Mega Man X5
North American PlayStation cover art
Developer(s)Capcom Production Studio 3
Publisher(s)Capcom
Director(s)Koji Okohara
Producer(s)Tatsuya Minami
Designer(s)Toyozumi Sakai
Akiteru Naka
Artist(s)Haruki Suetsugu
Ryuji Higurashi
Composer(s)Naoto Tanaka
Naoya Kamisaka
Takuya Miyawaki
SeriesMega Man X
Platform(s)PlayStation, Windows
Release
November 30, 2000
  • PlayStation
    • JP: November 30, 2000
    • NA: January 31, 2001
    • EU: August 3, 2001
    Microsoft Windows
    Retail
    • AS: July 30, 2001
    • JP: May 24, 2002
    • NA: August 20, 2002
Genre(s)Action, platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Mega Man X5, known as Rockman X5 (ロックマンX5) in Japan, is an action-platform video game and the fifth main installment in the Mega Man X series. Developed by Capcom, it was first released for the PlayStation in Japan on November 30, 2000, and in North America and PAL territories the following year. In 2002, the game was ported to Microsoft Windows as retail packages in both Japan and North America.

Players control X and Zero, heroes who traverse eight selectable stages and acquire the special weapon of each stage's boss. Mega Man X5 was intended to be the final game in its series, according to Capcom producer Keiji Inafune. Its story is set in the 22nd century, in a world where humans coexist with androids called "Reploids". X and Zero once again face their nemesis Sigma who aims to destroy the planet and infect all Reploids with a virus.

The design of X's upgrades, new villains, and new tactics for the platform franchise were the biggest focus from Capcom when developing the game. It was a commercial success and garnered a generally positive reception among critics, many of whom agreed that it would satisfy diehard fans of the series despite the stale gameplay formula and presentation of the story. It was re-released in 2006 as part of the Mega Man X Collection for the PlayStation 2 and in the Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 in 2018 for additional consoles.

Gameplay

X is attacked by a Sigma Virus

The gameplay in Mega Man X5 is similar to the previous installments of the Mega Man X series. The player is presented with a series of action-platforming stages that can be cleared in any order desired. The core aspects of gameplay are largely unchanged from previous installments, though X5 differs from its predecessor in a few notable ways. Before each level, players can choose whether to play as the shooter X or the swordsman Zero. X focuses on distanced combat using his X-Buster while the latter instead uses his Z-Saber in close combat. Defeating bosses results in the two characters gaining new weapons and techniques, respectively.[1][2] and for the first time in the franchise, players are able to change the game's difficulty.[2] The characters gain the new movement mechanics of crouching and hanging from ropes.[2]

Between the two characters, the one not chosen at the start of the game is disadvantaged – X loses his "Fourth Armor" (a less-powerful recreation of his armor from Mega Man X4[2]), and Zero loses his Z-Buster weapon. X has four enhancing armor sets available: the Fourth Armor, the secret Ultimate Armor, and two others that must be assembled from parts found in capsules. X cannot wear any individual armor part without the rest of the matching set. Zero can find and enter Dr. Light's armor capsules, but in most cases he cannot use the armor parts inside – he can only retrieve them to deliver to X. If Zero reaches the capsule containing X's Ultimate Armor, Dr. Light offers him the "Black Zero" armor instead, which enhances his abilities.[3][4]

After the introduction stage, the player has 16 attempts to challenge four Maverick bosses in stages to complete the Enigma weapon needed to protect the planet from a space colony. A mid-boss named Dynamo also appears at predetermined intervals, stalling the player for time.[5] If X is infected by a sufficient number of Sigma's viruses, his health begins to rapidly decline. Zero is affected differently by this level of infection – he becomes briefly invincible, with increased attack power.[2] At any point between levels, the player can choose to fire the Enigma at the Eurasia, though the chance of success increases as the game progresses.[5]

Plot

Like other entries in the series, Mega Man X5 takes place in "21XX", an unspecified year in the 22nd century, where humans have adapted to life with intelligent androids dubbed "Reploids". However, a series of Reploids become Mavericks, causing crimes and chaos. The series' primary antagonist is Sigma, a Maverick who spreads a computer virus across the Earth, causing a series of new infected Mavericks. He also hires a Reploid mercenary named Dynamo to hijack the space colony Eurasia to make it collide with Earth. To prevent Eurasia from striking the planet, the Maverick Hunters pursue two options: firing a powerful cannon called "Enigma" at Eurasia to vaporize it, or failing that, launching a space shuttle and piloting it into the colony to destroy it.

