''Mega Man Xtreme'' is a 2000
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
Game Boy Color
The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...
handheld console
A handheld game console, or simply handheld console, is a small, portable self-contained video game console with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are smaller than home video game consoles and contain the cons ...
. It is a spin-off title 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 of video games that originated on the
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Eur ...
. ''Mega Man Xtreme'' takes place within the series timeline during the 22nd century, in which a group of "Maverick"
androids
An android is a humanoid robot or other artificial being often made from a flesh-like material. Historically, androids were completely within the domain of science fiction and frequently seen in film and television, but advances in robot techno ...
called the "Shadow Hunters"
hack
Hack may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* ''Hack'' (Unix video game), a 1984 roguelike video game
* ''.hack'' (video game series), a series of video games by the multimedia franchise ''.hack''
Music
* ''Hack'' (album), a 199 ...
into the world's "Mother Computer" system, destabilize all of the networks, and allow other Mavericks to cause rampant destruction all over the world. The heroic "Maverick Hunter"
X is tasked with going into cyberspace to relive his past missions and put a stop to the group's plans.
''Mega Man Xtreme'' contains the same gameplay as its home console counterparts. 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 ...
, the player must attempt a series of stages, gain various power-ups such as armor parts, and defeat each stage's boss, assimilating its
signature weapon
A signature weapon (or trademark weapon or weapon of choice) is one commonly identified with a certain group or, in the case of literature, epic poems, comics, and film, where it is a popular ''trope,'' for both heroes and villains to be associate ...
. The game features stages, enemies, and bosses from both
''Mega Man X'' and ''
Mega Man X2
''Mega Man X2'' (stylized as ''MEGA MAN X²''), known as in Japan, is a video game developed by Capcom for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The game was released in Japan on December 16, 1994, and in North America and PAL regions ...
'' for the
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Eur ...
(SNES). ''Mega Man Xtreme'' was met with a mixed critical response. Reviewers enjoyed its familiar gameplay, but were disappointed by graphical issues and a high
difficulty level
Game balance is a branch of game design that is described as a mathematical-algorithmic model of a game’s numbers, game mechanics, and relations between the two. Game balance consists of adjusting values to create a certain user experience. Play ...
. The game was followed by a sequel, ''
Mega Man Xtreme 2
''Mega Man Xtreme 2'' is an action-platform video game that was developed and published by Capcom for the Game Boy Color. It is a spin-off title in the ''Mega Man X'' series and a follow-up to ''Mega Man Xtreme'', which was released the previous y ...
'', also for the Game Boy Color. In 2013, ''Mega Man Xtreme'' was made available on the
Virtual Console
A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Unix ...
of Japan's
Nintendo eShop
The Nintendo eShop is a digital distribution service powered by the Nintendo Network for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, and by a dedicated online infrastructure for the Nintendo Switch. Launched in June 2011 on the Nintendo 3DS, the eShop was en ...
for the
Nintendo 3DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...
. It was later released in the North American eShop the following year in 2014.
Plot
''Mega Man Xtreme'' takes place within 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 timeline, during the 22nd century in which humans and intelligent
androids
An android is a humanoid robot or other artificial being often made from a flesh-like material. Historically, androids were completely within the domain of science fiction and frequently seen in film and television, but advances in robot techno ...
called "Reploids" coexist. Daily life is under constant threat by "Mavericks", Reploids that have turned to a life of crime. The series follows the exploits of
X and his partner
Zero
0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. In place-value notation
Positional notation (or place-value notation, or positional numeral system) usually denotes the extension to any base of the Hindu–Arabic numeral system (or ...
, a pair of "Maverick Hunters" led by the benevolent
Dr. Cain
Since the debut of the first ''Mega Man'' video game in 1987, numerous characters have been introduced into the series.
Overview
Key:
= Does Not Appear
List indicator(s)
* A dark grey cell indicates that the character was not in the prope ...
. This police force has been responsible for suppressing the threat of robotic, criminal activity, particularly that of a dangerous Maverick leader named
Sigma
Sigma (; uppercase Σ, lowercase σ, lowercase in word-final position ς; grc-gre, σίγμα) is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 200. In general mathematics, uppercase Σ is used as ...
