Mega Man X
is a series of action-platform games released by Capcom. It is a sub-series of the Mega Man franchise previously developed by the same group, with Keiji Inafune acting as one of the main staff members. The first game was released on 17 December 1993 in Japan on the Super Famicom and the following month on the Super NES in North America. Most of the sequels were ported to Microsoft Windows. The gameplay introduces new elements to the Mega Man franchise in the form of Mega Man's successor X, including his new skills and power-ups in the form of armors while retaining the ability to decide which boss to fight first. The franchise is also known for its replay value, in which certain choices and optional content can influence both gameplay and storylines, allowing the player to experience alternate scenarios.
Set 100 years after the original games, the story follows X, the last creation of Dr. Light whose free-willed programming and intelligence allows for countless other free-willed androids called reploids to be produced. When these reploids begin to go "Maverick" and start to rebel against their human counterparts under the command of Sigma, X decides to make up for his creations by joining the Hunters. Throughout the series, he is partnered by his superior Zero, who becomes a playable character from Mega Man X3 onwards. A third character named Axl, joins the group from Mega Man X7 onwards. For the remake Mega Man Maverick Hunter X, the antagonist Vile debuted as a playable character. While at first Zero possess the same skills as X, he becomes a swordsman in Mega Man X4.
The video games have also inspired several spin-offs that deal with other villains while several manga adaptations have been produced. Critical reception to the Mega Man X series was generally positive for its faster-paced action in comparison to the original series, but the continuous release of installments led to criticism about Mega Man X lacking innovations. A sequel series titled Mega Man Zero followed, and focused on its titular character while several crossovers involving X and other characters from the series have been produced.
Plot
The plot focuses on "X", a mechanical being created by Dr. Thomas Light and the successor to the original Mega Man. He is a new type of robot with the ability to think, feel, and make his own decisions. Recognizing the potential danger of this model, Light sealed X away in a diagnostic capsule for over 30 years of testing. X's capsule is uncovered by an archaeologist named Dr. Cain almost 100 years after X's creation. Excited by the possibilities X presented, Cain disregarded the warnings Light had logged in the capsule and created a legion of robots that replicated X's free will; these robots were called "Reploids".A number of Reploids turned against humans led by the rebellious Reploid Sigma. These Reploids are dubbed "Mavericks", and a force called the Maverick Hunters was formed to combat them. The Maverick Hunters were led by Sigma until he, too, became a Maverick and declared war against the humans, thus starting the Maverick War. X takes it upon himself to join the Maverick Hunters under his superior Zero. Throughout the series, X and Zero battle against the Mavericks to stop their plots to destroy the human race. Sigma continues using his power and a virus to create more conflicts with the Maverick Hunters and attempt to destroy the planet in the process. While X and Zero also gain new allies, in Mega Man X7 they work with the missing Maverick, Axl, who becomes their partner. In the latest game, Mega Man X8, it is revealed New Generation Reploids are doomed to become Sigma copies with the original Sigma dying in the process in his final showdown with the Hunters.
After the series reached an unresolved cliffhanger, a game entitled Mega Man X Dive was released by Capcom Taiwan in which a human plays Mega Man X, until due in part to some corrupted data known as Maverick Data, he/she gets transported into the Deep Log, a massive database with data on every Mega Man game. The player must progress through the scrambled code of the Maverick Wars, Elf Wars, and the Game Of Destiny, to destroy the Maverick Data causing the slow corruption of the Deep Log. In contrast to the Mega Man Zero and ZX sequel series, the spin-off Mega Man X: Command Mission instead is set in a future where X is a veteran Maverick Hunter dealing with rebellions. Capcom expressed their desire to portray X and Zero as stronger versions in this spin-off of their previous incarnations even if they come across as out-of-character to the audience.
Games
Main games
- Mega Man X was released for the Super Nintendo in Japan on 17 December 1993, 19 January 1994 and on 1 May 1994.
- Mega Man X2 was released for the Super Nintendo on 16 December 1994 in Japan, January 1995 in North America, and 18 October 1995 in PAL regions.
- Mega Man X3 was released for the Super Nintendo on 1 December 1995. In Europe it was released on 15 May 1996. It was released on 4 January 1996 in North America. A port of Mega Man X3 was released on the Sega Saturn and PlayStation in Japan on 26 April 1996 and in Europe in March 1997. Capcom stated that it was licensing these versions to a USA company for release in North America, but ultimately they were never released in the region.
- Mega Man X4 was initially developed as a Sega Saturn exclusive and slated for a June 1997 release, but it was delayed and made multi-platform. Both console versions of Mega Man X4 were released in Japan on 1 August 1997.
- Mega Man X5 game was first released in Japan for the PlayStation on 30 November 2000. The North American release followed the next month on 31 January 2001. It was later released in Europe on 3 August 2001. A Microsoft Windows port was first released to retail in Asia on 30 July 2001, in Japan on 24 May 2002, and in North America on 20 August 2002.
- Mega Man X6 released on for the PlayStation on 29 November 2001 in Japan, 11 December 2001 in North America, and 8 February 2002 in Europe.
- Mega Man X7 was first released in Japan for the PlayStation 2 on 17 July 2003 in North America on 14 October 2003 and Europe on 5 March 2004.
- Mega Man X8 was first released for the PlayStation 2 on 7 December 2004 in Japan, in Europe on 11 February 2005
- Mega Man Maverick Hunter X was released in North America for the PlayStation Portable on 31 January 2006, while a European release followed it on 3 March 2006.
Spin-offs
- Mega Man Xtreme was released in Japan for the Game Boy Color on 20 October 2000, and in North America on 10 January 2001.
- Mega Man Xtreme 2 was released in Japan for the Game Boy Color on 19 July 2001, and in North America in November the same year. On 18 July 2013, it was confirmed Mega Man Xtreme 2 would be released on the 3DS Virtual Console in Japan on 25 December 2013, and in North America on 29 May 2014.
- Mega Man X: Command Mission was released in Japan for the PlayStation 2 and GameCube on 29 July 2004; in North America on 21 September 2004; and in Europe on 19 November 2004. The North American PS2 version includes an unlockable demo version of Mega Man X8. To coincide with the release the launch of the game in North America, NubyTech announced Mega Man-themed game controllers for both console versions. However, only the GameCube version of the controller arrived with the release of Mega Man X Collection in early 2006.
- The Mega Man X Collection was released on 10 January 2006 for the PlayStation 2 and GameCube.
- The Mega Man X Legacy Collection became available for Windows via Steam, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on 24 July 2018, worldwide and 26 July 2018, in Japan. The names of the Maverick bosses were changed to translations of their original Japanese names.
- Mega Man X DiVE is a mobile game created by Capcom Taiwan developers. Released in parts of East and Southeast Asia on 24 March 2020. Released in Australia and India on 26 March 2020.
- Mega Man X DiVE Offline is a port of the original DiVE but without any online system in September 2023.
- Mega Man X on mobile was released to iOS and Android in 2011.
Cancelled games