![]() Don’t expect to face off against any sub-bosses as Zero, as X will automatically come back into the picture, which once again prevents you from re-selecting Zero. That would already be pretty limited, but the game will find seemingly every opportunity to force the player to switch back to X. You can switch to him in the pause menu, but if you switch back to X or die while playing as Zero, you can’t select him again until you get a game over or move on to the next stage. Perhaps the biggest introduction to the gameplay is the ability to actually play as Zero, who comes equipped with a laser sword! Though as enticing as that sounds, it ultimately comes across as a tease, as Zero’s playable role is pretty limited. X’s wall-jumping abilities really get put to the test, with platforming challenges that really work in favor of the mechanic. On the plus side, the level design remains challenging and fun. The game follows the usual setup: There’s an introductory stage, followed by the eight selectable main stages that end with a boss fight against a Maverick, Mega Man gets a power from every defeated boss to use against other Mavericks, and a final series of stages are unlocked after the eight bosses are felled. Except my man Volt Catfish here, but even he’s no Overdrive Ostrich.” “Even the Mavericks feel like a step down from the past two lineups. Of course, it’s up to Mega Man X – as well as Zero – to put an end to Dr. ![]() Doppler himself goes rogue, and all the Mavericks he reprogrammed now obey his every command. It turns out to be a rouse, however, as soon enough Dr. ![]() Doppler has begun reprogramming Mavericks (Reploids who seek war with humanity). After the events of X2, the Reploids – humanoid robots capable of thought and emotion – live in peace with humans, as the Reploid scientist Dr. Strangely enough for a platformer, it’s the story of Mega Man X3 that seems to differentiate itself most from its predecessors. That’s not to say that Mega Man X3 is a bad game by any stretch of the imagination (Mega Man’s gameplay was always more refined than any platformer of its day not directly created by Nintendo), but it does feel like a copy-and-paste sequel of Mega Man X2. But Mega Man X – the series created for the purpose of revitalizing Mega Man – started to cool off a lot faster. The original Mega Man series found new heights with its second and third entries, only becoming formulaic with its second trilogy’s worth of installments. While X2 had the benefit of being merely second in line – thus making its familiarity easier to forgive – and added its own twist in the forms of three optional side-bosses who altered the story, Mega Man X3 is where things might start to feel like they’re entering ‘conveyor belt’ territory. Then we had Mega Man X3, the third entry in the sub-series in as many years. The very next year saw the release of Mega Man X2, which was a worthy successor, if a bit familiar. The Blue Bomber’s 1994 foray into the 16-bit age was created to be a breath of fresh air for the franchise, with a new Mega Man, a new setting, and just enough new elements to make the series’ gameplay feel fresh again. Mega Mans 2 and 3 were stellar sequels that easily surpassed the original, but 4 through 6 – while undeniably fun games – presented very little in the realms of newness, leaving the series feeling wrung dry by the time the SNES rolled around. Six Mega Man games were released on the NES, with only small windows of time between releases. There is more than a little bit of irony in Mega Man X3’s very existence. ![]() *Review based on Mega Man X3’s release as part of Mega Man X Legacy Collection* ![]()
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