Nostalgia: Mega Man X on March 1st

On Tuesday, I returned to Mega Man X. It has been a really long time since I played a Mega Man X game, so after a short hour of playing the game my thumbs were feeling overused. I beat four bosses; Chill Penguin, Launch Octopus, Storm Eagle, and Sting Chameleon.

I tried to get through Flame Mammoth first, but the level was too difficult without the leg upgrade. So after some failed attempts, I skipped over to Chill Penguin because I remembered that the leg upgrade was in that stage. It helps soooo much.

I tried Armored Armadillo next, and got a sub-tank, but didn’t beat the boss. So then I had X go over to the Spark Mandrill, and I wasn’t lucky in that one either. Annoyed, I went to Launch Octopus and got a heart tank and defeated him with the help of the sub-tank I got earlier.

Next I went to Storm Eagle’s stage and got a Mega Head (extra life :D), the helmet upgrade and defeated that boss. After that I went to Sting Chameleon and got the body armor, another Mega Head, and defeated Sting Chameleon with the torpedo weapon. Then I called it a session.

My hands are rusty having not played a Mega Man X game for a few months.

One-Year Anniversary of Playing Mega Man X

It was the 24th or so of February. That was the first day that my sister and I played Mega Man X for the first time. The game had been out for long time by then, but we were only then just getting into it. I was so excited, learning about the Mega Man X story and getting used to the controls for the game. The graphics were bright and colorful and the music for many of the levels was catchy.

We were in third grade when this video game series started. We were loyal Sonic the Hedgehog fans, so we didn’t dare consider getting a whole different console to play other video games. But a certain video game magazine allowed us to learn some things about this new Mega Man series. A Santa Claus-looking scientist portrayed by a blue light; a Mega Man with white armor; and Mega Man X changing colors depending on the weapon he has equipped. I don’t remember being familiar with the classis/old school Mega Man during that time. Oh, there was a Mega Man Soccer game for the SNES (?), I believe, and THAT was the classic Mega Man because Roll was in it. The design for the video game however looked like that of Mega Man X, though. Odd. :D

We were curious about this Mega Man X, but again, we didn’t intend to stray from Sonic the Hedgehog, so for the next several years, (1994 to 2002) we were only SEGA/Sonic girls. It was either Nintendo or SEGA during those years.

Thank goodness for the Playstation 2, right?

Playstation 2 opened up our options. We can play PS2 video games, AND we can play Playstation video games as long as we had the corresponding memory card for that type of game. That’s how after Kingdom Hearts I was able to play the original Final Fantasy VII, for which I had to buy a set of 3 PS1 memory cards. Playstation 2 allowed me to try other genres of video games; adventure, action, eventually fighters.

Sis and I didn’t pay attention to when the Mega Man X Collection was released. We ignored it or missed it. The part of us that would be Mega Man fans was kept deep inside where it would be hard to let it out.

I am glad that we didn’t miss out on Mega Man X after all. Yeah it’s a 2-D video game but it has enough charm to amuse a new Mega Man fan.

But really, I have to thank Nintendo Power magazine for the preview on the Mega Man Zero Collection. That is how this whole craze began: we found out from there that Zero, originally from Mega Man X, is a “super-powered robot,” and all this time we didn’t know that Mega Man, X, and Zero were robots (we thought they were humans with super-powered armor and weapon instead). It just made our interest in the franchise even stronger! Mine especially, since I was already fascinated with cybernetic characters.

In wanting to understand this fascination, I started a new blog. Getting into the Mega Man X video games was a push that I needed to start Cybernetic Dreams, my blog about my fascination with robots, androids and cyborgs. Why am I so interested in robots, especially robots that are (or are not) capable of demonstrating human emotions? The same goes for androids. Cyborgs too; I am interested in how a human can be part machine. I don’t really write much about the Mega Man X series in Cybernetic Dreams, but someday I should. Just because Mega Man X is a robot.   :)

Whew, long post @.@

What to do with my Mega Man X Collection…?

I gave it to Sis.

I’ve played Mega Man X, Mega Man X2, some of Mega Man X3, and X’s side of Mega Man X4. I started playing X’s side in Mega Man X5, and then it just got…well…I didn’t feel like I had to get back to the game again that eagerly. But Sis really misses it. She is as much a Mega Man X and Zero fan as I am…only more so because her favorite Reploid is of course Zero.

It didn’t make sense for me to keep the Mega Man X Collection in my bedroom when I wasn’t playing it. Sis would benefit having the collection in her bedroom and feeling like the collection is hers now rather than needing to ask for my permission to get to it when she wants to play Mega Man X5. As a matter of fact, she is currently left off at the Sigma battles for X’s side. She’ll have to play through the Boss Run again, but those will be no big problem since we know their weaknesses. It’s Sigma who’s the pain in the @$$. Sis also wants to finish playing through Zero’s side of the game, in which he had become a Maverick and X had to fight him.

[Sigh]

We made a trade; I gave her the Mega Man X Collection, and she gave me the Casshern Sins Part 2 Blu-Ray (we each bought one part of the Casshern Sins collection). This way she gets what she wants, and I get what I want, and we don’t have to pay for anything more. Heh heh, we got in an argument about this actually :D What is the Mega Man X Collection doing in my room if I am not going to be playing it any time too soon?

Mega Man X5 on September 30th

So here we are, at another Mega Man X game in the collection, Mega Man X5.  I thought I'd use the audio recorder as I played the game because since it is sort of "new," I wanted to take note of the things that were different in this sequel, without having to write it all down on paper.

