Mega Man X8

Mega Man X8
File:Mmx8box.jpg
Developer(s)	Capcom Production Studio 1
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows
Release	December 7, 2004 (PS2) February 11, 2005 (PS2) March 10, 2005 (PS2, PC) 2005 (PC) November, 2005 (PC)
Genre(s)	Platformer
Mode(s)	Single player

Mega Man X8 (Rockman X8 in Japan) is the eighth and most recent game in the Mega Man X video game series, released in PlayStation 2 and PC. After fan complaints over Mega Man X7's foray into 3-D, Capcom went back to 2-D linear progression through stages, although there are two 3-D rail-shooter stages in the game. Also, an unlockable demo of X8 was featured in the PlayStation 2 version of Mega Man X Command Mission.

Mega Man X8 marks the first time that Japan didn't get the game first. The game was first released in North America (December 7, 2004), then in Europe (February 11, 2005), and then finally in Japan (March 10, 2005). Between the N.A. and Japanese releases, a couple of minor additions were added to the Japanese version (one new opening cutscene and Japanese dialogue). The PC version was a slightly different matter; the Japanese PC version coincided with the PS2's (and, notably, had the English version included, complete with voice overs, the "Mega Man" title, and in-game text). Europe had the PC version released in November 2005, keeping the in-game selection between Japanese and English voice overs. In USA it was released exclusively as a part of GameSpot's "digital purchase" program on March 8, 2006 [1].

Story

File:MegamanX8PCEur.jpg

European Mega Man X8 PC cover
The title and cover of European Mega Man X8 are not attractive at all.

It is the year 21XX. X, Axl, and Zero are sent on a mission near the Jakob Tower to investigate a unique crab-like Mechaniloid. They manage to defeat it, but are then interrupted by a hail of missiles from Vile, who has apparently been resurrected from his earlier defeat in Mega Man X3. Vile has kidnapped the Jakob Tower project leader, Lumine, for unknown reasons and it becomes the Maverick Hunters' mission to rescue him.

However, what the Hunters do not know is that Sigma has returned once again, this time with his most ambitious plot yet. In Mega Man X7, it was revealed that Axl is the first of his kind, a prototype next-generation Reploid that has the ability to copy other reploids' DNA via a copy chip. In addition, they have subroutines built in to prevent them from going Maverick. In X8, these next-generation robots have begun rolling off the assembly line to work on the Jakob project as they can copy strong bodies to withstand great pressures, presumably at lower cost than building the stronger reploid itself.

Sigma's plan is simple. Contained on every single copy chip in these robots is Sigma's very own DNA, meaning that the next-generation 'Maverick Proof' reploids are in fact able to go Maverick at will. He seeks to scorch the Earth to remove the "old generation" and repopulate it with his "children," a much more efficient method of world domination than his previous attempts. What he did not count on was Lumine. When Sigma is inevitably defeated in his palace, Lumine walks in to take the entire operation over and kill the Maverick Hunters (it can be assumed he would have eventually tried this sans Maverick Hunters anyway). Lumine gloats to the Hunters that, in order for evolution to take its course, he and his fellow new-generation Reploids must destroy all that remains of the old world, both humans and "obsolete" Reploids alike. After a massive struggle, Lumine is defeated. When Axl walks up to Lumine's empty shell of a body, however, he is shocked as a tentacle springs from it and damages the crystal on his head.

As the three different characters ride back down the Jakob Elevator, Zero wonders if he no longer has to fight now that Sigma is dead for good, while X ponders Lumine's words on evolution. Axl is borderline conscious, but his shattered crystal can be seen glowing eerily.

Characters

Main article: List of Mega Man X characters

Maverick Hunters

• Axl

Axl returns in X8 with his abilities heavily modified. He can now store enemy DNA for use later, can aim while firing (but he cannot move), and gets a new gun with infinite weapon ammo every time a boss is defeated. Many of the Mavericks mock Axl, making note of the fact that he is a prototype new-generation reploid. Axl is voiced by Jeffrey Watson in English and by Minami Takayama in Japanese.

