This week's entry is going to have a little bit of everything: a "Was it Really" post, a game review and some general thoughts. It's like all the different stuff I do rolled into one nice, neat package.
One of the topics I wanted to cover more since I started GOTBP is the competing narratives surrounding certain games. I touched on this a little bit with my Legend of Dragoon review, as that game was considered somewhat underwhelming when it came out but is now lauded as a classic. I find that such revisionist history is common in gaming, for better or for worse. Of course, it cuts both ways. It's become fashionable to bash classic games, call them dated, say they were never that great, etc., etc. Final Fantasy VII, Goldeneye and Halo are a few that spring to mind as favorite targets for this. Some of the more recent criticism is justified, some of it is ridiculous, but all of it leads to a disparate narrative about those games and their brethren. But for now, we are going to look at a game that, like LOD, was met with an emphatic "meh" when it came out, only to see itself become revered more than 20 years later.
A quick search on Mega Man X4 will bring up a bevy of content creators heaping effusive praise on the title. Originally released for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn in 1997, it was the X series' first entry on the 5th generation consoles and followed mainline series entry Mega Man 8 by about 8 months. Rather than make drastic changes to their formula, Capcom stuck to what they knew best and released a traditional side scroller, opting to go bigger and better as new hardware allowed. Modern critics praise its slick 2D visuals, outstanding sound and interesting selection of robot masters. Some call it their second favorite title in the series, while others go a step further and make the claim it's even better.
But that's modern critics. Back in 1997, the game received little fanfare upon its release. Reviews weren't necessarily bad, they just found the game to be uninspired. Critics chided the game for its reliance on an old formula and for not trying anything really new. Sure there were some cutscenes and visual upgrades, but how different was this from the previous 3 Mega Man X titles, or even the mainline series titles. Between the two, this was the 12th(!) Mega Man title released in the west and even diehard fans had to be getting tired by now (considering how many Mega Man titles exist now, I think it's safe to say they weren't). Overall, X4 was dubbed a well made but mediocre title that wouldn't appeal much to those who weren't series fans.
So which was it? And why has the narrative for MMX4 changed so much over the last two decades? Was Mega Man X4 really a classic title? Or was it just another run-of-the-mill side scroller attempting to get by on name recognition alone? I will start by saying I would agree with the former. X4 is probably the second best game in the X series and dare I say it might even be in my top 5 Mega Man games of all time. While I didn't play it immediately upon release, I did play it relatively soon after and while I did feel some sense of sameness at the time, its always stood out to me as an excellent title. But why didn't reviewers think so? To understand why, we need to look back at the gaming culture of the mid to late 90's and how it impacted the narrative surrounding so many games of its time.
By the time Mega Man X4 entered the fray in late '97, the 5th console generation was in full swing. The Nintendo 64 had just turned a year old and had finally built itself a strong roster of titles after having very few at launch. The PlayStation was churning and burning, adding more and more titles to what would become one of the largest libraries in gaming history. The Saturn was on the decline, but still trying to climb back into the race with some quality titles. And almost all of those games, across all three consoles, were in 3D. Simply put, everyone wanted to play with the shiny new toys and fancy new technology the new systems offered. Who wanted to play those boring old 2D titles anymore? Why play something that could have been done on SNES or Genesis on your super advanced PlayStation? Why not take advantage of all 64 of those bits? Hardcore gamers and those who had been playing for a long time didn't necessarily feel that way, but those types of gamers were few and far between at the time. Series fans already knew a 3D title was coming soon, as Mega Man Legends would release a few months later. The overwhelming majority of the gaming populace wanted 3D, and they wanted it all the time. I remember browsing N64 titles at Gamestop at the time, probably there with my mother, and watching the family next to me pick up a copy of Mischief Makers: "Hey, this looks like it could be fun," the older brother said. "Yeah, looks cool," his younger sibling agreed. Their father even nodded in approval, anyone who's played Mischief Makers knows there's certainly no concern about it being inappropriate for kids. But it all fell apart when one of the boys looked at the back of the box. "Ugh," the older one said. "This one's 2D, so it sucks." It may sound ridiculous, but that was the attitude of a lot of people at the time.
It's also worth noting that 1997 was an incredible year for video games on consoles and PCs. Mega Man X4 is outstanding, I'd certainly call it very good at worst. There were a lot of years where it could have been a top 10 release. But '97? Good as it was, I don't know. The competition was fierece: Diablo, Final Fantasy VII, Mario Kart 64, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Tekken 3, X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter, Fighter's Megamix, Star Fox 64, Goldeneye, Fallout, Age of Empires, Crash Bandicoot 2, WCW Vs. NWO: World Tour, the list goes on. There were tons of hidden gems and plenty of games that may not have been critically great, but were part of huge franchises like Mortal Kombat 4, Tomb Raider II and Yoshi's Story. That's to say, it was a difficult year to stand out. Many consider it to be among the best years ever for gaming and it's not like things slowed down when the calendar turned over. '98 was also an incredible year for gaming.
