The amount of restraint Capcom showed with the Mega Man X series on the PlayStation is pretty surprising. For a publisher known for milking their series to death gamers would have to wait nearly four long years for a follow-up to the excellent Mega Man X4. Coming at the tail end of the system’s life it was easy to expect a cheap cash in. However Mega Man X5 is actually a pretty good game, and would have been a nice send off for the series were it not for greed. But that is a story for another time.
With his defeat at the end of Mega Man X4 Sigma returns again with a new plan. By purposely allowing Mega Man and Zero to defeat him he spreads the Sigma virus around the Eurasia colony and sends it on a crash course toward Earth. With only sixteen hours until impact the heroes have a small window to enact one or two plans to save the Earth from corruption. This is a little more story driven than prior titles although I miss the anime cutscenes of its predecessor.
Mega Man X5 was intended to be the final game in the series. Its conclusion leads directly into the Mega Man Zero games. However Capcom couldn’t help themselves and would go back to their wicked ways. The series would continue, for the worse in the same year. But that’s neither here nor there. As a proposed finale X5 doesn’t rock the boat too much. It introduces a few new features, some good, and some bad. But overall this is one of the better entries in the series in my opinion.
Rather than separate campaigns for X and Zero both follow the same plot and are playable. Choosing either character limits the others abilities in different ways however. Zero loses his Z-Buster if X is chosen while X starts with his normal armor. Honestly you’ll want to go with X so you can use his final armor from Mega Man X4 at the start. X retains all of his end game abilities in his fourth armor such as flight and an overpowered Mega Buster. It makes the game a bit easy. Zero as well is vastly more powerful than standard X.
The only reason to use normal X is his equipment slots. New to the series are various upgrade parts that grant abilities such as higher jumps or faster buster charge time. Each character has a set number of slots to equip these abilities although they aren’t necessary. Where Mega Man X3 had a large number of Ride Armor parts to find Mega Man X5 has four additional armor sets to find which is nuts. It incentivizes exploring each level thoroughly although the annoying time limit gets in the way.
Time is one of the most critical factors in the game. There is a sixteen hour time limit before the colony hits Earth. Every time you enter a stage an hour is consumed. The time limit also factors in to boss battles. The longer you take reaching each boss their level increases, gaining new abilities and a dramatically longer life bar. I’m not a fan of the time component personally. The false sense of urgency it creates is annoying and making the already tough boss battles harder was unnecessary. And for a game that constantly reminds you of the impending doom being interrupted by Alia’s stupid hints is annoying.
In addition to the time limit the game sections off the mavericks into two groups. There are two separate plans to destroy Eurasia, with each requiring parts from specific bosses. Since you can only tackle four at a time it cuts down on the best part of Mega Man, finding the best boss order. The time limit also penalizes experimentation although you could simply start over I guess. The colony’s destruction is random which leads to multiple endings and final boss encounters.
With these flaws in mind I still like Mega Man X5 overall. The core gameplay is still great and the wealth of hidden items gives it great replay value. That is in addition to the multiple endings. The game puts up quite a fight this time around, especially if you dawdle too long. A level 99 boss is an absolute nightmare if that is the challenge you are looking for. The production values are also impressive, with some of the best 2d art on the system. It also has one of the better soundtracks in the series. There is a definite sense of finality to the game even if it doesn’t answer all of your questions. Too bad Capcom couldn’t help themselves.
In Closing
There is a lot to like in Mega Man X5. While not as good as its predecessor this is one of the better games in the series. You would be wise to stop here if you don’t want to sully your memories of the X series. It only gets worse before it gets better from here out.
