Cover artwork I generate from the game data. I do not use publisher artwork.
Game profile
Mega Man X
This SNES spinoff introduced dashing and wall jumping and is celebrated as one of the best action platformers of its era. Today it runs via Nintendo Switch Online or the Mega Man X Legacy Collection.
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What kind of game this is
At its core this is Platformer / Action, set in a science fiction world. Visually it is built on pixel art, and the overall tone stays somewhere between light and heavy. The structure is guided rather than open, so you are moved along instead of dropped into a map. It is built around short sessions, which makes it easy to pick up for half an hour.
It is genuinely demanding, and repeated failure is part of how it is designed. Story exists mostly as background texture rather than a reason to keep going. It is a single player experience from start to finish. It runs on 2 platforms. It sits in the budget bracket.
What stands out
- Dash and wall jump
- Hidden armor parts
- Intense boss fights
This fits you if
- you are after a proper adrenaline rush
- you usually have thirty to sixty minutes and want that to be enough
- you want real resistance and are fine with dying a lot
- you play alone and want a complete experience without other people
- you are watching your budget
- you like a deliberate retro look over photorealism
Look elsewhere if
- you want to relax and not be punished for mistakes
- you want something that lasts, this is over after 6 hours
- pixel art puts you off
- you specifically want an open world to roam
What it costs you in time
About 6 hours in total. At two hours per evening that is around 3 evenings, so about a week of casual play.
How the rating ranks
Critics settled on 92 out of 100, which puts it above 93 percent of the 1206 games here and at rank 76 overall. That is a strong score, comfortably above what most releases manage.
For comparison, Platformer averages 84 points across the database, so this one sits 8 points above its own genre. The figure rests on 295 collected ratings.
Released in 1993, which makes it 33 years old. A genuine classic, and worth checking how the version you buy holds up today.
The facts
- Release year
- 1993
- Genres
- Platformer, Action
- Playtime
- approx. 6 hrs.
- Difficulty
- Demanding, punishing
- Story weight
- Background flavour
- Play with
- Solo
- Setting
- Sci-fi
- Visual style
- Pixel art
- Price bracket
- Budget
- Platforms
- Switch, Mobile
- Critic rating
- 92 / 100
Direct comparison
| Genres | Release year | Playtime | Critic rating | Price bracket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mega Man X | 1993 | approx. 6 hrs. | 92 | Budget |
| Mega Man 2 | 1991 | approx. 5 hrs. | 90 | Budget |
| Risk of Rain Returns | 2023 | approx. 15 hrs. | 85 | Budget |
| Katana Zero | 2019 | approx. 6 hrs. | 85 | Budget |
If you liked this, try these
- Mega Man 2 Shared: Platformer, Action, Sci-fi
- Risk of Rain Returns Shared: Platformer, Action, Sci-fi, longer
- Katana Zero Shared: Platformer, Action, Sci-fi
- Mega Man 11 Shared: Platformer, Action, Sci-fi
- Terminator 2D: No Fate Shared: Platformer, Action, Sci-fi
- Ghostrunner Shared: Platformer, Action, Sci-fi