After weathering through Mega Man X3, we finally get to my favorite X game, Mega Man X4. Capcom apparently gained some confidence after transitioning the Mega Man series to a new console once, and they didn’t let the X series stagnate on the SNES. With the new power of the PlayStation, Capcom were able to make more detailed stages than ever and use the technical specs to make the graphics sharper, the attacks and explosions more dynamic, and crank the already high velocity of the X series up a couple notches.

The core gameplay remains the same. The physics are slightly different because the game runs on a new engine of course, but the transition is smooth and they play mostly the same. You can also now play as Zero, in full form. Right at the start of the game you choose either X or Zero as your character and use them through the whole game. They play through the same stages, but the story and story bosses change a bit and the two characters fight very differently.

Zero does not have a buster anymore and uses his Z Saber to fight enemies. This is the total opposite of X and makes Zero a close-range fighter than a long-range one. Naturally, his sword is stronger than the buster to compensate. Other than this, Zero controls the same way as X with the same dash and other tricks.

I prefer to play as Zero, because his close combat encourages you to keep your momentum up from dashing through the stage in order to quickly close the gap between you and the enemy and cut them to pieces before they attack you, as opposed to X who regularly has to stop and shoot and play more defensively.

Zero is a faster-paced character and I believe that he brings out the best aspects of the X series’s energetic and tense gameplay because of this, and feels more rewarding to play as because you not only take care of enemies faster, but he requires more precise movements in order to stay safe.

When Zero defeats a boss, instead of getting a new sub-weapon he gets a new move that is activated by a certain controller input and does not consume energy. For example, remaining still and pressing the attack button and up causes Zero to fly straight up and a flame-covered slash to hit high enemies.

There’s a variety of different moves for Zero and the fact that they can be used without consequence of weapon energy makes Zero a more diverse character to play as than X and for the reason his attacks are used in different circumstances, as opposed to X’s weapons which are often just shot straight ahead of you.

These are all mainstays of Zero’s gameplay style in the coming X games and naturally I prefer to use him in those, too. In any case, the addition of another character does nothing but add to the series, giving it more replay value and a different appeal to players because of Zero’s distinct playing style. There’s a good divide between players who prefer X and players who prefer Zero, which shows Capcom did a good job at implementing this new character.

I love the soundtrack of the PSX X games as well. The greater sound palette made individual songs stand out more, and the aggressive electro-rock of these soundtracks is even more intense than the SNES music. To be frank, it’s pretty badass stuff.

The plot continues to become more involved. As said before, X and Zero have different storylines and story bosses (bosses outside of the Maverick stages). There’s new anime cutscenes with notoriously bad voice acting that you can thankfully skip if you want. And some fucking genius thought it would be a good idea to have the guy who voiced the original, younger Mega Man in 8 voice X in X4.

This is totally jarring because the voice does not fucking fit at all and you have to hear it several times through the game because the characters now make noises when they attack or are attacked. Seriously, he looks like a grown man and sounds like a toddler. What the fuck. This is also the first Mega Man X game to introduce an intermission stage so to speak, a unique stage much like the opening stage that the player would have to play through upon defeating half of the available Mavericks. This increases the length of the game, which is good.

Especially in X4 because it’s the shortest game in the series. The stages are over really fucking quickly. They’re short but sweet though, with all of them being action-packed. My only gripe is Jet Stingray’s stage, which has you entirely on a water bike or whatever they’re called, which is auto-scrolling much like the bike parts of Ride Ostrich’s stage. But you’re on the bike the whole level, which is kind of annoying and just means this is the shortest stage in a game with already short stages.

The final Sigma fight is pretty damn hard too. I think that about covers X4. Primarily because this is the best X game with Zero playable, who brings out the greatest elements of the X series, this is my favorite game. I just wish it were longer. Each stage needed at least one more segment to it (the parts that are divided up by loading screens).