Megaman... Differance between the NORMAL and X series

[fishsandwich]

Could someone tell me the gameplay differance between the "regular" Megaman series of 2-D games and the older 2-D "X" series? Is the gameplay different? The graphics?

From what I can tell, Megaman 1-6 were on the NES and shared the same basic style.

The series split of the SNES... it got Megaman 7 and then a new "X" series with X, X2, and X3.

PSX and Saturn got Megaman 8 and Megaman X4. They also got Megaman (Rockman) X3 in Japan (and Europe for Saturn)

I have no idea where either series has gone from there... into 3-D maybe?

[jajaja]

Mega Man X3 is also for PSX btw, atleast in Europe.
The first Mega Man in 3d is Mega Man Legends. First in the X series to have 3d is X7 (also have 2d tho). Luckily they removed the 3d part in X8.
You also have another Mega Man game for PS2 called Mega Man X: Command Mission, also in 3d, but its more like a RPG.
Most of the new GBA games are for GBA, like the Battle Network and Mega Man Zero series. Both series are good imo. Worth checking out.
You also have 1 for DS and 2 for PSP.

[Hardcore]

The main difference between Megaman and X are in the storylines.

X is more of a...mature storyline, if you can really get that from it. X isn't Megaman...there's no Wily, no Doctor Light(or Wright), and the graphical style isn't as "cartoony" as Megaman's are.

The series did make a 3D jump with Megaman Legends(PSX, N64), and Legends 2(PSX). The Legends series is a mixed bag, as it has commonly been received in a lukewarm fashion.

The only other 3D Megaman game at this time is the tactical RPG on the Gamecube, it's name escapes me at this time.

Edit: The poster above me named the RPG right. Thanks for getting on that before me!

[eightbitonline]

megaman x is a slight variation on the standard megaman game formula that had been well established by the end of the NES-based megamans.

chronologically megaman x takes place much later, as you'll see in megaman x, dr. light is dead, whereas he is alive throughout the entirety of the "megaman" series (even into megaman 8 IIRC). i'm sure a japanese manga or animé explains much of the story that me don't see in the game, but "x" exists in a world that is much more dominated by robots/reploids where humans and reploids are constantly warring- a backdrop that doesn't appear in standard "megaman" games.

the actual variations of the traditional formula are mostly intended to make the game less 'kiddie' and predictable.

they are, as well as i can remember them:

-the removal of companion characters like Rush and Roll

-the addition of the "Zero" character

-the end of the proto-man storyline

-an end to *blank*man enemy names, in favour of animal-like robots at the end of the stages.

-the addition of found suits and power-ups like mech-suits

-the VERY welcome addition of found permanent additions like the refillable energy tank and increases to max hp

-the end of dr. wiley as an end boss and subsequent replacement with sigma.

that's all the important aspects i can recall for now.

edit: above poster said a lot of what's contained in this post while i was writing this. sorry for the redundant info.

[Xexyz]

Don't forget the different gameplay aspects. X's normal cannon shot is chargable when holding down the shot button, and he can also dash and wall climb too.

[jajaja]

Don't forget the different gameplay aspects. X's normal cannon shot is chargable when holding down the shot button, and he can also dash and wall climb too.

Recharge cannon was also used in Mega Man 4, 5 and 6

[Rabid Peanut-Butter]

The Slide was introduced in Mega Man 3 which is similar to the Dash as well.

[Slimedog]

Also, X can duck where Megaman can't.

[Xexyz]

Don't forget the different gameplay aspects. X's normal cannon shot is chargable when holding down the shot button, and he can also dash and wall climb too.

Recharge cannon was also used in Mega Man 4, 5 and 6

Aww GD it! I knew I slipped up. Also, I forgot to mention that the dash move is basically the new slide move in the X games.

[syd]

Also, X can duck where Megaman can't.

I'm not sure about the later X games, but he can't duck in X, X2 or X3 as far as I know. Ducking would help a lot in those games though!

[Jorpho]

From what I can tell, Megaman 1-6 were on the NES and shared the same basic style.

The series split of the SNES... it got Megaman 7 and then a new "X" series with X, X2, and X3.

PSX and Saturn got Megaman 8 and Megaman X4. They also got Megaman (Rockman) X3 in Japan (and Europe for Saturn)

I have no idea where either series has gone from there... into 3-D maybe?

Another game of note would be Rockman and Forte (aka Mega Man and Bass), sometimes considered to be Mega Man 9. It was one of the last games released for the Super Famicom (sometime in 1998, I think) and actually features one or two of the bosses from MM8. A translation patch exists for the SFC version, but there is also an official port for the GBA (and a Wonderswan port that is apparently almost completely unrelated).

