Mega Man X DiVE Offline Should Add Customization Features

As the Countdown to Shutdown marches on for Mega Man X DiVE, a thought recently came to mind about something that Capcom should seriously consider including in the upcoming release of Mega Man X DiVE Offline: a character customization feature.

About a month ago, I talked about Mega Man X DiVE, and what I did and didn’t enjoy during my relatively short (I only started when it came to Steam) time with it. One of the things I talked about was character customization, or the lack thereof. However, what I’m talking about here is a little different from what I wrote about then.

More recently, I found out that there’s a modding scene for this game. For the most part, it only really involves tweaking colors and things of that nature, but this is Mega Man — palette swaps can go pretty dang far here. I’m not naive enough to think that they would invest in something like a WWE-level character customization suite into their now-offline mobile game, but playing with colors and shades? You can get a lot out of that, and it might even make the investment in the Offline version look a little more enticing to some people.

Also, narratively speaking, it’s not like you’re actually playing as any of the characters featured — you’re just Player, using their data to get around, like some sort of data digital possession. So I don’t think tweaking the characters of your cybernetic shell would really jar the narrative in any meaningful way. Heck, I’m not even sure that any of the characters acknowledge which body you inhabit, unless it’s something like the forced use of X in the intro stages.

That said, there is certainly mileage to be gotten out of just a few tweaks. For starters, there are some official color schemes that didn’t make it into the game. Tons, actually.

Images via RockmanHQ

For example, we’ve got these creations from RockmanHQ, giving us Massimo in his Glint Armor Hyper Mode, X in his Ultimate Armor as it appeared in Mega Man X6, and Dr. Light, more closely resembling how we originally saw him in his gi in Mega Man X. And that’s without getting into all the different colors Mega Man, Proto Man, Bass, and X have turned through all the weapons they’ve acquired over the last 35 years!

Or maybe there’s something from the world of Mega Man merchandise you fancy, but for whatever reason, maybe Capcom just can’t quite make it officially happen in the game.

Capcom Girls figure & iX card via MMKB; Tron mod via Rockman HQ; iX mod via Vile3D

Check it out! Now Tron is sporting an orange dress, just like her Capcom Girls variant! Or how about the original X clone, iX from Rockman MegaMissions!

If you have a preferred personal color scheme, that would be an option, too!

Here, RockmanHQ applied their orange and purple color scheme to Ultimate Armor X. Nice!

Or maybe some people would just like to play around, until they find something they like:

RockmanHQ calls this version of Harp Note from Mega Man Star Force “Death Note.” Granted, some of these mods I’m showing have a little more customization involved than what I’m thinking of (cool as it would be to add your own detailing like this), but I think just the color scheme would go a long way.

And then there’s what drew me to this whole endeavour in the first place: fan characters.

Again, RockmanHQ was kind enough to create mods for Twitch, and for me, Nytetrayn from “Legends of the Halcyon Era.” Granted, Nytetrayn’s hair is different, he wears normal glasses instead of sunglasses, a backpack instead of a steel briefcase, and he’s missing his hat, but honestly? I was still thrilled to see it. (The results screen graphic goes even further, but again, I realize that level of customization would probably be a bit of a big ask here.)

Via MMKB

Speaking of hats, I know this goes beyond just recolors, but it would be incredible if there was some level of existing parts-swapping available. While I love Iris -another- just the way she is, I know some people are dissatisfied by the end result. But just imagine if you could swap out the red of her coat for white, and give her Colonel’s hat, thus effectively making her more like the “Colonel Iris” of her concept art that some people would love to see!

Not to mention, that whole issue I had last time about X’s Buster not matching any of the other Mega Men, who don’t have their own available in the game, would be easily dealt with. Just think, you could have your choice of weapon look like it belongs with your character… or however you like! What a concept!

While modders are able to make stuff like this happen, I think a more common built-in utility that anyone can use would be great for simpler edits, and add more play value for those who get the game. But what do you think? Is this something you’d like to toy and create with? What’s sort of customization would you want to make?

Special thanks to RockmanHQ for the mods and many of the images, and thanks to you, for reading! And in case you haven’t heard, re-upping our hosting for the next few years took a big bite out of our bank account, so if you like what we’re doing here, and can kick in a few bucks to our Patreon or buy us an E Tank on Ko-fi, we’d greatly appreciate it!

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.

For a full list of places to find him online, click here.