I decided to play as X again, because since Zero mode is fun but frustrating, I shall stick to the tried and true that is X mode.  Besides, X keeps his Fourth Armor (only if I chose X’s story) and I can still have him hover and shoot his plasma Charge Shot.  But now he needs new weapons.   :O

Here is a short summary of what the story in MMX 5 is about so far: After the Sigma Virus is released, this space colony is on its way towards Earth and is going to collide. The old weapon Enigma is the only thing that can destroy the falling Space Colony, but it needs some upgrades. You start out with sixteen hours until collision, and I found out the hard way, whether you complete the mission or fail it, it is minus one hour each time. At least, if you lose all your lives, you can continue from the last quarter of the stage that X lost a life. That’s pretty darn helpful, because it seems that each game in the Mega Man X series gets more difficult, and so far, X5 is pretty wild.

The first stage I tried was Squid Adler, but it was another Land Chaser stage, so I immediately sucked at it. This was the stage to which I unwittingly lost an hour of the collision time, so I was left with 15 hours. I was successful for the next two stages that I tried out. I have to say, I love the boss fight music from Mega Man X5. I heard it first when fighing against Axel the Red. It is the coolest-sounding boss battle song in, I think, the whole MMX series. My next favorite boss battle song is the one when X is fighting against Dr. Doppler in MMX 3.

Axel the Red (I called him the Flower Rose Robot cuz he’s pretty)

14 hours til Collision. Clear time: 14min 23 secs

Total Mavericks defeated:137 Total damage received: 365 Total Rank: B

Alia: “You got DNA from the boss you have just defeated.” And that attack is…. Alia: “From this DNA the special weapon has become yours.”

What is it?!!! (Sis laughs).

Alia: “Equip the weapons using the L1 and R1 buttons.”

I know that! What is the weapon?!

Alia: “Every enemy has a weak point.” Thank you, but I know that!

Alia: “Find the most effective weapon for each enemy…”

Weapon: You got the Spike Ball and Twin Dream.

Orbiter Engine, for the Enigma weapon.

The next stage I tried was for Duff McWhalen in the mission, “Obliterate the Battle Ship”. This stage was actually both challenging and fun, and the music is a remake of the water level in MMX 2.  That brings back some fond memories of playing MMX 2 this past March and April.

13 hours til collision.                          Clear time: 34min 10secs
Total Mavericks defeated: 292          Total damage received: 704        Total Rank B.

Weapon: G-Shaver F-Splasher.  Energy (Uh...energy what?)

Hydrogen, needed for the weapon Enigma.

Next, X fights Dynamo. An interesting, curious character…He’s bored and he wants to play… O__O

12 hours til collision.   Clear time: 3 min 39 secs     Total Mavericks defeated : 1 (duh!)

Damage received: 93 Total rank: B

NO DNA/WEAPONS RECEIVED

Complete energy up.   "Alright!!!!!! I will save, and stop. Rest my fingers, hee hee." 

@.@   

Mega Man X4 progress…complete September 25

This post is a few days late.  Internet problems also extended the delay.

Sis finished Zero’s story in MMX 4 before I finished X’s story. She reeeeeeally wanted to defeat that Sigma.

Then five days later I finished X’s story in X4 and I dunno why, but I should’ve felt euphoria. Am I getting tired of playing the Mega Man X series? I don’t want to believe it. I mean, it was fun, and it is a rewarding feeling to finish playing a video game, but I’ve done it before three other times, it felt like.

But each game in the Mega Man X series has more story that is revealed, and new characters to introduce. That’s what keeps the series fresh. And Zero is still going to be playable in MMX 5. I’ll let Sis take care of Zero again, because I tried it out as Zero first, and it is frustrating. I am so used to the long-distance fighting that X is so good at. Since Sis is a huge Zero fan, I am more than happy to let her take over the Red Reploid again.

My favorite level in MMX 4: The Snow Base stage. I love the music and the icy colors in the environment. It is also a good stage to fill up X or Zero’s two Sub-Tanks.  There are five medium-sized energy pills near the beginning of the level and two extra-life items I can pick up, escape the stage, and then return to the same stage to pick them all up again. 

I still have Mega Man X: Command Mission and Mega Man X8 to continue. In fact, I think the first time I tried MMX 8, I had an epic fail and lost all of Axl’s lives. So I will have to start over again for that game.

The adventures of Mega Man X continues...at some point.

Another Mega Man X Drawing...

Here is a drawing I did of Mega Man X a couple of days ago.  I was getting sleepy and I didn't want to take a nap too close to bedtime, so I drew him to stay awake and busy.

I used a #2 pencil for drawing, some colored pencils, and a mechanical pencil to outline the drawing after I finished coloring it.  It was my first attempt at practicing the shading technique on a drawing I did (besides art class in middle school).  I drew the left hand, but the scanner didin't allow it to be very visible.  I don't like the way the left hand turned out anyway.  The right hand is in Buster mode.  I did the best I could as a free-hand picture.  I generally love the way the picture turned out.  ^_____^  

I still don't know if I want to join DeviantArt or not.

Drawing by Sara/Amethyst Anne.  Mega Man X belongs to CAPCOM.

Mega Man X4…making some more progress ^,^

In Mega Man X4, I had to let my sister take the controller as Zero again, because she was, as always, eager to play that dang Zero.

X is jealous.

She went to the Military Train stage to fill up Zero’s Sub-Tank. There are a lot of opportunities to get energy pills; from the bats carrying the bombs and the little Mets walking around. It took a bunch of lives and frustration, but Zero was able to beat Slash Beast and he learned the attack called “Shippuga.” It is an attack Zero can do during a dash.

