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![Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 Review Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 Review](/uploads/1/2/5/7/125760035/144805584.jpg)
A Moderately X-cellent CollectionHIGH The first half of the collection.LOW The second half of the collection.WTF Stop making two-part collections!Mega Man X is my all-time favorite Mega Man game — none of the NES originals come close to the sheer enjoyment that I have when playing this Super Nintendo classic. However, I’ve never tried the other entries in the X series, so it’s great that Capcom has released a collection of them. The bad news? The collection is split into two uneven parts.All of the titles featured here focus on an updated version of Mega Man (known as X) as he fights against the evil Sigma — basically the MMX version of Dr. Before reaching Sigma, X must defeat 8 robot Mavericks.
Much like the original series, X gains new abilities for each Maverick he defeats. There are some slight gameplay differences from the originals, but the core gameplay will be familiar to anyone who’s played any of the original Mega Man games.Part one of the collection consists of the first four Mega Man X titles. As a new player, X2 and X3 felt familiar and follow the formula of the first — all offer great graphics, tight gameplay, challenging Maverick bosses, and plenty of hidden secrets to find. Debuting on the PS One, X4 looks slightly different than its SNES predecessors but carries the torch in all other areas. While I did not beat each of these games, I spent most of my playtime in this half of the collection.
Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 came out at the same time as the first back in July. We have a traditional review of it already. My own legacy with this series goes back years though, so I might. With Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1+2, fans are finally able to experience the entirety of the series on a Nintendo platform. Mega Man X through X6 had previously been collected in Mega Man X Collection on GameCube back in 2006. That anthology in many ways represented the best that the series had to offer.
The original is still my top choice in the X series, but I can see how people might argue for any of the first four.The same can’t be said for the four games in the second half of the collection, which contains X5, X6, X7, and X8 — these are often seen as the weakest games in the MMX franchise. X6 and X7 are generally considered just plain bad, so I’m not sure this collection will change anyone’s mind, but it’s nice to have the whole series here for completion’s sake. X5 and X8 have some good aspects, but are weighed down by frustrating sections like X5’s hoverbike or the leap-of-faith-platforming in X8.
I also found X’s movement here to feel slow and weighed down compared to the earlier games.Both collections offer a variety of additional bonuses. There’s an art gallery, music player, and even the ability to watch a short animated segment.
Another nice feature is the Hunter Medal collection, which works like an achievement system and gives players medals for completing such tasks as beating a game or defeating a Maverick using a certain weapon.There’s also a Rookie Hunter mode for each entry — it’s basically an easy mode that reduces the damage X takes each time he’s hit. Players will still have to avoid insta-kill spikes and challenging platform segments, but Rookie Hunter is a great add that allows players of all skill levels to experience games that have a steep learning curve in their original incarnations. This easy mode can be turned on and off at any time, even in the middle of a level, so players can adjust as needed if they find a specific part too difficult.Perhaps the best addition to the collection is the X Challenge mode.
Here, players take on two Mavericks from the various games at the same time! There’s no change in boss attack patterns, but with everything happening at once it can be very chaotic. However, players who recognize the attacks and know which weapons to utilize should enjoy the challenge. For me, I found the X Challenges to be a little difficult, but still a joy to play.Other than the quality of the second half of the series, there’s not much to be disappointed about, although I will say that the save feature is lackluster. Early titles in the X series relied on a password system to keep track of a player’s progress (and they’re still fully functional) but a real save system is now included. This is good, but the problem is that it doesn’t save everything — energy tanks and extra lives are wiped out each time. Also, if a player progresses to the final stages and then has to save, they restart back to the first part.
It’s is a minor inconvenience, but an inconvenience all the same.If the Mega Man X Legacy Collection were just one package, it would come recommended for any fan of action platformers. However, being split into two separate purchases makes a full recommendation slightly complicated. Part one contains four amazing games which should be enjoyed by even casual MMX fans. Part two contains four games that can only be recommended to the most hardcore fans of the series.
Prospective customers should figure out where they are on the Mega Man spectrum and act accordingly. Rating: 7.5 out of 10Disclosures: This game is developed and published by Capcom. It is currently available on PC, PS4, Switch, and XBO. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the Switch. Approximately 14 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and two of the individual games were completed. There are no multiplayer modes.Parents: According to the, this game is rated T and contains Blood, Cartoon Violence, and Mild Suggestive Themes. Gameplay is relatively safe for most gamers, especially those 10 and older — it’s just standard Mega Man gameplay consisting of shooting robots and watching them explode. Parents may want to screen the cutscenes first, though, especially in the later games that have animated scenes with blood and some mild four-letter words.Colorblind Modes: There no colorblind modes available in the options.Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: All dialogue within the individual games is subtitled, including the animated cutscenes, but text size is not adjustable.
In-game scenes show dialogue with the character’s name listed before the text. There are no obvious audio cues that impact gameplay. The extra animated short mentioned in the review does not appear to have subtitles. While the games are fully accessible, because of the lack of subtitles in the animated short, this collection is not fully accessible.Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls. All actions can be mapped to any button, though the ZR and ZL buttons are not used and cannot be selected. Controls must be adjusted for each individual game in the collection and unfortunately do not save. Players wishing to use a different control scheme must change it each time they play.
