''Mega Man X7'', known as in Japan, is a
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
developed by
Capcom
is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
for the
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
console
Console may refer to:
Computing and video games
* System console, a physical device to operate a computer
** Virtual console, a user interface for multiple computer consoles on one device
** Command-line interface, a method of interacting with ...
. It is the seventh main game in the ''
Mega Man X
is a series of action platform video games released by Capcom. It is a sub-series of the ''Mega Man'' franchise. The first game was released on December 17, 1993 in Japan (January 1994 in North America) on the Super NES/Super Famicom; most of ...
'' series and the first in the series to appear on the
sixth generation of gaming consoles. ''Mega Man X7'' was first released in Japan on July 17, 2003, with North American and European releases following in October 2003 and March 2004 respectively. The European version features a redrawn logo also used for future releases in the region. It was also released for
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
exclusively in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
and
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
until the re-release as part of ''
Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2
''Mega Man Legacy Collection'' is a series of video game compilations based on Capcom's ''Mega Man'' franchise. Each compilation features several playable video games from one of the ''Mega Man'' sub-series and adds new gameplay features and bonus ...
'' (''Rockman X Anniversary Collection 2'' in Japan) on July 24, 2018 for the worldwide release and July 26, 2018 for Japan, whose Windows version was released internationally via
Steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
along with
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
,
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
and
Nintendo Switch
The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
. It is the first and only ''Mega Man X'' game to be a third-person shooter (as well as the third ''
Mega Man
''Mega Man'', known as in Japan, is a Japanese science fiction video game franchise created by Capcom, starring a series of robot characters each known by the moniker "Mega Man (character), Mega Man". Mega Man (video game), The original game w ...
'' game to use third-person view due to the ''
Mega Man Legends
''Mega Man Legends'' is a series in the ''Mega Man'' franchise. While the classic series is known for its 2D side-scrolling platformer gameplay with very little story, this series instead features 3D action-adventure gameplay and a robust story ...
'' franchise).
''Mega Man X7'' takes place in the 22nd century. Daily human life is often disrupted by "Maverick" crime from the "Reploids"
robots "\n\n\n\n\nThe robots exclusion standard, also known as the robots exclusion protocol or simply robots.txt, is a standard used by websites to indicate to visiting web crawlers and other web robots which portions of the site they are allowed to visi ...
that live and work among them. The heroic "Maverick Hunter"
X has retired from the battlefield. As such, various groups have begun springing up to stamp out the ever constant threat of Maverick activity.
Axl, a member of "Red Alert", questions his group's methods and deserts the team, only to be pursued by its leader, Red. Like other games in the series, ''Mega Man X7'' is an
action
Action may refer to:
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video game
Film
* Action film, a genre of film
* ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford
* ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
-
platform game
A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
in which the player fights through an octet of selectable stages. The game differs from previous
side-scrolling entries by featuring fully
3D graphics
3D computer graphics, or “3D graphics,” sometimes called CGI, 3D-CGI or three-dimensional computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data (often Cartesian) that is stored in the computer for the ...
intermixed with both 3D and 2D gameplay.
The development of ''Mega Man X7'' involved a challenging transition of the well-known ''Mega Man X'' characters into 3D. However, the reinvention of the series in both graphical and gameplay respects was met with a hostile critical reception. Reviewers found the game's foray into the third dimension well-intended but poorly executed.
Plot
Following the Eurasia and Nightmare incidents, Reploids work diligently to rebuild the Earth. Growing weary of the seemingly never-ending Maverick Wars, X decides to retire in search of more peaceful solutions, leaving Zero in charge. In X's absence, Maverick activity rapidly begins to rise, which leads to the formation of an unsanctioned anti-Maverick vigilante group known as Red Alert. As the group grows more and more reckless, one of their members, a new generation Reploid prototype named Axl, decides to defect. Red, the group's leader, is angered by Axl deserting them and goes on a rampage to get him back.
Axl is chased through a city by a mechaniloid sent by Red Alert to retrieve him, and the ensuing chaos draws the attention of Zero. After a battle against the mechaniloid, Zero takes Axl into custody at Maverick Hunter HQ. In response, Red issues a challenge to the Hunters: he will release some Mavericks that Red Alert has in captivity, and whichever group can defeat the Mavericks first will gain possession of Axl. Zero goes into action without hesitation and Axl's remorse for what he has done fuels his desire to become a Maverick Hunter. As Zero and Axl battle Red Alert, Axl reveals that he possesses the ability to copy the DNA of other Reploids, making him invaluable to Red. X initially stays out of the conflict, feeling that it is pointless, but later joins in hoping to end the war quickly. Elsewhere, Red communicates with a mysterious figure known as "The Professor," who gives him additional power and shows him what Axl's copy ability can do. The Professor then takes possession of Red Alert, and orders Red to retrieve Axl.
