Mega Man X5 (PS1) Retro Review

We continue this month of Mega Man--MEGA MAY--with the fifth entry of the X sub-series. Mega Man X5 was meant to be the end of the X sub-series, but as we know, that did not come to pass. Was that good thing or a bad thing that X5 wasn't the final note from the franchise? Let's find out with the SuperPhillip Central review!

To X or not to X; that is the question.

It's decidedly a difficult challenge to review games in a vacuum, particularly games within a franchise's own series. When you've reached the fifth installment of a series, or in Mega Man X's case, sub-series, you have certain expectations you have to live up to. Mega Man X5 was originally planned as the finale of the X sub-series. For better or worse, the games continued after X5. With that and with reviewing games in a vacuum in mind, Mega Man X5 delivers a stellar and steady amount of action that one would want from the X sub-series, but it also stumbles as a sequel to even its most recent at the time predecessor. 

An encounter with Sigma after the intro level of the game sets the stage and events that transpire in Mega Man X5. The Eurasia space colony is headed towards Earth, which would result in the spread of the Sigma Virus at best, and the annihilation of the planet's population at worst. With little in the way of recourse and options, the Maverick Hunters hedge their bets on two plans: 1) a lunar cannon to destroy the colony before it can make contact with the Earth, and 2) having someone pilot a shuttle to crash into the colony, again before it destroys Earth. Either way, both plans require Mega Man X and Zero to enter into one of eight stages to secure the necessary materials for either operation to get off the ground, both figuratively and literally. 

Better Eurasia than Uranus heading towards us! (...I'm SO sorry.)

Mega Man X5 indeed takes a different approach to its formula. Yes, you still have eight stages at first to choose from, but the game highly encourages you to play the Maverick stages containing the necessary equipment to be used for the Lunar Cannon first. There's also a time limit, too. Every time you beat a stage or get a game over and switch stages, an hour ticks down until the colony is set to crash into Earth. The time limit given isn't too taxing or much of a concern, as you really have to try to have the countdown hit zero (the number, that is, not the Maverick Hunter). 

It's hard not to be reminded of Mega Man X4 when a starting select-able armor for X is
the Fourth Armor, directly from, you guessed it, Mega Man X4!

Even still, upon collecting the first four supplies needed to launch the Lunar Cannon, there's no guarantee it will work. In fact, most of the time you'll find the Lunar Cannon plan fails, thus it goes to plan B which is the manned shuttle option. The latter plan requires X and Zero to, of course, enter the other four Maverick stages. Generally, the shuttle will work, but there still is a chance of failure, however slight. 

Mega Man X5 is an interesting game, for sure, with its structure and story, but it's also a game that when coming off the superb, excellent Mega Man X4--one of my favorite entries featuring the Blue Bomber, period--it feels like an immense downgrade. Taken by itself without X4 in the equation, it's a quality entry to the franchise. However, most of Mega Man X5's players probably won't jump directly into this entry, thus X4's baggage will always be there.

X marks the spot for action, and you get plenty of that in Mega Man X5.

Essentially, Mega Man X5 is a case of "what if we took Mega Man X4... and made it worse?" Because that's what Mega Man X5 feels like. Level gimmicks and mechanics from Mega Man X4 such as Dark Necrobat's gravity flipping was seen in X4's Cyber Peacock stage, and it was done better there. The bike segment seen at the start of Volt Kraken's stage was done already in X4's Jet Stingray stage, and yes, it, too, was done better there. In fact, with the latter example, you can actually die in Volt Kraken's stage before the word "Ready" disappears! Whoever decided to have a bottomless pit that players have to manually jump over to start a stage before you're actually asked by the game if you're "ready", needs a lesson in acceptable game design. 

Other stages incorporate their own unique and exclusive to X5 mechanics and gimmicks. Burn Dinorex's stage, for instance, takes place in a volcano, where players start descending down into its depths. Eventually they stumble upon intermittent eruptions in the form of walls of instant-death flames. The only salvation here is to hide behind clearly marked sections of wall to avoid them. It's a clever mechanic and one that is quite exciting to contend with.

Other mechanics don't fare so well. Take Tidal Whale's stage. No, seriously, please take it, as it's not good. It's a tedious auto-scrolling stage where you're at the mercy of the auto-scroll and the sunken battleship either pursuing you or you giving chase to. Either way, it's a slow, plodding pace, and that'd be okay if it was a one and done deal. Instead, if you want to collect everything in the level, you have to play through the majority of this stage no short of three separate times! One to beat the stage normally, another to reach Dr. Light's capsule, which of course requires the special weapon you earn from this stage's boss, and a last run-through to climb the spikes housing where the stage's Heart Tank rests. 

Tidal Whale's stage plays a remix of Mega Man X2's Bubble Crab's level music... 
Unfortunately for Mega Man X5, it's another reminder of a better X game.

