Mega Man X8

''Mega Man X8'', known as in Japan, is an action platform game developed and published by Capcom originally for the PlayStation 2 on December 7, 2004. It is the eight and most recent installment of the ''Mega Man X'' subseries of the ''Mega Man'' franchise. The game was later re-released on July 24, 2018 worldwide and July 26, 2018 in Japan as a part of ''Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2'' for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows.

Gameplay

Mega Man X8 retains the 3D graphics style present in Mega Man X7, but reverts the gameplay style to be purely 2D, similar to previous Mega Man X games before X7 (with Dynasty and Central White being the only exceptions, being on-rails vehicle stages played fully in 3D). As with the traditional Mega Man gameplay loop, after an introductory stage, ''Mega Man X8'' presents the player with a choice of eight stages, with a Maverick robot serving as the stage boss. After defeating the eight Mavericks, a series of fortress stages open up for the player to complete in linear progression until the player faced the final boss.

The player controls three characters (called Maverick Hunters) in the game:

* Mega Man X (Japanese: ロックマンX, Hepburn: ''Rokkuman Ekkusu''), an experienced A-Class Maverick Hunter and the titular protagonist of the series. His gameplay style is similar to his initial appearance in previous Mega Man X games. His X-Buster can only fire straight, and requires him to find an angle to hit his shots. He can charge his X-Buster to fire a powerful Charge Shot that can break enemies' defenses and decimates everything in front of him. However, it no longer goes through walls like in previous games.
* Zero (Japanese: ゼロ), X's partner and an S-Class Maverick Hunter. His gameplay style is similar to his appearance in previous Mega Man X games, being an agile close-range fighter, armed with his Z-Saber that can break enemies' defenses with his third slash. Unlike the other two playable characters, his Special Weapons are integrated to his moveset, requiring the player to perform a command input in order to utilize them.
* Axl (Japanese:アクセル, ''Akuseru''), a New Generation Reploid prototype and a rookie Maverick Hunter, introduced in Mega Man X7. Due to the gameplay shift to 2.5D, his gameplay style has changed from X7, being more similar to Bass in Mega Man and Bass. He can fire rapidly in eight direction, and can hover in the air for a short time. Like in X7, Axl can use A-Trans, which is an ability to copy certain enemy types and use their abilities. Axl's A-Trans ability from X7 has been improved. Copy Shot now no longer requires charging, deals more damage, and he no longer automatically transform upon collecting a DNA drop. Instead, he now keeps the DNA and can transform manually as long as he has Weapon Energy.

The player can only bring two of the hunters along for a mission. Both hunters can be switched mid-stage by pressing a button. Inactive hunter regenerates lost health up to a certain degree (shown in-game by red ticks on their health bar).

The player must also choose a navigator to assist the player. Each navigator offers different type of assistance. Palette can hint the player of a secret area containing an item, Layer can uncover the boss' weakness, as well as certain enemy types that can be copied by Axl, and Alia offers general assistance (albeit not as specific as the other two navigators), similar to previous X games.

Defeating a boss will grant all playable characters Special Weapons that correspond with the boss' element. All bosses has a weakness to certain Special Weapon, and as with the gameplay loop of most Mega Man games, players can exploit the bosses' weakness and create a "stage route/boss order" based on these weaknesses.

New mechanics introduced in X8 are Guard Break, Tag Assist, and Double Attack.

* Certain enemies have a barrier that deflects normal attacks. The player must use either X's Charge Shot, Axl's Concentrated Rapid Shot (shown as blue pellets in-game), or Zero's third slash to break them, leaving them vulnerable for a few seconds. This is called a Guard Break. The player can also alternatively use a certain Special Weapon to trigger a Guard Break, such as Zero's Youdantotsu or X's Green Spinner.
* Certain enemies can grab the player, leaving them immobile and vulnerable. The player must use Tag Assist (by pressing the Partner Switch button) in order to call their partner and release the trapped hunter.
* Double Attack is a powerful mechanic that can destroy (or severely damage) all enemies in the screen. It requires the player to charge the Attack Gauge by attacking enemies and building up combo or collecting refills dropped by mini-bosses or as a reward for clearing an enemy room, and then press the Double Attack button near an enemy. If a hunter loses all of their health, they will be downed and unable to be called again (unless they are killed by environmental hazards, in which both hunters dies), and the Attack Gauge will change into the Recovery Gauge. Filling the gauge to the maximum amount will revive the downed hunter.

Replacing the Rescuable Reploids system from previous games are Metals and R&D Lab. Metals are a type of currency found throughout the stages. They are also dropped by enemies and bosses. The player can use Metals they've gathered to buy consumables (like life bottles or extra lives) and develop Chips in the R&D Lab, upgrading the hunters' stats like life and weapon gauge, Attack Gauge charge rate, and even unlock extra moves like additional saber slashes for Zero. On top of that, the player can found Rare Metals hidden in the stages (except in Easy Mode, in which all of them has already been found). Rare Metals unlocks powerful Chips such as Sub Tanks, new weaponry for Zero, and others. Some of these Rare Metals can only be accessed by using certain weapons or moves, requiring multiple visits to stages in order to acquire every item in the game.