Following the defeat of the Mavericks, the Hunters infiltrate Crimson Palace, the home base of Red Alert. There they defeat a reluctant Red and discover a rebuilt Sigma, who was behind Red Alert's corruption. Despite the Hunters defeating Sigma twice, he rises once again and punches Axl through a wall, before vowing to X and Zero that he will again return. Suddenly, Red reappears and Sigma attempts to possess him, but it turns out to be Axl (copying Red's DNA), who then proceeds to blast Sigma out of a window from the top of the palace.
The ending of the game depends on which character was used to defeat Sigma:
* In X's ending, X adamantly refuses to train Axl to become a Maverick Hunter, thinking he is too young and immature. Signas tries to reason with X, warning him that they have not seen the last of the Mavericks.
* Axl's ending shows him arguing with X regarding his future as a Hunter. Alia interrupts to inform them of a Maverick outbreak, to which Axl runs off to deal with, much to X's displeasure.
* In Zero's ending, he has a nightmare in which X gains a strange desire to destroy all Mavericks, foreshadowing the rise of Copy X in
''Mega Man Zero''.
Gameplay
''Mega Man X7'' is the first of the two games in the series to have 3D gameplay in addition to the standard 2D style. When starting the game, the player has only access to returning Maverick Hunter Zero and newcomer Axl. The player can send the two characters to the same stage and both can be changed whenever the player needs to. In order to unlock X, the player must rescue 64 reploids (out of a possible total of 128) or defeat the eight main bosses in order to unlock him. Unlike the preceding games, chips must be used immediately after they are gained and cannot be deactivated, nor changed from one playable character to another. Once all the chips for that playable character are completely maxed out, that particular character can no longer receive any more chip upgrades.
An auto-aim feature is added for both Axl and X allowing the player to lock on to enemies. The target can be changed by pressing a dedicated button. While Zero does not have any standard long-range attacks, his ability to destroy projectiles with his Z-Saber from past games was replaced to repel projectiles instead to help compensate for this weakness.
Unlike previous games, X can air dash and fully charge his buster by default. Armor capsules from Dr. Light also return, and after obtaining the full set, the player can choose between unarmored X or armored X on the Stage Select.
While Zero and X retain their common weaponry, Axl has a new ability called "Copy Shot". If the player destroys certain types of enemies with said technique, they will leave an item upon their destruction. If the item (a glowing red sphere) is picked up, Axl will transform into a copy of the enemy he destroyed, with all of its features (speed, weapon, etc.).
The game also has a
New Game Plus
A New Game Plus, also New Game+ (NG+), is an unlockable video game mode available in some video games that allows the player to start a new game after they finish it at least once, where certain features in NG+ not normally available in a first ...
feature, by completing the game and saving it, and then starting a new game from loading that particular save file. This feature allows for X to become available after the opening stage with any collected armor parts kept and all the chip upgrades from the previous game are retained.
Development
''Mega Man X7'' was developed by a team of about 30 people, led by producers Tatsuya Minami and Tatsuya Kitabayashi of
Capcom Production Studio 3.
This was the first game in the ''Mega Man'' series worked on by Kitabayashi. He explained that transitioning the character models of ''Mega Man X'' from
2D to
3D graphics
3D computer graphics, or “3D graphics,” sometimes called CGI, 3D-CGI or three-dimensional computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data (often Cartesian) that is stored in the computer for the ...
was a challenge, but that including both 2D and 3D gameplay was not, as they had planned to have them in equal amounts for the game.
The development team took into account the less-than-favorable reception for ''Mega Man X6'', but instead of simply trying to make the next game new and fresh with 3D graphics, they decided to focus on "getting 3D right".
The team also attempted to build upon the action-style gameplay for which the ''Mega Man'' franchise is known along with the more adult-themed storyline of the ''Mega Man X'' series. This involved adding the newer, non-traditional character Axl to deepen and better the narrative. Kitabayashi emphasized, "He's young, he's running away. He's like the new younger character of the group, and that's why I wanted to put him in there."
Minami stated in an interview that the game would feature
multiplayer
A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
for up to two players.
However, the final version of the game lacks this option.
Prominent ''Mega Man'' artist and Capcom producer
Keiji Inafune
is a Japanese video game producer, illustrator and businessman. Starting his career at Capcom in the late 1980s, his job was as an artist and illustrator. The first two games he worked on were the original ''Street Fighter'' and ''Mega Man'' in ...
had little involvement in the ''Mega Man X'' series after the
fifth installment. His only contribution to ''Mega Man X7'' was lending advice to the illustrators on creating the new protagonist Axl. Inafune had been careful to make X and Zero unique when he originally designed them, and he wanted to give Axl the same treatment.
