Introduction
I promised this a hundred years ago, and now I'm finally bringing it to you.
You can check out my reviews on the previous two installments here:
Mega Man X is the SNES classic that is universally loved by gamers everywhere, and while Mega Man X2 did weaker business than the first game, it did well enough for Capcom to begin work on the third iteration of the X series.
Released in 1995, Mega Man X3 came out during the twilight of the 16 bit era.
At the time, the game received a rather negative response from critics, who said it was too much of the same old, same old, and that it was basically the same game as the previous two X games.
This is an opinion that is held by a lot of gamers and fans of the X series.
Do I agree with it? Let's dive in.
Gameplay
Being a platformer, the gameplay is, of course, the main thing to discuss here.
At this point, we know how an X game works; you dash, you shoot, you jump, you fight eight bosses and then proceed to the final three stages before fighting the last boss. You can dash right from the start, just like in X2. And just as X2 introduced a new level of mobility for X, so does X3 by giving X the ability to air dash vertically.
This adds yet another welcomed layer of strategy in how to maneuver X around.
X remains its tight controls from the last two games, and controlling X is as crisp as ever.
In addition to the vertical air dash, X3 makes another addition by giving the players the ability to play as Zero!
And Zero is strong.
Zero starts with a full life meter from the start, and while Zero can't pick up any upgrades or additional weapons in the game, he can use a Z Sabre shot after a fully charged Z Buster shot, and the Z Sabre can knock down any non-boss enemy in the game with one hit.
Zero controls similarly to X, and while he is bulkier to move around, Zero is still as much of a joy to play as as X. Due to being stronger than X initially, Zero comes with limitations for gameplay balance.
Zero can only be called once per level, he can't fight mini bosses or the actual bosses, and if Zero dies only once during gameplay, he's out of the game for good.
The last limitation does seem a bit harsh, but I can understand it from a balance perspective, as Zero is a strong character, and the designers wanted players to mostly rely on X since he is the main character, after all.
Fan reception for Zero was mixed. While everybody agreed that it was cool to finally play as the "cooler Mega Man", the limitations were not accepted by all.
I personally feel that the Zero inclusion was done well, all in all. It was a nice little change of pace, gave us kids the experience of playing as Zero, and he had a kickass theme to boot.
Another change of pace in X3 could be found in the level design.
Levels in X3 are noticeably longer than in X and X2. This is nothing but positive, since longer levels meant more playing! The levels also always had stuff going on, so it's not like they were just artificially padded. It's also noticeably tougher to just rush through a level and get away scratch free, since avoiding enemy fire takes more skill this time around. That's a good thing.
One negative about the level design has to be noted, though, since in all of the SNES trilogy, X3 in particular suffers from severe can'tfuckingseewhereI'mjumping-aitis. Meaning that the camera doesn't always show where you're landing a jump, and sometimes enemy placement is just plain unfair in these situations.
This is just most of the time, and the game is unfair quite rarely. But the instances that are there do bug the heck out of you.
Overall, I'd even go as far as saying the level design in X3 is the best out of the SNES trilogy.
Another thing that is the best out of the SNES trilogy is the weapon selection.
Unlike in X2, for instance, no weapon feels unnecessary and only useful against the boss that is weak to that particular weapon. Playing through X3 I found myself using the special weapons quite a lot during the stages, and not relying solely on the X Buster, as I did in X2.
The weapons are balanced, and there's not a completely unfair killer like X1's Storm Tornado.
All weapons have specific situations where they become handy, and it's up to the player to figure it out. This is exactly as it should be. The weapon selection in X3 deserves to be commended.
What I will not commend, however, are the boss fights this time around.
Don't get me wrong: as someone who is an experienced player, I find it a fun challenge to fight the bosses without their weaknesses, just like in X1, but X3 completely returns to the X1 formula where the bosses are impossible for casual players to beat without their weakness, and way too easy when using the weapon they are weak against.
The designs of the bosses are the best in the series yet, though, so they have that going for them:
Intimidating and cool, even moreso than the legendary bosses from the first game.
But it's simply a major flaw that the AI is really easy lock in a pattern when using the weapon they're weak against so that the battle simply becomes a shoot, dash, shoot, dash, shoot fest.
They also ditched using a few unique battle arenas that they did in X2, which is a shame.
The bosses are a double edged sword, though, since as a hardcore player the extreme challenge of trying to beat them without the special weapon they're weak against is indeed fun. But this review is from a casual player's perspective, and from that perspective the bosses are flawed.
X2 has the best boss gameplay design yet in the series.
