IMPORTANT:
The focus of this analysis will be on the quality of collections and ports, not each title itself. That is, I will not analyze game by game, but rather talk more about the quality of the ports, the extras present and how it is to play the classics these days. At the end of the analysis I will draw a quick overview of each game, but without much depth. Even so, this analysis will follow a slightly different format, not being divided into history, gameplay, etc.
Presentation
The presentation of the games is not bad, but it also does not stand out. New art was made for the dissemination of collections that are extremely elaborate and stylized, appearing on the covers of the physical editions and also in the gallery. The designs are very cool and should please almost any fan of the franchise, yielding some points for the part of the presentation.
The collections have beautiful and well organized interfaces, but they lack more graphic options
The interface itself does not draw much attention. It is clean and intuitive, which counts positives. The menus are a little more elaborate and you can notice a better level of whims compared to the previous collections of classic Mega Man.
It would be interesting, however, some more graphical options. Besides the resolution and three filter options, you can not touch a lot. As it is a collection of old games would be nice to give the player more freedom in customization, even if they were some crazy filters and more options of frames around the game screen.
Ports quality
In the two Mega Man X compilations, Capcom chose to carry the entire game, just as it did in the previous Mega Man compilations. That is, when you choose a game in the main menu, it starts to be emulated completely, with its own menus, presentations, etc. Personally, I consider this much better than what was done in the Street Fighter collection, where game options were on the collection's menu and you only entered the games right on the character selection screen.
the games are emulated completely
One thing worth mentioning here, with compliments, is the way the mechanics of saving progress in games have been implemented. In titles like Mega Man X and X2, which did not even have this mechanic and used passwords, you save and load the game on the password screen itself. It's like the game saves and automatically fills in the password for you, taking the boring part out of scoring the numbers, but keeping the way progress is saved exactly the way it happened in the original titles.
I noticed that the ports try to reflect the complete experience of playing on their original consoles. But here the points become more controversial, especially speaking of the games originally launched in the SNES.
Starting with frames. The games run identically to Super Nintendo, meaning the iconic fall of frames that pretty much leaves the game in slow motion at the end of the Armored Armadillo phase in Mega Man X happens exactly the same, even running on a GTX 1080. A lot of people are going to scold you, but I guarantee you have a similar number of people that you prefer. I can not agree on this part. While I would love to see what it would be like to spend this phase with a more fluid experience, I can not deny that nostalgia hits hard when I see everything getting slower and I remember how I liked it when I was a kid because I left that part of the stage easy.
The SNES ported games have a bit of full-screen input lag, a problem that can be solved on the PC playing in a window
Now, what can not be considered a positive point by anyone is the lag input. The SNES ports mainly feature an input lag difficult to ignore, especially for those who played the original versions of the games. It's nothing to stop playing and over time gets used to, but one of the main highlights of Mega Man since the first, has always been how the game is extremely responsive, giving a sense of absolute control. In the collection we do not feel this in Mega Man X and X2, which discourages a little. The video on this link shows the problem in detail.
Playing on the PC, however, it is possible to play in window, which greatly reduces the input lag problem, making it almost imperceptible. It's still there, but it's much easier to ignore.
The game does not have anything in Portuguese and it would be interesting to give the option of leaving the audios in Japanese. The collection came out in Japan too, it would not work.
Extras
The games come with the extras one would expect from a collection, such as an image gallery, soundtracks and trailers. They are large and well complete galleries, but unfortunately they are repeated in part in both collections. The images and descriptions of action figures and trailers are exactly the same, changing only the gallery of images and tracks, to match the games that are present in each collection. The extras also accompany the animation The Day of Σ, a short film that serves as a prologue to the story of Mega Man X.
A major highlight of the collections is the X Challenges. These unprecedented challenges put the player against two bosses at a time, coming from different games. There is almost unprecedented armor (based on Ultimate Armor) and the ultimate experience is really something different. The mix of bosses for each match was designed so that their skills complement each other, offering a whole new challenge and a lot of fun. In addition, the mechanics of choosing only three special weapons and having two lives for three different combats, six Mavericks, adds a dose of strategy very well placed in action. What will count as a negative point here is that some fights are repeated between the two collections.
I'll also add "Rookie Hunter" mode, which reduces the damage you take to the games, to help beginners who want to enter the franchise. An accessibility option is always welcome.
List of games
Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1
Mega Man X
Mega Man X is phenomenal. The game revitalized the series with more dynamic controls and a faster pace, bringing innovations in the design and an art direction that, at the time, is to drop the chin. And currently it's still a lot of fun to play! The stages are varied, the bosses interesting and there is a good climb on the difficulty to the last levels. In addition, the whole narrative theme is how X looks weak, but has immense growth potential, which is the theme of gameplay as well, with the player getting stronger by collecting parts of the armor, power tanks, raises to life and, of course, the weapons of the chiefs. It is worth playing Mega Man X until today and the game deserves to be called a "classic".