Zero was also able to take on, and defeat, Web Spider. From him, Zero learned the attack called “Rajingeki.” This is good for distant enemies. I don’t think Sis used it yet. We are having trouble figuring out what buttons to push to make the new attacks. I thought maybe the directional buttons might have something to do with them. So she learned how to do the Shippuga, but it’s a bit confusing for the Rajingeki.

That’s interesting: Zero’s attacks are in Japanese, and then X’s attacks are in English here. Maybe since Zero’s attacks are with his Z-Saber (which is essentially a sword), his attacks have a Japanese style, so they are given Japanese names. X’s attacks have an element and a style.

As X I was able to move on as well. After some tries I finally got my very own Sub-Tank from the Military Train. Hur-ray!!! Now I might have a chance to survive at least one more other boss battle, yes? And survive, X did! I had X fight against Web Spider and from that, he got the attack Lightning Web. With this, X can reach harder -to -reach places. I knew exactly what to use this power on; there was a life-up item in the Snow Base stage that X was finally able to get because of this new attack/power. I didn’t know what the heck it did, though. Then after X lost all his lives to Slash Beast, then in the next batch of lives, X starts out with 4 extra lives (five, altogether) instead of two extra lives. Ooooohh, that’s what that big heart tank item was for. So it didn’t extend the height of the life energy gauge; but it gave X two more extra lives to start with on each batch of lives.

I almost didn’t make it, but I was able to defeat Slash Beast as well in the Military Train stage. X got the Twin Slasher. I didn’t try it yet because right after getting that attack, I saved my game and stopped playing. But I will try it next time I get to MMX 4. I have three bosses left; Jet Stingray, Split Mushroom, and, uh, yeah, actually, I only have two bosses to defeat now.

Mega Man X4, a more successful playing session

What a relief, we thought we were going to be stuck in this game for a long month.

I let my sis play as Zero first for this session, since I knew I was very stuck as X.  Zero got the “Rakuhouha” after defeating Cyber Peacock.  A heh heh, let’s call this Rakuhouha the "peacock tail attack" once in a while.  In fact, it was just what Zero needed to defeat the Storm Owl in the Air Base stage.  The Rakuhouha was limited in its power and must be used carefully, but Sis/Zero tried it against the Storm Owl and it took him out within five or so hits!  After that battle, Zero got the “Tenkuuha”, which is a powered-up form of his Z-Saber.  Cool!

I decided to give the battle “X versus Colonel” another try, even if it wouldn't work out.  I failed the first few tries again.  Then I remembered that X had his hover ability with his leg armor, so what if he uses that to his advantage?  The attack that I hate the most from Colonel is the slash-n-dash-away move.  So right before Colonel does that (and I can sort of time when he might), I have X hover at the very edge of the screen.  I was more comfortable with X on the left side. X can hover for a full four seconds if he stays in place, so when X hovered as Colonel slashed, he was just out of reach.  This saved me a lot of trouble and kept X’s health gauge full longer.

After I tried this, I though, “Hey, maybe I’ll be able to win this after all, now that I know what to do.”   So I kept at it. X still got hurt from the beams that Colonel throws at him at least once every other time, but avoiding the slashes multiple times really gave X the advantage.  Colonel wasn’t going to do any other moves different from the ones I was used to.

The battle turned out to be not-so-difficult after all.   It’s just that since I had to have X keep firing full Charge Shots at Colonel, my thumb felt overused, and I didn’t play for even twenty minutes by then.

Mega Man X4 Woes

Godd----t I’m stuck. I returned to MMX 4 as X and all of a sudden, Double tells X that there is a message from the Colonel.  The Colonel wants to meet X.  And instead of choosing when to go there, X is immediately in this other stage. I guess this is the midpoint stage; after beating four bosses, this is what happens.  I don’t even think X is equipped enough to defeat Colonel just yet.  I kept losing over an over.  I’ve learned how to dodge his attacks, but he still hurts X enough to take away his lives.

I may have to start X’s side of MMX 4 from the very beginning.  I don’t have a sub tank for his health gauge.  None of the four weapons X has works against Colonel; only a full Charge Shot is the best weapon X has against him at this point.

As for my sister, she was able to have Zero defeat Walrus.  She used the sub-tank she found, but the ice spikes instantly killed Zero.  The next life, she was able to have Zero defeat Walrus without the need of the full sub-tank.  Zero got the Hyouretsuzan, but we’ll call it the Ice Attack, heh.

The Cyber Peacock stage was difficult for Zero, seeing as X was more successful in defeating that bird from a distance.  She also tried out the Bio-Lab stage, and it seemed to be a really difficult, obstacle-laden stage, but she managed to reach the boss, Split Mushroom, if not defeat him yet.

Mega Man X4, with X and Zero!!! August 14th

I beat three bosses in this session as X!  Read more for the details.   :)

I realized, well, the Cyberspace stage IS a difficult stage, but suppose the boss is not so hard? Just because the stage is hard doesn’t mean that the boss is impossible at this point.  So I went in.  I didn’t realize that X had to have a Rank A to make it to the next area of the stage. I  kept getting a B rank at the end of the third area of the stage and I was getting bored with it.  What do I need to do to get an A rank!  Keep a high-filled health gauge, get through the area quickly, or what?

I struggled to keep X’s health high. There weren’t many Mavericks for X to shoot at to get any energy pills. Plus these yellow lemon-shaped things were going to suck X’s life energy out if he got near them.  Shooting at them doesn’t destroy them, but it moves them out of the way, at least.  Then there are these triangle things that attack X because they think he is a computer virus.

