When it comes to compilations and collections of games, there is three things people want to know. What content is included in the collection? How well do the games play compared to the original? Is it all worth the price? Well I'm here to try and help answer those questions for you. Mega Man X Legacy collection is just like the previous Mega Man Legacy Collection, it's a celebration of a series of games. While this does acknowledge 30 years of Mega Man, this also celebrates 25 years of the X series coincidentally. This time Capcom themselves decide to handled it instead of handing it off to another developer like last few times. But I'm sure all you wanna know is did they do a good job? Okay fine, let's find out.


If you have played past compilations of games before, then you know what to expect right? A collection of games, some official artwork from said games, and a whole mess of other extra content related to the title. Well yeah, we got that and then some more. I don't mean to make it more than it seems but the presentation is off the charts. The game has a museum that features plenty of content. Artwork from the four games is a given but there there is more interesting stuff like promotional art just for this and a product media history. You can view things such as toys and soundtrack products here too which are a lot of things I never saw ever until now. Then you got video trailers so old that the stuff featured show things not in the final game which is always interesting for a fan to see. One thing I really like here is the music player. Most collections have them but this one went a step further. Not only can you listen to songs but they was nice enough to add a looping demo video to watch as you listen, complete with a border image specifically for this. Nice touch!


The only thing I should mention about the museum is that even though both versions of the collection feature different games, some of the content are shared in both. I guess the goal is to maintain consistency between both of them. Stuff like the toy products and the Day Of Σ anime video are in both collections. So I suppose that's good because no matter which one you play, you only have to switch to get to your chosen game. To me this is nice that they did this, I used this as a music player to just fall asleep to, no joke. Bottom line, this presentation is good. I would show more, but I don't want to spoil you.



Now here is some other things people expect from a collection. When it comes to viewing the game, options for how you do so is common. So we have stuff like adjusting the game screen size, and here you have three options. The most preferred one is probably the one many call "Pixel Prefect" because it uses the original game's projected resolution and scales it by a integer making it look it's best on higher resolution screens. Then it has the full screen option which is probably the least used one by many because it stretches the image to fit the entire screen which depending on your screen can be non proportional. The default one is the most common which just fits the screen vertically to a 4:3 which is somewhere in the middle. Other than that, the games are display at 1080P resolution which is good. One odd exception is that the three Playstation titles do not support the "pixel perfect" resolution in handheld mode. Why only in handheld mode, I don't know but I wish I did.


The other thing the game has is a filter option. One for smoothing out pixels in case you dislike those sharp jagged pointy squares on your screen. Or you can use the one that tries to accurately emulate a CRT television with those scanlines on your game which is probably how most people remember playing these games anyway. To be honest, it's not much but at least it's optional, The scanlines look accurate and the smoothing may not be for majority of players, but I think it least works with the Playstation titles. There is also border art you can use if you don't want black space around your game. Regardless of the game you play, it's possible to choose any of the four default images for each game and two secret ones that must be unlocked. Honestly this is more effort than the last two compilation games Capcom released including Street Fighter and original Mega Man one. It's not much but it's simple and acknowledged.


If I didn't already mention how I like the music player, I can always tell you again. But this time I only can say one good thing and bad thing about the audio in this. The good news is that while it's hard to believe, there is new music in this game. That's right, this collection actually has it's own exclusive soundtrack. Some of them is used in the newly added X Challenge mode which I will explain more about later. Some people may not like it but I do, is not like they had to do it but they did. Compared to others who just use maybe recycle music or just try to alter existing ones to sound different, they made new music here even if some are remixes. Weather or not it's enjoyed, it's better than just being lazy and recycling old music to use as a menu or something. It shows they cared a bit more to spend time on it. The only thing I wish they did is make the music player loop songs just like the game, endlessly with no pause in between.


The bad thing I have to mention is the three Playstation games. The problem could be noticed in Mega Man X6. When you listen to the intro song, it's been replaced by a newly composed song. Is not the one originally used when the game first released, neither is the ending. This also is the case for X5 and X4 when you play the Japanese version of each game, the opening and ending had lyrical songs that's been replaced with the ones used internationally for both. It's probably a copyright issue but it's still disappointing that you couldn't hear them. While is not a huge deal, it's still bad it couldn't be done. None of this is game changing but I just wanted to point out those things in case hardcore fans wanted to know. New players may think this is how it originally was in the past until you look up info on it.


Well now that we got this far, I bet you are wondering how well does the games play compared to the original. Well I'm not gonna critique each game here, only talk about what's different. If you want to know more about each game, seek a review on them. To continue, each game is very functional. It plays the same as I can remember it. First off, Mega Man X3 is based on the Super Nintendo version, so you don't get any animations or Playstation quality music. While I know the game's developer is listed as Capcom, I found M2 company logo in the credits of this game. So I can probably say they was responsible for the SNES games on here. If it's true, I'm glad because I think their devs do a great job in retro game ports.


