Mega Man X6

Mega Man X6
Developer(s)	Capcom Production Studio 3 Value Wave
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Designer(s)	Koji Ohkohara
Artist(s)	Haruki Suetsugu
Composer(s)	Naoto Tanaka
Platform(s)	PlayStation, PC
Release date(s)	PlayStation JP November 29, 2001[1] NA December 4, 2001[2] EU February 8, 2002[3] PC KOR December 13, 2002 AS June 13, 2003
Genre(s)	Action, platform
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	ESRB: E (Everyone)
Media/distribution	1 CD-ROM

Mega Man X6, known as Rockman X6 (ロックマンX6^?) in Japan, is a video game developed by Capcom. It is the sixth main entry in the Mega Man X series. The game was first released on the PlayStation in Japan on November 29, 2001 and was later made available in both North America and Europe.

The plot of Mega Man X6 takes place during the 22nd century where humans and intelligent androids called "Reploids" live together. The game follows shortly after the events of Mega Man X5 in which planet Earth was devastated by an attack by the "Maverick" leader Sigma and the protagonist Zero sacrificed his own life to save it. As the world recovers, a Maverick known only as the "Zero Nightmare" has begun spreading chaos. Zero's comrade Mega Man X, curious of its name, seeks out this new threat. Like past games in the series, Mega Man X6 is an action-platformer in which the player tackles a series of stages and adds the unique weapon of each boss to X's arsenal.

Prominent series artist and producer Keiji Inafune was not involved in the game's production, as he had intended the fifth installment in the series to be the last with Zero's death. Critically, Mega Man X6 has received mixed to positive reviews. The game was released for the PC in different parts of Asia in 2002 and 2003. It was also re-released in 2006 as part of the North American Mega Man X Collection for the GameCube and PlayStation 2.

Plot

See also: List of Mega Man X characters

The story begins three weeks after Mega Man X5, with Zero missing, presumed dead, and the Earth's surface rendered uninhabitable. Rumors are spreading through the Reploid World of a Maverick named the Zero Nightmare, a Reploid of pure evil that is spreading chaos throughout the world. X, curious about this Maverick, and angered by its use of his late friend’s name, seeks him out.

After destroying the Zero Nightmare, X learns that Zero is alive, just recovering from damage sustained in the last game. When Zero is recovered, he joins X and they seek out the researchers who built the Zero Nightmare.

X finds the lead researcher, Gate, in his lab. After X defeats Gate in battle, Gate reveals that he has rebuilt Sigma, the leader of the Mavericks, but due to the timing of X's arrival Sigma isn't fully rebuilt. Sigma kills Gate,^{[citation needed]} then challenges X to a duel. X is able to defeat the nearly rebuilt Sigma.

Gameplay

The gameplay is very similar to Mega Man X5. The player can select X with the option to outfit him with different armors offering unique abilities (most of which have to be downloaded, as always, through Dr. Light's hidden capsules.) Zero can be unlocked after finding and defeating the Zero Nightmare, bringing his own weapons and techniques to the fold, including a refined Z-Saber fighting style. Both characters can be equipped with various power-up items earned after rescuing a reploid.

Mega Man X6 has an increased emphasis on rescuing reploids over previous titles in the series. Whereas previous games rewarded the player with health or an extra life, Mega Man X6 rewards the player with additional parts or other permanent prizes. Rescuing reploids was made more difficult in this game with the addition of the Nightmare, which makes any reploid it infects evil, thus rendering the reploid impossible to save. The parts system was altered as well. Rather than attach a certain part to a certain armor, parts are attached to the character itself. The number of parts that can be equipped at once is dependent on the player's rank.

Development

Series producer Keiji Inafune was not involved in the development of Mega Man X6.^[1] He had originally intended for the fifth chapter in the series to be the last due to the death of Zero at that game's conclusion. "And so I’d always planned to make Zero come back to life in the Mega Man Zero series, but then X6 comes out sooner from another division and Zero comes back to life in that, and I’m like, 'What’s this!? Now my story for Zero doesn’t make sense! Zero’s been brought back to life two times!'"^[4] Inafune also felt he owed fans of the series an apology for the decision to create Mega Man X6, although the series was "starting to go in a direction out of [his] control" at that point.^[1] Artist Haruki Suetsugu, who had worked on both previous PlayStation Mega Man X games, signed on as the game's primary character designer and promotional artwork illustrator. Suetsugu stated that the development schedule of Mega Man X6 was tight.^[1] As such, he described his designs for the Maverick bosses were "relatively simple", and he took a similar approach to designing all of them. The designs for other characters also feature unique traits, including Gate as a "merging of scientists and combatants, High Max as "big and strong", and the DNA-like Nightmare.^[1]