Mega Man X2
The continuation of the new Mega Man series is almost as good as the first title. Of course much of the game was defined by its predecessor, but we have new phases a little more elaborate and long and a new armor that has one of the designs that I like the most in the series. In addition, X Hunters offer an extra challenge and help make a difference throughout the game, appearing from time to time.
Mega Man X3
The franchise's third title is even more ambitious than its predecessors, but it begins to show signs of fatigue. It's interesting to add the controllable robots as an extra collectible, but playing with them is not as much fun as the developers might have thought it was, which ends up taking a little bit of grace to seek other upgrades when we are required to use them. This title, however, was the first to give a chance to play a little with Zero, something much awaited by the fans of the franchise and that counts many good points.
Mega Man X4
Mega Man X4 gives a new twist up with the migration of console generation offering more possibilities for the graphics and audio tracks of the game. We have a renewed art direction, the best armor of the franchise and very fun and varied phases. In addition, there is now a dialogue before the confrontation with each boss, which gives a little more personality to the Mavericks and was a welcome newcomer. And of course we can not fail to mention that this is the first title we can play "right" with Zero from start to finish. And it's not the same Zero as the X3, just a red and stronger version of X. It has a game style of its own, thought to it, focused on melee and skill use, bringing to it the same consecrated experience in Mega Man X of the player go feeling increasingly powerful.
Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2
Mega Man X5
Unfortunately, after the small revolution we had in X4, we again realize the "weariness" of the franchise. X5 gives the impression of being just a mod or a DLC of X4, without great news especially with respect to Zero. Many of his skills are new versions of those obtained in the previous game, recycling up to the animations of the character. The game even tried to innovate in some ways, with good and bad results. In the good part, we can now choose between X and Zero before each phase, which gives interesting dynamics and contributes to the narrative that they are now equal to equal. X gets two different armor now, which is welcome, but they need to be fully retracted before they are used, which takes that all-important experience to the series of feeling stronger by degrees. Suddenly you have all the armor with all your abilities. There are other aspects that could be commented here, but the paragraph is already very long. In short: the game is still cool, but "let the shuttle drop".
Mega Man X6
If Mega Man X5 gave the impression that it was time to end the franchise, or at least give it a rest, Mega Man X6 is the final proof of that. The game should not even have existed, honestly. The Mavericks are completely forgettable, the stages are frustrating and a new mechanic of saving friends is introduced which is more annoying than anything. The game has a new feature, the souls, that you kind of need to get together. Imagine, doing items in a Mega Man. It does not make any sense. And to make matters worse, Zero was basically spoiled in this game. Maybe Capcom heard his complaints that he did not get much news on the X5, so he changed his sword and combo on X6, and he looked awful. In fact, ZERO NEITHER SHOULD BE IN THIS GAME.
* NOTE: Something I find interesting to mention here is that the once powerful and imposing Sigma is destroyed, decadent and pathetic here, being a relatively easy boss after a very difficult game. I wonder if it was not a message from the developers to Capcom about the state of this franchise that had started so well, before powerful and imposing.
Mega Man X7
Mega Man X7 is an abomination that should not exist.
Mega Man X8
The eighth and final game of the franchise can be described by the expression "too little, too late". The game is rather fun and does a good job of resuming the format and gameplay of the platform titles that worked. It brings an unprecedented and interesting system of buying various weapons for Zero and makes a good balance between the three heroes, in addition to being a very challenging game.
The game, however, does not bring enough innovations nor is it good enough to revitalize the franchise and take away the bad taste left by the X7. It is worth playing yes, even more in the collection, but unfortunately it is not even the triumphant return that the series deserved and needed.
EVALUATION:
Presentation
Ports Quality
Extras
List of Games Collection 1
List of Games Collection 2
ConclusionCan't just say that Capcom did their best and made an incredible collection for the Mega Man X classics. But the producer did show a little more whimsy and delivered two very satisfying game packs. The Legacy Collection 1 comes out on top because the first Mega Man X games are better, but for those who are very fans of the series it is still worth getting Legacy Collection 2 for X5 and X8. Some people like X6 as well.
And the extra that really makes the difference here are the X Challenges, great challenges especially for veterans who are no longer afraid of Mavericks and may find here a new stage of difficulty. Again, the Legacy Collection 2 comes at a disadvantage by repeating some of these fights, but it still has its own compositions.
My biggest recommendation is actually the Legacy Collection 1, which for me is worth up to $ 40 being ordered on the PC. To catch both at the same time or the second later, I think it's worth waiting for a promotion.
Pros
The chance to legally have great classics on your PC
X Challenge Mode was differentiated, challenging and fun
Full ported games with their menus and options
Rookie Hunter Mode Can Help New Players
CONS.
Lack of location
Input lag
Few graphics options
No option for Japanese dubbing
The chance to legally have great classics on your PC
X Challenge Mode was differentiated, challenging and fun
Full ported games with their menus and options
Rookie Hunter Mode Can Help New Players
CONS.
Lack of location
Input lag
Few graphics options
No option for Japanese dubbing
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