Mega Man X3

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mega Man X3
Developer(s)	Capcom
Publisher(s)	Capcom EU Virgin Interactive (Saturn, PSX, PC)
Designer(s)	Keiji Inafune
Release date(s)	NANovember 30, 1995 JPNDecember 1, 1995 JPN EU April 26, 1996 (Saturn, PSX) NA EU 1998 (PC)
Genre(s)	Platformer
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: K-A (Kids to Adults)
Platform(s)	SNES, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, PC
Media	16-megabit cartridge, 1 × CD-ROM

Mega Man X3 was released in 1995 by Capcom. It was the third game in the Mega Man X sub-franchise and the last to appear on the Super Nintendo. An enhanced version was also released on the Sega Saturn, PlayStation, and PC (herein referred to as the 32-bit CD version) in Japan and Europe in 1996, and the PC version arrived in North America in 1998; the enhanced version included remixed music and anime-style cutscenes. It is currently available in the anthology collection Mega Man X Collection, which includes the first six Mega Man X games and Mega Man Battle & Chase. The 32-bit CD version of X3, not the SNES version, appears in the X collection. Mega Man X Collection was released for the GameCube and PlayStation 2 on January 10th, 2006.

Like its predecessor, Mega Man X2, Capcom included the C4 chip to allow for some limited 3D graphics and transparency effects. Mega Man X3 was the first game in which Zero is a playable character in addition to X. The game is sometimes criticized by fans because of its difficulty, while others strongly dislike the repetitive background music. However, many Mega Man X fans consider it to be one of the best games in the X series.

Mega Man X3 is also the rarest of the X series games. Very few copies of the Super Nintendo version were distributed in the United States because the system was nearing the end of its lifecycle.^{[citation needed]} A copy of the SNES version of Mega Man X3 with box and instructions can go for over $150 on auction websites such as eBay. Even after the release of Mega Man X Collection, copies of the SNES version continue to sell at high prices on eBay. PlayStation and Sega Saturn versions are even rarer, although they are mainly found only in European format. In Europe, the Sega Saturn and PlayStation versions generally sell for less than the Super NES version.^{[citation needed]}

According to Mega Man Network, and Gamespy, Inafune wants to do a remake of Mega Man X3 for the PSP. However, in a video interview on Planet Mega Man he states poor Japanese sales have stalled that process.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Story

The story of Mega Man X3 revolves around a Reploid scientist named Dr. Doppler. In the year 21XX, the threat of the Mavericks had been neutralized thanks to Doppler's technology, which prevented the Mavericks from going berserk. The reformed Reploids had formed an utopia near their new mentor called Doppler Town. It seemed that all was well, until the former Maverick Reploids suddenly reverted and once again began causing trouble. Dr. Doppler was held accountable, and X and Zero were sent out to contain the new threat. They were soon after called back to Maverick HQ, which was under attack by Doppler's forces.

However, the two did not realize that while Doppler was indeed behind the new Maverick threat, someone else was pulling his strings. As if that wasn't bad enough, one of X and Zero's old enemies is back from the dead, ready to take them down.

[edit] Characters

• Mega Man X
• Zero
• Dr. Cain
• Dr. Light
• Sigma

• Dr. Doppler - Dr. Doppler is the main antagonist of Mega Man X3. Prior to the events of the game, he was a well-known Reploid scientist, who was soon corrupted by the Sigma Virus.

• Bit (Vajurilla FF)- The smaller of a pair of robots that Dr. Doppler called in to exterminate X and Zero. Combines with Byte to form Godkarmachine O Inary.

• Byte (Mandarella BB)- Larger, tougher, counterpart to Bit. Byte can team up with Bit to form a larger robot called Godkarmachine O Inary, although he'll try to take on X on his own before resorting to that.
  • (Note in the Japanese version, Bit and Byte are referred to collectively as the "Nightmare Police".)

• Vile Mk-2 - Vile is resurrected by Dr. Doppler after his death in X1; however he seems to be driven insane by his hatred of X and Zero and was even willing to blow up an entire factory in the hopes of destroying X.

[edit] Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot

Mega Man X3 is an action game where the player is given a selection screen of stages to begin. When selected, the player uses Mega Man X to blast various enemies throughout the level and reach the boss character, where defeating it wins the stage and earns a new weapon for the player to utilize.