Mega Man X5 changes up how Dr. Light's capsules function, the first time in the X sub-series, as well, and also how future entries would handle them. Instead of getting a part for a new piece of armor and being able to use it immediately, you have to collect all four parts of the armor first before being able to assemble and use it as needed. There are two armor sets in Mega Man X5, and the first, the Falcon Armor which gives X the ability to temporarily fly over short distances, is required to get a fair number of pieces of the second armor, the Gaea Armor. This Gaea Armor can climb and touch spikes without the instant death that any other character would succumb to by touching a spike, but X also cannot use special weapons when equipped with the armor. Needless to say, there are plenty of places that require the Gaea Armor and require backtracking to previously completed stages to reach otherwise inaccessible goodies and items.

Instead of supplying X with a usable armor part immediately, Dr Light requires all 
four pieces of a given armor set to be obtained before using it.

Outside of capsules, there are the standard eight Heart Tanks (these bolster the amount of your maximum health) to optionally obtain in Mega Man X5, one hidden in each Maverick stage, and usually each require a special weapon or armor to reach. There are also two Sub-Tanks, which serve as health-restoring items that must be manually used within the menu, one Weapon Tank (weapon energy-restoring tanks), and some other collectibles that can add to the replay value as well of the game. Not only do they serve that purpose, but they also come in clutch for making this difficult game less so. Or, rather, they at least give the more novice or inexperienced players more of a fighting chance.

One of the eight Mavericks to battle, Burn Dinorex (I refuse to use the absurd North American names) heats up!

Let me interrupt my griping by saying that I know I'm giving a lot of crap to Mega Man X5, and that is purely because it's coming off such a phenomenal entry in the franchise, X4. Trust me when I say that X5 is still a highly competent and capable entry... even as I now continue to bash it some more. 

Coming off of Mega Man X4, you can't help but see how much the budget took a hit with Mega Man X5 as well. Long gone are the beautiful, cheesy-voiced anime cutscenes that were quite impressive for the time--heck, still are. Instead, what you get are slideshow cutscenes, with next to nothing in the way of animation. There's limited voice work, which further disappoints. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of interruptions to the gameplay as well. Alia is a character that serves as an operator of sorts to X and Zero while they're on the field, and she is sort of a quasi-Navi (a la The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time) in how she interrupts you from figuring out things for yourself. But instead of a "hey, listen" and optionally see what Navi has to say, Mega Man X5 just stops you dead in your tracks to have slow text boxes of mostly obvious information pop up. 

What's a guy-a gotta do to get-a this Gaea armor? Well, find all four Dr. Light capsules, of course!

That said, with all of those gripes (and yes, there were many), Mega Man X5 is indeed a worthwhile entry. It did introduce some good things to the sub-series, such as the ability to crouch, for one, which makes dodging and avoiding enemies and their attacks much easier. There are also wires of both the vertical and horizontal variety that X and Zero can cling to in order to cross otherwise impossible chasms and reach higher heights. Awesome stuff, truly! These two added abilities put together with the tried and true run, gun, jump, and dash gameplay of previous Mega Man X games makes X5 almost play better than ever. X and Zero have far more utility available to them.

X and Zero can cling to similar ropes/wires like these to move up and down them for some added mobility.

This doesn't make the game any easier than past installments, though. Mega Man X5 is still very much a challenging game even on one's best day. But things like collecting Heart Tanks, Sub-Tanks, the lone Weapon Tank, and Dr. Light's generous armor upgrades, make for some things that definitely level the playing field, so to speak, in X and Zero's favor. 

On its own, Mega Man X5 is another X-cellent entry in the series, and the last entry in the series until X8 that was of a high quality, in this fan of the Blue Bomber's opinion. Of course, it's difficult to ignore X5's predecessors and review the game in a vacuum. With the sub-series' past as a point of context, Mega Man X5 did let me down back when and somewhat does now. As time has gone by and gone on, I've come to appreciate Mega Man X5 more, flaws and all. It may be a bit of a step down from past entries, but it also can stand on its own two feet as an enjoyable game all the same. 

[SPC Says: C+] 

Speed Punks (PS1) Retro Review

I feel like we're stuck on a racing game trend here on SuperPhillip Central lately--what, with Chocobo Racing, Mario Kart World, and yes, now Speed Punks for the original PlayStation. I must really have the need for speed, and while I'm on this theme of racing, let's take to the track with this oft overlooked PS1 kart racer!

Whether you know them as punks or as freaks, these folks sure have some speed!

 

Back in the 1990s, every publisher wanted a piece of the Mario Kart pie, and Sony with its then-newly established PlayStation were no different. Coming at Nintendo's prestigious Mario Kart franchise with not one but two karting efforts within the span of about a year: Naughty Dog's Crash Team Racing and the subject of today's review, Funcom's Speed Punks (aka Speed Freaks outside of North America), it's safe to say the latter is more forgotten in the annals of gaming history. That said, while CTR is definitely the more popular of the two, does that mean that Speed Punks deserved to slip through the cracks? 

