Mega Man X

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Mega Man X
Logo from the first game
Genre(s)	Action, platform
Developer(s)	Capcom
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Platform(s)	Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Saturn, PC, Nintendo Gamecube, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PSP (Maverick Hunter X), Virtual Console, PlayStation Network, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4
First release	Mega Man X 1993 (1993)
Latest release	Mega Man X DiVE 2020 (2020)
Spin-offs	Mega Man Zero Mega Man ZX

Mega Man X (after X4 stylized as Megaman X), known in Japan as Rockman X^[a], is a series of action platform video games released by Capcom. It is a part of the Mega Man franchise. The first game was released on December 17, 1993 in Japan (January 1994 in North America) on the Super NES/Super Famicom; most of the sequels were ported to the PC platform. The gameplay introduced new elements to the Mega Man franchise including the ability to dash and climb walls.^[1] The first six games in the series were compiled in the anthology Mega Man X Collection.

Capcom released Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 & 2 on July 24, 2018 and July 26, 2018 in Japan, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Windows, which contains all eight main games over both collections, as well as bonus modes.^[2][3]

Plot[]

Mega Man X, commonly known as "X", was created by Dr. Thomas Light. X was a new type of robot with the ability to think, feel, and make his own decisions. Recognizing the potential danger of this model (in particular if he were to break the first rule of robotics: a robot must never harm a human being), Light sealed X away in a diagnostic capsule for over 30 years of testing.^[4] X's capsule was uncovered by an archaeologist named Dr. Cain almost 100 years after X's creation. Excited by the possibilities X presented, Cain disregarded the warnings Light had logged in the capsule and created a legion of robots that replicated X's free will; these robots were called "Reploids" (shortened from Replica Android, but known as "Repliroids" in Japan).

A number of Reploids turned against humans. These Reploids were dubbed "Mavericks" ("Irregulars" in Japan), and a force called the Maverick Hunters ("Irregular Hunters") was formed to combat them. The Maverick Hunters were led by Sigma until he, too, became a Maverick and declared war against the humans, thus starting the Maverick War. X took it upon himself to join the Maverick Hunters under their new leader Zero. Throughout the series, X, Zero, and later Axl (a prototype of the next-generation Reploid) battle against the Mavericks to stop their plots to destroy the human race.

After the series reached an unresolved cliffhanger, a game entitled "Mega Man X Dive" was released by Capcom Taiwan in which a human plays Mega Man X, until due in part to some corrupted data known as Maverick Data, he/she gets transported into the Deep Log, a massive database with data on every Mega Man game. The player must progress through the scrambled code of the Maverick War, Elf Wars, and the Game Of Destiny, to destroy the Maverick Data causing the slow corruption of the Deep Log.^{[citation needed]}

Series history[]

Capcom released Mega Man X for the SNES to give a new image to the Mega Man game series. There are a total of 11 games in the Mega Man X series: Mega Man X through Mega Man X8, Mega Man X: Command Mission, Mega Man Xtreme and Xtreme 2. Mega Man X Collection was released in 2006 exclusively in North America. It comprises the first six Mega Man X games, plus Mega Man: Battle & Chase. Two compilations were released as a combo pack worldwide in July 2018, with the Japanese release occurring two days after the rest of the world: Mega Man X Legacy Collection, which has Mega Man X through Mega Man X4, and Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2, which has Mega Man X5 through Mega Man X8.

In 2010, Armature Studio, a development studio founded by the creators of Metroid Prime, were developing a first-person shooter titled Maverick Hunter, which was intended to build on the mythology of Mega Man X. However, it was cancelled by Capcom after six months of development.^[7]

Gameplay[]

Mega Man X plays similarly to its predecessor series Mega Man, but with various new features: X has, by default beginning with X2, the ability to dash along the ground, cling to walls, jump off walls, and dash jump to cover greater distance than a normal jump. This all gives X more mobility than his original series counterpart.

X is also able to locate capsules and tanks that permanently upgrade his armor. These upgrades are all either hidden or require an exceptional feat to reach. Upgrades common to each game are increased maximum hit points, "sub-tanks" which can be filled with surplus health pick-ups and then used at any time to refill the character's hit points, and the ability to charge weapons earned from bosses, which gives them an enhanced secondary fire mode. In later games, there are multiple armor types available that can either be mixed and matched, or completed for additional armor set bonuses.

Starting in X3, Zero is a playable character. In X3, Zero is armed with a beam saber in addition to the traditional "buster" arm cannon, but relies on his saber almost exclusively starting in X4. In X5, both X and Zero gain the ability to duck. In X6, the player can rescue reploids to replenish health and acquire upgrades not otherwise available. In X7, the playable character Axl is introduced. Axl utilizes two guns known as Axl Bullets. In X8, a tag system is introduced, along with a new Double Attack feature, where the two selected characters can attack at the same time.

Mavericks replace the Robot Masters, and Sigma replaces Dr. Wily. The stage boss Mavericks are based on various types of organisms (usually animals, but plants and fungi are also represented) instead of being humanoid, as were most of the bosses in the classic series, although their attacks and names are usually based on mechanical or chemical phenomena or laws of physics like in the original games. The main group of antagonists in each game, which are fought as mid-bosses and/or fortress bosses, are normally humanoid in appearance.

Other media[]

Animation[]

The popularity of the series prompted a crossover into the Mega Man cartoon from Ruby-Spears, in which X travels back in time in pursuit of several Mavericks and teams up with the original Mega Man. As an unlockable feature within Mega Man Maverick Hunter X, the PSP remake of the original Mega Man X, a 25-minute OVA animated by Xebec entitled Rockman X: The Day of Sigma was made, serving as a prequel to the events of the first game and the X series. The OVA details how Sigma became a Maverick, X's abilities and Zero's awakening. The OVA was later included in the Mega Man X Legacy Collection.

Print[]

The storylines of several of the X series games were adapted into manga form.

Archie Comics included characters and elements of the X series in its Mega Man comic, beginning with the adaptation "The X Factor" and continuing in an original story titled "Dawn of X" that switched back and forth between X's timeline and that of the original Mega Man during the early stages of the Mega Man 3 adaptation. Shortly thereafter, the series would be incorporated in the series' second crossover with the Sonic the Hedgehog comic lines from Archie, Worlds Unite. The plot of this crossover centers around Sigma forming an alliance with various other villains from different dimensions in a bid to take control of the multiverse. This prompts the Maverick Hunters (whose membership includes X, Zero, and Axl due to the story being set between the events of X7 and X8) to join forces with Mega Man and other heroes.

Notes[]

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