To maximize their chances of success, Hunters X and Zero are dispatched to collect parts for the two devices with the aid of their new teammates Alia, Douglas, and Signas. The necessary parts to upgrade the Enigma and shuttle are held by eight Mavericks, and X and Zero must defeat them to claim the parts.[6] Whether the Enigma succeeds or fails, a new virus appears on the Earth, identified by Alia as the Sigma virus. If either one of the two methods succeeds, X and Zero proceed to hunt for the source of the virus. If the shuttle fails or if time expires, the colony crashes into the planet, nearly destroying it, and Zero is then infected by the virus. In either case, once the virus' origin is discovered, the Hunters investigate, penetrating a bizarre underground fortress. In the fortress, X and the infected Zero cross paths, where mutual suspicion and mistrust leads them to duel.[7]

After the duel, the story diverges into a few possible paths, each with its own ending.

If Zero's mind is unaffected by the virus, he saves himself and X from Sigma, and they confront Sigma together.[8] Upon defeating him, Sigma attempts to make the Hunters' victory for naught by taking them down with him. X tries to save Zero but is ambushed by Sigma and both Hunters are critically damaged.[9] At this point, the endings diverge again depending on the player's chosen character. If Zero defeats Sigma, he reflects on his origin and life before dying. If X defeats Sigma, he inherits Zero's beam saber weapon and lives on as a Hunter.[10]

If Zero becomes a Maverick as a result of the virus, he sacrifices himself to save X from Sigma, and X continues on alone.[11] Upon defeating Sigma, X is badly damaged. A mysterious figure recovers him but deletes all his memories of Zero.[12]

Development

Mega Man X5 was originally intended to be the final game in the Mega Man X series. According to producer Keiji Inafune, he had little to do with the title and told the staff his idea.[13] Much to the dismay of Inafune, Capcom decided to publish Mega Man X6 the following year, in which Zero survived his fight from X5.[14] Haruki Suetsugu, an artist for Mega Man X4, designed almost all of the characters and promotional artwork for X5, adding various details to differentiate the characters from each other.[13] Advancements in technology allowed the team to improve the visuals of the game over the previous installment.[15] X5 uses still images without voiceovers instead of the animated cutscenes displayed in X4, which bothered Suetsugu as the price players paid was the same as before. Artist Hitoshi Ariga agreed with this sentiment as the boss characters were unvoiced.[16]

Suetsugu believed that the navigator Alia might be the most fitting heroine in the series in contrast to the tragic Iris from Mega Man X4.[17] Alia stood out as the only female character, which Suetsugu did not mind since the game is aimed towards a young demographic. As the idea of having a calm woman as navigator proved difficult to execute, the other navigator Roll Caskett from Mega Man Legends was used as a reference.[18] The villain Dynamo was based on Western movies, with a design that combined features from X and Zero.[19] X's new Falcon Armor was designed by Ryuji Higurashi to resemble a bird with a beak-shaped chest piece, wings coming out of the back, and a talon-like arm cannon. Suetsugu designed the Gaea Armor to resemble Sanagiman from the Inazuman manga series.[13] Other new characters were introduced to expand the roster of the Maverick Hunters beyond just the fighters, with Signus being the most mature among them and possibly having connections to the Repliforce from X4.[20] Douglas and Lifesaver were created as minor characters for the roles of mechanic and doctor, respectively.[21][22]

The game does not employ voice acting, except that yells in the Japanese version were performed by Showtaro Morikubo, who replaced Kentarō Itō as X's voice actor, and by Ryōtarō Okiayu for Zero.[23] Morikubo found the task challenging as he was debuting as a musician during the release of X5.[24]

The Maverick bosses in the English localization of the game are named after members of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses.[13][25] Capcom voice actress Alyson Court, who was involved in the game's English localization, chose the new names as a tribute to her then-husband's love of the band.[26] For the Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 release, the names of the Maverick bosses were changed to translations of their original Japanese names.[27]