![Collection Collection](/uploads/1/2/5/7/125760035/185035131.jpg)
For his tenth birthday, Brian was given the option of receiving a GameBoy or a Game Gear. He chose the GameBoy. No longer were videogames confined to the home PC, he could now squeeze in a quick game on the trip to the store or right before bed. Over twenty-five years later and with two young kids, Brian still needs to squeeze in time for videogames, but now gets to do so on slightly better hardware.When he does find time to play, Brian’s preferred games of choice are platformers, beat-‘em-ups, or a good adventure game.He still enjoys the retro gaming scene, could talk about the Nintendo 64 more than he might like to admit, and misses playing in actual arcades. Brian also gets to pass on his love of gaming, as his oldest son is just now starting to join the fun.As for that GameBoy - it’s sitting in Brian’s nightstand, waiting patiently for four AA batteries.
Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 + 2 captures some truly fine sidescrolling shooting, cramming in some of the greatest action games ever made from the SNES and PS1.That, in itself, makes these titles worth grabbing, but not only that, the games offer pages of concept art, pictures of toys, comic covers, and dozens of other images from Mega Man X’s history. Further, it adds in some truly neat new challenges for series veterans, creating a must-have package for fans of the series. New players, though, may not find themselves quite as enamoured with the full package.Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 + 2 gives players eight Mega Man X games, following the series’ history from the SNES to the PS2. The collection splits the titles right down the middle, giving players four games in each, but the split also comes right at when the series’ quality takes a noticeable drop.
Mega Man X 1-4 are all well-balanced, challenging action games, but X 5-8, while still entertaining, feel a bit more rushed, unbalanced, or clumsy. There was no real better way to split the games up, but the result is a package where buying the first game is a no-brainer, while the latter will likely only be appreciated by die-hard Mega Man X fans. Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 + 2 Review Gameplay Image provided by CapcomThis is through no fault of the presentation. The games all look razor-sharp on the ’s portable screen, playing with no input lag as players whip through stage after stage of oddball bosses and well-hidden power-ups. Players can also choose to opt into CRT-like filters to give the games that old tv feel or use the new, cleaner visuals that look oh-so-nice. The soundtrack is just as crisp as the visuals, giving the ears a treat as well as the eyes (although some of the delightfully cringe-y dialogue is just as muffled as it used to be).Choosing a visual filter is far from the only option available.
Players can choose to go through the Japanese versions of all of the titles, as well as localizations in other languages for some of the later games, letting them experience the game as it was designed for other audiences. It’s a lovely touch that lets players try out the game in a ‘new’ way, and shows how far its developers went to capture a ton of Mega Man X history with the game.Players who want to dig deeper into the series’ background will find pages of concept art and more within the Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 + 2. Each game comes with a catalogue of scanned toy images, boss designs, comic artwork, and other tidbits from decades of work on the series. Players can see how their favourite entries came together, the other media that came out of the games, and just really immerse themselves in all of the various things that Mega Man X spawned. Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 + 2 Review Gameplay Image provided by CapcomWhile paying careful attention to the series’ history, the collection isn’t a slave to its difficulty. Instead of offering the ability to save anywhere like in the Mega Man Legacy Collection, this collection offers a Rookie Hunter Mode.
This can be toggled on and off at will and will make the player take far less damage on top of making pits and spikes non-lethal in some of the games. This will allow new players the opportunity to practice and gain experience with the games without the constant saving/loading that the previous collection was bad for, and also softens things up for those of us who feel we have little to prove any more.For those who do want more of a challenge, the Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 + 2 offers up some Hunter Medals for players to earn. Basically, achievements, these push players to try out different modes, play at higher difficulties, or try trickier battle tactics, encouraging experimentation and new ways to play.More interestingly is the X Challenge Mode.
This will pit players in two-on-one boss battles with pairs of foes from the series, tasking them with doing things like beating Frost Walrus and Chill Penguin at the same time. These boss pairs have been carefully chosen to work in tandem, using their abilities together to create some devious difficulty, but they’ve also been placed in arenas where their powers can really make life difficult. Players are also limited to equipping only three boss powers to bring with them across three of these match-ups, having to typically rely on the Mega Buster rather than cheese boss weaknesses.
Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 + 2 Review Gameplay Image provided by CapcomThis mode, alone, is arguably worth the price of entry. Choosing from a list of special powers allows the player to tweak their battle strategy in various ways, and the boss pairs create some chances for some spectacular fights as players battle for the tiniest bit of room to dash through the pairs of attacks.
It’s exhilarating for those who’ve put days of practice into these games and want something that will truly push them in unique, unexpected ways.Plus, they’re just a great series of games. Each has their own special merits, memorable bosses and stages, and powers that are a blast to experiment with. The exploration for hidden power-ups and armour sets makes combing through each stage a ball, and the emphasis on high-flying jumps, quick dashes, and weaving through barrages of enemy fire never gets old. Even in its weaker entries, it’s a formula that works well, and its ‘bad’ entries are still great action games on their only (only paling in comparison to other ones in the series). Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 + 2 Review Gameplay Image provided by CapcomMega Man X Legacy Collection 1 + 2 is a necessity for Mega Man fans. With its impeccable presentation of the classic games, its focus on history, and its ability to remix its challenges to make decades-old games feel brand new, it’s simply a must-have package.
Even if the second half is clearly weaker, these are eight games that will capture action fans’ attention for some time.Liked this article and want to read more like it? Reviews such as, and!Want to see more videos?
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