Well, yes and no, depending on what context you're approaching the game from. But, we'll get more into that in a teeny tiny bit. Let's go with an overview of what is inside the Speed Punks package before we delve any further. 

The starting circuits offer gentle turns, wide tracks, and plenty of room to maneuver.

The main single player content of Speed Punks is its Tournament mode. Here, players race against five other drivers in your standard Grand Prix contest, featuring four tracks. There are three batches of four tracks, beginning with the Easy Tournament. The tracks here showcase gentle turns, wide open straightaways, and little in the way of hazards compared to later difficulties. Successfully completing each tournament unlocks the next difficulty in an Easy to Normal to Hard progression. By the time you reach the Hard Tournament, tracks are much more windier, have intense and tight curves, plentiful narrow sections, easy spots to fall off via careless driving, and numerous hazards to evade. 

 Depending on the place racers achieve in the Tournament mode, they receive different amounts of points, with first place earning the most, and sixth earning the least. However, if the player hits fourth or worse in a race, they must use up one of their finite retries to start the race over and try again for a higher place. Races can also be restarted mid-lap, though also at the cost of retry. You might think this is a foolish maneuver, but there is a reason to do this aside of knowing you're probably going to place fourth or worse.

Life is a highway, and I want to ride it for five laps.

Aside from that reason, what if you're in second place and coming in on the finish line? What possible excuse could you have to restart then, you ask? The main reason to do this is because you're awarded a chance to face a boss character for winning all races in a given Tournament in first place. Winning the trial against this boss character adds them to roster to race as. 

In total, there are six characters in the base roster with three more as unlockable through winning each of the three Tournaments in first place in all races, and thus, beating the boss character to unlock them into the roster. Each character sports their own stats in three categories: weight, top speed, and acceleration. 

Get first place in all of a given Tournament's difficulty, and you'll earn the right to face a boss!
Win, and you'll add them to your repertoire of racers!

 

 

 

 

Totaling just twelve tracks might seem like a bummer, especially compared to Mario Kart, which at the time sported 16 unique tracks, and that's because it sort of is! While it is a bit disappointing to see Speed Punks with a smaller number of tracks, what is available are fun and entertaining circuits. These are five laps apiece as opposed to the typical three seen in other kart racers, and they give you enough time to enjoy each circuit before moving onto the next. Even with five laps, they don't overextend their individual welcomes or grow tedious. Well, maybe that's less true of the final track within the Hard Tournament, as that one even if it were three laps is a test of the endurance, for sure!

Regardless, the tracks are well designed, and the shortcuts within them offer some smart design too. Whether that's driving through a bush within the opening of a fence to reach a whole new part of track within the speedway that is Silver City, or shortcuts that only appear later in a given race, like a cavern's opening within the volcanic Thunder Trail--these are cleverly hidden for the most part and offer great skips ahead of one's opponents.

Of course, a kart racer, especially one with a goofy aesthetic and unrealistic approach, isn't worth putting the pedal to the metal if its selection of items isn't worthwhile. Fortunately, there's plenty here in Speed Punks to sow strife on straightaways, cause chaos at corners, and tremendous terror on the track in general. There are of course green shell and red shell equivalents with missiles and homing missiles respectively, slime puddles that serve as Speed Punks' banana peel equivalent, and yes, even a pesky blue shell equivalent, as well. However, there are also other power-ups that don't necessarily take from the Mario Kart playbook, such as machine guns, shockwaves, and a tire pop that will inflate your tires until they burst (though this can be battled against by mashing on a specific button), for starters.

Excuse me, sir. You dropped this bomb!

While the items and power-ups within Speed Punks add to the vehicular carnage and motor mayhem as one would expect, not everything brings chaos to the game in the best of ways. For one, Speed Punks' driving physics and handling constantly make you feel like you're driving on a Teflon surface. It's beyond slippery and frustratingly so. Secondly, the AI isn't the fairest of them all, let's say. They'll unload on to you with items, power-ups, and just make for an aggravating time on the track in Tournament mode.  

Fortunately, what positives I can say about Speed Punks' racing action are more numerous than its negatives. The aforementioned items are enjoyable to use, races are generally incredibly thrilling and especially rewarding if and when you emerge victorious, tracks are well designed, and the boost system is helpful in cutting corners, making shortcuts, and otherwise navigating through and speeding back up after all of the item spam you will face. 

Who's a good racer? Why, yes, you are! Yes, you are!

That notwithstanding, content-wise Speed Punks is lacking. The twelve total tracks are a paltry amount for a kart racer, no matter how well designed they come across. The amount of modes is lackluster, and the inability to play the Tournament mode with a local player is disappointing to me at the very least.