The game's primary artist, Tatsuya Yoshikawa, signed on when the project was well underway. He decided to take after his predecessor Haruki Suetsugu for the direction in which to design the characters.
Yoshikawa thought the team would have to create "polygon friendly" bosses, but decided to stick to the traditional design concepts set forth by the early ''Mega Man X'' games. As the series had finally transitioned into 3D, Yoshikawa also expected the team to rethink the way the game was made as they had done in the first ''Mega Man X'' title.
Inafune stated, "My personal opinion was that 3D is simply a graphical style, and just because a game is going 3D like ''X7'' was, it doesn't mean we 'have to' make it a 3D game.
The musical score for ''Mega Man X7'' was composed by nine individuals. A 46-song soundtrack was released by
Suleputer
Suleputer (セルピュータ) is a record label the Japanese game development company Capcom uses for its releases. Its name derives from the full name of Capcom: "(CAP)(''SULE'') (COM)(''PUTER'')(S)".
Discography
* Biohazard 2 ReMIX ~met@morPhos ...
in Japan on October 1, 2003. The game's opening theme, "Code Crush", is performed by
Rina Aiuchi
, professionally known by her stage name, and formerly known as R, is a Japanese singer, songwriter, businesswoman, fashion model, and YouTuber. Born in Higashiōsaka, Japan, she won the first season of the audition ''Super Starlight Contest'', ...
. The ending theme is "Lazy Mind", performed by
Showtaro Morikubo
is a Japanese actor, voice actor and singer who has voiced characters in anime, drama CDs, and video games. He was formerly affiliated with I'm Enterprise, Sigma Seven and VIMS. His most notable roles were Shikamaru Nara from ''Naruto'', Souji ...
, the voice actor for X in the Japanese games. A
CD single
A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...
for each of the songs was released in Japan on July 20, 2003 and August 6, 2003 respectively.
Reception
''Mega Man X7'' debuted on Japanese sales charts as the third best-selling video game at copies. By its second week on sale, the game had sold 71,739 copies in the region and by its third week, 89,775 copies.
Media Create
is a Japanese company that gathers and analyzes data from the digital entertainment industry, specifically focusing on the Japanese console gaming market. Business operations include publishing, market research and consulting. It is a popular webs ...
sales data lists the game as having sold 111,778 copies by the end of 2003 in Japan. A budget re-release of the game was included alongside the
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
versions of the first six
original ''Mega Man'' games as part of the ''Rockman Collection'' in Japan on December 19, 2003.
''Mega Man X7'' received mixed reviews. While it attracted some positive remarks for the character switching
and Reploid rescue systems,
the general consensus was that the game's mixture of 2D and 3D gameplay was well-intentioned but poorly executed.
IGN found the characters unbalanced as the shooters X and Axl felt far more useful than the melee fighter Zero.
In particular, critics commented that the camera and controls do not translate well from 2D to 3D.
Criticism has been aimed at the English voice actors' performance, to the point that it has been recommended to try listening to the original Japanese audio.
The music has been described as generic and, while appealing, it does not stand out against what previous installments have offered.
GameSpy
GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1996 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for the game, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...
concluded "I can't fault Capcom or the ''MMX7'' team for trying to reinvent a series that had obviously completely lost its way...
utthe flaccid 2D sections in this game aren't half as good as any of the levels in the original ''
Mega Man X
is a series of action platform video games released by Capcom. It is a sub-series of the ''Mega Man'' franchise. The first game was released on December 17, 1993 in Japan (January 1994 in North America) on the Super NES/Super Famicom; most of ...
''. The 3D bits are more compelling, but still substandard."
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
instead placed the blame wholly on the 3D sections: "We can't help but think that ''Mega Man X7'' would have been better-suited staying 2D. But until Capcom realizes that the better action-oriented 3D titles allow you to manipulate the camera whole-heartedly, future installments of the series will likely run into the same problems that this one did."
In a retrospective article involving the franchise's worst games,
1UP.com
''1Up.com'' was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, ''1Up.com'' provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused conten ...
included ''Mega Man X7'' citing "usual 3D design issues" and the titular character requiring to be unlocked as the game's flaws.
GamesRadar
''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', ''Edge'' and '' Computer ...
compared it with the similarly poor received ''
Castlevania
''Castlevania'' (), known in Japan as is a gothic horror action-adventure video game series and media franchise about Dracula (Castlevania), Dracula, created and developed by Konami. It has been released on various platforms, from early system ...
'' for the
Nintendo 64
The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and Au ...
due to how both games tried staying away from their predecessors' formula by adding 3D gameplay and the transition failed to gamers.
[
]
References
External links
*
Official website
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