Another new feature in X8 is "Intermission" stages, minigames that allows the player to farm as much Metals as they require without fearing of losing lives or affecting their Hunter Rank. There are four Intermission stages and they can be played repeatedly. Unlocking an Intermission requires the player receive a certain number of "Mission Failed" (game overs). The game keeps track of the number of game overs and uses this to the determine if the player receives an Intermission when returning to the stage select screen.

X8's Armor system is unique compared to previous games. Instead of a fixed set of armor, Dr. Light grants X the Neutral Armor, which in of itself does nothing at all, but by collecting I Parts (which focused on attack power) and H Parts (which focused on mobility) from other Light Capsules, they grant X unique abilities. Both I Parts and H Parts can be mixed and matched to suit the player's playstyle, but if the player match the armor with the same parts, a Giga Attack feature will be added, with Icarus Armor granting X the Giga Crush, a fullscreen attack similar to Double Attack, and Hermes Armor granting X the X-Drive, which powers up his armor's abilities.

The game has three difficulty modes to choose from:

* Easy Mode gives the player all upgrades, Rare Metals, and infinite lives. Bosses are also locked out of their Overdrive Attack, but the player cannot confront the final boss.
* Normal Mode have the player start at standard health and weapon gauge. Rare Metals have to be found for certain upgrades, and there are only 2 free lives, with additional 3 has to be bought at the Lab.
* Hard Mode have the player start at less health and weapon gauge. Certain enemies have altered moveset, and bosses are more dangerous and use their Overdrive Attack much faster. Additionally, there are no free lives. The player have to buy extra lives at the Lab. However, there are bonus story events in the final stage (some of which makes the stage more difficult), along with a secret ending after defeating the final boss.

There are hidden unlockables in the game, which is unlocked by meeting a certain requirement or inputting a code in the title screen. This ranges from granting the hunters powerful armors, to unlocking the navigators as playable characters.

Just like the X7, this game also comes with the New Game Plus feature, which allows players to start a new game from an old save file after finishing the previous one. In addition to the aforementioned unlockable features, all metal shards purchased in the store during the previous game will be retained. Players can also choose to start over by removing any of these chips and then repurchasing them. However, progress made in Easy Mode cannot be carried over to Normal or Hard mode.

Plot

Setting and characters

Like other entries in the series, Mega Man X8 takes place in 21XX, where humans coexist with "Reploids", androids with the ability to think, feel, and make their own decisions. Reploids who were infected with the "Maverick Virus" or went against their original programming to the point where they became hostile towards humanity were branded Mavericks (イレギュラー ''Irregulars'') and hunted down by Maverick Hunters (イレギュラーハンター ''Irregular Hunter''), a group of government-sanctioned law enforcement that deals with Mavericks with extreme prejudice. In order to escape the Maverick Wars, which were waged by against the Maverick Hunters and humanity, and was still ongoing long after his demise, humans planned to migrate to the Moon and launched Jakob Project (プロジェクト・ヤコブ), an orbital elevator project centered in the Galapagos Islands that connected the Earth and the Moon. For this purpose, they employed the New Generation Reploids, Reploids with Copy Chips similar to Axl that allows them to change their DNA, making them immune to the Maverick Virus.

Story

One night, while X was on patrol, one of the transport compartment on the conveyor belt derailed and landed on Earth. As X approached the elevator, a group of Reploids resembling Sigma emerges from the transport compartment, startling him. A purple-haired Reploid came out from the middle of the group and introduced himself as , the head of Project Jakob. He explained that the purpose of the New Generation Reploids replicating Sigma is to have a body powerful enough to survive the crash, and they are immune to the Maverick Virus, providing no risk for them to copy Sigma's body. X's doubts were temporarily dissipated.

Later, the Maverick Hunters were dispatched to Noah's Park in order to quell a Maverick attack. After defeating the Mavericks, appears, revealing that he had kidnapped Lumine and claiming that "a new world" will be born before leaving. While discussing the events that has transpired, Hunter HQ was alerted to a global Maverick attack, started by New Generation Reploids and their eight commanders. The hunters then were dispatched to defeat them while collecting data regarding the New Generation Reploids. As they fought the Mavericks, they talked about "creating a new world", similar to Vile.

After defeating four Mavericks and analyzing their data, Alia reveals that the Copy Chips embedded in the New Generation Reploids contains the DNA of Sigma. Later, after defeating four more Mavericks, Sigma himself confronted the hunters at their base, confirming that he was behind the Maverick attacks. He then reveals his plan to wipe out the human civilization in the old world and create a "new world" in the moon, along with his "children", which were the New Generation Reploids.

The hunters then infiltrated the Jakob elevator, defeating Vile who's guarding the elevator and forcing him to retreat. The hunters then enter Gateway, the passage to the moon, facing against New Generation Reploids who copied the eight Mavericks that the hunters has defeated previously. After defeating them, the Gateway collapsed, forcing the hunters to escape. They then confronts Sigma at the entrance, who is revealed to be a fake after being defeated.