Like the Speed Punks track Millennium Park's roller coaster is much like Speed Punks and this review, as we're constantly going up and down these last few paragraphs with criticism and praise. Here we go again, as Speed Punk absolutely nails its presentation. The colors are crisp, colorful, and vibrant. The characters exude enough personality and animate well for a PS1 title, and the environments are delightful to take in and look at as you speed past them. The D&B soundtrack won't everyone's cup of tea (or is it motor oil? Ew.), but it's certainly serviceable and complements the racing mayhem well. 

Neither Speed Punks nor its developer Funcom may have survived into the present, but both their pasts offer plentiful amounts of entertainment. Speed Punks itself doesn't have the content to last most players an overly lengthy amount of time, and it can also be frustratingly difficult--sometimes for all the wrong reasons. That said, the game does deliver an all-around good time on the track, even if it's one that most players won't stick with for all too long. What it lacks in content and control, it more than makes up for in challenge and creativity. 

[SPC Says: C+]

The Games We Bought PlayStation For

On December 3rd, 1994, 26 years ago, the original PlayStation was born, ushering a new console and competitor in the market. Today, on this 26th birthday of the PS1 and the PlayStation brand in general, let's celebrate on SuperPhillip Central with a personal journey of sorts from yours truly, going through the games that pushed me and my family (hence, the "we", since when I was a kid I couldn't buy a PlayStation myself) into the PlayStation ecosystem again and again. Whether on consoles or handhelds, I've owned almost every major PlayStation platform (save for a recent, quite obvious one!). So, join me on my journey as a reminisce and briefly touch upon those killer apps that enticed so nice that they pushed me towards these PlayStation platforms.

[PlayStation One]

Final Fantasy VII 

Let's begin with a big one. Nintendo lost a lot of immediate ground to its new competitor, Sony, in the console race due to sticking with expensive cartridges on its Nintendo 64 over the PlayStation's CDs. What was seen as a massive betrayal was then-Squaresoft moving its complete focus to the PlayStation. The biggest game that Nintendo fans were going to miss out on (until 20+ years later, of course) was Final Fantasy VII. My older brother and I definitely didn't want to be one of those fans, so we begrudgingly begged our mom for another console, the PlayStation. It's fortunate that we did, as we have been happy PlayStation customers ever since. Maybe not so much big-time Final Fantasy fans, though, due to the series' quality over the years... 

Mega Man 8: Anniversary Edition

Like Squaresoft, Capcom, too, opted to jump ship from Nintendo to PlayStation after the rising costs of cartridges on the Nintendo 64, and they took one of our favorite franchises with them: Mega Man. Perhaps Mega Man 8 and its anniversary edition was more of a killer app for us than Final Fantasy VII was! Not only was the game gorgeous with its colorful, vivid, and vibrant sprite-based visuals, but the game featured so many new things, such as fully (and badly) voiced anime cutscenes, collectible bolts to use to purchase permanent upgrades at Dr. Light's, and a Mega Ball item, for kicks, of course. We would have missed out on so many Mega Man games--particularly one of my favorites, Mega Man X4--had we not leaped into Sony's ecosystem.

[PlayStation 2]

Final Fantasy X

With the PlayStation 2, the initial launch wasn't too exciting, so it was rather easy to pass on the PS2's offerings in the beginning. Of course, we all know how that story played out--the system has one of the best, all-encompassing game libraries of all time now. But, there were two games that truly tested my brother's and my will to ask for a PlayStation 2. One of these was Final Fantasy X. After adoring the PlayStation Final Fantasy games and much of Squaresoft's catalog on Sony's first system, it only made sense for us to have extreme hype for the first Final Fantasy on a bold new platform. Final Fantasy was already impressive and exceptionally large on the PS1, so we couldn't even imagine how big the newest game would be on the PlayStation 2. While the end result wasn't the best game in the series to us--far from it--Final Fantasy X will always have a special place in at least my heart for being the bait that lured us to the PlayStation 2's sunny shores.

[PlayStation 3]

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction

I should take the time to note that my family has never actually gotten a PlayStation platform at launch. But, if there was a case of purchasing one the closest to launch, that would be the case with the PlayStation 3. That's funny because we would both argue that the PS3 was Sony's weakest home console in terms of library. Regardless, my love for the Ratchet & Clank series' PlayStation 2 outings, especially Going Commando--my first game in the series--saw me absolutely drooling at the thought of playing the newest entry. Not only would be a bigger and bolder adventure, but it'd be in glorious high definition for the first time. That game was of course Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, and thank the lovely lombax for that, or else I would have never gotten to play his other PS3 adventures or this next game on this list.

LittleBigPlanet

"Play, Create, Share." I love making video games. Sure, I've only published one real game, but the act of creating levels, designing characters, and implementing all of it to work into one cohesive project is both exciting and fascinating to me. LittleBigPlanet came with the promise of being able to create massively complex level creations and share them with the world. You can bet I enjoyed doing just that! LittleBigPlanet quickly jumped to the top, right by Ratchet & Clank, as my favorite PlayStation franchises, and basically I'll now go anywhere Sackboy as well as Media Molecule does!

