 Alright, let's check out the Mega Man X series for Super Nintendo. First and foremost, I have to say that Mega Man is probably my all-time favorite gaming franchise ever. I was so obsessed with Mega Man 3 as a kid that I actually copied a boss hit chart out of my friend's Nintendo power. Mega Man will take a mega leap super jump out of pits. Okay? So yeah, I was really psyched for Mega Man X, and obviously it doesn't disappoint. At first blush, it's definitely much easier for a Mega Man game, but I liken it to Super Mario World. It's so much fun just to plow through this game in an hour or so and just smash everything in your way. Overall, the game is very polished, the level design is excellent, and it perfectly matches X's capabilities, if that makes sense. In other words, they put a lot of thought into the level design to make sure that it matches X's speed and range of motion. That can be difficult to do, and it goes a long way explaining why this game is held in such high regard. Mega Man X also has a lot of clever touches that can go unnoticed, like how some of the levels are interrelated, for instance. Like when you beat Storm Eagle, it screws up the electricity and spark mandrels level for whatever reason, or when you beat Chill Penguin and Flame Man this level freezes over. My only criticism is that the game is just too easy, I'm gonna sound like a cranky old man, but Mega Man was supposed to make a man out of you, you know? Put hair on your chest, and feel intensely proud about beating that game. And yeah, I know I said the fact that this game is easier makes it a bit more fun to plow through, and objectively that's true, but I mean, just look at Chill Penguin here. Why are you just standing there blinking at me? Plus some of the weapons are overpowered like crazy, like Storm Tornado and the charged rolling shield. But yeah, as much as I love Mega Man X, I like the sequel Mega Man X2 even more, and there's two reasons for that. Number one is the mid-air dash. It makes the game so much faster and even more fun. It reminds me of Sparkster's charged dash attack. I just love flying around in all directions shooting everything that moves, it's so much fun. The second reason is the arm cannon upgrade, it's incredibly satisfying just to blast the hell out of stuff with a double barreled attack. And plus all the Maverick weapons you obtain can also be super charged for a special attack. Mega Man X2 is also just a tiny bit more difficult in my opinion, it makes you be just a bit more precise with your jumping, especially to get certain sub-tanks and heart tanks. Although I will say the level design isn't as polished as it was in the first game. Wire, sponge, and bubble crab stages in particular are pretty dull, and the final form of Sigma is like, shockingly easy, which is disappointing, especially for a final boss. Still, I think Mega Man X2 for the most part takes everything good about the first game and makes it that much better in my opinion. Onto Mega Man X3, and this is where the series starts to get weird. It has a much different feel from its predecessors, because the levels are longer and much more difficult. Tunnel Rhino stage for instance seemingly stretches on forever, and the level design just feels kind of off. It doesn't match X's capabilities as well, and there's also huge chasms of empty space for whatever reason. There's a lot of recycling of the same enemy sprites, which is a big disappointment, especially in a Mega Man game. You see the same guys over and over and over again throughout the game. The music also feels weird. It's almost somber sounding in places, like in Blizzard Buffalo's stage. Come on, this is a Mega Man game. Where's the power medal? There we go, that's more like it. To its strengths though, the game definitely dials up the difficulty. The constant enemy respawning reminds me of Ninja Gaiden for NES, which is both good and bad. The game also implements a new idea with the ride armor, which is really cool and introduces a new element of strategy, but it's kind of a missed opportunity. You can't even get most of these until you've already beaten all the Mavericks, so what's the point? They should have made them available and easy to find right from the get-go, and that would have helped curb some of the difficulty as well. Overall, Mega Man X3 just feels often kind of uninspired, but it's still a Mega Man game on Super Nintendo, which is like pizza. There's no such thing as bad pizza, pizza's always good. To sum up, you can't go wrong with Mega Man X, or Mega Man X2, they're both classics for a reason. But if I had to pick one, it's X2 because of the mid-air dash and the supercharged double-barrel arm cannon.