After securing both the Jakob elevator and Gateway, the Hunter HQ detected numerous Maverick readings in the moon, dispatching the hunters to Sigma's Palace. After defeating Vile once and for all and infiltrating the palace, the hunters finally reached the real Sigma, who was physically deformed and resembled more like a demon, sitting on his throne.

The game ends after defeating Sigma in Easy Mode. However, if the player was playing on Normal or Hard Mode, it is revealed that the true mastermind is Lumine. What is thought to be Sigma's plan was actually Lumine's plan all along, and he's been using Sigma as a figurehead to achieve that goal, calling it "the next step to evolution". He then revealed to the hunters that the New Generation Reploids' rebellion against humanity was actually made consciously without any interference from viruses, and the Reploids' thinking process has evolved to the point that they can go Maverick at will.

The hunters then fought him in a decisive final battle, in which Lumine is defeated once and for all. Before dying, Lumine claimed that they might've stopped him, but they cannot stop what was already begun. When Axl approached Lumine's lifeless body, his body begun cracking and tentacles protruded out of his body, shattering Axl's crystal on his helmet and knocking him unconscious. X then proceeded to destroy Lumine's body with a Charge Shot. The hunters then leaves the palace and descend the elevator with Axl still unconscious.

After this, the ending differs slightly (in perspective only), depending on which hunter delivers the killing blow to Lumine.

* If X is the active hunter, he will ponder on Lumine's words of evolution as they went down the elevator. Zero tells X not to let his words get to him, as new generation Reploids becoming Sigma could hardly be called evolution. Furthermore, he tells X that even if they are destined to join the scrap heap when that evolution does comes about, they'll still have to fight, not only against the Mavericks, but against their own destinies as well.
* If Zero is the active hunter, he wonders that Lumine's words that Sigma is dead means that he no longer have to fight. He then saw X in distraught, then the ending went along similarly to X's ending.
* If Axl is the active hunter, a faint purple light emits from Axl's shattered helmet crystal as the hunters descending the elevator after the credits roll, suggesting that Lumine's spirit lives on.

A post-credits scene explains that Lumine's death and the news of him becoming Maverick resulted in ceasing production of DNA copy chips. However, due to the increasing need of advanced Reploids for space development, production resumed several years later, despite the objections of many.

Development

''Mega Man X8'' was developed by Capcom Production Studio 1. The game's direct predecessor, ''Mega Man X7'', was the first entry in the ''Mega Man X'' series to feature full 3D graphics, as well as 3D gameplay. However, as stated by Capcom producer and original ''Mega Man'' illustrator Keiji Inafune, the development team chose not to pursue 3D gameplay for ''Mega Man X8'' simply because of its graphical style. Inafune himself was not involved in the production of ''Mega Man X8'', although the game's art designers did consult with him before changing the overall style of the characters. The game's main illustrator, Tatsuya Yoshikawa, was responsible for designing the protagonists, the Maverick bosses, and the newer ancillary cast. Yoshikawa took into account what the characters may resemble if they were toys, and even imitated the joints of Revoltech figures.

A Windows version of ''Mega Man X8'' was released in Asia, Europe, and as a download from GameStop in North America. This version can run in windowed mode, in addition to full screen, and includes mouse and keyboard features, although it does support using a controller. The Windows version also features several languages and the possibility to toggle between English and Japanese voices, which can be changed from the main menu or after starting a new game. All of the music and cutscene dialogue is encoded in Ogg Vorbis format and as a result, all audio files can easily be replaced by the user.

Music

The musical score for ''Mega Man X8'' was co-composed by Yuko Komiyama, Naoto Tanaka, and Shinya Okada. The 51-song ''Rockman X8 Original Soundtrack'' was released in Japan on April 13, 2005 by Suleputer. The Japanese opening theme for PlayStation 2 (also available for PC platform in any regional version, including Europe which had received the North American opening theme in the European PlayStation 2 version) is "Wild Fang" by Janne Da Arc; the band had previously done television advertisement themes for ''Mega Man Battle Network'' and ''Mega Man Battle Network 2''. However, the theme was not included in the soundtrack and was even omitted on the game's localization in English for PS2 platform.

Catalogue

Reception

''Mega Man X8'' received a mixed reception. It was generally praised for returning to a more classic style of Mega Man gameplay and removing the criticized gameplay elements of ''Mega Man X7''. IGN praised the game for its mixture of 2D and 3D, and its camera system, saying "Thankfully the transition from one plane to another is pretty seamless and isn't the bothersome chore that switches in X7 were. It's an easy and totally acceptable gameplay method and one that should have been used in 2003 to begin with." GameSpot criticized the game for its level design, which often made the game extremely frustrating to play. They also derided the story, remarking that it "dabbles in a lot of nonsensical anime-style ramblings about things that are of little importance to the actual game."

According to ''Famitsu'', ''Mega Man X8'' was the tenth best-selling game in Japan during its week of release at 14,927 units. A total of 35,546 units were sold in the region by the end of 2005.

References

External links

*

Official website

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