[PlayStation Portable]

Mega Man: Powered Up

Let's take a detour from PlayStation consoles to Sony's handheld efforts starting with the PlayStation Portable, or PSP. Another case of getting the system almost a year after launch like several other PlayStation systems, we did the same with the PSP. However, this time around I did something I never did before--I bought a game before even owning the system. Yes, my love for the Blue Bomber was so much that I NEEDED to own a copy of Mega Man: Powered Up, a remake of the original Mega Man with new content. The main selling point and killer app-potential for me with Powered Up was, like LittleBigPlanet, the ability to create and share my own levels. The fact that it was dolled up in Mega Man clothing, one of my favorite franchises, only made that decision stronger. 

[PlayStation Vita]

Uncharted: Golden Abyss

With the PlayStation Vita, despite all three of the games that attracted me to the system were launch titles, I didn't purchase a Vita until six months or so after the fact. Nevertheless, one of the top titles that enticed me to buy a Vita was Nathan Drake's then-latest adventure, and his first handheld epic, too: Uncharted: Golden Abyss. While I could have done without several of the hardware-themed gameplay gimmicks, there was something mightily impressive about taking a PlayStation 3-sized, graphically gorgeous adventure and having it in the palms of my hands. This was an amazing future for portables. Little did I know that the PlayStation Vita wouldn't have as bright of a future as many owners like myself would have hoped from Sony's first-party studios.

Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational

If there was ONE game that I had to pick that single-handedly thrusted me into the PlayStation Vita ecosystem, it would have to be none other than Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational. I adore the Hot Shots Golf series, now known as Everybody's Golf here in North America to match the PAL naming scheme. The game's phenomenal visuals certainly wowed me as an introduction, but what really got me was the tried and true excellent golfing gameplay. Developer Clap Hanz definitely knows how to make a great golf game, and while it's not the best in the series, it certainly shines as a bright title in the Vita's impressive library.

ModNation Racers: Road Trip

If you haven't picked up on the theme yet (and no worries if you haven't), something that gets me running to a game, or in this case putting the pedal to the metal on a game faster than 200cc Mario Kart is a game that allows me to create my own content. ModNation Racers: Road Trip was one of these games, and it was in one of my favorite genres, the kart racer. Not only was the allure of designing my own custom tracks appealing, but so was building my own karts and characters! I spent so many hours designing content for Road Trip, yes, but the single player campaign was also a blast all by itself to its own credit. A double dose of kart racer awesomeness, indeed--whether creating or actually racing!

[PlayStation 4]

Ratchet & Clank

With the PlayStation 4, I did something I never did before with a console: I bought it used and online, and I did it just for Ratchet & Clank, the re-imagining of the very first game in the series and tie-in to the movie of the same name. The latter was a bust, but the game itself was my favorite upon the year of its release. Both Ratchet and Clank never looked better, and the various planets and environments seen throughout the game absolutely stunned. The risk of buying a used console online ultimately paid off. I got the system for a price I could realistically afford, and I got to enjoy one of Sony's best lineups of games on offer for one of their platforms.

[PlayStation 5 ...eventually!]

Astro's Playroom

While the jury's still out on when a PlayStation 5 will grace the SuperPhillip household--due to the console's incredible and insane popularity that sees sellouts on the words "we now have stock"--I know that one game that I just can't wait to try out is Astro's Playroom. Plus, it comes free with the system, so that's a plus already! Add in the fact that it's a 3D platformer (another plus) and that it looks adorable, charming, and masterfully made as all get out, and I have more than enough reasons to be jealous of gamers who can put Astro's Playroom on their "best of 2020" lists!

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Hopefully the stock situation with the PlayStation 5 clears up by the time this last game on my personal journey through PlayStation releases. It's my favorite PlayStation franchise's latest game, and I don't know if I'll have the self control and patience to wait for stock to come in after Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart releases. I might just pay people to rent their PS5s! Okay, okay. I wouldn't be THAT desperate, but my desire to play Rift Apart at launch is darn near excruciating. Between the visuals that make my jaw fall down to and through the floor, to the awesome gameplay showcase that Sony showed several months back, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart will most likely be the game that puts Sony's shiny new white toy in my entertainment system... that is, if that large goliath fits in there!

===

What games on PlayStation systems were YOUR killer apps that made you want to get those systems? Let the SPC community know in the comments below!

Mega Man 8 (PS1, SAT) Retro Review

Today's July the 4th, and around the United States of America plenty of people are celebrating the country's independence. There will certainly be fireworks tonight in more ways than one. What do I mean by this? Why, I have in the schedule the plan to post SuperPhillip Central's longtime coming 600th review tonight! What game will it be!? You'll find out in a few hours.