I finally got through that part of the stage by some miracle, then this next area was confusing; buttons switched the top and bottom of the stage. It seemed confusing at first, but then I memorized the ones I pushed, and got out of there in almost no time.  I was so glad that I reached the second area of the stage because if I lost all my lives, I only have to start from the beginning of area 2 of the Cyberspace stage, and the same goes for all the other stages, for that matter.  The boss of Cyberspace was Cyber Peacock.  He’s a difficult son of a b****, but as I got used to his moves, it wasn’t so hard.  He can be taken out good by X’s X-Buster.  The part I found annoying is when he sticks to one side and shoots peacock feather lasers at X, and the damn things follow him!  Charge shots work best against Cyber Peacock.  After several tries, I beat him and X got the Aiming Laser for his buster weapon.  I love the colors X changes to when he has this weapon equipped: lavender and sky blue.   :3 

Next I visited the Air Force Base to see if the laser attack would work on Storm Eagle…er, Storm Owl. Yeah, Storm Owl. It turned out the Aiming Laser did work against him well! Getting Storm Owl into the aiming cursor was tricky, but I got the hang of it (it depended on which way Owl was and the direction X faced). From Storm Owl X got the Double Cyclone. Hooray!

Then finally I tried one more stage before I handed over the controller to Sis: the Volcano stage, where Magma Dragoon was waiting for X. I love the music for this stage because it’s reminiscent of music for Sonic…for some reason, in my ears. I got though the stage quick because I reached the boss before but didn’t defeat him. So I tried Storm Owl’s Double Cyclone, and well well, it was Magma Dragoon’s weakness! I was on a roll here! And from Magma Dragoon, X got Rising Fire. So at the end of my session X has three Heart Tanks and four weapons.

I think the Rising Fire ability would be great against Web Spider, but I will have to try it out next time. After I defeated Dragoon, I let my sister play as Zero again. She tried the Jungle, Snow Base, Military Train, and the Marine Base stages but couldn’t defeat any of the bosses. Zero’s close attacks have a downside and bring Zero closer to getting hurt by the boss. I thought Walrus should be the first boss to defeat, but for Zero it seems difficult because of his up-close-only attacks for now.

However, Sis had a fun time playing in the Marine Base stage, the one where X or Zero get on a Land Chaser and ride it the entire stage. She said this stage was addictive. Like I said, it is short but fast-paced. As often as she lost lives, she tried that stage again and again. She got past the first area and reached Jet Stingray, but didn’t defeat him. However, I applaud her because she got the Energy Tank. She thinks she will need it to survive a boss battle as Zero, perhaps the fight with Walrus.

Mega Man X 4, with X and Zero!!! August 9th

This post is delayed by a few days, so apologies.

In this session, I played as X for the first half, and then I let my sister take over for the second half to play as Zero. She’s been waiting for that for months!

From Mega Man X4 and on, there are

no more Mega-Heads.  There are only

Mega-Helmets.

So okay, I started this session with a stage that X hasn’t been to yet: the Military Base, with Jet Stingray as the Maverick Boss. This stage is short but fast-paced. I was writing down a note when X was already on the Land Chaser from the very first moment. “AAAARGH! Wait wait wait wait, slow down!” I realized that the whole stage was going to be like this. In fact, it was part of the specific mission for this stage that X will be using the Land Chaser. I often didn’t jump in time and X crashed into walls and platforms, and fell into gaps. From that I learned that I can slow down (get back) or speed up (go forward) so he can know when it’s a good time to jump a gap or jump a raised wall.

There’s an Energy Tank in the Marine Base stage. I’ll worry about that after I’ve defeated Jet Stingray, which won’t be for a while.

After the Marine Base, I had X go to the Bio Lab, and then the Military Train stages. I couldn’t defeat either of the bosses—well, I didn’t reach the boss in the Bio Lab. The stage is actually difficult, not impossible. It will take several tries to get through the stage.

I got the Air Dash ability from the Dr. Light capsule in the Jungle! It also has hover ability, so X can hover for a maximum of 4 seconds. It’s so cute watching hover and then shoots once or twice from his X-Buster. So adorable. (That’s my feminine side talking.)

I was frustrated that I didn’t beat any bosses that session. I wanted to take a break, so I handed the controller to my sister so she can play as Zero. She was more than happy to do that! As she played the game as Zero, we learned that she would be playing Zero in place of X. The story is slightly different, because Zero meets the female Reploid Iris but X doesn’t. The Repliforce was suspected of being responsible for the falling of Sky Lagoon. X and Zero each both tell Colonel that the Repliforce (the Reploid military) will be seen as Mavericks if they don’t follow the hunters to the headquarters.

Of course, Zero has a different feel to his controls. Instead of shooting from his buster from a distance, Zero uses his Z-Saber to get close to his enemies and slice them. I guess Zero likes this way of fighting; rather than using his Z-Buster to blast at Mavericks, he gets up close. He has an interesting collection of vocalizations with his jumps and attacks, including a “Yeah!” when he wall-kicks. Is it an effort to make Zero sound “cool” or something?

"Yeah, this is fun!"

"Yeah, I rock!"

"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah......!"   O__O

So after this session was finished, Sis and I decided that we will each have a turn playing Mega Man X4 each session: I will play as X and she will play as Zero on a separate file.

Post for the next session coming really soon.  Like, very soon.