[edit] Upgrades

Scattered throughout the stages are powerups used by X to enhance his attributes and obtain a wider range of skills:

• Body Upgrades - Usually found in well-hidden areas, a projection of Dr. Light will give X encouragement and allow him to acquire an upgrade through use of a capsule:
  • Leg upgrade - Allows X to perform an air dash, either laterally or straight up.
  • Armor upgrade - Reduces the amount of damage that X takes by 50%, and creates a force field around X whenever he takes damage.
  • Helmet upgrade - Displays a simple map upon starting a stage to help uncover hidden items; also lists the three items in the currently-highlighted level on the stage select screen, in pink if they have not been collected and in gray if they have been.
  • X-Buster upgrade - Allows X to charge up a double shot, either unleashing one shot after the other or at the same time as a cross-shot. Also lets X charge special weapons.
• An additional chip upgrade can be supplanted to one of X's body upgrades:
  • Leg chip - Allows X to perform two air dashes in the same jump.
  • Armor chip - Improves the defense field around X.
  • Helmet chip - Regenerates X's life energy when he stands still; can also fill Sub-Tanks when X's life energy is full.
  • X-Buster chip - Allows X to instantly shoot stored energy (gained from taking damage) into fully charged shots.
• Health Supplements:
  • Heart Tanks - Increases the maximum amount of X's life energy by two bars, allowing him to survive through more damage; one is found in each of the eight main stages.
  • Sub-Tanks - Allows X to store extra energy which can be used to replenish life energy when it is low; four are found in the entire game, and they can only be filled by X and at full life. It takes 14 energy capsules to completely fill one tank, with large capsules counting for two.

• Ride Armor - Four separate items can be found that grant X the access to different ride armors when he reaches a certain platform, each with their own abilities and designated by a single letter:
  • Chimera (N) - This standard ride armor can jump, punch, and dash; in order to use the other ride armors, this one must be obtained.
  • Kangaroo (K) - In this ride armor, X can charge up a punch to launch the ride armor's fist for a longer-ranged attack.
  • Hawk (H) - This ride armor fires missiles and can hover in the air for a short time.
  • Frog (F) - This is the only ride armor that works underwater; it shoots missiles, and hops instead of walking.

• Other:
  • Gold Armor - If X gets all four body upgrades, all four mechs, all four Sub Tanks, and all eight Heart Tanks, but none of the chips, a secret capsule in Doppler's first stage allows him to get all four chips at once. This transforms his armor to a gold color. Additionally, it causes all of X's weapons to use less energy. However, X's health must be full before you could find this upgrade.
  • Z-Sabre - In the second fortress stage, a bug-like miniboss blocks the way. If Zero is used to defeat this enemy, it crashes into him. Unable to continue further, Zero gives X his Z-Sabre and leaves. Although this prevents you from calling Zero again for the rest of the game, and he will not appear in the ending, X is now able to use Zero's Z-Sabre in the same way as him. By charging the X-Buster until he glows green, X will swing the Z-Sabre after the double-shot attack, and it will launch an energy wave, extending the range of the attack. (If X does not obtain the X-Buster upgrade, he will only swing the sword after his fully-charged shot, and it will not shoot the energy wave.) The Z-Sabre is powerful enough to defeat any boss in two hits, including Sigma.

[edit] Mavericks

[edit] About the Mavericks

Main article: List of Mavericks

[edit] Sub-bosses

• Mac

A small-time Hunter who sides with Doppler early on, and captures X at Hunter HQ. He is quickly dealt with by Zero.

• Maoh the Giant

A giant Mechaniloid that Doppler sics on Hunter HQ. It has giant maces for hands.

• Wormseeker R

A immense caterpillar beneath the ground in Neon Tiger's stage. It drops two hard-to-destroy bouncing eggs every time it emerges, then travels through the air and burrows into another part of the floor or ceiling.

• Genjibo And Shurikein

In Blast Hornet's stage, a little firefly spawns a giant, 3D star, which whirls around the airplane hangar like a buzzsaw. When it simply goes back and forth on the ground, shooting it will make it jump.

• Hotareeka

This beast lurks under the dam in Toxic Seahorse's stage. It travels back and forth in the middle of the screen, dropping mines and firing missiles.

• Hell Crusher

This tank-riding fiend hides out in Tunnel Rhino's stage.

