Mega Man X Collection: Reloaded and Reprinted

So, you missed your chance of owning a brand-new, pristine copy of Mega Man X Collection when it came out back in 2006. Now that the GameCube and PlayStation 2 are little more than memories, your only hope of scoring a copy is to dig through the possible-counterfeits of eBay, or perhaps breaking out your portable neutron microscope so you can find the one copy at GameStop which has the least amount of damage.
(That is, assuming they even still carry games from that generation. Their branches around here don’t seem to.)

Is there no hope? Is there no chance for salvation? Will we have to wait for Capcom to decide the time is right to make a new version on Blu-ray, with X7, X8, and maybe a version of X6 which doesn’t have Zero dive headfirst into every spike he sees? Or a version for Wii in which you must shake the controller to charge the X-Buster?

As it turns out, yes, there is hope, there is salvation, and there is no need to wait for a new collection which may or may not come any time soon.

Lucky for PlayStation 2 owners, Sony’s console is still hanging on, if only with a bare-minimum of support these days. Nonetheless, that bare-minimum is apparently enough to include a reprint of Mega Man X Collection.

A report from Cheap-Ass Gamer (via Protodude’s Rockman Corner) indicates that GameStop received a new shipment of the game, which went for a budget-priced $19.99 during their Buy 2, Get 1 Free sale. Meanwhile, Hubba Games has also reportedly seen a new shipment of about 600 copies, though they are charging a much less budget-friendly $39.99.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that there is a resupply of the GameCube version. Furthermore, the reprints seem distinguishable by their flimsier, eco-friendly DVD cases, which also lack the holder for a PlayStation 2 memory card.

As Mega Man fans, some of you may drop $39.99 at this with no problem. Others, however, may feel a little differently, as demonstrated by Matthew Green at Press the Buttons:

I wrote a long, exhaustive review for Kombo back in the day that breaks down each game on the disc (that’s all six Mega Man X titles and the import racer Mega Man: Battle & Chase for those keeping score at home), and my recollection is that the first four X titles are fantastic followed by a so-so fifth entry and a dismal sixth. For $20 the set is a steal, for $40 it’s probably a little overpriced; the sweet spot must be somewhere in between.

Again, the disc’s value is, as they say, in the eye of the beholder. Depending on where you sit, if you don’t already have the originals and missed the disc, you may not want to risk passing it up again. But if you’re not desperate to own, a little comparison shopping may not be the worst idea in the world.

LanceHeart