(Originally published to Glitchwave on 7/18/2024)
[Image from glitchwave.com]
Mega Man X4
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Genre(s): 2D Platformer
Platforms: PS1
Release Date: August 1, 1997
In order to ensure Mega Man’s successful state of remission, Capcom wisely cut the publishing cord that has been connected to Nintendo since the blue bomber’s inception. Similarly to when Konami defected from Nintendo when developing Symphony of the Night, Capcom had the foresight to realize that the N64 would’ve given the bleeding Mega Man franchise a cosmetic nose job in the form of 3D graphics. All that the blocky rendering of Mega Man in the third dimension would have resulted in is an exacerbation of the dying process, and Capcom would’ve had to host an open-casket funeral. The fans could awe at their efforts, and their misguided malpractice wouldn’t have totally been in vain. While the fifth generation of consoles instilled the idea that pixel graphics were now for grandpa gamers, the PS1 at least offered some leeway to preserve the freshly “obsolete” method of rendering video game visuals. While the 32-bit graphics of the original Playstation generated 3D visuals that looked as malformed as a Dr. Moreau victim, doubling the fidelity of the SNES’ 16-bit capabilities proved to be the peak of the pixelated aesthetic. X looks so crisp and clear here that he seems meticulously drawn by a virtuoso Japanese animator, mending even the subtle, infinitesimal crumbs of pixel static that Symphony of the Night forgot to buff out. Actually, that comparison probably draws from a new presentational perk of fifth-generation console hardware that was absolutely out of the question on a primarily pixel-latent device. Mega Man X4’s periodic instances of exposition are depicted with fully-fledged animated cutscenes, and the animation quality is up to par with any Japanese anime studio operating during the time of the game’s release. Unfortunately, the English dub is regrettably at the same level of voice-acting ineptitude as the overseas anime translations were during this time as well. My impression of X being the rugged, “bearded” version of the bright-eyed and boyish original Mega Man has been tarnished thanks to his shaky, pubescent vocal delivery. Is it going to take another reincarnation of the character to represent the masculine maturity behind his name’s implications? Still, the voice acting on the PS1 equally sounded like it was performed by a group of stoned, unenthusiastic interns, so this is probably a case of coincidental convergence with two under-appreciated mediums.
A byproduct of X4’s higher production value is the expansion of complexities within the X series narrative. The Maverick menace is still a poison in this futuristic society, but the noxious impact the renegade league of robots has has been reduced to a tepid spider bite. Since the first Mega Man X game, every defeat of the diabolical Maverick chairman Sigma has diminished him from his reign as omnipresent revolutionary to somewhat tangible skeletal wiring, to incorporeal ghoul, to just an unpleasant fart passing through a maverick hunter’s nostril apparatus. As ephemeral and ultimately inconsequential as they might be, everyone knows that even the most silent of farts can still prove to be deadly, and Sigma’s gassy influence is attempting to waft over a military organization known as Repliforce. The general of this reploid army expresses no interest in helping Sigma lead a rebellion against mankind, so a Maverick retaliates in response to his refusal by sinking an airborne city called Sky Lagoon. X and Zero investigate this catastrophe and immediately pin the destruction on Repliforce, painting them as dirty, unruly Mavericks. The General doesn’t take this slander too kindly, and neither does his second in command Colonel. Together, they take offense at the accusations towards them and strive to build a reploid society segregated from the humans, so Sigma’s negotiation terms worked out in his favor after all. Because of the insurrection, X must eliminate the members of Repliforce, and their ranks total to the convenient number of eight, fitting for the lineup of a Mega Man boss selection. While the premise ultimately still results in the average Mega Man fare, the events leading up to the stage select screen present a far more intricate source of conflict. Sky Lagoon’s fall mirrors the sinking of the RMS Lusitania, manipulating two non-feuding factions to suddenly engage in an all-out war with one another. Mega Man X4 is the first of the series to contextualize the standard series gameplay with something genuinely riveting.