. At the opening of the normal
difficulty mode of ''Mega Man Xtreme'', a
hacker
A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popu ...
named Techno from a band called the "Shadow Hunters" breaks into the world's Mother Computer, destabilizing all of the networks and allowing Mavericks to run wild everywhere. X awakens to find himself on the highway from his
first adventure to stop Sigma. Realizing it is merely a simulated replication, the protagonist is greeted by Zero, who informs X that the Maverick Hunters have partnered with a computer genius named Middy to halt the madness.
With Middy's help, X dives into cyberspace to erase the battle data of four Maverick bosses from his previous missions. Once they are beaten, X makes his way to Mother Computer core and defeats the Shadow Hunter Zain, only to see Zain's companions Techno and Geemel retreat and Sigma unveils himself as the mastermind behind the hack. Dr. Cain manages to find Sigma's hideout, and X warps there via the Mother Computer core. At the hideout, X confronts Techno, firing his buster at the computer used to hack into the Mother Computer. Techno reveals that in order to hack into the Mother Computer he had to upload his own
CPU into the computer X destroyed. Middy arrives, revealing that Techno is his twin brother. Having been controlled by Sigma, Techno comes to his senses and dies. X continues on, finds Sigma, and finishes the Maverick off. The computer core begins to detonate, but as X escapes, Middy chooses to stay, stating that he and his twin brother share a CPU and perishes alongside Techno. The hard mode of ''Mega Man Xtreme'' partially extends the storyline, where Zero informs X that someone else has illegally accessed records from the Mother Computer and reproduced more Maverick data. The heroes soon learn that Geemel and Sigma are again responsible and destroy both villains in a similar fashion.
Gameplay
''Mega Man Xtreme'' 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 ...
that features the same gameplay as the ''Mega Man X'' games on non-handheld game consoles. As the titular protagonist, the player is tasked with completing a series of selectable,
side-scrolling stages in any order desired. X has the ability to run, jump, scale walls, and fire his chargeable "X-Buster" arm cannon to overcome enemies in each stage.
These stages consist of various obstacles, enemies, and a
boss
Boss may refer to:
Occupations
* Supervisor, often referred to as boss
* Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier
* Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization
* Fire boss, a ...
at the end.
As the player progresses, helpful power-ups such as health, weapon energy and extra lives can be found or dropped from slain foes. Permanent power-ups include special tanks that extend the player's life bar, storage units that allow for surplus health energy to be saved for later use and armor parts that grant X new abilities such as improved damage resistance and ability to dash-jump off walls.
Fully depleting the health of the end-stage boss will clear the stage and allow X to add the boss' weapon to his arsenal. As each boss is weak to another's weapon, the player can defeat the bosses more easily by choosing to complete the stages in a specific order.
Like the portable incarnations of the
original ''Mega Man'' series, ''Mega Man Xtreme'' borrows content from its home console counterparts released on the
Super Nintendo
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Euro ...
.
The game is composed mostly of elements from
''Mega Man X'' and
''X2'''','' as well as new content made specifically for the game.
''Mega Man Xtreme'' contains three difficulty levels with Normal and Hard mode making up the game's main narrative and featuring only four of the eight main bosses in each, while Xtreme mode acts as a bonus scenario with all eight bosses available to fight from the beginning.
Development and release
''Mega Man Xtreme'' was developed and published 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' ...
. The Japanese version of the game was initially debuted as a playable demo at the
Electronic Entertainment Expo
E3 (short for Electronic Entertainment Expo or Electronic Entertainment Experience in 2021) is a trade event for the video game industry. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) organizes and presents E3, which many developers, publisher ...
in May 2000. The game was shown at the
Tokyo Game Show
, commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. The ...
the following fall. Haruki Suetsugu was the sole artist responsible for the game's character designs and cover art, just as he had been for both ''
Mega Man X4
''Mega Man X4'', originally released in Japan as , is a video game developed by Capcom. It is the fourth game in the ''Mega Man X'' series and the second game in the series to be released on the Sega Saturn and PlayStation. The two versions were ...
'' and ''
Mega Man X5
''Mega Man X5'', known as in Japan, is a video game developed by Capcom. It is the fifth main installment in the '' Mega Man X'' series. It was first released for the PlayStation in Japan on November 30, 2000 and in North America and PAL territor ...
''. He designed the twins Middy and Techno so that if one's helmet is turned
90 degrees
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Arabic digit
In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...
, it is shaped like the other's helmet. Additionally, Middy was illustrated with soft, round lines and Techno was given sharper, pointed angles, each to reflect their personalities.
