Hot on the heels of the well-received Mega Man Anniversary Collection Capcom announced the Mega Man X Collection. Capcom and developer Atomic Planet did a fantastic job of celebrating the original series history. Not only did you get the original eight games but two bonus arcade titles most had never seen. That is on top of the mountains of artwork and music. I like many assumed they would pour the same lavish care on the X series. Not just because I prefer it to vanilla Mega Man but because it deserves it. Well the eventual collection is here and is both satisfying and disappointing, not because of what it is but what it could have been.
Mega Man X Collection collects the first six games in the series in one neat package. While I’m sure some would have wanted all 8 that wasn’t happening. Not only for space reasons but because the last two entries were too new. While I genuinely like X8 trust me, you want nothing to do with Mega Man X7. As a whole the series has ranged from classic (X) to merely good (X5) and outright bad (X6). You get a lot of bang for your buck here and unlock the previous collection both versions are identical.
The versions here are faithful to the originals with a few improvements here and there. The slowdown that plagued the SNES games has been removed for a smoother experience. As well those games now save to the memory card although your old passwords still work. The version of Mega Man X3 included here is the PlayStation version only released in Europe and Japan. The PS One game originally ran in widescreen but here it is full screen. The other main “feature” of that version were its FMV cutscenes, most notably the intro and when selecting a maverick. They’re cool to watch the first time but are otherwise fluff.
One key area that all the games differ in is sound. The SNES games have been hit hardest in this area. The music in all stages fades out and starts over rather than playing consistently. Various sound effects have been changed or are missing as well. I’ve never been a fan of Mega Man X3’s soundtrack but I especially don’t like the remixed version in the PlayStation version. Mega Man X6 loses the Japanese dub and is completely silent. I always found it strange that X6 was never dubbed and shouldn’t really care that the vocal track is missing seeing as I don’t speak Japanese. But the game seems incomplete without it strangely enough.
The six titles are nice but the real noteworthy title is Mega Man Battle & Chase. Once scheduled for a US release this kart racer only hit Japan and Europe. This could easily have been a quick cash in but surprisingly has a decent amount of content. The wacky story has a racing TV show awarding a 10,000,000 zenny prize to its winner and many applicants apply. As a kart racer the game does a decent job of incorporating Mega Man features into its combat. Each character has a special ability such as Mega Man’s charge shot or Shadow Man’s, uh, shadow blade that function differently. Winning a race allows you to select a part from your opponent. These parts (48 total) further allow you to customize your kart for each track. While there aren’t as many track as your average Mario Kart there is enough content to kill an afternoon.
That being said it doesn’t hold a candle to the two Power Battle arcade games included in the Anniversary Collection. Ultimately that is where the disappointment stems. That game had ten titles overall and far more extras. With its extensive art gallery, music, developer interviews, and anime episodes/documentaries it felt like a true celebration of Mega Man. The X Collection by comparison feels like the bare minimum. The entire genesis behind the creation of the X series is well worth exploring and this was the avenue to do it. Too bad, as the lacking bonus features is a huge missed opportunity.
In Closing
Overall Mega Man X Collection is a solid package of outstanding to merely good games. While it is a shame that it wasn’t given as much care as its predecessor there is still hours of entertainment to be had in such a small package.