Speaking of bosses, the final boss of the game receives a lot of flak from people for being too tough, but I guess I'm alone in thinking that it's honestly not that tough. Tough, yes, but at a reasonable final-boss-of-the-game level. It takes some studying, but once you learn the patterns, it can be done. And I've even beaten the final boss without using subtanks.
In addition to the subtanks, armor upgrades also make a return, of course, just like in the previous games. However, this time around there's a twist. The player can also find four additional upgrades, called chips, for the already existing upgrades.
For instance, the leg upgrade allows you to air dash, and the leg chip upgrades your air dash ability so you can air dash two times.
This is a great addition to the game, but comes with a major design flaw.
You can only choose one of the four chips, and once you choose one, you can't change your mind.
This seems silly since as a player I of course want to test out the upgrades before making up my mind.
There's a twist, though, since if you choose none of the chips before the final stages, you can then find the ultimate upgrade called the Golden Armor, which includes all four of the chip upgrades simultaneously.
Now how badass is that?
The idea is good, but half baked. Ideally, I should be able to switch around between the four chips before the final stages, and if I enter the final stages without a chip installed, I could then get the Golden Armor. There are other caveats included in being eligible for the Golden Armor, so the challenge would still remain.
I tend to never go for any of the chips since I know I want the Golden Armor anyway, so there's really no point in picking up the chips.
Another new addition to the series was the Ride Armors that were now a part of your arsenal. The player could find and collect Ride Armor modules that would allow the player to summon different Ride Armors at will at specific parts of the levels. Each Ride Armor would behave differently have its own strengths and weaknesses.
This wasn't a huge part of the game, in my opinion, but a cool feature nontheless. One of those "Hey, why not" types of additions.
Graphics
Graphically, X3 is pretty much the same as X1 and X2. But just like X2 was a slight improvement over X1, X3 is a slight improvement of X2, and thus the best in the trilogy as far as visuals go.
The use of colors is the best so far with some fun being had with contrast.
The levels also have more moving parts visually, with a three dimensional feel being given. Things like waterfalls, wind, clouds, et cetera.
The levels feel less monotonous than before with a feel of progress happening when you move around in the level as the milieu changes.
Not to mention the slow down issues present in X1 and X2 are gone in X3.
This goes along way to help with the immersive experience.
This puts X3 over both X1 and X3 by a landslide.
Music
X2 was a drastic downgrade from X1 music-wise, X3 takes things back on track, pun absolutely intended.
While it's not quite X1's soundtrack, X3 does rock a really good rock soundtrack that differs from the symphonic one of X2. Rock music just sounds and seems more like Mega Man X.
X3's soundtrack includes a number of tunes that I like to listen to even when not playing.
A slight negativethat could be given to the soundtrack is the fact it's not as varied as the X1 sountrack, for instance, and the theme can get a little repetitive. This is only a minor complaint, though.
The tracks fit the levels, it pumps up your adrenaline at just the right places, puts you in the mood for boss battles, and so on.
X3 has to be my third favourite X soundtrack, behind X4 and X1. I don't what X2's soundtrack was all about, but I'm happy Capcom moved past that in X3.
The X1 soundtrack still remains untouchable, but it's one of those once in a lifetime soundtracks, so that's to be expected.
Overall
X3 was panned by critics upon release, and most put it below X2, but in my honest opinion X3 is a hidden gem. I think it has X2 beat by a mile, and while it's not the classic X1 is, it still has a lot going for it.
The ability to play as Zero, the soundtrack, good level design, great weapons, no slow down issues and additional secrets and upgrades make it a great X game. There are blunders along the way, as was discussed, but X3 certainly does not deserve the flak it gets from the gaming community.
After playing X3, and being able to air dash both horizontally as well as vertically, it's hard for a while going back to X1 and X2 with their limited mobility.
X3 is also the hardest of the X games up to this point with enemies taking more hits and doing more damage. This was done on purpose, and is actually surprisingly one of the critiques given to the game, but personally I enjoyed. It's definitely not game breaking, and it's not too hard for an average to player to pick up, so I'm not sure what the problem is. It just requires more timing and strategy to progress through the levels, and that's only a major positive. Mastering X3 feels like mastering a fine art.
It's a worthy try for people into Mega Man games and retro gaming in general.
It would be outdone in a lot of people's opinion by X4, which I will get to eventually. X4 is considered by many to be the second best X game behind X1, and some people even put it over X1, so I will absolutely be taking a look at what all the fuzz is about.
Until then, thanks for reading.