Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X

[Cedric]

I'm willing to venture a guess that most of us don't have a PSP. Heck, even I don't have one, and so I'm stuck playing my brother's if I wanted to play the games. Let's face it, the launch titles suck. There really haven't been any good games out, save possibly, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.

But I'm pleased to know that in my eyes, another game for the PSP made it to my "must play" list. It's none other than Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X. It was released at the beginning of February to very little fanfare.

To save time for Mega Man veterans, I want you all to think about the game Mega Man X for the SNES. This is an exact remake of that game, but there are some special extras. We're treated to some animation cut scenes, an option for hard mode, voice acting by the characters/bosses, another playable character, and most importantly: the stages and everyone have been given 3D character models. The result is a splendid game that recaptures the old feeling of Mega Man X while offering new challenges to veterans and new gamers alike.


http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/psp/megamanmaverickhunterx


Ignore the user ratings, since only biased fans will rate the games. But the average out of all the reviews gave this game an 80. As a personal scale, anything that hits 80 or above in metacritic are "must play" games. Even more so if you're a fan of the titles.


http://media.psp.ign.com/media/770/770343/vids_1.html


These are some low quality videos of gameplay, but you should see the action very well. I have to say that the "Direct TGS feed" video does show a spoiler as to who the other playable character in this game is. So watch at your own risk, because it's easily noticeable.


My brother beat the normal mode which is pretty much Mega Man X exactly. I'm currently going through hard mode and as far I can tell, the only difference is the damage taken, and the developers gave each boss one new attack that doesn't show up in Normal Mode. All the bosses still have their trademark moves, but now they're in 3D. It looks really stunning.


There was a very detailed Mega Man X site that had profiles of all the bosses and characters from the X series. I forgot the link, but the descriptions of the boss characters on that site seemingly match their personalities of the game characters. The site said that Storm Eagle was once a Maverick Hunter until he turned Maverick himself. When you fight Storm Eagle in this game, he and X converse about that fact.


I can't say enough about the stages. I mean, they really aren't different at all from the SNES versions. But having it in 3D gives off a very different feeling. It should be noted that the capsules are in different places then the Super Nintendo counterparts, though.

***

Leg Parts: Flame Mammoth's stage. Formerly the location where the Arm parts were in the SNES version. This time, though, you can just jump up there ant retrieve them. It may be missable for new fans to the series, though.


Head Parts: There's a new opening in the tunnel where the Leg Parts used to be in the SNES version. It's easily seen, though. But without the leg parts from Mammoth's stage, you can't break the block column by climbing into them.


Body Parts: Exactly the same place as the old head parts were.


Arm Parts: Same exact place as the old Body Parts. This time around, the mini boss is much harder to hit than last time.


***


This game is also $10 U.S cheaper than most PSP games. $29.99 is a bargain no matter what anyone says.


Liberty, this game and the remake of Valkyrie profile will probably be enough for me to buy my own PSP. Remakes are easy money, and some may see them as rehashes, but they are never boring. When you play a classic, you know what you're getting.


Since not that many of us have a PSP, I don't expect much discussion to take place here. I just wanted to tell everyone (especially Mega Man fans) that if you can somehow play this game, you won't be disappointed. Borrow it from your friends or rent it from the store. You won't be sorry.
_________________

[Acheron]

Is it true that you can play as Vile in a bonus of the game? In case you don't know(I didn't for a while) Vile is the character that is just under Sigma. He's the Clone Soldier with the shoulder cannon who you fight on the very first level(if it's the same as the SNES version).

I would buy this game, were I interested in the portable system genre anymore(I ended any infatuation with Gameboy Color). I really enjoyed the Megaman X game for SNES, it was the first game I bought for the SNES. I should also explain that I was very young at the time. Less than 10, I don't remember besides that. Anywho, I really enjoyed the game and it inspired an addiction to MegaMan. It's such a good series. I reccomend it to everyone, and I also recommend this game if it's just like MegaMan X +, as Ced is describing it. Haha, also I recommend Penny-Arcade's recent Slack-Jawed Junk Slut discussion on the subject on whether the X is for ten or not. It's instant-classic.

[Cedric]

Yeah, that's him alright. I wanted to keep that a secret, but I guess no one won't have much of a chance to play it. It's all right though. The first boss battle is harder than the SNES version too! Remember how you had to lose that battle on purpose? Well this time, you have to win. And to make things worse, you have to hit Vile's head, because the Armor is invincible.

But yes, he is the secret character that you can play as in the game. I haven't really got a chance to play through his version of the game too much, since I'm forcing myself to deal with X's story first. There are only a few things I know about Vile's story.

The main difference is his arsenal. While Mega Man has his buster and patented charge shot, Vile uses three buttons to attack his enemies. The Square button is his basic shot and it's a rapid-fire Vulcan Cannon similar to Bass in Mega Man and Bass. He can fire the cannon up, diagonal and straight. His Triangle move is a fireball type of move, but I think it's pretty weak. Pressing triangle alone will have him fire up-right. Pressing the triangle button while holding the down directional button will fire the shot straight. *Complicated I know. The circle button is a napalm bomb attack that has short range. But doing this move in the air is spammable.

His sub tanks and some heart tanks are in different locations. I think he also has his own set of armor upgrades. And instead of using a boss' weapon, every time he beats one of them, he gets a weapon upgrade that changes the property of his basic weapons. However, there's some strategy involved here, since you can only go into a stage with limited powerups. I'm also guessing that the boss dialogues will be different, since the animation scenes for Vile were different too.
_________________

[Blazing Camp]

The game looks okay from a transition from 2d to 3d-like graphics, but I think the original looks better because most MM fans are used to that classic 2d look.

Honestly even if I have a PSP, I would'nt get it because it's another remake of MMX. Playing as Vile sounds cool, but again I'd rather stick with the oringinal one. IN fact I think it's cheaper to get the MMX Collection than getting MMMHX just because you get all the 2-d MMX games, but that's just me.

*hopes for a sequel to MMX8*

[HarmonianHiccup]

Speaking as someone TOTALLY new to the Mega Man series, I have to say I was impressed. I got to play this game for a few minutes tonight, and even though I got my butt kicked, my interest has been thoroughly piqued. The graphics are solid and interesting, and the cut scenes are just COOL! When I get a PSP (someday) this'll definitely be one that I'm going to pick up.
_________________

Proud Owner and Operator of The Hiccup's Speciality Grassland Atelier, the only place to find Electric Whiffle Bats!

[runemaster]

I love mega man and I have to say this game is amazing. It is really cool to play as vile and the graphics of the game for a PSP game is really cool. I love this game and if i had to give advice to another fellow PSP owner i say 100% buy the game. :twisted:
_________________
-Harmonian Tensoku star-