The musical score for Mega Man X5 was composed by Naoto Tanaka, Naoya Kamisaka, and Takuya Miyawaki. The Japanese version of the game features "Monkey" as the opening theme and "Mizu no Naka" (水の中, Inside the Water) as the closing theme, both composed and performed by Morikubo and his band Mosquito Milk.[28] The theme songs were included in the Rockman Theme Song Collection, published by Suleputer in 2002,[29] and all of the game's instrumental and vocal music was included on the Capcom Music Generation: Rockman X1 ~ X6 soundtrack, released by Suleputer in 2003.[30]

The game was first released in Japan for the PlayStation on November 30, 2000.[13] The North American release followed the next month on January 31, 2001.[31] It was later released in Europe on August 3, 2001.[32] A Microsoft Windows port was first released to retail in Asia on July 30, 2001,[33] in Japan on May 24, 2002,[13] and in North America on August 20, 2002.[34] The game was included in the North American Mega Man X Collection for GameCube and PlayStation 2 in 2006.[35] In 2014, the PlayStation Network released Mega Man X5 alongside X4.[36] It became available for Windows via Steam, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch as a part of Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 on July 24, 2018, worldwide and July 26, 2018, in Japan.[37][38]

Reception

Mega Man X5 was generally well-received as an appealing sidescroller, although several sites commented that it did not contribute new major ideas to the franchise.[44][1][40] GameRevolution enjoyed the contrasting gameplay system between X and Zero as well as the improved graphics.[5] Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine stated that the game's difficulty felt harsher than previous installments as a result of enemy placement but still appreciated the focus on more checkpoints and continues, which balance it out. While they also appreciated the storytelling and multiple endings, they panned the idea of being forced into several cutscenes in the middle of the game without offering new ideas.[45] Eurogamer agreed that players would need to properly collect most power-ups, like heart-shaped items, to make X and Zero able to fight the bosses. He found the system so repetitive that he instead recommended playing the related series, Legends, which he finds more innovative.[41] Electronic Gaming Monthly found several parts of the game to be similar to Mega Man X4 and that the characters' interactions were cheesy.[40] GameSpot said the gameplay would appeal to non-Mega Man fans and gamers in general due to the attention given to detail and the design of the new bosses.[1] GamePro was more positive on the new content and improvements made over X4 and found it important for most fans.[43]

Regarding the game's presentation, responses were mixed. GameRevolution enjoyed the narrative associated with Armageddon but still felt it was poorly executed due to having to retread previous stages at the cost of losing hours to attack the colony.[5] Both IGN and GameSpot enjoyed the presentation for relying on nostalgic tracks fitting for popular Super Nintendo games.[44][1] The PC port was also the focus of some reviews, with Absolute Games criticizing the lack of noticeable improvements to the visuals or gameplay compared to Mega Man X4.[46] On the other hand, Wolf praised the handling of stages and skills needed to defeat the bosses.[47]