My first playing session with Mega Man X4

I had so much fun! It feels good to be able to play a Mega Man X game again. What I definitely noticed was the difference in the graphics, the music, and the pause menu. Of course like I said last post, the graphics are 32-bit instead of 16-bit, and the colors are livelier. Mega Man X looks more 3-D, in fact. He also has vocalization when he jumps and gets hurt, and when I have him charge his X-Buster and fire, he says, “Take this!” When he gets low on life energy, he says, “Time to get serious!” And the interesting part of it? I can sort of believe it now when other people who’ve played this game had said he sounded like a girl. I am not bothered by it at all. I know he sounds different from the voice he has in Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X. But I am not offended by it at all. It actually makes him more adorable to sound like that.  :3  As you play the game, X’s life energy gauge is one green unit, not little yellow notches like from X1-3. When he’s a third low, it turns yellow, and less than a fifth, it turns red.

The music is GREAT! I love every track that is used in the game so far. I love the music from the Snow Base and Volcano stages, but all of the music in this game is a big step from the music that is from MMX 2, even MMX 3. Since this game was made for the PlayStaion, there was more room to work with bigger levels and music that makes a Mega Man fan want to go to the pause menu to listen to it for a while.

Okay, so this time unlike MMX 3, there is a specific mission for each of the eight stages. It is not the usual “get to the end of the stage and defeat the Maverick Boss” stage. But the game play is pretty straight forward, so that X won’t get lost. I took note of the names of the stages: Jungle, Cyber Space, Air Force, Volcano, Marine Base, Bio Lab, Military Train, and Snow Base.

The menu screen has a very different feel to it. No more of that green everywhere and the little X standing next to the Mega Head that represents extra lives. Now X’s picture is on the bottom left side, in anime style (It will be interesting to see Zero’s pic for the menu). The weapons are on top and the energy gauge is green, and on the bottom there are slots for other items that X needs to pick up. One of them is a Sub-Tank, and I guess the other ones are...I don't know what they are for yet.  They are empty slots that have the letter "E" on it, and I guess the E stands for Energy.  I don't have an instruction manual for this game (it didn't come with it, just the disc of the collection did).  I am sure the purpose will reveal itself when it is time...

I tried the Jungle stage first. What is new is that each stage is going to have two halves to it, two parts if you will. At the end of the first part is a door, and when you go through it, it takes you to the next part of the stage. The Jungle stage was not so complicated, so I was glad I started with that one. But the boss for that stage, the Spider, was very difficult. After another batch of extra lives, I had to move on to another stage, so I tried the Snow Base. I was blown away by the mysterious-sounding music for this area. Like in MMX 3, the icy level makes X slide and slip on the ground, so I had to be cautious and guide him carefully so he doesn’t fall into an endless pit or a spiky pit. I ended up defeating the Walrus Maverick , and X got his Frost Tower attack. This will come in handy when I go to the Volcano stage.

Next I tried the Air Force stage, and there’s a ride armor that shoots and has a hovering ability. I reached the boss on my second batch of lives, but Storm Owl is too difficult to beat without the correct weapon. The last stage I visited was Volcano, where the Frost Tower did prove to be useful for protecting X from the rolling fireballs. This happens in the second half of the stage. I didn’t reach Magma Dragoon yet. But hey, I got a Sub-Tank from the Snow Base and the Frost Tower from Walrus.

[Sigh] That’s a whole lot of Mega Man X stuff there. Since I am the one playing MMX 4, it may be easier for me to post about my individual sessions with the game, but if I need to, I can combine two or three sessions into one post if not much happen between the few sessions.

Yay for Mega Man X!!! Yay for Zero!!!  ^,^ 

Extra: I also tried out the unlocked game Mega Man: Battle and Chase, just to see how it was like. It’s pretty entertaining. I think it’s less frustrating than Sonic [racing]. I love the music for this game too. It is a nice reward for completing half of the Mega Man X Collection. To get used to the gameplay I played as the little Mega Man in a Time Attack race. It got frustrating because I was in a mountainous area. Well, I learned my lesson. I chose Bass and raced against Quickman in a track called the Sky Circuit Chase 1. I lost, and Bass was frowning. Nyawwww. Then I chose little Mega Man to race against Bass. I learned how to shoot from the race car to slow Base down. That really helped me out toward the end. There were five laps to race, and we were neck and neck. Near the end, Bass was ahead of Mega Man, but at the last few seconds, I slowed Bass down with the shooting ability, and made it in first place just in time. Yay for Mega Man!  ^w^ 

Mega Man X3 is finished; MMX 4 coming soon...

It took a grueling 20-22 hours (total, not all at once, mind you) spent on the battles against Sigma, but my sister finally got through it and finished Mega Man X3 last night.  She REALLY REALLY REALLY wants to watch the anime scenes in X4.  We know that the anime in this next game is from the 1990s, but it's still so cool, it's Mega Man X anime!!!

She couldn't wait and she started the game and played through the intro stage.  I was afraid she was going to hog this game from me too   0.o  .   But we are sharing the Mega Man X Collection, so it's fair that I let her play some of the game.  In a few days I'll be playing the game myself.  What's so cool is, you can play the game as either X or Zero!  I'll start with X because he's the main character.  I'll bet Sis wants to play as Zero, so maybe I'll let her do that.  I don't know if both characters have to be played to get to the final stages or not.  Some games are like that, such as the Hero Story and the Dark Story from Sonic Adventure 2  in order to get to the final chapter. 

I'm looking at Tuesday or Wednesday.  I'll write about the different feel Mega Man X4 has (it definitely has it.  The graphics are 32-bit instead of 16-bit, and X has newly-added vocalization).  So there will be new music, a new dialouge format, and the menu screen and one or two other new things.

And I know, I know, I still have to finish that darn Crisis Core.  I did say I was going to finish it by the end of July, didn't I.  Aw man.  I need to charge the battery of my PSP for that, though.  It might take one more session to finish it, or it might take two more.  Darn it, I don't wanna cry...

