axl basically feels like a modified X, with the main difference being that he can hover for short periods. Once in a while he'll also be able to morph (as seen in the intro) and steal abilities by making use of DNA captured from slain enemies. Zero, for his part, is just like he's always been, slashing enemies with his saber for big-time damage. He's also learned how to bat projectiles back from whence they came, which I have no doubt those wacky level designers will remind you of again and again. X himself is also available later in the game, but first you have to unlock him by rescuing a lot of hostages from the various levels.
So, Axl isn't that big a switch from the norm. Bigger changes come in the 3D nature of the gameplay. Even when you're in a side-scrolling area, enemies can and do go into and out of the background. That's not a problem, though, as Axl can automatically target them with the touch of a button. (Zero doesn't seem to be able to do much in this situation, except wait for the enemies to cross the 2D plane he's currently on.) As you'd expect, the full-on 3D areas offer even more deviation from the norm. You can walk in any direction, and the lock-on feature becomes essential to quickly and efficiently dispatching the enemies.
*POP* goes the robot.
The graphics and sound are pretty average. The cel-shaded characters do a great job of representing the classic characters, but the backgrounds are sparse and the explosions look a bit janky. The music is typical Mega Man X fare, fitting but unmemorable. Man, do you remember the first game's tunes? SNES perfection. Too bad they lost it somewhere along the line ... ah well. At least it has cool Japanese voice acting.
A Series Revitalized?
It's interesting to see the legendarily conservative Capcom finally take the X series to 3D. To be honest, I'm not sure how much that really adds to the experience, but one thing's for sure: The game totally captures the feel of a Mega Man X game, so the faithful will be happy. Everyone else? Well, you'll have to wait till October to find out!