The Mavericks themselves have also been injected with a sizable boost of personality in Mega Man X4. Upon entering their domains at the horizontal apex of their environments, each Maverick will parlay a conversation with X relating to their decision to isolate themselves from mankind in their reploid city-state. Magma Dragoon reveals himself to be the perpetrator of Sky Lagoon’s destructive downfall, and this transgression from the former maverick hunter results in an exasperated X trying to make sense of it. Split Mushroom and Cyber Peacock’s health bars show Sigma’s insignia at the base, giving a subtle clue to where their allegiances truly lie without any pretenses of their Repliforce status. Frost Walrus scoffs at X for his comparatively petite physical stature, while Web Spider pities X for his dutiful narrow-mindedness for the maverick hunter’s cause. As intriguing as it is to witness the eloquent evolution of Mega Man’s bosses, their practicality as villains still boils down to how fun and effective their weapons are to use once X has dispatched them. Magma Dragoon’s “Rising Fire” is the only weapon I can recall that strictly shoots vertically up in the air, while Frost Walrus’ chunky icicle “Frost Tower” plummets to the ground after X briefly uses it to shield himself. Some hallucinogenic properties of Split Mushroom cause X to see a shadowy outline of himself, tethered to a few yards in front of him while dissolving anything that comes in contact with it. Storm Owl’s “Double Cyclone” pairs off and floats upward like two balloons being set free, while Cyber Peacock’s “Aiming Laser” is rather self-explanatory-dealing a surge of damage to whatever the target reticle settles on. Overall, the enemy weapons featured in Mega Man X4 are collectively the most diverse, unique, and efficient arsenal we’ve seen in the series thus far. If you’re a Mega Man fan who insists on sticking with the charge blaster as adamantly as a black coffee drinker like me, X4 offers the choice between two variations of X’s base means of offense. The charge shot that supplies four energy blasts shaped like the “hadouken” from the first game is utilized awkwardly, so I’ll gladly opt for augmenting the size of the charged blast that lingers a little longer on targeted enemies.
The impressive diversification found across the enemy weapons extends to their territories leading up to their encounters. At an initial glance, X4 fails to unshackle the bounds of a thematic comfort zone, for plenty of topographic-level themes are admittedly being reused. Magma Dragoon’s lair where flaming meteors constantly erupt from both the fiery pits beneath the Earth and diagonally from the sky should remind the player of the flowing lava lakes inside the rocky confines of Flame Stag’s area from Mega Man X2. As beautifully captivating as the roaring waterfalls and rainbows in the sky of Web Spider’s jungle area are, I’m starting to lose count of how many humid, tropical wildernesses have been selected as a prominent level theme so far in the series. A wintry stage is practically a requisite to fill in an eighth of a Mega Man game’s level lineup, hence why Frost Walrus’ dissolving snow slope platforms continue the apparent streak that hasn't been broken yet. Capcom realizes that there is a finite amount of elemental and geographical setpieces they can use without repetition, so X4’s stages always add a pinch of creativity to keep the realistic restrictions from growing stale. For one, Cyber Peacock’s computerized depiction of the final frontier is the most unorthodox level thus far for the Mega Man franchise. The first half is constructed like a series of obstacle courses where X must avoid electric holographic eyeballs that squeeze his circuits to the point of shorting, plus the walking turrets that appear from miniature black hole portals. If X manages to arrive at the end of the course under an unspecified time constraint, a letter grade will appear above the portal to the next level. The score doesn’t factor into simple progression but X will be rewarded with an upgrade for his skillful maneuvering. The second half of this level sees X warping perspectives so sporadically that I’m still unclear as to how I arrived at the end of the level. The base of Split Mushroom’s level is a panoramic tower with intermittent standard platforming sections between climbing its floors. Magma Dragoon’s encounter marks the first instance where X can bring a mech into the arena to duke it out with a Maverick, pounding this traitorous, terrorist sumbitch into the dirt so vigorously that I almost feel a hint of remorse. Jet Stingray’s stage stretches the vehicle sections from Mega Man X2 where X zooms around on a jet-powered motorbike for the duration of an entire level. As gimmicky and distracting as many of these implementations sound, I appreciate that the developers trust that the player might have grown tired of the meat and potatoes of shooting and jumping by this point with their intermingled offering of these alternative methods to standard 2D platforming.
