When life gives you lemons, you shoot them with your arm cannon.
There’s no doubt that Megaman games have a special place in my heart. I received my very first Megaman game (MM2) on the NES as a gift when I was but a child, and even though it took me weeks, sometimes months, I was able to finish most of them one after the other. However, as much as I enjoyed the original series on the NES, it wasn’t until the release of Megaman X that I became obsessed with one particular entry.
Everything about MMX impressed, from its excellent sprite work to the various gameplay additions and improvements, it truly felt like the next evolution for Megaman. While I was never quite as enamored with another entry in the X series, I found all of the ones I played to be quite enjoyable. Now with the release of the MMX Legacy Collections, I revisit these classic and some not-so classic titles to see if it’s worth the asking price.
The first collection includes MMX-4, while the second includes MMX5-8.
MSRP: $39.99
Platforms: Switch, PS4, X1, PC
Played: 10~ hours
For those that don’t know what Megaman X games are, they’re platformers where the player tackles individual stages which end in a boss fight. After defeating a boss, the player is granted a new weapon which can be used to defeat another boss which greater efficiency. There are various tweaks to the loop but that’s the general gist.
As for the collection, the most important thing to establish first and foremost is that these games were not remastered at all. Even though there are visual filters as well as the ability to save the game instead of having to plug in a 3×3 code(good ol’ SNES days), the games are presented exactly the same way as when they were first released on their respective consoles. There were some minor tweaks like the names of certain mavericks being changed amongst others but all in all, it’s a faithful collection of ports.
This collection gave me the opportunity to play through MMX once more, which I always welcome, but it also gave me the chance to play some of the lesser known entries like MMX7 and MMX8, and it didn’t take long for me to realize that I skipped them for good reason. The changes to the visual design of these two entries have not aged well, and the various gameplay tweaks felt ill-advised as they felt like a chore to play. Still, for completionist sake, it is nice to have them in the collection since they were not available on the MMX collection on the PS2. Which begs the question, “where is MMX: Command Mission”? Sure, it was not a standard platformer like all the rest, but it was still a part of the X series and one that I enjoyed given my predisposition towards JRPGs.
Visual filters are available for those who would like to use them but I prefer the original.
As for the extras, there’s a fair bit to dig into with the museum mode that includes trailers, soundtracks, merchandise info, artwork and more, and going through them was fun as well as a little educational. The much touted X Challenge mode which pitted me against two mavericks at once felt more like a novelty than a selling point, as these bosses were never intended to be fought at the same time and the chaotic nature of the encounters made me lose interest quickly.
The addition of a “Rookie Hunter” mode which toned down the difficulty was a welcome addition as even though I personally appreciate the challenge in these titles, this caters towards those who have been asking for a more accessible Megaman experience.
Some games have aged better than others.
There really isn’t much to say about the MMX Legacy Collection. Given my fondness for the series, I’m always happy to have more people discover the pure platforming bliss that most of the series offers and while there certainly is value in keeping things faithful to the original, I would have much preferred a collection of true remasters as it would have gone a long way to justify the asking price.
Fun Tidbit – The Hadouken/Shoryuken easter eggs of MMX/X2 are some of my favorite secrets in gaming!
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