• X

X plays much like his previous incarnations, with his ability to use various weapons earned from defeated Mavericks and utilize specialized armor. Unlike his sharp character deviation in X7, X seems to have much more resolve for fighting when it needs to be done. X is voiced by Mark Gatha in English and by Takahiro Sakurai in Japanese.

• Zero

Zero's character has taken a cocky turn in X8. His rationale for fighting is simply because it has to be done. He also gains the ability to use different weapons besides his beam saber - fans, knuckles, a Naginata, and a hammer among others. Zero is voiced by Lucas Gilbertson in English and by Ryotaro Okiayu in Japanese.

• Alia

Alia continues the role she's had since Mega Man X5 as X's Navigator. She assists the player in navigating the best route to take in a level. As a playable character, she is X's female counterpart, but cannot use his armor. She is voiced by Mariette Sluyter in English and by Rumi Kasahara in Japanese.

• Layer

The scantily-clad Navigator introduced in this game. She's in love with Zero, but he is apparently oblivious to this. Her expertise is in boss strategy, and can give the player hints as to how to defeat them. As a playable character, she is Zero's female counterpart. She is voiced by Meredith Taylor-Perry in English and Sonoko Kawata in Japanese.

• Pallette

The young Navigator introduced in this game. She knows about a stage's secret capsules and rare metal locations. As a playable character, she is Axl's female counterpart, although she can't use the Copy Shot. She is voiced by Chris Simms in English and Haruna Mima in Japanese.

Notable Mavericks

• Lumine

Leader of the new-generation Reploids and director of the Jakob space elevator, Lumine is a new generation-type Reploid like Axl, but far more advanced. His appearance is of a teenage gender-ambiguous boy, a little shorter than X, Zero and Axl, with a cold emotionless voice. His armor has a predominately white-and-black color scheme with lavender trim. His lavender hair completely covers his right eye and fans out from the lower rear of his head into a wide half-circle. Lumine's irises are gold in color, and he lacks eyebrows giving him an unsettling appearance. Part of the New-Generation Reploid model line, he is the penultimate version with very powerful shapechanging abilities and the power to copy Reploids' most powerful attacks. Lumine is kidnapped by Vile in the initial mission and is unseen (though often referenced) until near the end of the game, when he steps out from the shadows and reveals his intent to rule in Sigma's place. He is first fought in his normal form, where he floats about the field in a figure-eight fashion and attacks with the eight Maverick bosses super attacks. When defeated, he explains that the New-Generation Reploids can go Maverick at will because of Sigma's data, and that it is not an infection but a choice. He also taunts the Hunters until Axl shoots his shoulder, reminding X that Lumine is the enemy. After a final round of talking he changes into a Seraphim-like form and continues to battle, this time with powerful laser and energy-based attacks. Lumine is defeated and ultimately destroyed, but not before he strikes a critical blow to Axl. In the English version, Lumine is voiced by Elinor Holt.

• Sigma

Sigma makes his tenth appearance as the leader of eight Mavericks guarding key points for the successful building of the Jakob tower. The first fight with Sigma seemingly takes place after the traditional teleporter room, but is revealed to be a New Generation Reploid posing as him. The real Sigma is found later on the Moon, in a body seemingly made up of nothing more than scraps of metal held together by his viral form. Once again, Sigma is defeated, but Lumine surprises the Hunters by revealing that, this time, Sigma's death is permanent. Given the actions of Lumine and the lack of traditional Reploids on the Moon to infect with his Virus, it seems very unlikely that Sigma will return in any future installment (chronologically) of the X series.

• Vile

Vile (Vava in the Japanese version), who was first seen in the first MMX game and has not been seen since X3, returns in X8 in Sigma's employ. His character serves as little more than a lackey this time around. He will fight you as a miniboss in some stages, as the main boss at the top of Jakob, and once more with his ride armor at Sigma's Palace. His fighting style is very reminiscent of his appearances in previous X games.