Through that frame of reference, it's a little bit easier to see why X4 was lost in the shuffle at release. But how did it come to be so loved by modern critics? That's a much easier question to answer: once gamers took time to give the title a shot they realized how great it is. It offers classic Mega Man gameplay that we all knew and loved, jumping, shooting, sliding and wall climbing. Everything is tight and the controls are perfect. Honestly, it always felt like these games were meant to be played with an SNES controller, so adjusting to the PS1 controller was a bit of a challenge for me, but that was probably personal preference. It's just about as technically perfect as you can get in a game like this. The graphics are phenomenal, some of the best looking 2D graphics I have seen in a while. The backgrounds are far more detailed than those of its predecessors and it's clear they took advantage of the new hardware. X and Zero's sprites have been upgraded and they are far more detailed than they were before. But its the sound that really puts the presentation over the top. Simply put, this may be the best soundtrack in the entire series. That's saying something, because this series is known for its soundtracks. I personally prefer the first game, but there's no denying X4 has better sound quality (coming from a CD, it better) and has a certain techno-ness that is unlike anything else in the series.
Mega Man X games live and die by their Mavericks, and X4 has a great group. You will face:
-Web Spider (Solid)
-Cyber Peacock (Surprisingly Cool)
-Storm Owl (Really great, detailed design)
-Magma Dragon (One of the top Mavericks of all time)
-Jet Stingray (Also solid)
-Split Mushroom (Um, Wut?)
-Slash Beast (Slash Man, but a beast)
-Frost Walrus (Standard big ice dude)
It's a great list, Split Mushroom is the only one that's poorly designed and even he isn't that bad. Again, they seem more detailed and colorful than the Mavericks from the SNES games. Cyber Peacock, Web Spider, and Storm Owl stand out, but Magma Dragoon may be my favorite Maverick of all time. I mean, he throws hadoukens and dragon punches, come on. Speaking of the Maverick battles, I don't think any of them are bad. Frost Walrus is probably the most boring, he throws ice and slides at you, but all the others are cool. Split Mushroom recycles Gemini Man's old gimmick, Storm Owl has a variety of attacks you have to react to and Slash Beast puts a lot of pressure on players in a good, aggressive fight. The weapons are okay, Web Spider's is my favorite, it shoots a web that can deal damage over time and act as a platform. Slash Beast's allows you to fire in multiple directions and Jet Stingray's is your standard ground attack. Cyber Peacock's aiming laser isn't great, but at least its unique and none of the weapons are bad. I should also note, you can choose to play as Zero or X at the beginning of the game. I've said this before, but I don't like playing as Zero in these games. He has his own unique moves, most of which are activated with Street Fighter style button combos. I didn't really put that much time in with him though.
The level design is where the game really stands out. Jet Stingray is the only one I disliked and that's only because it was a ride chaser level. Storm Owl's sees you hoping through a fleet of airborne vehicles, Slash Beast's takes place on a speeding train and Magma Dragoon's sees you venture into an active volcano. There aren't necessarily divergent paths, but there are a lot of different ways to attack the challenges. In Magma Dragoon's stage, for example, if you take some time to explore you will find you can bring a ride armor into the boss fight, which is cool and makes him a viable Maverick to start with. It might be the best overall level design in the series, it's definitely a huge step up from X3 which had a huge amount of open space without any enemies.
Of course, the game isn't without its flaws. There are some pretty cool cutscenes that help flesh out the story. Unfortunately, these scenes feature some of the absolute worst voice acting in gaming history. I can't even do it justice, it's ungodly. Mega Man 8 had similarly bad voice acting, though I'm not sure which is worse. I don't really play these games for the story, but it still sucks. The biggest gameplay issue though comes from the bosses. They all offer a unique, interesting challenge and a good variety of different attacks...when you are using your buster or Z-sabre. Of the eight Mavericks in this game, seven of them have Spark Mandrill syndrome. For non Mega Man fans, Spark Mandrill was a boss from the first X game who can be completely locked out of attacking with his weakness weapon. It's okay when one or two bosses have that, it offers a good reward for guessing the boss order. But when all the bosses behave that way it completely takes the challenge out of them. Web Spider is the only one that I couldn't consistently lock out of his pattern. My last gripe is the end stages, some Mega Man games take it too far with these but X4 goes too far in the opposite direction. The final stages are too easy and the fight against Sigma isn't all that difficult.
Overall, it's nice to see that X4 has finally received the praise it was due all those years ago. I can understand why this game was lost in the shuffle back in the day, but I do think the modern narrative is more correct. It really is amazing how the opinions on games change over time. I know it happens with all media, but I feel like its extremely common with gaming. It's just a reminder that reviews, whether they are from critics or word of mouth opinions from friends, should be taken with a grain of salt (except my reviews, of course). Don't get me wrong, they're a great tool for helping you make a decision as to which games to play, but at the end of the day you know what you like. And I personally like Mega Man X4. Trust the YouTubers, its totally worth a playthrough today.
9.25/10
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