The five Playstation titles also play just like the original including almost non existing load times. These games even support rumble feature and stylized buttons for the system you play on. Though there is pc ports of these games available, I can't be sure which is used. One feature that is included is the option to select alternate versions of each game. You can play Mega Man X or Rock man X. (That's what he is called in Japan.) The only difference here obviously the language changes and the name of some characters. Never heard the Japanese dub of Mega Man X4, now you can. Though Mega Man X7 and X8 have more language options like Spanish and English UK! Is it any difference than English US I dunno, but they all play as you remember them with no gameplay altered. Even glitches still work as usual. One oddity is in Mega Man X5, originally during localization the names featured for the bosses was names based off the Guns N Roses rock band. But in this collection, they use their Japanese names instead.


The only thing that may be worth discussing is the new game mode called "X Challenge" which is exclusive to this collection. In this mode, the player gets to use a modified version of Mega Man from X6 to fight a combination of two bosses from any of the games 1-6. Here you can pick a stage, each of them consist of three consecutive battles that must be challenged to complete that stage. That means you have to survive all six bosses to actually win one course. It's like some fan game you find online made in shockwave flash or one of those M.U.G.E.N games. Even the armor he wears is just a pallet swap of the Ultimate Armor in that game, though oddly enough, the collection has artwork for this special armor. I love it, it's guilty pleasure. To many, this may seem like a lazy copy and paste which is acknowledged but doesn't mean it can't be fun. They even tried adding silly names for the boss teams like "AURORA BOT-REALIS"


You can use your X-Buster and Z-Saber to fight them off if you want to show off or you can select from three special weapons as well. This adds a layer of depth to the game by having you test your knowledge of using bosses weakness against them. But you can only choose three, that means you have to choose wisely. Picking weakness isn't the key here, it helps to choose which gets you the most usefulness in general. Not to mention you have limited ammo and three lives as well as three difficulties and online leader boards for true Maverick Hunters. I also got good news for Nintendo Switch players! You don't have to feel left out on the "achievement hunting" cause the game features Hunter Badges, so thank Capcom for adding that if you wanted it. Now go show the world what kind of Maverick Hunter you are!



So we established the game has everything that modern collections should have and even more going above and beyond to make the game faithful. But I bet you're wondering what about people who never played Mega Man X back in the 1990s. New comers not used to this may find it too hard and challenging which is fair. Well Capcom didn't leave you out "random individual who hasn't played yet." Introducing the newly added "Rookie Hunter" mode, now even new comers... I mean Rookie Maverick Hunters can join the fight for everlasting peace. The game makes adjustments to lower the difficulty of game. The only odd thing is each game has it's own rules. From the first three reducing damage and maxing out the lives counter, to making pitfalls return you to safety or adding extra platforms over pitfalls inlater games. Anyway, it's a new way for new players to enjoy the game or veterans to play a new way.


There is some small things I kinda hoped could have been done. One thing is the lack of useful tools like a save state or rewind function like some other modern compilations have, probably would have been appreciated. The games them self have a save system, 1-3 have passwords, and the rest used file slots. Saving is possible in 1-3 though it's only used for auto insert passwords and each regional version have their own set of save data. The thing I wanted most are two extra games related to this series that are missing. Mega Man Maverick Hunter X is a Playstation Portable game and remake of the first game in the series, which is where the OVA Day of Σ was first featured in along with extra OVA scenes not featured here. Then there is Mega Man X Command Mission, a RPG style game developed by Capcom's division responsible for Breath Of Fire series which I never got to play. Last and certainly least, there is Mega Man Xtreme 1 & 2 for Gameboy. It may not happen but would have been nice additions. It could have opened it's appeal to more players looking to play these but one can only wonder.


Well so far, I think it's a very decent collection. Ups and downs, but least there is more upsides and the downsides aren't as deal breaking. Honestly I think Capcom really tried to make this appealing which is good. One very concerning issue I have is that it's as basic as it can get. This collection is divided into two parts each with four games on it. I purchased this on Nintendo Switch and one game was in the box on the cart while the other was received a code redeemable on Nintendo Eshop to download. I would prefer to have them both on the same cart or even two separate ones like Playstation 4 & Xbox One did. (Yes I knew before purchasing but the reason is why?) Based on the file size listed in the Eshop, they could have fit both collections on a single cart. I don't even have to mention the Blu-Ray Disc holding more than enough to do the same with ease. All of this could mean less swapping your games around to play the game you want. But on the good side, you can simply download which ever appeals to you for $20 each to save money on buying the one want more. I honestly don't know.


For what it's worth, this wasn't a bad job at making this collection. Besides some oddities like missing vocal tracks and altered boss names, it still plays as it should. Only thing about those tweaks is new players would assume this is how the game originally launched without research. Capcom isn't a stranger to doing this them self and allowing other companies like Digital Eclipse to do compilations of their popular games. But the thing that separates them all is the ones that was done well with good presentation and amount of effort and care that went into quality assurance instead of just making the same thing playable on another system. Adding new content on top of old ones that attract veteran fans and new ones is the goal here which most developers probably miss more often. Everyone knows it's the same exact game from our past, but do something above and beyond that makes a person who already has paid for your game before make it worth buy it again and attract new people too. Capcom finally decided to bring Mega Man out of the dark ages for it's anniversary celebration and this is winning a lot of people over. Good Job.