Gameplay

Mega Man X8 is a traditional platformer. X, Axl, and Zero have character-specific attributes to assist them in navigating the terrain and defeating enemies:

• Axl has the ability to fire his gun in any direction, glide horizontally for short distances, and stick in place on a wall as long as he is firing (similar to Bass in Megaman & Bass). He also has a 'copy shot' which allows him to assimilate the DNA of certain enemy reploids and take their forms and abilities for a short time. By defeating bosses, Axl gains new types of guns which have unlimited ammo. He's faster than X and Zero, but his attacks are weaker as well.
• X has the most reliable and strongest shot in the game. When armor capsules from Dr. Light are found, he can equip the armor parts received to heighten his abilities. Such upgrades include the ability to "shadow dash" straight through enemies, fire a continuous laser for a charged shot, and even take damage without flinching at all. As X defeats bosses, he gets special weapons which have a limited supply of ammo, as seen in previous games in the series.
• Zero is a mêlée fighter and as such does not have a long range shot. He uses many different weapons that will increase/decrease his range and power and can even use the powerful "Sigma Blade" upon purchasing it in a save file with a completed game. He is also the only character that can double-jump (jump, then jump again in midair). Zero learns new attack techniques by defeating bosses, and some of them change depending on which weapon he has equipped. He's the slowest of the three, as his dash doesn't go as far as X or Axl.

Maverick bosses

Main article: List of Mavericks

English name	Japanese name	Form	Stage	Copied weapon (X)	Learned technique (Zero)	Special arms (Axl)	Weakness (X/Zero/Axl)
Optic Sunflower	Optic Sunfloward	Sunflower	Troia Base	Shining Ray	Tenshouha	Ray Gun	Green Spinner/Youdantotsu/Blast Launcher
Gravity Antonion	Gravitate Ant-Onion	Ant	Primrose	Squeeze Bomb	Juuhazan, Ganzanha (K), Dairettsui (T)	Spiral Magnum	Shadow Runner/Rasetsusen/Black Arrow
Dark Mantis	Darkneid Kamakil	Praying mantis	Pitch Black	Shadow Runner	Rasetsusen, Senpuukyaku (K)	Black Arrow	Shining Ray/Tenshouha/Ray Gun
Gigabolt Man-O-War	Gigabolt Dokragen	Portuguese Man o' War	Dynasty	Thunder Dancer	Raikousen, Raijinken (K)	Plasma Gun	Crystal Wall/Rekkyoudan/Bound Blaster
Burn Rooster	Burn Kokekokker	Rooster	Inferno (Drop Dead in the Japanese version)	Melt Creeper	Enkoujin, Enkoukyaku (K)	Flame Burner	Drift Diamond/Hyouryuushou/Ice Gatling
Avalanche Yeti	Ice-Snow Yetinger	Yeti	Central White	Drift Diamond	Hyouryuushou, Shouryuuken (K)	Ice Gatling	Thunder Dancer/Raikousen/Plasma Gun
Earthrock Trilobyte	Earthrock Torirovich	Trilobite	Metal Valley	Crystal Wall	Rekkyoudan, Zekkyoudan (B)	Bound Blaster	Squeeze Bomb/Juuhazan/Spiral Magnum
Bamboo Pandamonium	Bamboo Pandemonium	Panda	Booster Forest	Green Spinner	Youdantotsu, Renyoudan (D)	Blast Launcher	Melt Creeper/Enkoujin/Flame Burner

Upgrades

In X8, X obtains a new armor called the Neutral Armor when he finds his first armor capsule. The parts can be changed to X's liking.

• Icarus Armor - The Neutral Armor with all four I-Parts attached. The Icarus Armor possesses the Giga Crash used by the Glide Armor. Its energy fills up over time, but the Giga Crash can be used at any time. However, using the Giga Crash when its energy is not full yields a lesser effect. The Icarus Armor glows red when all its parts are put together.
  • Boots-I - Allow X to jump higher, almost matching the height of Zero's double-jump.
  • Helmet-I - X is protected by an energy field when he jumps, but only while ascending; the field also damages enemies.
  • Armor-I - X takes half the normal damage from attacks and isn't knocked back at all, and all the health he loses turns red, making it possible to recover it if he is switched out; however, the Recovery Gauge also drains faster.
  • X-Buster-I - X's fourth-level charge shot is a powerful laser beam. The lower-level shots also take on the next level's ability (i.e. firing without charging produces a first-level charge shot). X can also charge special weapons.

