Mega Man X6

Review

by Nick Woods

Mega Man returns to the PlayStation with eight new levels, a familiar format, and new elements that change gameplay slightly from previous iterations. Following events in Mega Man X5, Earth is recovering from devastating toxic pollution unleashed by Sigma, and while Zero kept Earth from colliding with Eurasia, he's now MIA. In addition to standard Mega Man moves (jump, dash, fire), you can now wield Zero's saber and unlock a special hunter character.

Each of the eight nonlinear levels features an icon of the boss you'll face, and after defeating him, you gain a special suit containing new weaponry. Some levels are more difficult than others and will be played last after building up experience. As an example, one level has normal side-scrolling action but features a giant robot in the background that continuously shoots at you, causing you to jump down a bottomless pit as you try to dodge his attacks. None of the levels are simplistic, though, and each challenges your dexterity -- much the same way as old Nintendo titles.

Mega Man's ability to wear different suits of armor is a plus. At the beginning, he has only falcon armor, which allows him to dash in midair and provides a charging attack for his blaster. Although you can choose to play without the armor, beating levels without it is very difficult, making the option not to use it questionable -- the falcon armor has everything the regular armor does, plus special abilities.

As the game progresses, other suits of armor become available, including one that lets you charge with your sword and perform a mach dash that renders you temporarily invincible. Each new suit of armor gives you basically the same controls as X, but in one of the eight levels you'll discover another character that the manual calls the "Resurrected Hunter." It's really Zero, who is superior to Mega Man in several ways.

Zero is tougher to control due to his double jump and sword capabilities, but his combo attacks wreak havoc on bosses and get you through levels faster. His red motif is actually more pleasing than the Blue Bomber's, and his blaster is more powerful but takes longer to charge up before firing. The story changes depending on when you find Zero, but once he's available all suits of armor are interchangeable between characters; however, with Zero, you have to access the menu during gameplay to turn on specific functions of the various suits. Items found during each mission can be added to your armor for new weapons and special attacks.

Of particular note is your ability to develop weapons for both characters. Special attacks are available after analyzing DNA programs from defeated bosses, and discovered items can be combined and activated to form new weapons from your inventory. A great feature is the way levels change depending on the order you play them -- as you play latter stages, earlier levels often change, inviting you to revisit them despite having already defeated the boss. It's a good idea to return to completed levels to reap the maximum benefits from various items discovered, and some become even more difficult with added obstacles or more enemies, such as the bees in the level where you found Zero.

A hidden ninth level unlocks after defeating the first eight bosses, and it offers a much greater challenge than previous stages. The best advice is to beef up your character's abilities to the maximum possible by repeatedly visiting earlier levels to gain all the available power-ups.

Fans who enjoy side-scrolling shooters won't find much to complain about in Mega Man X6, especially gamers familiar with the terrific Mega Man action of previous titles. Rarely does a game change dependent on how you play, but this one manages it nicely. There's enough gameplay to satisfy most fans, and the replay value is higher than normal due to the nonlinear gameplay, extra character, and changing inventory.