According to the Japanese publication Famitsu, Mega Man X5 was the third best-selling video game in Japan during its release week, with 46,033 copies sold.[48] It placed at number eight the following week with an additional 22,963 copies sold.[49] Media Create sales information showed that the game was the 96th best-selling video game in Japan in 2000.[50] Dengeki Online reported that Mega Man X5 sold a total of 215,687 copies in Japan by the end of 2001, listing it as the 132nd best-selling game of the year in the region.[51] Toy Retail Sales Tracking (TRST) data showed that X5 was the fifth best-selling PlayStation game in North America for the month of February 2001.[52] The game was eventually re-released as part of Sony's PlayStation The Best for Family collection of budget titles in Japan.[53]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Lopez, Miguel (February 8, 2001). "Mega Man X5 Review for PlayStation". GameSpot. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Consumer". Capcom. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  3. ↑ Capcom (January 2001). Mega Man X5 (Sony PlayStation). Capcom. Dr. Light: I'll give you this Ultimate Armor. You can perform the Giga Attack unlimited times.
  4. ↑ Capcom (January 2001). Mega Man X5 (Sony PlayStation). Capcom. Dr. Light: But I seem able to enhance your abilities... / Zero: No. I don't need any enhancement...
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Johnny Liu (February 1, 2001). "Mega Man X5 Review". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on January 24, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
  6. ↑ Capcom (January 2001). Mega Man X5 (Sony PlayStation). Capcom. Alia: We have no choice... For the sake of the world, we must destroy the Colony! ... But the only weapon we have in the Hunter Base that still works is... ... The Enigma... And it's very old. We also have a space shuttle. But, it's been affected by the Virus, and the Auto-Pilot function doesn't work... So we need someone to fly it to the Colony and let it collide... It's almost certain death, but we have no other choice. / Signas: How's the condition of the Enigma? / Douglas: Far from perfect... In order to use the Enigma, we need to build it up with some devices. The Enigma doesn't work as is. / Signas: Under the influence of the Sigma Virus, a lot of Maverick Hunters have become Mavericks, and only a few hunters remain normal. Let's join forces with the rest of our brothers and complete the Enigma!
  7. ↑ Capcom (January 2001). Mega Man X5 (Sony PlayStation). Capcom. X: Why weren't you damaged even though you have been infected by the virus? In fact, you have become more powerful with the infection?! Why?! This isn't the time to fight when we have a mission to accomplish, but... I'll bring you back by any means. / Zero: You say you'll bring me back to the base even if you have to fight me? X, you can't dare to fight me. Your big heart. That is your kindness and your weakness. I'm okay...Trust me. / X: Zero... I don't want to lose you... I'm really worried about you...... and I do trust you...That's why I have to fight you here to bring you back.
  8. ↑ Sigma: Blast! I haven't completed you... I will retreat for now... Somehow I know you two will come again. I'll be waiting for you, ha ha ha... / Zero: Wait! Sigmaaaa! ...I WILL defeat you ... without fail!!. Mega Man X5.
  9. ↑ Capcom (January 2001). Mega Man X5 (Sony PlayStation). Capcom. Sigma: Gha ha ha ha ha! X seems to be somewhere close... The three of us can die together... You won't feel lonely if X is with you... / Zero: No! Leave X out of this! / Sigma: Time to go! Say goodbye, Zero! Ghaa ha ha ha ha ha!!
  10. ↑ Capcom (January 2001). Mega Man X5 (Sony PlayStation). Capcom. X: I can face any enemy now... I will feel this way... as long as I have this Saber... I'll do it today, Zero... with you...! Forever...We'll be together...Zero...
  11. ↑ Capcom (January 2001). Mega Man X5 (Sony PlayStation). Capcom. Sigma: You'd almost fully evolved to your true self... It's a shame you didn't quite make it, Zero. You had so much potential. Oh well, farewell! Well...it's only you now, X... I will let you live this time. But I won't be so kind next time, and there WILL be a next time! See you soon! You... The strongest Reploid! Bwah ha ha!
  12. ↑ Capcom (January 2001). Mega Man X5 (Sony PlayStation). Capcom. Hunter B: ...You see? Captain Zero and Captain X are both special A level Hunters for all to see. You worked together and solved a lot of problems. / X: I remember Sigma. His name doesn't leave me... But I don't have any memory of Zero. Maybe whoever repaired me deleted the data by mistake.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mega Man X: Official Complete Works. Udon Entertainment. January 6, 2010. pp. 48–55. ISBN 978-1-897376-80-5.
  14. ↑ Hoffman, Chris (April 2004). "The Best Damn Mega Man Feature. Period". Play. Vol. 3, no. 4.
  15. ↑ Mega Man X: Official Complete Works. Udon Entertainment. January 6, 2010. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-897376-80-5.
  16. ↑ Mega Man X: Official Complete Works. Udon Entertainment. January 6, 2010. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-897376-80-5.
  17. ↑ Mega Man X: Official Complete Works. Udon Entertainment. January 6, 2010. p. 198. ISBN 978-1-897376-80-5.
