| Mega Man X | |
|---|---|
.png){kind=logo} Logo from the latest game | |
| Genre(s) | Action, Platform, role-playing, edutainment, Run 'n gun |
| Developer(s) | Capcom Minakuchi Engineering |
| Publisher(s) | Capcom |
| Platform(s) | |
| First release | Mega Man X December 17, 1993 |
| Latest release | Mega Man X DiVE March 24, 2020 |
| Parent series | Mega Man |
Mega Man X[a] is a series of action-platform games released by Capcom. It is a sub-series of the Mega Man franchise previously developed by the same group with Keiji Inafune acting as one of the main staff members. The first game was released on December 17, 1993 in Japan on the Super Famicom and the following month on the Super NES in North America. Most of the sequels were ported to Microsoft Windows. The gameplay introduces new elements to the Mega Man franchise in the form of Mega Man's successor X including his new skills and power-ups in the form of armors while retaining the ability to decide which boss to fight first.
Set 100 years after the original games, the story follows X, the last creation of Dr. Light whose free-willed programming and intelligence allows for countless other free-willed androids called reploids to be produced. When these reploids begin to go "Maverick" and start to rebel against the humans under the command of Sigma, X decides to make up for his creations by joining the Hunters. Throughout the series, he is partnered by his superior Zero, who becomes a playable character from Mega Man X3 onwards. A third character named Axl, joins the group from Mega Man X7 onwards. For the remake Mega Man Maverick Hunter X, the antagonist Vile debuted as a playable character. While at first Zero possess the same skills as X, he becomes a swordsman in Mega Man X4.
The video games have also inspired several spin-offs that deal with other villains while several manga adaptations have been produced. Critical reception to the Mega Man X series was generally positive for its faster-paced action in comparison to the original series, but the continuous release of installments led to criticism about Mega Man X lacking innovations. A sequel series titled Mega Man Zero followed, and focused on its titular character while several crossovers involving X and other characters from the series have been produced.
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