For now, let's get focused on Mega Man, a great run and gun platforming franchise. Actually, let's get focused on the eighth installment, to be exact, Mega Man 8, with my review. It makes sense, as today Mega Man maker Keiji Inafune unleashed a Mega Man Legends-like Kickstarter project for backing. See? These retro reviews usually have a good reason for being posted! ...Usually!

Classic Mega Man Modernized

Mega Man is one of my favorite franchises ever, and we've seen so many titles featuring Capcom's Blue Bomber in the past several decades. He may be on a bit of hiatus now, not starring in any big games of his own, but Mega still does have a strong following. After Nintendo continued with the cartridge route with its fifth generation console hardware, many third parties moved over to Sony's PlayStation with the promise that CD-ROMs brought. Capcom was one of these third parties, and it brought over Mega Man in the form of the eighth installment of the long-running series, Mega Man 8. See why this modernized Mega Man is worth a play.

Mega Man 8's plot begins with two forces of energy, one light and one dark, duking it out in the middle of outer space. The forces collide, causing both to tumble towards the closest planet to them, which just so happens to be Earth. Upon crashing at a secluded island, Mega Man is sent out to find the source of the crash, but unfortunately, Dr. Wily is there to pick up the dark energy. Meanwhile, the being of light is found in an impact crater, who is then taken back to Dr. Light's lab. Eventually working together, Mega Man and the force of light energy, named Duo, must overcome the nefarious Dr. Wily's plan to beef up his robot army with the power of the dark energy and take over the world.

Ah, Rush... A Mega Man's best friend!

Mega Man 8 uses the PlayStation and Sega Saturn hardware to great effect. There are a series of well animated cutscenes that occur throughout the game, though the voice work that plays during them and throughout gameplay ranges from passable to absolutely awful. (Dr. Elmer J. Light being the worst example.) That said, the story really comes to life with Mega Man 8. While most who play a Mega Man game don't play the games for superfluous story elements, you can skip all cutscenes if you really just want to get into the game.

That's the problem with crabs. They'll get you every time.

The structure of Mega Man 8 is most like its SNES predecessor, Mega Man 7. There is an opening stage to play through, and then you get a selection of four Robot Master levels to choose from. After the initial four boss levels are completed, a midway stage opens up, followed by the latter four Robot Master levels.

Mega Man 8 is a globe-trotting trek across the planet.

As with any classic Mega Man game, the best course of action in choosing which Robot Master stages to tackle comes from which special weapons you have in your possession. For instance, starting off, you just have your Mega Buster, Mega Man's standard weapon, so it's best to take on a Robot Master that can be defeated easily without any other special weapon. A defeated Robot Master means gaining their special weapon, making it a lot more manageable to beat the Robot Master that is weak against that weapon. Every Robot Master has its own weakness to a special weapon. The Flash Bomb does heavy damage to Frost Man, while the Astro Crush makes short work of Aqua Man.

"I'm Aqua Man, but you can call me 'screwed'."

Levels in Mega Man 8 also put to good work the beefed up hardware. For instance, Clown Man's stage features a robot with a mallet in the background that intermittently comes out of its door to ring the clock tower bell. Whatever block Mega Man is standing on when this happens results in some kind of interaction. An "O" means safety, while an "X" causes a punching glove to pop out like a cruel and painful jack-in-the-box. Then there is Frost Man's infamous stage which consists of snowboarding down a perilous pathway with great speed, listening and watching the signals for Mega Man to "jump" and "slide." I mustn't forget Tengu's Man stage, where Mega Man rides Rush through an intense on-rails side-scrolling shoot-em-up section!

Would anyone else like to join our aerial strike team?

Like Mega Man 7, Mega Man's eighth outing has several reasons to return to levels. Instead of a wide range of collectibles that require painstaking digging random spots in the ground as Rush, Mega Man 8 houses 40 special bolts to find and acquire. This is, of course, totally optional to do, but they're great for two reasons: 1) They beef up the replay value of the game, and 2) They can be used at Dr. Light's laboratory to pay for special chips. These chips range from an exit chip, allowing exit from a level without having to lose all your lives and returning to the stage select menu, to special upgrades to Mega Man's Mega Buster. Bolts often require taking the road less traveled, as well as returning to levels once a new special weapon has been acquired.

Unlike most of Mega Man's past games, Mega Man 8 is noticeably much easier to play and to beat. There is no shortage of 1-ups to come across, enemies don't do much damage to Mega Man compared to past games, and levels have ample amounts of checkpoints so redoing whole sections of levels isn't as much of a punishment this time around. Still, while it's not the challenge for the thumbs that pre-32-bit Mega Man games were, Mega Man 8 is still a blast to play.

Mega Man swimming proves once again that it's never
too late to teach an old robot some new tricks.

