Battle Geek Plus’s Awesome Video Game Memories of Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X

With the rest of the numbered Mega Man X series completed, what else is there for Ryan from Battle Geek Plus to talk about? Well, there is the PlayStation Portable remake of the original game, Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X (Not Safe For Work):

This is another release I feel never quite got the shake that it deserved. Unlike Mega Man X8, though, it wasn’t the sins of the father — or at least, it wasn’t just the sins of the father which seemingly led to its less-than-stellar performance. The fact that it was released exclusively on Sony’s original handheld video game machine when it had yet to gain a real foothold in the market has also been pointed at as a key factor in its failure to meet expectations and potentially relaunch the series for a new generation.

But hey, Capcom isn’t the only one who was dissatisfied with how things played out with their releases on the PSP. Unfortunately, they were one of those who didn’t do anything about it. Companies such as Take Two Interactive, Konami, and even Sony themselves made the best of it and took games from a system that wasn’t selling so hot and opted to port titles from the Grand Theft Auto series, Jak & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, Silent Hill, Guilty Gear, and more to a system that did sell quite well: The PlayStation 2.

As such, Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X, along with other Capcom titles such as Mega Man Powered Up and Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins, have largely languished in relative obscurity. If you have a PlayStation Vita or a PlayStation TV, at least it and Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins are available digitally — which is more than Mega Man Powered Up can say, even though neither of those platforms caught fire in the market, either.

It is quite a shame, as Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X is really quite good. Sure, there are a few controversial elements, such as character and stage redesigns and changes to the story fans have known for years, but on its own, it’s still a very fine game.

In addition to an excellent recreation of the original Super Nintendo Entertainment System classic (that will be on the Super NES Classic, fittingly enough) that shakes things up enough to be interesting in the final set of levels, the new Vile Mode is a real treat — provided you can get a good foothold into this more difficult style of game.

It also leaves one to wonder what sort of equivalent features future installments would have had. Probably a lot more Zero for the sequel, at the very least, maybe even taking some cues from Iwamoto’s manga.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention the fully animated cutscenes, as well as the unlockable OVA (Original Video Animation), “The Day of Σ.” Fans had wanted a quality Mega Man X anime for years, and they finally got one — it just had to be found here exclusively, of all places. Lucky for them a little site called “YouTube” had just started up the year prior.

(Incidentally, unlike Ryan, I quite love how Mark Gatha delivered X’s lines when facing Sigma — seriously, would you not scream in the face of the guy who just killed your two best friends?)

With any luck, maybe Capcom will see fit to do something with it while they’re in the habit of collecting this and high definition remastering that. Sure, it wouldn’t be a new game, technically, but it would still be new to a lot of people.

But that’s enough from me, it’s time to hear from you guys. Have you played the game before? If not, are you still interested? Were you caught off-guard as Ryan was by Capcom’s stealth price increase after pre-ordering your copy? Share your memories in the comments below!

LBD "Nytetrayn"

David Oxford, or “LBD ‘Nytetrayn’,” as he is sometimes also known, is a freelance writer of many varied interests who resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

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