• Hermes Armor - The Neutral Armor with all four H-Parts attached. The Hermes Armor possesses the X-Drive, which temporarily increases the armor's powers. The Hermes Armor glows blue when completed.
  • Boots-H - X can run faster and can use the Shadow Dash, during which he turns invisible and cannot be harmed.
  • Helmet-H - X can charge his weapons faster.
  • Armor-H - If X is hit by an attack that would normally take off 1 or 2 marks of life, he will not lose any health.
  • X-Buster-H - X's fourth level X-Buster shot becomes a three-way (or five-way when the X-Drive is activated) spread shot, and X can also charge special weapons.

• Ultimate Armor - A secret armor that is available after X is fully enhanced to 100%. X can use the Shouryuuken, Nova Strike, and Plasma Extension charge shot. He also jumps higher, runs faster, Shadow Dashes, has double defense, isn't knocked back by damage, charges weapons faster, and has an unlimited amount of weapon energy. This armor glows black and purple.

• Zero's Black Armor - Available once Zero is fully built to 100% (95% if Zero has everything except the Sigma Blade). A wink from X4-X6, Zero's offense is 1 1/2x's as strong, but his defense is halved. His dash also covers more distance.

• Axl's White Armor - Unlocked by building Axl to 100% and beating the game once with him (Axl must strike the final blow on Lumine by using a Double Attack). Axl's speed greatly increases, he can dash on the ground across 1 1/2 whole screens, he has unlimited energy for transforming, and he can hover in the air infinitely while firing. His color scheme changes to Lumine's (white and lavender).

Trivia

• Cut Man makes an appearance in a hidden fight near the end of Optic Sunflower's stage. Accessing it requires having a Mega Man X: Command Mission save on the memory card, or by entering a special button password on the title screen (Left, Circle, Up, Triangle, Down, X, Right, Square, L1, R1, L2, R2). The PC version has a different way of accessing him: You'll have to instead earn top ranks in the level scenarios. He appears in his sprite form from the original Mega Man, with unaltered music. The only changes are that sound effects are a bit updated, the room is now viewed at a slightly different angle as to not be so flat, Cut Man can throw his Rolling Cutter higher to reach walls and ceiling where your character might be, and Cut Man himself displays a very Paper Mario-esque effect when turning around.

• The game includes several biblical references, including the stage Noah's Park (Noah's Ark), the orbital elevator of the Jakob Project (Jacob's Ladder), and Lumine's ultimate attack, Paradise Lost, which is also a poem that deals with the fall of Lucifer in Christianity. The name of Sigma's form, Belial Sigma, also comes from Paradise Lost; Belial was one of Lucifer's lieutenants in Hell, ironically the one who had the most pacifistic stance. Bamboo Pandamonium's name might also be a reference, as Lucifer's court in Paradise Lost was named "Pandemonium." Interestingly enough, Lumine desired to destroy mankind along with non-new-generation reploids.

• The character designs for X and Zero are notably different from their previous appearances. The trim on X's helmet has changed, as it now slants upwards, then goes straight (it used to slant upwards, then downwards), and his legs are slimmer and take on a more humanoid look. Also, X's X-Buster is slimmer than usual. As for Zero, his ponytail is much slimmer in this game than in the previous games, and his "horns" are considerably smaller.

Notes

The Opening Theme music of Rock Man X8 is called "WILD FANG" by Janne Da Arc.

The voice-overs were done by Ocean Group, a Canadian based voice-over studio who did work on various anime films and movies, namely Dragon Ball Z [1996-1998 Dub] and InuYasha.

External links

• Official homepage