Sis is almost done with Mega Man X3 already O.O

Sorry for the delay in Cyborg Haven.  I was out of town for three days last week.

Also, my sister got to Mega Man X3 THREE DAYS IN A ROW before I can blog about those sessions with our favorite video game robot.  I really wanted to make detailed posts about these sessions, but seeing as it's been a week since I updated Cyborg Haven, I will have to condense them into one shorter post again.

Mega Man X is angry at me now...

So as punishment I will have to finish Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII this month once and for all (well it's not really a punishment but I've put it off for far too long, and I know some readers are itching to know how I experience finishing one of the best PSP titles ever).  I have to write a detailed post about my response for that one.  So without even further delay, here is an update on how my sis is doing on Mega Man X3:

Sunday night she was very close to finishing the game.  But Sigma is a pain in the butt.  In fact, I have been the one fighting Sigma in the first two Mega Man X games.  She had no "Sigma experience" and she thought she would be alble to finish the game that night.  It turned out she wasn't prepared.  Not to mention that her thumb was tired and sore by the time she finally reached Sigma.  All that wall-kicking tired out her thumbs.

It wasn't all frustration.  Zero made a couple more apperances to help X out, and we sqeeeeealed with joy.  (That's pretty much the only girly thing I do.  Squeal.)

Also, aside from finding all the rest of the Armor Parts for X on the same day, she also came across the Pink Capsules, the ones that hold the Enhancement Chips.  This is new; so there are eight capsules in total in this game.   There are the Armor Chip, the Foot Chip, the Energy Chip, and the Arm Chip.   However, the Dr. Light Hologram in the capsule said that X's body can only handle one enhancement chip.  "Go into the capsule if you are sure you want this power."   It took some thinking, and more playing, but eventually sis decided to get the Energy Chip.   It is very helpful for filling up the tanks speedily when there aren't much energy pills to find.  It was especially handy when X arrived at Dr. Doppler's hideout and had to fight him.  That bastard healed himself every ten seconds or so.  It is good to have all four Sub-Tanks full for that battle, and the fight against him is right after the second fight with the Maverick Bosses (or the Boss Rush, as YouTube's Clement calls it).   That's why that Energy Chip is so cool...

Next, Sis is going to try something different.  She will keep the Energy Chip for the first three stages of the Dr. Doppler Lab, but before she goes to the Sigma stage, she will see if she can have X get to the pink capsule that has the Arm Chip.  I thought that whichever Enhancement Chip she chose, she was stuck with.  But perhaps Dr. Light meant that X can handle one chip at a time.  Why didn't Dr. Light say that if that's how it was supposed to be?  It's worth a try.  X can go back to the earlier stages at any time if he needs to return to the pink capsules.  Against Sigma's Ultimate Battle Body, I think Sis has the right idea about getting the Arm Chip for this battle.  If it will work; it has to.

Continuing Mega Man X3…

Three playing sessions went by so far already, so I will have to combine all three playing sessions for MMX 3 into one condensed post. Which is fine by me. Sis REALLY wants to get to Mega Man X4 as soon as possible. She is more ambitious about it than I am. But hey, I applaud her determination. :)

She defeated six out of the eight Maverick Bosses, but currently she is struggling so much with the boss Crush Crawfish. That guy is so freakin’ annoying because he makes X use up all three of his Sub-Tanks before even a quarter of the battle is finished. In the middle of the stage X had to fight a difficult sub-boss, Vile. It can take a lot out of X and afterward, Sis had to refill the Sub-Tanks, which took around 20 minutes or more doing that in the Crush Crawfish stage.

She realized some time ago that the best stage to have X replenish his Sub-Tanks is the Toxic Seahorse stage. Right after the beginning, downstairs there are these purple turtle-like robots that shoot balls at X. They give out energy pills (or energy crystals, my sis likes to call them) almost every time. For a few times, they don’t give anything. However, X rarely gets hurt trying to fill up the Sub-Tanks with these guys, plus it only takes about five to seven minutes.

The final regular Maverick Boss that’s leftover is Volt Catfish. The level was difficult to get through, so Sis was saving that stage for last.

Update: Sis realized too late in the playing session that she indeed had to go to the Volt Catfish stage first, because it turns out that the Triad Thunder is Crush Crawfish’s weakness. Actually, it was my suggestion, but I wasn’t a hundred percent on it right away. It turned out I was right.  :)

Starting Mega Man X3, July 2nd

There was an anime intro movie! Yayyyyy!!!!!!!

So my sister tried  out the game.  She had X go to the Blast Hornet stage, which had a copious amount of energy pills for X if he were to fill up his Sub-Tanks. It was a short level. But she didn’t reach the boss yet.

Next sis tried the Blizzard Buffalo stage. I love the music for this stage, and I love how there is a purple sky and stars, and the crescent moon in the background. It is one of those stages where the surface is slippery, so this is something new that the MMX series has introduced as one of its obstacles for X. There is a Sub-Tank in this level that needs some sort of grabbing weapon to get (but I don’t know what kind of weapons exactly the Maverick Bosses would give after being defeated.)

What’s different about this game is that the background music fades out and then fades in again, rather than playing in a constant loop. The music also has better quality than that of MMX  and MMX2.

Does Mega Man X fly? I mean, he appears to beam down to the stage, right?

Next sis tried out the Crush Crawfish stage. One the first play of a MMX game it is a good idea to just try out the stages and get a good idea on its layout, the enemies, obstacles,…instant death spike locations (shudders). There is a place where there are two Mega Heads together, and that might need some grabbing weapon as well. Sis reached the boss, and it looks like X’s Body Armor is going to be verrrrry important for this battle.