• Rex-2000

In the first Doppler stage, this odd enemy marches around, guarding a device making the ceiling collapse, firing missiles from its back and energy blasts from its mouth. The player must defeat this enemy quickly.

• Mosquitus

This parasitic monster hangs out in Doppler's second stage, but only if Vile was destroyed in the first eight stages. X can total him easily with Acid Burst, but you can also fight him with Zero. If Zero beats him (just a few blasts and a sabre swing), the monster will catch him in a death grip and explode. Zero, however, shall just barely survive. He'll be unusable for the rest of the game, but before he leaves, he'll give X his Z-Sabre to use. A handy event.

• Godkarmachine O Inary

Bit and Byte fuse together to form this ancient Egyptian-looking monstrosity. It pitches saber slices at you or tries to grab you with its flying arms. It also has a beam sabre that it'll whip out from time to time.

[edit] Re-Release Details

• The 32-bit CD versions are noted for including additional animated cut-scenes and remixed CD music tracks, as well as all new sound effects.

The Japanese edition of the CD versions also featured two J-Pop songs by Kotono Shibuya, "One More Time" (opening theme) and "I'm Believer" (ending theme).

The 32-bit CD versions (except for the PC version) also infamously feature load times, including a very long wait when first booting up the game.

The 32-bit CD version of X3 is the version featured in Mega Man X Collection. The animated cut-scenes have been left intact (with the exception of the removal of the J-Pop songs in the intro and ending cut-scenes, it instead uses the original pieces of music found in the European/PC edition) and, finally the infamous loading times are non-existent.

• The PC version has all of the features from the Sega Saturn and PlayStation versions, but has a bug that manifests on more modern systems. Depending on the player's install method and CD-ROM speed, the maps for Dr. Doppler's lab may not load properly, instead displaying either "garbage" tiles or a black screen, and X can not teleport into the stage (he instead dies instantly when he enters the stage). The best solution to fixing the bug is to install the entire game to the hard drive, thereby eliminating the loading bug and allowing the game to play properly when the player reaches Doppler's lab.
• The PC version also had a bug which would cause the wire-frame Sigma head in the final segment of the game to be, rather hilariously, rendered upside-down.

[edit] Trivia

• In the Japanese version, Bit and Byte are known as Vajurila-FF and Mandrella-BB, with their fused form being called Godkarmachine O Inary. Strangely, while their regular forms got name changes for the English version, the Godkarmachine name was not changed (identifiable in the end credits.)
• Neon Tiger's stage theme music is a shortened remix of the Guns N' Roses song, My Michelle.

This remix surprisingly makes it into all re-releases and even onto Mega Man Xtreme 2; it appears Guns N' Roses either haven't noticed, or don't mind.

• One of the companies in charge of making the more realistic, 3D-style graphics for the Maverick bosses was Silicon Graphics, the company who helped bring the Donkey Kong Country series to life.
• The first form of Sigma in this game carries a shield that he uses in a way very similar to that of Captain America, a Marvel comics character.
• Mega Man X3 is the only Mega Man X game not to feature a fire-elemental Maverick.
• This game was the first Mega Man game to feature a full motion video opening sequence (in the Sega Saturn, PlayStation and PC ports).
• A pirated version of the game was made for the Mega Drive/Sega Genesis. In this heavily-altered port, X starts out with the complete armor from the first game. Also, there is no limit to the number of uncharged X-Buster shots that can be onscreen at once (whereas in the actual games only three can be visible at a time). New sprites were drawn for the bosses, and every hit X takes only removes 1 unit of health from the life bar. Enemies and bosses also have no "invincible" period between shots, meaning X can rapid-fire everything in sight. In the vertical areas that normally have elevators to go up with, the elevators are gone. As with most pirated games, the ending is scarce.
• In the cutscene of the 32-bit CD versions, there was a typo of the name Blizzard Buffalo. After the intro where he made an ice-sculpture of himself, his name came out as "Bilzzard Buffalo".
• This was the first game to include 2 armors (including the gold armor). Although the 2 armors aren't as different as in the other games as there is no physical change (except color) and the only effect is having all 4 of the enhancements.

[edit] External links

• GameFAQs entry for Mega Man X3
• Information on pirated Mega Man games, including Genesis version of X3