The instance of caving Magma Dragoon’s metallic head in with the bulky, titanium arms of the flame-retardant mech reminds me of something else that could be considered another stride in the series’ evolution. Out of all the pained expletives I’ve loudly uttered due to the difficulty of video games, the Mega Man series has produced a substantial percentage of those flustered moments across nine different games thus far. Unexpectedly, X4 never caused me to frightfully wake my neighbors, making them believe that I had just been shot or was the instigator of a messy domestic dispute that required police attention. Only a handful of occurrences during my playthrough of X4 did I mutter a dirty interjection under my breath, for the game is far too accommodating the majority of the time to project my spoken frustrations. The absurdly circuitous escapades involved in retrieving the upgrades in X3 have been simplified to either spotting them off the main trajectory or returning to an area with the single, required boss weapon as opposed to a checklist of other necessary tools. One of these upgrades increases the stock number of lives given to X at the start from two to four, and this increase will remain the same and regenerate every time X is faced with the option to continue. Speaking of continues, possibly the most forgiving point of accessibility that X4 implements is the continues given upon exhausting all of X’s lives. No, I don’t mean as progress nets so the player doesn’t have to restart the entire game like a quarter-chomping arcade machine. Certain points in each level are treated like X has surpassed a significant mark of progress (ie. the open water docks from the underground tunnel in Jet Stingray’s stage). If X manages to burn through all of his lives, continuing after his outright failure will transport him back to that milestone instead of the very beginning of the stage. Is this accommodation a little too lenient perhaps? It’s not as if the Maverick stages are longer than those from the previous games, so this safety net to catch the player is wide enough to catch and hold an adult black bear. One aspect of X4 that a returning player might initially believe is one stiff regression that maintains that familiar difficulty curve is subtracting the total of four collectible energy tanks to two. Still, I could argue that a halved portion of the energy tanks is too excessive because a cylindrical capsule filled with floating atomic matter will greet X before entering the doors of a Maverick’s domain and fully replenish his health. Did I mention that the energy of each boss weapon is indefatigable unless it's charged up? Add the ability to save one’s progress to wrap all of these pleasant points of accessibility up in a package that is too sweet and thoughtful not to embrace even for the most hardcore of Mega Man purists.
I surely thought that a Mega Man game pampering me was a ruse to catch me off guard so it could deliver a swift kick to my testicles. The relative breeziness of eliminating these Mavericks reminded me of Mega Man 2, and I cannot forget how unceremoniously that game fucked me after hours of relative relaxation. As it turns out, the final few stages where I had anticipated the game tossing me into the oven after fattening me up didn’t occur. Fighting the Colonel is somewhat taxing because he doesn’t have a specific weakness, but his consistent attack patterns are manageably learnable. Opportunities to clear a shot to The General’s head are fleeting, but it's unlikely the player will stumble and trip to the point of total physical fracturing like with a certain mass of yellow matter that needs little mention. X still concludes the game by driving a proverbial stake into whatever artificial organ pumps Sigma’s blood (or blood-like fluid) to cause the Mavericks to collapse in a chain reaction, and all three of his phases require a modicum of trial and error learning to eventually put the persistent phantom leader of the reploid uprising to rest. The intrigue of X4’s climax lies entirely on what is unraveled in the narrative, something I never thought I’d state in regards to a Mega Man title. Throughout the game, X is joined in the stage select control room by an advisor named “Double,” a maverick hunter rookie whose dopey appearance and boobish mannerisms signal that perhaps he’s better suited to be their waterboy than a soldier on the frontlines. However, his endearing incompetency is revealed to be the incredibly convincing mirage devised by a deranged, murderous Maverick with a visage of pure malevolence only rivaled by Sigma. One cutscene in particular where Double slaughters a group of maverick hunters who called him “bitch tits” and other demeaning phrases is a scene so graphic that it's almost inappropriate to be featured in a Mega Man game. X eradicates Double’s true form like any other of Sigma's subordinates, but dealing with Double strikes a powerful chord with X that makes him question if he and Zero have the willpower not to succumb to the dark side and become Mavericks themselves. Zero shrugs off X’s concerns, but this ending does leave the player with something to ponder over. Whether it be the prevalence of Sigma’s anti-organic life rhetoric or the dumber viral infection that X3 introduced as a source of conflict, X4 manages to utilize both of them as possibilities for X’s potential heroic downfall, and the fact that X ruminates on these possibilities is a stride of maturity for a series that used to recycle the same simple hero versus villain plot like cardboard.
