Mega Man X is a notable entry as it marks the Mega Man series' debut on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (or Super Famicom, as the console was called in Japan). However, as this was released in the same year as Mega Man 6, which would see release on the NES (which served as the Blue Bomber's farewell to the 8-bit console), Capcom decided to make the first Super NES Mega Man a spin-off set 100 years after the events of the classic Mega Man series. The result is Mega Man X, a game that would be so loved, it would become a series of its own spawning eight games as well as two GBC side games, an RPG, and even a mobile game that crosses over with other Mega Man series.
The game's story is represented in the instruction manual: Dr. Cain, an archeologist, finds Mega Man X, who is known as X for short, in the abandoned ruins of Dr. Light's lab. After being amazed that X has been given the ability to think and make his own decisions, Dr. Cain decides to replicate X's systems and makes the reploids. However, when some of them go maverick and harm humans, the Maverick Hunters are formed, with one reploid, Sigma, leading them. However, it would not be long until Sigma goes maverick and takes some of the Hunters with him, he has decided to declare humanity inferior, and wants all humans eradicated due to the species limiting the growth and potential of all reploids. X decides to join the Maverick Hunters, now led by Zero, out of guilt of what he has caused, joining the battle against Sigma and his forces.
This game follows the same gameplay as Mega Man 5 and 6, as it basically follows the same formula of going to the end of each stage and destroying the boss, with the eight bosses giving X a new weapon. With Mega Man X, Capcom decides to add some new features. The main feature is the upgrading of X's abilities through capsules hidden in four stages, where after meeting a hologram of Dr. Light, X can enter it and gain the upgrade, which not only changes his appearance (as the upgrade changes Mega Man's sprite to equip the armor piece the upgrade is associated with), but grants new abilities like dashing, reducing damage, and even charging boss weapons. Also, hidden in the stages are heart tanks, which increase X's energy bar, allowing him more health, and sub tanks hidden in four of the stages, which are the game's replacement for E-Tanks, only instead of disappearing, they are kept, as they can be refilled by picking up energy restoring items gotten by destroying enemies or finding them when X's energy is full, and you no longer need to have a weapon equipped to restore its energy. While it helps, it does make the game learn more on the easy side (in fact, the game can be played without collecting all but the legs upgrade, which is always mandatory due to it being in the middle of Chill Penguin's stage, which can make the game harder).
However, it still has the gameplay Mega Man is known for, and the characters and music are great (Spark Mandrill's theme is rocking).