I've talked about the voice work and excellent cutscenes in Mega Man 8, but allow me to quickly discuss the visuals and sound as a whole. Mega Man 8 features lush, colorful, detailed environments, brimming and bursting with sights for the eyes to behold. Enemies and especially Robot Masters are animated and articulated abundantly well. Meanwhile, the music contains plenty of catchy tunes that while not as memorable as a Mega Man 2 Wily Stage 1 level, offer nice background noise while playing.

Areas are abundant and rich with color and detail.

Mega Man 8 isn't the most popular game in the series, but I really enjoy playing it. It makes me feel regret that Capcom didn't continue this more modern style of Mega Man for the two sequels, Mega Man 9 and 10, instead going for the 8-bit style of the series's past. Still, I have hope that we'll see Mega Man back in the spotlight soon enough, and perhaps with a colorful and modern Mega Man game to his name all over again.

[SPC Says: B+]

Bubsy 3D (PS1) Preview

Today is a special day for SuperPhillip Central. This is the first ever preview of an unreleased game that I have the opportunity to talk about. It's Bubsy 3D, and like previous games in the series, it's truly something special. However, I only got to play the first level, despite the demo being a near-final build. Here are my impressions of Bubsy 3D.

Move Over Mario

I recently went to San Francisco press event where select members of the media got to try out a near-final build of Bubsy 3D, one of the most anticipated games in recent memory. The event took place in a dark warehouse where there was the smell of iron and passed out prostitutes on the floor, drowning in their own waste. It created an ambiance that clashed with the cute, cartoon visuals and appearance of Bubsy 3D. Something tells me that that was intentional, as Bubsy 3D itself is a testament to video games being art. It seems to me that the statement the event holder was saying was that even in the darkest, most depressing of areas, happiness (Bubsy 3D in this case) can prosper. And boy, did it prosper with my time with the demo!

So far, in the near-final build I played, Bubsy as an avatar controls incredibly tightly. Bubsy can turn on a dime, move in a seemingly unlimited amount of directions, and can even jump! The latter helps in reaching higher areas and platforms that Busby otherwise wouldn't be able to reach.

Bubsy 3D features a world that will have you always
wondering what's over that hill, even after getting over it!

While other games are just platformers in name, Bubsy takes it literally, and that is such a breath of fresh air. Floating in the air are actual platforms. Yes, this isn't a game like Super Mario 64 which tries to hide that it's a platformer by creating a realistic world. No, Bubsy 3D is proud to be a platformer, and I can't thank the developers enough for this change of pace.

Bubsy's back, and this time it's personal!

Bubsy 3D further sets itself apart with its visuals and art design, which are top notch indeed. Bubsy 3D goes for a very minimalist approach, and this is no doubt an ode to an artistic sentiment that less is more. Textures are simple, featuring a checkerboard pattern, and geometry is very basic. This all adds to a visual identity that is wholly original and easy on the eyes.

Creativity like making the pause menu say "Paws" is just another
 in the ingenious line of development decisions in Bubsy 3D.

The sound effects exude with a combination of realism and cartoon aesthetics. I giggled every time Bubsy made a sound when he jumped and while listening to the super catchy music. Bubsy 3D is a wholly interactive animated cartoon, and the presentation is especially to thank for that.

Continue or quit? Do you even have to ask!?

Unfortunately, my time with Bubsy 3D was cut off short due to the sounds of police sirens in the distance, and the event holders yelling for everyone to get out while they quickly took all of the demo machines apart. However, I think I'm not using hyperbole here when I say that Bubsy 3D is going to be something that players will not forget, and it will have an infamous mark on gaming history. You can quote me on that. Please do, actually, because it'd be awesome for one of my quotes to be on the game box.

Mega Man X4 (PS1, SAT, PSN) Retro Review

Cap off your Saturday night with some more Mega Man action! This time around we're going to take a look at one of my favorite entries in the franchise, Mega Man X4! How much do you guys and gals think I like this one? I've never written about my love of Mega Man X4 in such depth as tonight.

Your knowledge on what you are

fighting for may vary.

In Mega Man X4, humans and sentient robots known as Reploids live together. Of course, it's never really in harmony, as that would make for a boring premise. A strong militant army known as the Repliforce wishes to create their own colony after being deemed Mavericks, out of control robots, by their human counterparts. Little does everyone know that a sinister figure lurking in the shadows casts a wide smile, seeing that his plan is coming to fruition. It's X and Zero's desired duty to not just prevent this tense situation from blowing up and out of control, but also to save the world in the process. 

Mega Man X4 comes packed with much more power thanks to the wonders of the compact disc the game is printed on. Not only does this allow for traditional text-based story progression, but it also opts for full motion video cutscenes to display important scenes in all of their still impressive animated glory. The voice acting is a definite step-up from what was available in Mega Man 8, but there's still some chintzy lines and delivery. I'm looking at you,  Zero's "what am I fighting foooooor". 