The soundtrack for Mega Man X6 was composed by Naoto Tanaka. The opening songs are "Moon Light" and "The Answer" by Showtaro Morikubo, the voice actor for X. The ending theme is "I.D.E.A" by RoST. This is one of the few X games to have the opening song appear in both the Japanese and English versions. All of the game's instrumental and vocal music was compiled on the Capcom Music Generation: Rockman X1 ~ X6 soundtrack released by Suleputer in 2003.^[5] The theme songs were also included on the Rockman Theme Song Collection, published by Suleputer in 2002.^[6]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	69%[7]
Review scores
Publication	Score
Electronic Gaming Monthly	3.5 out of 10[8]
Game Informer	6.5 out of 10[9]
Game Revolution	C–[10]
GameSpot	7 out of 10[11]
GameZone	8.5 out of 10
IGN	8 out of 10[12]
Official PlayStation Magazine (US)	6 out of 10[13]

According to the Japanese magazine Famitsu, Mega Man X6 was the seventh best-selling game in Japan during its week of release at 39,318 units sold.^[14] Dengeki Online reported that Mega Man X6 sold a total of 106,980 units in Japan by the end of 2001, marking it as the 109th best-selling game of the year in the region.^[15] The game eventually saw a re-release as part of the PlayStation the Best range of budget titles.^[16] Mega Man X6 was also included on the North American Mega Man X Collection for the Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2 in 2006.^[17]

Mega Man X6 received mixed to positive reviews, with an average score of 69% on Game Rankings.^[7] GameSpot gave the game a 7 out of 10, saying that the game is "a disappointing effort. The nightmare system and item collecting add variety and longevity to the game, but... The graphics aren't really even up to the standards set by older games in the series, and while the music is good, there aren't any tracks that particularly stand out. Despite these shortcomings, it's still Mega Man, and the gameplay is still entertaining, making X6 an attractive package for hard-core Mega Man fans."^[11] IGN gave a more positive review, an 8 out 10, stating "It's an all-new Mega Man game, yet it's still pretty much the same. There's nothing wrong with that"; they praised the soundtrack and replay value.^[12] Among the most negative reviews, Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game a 3.5 out of 10, saying "I thought I’d sooner see Sasquatch ride a Chimera bareback through the streets than a bland series like Mega Man X last through six installments."^[8]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Mega Man X: Official Complete Works. Udon Entertainment. January 6, 2010. pp. 56–63. ISBN 978-1-89737-680-5. 
2. ^ IGN Staff (December 7, 2001). "Mega Man X6". IGN. http://psx.ign.com/articles/137/137256p1.html. Retrieved 2011-03-20. 
3. ^ "Megaman X6". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00005YTV2/. Retrieved 2011-09-04. 
4. ^ Hoffman, Chris (April 2004). "The Best Damn Mega Man Feature Period". Play (Bournemouth, UK: Imagine Publishing) 3 (4). 
5. ^ "カプコン ミュージック ジェネレーション ロックマンX1～6　オリジナル・サウンドトラック" (in Japanese). Suleputer. Archived from the original on 2003-12-14. http://web.archive.org/web/20031214215707/http://suleputer.capcom.co.jp/suleputer/lineup/cpca1076.htm. Retrieved 2011-02-27. 
6. ^ "ロックマン テーマソング集 [Rockman Theme Song Collection]" (in Japanese). Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00005V4C2/. Retrieved 2011-01-08. 
7. ^ ^{a b} "Mega Man X6 for PlayStation". GameRankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/ps/516512-mega-man-x6/index.html. Retrieved 2010-06-24. 
8. ^ ^{a b} "Reviews: Mega Man X6". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (151): p. 172. February 2002. 
9. ^ "Reviews: Mega Man X6". Game Informer (Sunrise Publications) (106): p. 95. February 2002. 
10. ^ Johnny Liu (January 1, 2002). "Mega Man X6 Review for the PS". Game Revolution. http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/sony/mega-man-x6. Retrieved 2010-07-05. 
11. ^ ^{a b} Varanini, Giancarlo (January 9, 2002). "Mega Man X6 Review for PlayStation". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/ps/action/megamanx6/review.html. Retrieved 2010-06-24. 
12. ^ ^{a b} Zdyrko, David (January 2, 2002). "Mega Man X6 - PlayStation Review". IGN. http://psx.ign.com/articles/167/167256p1.html. Retrieved 2010-06-24. 
13. ^ "Reviews: Mega Man X6". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (Ziff Davis): p. 116. February 2002. 
14. ^ IGN Staff (December 7, 2001). "The Famitsu Top 10 (11/26/01 - 12/02/01)". IGN. http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/100/100323p1.html. Retrieved 2010-06-22. 
15. ^ IGN Staff (January 11, 2002). "Dengeki Online Top 200 Of 2001". IGN. http://ps2.ign.com/articles/100/100860p1.html. Retrieved 2010-06-22. 
16. ^ "11月28日～12月26日" (in Japanese). Famitsu. November 30, 2002. http://www.famitsu.com/game/schedule/2002/11/22/231,1037966652,9038,0,0.html. Retrieved 2010-07-10. 
17. ^ Dunham, Jeremy (January 10, 2006). "Mega Man X Ships to Stores". IGN. http://cube.ign.com/articles/680/680536p1.html. Retrieved 2010-06-08. 

External links

• Official website (Japanese)