Throughout all of the duplicity, social upheaval, and existential introspection the player can delve into, everything I’ve detailed pertaining to Mega Man X4 is shockingly, only one-half of the game. Finally, the curtains have been divided completely and Capcom has unveiled Zero as a playable character. Technically, returning players got their first taste of the X subseries’ coveted secondary character in both the introduction of X3 and by summoning him in the menu through a code. Still, the restrictions set on Zero’s playability plus his total erasure from the game after dying only once is not at all what fans had yearned for, giving us all the more reason to resent X3. No, the sampler bullshit that served as a transitory avenue in granting everyone’s wish to play as Zero has been remedied with an additional full campaign in X4. In fact, players can supplement X’s campaign with this wish fulfillment, for it’s the exact same series of mavericks to conquer. However, I should state a disclaimer that if you divert from the standard gameplay by choosing Zero over X is a contractual dedication to X4’s “hard mode.” Sure, the bounty of life vessels X4 added is still present and pervasive, and Zero’s green energy blade will proficiently slice and dice enemies into cubed cheese. That is, it’ll make quick work of enemies situated directly in front of him. Zero’s campaign is the trickier one to persevere through not only because everyone will have far more experience with X and his long-ranged mode of offense, but because X4’s levels are still designed with X in mind. Suddenly, enemies and bosses alike that are safely engaged from a distance need tactical contemplation to defeat. Zero’s core can also absorb a Maverick’s weapon, but using it isn’t as elementary as a shift through a menu or flipping through buttons. The player must execute specific button combinations to perform all of Zero’s elemental martial arts like the hadouken move from the first game, and I’m not exactly Street Fight champion material. Still, for those who are, Zero’s stipulations raise the skill ceiling with a potential for combat proficiency that X could never reach.
As for the minute story alterations, Zero’s experience in facing the absconding Repliforce revolves around Iris, the Colonel’s little sister, and Zero’s obvious love interest despite their platonic relationship. She’s a stark supporter of the maverick hunter’s fight for human and reploid unity, but she cannot continue to support Zero and X after they slay her brother. Once Iris crosses over to avenge her brother in a boss fight exclusive to Zero, he is crestfallen when he has to euthanize her like a sick dog. This event rattles Zero, but he does not let the consternation of the drastic event affect his mental fortitude as it did for X. He assures X to keep calm and stick to his principles, for it is revealed that Zero was designed for evil by Dr. Wily long ago and chose the righteous path of justice on his own volition. He’s a super cool dude.
I’m not entirely certain if Mega Man X4 is definitively the greatest title across the entire franchise. I realize this is a colossally high metric to evaluate the game, considering it's my first dance with this dashing entry in the series. Still, all of the factors that would support this claim are too stacked in X4’s favor to support another opinion. Mega Man X4 is simply far too agreeable, creative, and narratively substantial to consider another game from the series as a contender, especially since I’ve never attributed the first or third terms to any Mega Man game prior to playing this one. Perhaps all of the quality-of-life enhancements make X4 a little TOO agreeable for veteran players, but that’s not where my skepticism stems. Besides the voice acting and anime cutscenes, I have a feeling that all of X4’s innovations could’ve been achieved on the SNES because aspects such as save points, automatic energy tanks, and swapping the gameplay to Zero’s sword slashing didn’t exceed the limitations of the console’s 16-bit hardware. The first X game still retains the monumental ecstasy felt when it was initially released because the leap from 8-bit to the twice multiplied 16-bit achieved things that Mega Man on the NES could never dream of. Still, any excuse or motivation for Capcom to dig the blue bomber out of the rut again that X3 almost hit to its irreparable, six-foot completion. At least diving off another sinking console ship to the next, newfangled game console produced something that surpassed its lackluster predecessor beyond the bare minimum.
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