Going by his instructions, Suetsugu designed Zain and Geemel in contrast to one another by giving them heavy and light armor
plating
Plating is a surface covering in which a metal is deposited on a conductive surface. Plating has been done for hundreds of years; it is also critical for modern technology. Plating is used to decorate objects, for corrosion inhibition, to improv ...
respectively. He felt his illustrations may be too complex for the Game Boy Color's hardware, but he was greatly satisfied with the outcome by graphics designers.
''Mega Man Xtreme'' was released in Japan on October 20, 2000,
and in North America on January 10, 2001.
Reception and legacy
''Mega Man Xtreme'' has an aggregate score of 79% on
GameRankings
GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
. Opinions on the presentation of ''Mega Man Xtreme'' have somewhat varied, though all agreed the game appears as a compact version of the SNES titles.
Allgame
RhythmOne , previously known as Blinkx, and also known as RhythmOne Group, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel.
Blinkx was founded in 2004, went publ ...
contributor Jon Thompson justified the game's graphical inferiority to the SNES titles. "While obviously some graphic cutbacks have been made, due to the limitations of the system, the levels are still colorful and vibrant," he explained, "And the enemies, while many have been scaled down from their original sizes, are still clear and visually pleasing as ever."
Frank Provo of
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
and Marc Nix of
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 ...
both noted the animation of the protagonist to stand out among the other sprites.
Provo overall called the backgrounds "neither garish nor ugly", but complained about the frame rate, control, and collision detection in certain areas and an apparent
flicker throughout the game.
Nix only noticed these irritations when playing ''Mega Man Xtreme'' on an original
Game Boy
The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...
or
Game Boy Pocket
The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same tea ...
, and that they can be alleviated by using a Game Boy Color.
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
writer William Schiffman found the controls relatively easy, even for younger gamers. Thompson and Provo were each satisfied with the "catchy" background music, though the latter reviewer believed the sound instrumentals to be "laughably tinny".
In terms of gameplay, critics saw ''Mega Man Xtreme'' as a competent entry among home console titles in the franchise. Thompson and Nix pointed out that like other ''Mega Man X'' games and unlike the classic ''Mega Man'' series, ''Mega Man Xtreme'' focused more on the end-stage boss battles than the stages themselves.
A universal complaint about the game was its high difficulty.
Provo largely traced this to the graphical issues and hard bosses. However, though he suggested that the player can overcome the challenge of earlier bosses with practice and patience, the final few battles become "an exercise in frustration", particularly in Xtreme mode.
Nix attributed the difficulty to the player's need for Sub-Tanks and armor upgrades hidden in very remote locations. "Since there's no indicator to let players know when they've finished a stage 100%, most won't know that these bonuses are even there, and there's so few of them hidden that some gamers may never even guess that hidden stuff is even part of the gameplay," he concluded. "Without those obscure items, even the best gamers would find the further battles of this game a nightmare."
1UP.com editor Jeremy Parish was less specific about his objections with the game, but nonetheless called it a "rough transition" from SNES to Game Boy Color, "bordering on unplayable".
''Mega Man Xtreme'' was the fourth best-selling video game in Japan during its week of release at 15,312 copies. The game dropped to the eighth slot the next week, selling an additional 11,279 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 information shows that ''Mega Man Xtreme'' was the 182nd best-selling game in Japan in 2000 at 64,011 copies sold. ''Mega Man Xtreme'' was followed by a sequel, ''
Mega Man Xtreme 2
''Mega Man Xtreme 2'' is an action-platform video game that was developed and published by Capcom for the Game Boy Color. It is a spin-off title in the ''Mega Man X'' series and a follow-up to ''Mega Man Xtreme'', which was released the previous y ...
'', released for the Game Boy Color in 2001. In 2012, IGN listed both games among titles they wished to see downloadable from the
Nintendo eShop
The Nintendo eShop is a digital distribution service powered by the Nintendo Network for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, and by a dedicated online infrastructure for the Nintendo Switch. Launched in June 2011 on the Nintendo 3DS, the eShop was en ...
for
Nintendo 3DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...
. On July 18, 2013, Capcom confirmed that ''Mega Man Xtreme'' was planned for release on the 3DS Virtual Console. It was released on the platform in Japan on December 4, 2013, and in North America on May 1, 2014.
Notes
References
External links
Official website
{{Mega Man X
2000 video games
Game Boy Color games
Mega Man X games
Video games developed in Japan
Virtual Console games
Superhero video games
Works set in computers
Virtual Console games for Nintendo 3DS