Then she returned to the Neon Tiger stage again, to get further into the stage. We learned that X can ride on the flies. That’s how she got the first Sub-Tank. Those green flies are the key to getting to the other side or another ledge sometimes. After losing all her lives again in that stage, she returned to the Blizzard Buffalo stage because we knew there was another Sub-Tank there. In fact, though she couldn’t get the Sub-Tank yet, she was able to get to the first capsule, which turned out to be the Leg Parts. Yay!!!! I pointed it out to her, and it took several tries, but she made it and got to the capsule. The new Leg Parts allows X to dash in mid-air, left, right, and up. After losing the rest of her extra lives to Blizzard Buffalo’s brutal attacks, she started the stage again and was able to get the second Sub-Tank using the dash jump and the upward dash.

I wonder if I should give this game a try myself…

Finished Mega Man X2!!!!!

I finished the game June 29th. I thought I was going to need to try again, but I got so far that I decided to see if I can finished it, What the hell, I’ll go for it, I said. I have all I need, so I’ll go on ahead and learn what’s around for next time. It turned out that it wasn’t a waste of four hours…well I had to eat dinner in the middle of it because I didn’t like to play hungry. Read on for the details…

I still had a couple more upgrades to get before venturing out to the X-Hunters’ Base. I wanted to get the last Sub-Tank located at the Central Computer stage. It was difficult because even though I learned that I needed to use the Fire Dash move, I kept jumping too soon or falling right before I reached the edge of the wall. After several tries, I ran out of fire energy and had to EXIT and start the stage again with full WE for the fire weapon.

After I got that last Sub-Tank, I tried to get the Heart Tank above the spikes in the Dinosaur Tank stage. I lost cluster after cluster of lives before I finally did a good long dash jump and then the fire dash move….and it seemed like I made it, but I fell into the spikes again   >=(   But I got it the next time.

I didn’t bother to get the Heart Tank in the Crystal Mine stage, it was just too frustrating. So I went ahead and started the X-Hunter Base. It was refreshing to hear music different from the music for the other stages. I had to use a lot of skills, especially the dash jump, and even the crystal hunter weapon got some good use. I had to have X use it to crystallize some Mavericks to get to an area that he couldn’t reach…

This Mega Man X2 game is the first one to introduce the choose-your-battle stage of the Maverick bosses. This is the order of the Maverick bosses I fought:

1. Crystal Snail

2. Morpho Moth

3. Flame Stag

4. Magna Centipede

5. Overdrive Ostrich

6. Wheel Gator

7. Bubble Crab

8. Wire Sponge

Gosh, I hate that Wire Sponge! Next to Magna Centipede, anyway. But it’s those little plants that Wire Sponge throws out that annoy me because of shooting him, I have to shoot those plants first or they’ll hurt X. And if I touch Wire Sponge at all, it hurts him to much so I have to avoid him, of course. I’m glad that there were at least four small energy pills after every battle so I can survive up until the last boss. Then, after that stage, I went to the Dinosaur Tank stage to fill up all four of my Sub-Tanks really quickly. I ‘m glad I did, because the next thing I knew, I’d be at the final stage.

My sister wants to be the one to start Mega Man X3. That’s the one where we can play as Zero. Since we’re playing the Mega Man X Collection together, I’ll blog about the stages and bosses she encounters, and the things I notice that she isn’t while she plays (because I make a good backseat gamer).

Returning to Mega Man X2…upgrading…

It’s been a while since I played a successful session with MMX2, but last Wednesday I was able to get X’s last capsule (the arm parts) and then from there started getting the other heart tanks and another Sub-Tank. I still have difficulty getting the heart tank in the Dinosaur Tank stage and the fourth Sub-Tank in the Central Computer stage, so I will have to try again later. But I wouldn’t have known that that was where these items were located (and how to get to them) if it wasn’t for this video I found on YouTube.  In the second half of the video, Clement shows viewers how to get the Arm Parts, the leftover heart tanks, and the last two Sub-Tanks.  Here it is.  (It might buffer on this page, so if you want to see it on the YouTube page if the buffering takes awhile, then see the video here .)





     Thank you, the Great Clement, for providing these walkthroughs of Mega Man X2 for entertainment and for help for the stuck gamer.
I can probably play through the rest of the game on my own, but if I need more help, I know where to go :)

Mega Man X2 on June 11th

I should've posted this last week.   o.o

I only needed to defeat Crystal Snail and Magna Centipede before the final showdowns. I had X go to the Dinosaur Tank so he can collect energy for his two Sub-Tanks. That’s what I forgot to do the last time I went to fight Crystal Snail and ended up losing all of X’s lives twice over.

Like my sister did before, I decided to use only the X-Buster for fighting the snail, since I knew that full Charge Shot works well enough against him. In a life with a good turnout, I used a sub tank to have an advantage over Crystal Snail. I could tell when he was going to charge, but not the direction he would charge, so occasionally X got hit. Eventually I defeated him and X got the weapon Crystal Hunter.

Next was Magna Centipede. Neither I nor my sister even came across Magna Centipede yet, so we didn’t know what kind of attacks he was going to do. This stage, the Central Computer stage, was the hardest of all the other stages because of the endless booby traps that cover the place. It was pretty darn frustrating; I lost cluster after cluster of extra lives. There are two sub-bosses in this stage; the first sub-boss, the cyber sword, is not too difficult, but the second one, which looked like a bug-dinosaur?????was even more difficult. I lost a life and then I had to have X use a sub tank just to stick around.

