A good start to a long-lasting legacy
I’m a huge Mega Man fan. It started with the original series and evolved to include the X series. Fearless GI leader Lyndsey gifted me a treasure trove of Mega Man X games worthy of Capcom’s next generation blue titan, and Mega Man X Legacy Collection has risen to the top of the pile.
The first disc of Legacy Collection covers the first four MMX games that were released for the SNES and PSOne. In these games, you control our favorite hero in blue or his later partner Zero in their quest to achieve peace in the future. Each game has a different story that builds on the previous game, but overall X and Zero are the stars of the show with various versions of longtime antagonist Sigma attempting to achieve world domination. Each of the first four games has various bosses X or Zero faces with the successful result of gaining the boss’ weapon or skill that can be used for various levels. X has a slight advantage in the game by using hidden upgrade chambers designed by the late Dr. Light that increases firepower, speed and protection.
The value of the first disc is perfect for fans or those beginning the X series and increases with the anime-inspired designs of heroes and villains, which encourages replay of all the collection’s games. This first disc also has a lot of interesting elements that include presenting 16-bit and anime-style intermission screens that were included when the games were originally released. Capcom also introduced a high-resolution filter, giving the game’s graphics a streamlined yet colorful approach and a unique box frame for each game. A music player containing all the music from the original games also rounds out the presentation extras, which were nice.
One of the other cool additions is the X Challenge, which pits you against two legendary bosses of the series while choosing three weapons to use. This requires some forethought and understanding of the series’ mechanics, which is a welcome change of pace when you want something different from the story modes. I also thought that the art gallery and the animated movie focusing on Sigma was a nice touch.
The only criticism I had of the collection is with some of the other extras. Capcom decided to show off never-before-seen Mega Man X collectibles that were only available in Japan. Capcom never did license these outside of Japan, making fans like me curse them for their dense business practices. Because, really, why would you tease other regions with this, knowing Mega Man is global? It just seems like another slap in the face where Mega Man is concerned.
Mega Man X Legacy Collection is a great tribute to the X series. Despite my hang-ups with Capcom, this is a great love letter to Mega Man X fans and can be a template to continue the story of X and company.