Highlights
- Mega Man X7 had a broken camera, shoddy controls, and difficult-to-avoid enemies, making it a disappointing entry in the franchise.
- Mega Man X6 had weak gameplay and broken areas, forcing players to reset their systems. It felt rushed and unloved compared to its predecessors.
- Mega Man X8 was a return to form for the series, striking a balance between older side-scroller gameplay and modern action-platformer elements. It was a strong ending to the main line Mega Man X series.
The Mega Man franchise is one of the most beloved in gaming history, a reputation it has fostered over decades of quality content. Of course, not every Mega Man project is brilliant (and more than a few are truly bad) but the list of titles that achieved critical and financial success is still impressively long.
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The Blue Bomber didn’t just hit it big on his initial series and then start coasting, either. The Mega Man X franchise, for instance, has some entries that rank way up there among the best of the best, although not all of them hit the mark. But which one of the eight main series entries was the greatest of them all, and which ones fell well short of the franchise’s lofty expectations?
Updated on November 14, 2023 by Mark Sammut: The specifications have been added for every Mega Man X game, including their release dates and average length according to HowLongToBeat.
8 Mega Man X7
Metascore: 58
Camera angles were traditionally never a thing that Mega Man X fans had to think about, let alone worry about, but then X7 came around and made both of those statements false. Having to fidget with a broken camera while being swarmed by enemies that are already difficult to avoid thanks to shoddy controls is far from the ideal way to enjoy a game like this.
The addition of Axl was a nice touch. He’s a cool-looking new protagonist and there was plenty of potential there. Unfortunately for him, his first starring role was in a game that was quite underwhelming compared to its predecessors, which sort of short-circuited his career going forward.
7 Mega Man X6
Metascore: 65
While its visuals offer plenty of promise, Mega Man X6 doesn’t offer a gaming experience to match. Not only is the gameplay pretty weak, but it’s also totally broken in some areas. Never should a player have to reset their system because they got trapped in an area, yet that is a notorious element of this Mega Man X title.
There is admittedly a bit of fun to be had in X6, but when considering those aforementioned glaring flaws it becomes pretty clear that the almost-always-impressive Capcom turned out something forced, rushed, and just unloved with this entry.
6 Mega Man X5
Metascore: 76
There probably aren’t a ton of gamers out there clamoring for a timer to be added to their favorite series, but then again it did work splendidly for Majora’s Mask. Mega Man X5 may not have been nearly as successful with the concept, but it was a respectable attempt at innovation, and the game is pretty fun overall.
Much like Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, X5 was a supposed conclusion to its respective series that wasn’t even remotely close to its final entry. It served as a fond (temporary) farewell to a series that was up to that point pretty much rock solid, but alas, there was still money to be made and so X carried on...
5 Mega Man X3
Metascore: 89 (Mega Man X Legacy Collection)
There’s something about Mega Man X3 that makes it a bit polarizing within the fandom. Some might rank it near the bottom, while others will at the very least rank it right smack in the middle. Those in the former group are probably more swayed by the fact that X and X2 came just before it and they’re both some of the best in Mega Man history.
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The general hope for any video game sequel is that it expands on its predecessors in interesting ways while still maintaining its essence. X3 expands quite a bit, like with all the armor modules and the first opportunity to play as Zero, but there is admittedly something not quite as exciting or interesting about the level design and, really, the overall experience.
4 Mega Man X8
Metascore: 68
Just when Mega Man X fans thought that the franchise was down for the count, Capcom went back to the drawing board and came up with one of the best entries in the entire series. Mega Man X8 marks a return to what made its most successful predecessors as beloved as they are. It did away with much of the 3D elements of X7 and struck a nimble middle ground between older generation side-scroller and modern generation action-platformer.
Of course, this actually was the last title in the main line Mega Man X series, so far at least. But if this is the way that X is going to go out, at least he did it by walking into the sunset rather than off a cliff.
3 Mega Man X2
Metascore: 89 (Mega Man X Legacy Collection)
The original sequel in the Mega Man X series offers everything a fan might want. It innovates and adds to the original without doing anything to compromise what made it worthy of a sequel in the first place. The new armor looks amazing, the levels are awesome, the bosses are challenging but fair, and there’s even an unlockable Shoryuken for some Street Fighter crossover akin to Mega Man X's Hadouken.
Another cool addition to this entry is the search for Zero’s parts. Scouring levels for hidden goodies is not on every gamer’s wishlist, but in this instance, it's optional, which not only gives anyone who’s disinterested in scavenger hunts a choice, it offers different outcomes for extra replayability.
2 Mega Man X4
Metascore: 89 (Mega Man X Legacy Collection)
The Mega Man X series’ official transition to PlayStation gave gamers a whole host of new elements to enjoy. X4 marks the first title in which players can choose between Mega Man X and Zero, which, of course, was the precursor to an entire series of beloved spin-off games. It was also a way of doubling the gameplay and immersing fans deeper into the game’s universe.
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Although many franchises that moved onto 3D systems transitioned to full 3D themselves, Mega Man X4 stuck with a hybrid format, combining the familiar 2D style with some great-looking 3D elements. It was a great choice on Capcom’s part because this game has an argument for one of the best PlayStation titles ever.
1 Mega Man X
Metascore: 89 (Mega Man X Legacy Collection)
Sometimes the first entry in a series is simply the best of them all, even if there are seven subsequent sequels and a number of spin-offs to follow. It’s not like Mega Man X is head and shoulders above all the rest, but it was just so flawlessly crafted that it’s difficult to place anything above it.
This game took all the great elements of the previous Mega Man entries and supercharged them, executing on all fronts, from the new upgrades to the character designs to the levels to the soundtrack, which is an essential component of all the greatest Mega Man titles. It was one of the strongest SNES titles, and it certainly ranks up there with the best action-platformers in gaming history.
