Mega Man X

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Mega Man X · LUDEX

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Release

Friday, December 17, 1993

Critic score

85/100

Platform families

Editorial overview

Inside Mega Man X

What it is

Mega Man X, known as Rockman X in Japan, is the first game of the Mega Man X series. It was the first spin-off of the classic Mega Man series and made its debut on the Super Famicom/SNES, initially released in 1993. It was ported to the PC in 1995, and to Android and iOS devices in 2011. It was re-released as part of Mega Man X Collection in January 2006, then later re-released in Mega Man X Legacy Collection in July 2018. The game takes place in the year 21XX (early 22nd century), a century after the conclusion of the classic Mega Man series, and stars a new main character named X.

The premise

It is the year 21XX. While trying to find a fossil record, Dr. Cain, a human scientist, has uncovered a capsule with a robot from the past: Mega Man X. The capsule contained a warning message from Dr. Light, his creator:

WARNING:

"X" IS THE FIRST OF A NEW GENERATION OF ROBOTS WHICH CONTAIN AN INNOVATIVE NEW FEATURE - THE ABILITY TO THINK, FEEL AND MAKE THEIR OWN DECISIONS. HOWEVER THIS ABILITY COULD BE VERY DANGEROUS. IF "X" WERE TO BREAK THE FIRST RULE OF ROBOTICS, "A ROBOT MUST NEVER HARM A HUMAN BEING", THE RESULTS WOULD BE DISASTROUS AND I FEAR THAT NO FORCE ON EARTH COULD STOP HIM.

APPROXIMATELY 30 YEARS WILL BE REQUIRED BEFORE WE CAN SAFELY CONFIRM HIS RELIABILITY. UNFORTUNATELY I WILL NOT LIVE TO SEE THAT DAY, NOR DO I HAVE ANYONE TO CARRY ON MY WORK. THEREFORE, I HAVE DECIDED TO SEAL HIM IN THIS CAPSULE, WHICH WILL TEST HIS INTERNAL SYSTEMS UNTIL HIS RELIABILITY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED. PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB THE CAPSULE UNTIL THAT TIME.

"X" POSSESSES GREAT RISKS AS WELL AS GREAT POSSIBILITIES. I CAN ONLY HOPE FOR THE BEST.

SEPTEMBER 18, 20XX T.LIGHT X's design interested Cain, and he analyzed Dr. Light's notes. Months later, Cain was able to create robots similar to X, called Reploids, and they began to be mass-produced around the world. For unknown reasons, some Reploids began to act strange and attacked humans, being labeled Mavericks. To counter any possible threat, the Maverick Hunters were formed. Sigma, an advanced Reploid, was assigned to be their leader. X also became a member of the Maverick Hunters. Time passes and the Maverick Hunters are able to keep peace, but one day Sigma himself became a Maverick, being joined by other Maverick Hunters to start a war against humanity. Although X was by nature a pacifist, he had to do something, so he joined the new leader of the Maverick Hunters, Zero, to stop the ambitions of Sigma and the Mavericks.