I suppose it also bears something of a semblance to the X games because of the two entirely different playable characters with widely divergent abilities.

[Jive3D]

Rockman & Forte is one of the hardest and most enjoyable megaman games to date. The GBA port is terrible because of the aspect ratio of the GBA screen - meaning that the characters remained the same size in ratio to the screen size, but the amount of the level that you see on one screen is MUCH less than you see on the SFC version - which is easily playable on an SNES. It's worth buying the cartridge.

Ducking was only introduced in MMX5 (or MMX6 - can't recall which one).

Sigma beats around the bush HARDCORE at the end of MMX5

***SPOILER WARNING***

***OK?***

***SURE?***

Sigma says that he has spoken with an old man, and talks about Zero's origin (being created by Wily). Gets very interesting. Pretty much indicated that he has been speaking with Wily somehow - but never explains how. Had me on the edge of my seat.

When they made X5 - they planned and WROTE it so that it would be the last one. In one of the endings, Zero seals himself off in a hybernation chamber for 100 years (setting up the scene for Megaman Zero on GBA) - also in X's ending, Zero is erased from his memory as he continues to fight for good. - - - but then the game sold well, so they made X6 and the subsequent 7 & 8 - ignoring the endings in X5.

In all honesty, I REALLY wish that they made a final Megaman 9. I've said it SO many fucking times in so many threads. They need to conclude it! It's obvious that they are not going to make a series of more games staring the original megman (that are not remakes) so they really need to conclude the story and tie it into X1. They need to show the death of Light & Wily and how some of their creations live on. Megaman should battle through most of the game and then DIE. Roll should then activate X before she dies too - however the hell they want to do it, it should be cleaned up and closed down, for a nice closure. Include Sigma in there and something about the Zero virus and the repliforce and all that crap.

Legends was neat, but it was more about the game being fully rendered in 3d at the time that was the draw rather than teh gameplay.

Battle Network is neat, but I lost interest after part 2. The Battle Network game on the Cube however was kinda fun and very mucha throwback to oldschool MM games.

The biggest gameplay difference between X and regular MM however really is the ability to cling to walls, Ninja Gaiden style.

[Jorpho]

Sigma says that he has spoken with an old man, and talks about Zero's origin (being created by Wily).

Zero's origin is even more explicitly spelt out at the end of the second arcade game, Rockman: The Power Fighters.

[lendelin]

eightbitonline listed a lot of detailed gameplay elements and some story elements which distinguish the two series, and I don't want to add to that.

The more general differences between the classic games and the X-series explain why Mega Man is still alive and relatively well; this is really the puzzling Q. Why is the series still around? Actually, Mega Man should be long dead by now. There isn't a series which saw continous releases from the 8bit era on and hardly changed the gameplay. In this regard, Mega Man is unique. After 18 years and 16(!) Mega Man and Mega Man X games (not counting Legends, and the slight RPG variants, and handheld releases, and spin-offs), no true innovation or re-invention, and still the little critter blasts his bad fellow robots.

There are 2 main reasons for that:

1. The storyline changed and was ahead of its time by introducing a dark set-up. The cute light-blue Mega Man changed to a dark, doubtful, troubled, and self-reflecting 'superhero.' His color became dark blue, and the world became a dark and fierce world of independently thinking robots based on free will. Neither the harmony between nature and civilization (apparent in the ending of MM 2) nor the basic conflict between robots and humans could be resolved in the X series.

The dark set-up is prevalent in games today, too dominant in my opinion, but certainly MMX in the mid 90s was ahead of its time; the dark story could be really effectively told in rendered scenes from MMX4 on.

The changed story besides the introduction of some minor gameplay elements saved MM from extinction.

2. Capcom delivered a true counterproductive policy at the beginning of the 2D to 3D transformation-era. The Legends series didn't have truly a chance to get MM into the 3D realm because Capcom delivered at the same time the traditional (and better) 2D games. Mega Man X became the fiercest competitor of the Legends games and smashed it. Additionally, the Legends games used a bright-colored, light-hearted story set-up which was less appealing than the dark world of the X series.

If you give a huge fanbase the choice between traditional gameplay and 3D gameplay, you'll end up splitting the support for the new gameplay -- even if the new games were outstanding which they were not.

I think this explains the development of Mega Man from a once top-notch franchise with big commercial success to a niche franchise today. Today MM allows a glimpse into great and polished 2D gameplay of the past -- I'm glad he's still around. I enjoyed MMX8 very much.

