Mega Man X3

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Mega Man X3
Composer(s)
Original:
Kinuyo Yamashita
Arranged:
Toshihiko Horiyama
Shusaku Uchiyama
Yoshino Aoki
Makoto Tomozawa
SeriesMega Man X
Platform(s)Super NES
PlayStation
Sega Saturn
Windows
Mobile phone
Release
December 1, 1995
  • SNES
    • JP: December 1, 1995
    • NA: January 4, 1996
    • EU: May 15, 1996
    PlayStation/Saturn
    • JP: April 26, 1996
    • EU: March 1997
    Windows
    • JP: March 28, 1997
    • NA: October 5, 1998
    • EU: 1998
    Mobile phones
    • JP: July 1, 2010
platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Mega Man X3 (stylized as MEGA MAN X³), known as Rockman X3 (ロックマンX3) in Japan, is a

PAL regions in 1996. It is the third game in the Mega Man X series and the last to appear on the SNES. Mega Man X3 takes place in a fictional future in which the world is populated by humans and intelligent robots called "Reploids". Like their human creators, some Reploids involve themselves in destructive crime and are labelled as "Mavericks". After twice defeating the Maverick leader Sigma, the heroes X and Zero
must battle a Reploid scientist named Dr. Doppler and his utopia of Maverick followers.

Mega Man X3 follows the tradition of both the

platform game. The player traverses a series of eight stages in any order while gaining various power-ups and taking the special weapon of each stage's end boss. Mega Man X3 is the first game in the series in which Zero is a playable character (albeit in limited form) in addition to X. Like its predecessor, Mega Man X2, X3 features the "Cx4" chip to allow for some limited 3D vector graphics
and transparency effects.

A

Mega Man X Legacy Collection
which released worldwide in 2018.

Gameplay

A charged-up Zero approaches an enemy in Toxic Seahorse's stage. Mega Man X3 is the first game in the series to feature Zero as a playable character.

Mega Man X3 adopts the gameplay of

boss fight; defeating this boss will add a new special weapon to the player's arsenal.[1][2][3] Each boss is particularly weak to one special weapon, so the player may complete the stages in an order that best exploits these weaknesses.[4] The player character X retains certain abilities from past games. Namely, he is able to run, jump, dash, cling to and scale most walls, and fire his chargeable "X-Buster" arm cannon and special weapons.[3] The player can further upgrade X's abilities by collecting armor parts (head, body, legs, and X-Buster) found within capsules in some levels.[2] Capsules containing special chips add new abilities as well. X is generally only able to benefit from one chip at a time, allowing the player to customize the character as needed.[5]

Like the two previous Mega Man X games, the player can locate power-ups such as "Heart Tanks" for extending the maximum life energy and "Sub-Tanks" for storing energy for later use.[3] Also returning are powerful "Ride Armor" vehicles that can be piloted in some of the stages.[2] Items hidden within certain levels can be collected which allow the player to summon vehicles at any time.[3] Mega Man X3 is the first game in the series which allows the player to play as X's ally Zero, although his playability is more limited compared to later games in the series.[6][7] Zero can be called to take X's place during nearly any stage, but he cannot collect any of X's armor parts or power-ups, and cannot fight mid-stage or end-stage bosses, with only one exception that grants access to a secret weapon for X. If Zero is ever defeated in battle, he will be unable to be called upon for the rest of the game.[2][3][4]

Plot

See also:
List of Mega Man X characters

The story of Mega Man X3 is set during the 22nd century (the year "21XX"), in which after Mega Man X2 humans coexist with intelligent robots called "Reploids" (replicant

Dr. Cain, the inventor of the Reploids, establishes a military taskforce called the "Maverick Hunters" to prevent it.[1] Even after two successful efforts by the Hunters X and Zero to stop a Maverick leader named Sigma from attempting to exterminate the human race, Maverick activity seems to continue.[1] However, the threat of the Mavericks is later neutralized thanks to the technology of the Reploid scientist Dr. Doppler, which prevents the Mavericks from going berserk.[1] The reformed Reploids form a utopia near their new mentor called "Dopple Town".[8] It seemed that all is well until the former Reploids suddenly revert and once again begin causing trouble, even going so far as to attack Hunter headquarters. Doppler is held accountable, and X and Zero are sent out to contain the new threat.[1][9]

Once the two heroes defeat Doppler and the forces that have sworn allegiance to him, the scientist comes to his senses and realizes all the damage that he has done. He explains that Sigma is alive as a computer virus, and that Doppler was corrupted in order to create a new body for Sigma.[10] X seeks out Sigma, and after an intense battle, the Sigma Virus in its pure form chases X in an attempt to infect and possess him.[11] Once X finds himself at a dead end, one of two things may happen. In one of the game's endings, Zero takes Doppler's true antivirus software and uploads it onto his sabre offscreen. He rushes in to save X just in time and causes Sigma to explode, destroying the lab as they evacuate.[12] However, if Zero is injured during the game, Doppler instead uses his own body as the antivirus and sacrifices himself for the greater good.[13]

