Very few sequels will blow the original out of the water. This is Capcom, and they are notorious for recycling old ideas and improving upon them vastly. What we get is an insanely fun game with original Megaman style play. Yes, Megaman games were known for being hard or easy depending on the moment, but they were insanely fun.
The classic Megaman formula is back. Eight bosses, each weak to one of eight weapons, fight the eight bosses again in the final fortress (four levels of course). Lather, rinse, and repeat for each next Megaman game. Of course, Zero died in the last game. But wait, he’ll be back. As will Sigma.
I somehow have a premonition this will also be another idea Capcom repeats.
Improving on the old style of play, X can now dash without upgrades. With upgrades he has the ability to get a more powerful shot, and he can shoot out of both arms. He can also use more powerful versions of weapons if charged. Weapons this time around are very unique, very useful, and they don’t fail like they do in X3. They aren’t straight forward like in X1 either. There is a bubble weapon that has multiple hits, is extremely weak, but can also create a shield around to protect you against weaker robots. An ice weapon lets you freeze monsters, or charged, it can slow the game down for concentration mode. Very useful when moving across pits.
This time around, you are hunted by the X-Hunters. They are out to take you down, just like you take down Mavericks. They have a catch, they have all of Zero’s parts. If you can defeat them, Zero can be reactivated. Reactivating him determines if you fight him or not in the end of the game.
This game also uses the C4 chip. It allows for rotation of 3D objects, and functions similiar to the Super FX chip. There are a few wire frame monsters in this boss. I’m not sure if it improves sound/music or not. But this game has some of the best sounds and music on the SNES. It has a very wavy/techno/reverb beat to it. All music is upbeat and it feels like the instruments are singing. This game is heavily synthetic, including the look of things. It is cartoony like Megaman before it. There is the traditional walking mech, which can dash, charge a dash punch, or hover. Or there is a bike. It is a pity Capcom didn’t add some kind of minigames with them in it. It would have made this great game even better.
This game also has a heavy amount of polish to it.
It is very hard to find this game ‘in the wild’. You most likely will find it at a rental store. If you do see it out of the blue, get it for your personal collection. You won’t regret it.
Yozuki’s Drive - 9.5
