I always wanted to be a wine guy. The archetype is obvious, right? You just hang out at a party or (possibly fancy) dinner, be a typical, normal version of yourself, but, when drinks arrive, you showcase this hidden superpower that no one can comprehend. “Oh, what’s in this goblet? This little thing? Well, I can tell you about its complete history from grape to glass. Do I detect a dab of the South of France in here? Let me further impress you with my robust knowledge of this vintage.” And I know it’s stupid. I know having knowledge of wines across the world, that being that guy would not help anyone in any significant way. But some part of me wants to be the expert. I do have a genuine desire to have that party trick at the ready, to astound everyone in my immediate area with this expertise hitherto unknown to such plebians. And I even know this knowledge is possible to grasp! I could become a wine guy! It would just take hours of study and testing and a copious amount of wine! It is attainable! But… No. If I desire to be a wine guy, I desire to be a wine guy with no extra effort. I want all the fame and fortune (“There’s Goggle Bob! He really knows his wine! Let us rend our garments in supplication!”), but I do not want to have to go to Wine Guy School. I just want it to happen. I want to be able to perform this complex skill, and I want to be able to do it because I effortlessly developed this power. I want to just taste wine, realize I can provide a detailed assessment, and then, there you go, yokels, Goggle Bob has got this covered.
I don’t even like wine! I don’t particularly like drinking! I am not a teetotaler, but “let’s go drinking” is not at the top of my agenda. I am never going to have wine guy powers, because that is not my thing in nearly every way! I cannot conceive how I would ever even get close to having that kind of talent!
So anyway.
I played Mega Man X Regenesis, a fan made Mega Man X game. It is a Mega Man X adventure of the Mega Man X (SNES) vintage. It is significantly influenced by the initial Mega Man X title, but contains overt hints of Mega Man 7 and Mega Man ZX. It patently eschews the later Mega Man X games, as X4 through X6 are only light influences (primarily thanks to the ranking system), and dynamics from X7 and X8 are right out. Additionally, for some collectathon and vertical gameplay elements, it seems Mega Man Zero, particularly the early titles in that tetralogy, are a noteworthy inspiration. Oh, and if I had to guess, the author of the plot was significantly involved in the Mega Man/Mega Man X fan community at the start of the 21st century, a time when there was much debate on whether or not Dr. Cain had been “wasted” across the franchise.
Oh. Oh dang. I’m a Mega Man Guy.
Well, may as well use this superpower for good.
You should play Mega Man X Regenesis. Initially, that statement was, “If you like Mega Man games, you should play Mega Man X Regenesis”, but then I remembered that I wrote a whole essay about how Mega Man X is a foundational part of gaming as a whole. So you know what? Just play Mega Man X Regenesis. It is a very good Mega Man X experience, which means it is just plain very good. Give or take if you somehow hate 2-D action titles (you monster), everyone should play Mega Man X Regenesis.
In case you think I am a liar (you are still a monster), we can elaborate on the goodness here. The greatest compliment available is that this feels like Mega Man X. After years of Mega Man on the Nintendo Entertainment System, Mega Man X was one of the few Mega Man games to come right out of the gate with a perfect control feel. Run, jump, fire, repel off walls, dash: it has always felt like a blast to go blastin’ with X. Mega Man X Regenesis nails that perfectly. And it looks good doing it! Unlike many fangames that cobble together a look that qualifies as “good enough”, this could 100% qualify as a Capcom offering from those pixel masters of the 90’s. Actually, this is better than anything that was available back on the SNES, as modern lighting effects have been implemented, and, whether you are bumping around a “haunted” space station or deep under the sea, the lighting effects are flawless. Major props to a “gimmick” that is prominent, but never overshadows the core of Mega Man X. And there is a difficulty select! If this is your first Mega Man X game, you will have an easier time with slower Mavericks and generous powerups. Or maybe you just want to have an easier time while sussing out that boss order. Whatever! Enjoy yourself! You will relish your time with Mega Man X Regenesis.
Of course, as a Mega Man Guy, I do not agree with every choice made in MMXR. There is now an X upgrade capsule per stage, so the famous X “armor upgrades” must be distributed a little oddly. “Charge faster” is an upgrade… which unfortunately makes X’s default charge seem slow and clunky until that upgrade is uncovered. There is also a downward kick that adds nothing to the experience, give or take one collapsible floor during the finale. And we somehow wind up with two ways to add verticality to X’s jumps in the same way the air dash will add horizontal space. A double jump is always welcome, but pairing it with a rising uppercut feels redundant. Couple all of this with Maverick weapon charging and the (admittedly awesome) level 3 charge shot being separate, and you should have a better understanding of why X only had four upgrades in other titles. Half of the upgrades are either redundant or pointlessly separated! And we could really use that helmet upgrade that tells me where I found my heart tanks!
