Mega Man X5

• Release Date: February 03, 2001
• Genre: Shooter
• Style: Platform Shooter
• Similar Games: Johnny Bazookatone (PlayStation), Mega Man X4 (PlayStation), Mega Man X6 (PlayStation)

Game Description

The Reploid Wars of 21XX are mercifully over, but that doesn't mean all is safe with Earth and its orbiting colonies. Eurasia, the largest colony, has been taken over by mysterious terrorists, and its gravity device has been altered. Now, Eurasia is on a direct collision course with Earth, and could destroy the planet and all life (and robots) upon it.

The only hope for Earth is the massive laser cannon "Enigma," but the necessary parts for Enigma are scattered around the globe, currently connected to a host of evil reploids that must be destroyed before the parts can be acquired. Enter Mega Man X and his pal Zero, the only two brave and fierce enough to undertake this mission. The fate of the world is once again counting on them!

Mega Man X5 is the fifth title in the Mega Man line of post-Dr. Wily games for the little blue hero, with the first three having appeared on the 16-bit Super NES platform. Mega Man X5 is the second X game to appear on the PlayStation, and its play mechanics are similar to previous incarnations in the series.

Players will have the opportunity to play as either Mega Man X or Zero, with the ability to switch between levels. Mega Man X features his trusty plasma-lobbing, arm-mounted cannon, while Zero slashes with a powerful laser sword.

Anyone familiar with the history of Mega Man will understand the basics of play: you will choose from eight stages after playing an initial mini-stage to start things off. Each of the eight stages features a different animal-based robotic boss, whose defeat will earn you a special weapon based on that enemy's attack, as well as other special attacks and equipment. It also beefs up the Enigma laser, which can be fired at any time between stages.

If the Enigma doesn't destroy Eurasia, then a last ditch effort will be made to re-route it by a direct assault on a space shuttle... which also needs spare parts that require Mega Man and Zero to destroy animal robots. Once you pass this initial portion, there's still more to do, of course, as what would a Mega Man game be without final levels and bosses?

Since Eurasia is hurling quickly toward Earth, this game does actually have a time requirement, although there are infinite continues. If you don't manage to stop Eurasia within a certain amount of time, depending on the difficulty level, then your game, and the world, will be destroyed. So hurry up, Mega Man players. You don't have much time!

Review: Overall

There honestly can't be too many people out there who haven't experienced at least one Mega Man game by now, and Mega Man X5 follows the same formula as previous entries in Capcom's successful series. If you were never fond of these titles, there isn't anything new or different in Mega Man X5 to change your mind.

The gameplay is mostly unchanged from previous Mega Man X games, with the dash and dash jump moves that first appeared in Mega Man X4 making a return appearance. Mega Man and Zero are both playable characters and offer different experiences. Zero, for example, requires you to get closer to enemies in order to eliminate them, making things more difficult.

The movement of the two characters is identical, however, and you'll have to run around, jump, and dash jump to make it over the various obstacles in your way, from bottomless pits to spikes and other assorted dangers, all while blasting colorful robots in your path.

The focus on bosses has always been more prominent in the X series than the original Mega Man titles, and here it's no different: you'll have to challenge all manner of faunal behemoths to advance, from mechanized badgers to robotic whales.

These battles are more diverse than the original Mega Man boss battles, but this only means they involve remembering two or three patterns instead of one. The fights can certainly be challenging, but they don't offer new twists to the series.

The selection of weapons you can acquire is decent, but each variation in X5 is one we've seen already, maybe even several times, in the franchise's timeline. Ditto for the extra items and attacks, which will all seem extremely familiar to those who have played previous Mega Man games.

In short, Mega Man X5 is challenging, offers crisp controls, and has all the aspects that fans look for in this series without tinkering with the proven formula. On the other hand, it is essentially the same platform shooter that has been released four times already, but with new levels and bosses.

Review: Enjoyment

Mega Man X5 is unremarkable, but still a decent platform action game that will appeal to many people.

Review: Graphics

There aren't really any improvements over the last game, but it looks nice.

Review: Sound

The sound does little to distinguish itself from previous versions, but is again strong enough to move the game along.

Review: Replay Value

Once you have completed the game, you're done, but you'll find yourself able to come back to it in the future.

Review: Documentation

The layout is a bit confusing, but the instruction manual is decent enough in explaining what's going on with the game.

Production Credits

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