There have been a number of changes to Maverick Hunter X’s plot, whether they are considered fan service or a nuisance is completely dependent on the person playing. Nevertheless, the game retains the same overrunning storyline with a few minor changes; basically, an archaeologist named Dr. Cain stumbles upon the robotics factory once operated by Dr. Light whilst on an expedition. Dr. Cain finds a large capsule containing Mega Man X, a highly advanced robot developed by the late Dr. Light. Cain takes the capsule and studies the android’s design and Dr Light’s notes. With X’s help, Cain produces the first Reploid, a robot that can think, grow and display emotions, not unlike a human being. After the robots enter mass production, things start to go wrong. Reploids are equipped with free will, and eventually they began to discover the wrong side of the law. After public outcry, a new force of robot hunting robots called the Maverick Hunters is established to fight the forces of rogue tin cans. Cain felt that he needed to design a Reploid that could not be corrupted. With X’s help, he built and designed Sigma, who would lead the Maverick Hunters. However, humanity’s luck changed when Sigma himself turned maverick, and encouraged many of the Reploids to join him on his quest to render humanity extinct. It’s up to X to put a stop to the madness, and save mankind.
What really happened to Dumbo
If you’re unfamiliar with the illustrious history of Mega Man, then all these Xs, Zeros and Battle Networks are going to be rather confusing. Simply put, Mega Man X is the first spin-off series from the Mega Man franchise, and has a much larger focus on action than the NES series. It retains the formula by which a player chooses the boss they wish to fight, and take his weapon, which in turn is another boss’ weakness, and so forth until they reach the final boss.
Unlike other remakes of recent times (Hello Conker!), Maverick Hunter X does nothing to sour the reputation of its predecessor. It retains the same action-packed style of Mega Man X, but offers a few changes along the way. Veterans of the SNES version of the game will notice that many of X’s upgrades have been moved – a sneaky idea on Capcom’s behalf, but it does facilitate the need for a search on the player’s behalf – you can’t just rely on your memory. This will also alter the order in which you have to take on the game’s bosses (you need the Dash upgrade to beat Storm Eagle, for example). A number of the game’s bosses have been changed; some only slightly (Chill Penguin), while others (Sting Chameleon) have been totally redesigned. Each of the Mavericks has been given an expanded backstory, establishing some sort of relationship with X, and a reason for them to join Sigma in his quest.
This Maverick's crime was indecent exposure
The main downfall of Maverick Hunter X is that it is a remake of a rather short game – expectations of length have changed in the last 13 years, so even if those few hours are packed to the brim with action, you’ll still find a few people who will whinge about it. Nevertheless, Maverick Hunter X offers a reasonably challenging adventure, with a few extra difficulty levels thrown in to satisfy the masochists.
Maverick Hunter X also offers up a reasonable amount of bonus content. There’s a bunch of anime-style shorts that play at various points through the game, as well as the original video animation (OVA) entitled “The Day of Sigma”, which details Sigma’s motivations for turning Maverick. Perhaps the most prolific extra, however, is the inclusion of Vile as a playable character. Playing as Vile entitles you to somewhere in the region of 40 new weapons, a new soundtrack and an arrange mode. Vile’s quest also has a plot, but it isn’t considered canon due to the conflicts it causes with X’s story. A demo of Mega Man: Powered Up, a remake of the original Mega Man has been included in the package – this single level preview lets you take on Cut Man.
Beats going over the falls in a barrel
The most obvious change to Maverick Hunter X is located in the visual department. Capcom have opted to replace the sprites of Mega Man X with a 3D rendered graphics, not unlike those seen in the latest X title on the PlayStation 2. The game is amongst the prettiest titles on the PSP, thanks to smooth animation, a vibrant colour scheme and some impressive effects from the different weapons. Some 2D puritans may be unhappy with the change, but it really is for the better. The game is packing a remixed soundtrack which is reasonably good, but again may upset some fans of the first game. Voice work is also fairly prolific throughout the game, though doesn’t really climb above the value offered by your typical US dub of an anime series.
Perhaps the best thing about Maverick Hunter X is that it shows that there are publishers committed to developing fresh, quality content specifically for the PSP. Yeah, it may be a remake, but we’d take a fresh remake over a bunch of cut down EA Sports ports any day of the week. We hope that Maverick Hunter X is the first of many high quality PSP exclusives – between this and Mega Man: Powered Up, it finally looks as though the PSP is beginning to differentiate itself from its home console brethren.
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