Mega Man Xtreme

Mega Man Xtreme, known as Rockman X: Cyber Mission (ロックマンＸ サイバーミッション) in Japan, is a spin-off title in the Mega Man X game series, developed by Capcom for the Game Boy Color. Mega Man Xtreme is said to chronologically take place in between Mega Man X2 and Mega Man X3, although gameplay-wise it is mostly a remix of the first two games. The game was followed by one direct sequel, Mega Man Xtreme 2, also for the Game Boy Color. The graphics and music are downgraded to 8-bit quality, due to the Game Boy Color's limits. The game and its sequel have been praised for giving gamers a glimpse at what the Mega Man X series would have been like on the NES. This game is currently available for download on the 3DS Nintendo eShop.

Gameplay
The game features similar gameplay as its predecessors. An action-platformer, players attempt a series of stages, collect various power-ups, and defeat the boss of each stage, assimilating its signature weapon. Mega Man Xtreme also features stages, enemies, and bosses from both Mega Man X and Mega Man X2.

Story
It is the year 21XX, where humans and Reploids coexist. Peace has returned to the world thanks to the efforts of the Maverick Hunters. But one day, the Mother Computer of "Hunter Base", the Maverick Hunters' headquarters, has been hacked by an unknown source. All of its data was overwritten in an instant, and the resulting fake data has sent the whole world spiraling into chaos. The command center sends X out, with the technician Reploid Middy giving him assistance from the base, to face the as-yet unidentified enemy, who has resurrected Maverick data from the past.

Normal Mode
After waking up in the Highway and fighting through it, X is brought back into reality by Zero, who explains the situation with the Mother Computer. X enters the Mother Computer and begins fighting the Maverick data. After defeating one of them, Geemel and Techno are seen in the Shadow Hunter base discussing X's progress. Zain volunteers to go hunt X down and stop him before he gets too far; X can then battle Zain in a secret room in Flame Stag's Volcanic Zone Stage, which results in him running away.

Once X has defeated all four of the Mavericks, the Mother Computer's core is made accessible. On his way there, X fights Zain again, this time destroying him completely, much to the chagrin of Geemel. Once he actually enters the core he finds Sigma, the true mastermind of the operation, and defeats him. This reveals the location of Geemel and Techno to the Maverick Hunters; in response to this, Geemel flees, abandoning Techno.

X heads to the base and confronts Techno alone, destroying his hacking terminal - however, this kills Techno in the process. Middy then rushes in to find Techno, revealing that he is his brother and that they share the CPU. This means that Middy also passes away, angering X. The Hunter then continues on, finding Sigma again and finishing him off to gain redemption.

Hard Mode
Despite having saved the Mother Computer, X soon finds himself again sent to the Highway. When he wakes up, Zero explains to that someone has hacked it yet again, and now there are more data reconstructions of Mavericks guarding the core. X enters the Mother Computer once more.

Upon defeating two Mavericks, it is revealed that Geemel has returned and is attempting to get revenge on X. The Hunter defeats the remaining Mavericks and makes his way to the core. This time he is ambushed by Geemel, who attacks him but is destroyed.Once he enters the core, X learns that Sigma is back again, and defeats him both in the core and at the ruins of the Shadow Hunters' base.

Main Characters

 * Mega Man X
 * Zero
 * Middy
 * Dr. Cain
 * Techno

Bosses
Opening Stage:
 * Vile

Stage Select Screen bosses:

Normal Mode:

Hard Mode:

Extreme Mode: Contains all eight Maverick bosses.

Sigma Stages:

Development
As a last minute decision by Capcom, the Japanese version of the game made its initial, inconspicuous debut as a playable demo at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in May of 2000. The game was later shown again at the Tokyo Game Show the following fall.

Haruki Suetsugu was the sole artist responsible for the game's character designs and cover art. The entirety of the game's cover illustration was done in Painter, forgoing the usual cell painted look of central figures, as Suetsugu wanted to give the whole image "a sense of summary as well as luxury." His only regret regarding the piece was that he didn't use crisper colors. The twins Middy and Techno were designed so that if one's helmet was turned 90 degrees, its shape would mirror the other's. Additionally, Middy was illustrated with soft, round lines, and Techno was given sharper, pointed angles, to better reflect their personalities. Going by his instructions to make "armor" characters, Suetsugu designed Zain and Geemel in contrast to one another by giving them heavy and light armor plating, respectively. Initially, he felt their illustrations would be too complex for the Game Boy Color's graphical capabilities, but he was greatly impressed with the outcome, praising the skills of the game's graphics designers.

Trivia

 * Erroneously, Vile was referred to as his Japanese name, "VAVA" in the North American version. This error was not corrected in the Virtual Console re-release.
 * Like Mega Man V before it, Mega Man Xtreme was originally going to have Super Game Boy functionality, but the feature was scrapped for unknown reasons.