It's probably the least sucky Megaman game made in the last ... oh 9 years or so :p
The Megaman X series sorely needed a game that didn't suck. I think the whole X plotline kinda fell apart after X3. So this was a refreshing look at it.
It's got an interesting battle system for an RPG and it took some getting used to. I thought the manual read like stereo instructions when I first got it, but maybe that's because I was trying to read it while I had a fever 9_9
Anyhow, I enjoyed the game very much and you can clear the main plotline within about 30-35 hours. Then it has a bunch of hidden bosses to find and other little extras and challenges (which is what I'll be working on now).
The game was actually pretty interesting right up til the end, and I must say the very last chapter was the best of all just because it all came together very nicely. (Another thing that the X series has lacked as of late is good writers. Whoever wrote the script for this one can pat themselves on the back).
Some of the things that happen in the game are a bit predictable (such as one of your new team mates betraying you right at the offset. Anytime you have a new character in Megaman X, nine times out of ten they are secretly evil). But the overall story was entertaining. Some of the voice acting was weird... I thought Cinnamon and Botos were a tad on the annoying side. But I think they finally got half decent voice actors for X and Zero (even if some of the VA's are from G-Gundam x_x )
The music was also pretty decent. I think that X1-3 had the best music... and it kinda went down hill from there. Most of the music is non-distracting and atmospheric but quite a few of the tunes from Command Mission are quite enjoyable ^^ (Axl has the weirdest genkiest theme song x_x I especially enjoy the executive battle song though, personally.)
Best line in the game: When Zero says "Oh GREAT!" right before you fight Ferham... it wasn't what he said so much as how he said it. (I think he was a little tired of Ferham electric whipping him, in her pink pseudo dominatrix idiom).
Funniest fan fic fodder moment: When X and Zero stare at eachother for a rather awkwardly long moment after they are reunited in the middle of the game-- and Axl interrupts them. It was all kinds of shonen-ai wrongness. For not being gay (that we know of) Capcom certianly goes out of their way to make X seem like he has this freaky fanboy crush on Zero all the time. He obsesses over Zero waaaay too much x_x
Stupidest line: I'll say it's a tie between when you first meet up with Axl and you tell him about Zero and he says, "THE Zero?!" fanboyishly as if he never met Zero before... 9_9 jeebus Axl you only just fought along side him in X7 :p Not to mention the fact that Zero saved your ass multiple times in the same game 9_9 The other was when Zero got pissed off and left after meeting X's rag tag team of friends and Massimo said, "Maybe Axl could change into Zero! That would sort of be like having a new friend!" ... ... ... ahh Massimo, filling the BIG DUMB SLOW robot quota for the game. (Though to be fair, Massimo was not quite as stereotypically dumb as SOME big robots are).
The only thing I kinda missed was Signas and Alia, especially Signas. Signas amuses me with the way he will straight out tell X to stop whining
(At least X was a little less whiny than usual). Signas also has a great leader presence... he may not do much, but he does look good in that long military coat armor (ok I just want him there because he's eye candy). And Alia amuses me because while she is actually kinda annoying, I always thought it'd be hilarious if they started writing her spotter dialogue entirely in Cockney slang ... I think would increase her hilarity tenfold (she only points out the obvious anyhow). But that's just me. All the generic women in the game looked kinda like Alia... which was well, weird.
Overall a good game. I hear the GC version has more extras than the PS2 version and that the GC also renders the graphics better. But after getting hosed by the GC version of the Anniversary Collection, I just ASSUMED I should go with the PS2 version 9_9 I may end up with the GC version sometime anyhow
because I'm a silly fan girl -- that and I wouldn't mind playing the game through again.
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