  18. ↑ "■開発者コメント～エイリ～". Capcom. Archived from the original on July 1, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  19. ↑ Mega Man X: Official Complete Works. Udon Entertainment. January 6, 2010. p. 193. ISBN 978-1-897376-80-5.
  20. ↑ "■開発者コメント～シグナス～". Capcom. Archived from the original on July 2, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  21. ↑ "■原画イラスト～ダグラス～". Capcom. Archived from the original on July 1, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  22. ↑ "■開発者コメント～ライフセーバー～". Capcom. Archived from the original on July 1, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  23. ↑ "🔖『ロックマンX アニバーサリー コレクション』より、伊藤健太郎（初代エックス役）・置鮎龍太郎（ゼロ役）の特別映像が公開". Moca News. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  24. ↑ "～フルバージョン～『ロックマンX アニバーサリー コレクション』発売記念「歴代エックス登場！」". Capcom. Youtube. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  25. ↑ Hoffman, Chris (January 2008). "Mega Man 20/20". Nintendo Power. No. 224. Future Publishing. p. 63.
  26. ↑ Goulter, Tom (May 2, 2011). "Guns 'n' Roses/Mega Man X5 mystery solved by... Claire Redfield". GamesRadar. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
  27. ↑ Mega Man Undoes One Of Its Weirdest Choices With New X Collection Archived 2018-06-28 at the Wayback Machine -Gamespot
  28. ↑ "モスキート・ミルク「Monkey／水の中」" (in Japanese). Suleputer. Archived from the original on August 4, 2003. Retrieved February 27, 2011.
  29. ↑ ロックマンテーマソング集<ロックマン15周年記念> [Rockman Theme Song Collection <Rockman 15th Anniversary>] (in Japanese). Suleputer. Archived from the original on August 10, 2003. Retrieved December 18, 2011.
  30. ↑ "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 December 14, 2003. Retrieved February 27, 2011.
  31. ↑ "Mega Man X5 Now Available" (Press release). Capcom. February 1, 2001. Archived from the original on December 31, 2004. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  32. ↑ "Megaman X5 (PS)". Amazon UK. Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  33. ↑ Capcom staff. "PC 洛克人X5" [PC Rockman X5] (in Chinese). Capcom. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  34. ↑ "Mega Man X5: System Requirements". Allgame. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
  35. ↑ Dunham, Jeremy (January 10, 2006). "Mega Man X Ships to Stores". IGN. Archived from the original on December 17, 2010. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
  36. ↑ "Mega Man X4 y Mega Man X5 para PS3 y Vita". GameReactor. August 27, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  37. ↑ "Mega Man X Legacy Collections Ship for PS4, Switch, Xbox One, PC in Japan on July 26". Archived from the original on April 13, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  38. ↑ Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 and 2 launch July 24th Archived 2018-04-11 at the Wayback Machine -Capcom Unity
  39. ↑ "Mega Man X5 for PlayStation". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 27, 2011. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
  40. 1 2 3 "Review Crew: Mega Man X5". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 139. Ziff Davis. February 2001. Archived from the original on February 11, 2001.
  41. 1 2 Bramwell, Tom (August 9, 2001). "Mega Man X5 PSOne Review". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on July 12, 2010. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
  42. ↑ Famitsu staff (2000). クロスレビュー [Cross Review]. Famitsu (in Japanese). Tokuma Shoten. Archived from the original on March 24, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  43. 1 2 Bro Buzz (January 26, 2001). "Review: Mega Man X5 for PlayStation". GamePro. Archived from the original on May 10, 2007. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
  44. 1 2 3 Zdyrko, David (February 2, 2001). "Mega Man X5 - PlayStation Review". IGN. Archived from the original on December 15, 2010. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
  45. 1 2 "Reviews: Mega Man X5". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. Ziff Davis. February 2001. Archived from the original on April 18, 2001.
  46. ↑ "Mega Man X5". Absolute Games (in Russian). Archived from the original on March 10, 2009. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  47. ↑ "Mega Man X5". 7 Wolf (in Russian). Archived from the original on November 22, 2011. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  48. ↑ IGN Staff (December 14, 2000). "Now Playing In Japan". IGN. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
  49. ↑ IGN Staff (December 21, 2000). "Japanese Top 10". IGN. Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
  50. ↑ "2000年テレビゲームソフト売り上げTOP300" (in Japanese). Geimin.net. Archived from the original on June 27, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
  51. ↑ IGN Staff (January 11, 2002). "Dengeki Online Top 200 Of 2001". IGN. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
  52. ↑ IGN Staff (March 19, 2001). "TRST: Top Selling PS Games in February 2001". IGN. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
  53. ↑ "ロックマンX5 PlayStation the Best for Family" (in Japanese). Sony Computer Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 23, 2010. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
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