Outside of cutscenes, Mega Man X4 delivers amazing 2D artistry. It's not at the level of 2D art available today, obviously, but it still pleases the eyes. Sprites animate wonderfully with plenty of different animations to them, levels have an intricate and detailed design to them visually, offering breathtaking vistas and areas, and special effects like explosions delight. 

A definite upgrade in visuals from
what the SNES offered.

On the music side, Mega Man X4 has extremely memorable and catchy themes. Even the worst sounding tracks would be considered the best on other video game scores. 

As for how Mega Man X4 plays, if you've played a game in the series in the past, then you know what to expect. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing depends upon if you've had your fill of Mega Man action. That's because the basic structure of the Mega Man series featuring you tackling eight stages in any order, running through trials and traps, overcoming obstacles, defeating enemies, making your way to the stage's boss, defeating him, receiving their special weapon as a reward, and then moving onto the next remains uncharged. The only difference is an interlude level thrown in midway through that is purely a fight against a story-related character.

Beware the scariest-named Maverick
ever devised-- Split Mushroom!

The bosses in Mega Man X4 take the shape of many animals, such as the always aerial Storm Owl, the brawn over brain Frost Walrus, and the lover of transportation Cyber Peacock. Sure, they don't always have the coolest names to them-- hello, Split Mushroom-- but getting down their patterns, learning when to go on the offensive and when to evade attacks, as well as mastering each fight takes a fair amount of practice. This is especially so if you're just using your standard weapon like X's buster or Zero's saber. 

Hey. Some of my best friends
are Mavericks.

When not wanting to go the path of most resistance, you can take solace in the fact that every boss has a weakness to a specific special weapon. Split Mushroom's Soul Body can easily take out Cyber Peacock, which in turn, Cyber Peacock's Aiming Laser does a number on Storm Owl. The biggest challenge to overcome in this regard is finding out which boss has what weakness. Thankfully, you have the Internet at your fingertips for this information.

While their levels are the same,
their stories differ.

In Mega Man X3, Zero was playable but was extremely limited in where and how he could be utilized. Mega Man X4 ups his usefulness completely by having him as a separate character from X with his own special moves, abilities, dialogue, and cutscenes. The levels that he goes through are designed the exact same way as X's, but this doesn't actually come across as a negative. Instead, it just made me marvel at the level design even more. There's certain sections of levels that Zero can get through more easily than X can, and that makes you appreciate how each level was constructed and tailor-made for both characters.

For the first time in series history,
Zero is 100% playable.

With a new generation came a new leap in technology, and Mega Man X4 held little back in taking advantage of the PlayStation and Sega Saturn's beefier tech. Level concepts and features that would have been impossible on the Super Nintendo flourish on the new hardware, such as Slash Beast's level that takes place on a moving train, Jet Stingray's stage which has X or Zero on a speeder bike, roaring through tunnels and onto the sea, and Split Mushroom's level that has two segments of it that have you running up a spiral staircase. 

The chase is on!
Don't get your circuits wet, X!

Like the Mega Man X games before it, Mega Man X4 comes with its staple of optional collectible items and rewards for thorough explorers. Most levels house one of Dr. Light's hidden capsules, allowing X to equip a new piece of upgraded armor. These can give X more mobility options like a mid-air dash, the ability to charge up his X-Buster, or the benefit of having special weapons not use up energy. Mighty handy, no? Since Zero cannot acquire Dr. Light's upgrades, his campaign can be viewed as a hard mode for Mega Man X4.

The look of a fully upgraded X.

In addition to those helpful finds, each stage possesses one health-increasing Heart Tank. Unlike past Mega Man X games, however, only two Sub Tanks are available in X4. As usual, these serve as a health reserve for you to fill up X's life gauge when the going gets tough. Finally, there's two new tanks to acquire, a Weapon Tank that stores weapon energy, and a special life tank that adds more lives to X or Zero's starting supply of lives when a continue is used. 

X can shoot, dash, wall jump,
and speak 12 foreign languages.

Mega Man X4 isn't a long game, and for those who are familiar with the franchise, you probably already knew that. Mega Man games in general from the classic and X line of titles aren't overly long experiences. However, these games encourage multiple play-throughs, not to unlock anything new, but just because they're so rewarding to play. These are masterful games in their design and gameplay mechanics that multiple plays are a must. Of course, with Mega Man X4 you have the luxury of having two stories to play through, X and Zero's, to help with longevity anyway. 

I don't know. Do you think this ride
armor makes X's butt look fat?

From a purely presentation standpoint, Mega Man X4 impresses. That's no doubt a factor in me liking this game over many others in the franchise. However, X4 also nails the level design, the tightness of the controls, the boss encounters, the story, the localization, and so much more. It's one of the top titles in the Mega Man series as a whole, and it definitely deserves your attention whether you're a newcomer to the game or have already beaten it dozens of times.

[SPC Says: 9.5/10]