But if you had less upgrades for X, then you would have less collectathon excuses across Mega Man X Regenesis. Each of X’s upgrades now require 15 chips to be found across the world. The good news is that these pickups are everywhere, so you should be able to cover your upgrade debt pretty easily. The bad news is that you are likely to encounter your first upgrade capsule before getting your first 15 chips, so there is a palpable feeling of hostility when you find the good stuff, but are told you need to come back later with more X-Bucks. Additionally, thanks to this collectathon aspect, my ADD goes into hyperdrive, and I must shove X against every wall and descend into every deadly pit in a desperate attempt to see what secrets are hidden around the corner. Mega Man as a franchise identified long ago that powerups are useless when you already have 9 lives and full energy, and has attempted to include items like big screws, data discs, and various currencies across the years. But these pickups being required to unlock other hidden pickups feels a bit like gilding the lily. Many of the capsules are hidden behind ability or maverick weapon requirements anyway, so why do I need a double jump, air dash, and 15 chips?! Let me acquire my armor in peace, dammit!
And one last complaint? There is a fine line between “homage” and “this is just Sting Chameleon’s stage”. And, yes, Bog Snapper just has Sting Chameleon’s stage.
But give or take those minor complaints, Mega Man X Regenesis is an amazing Mega Man X experience. We are easily talking about one of my favorite games of the year, and I will glowingly recommend it to anyone that can hook a decent controller to their PC.
And take that from me, a registered Mega Man Guy(/Snob).
FGC #748 Mega Man X Regenesis
- System: PC. Second fangame in a row I had to break out the ol’ “I am capable of playing things not on the Switch” assertion.
- Number of players: X is working with the ghost of Zero as his spotter, but he is an otherwise solitary hero.
So, how about that story: Mega Man X Regenesis takes place in an alternate timeline where the Maverick Hunters lost the Maverick Wars, X died, Sigma took over the place, and now a backup copy of X is fighting through a world that is mostly destroyed. On one hand, I am glad to say this is what the X universe would look like after a real calamity, and I want a thousand GameFAQs message board nerds to understand that the original timeline was not “post-apocalyptic”. But aside from some lovely aesthetics and X getting a healthy dosage of “what am I fighting for”, it feels like this story doesn’t particularly go anywhere. Ask any Age of Apocalypse fan what your heroes do after the bad guys win, and the answer either has to be A. save the world once and for all, or B. die horribly as the entire world is erased. You try to come back to that wasteland for any other reason and… it gets kinda pointless. At least do something silly like make Iris a homicidal general!- A Franchise Tradition: The Maverick Weapons are pointless. They probably have some really useful, really specific purposes! But for sensibly clearing out levels, they are useless. You just cannot give Mega Man X a rad laser as his default and expect him to pause to switch to a “sand shotgun” special power.
- Favorite Upgrade: A double jump is the domain of Wily bots (Zero, Bass), but we will allow X to have this essential movement capability just this once.
- Further Compliments: There is a space-base stage, but it is not the finale. Thank you! Do you know how often X has had to go to space for a final Sigma square off? It is so refreshing when X just walks over to some annoying base, and doesn’t need to worry about being dropped back to Earth like space trash.
Favorite Maverick: We have some generally elemental-based animals running around (“Space” is an element, right?), but many of the Maverick designs do not immediately showcase their specialty. Like Rail Raccoon is the electric guy, and nothing about him screams lightning like Spark Mandrill or Volt Catfish. So, with that plainly stated, going to have to hand it to Hydro Axolotl, as he is clearly the water baddy, and he has tentacle animations that appear to be insulting. Insulting to who? Who knows! But it makes him more threatening than Skyblade Squirrel.- This Game Also Includes Achievements: It sure does. I am more excited about the hidden hadouken.
- An end: The final fight with Sigma is a bear. That is a series tradition! It is not bad, it is simply what Sigma must be. Seriously, how many Sigma battles have not been the worst thing in the game? Mega Man X2 comes to mind, and… Uh… Mega Man X6? Like, by virtue of the game being worse? The tiniest of exceptions…
- Did you know? There is a memorial to the Green Biker Dude. My heart overflows with love for our fallen comrade.
- Would I play again: Sure! This was a lot of fun, and the easy mode even made it easy (ha ha) to get my bearings before blasting through the more traditional normal mode. Great job, Justin Ross and crew! Include a few less vertical corridors to descend in the sequel, and I am there!
What’s next? Random ROB has more or less chosen… Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal. We are tying our Even Worse Streams Sonic coverage together with a 2-D Sonic the Hedgehog game that is not a 2-D Sonic the Hedgehog game at all! Please look forward to it!