Then X finally met Magna Centipede. After several tries and another cluster of extra lives, I figured out that this boss was weakest against the Silk Shooter. But he kept kicking X’s ass anyway. It was hard to get Magna Centipede while he was on the walls. I figured that X should hit him with his fire weapon just so this boss gets hit, and then when he’s on the ground, get him with the Silk Shooter. It got harder as the battle when along though. Magna Centipede occasionally attracts X with his magnetic powers and makes him heavier, so that X can’t jump as high and his wall kicks are sort of useless. It was a big challenge, but as long as I knew what to do for next time, and come prepared with at least one full Sub-Tank, X would win for sure. The weapon he got after the fight was called the Magnet Mine. I still need to figure out how it works.

I think the final capsule is in the Volcanic Stage. I believe I have to use the second beetle to get to the third Mega-Head. There are moving platforms that may take X up to where the capsule may be. There are two. The beetle doesn’t come back after it goes into the volcanic zone. Then I have to Exit and go through the rising lava part again, in which I always fail at least twice before making it on the third try, IF I make it.

So I only defeated the snail and the centipede, but the X-Hunters’ base is actually a challenge. I can’t complete unless X gets those Arm Parts. Violen is the toughest of the three, and he is first. Am I still going to fight the eight bosses as well?

Mega Man X and Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X

So here it is.  Finally.  :3 

On Friday May 28th and later that night, I beat MM:MHX and MMX, respectively. I kinda figured I’d finish the PSP remake first because it was much easier to play than the original game.

It took me a couple more playing sessions to finished MM:MHX. Wednesday I started the D-Rex stage (Sigma Palace 3) which it turned out this was where X finds Zero and fights Vile. In the original game it was in Sigma Palace 1.  Anyway, D-Rex wasn’t hard to beat here. Then I had about 15 more minutes to play because I had to head to the gym. But I wanted to try and finish the game. Wolf Sigma still proved pretty difficult, maybe since I tried to rush it. I saved that last battle for a later time. At least I didn’t have to start from the very beginning of Sigma’s Palace.

Then Friday afternoon I had some time to go ahead and give it another try. I always finished uh, Sigma’s pet’s battle fairly quickly, and the first battle with Sigma was harder because he shot yellow bullets at X in addition to his usual attack of jumping from wall to wall with his saber. It varied how well I did each time because the pattern of his attacks change each time I lost a life. That’s what makes both games challenging. I lost some lives, got up to 8, lost a few more lives, and then I didn’t have to use a Sub-Tank until the Wolf Sigma battle. I realized he’s not that hard to fight after all; I just needed to know where to go whenever he attacked and watch out. He didn’t spit electric balls at X like in the original game. But that’s alright.

I want to compare the endings of both games. Story-wise it is the same, but the epilogue’s words are quite different… (narrator versus Dr. Thomas Light)

I finished MM: MHX first, so I’ll start with that one. Fighting Sigma here is more fun that in the original, that’s for sure. After Sigma’s defeat, the game cuts to an anime ending scene with X looking over the cliff he stands on, watching Sigma’s Palace fall apart. The credits begin. The anime switches from X to Dr. Cain watching Dr. Light’s message of X’s creation and situation.

In the original MMX after X defeats Sigma, X still stands on the edge of the cliff watching Sigma’s palace collapse, but there is narrating text rising up from the bottom of the screen, an epilogue of a sort. It says X is “exhausted” and must he keep fighting, and asks the player “How long will X’s pain last?” and those suggest that he seems human. Mega Man X is capable of feeling tired and experiencing physical and emotional pain, especially after losing his bosom buddy :3 Zero.     

Then the game shows X running down the highway in the late night, and slowly the sky begins to light up as the sun is rising. Now the credits are showing, and then there is also a list of the mavericks that X fought in each stage. Then the Boss Mavericks are listed, along with an image of them. Then Vile, then Sigma, and then last and the best, Zero. My sis and I went like, “Awwwww, Zerooooo.” It was sort of an In Memoriam sort of moment. Finally the list says “And YOU as Mega Man X” as X does his dash move into the new day. Then the actual credits begin.

---------------SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!  Kinda sorta...----------------

Comparing Zero's death in both video games:

In MMX, X only kneels down next to Zero, and only Zero speaks.

“My power is fading fast…You are more powerful than I thought. Maybe you will defeat Sigma…”

In MM: MHX, after X defeats Vile, he runs up to Zero, kneels down and picks him up, holds him close so he can see him and talk. X talks too; it is a conversation between both Reploids, rather than a one-character speech. The background music is piano; it is the same song that plays during this scene in the original game. It sounds much more endearing an emotional here. In this game there are voice actors, so you hear X and Zero’s voices, and Zero sounds like he’s really in pain (because robots don’t feel pain, but Reploids are a kind that do). Their facial expressions can change. X wants to get Zero fixed but Zero tells him to leave him and defeat Sigma.

ZERO: “I’m always telling you to be more careful. Now look at me…”

X: “Don’t talk, Zero! We gotta get you fixed up!”

ZERO: “No… [you go on ahead]. Sigma is close…very close…”

I didn’t notice (after so many times of getting to that part in the original) that Zero’s lower body is missing until I got to this part in Maverick Hunter X. I thought, Oh, man, he’s in really bad shape. Where are his leg—oh.”

What really makes it harder for me to watch is the part when Zero stops talking. X, (and whoever plays the game) hear only the electric sound coming from the broken Zero. Then his head falls limp in X’s arms…I know they're robots/Reploids but  it's still emotional and sad.  I would have to say that the game was enhanced in so many ways in this PSP version.

@,@