I've always been into Mega man. But with the Mega man X series, with which the series grew much more mature, a whole new level of Mega man experience was opened up to me. Now, I've also always been a great fan of the boss characters of Mega man - that's what's mostly attracted me to the games. "Mega man X4" - the fourth in the "X" series and released for the Playstation, Sega Saturn and PC - not only is very strong in that aspect, but tops as the most powerful Mega man game to date.
Keeping to Mega man's traditional eight-bosses-in-any-order style of play, the storyline is the strongest ever, and can even be read into events in our world... But in order to appreciate it, one must understand the circumstances. At the time of this story, so-called Reploids (robots who can think, feel and make their own decision) are spread throughout the world. Some go 'maverick'; i.e., they turn on humans and other Reploids. It is the duty of the Maverick hunters, a peace-keeping police force, to stop the Mavericks. In "Mega man X4", the Maverick hunters are turned against an army called the Repliforce, against the good will of both parties, when the Repliforce are accused of being Mavericks. This makes the confrontations of "X", Zero and the Mavericks all the more emotionally stunning.
During the game, through which you can play as either X or Zero, you will meet a host of Mavericks of all shapes, sizes and personalities. From Magma Dragoon to Frost Walrus, all battles are not only challenging, but very impacting as well, because the bosses have a very strong personality. Their near-flawless voice casting underlines this heavily; too bad most of their names remain unknown.
The Repliforce storyline is the deepest yet to be seen in a Mega man game, X or not, in my opinion. Particularly when you choose to play as Zero is the progress of the storyline definitely more moving. And the (to me) astonishing music does not spoil matters at all. To sum it up; I think "Mega man X4" is the most impacting Mega man game of them all. This is the top of the mountain. If you can just look past the rather blocky graphics, I can totally advise you to fasten your seat belts and get ready for as much excitement as a Die Hard marathon.