[Tron 2.0]

Rockman & Forte is one of the hardest and most enjoyable megaman games to date. The GBA port is terrible because of the aspect ratio of the GBA screen - meaning that the characters remained the same size in ratio to the screen size, but the amount of the level that you see on one screen is MUCH less than you see on the SFC version - which is easily playable on an SNES. It's worth buying the cartridge.

Ducking was only introduced in MMX5 (or MMX6 - can't recall which one).

Sigma beats around the bush HARDCORE at the end of MMX5

***SPOILER WARNING***

***OK?***

***SURE?***

Sigma says that he has spoken with an old man, and talks about Zero's origin (being created by Wily). Gets very interesting. Pretty much indicated that he has been speaking with Wily somehow - but never explains how. Had me on the edge of my seat.

When they made X5 - they planned and WROTE it so that it would be the last one. In one of the endings, Zero seals himself off in a hybernation chamber for 100 years (setting up the scene for Megaman Zero on GBA) - also in X's ending, Zero is erased from his memory as he continues to fight for good. - - - but then the game sold well, so they made X6 and the subsequent 7 & 8 - ignoring the endings in X5.

In all honesty, I REALLY wish that they made a final Megaman 9. I've said it SO many fucking times in so many threads. They need to conclude it! It's obvious that they are not going to make a series of more games staring the original megman (that are not remakes) so they really need to conclude the story and tie it into X1. They need to show the death of Light & Wily and how some of their creations live on. Megaman should battle through most of the game and then DIE. Roll should then activate X before she dies too - however the hell they want to do it, it should be cleaned up and closed down, for a nice closure. Include Sigma in there and something about the Zero virus and the repliforce and all that crap.

Legends was neat, but it was more about the game being fully rendered in 3d at the time that was the draw rather than the gameplay.

Battle Network is neat, but I lost interest after part 2. The Battle Network game on the Cube however was kinda fun and very mucha throwback to oldschool MM games.

The biggest gameplay difference between X and regular MM however really is the ability to cling to walls, Ninja Gaiden style.

Agreed

[lendelin]

Rockman & Forte is one of the hardest and most enjoyable megaman games to date. The GBA port is terrible because of the aspect ratio of the GBA screen - meaning that the characters remained the same size in ratio to the screen size, but the amount of the level that you see on one screen is MUCH less than you see on the SFC version - which is easily playable on an SNES. It's worth buying the cartridge.

Ducking was only introduced in MMX5 (or MMX6 - can't recall which one).

Sigma beats around the bush HARDCORE at the end of MMX5

***SPOILER WARNING***

***OK?***

***SURE?***

Sigma says that he has spoken with an old man, and talks about Zero's origin (being created by Wily). Gets very interesting. Pretty much indicated that he has been speaking with Wily somehow - but never explains how. Had me on the edge of my seat.

When they made X5 - they planned and WROTE it so that it would be the last one. In one of the endings, Zero seals himself off in a hybernation chamber for 100 years (setting up the scene for Megaman Zero on GBA) - also in X's ending, Zero is erased from his memory as he continues to fight for good. - - - but then the game sold well, so they made X6 and the subsequent 7 & 8 - ignoring the endings in X5.

In all honesty, I REALLY wish that they made a final Megaman 9. I've said it SO many fucking times in so many threads. They need to conclude it! It's obvious that they are not going to make a series of more games staring the original megman (that are not remakes) so they really need to conclude the story and tie it into X1. They need to show the death of Light & Wily and how some of their creations live on. Megaman should battle through most of the game and then DIE. Roll should then activate X before she dies too - however the hell they want to do it, it should be cleaned up and closed down, for a nice closure. Include Sigma in there and something about the Zero virus and the repliforce and all that crap.

Legends was neat, but it was more about the game being fully rendered in 3d at the time that was the draw rather than the gameplay.

Battle Network is neat, but I lost interest after part 2. The Battle Network game on the Cube however was kinda fun and very mucha throwback to oldschool MM games.

The biggest gameplay difference between X and regular MM however really is the ability to cling to walls, Ninja Gaiden style.

A MM 9 isn't necessary for the sake of the story. To be honest, the story became convoluted in particular linking the classic MMs to the X games. Too complicated, too unclear, and sometimes downright illogical.

But one thing is very interesting to me. The story plays an immense role for the success of the series; from somewhat serious interpretations to geeky speculations, the X-story delivered enough substance to keep MM going. I think the story is the main reason why the great, polished albeit stagnated gameplay survived.