Development and release

By the time production began,

Sega Mega Drive. Inafune recalled experiencing "psychological turmoil" over allowing "outsiders" to handle the game's development.[14] Inafune's only illustrative designs for the game were the characters X, Zero, and Vile. Inafune admitted being very "possessive" of Zero, which he had a vested interest in since the character's creation for the first Mega Man X.[14] All of the designs for the game's other characters, bosses, and its minor enemies were divided among artists Hayato Kaji, Tatsuya Yoshikawa, Shinsuke Komaki, and Kazushi Itou.[14]

Mega Man X3 is graphically similar to its two predecessors, and even utilizes the SNES Cx4 from Mega Man X2. This digital signal processor cartridge chip allows for basic 3D graphical effects such as rotation, enlarging, and shrinking of wireframe objects.[16][6][17][18] In Japan, the game was released on December 1, 1995.[14] In Europe it was released on May 15, 1996.[19] It was released on January 4, 1996 in North America.[20]

A

Mega Man X Legacy Collection which was released on July 24, 2018, worldwide and July 26, 2018, in Japan.[30][31]

The game's soundtrack was composed by freelancer Kinuyo Yamashita.[32] Although the Minakuchi Engineering Staff is credited in the game's soundtrack album, Yamashita worked for them in a freelance capacity rather than being an actual employee of the company.[33] The Japanese 32-bit editions feature two J-pop vocal songs by Kotono Shibuya: the opening theme "One More Time" and the ending theme "I'm Believer".[34] Both the SNES and 32-bit versions of the musical score were included on the second disc of Capcom Music Generation: Rockman X1 ~ X6 soundtrack released by Suleputer in 2003.[35]

Reception

Press reception for Mega Man X3 was mostly positive. Reviewers praised the game's tried-and-true gameplay, graphics, control, and the option to play as Zero.[4][6][17][18][36][37][38] Mike Weigand of GamePro was generally pleased with the game, and, though he admitted it brought little new to the franchise, enjoyed the increased difficulty, tight controls, and new special effects. Weigand summarized, "It may be routine for experience players, but anyone who hasn't played a 16-bit game in the series will discover Mega magic."[17] GameFan reviewer Dave Halverson was equally impressed by the "speed, diversity, special FX, and power up's," calling it "a fitting 16-bit finale to a great series".[38] IGN similarly asserted Mega Man X3 as "a solid send-off for the 16-bit era", naming it the 67th-best SNES of all time on a 2011 list.[7] Two of Electronic Gaming Monthly's reviewers considered the game an improvement over X2 with its larger levels and huge number of secrets, while the other two focused on its overt similarity to previous games in the series.[37]

Some felt Mega Man X3 was too similar to past Mega Man games.

1UP.com writer Jeremy Parish thought that the game differed little from past releases, complaining that it was "more of the same, but with a kitchen-sink design philosophy that made every single level feel like a sluggish, ill-designed mess."[46] GameSpot editors Christian Nutt and Justin Speer specifically felt the number of power-ups and bonuses overshadowed the gameplay, barely benefiting from the addition of Zero as a limited playable character.[4]

The port versions of the game suffered more negative criticism than their SNES counterpart. The level designs and overall gameplay were highly criticized by

letterbox borders in the Saturn version, which horizontally reduces the screen size.[1][24] In 2018, Complex listed the game #73 on its "The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time".[47]

The North American and the European SNES version of Mega Man X3 are very rare due to their limited run and the fact that they were released during declining support of the console.[4][48] Despite higher-than-expected retail orders for their SNES products, Capcom had lowered its shipping of 16-bit titles during the fall 1995 release quarter due to supply and demand.[49] To give the game a chance of turning a profit in spite of its limited production run, Capcom had to price it higher than any previous Mega Man title.[50] In more recent times, Mega Man X3 cartridges fetch very large sums of money on collector and auction websites such as eBay.[6][48][26] Despite game's innovation over including Zero as a playable character, the team noted that there were little differences between him and X which led to a redesign in the next sequel, Mega Man X4, as a swordsman rather than a gunner like the other protagonist.[51]

References

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  9. ^ Capcom (January 1996). Mega Man X3 (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Capcom. Narrator: The Mavericks who were supposed to have been neutralized by the Neuro Computer suddenly appeared and began to riot... At Maverick Hunter Headquarters, all the intelligence indicated that Dr. Doppler was the mastermind behind the invasion. Soon, the call went out to X and Zero destroy the invading Mavericks and bring Dr. Doppler to justice.
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  11. ^ Capcom (January 1996). Mega Man X3 (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Capcom. Sigma: N... No!! This can't be! I can't even defeat you with this magnificent body..?! There seems to be only one choice now... I'll possess you!!
  12. ^ Capcom (January 1996). Mega Man X3 (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Capcom. Zero: How do you like that, Sigma? I picked up an Anti-Sigma virus program from Doppler and used it on my Beam Sabre! Sorry about the delay, X. I thought the program might be the only thing that would work against Sigma.
  13. ^ Capcom (January 1996). Mega Man X3 (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Capcom. Doppler: How do you feel now, Sigma? Did you like my special vaccine for the Sigma virus? X, I'm sorry to have given you so much trouble. I know I can never really atone for what I've done... But I will try to set things right by taking Sigma with me!!
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External links

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