Mega Man X (video game)

Mega Man X, known as Rockman X (ロックマンＸ) in Japan, is the first game of the Mega Man X series and was released from 1993-95. It was the first spin-off of the classic Mega Man series and made its debut on the Super Famicom/SNES, although it was ported to the PC in 1995. The game takes place in the early-22nd century (21XX time period), a century after the conclusion of the original series.

Story
It is the year 21XX. While trying to find a fossil record, Dr. Cain, a human scientist, has uncovered a capsule with a robot from the past-Mega Man X. The capsule contained a warning message from Dr. Light, his creator:

WARNING:

''"X" IS THE FIRST OF A NEW GENERATION OF ROBOTS WHICH CONTAIN AN INNOVATIVE NEW FEATURE - THE ABILITY TO THINK, FEEL AND MAKE THEIR OWN DECISIONS. HOWEVER THIS ABILITY COULD BE VERY DANGEROUS. IF "X" WERE TO BREAK THE FIRST RULE OF ROBOTICS, "A ROBOT MUST NEVER HARM A HUMAN BEING", THE RESULTS WOULD BE DISASTROUS AND I FEAR THAT NO FORCE ON EARTH COULD STOP HIM.''

''APPROXIMATELY 30 YEARS WILL BE REQUIRED BEFORE WE CAN SAFELY CONFIRM HIS RELIABILITY. UNFORTUNATELY I WILL NOT LIVE TO SEE THAT DAY, NOR DO I HAVE ANYONE TO CARRY ON MY WORK. THEREFORE, I HAVE DECIDED TO SEAL HIM IN THIS CAPSULE, WHICH WILL TEST HIS INTERNAL SYSTEMS UNTIL HIS RELIABILITY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED. PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB THE CAPSULE UNTIL THAT TIME.''

''"X" POSSESSES GREAT RISKS AS WELL AS GREAT POSSIBILITIES. I CAN ONLY HOPE FOR THE BEST.''


 * SEPTEMBER 18, 20XX
 * T.LIGHT

X's design interested Cain, and he analyzed Dr. Light's notes. Months later, Cain was able to create robots similar to X, called Reploids, and they began to be mass-produced around the world. For unknown reasons, some Reploids began to act strange and attacked humans, being labeled Mavericks. To counter any possible threat, the Maverick Hunters were formed. Sigma, a advanced Reploid, was assigned to be their leader. X also became a member of the Maverick Hunters. Time passes and the Maverick Hunters are able to keep peace, but one day Sigma himself became a Maverick, being joined by other Maverick Hunters to start a war against humanity. Although X was by nature a pacifist, he had to do something, so he joined the new leader of the Maverick Hunters, Zero, to stop the ambitions of Sigma and the Mavericks.

The Journal of Dr. Cain
The Journal of Dr. Cain is a feature from the instruction manual of the first Mega Man X game:

The council has now decided to set up a group of "Hunters" to destroy any maverick before it can cause injury. The reploid named Sigma has assigned to lead the Hunters. Sigma is one of the most intelligent reploids I've created and contains my latest circuit designs. His systems should be immune to any problems." I am a little worried about X. He seems unsure of his place in life and what Dr. Light had planned for him. But given time, I'm sure he'll find his way...." Most of the population is in hiding or trying to flee the city. I'm not sure how long we can hold out against Sigma's forces. I fear I've built the reploids too well. X is taking the news of the war very personally. He wants to join ZERO, the new leader of the Maverick Hunters, when he goes after Sigma. I'm doubtful of their chances, but I won't stop him. Something has to be done...."''
 * April 8th: "Still nothing. For the last month, I have been sifting through the dirt trying to find a fossil record which would verify my findings on Mesozoic plant life, but so far I have come up empty. Tomorrow I'll move my archaeological dig to a new site. Maybe I'll have better luck."
 * April 9th: "Set up camp at the new site and laid out a preliminary gridwork for the dig. I got some odd readings at location E-46. It looks like something metallic is buried several meters below the surface. I think I'll begin there tomorrow."
 * April 10th: "I can't believe what I found! Several meters below the surface was the remains of a lab. Although most of the lab was damaged, I did manage to find papers that indicate that it belonged to the famous robot designer, Dr. Thomas Light. I've begun to review what is left of Dr. Light's notes and it looks like he was onto a major breakthrough. The notes keep referring to "the capsule"..."
 * April 13th: "I found it. Standing 14 meters high and 8 meters wide, the capsule was hidden underneath a collapsed ceiling. Even underneath all the rubble, the capsule has remained intact and was still running some sort of diagnostic when I found it. There is a warning on the capsule, but all the indicators on the capsule show green. It should be safe to open it. I'll know tomorrow."
 * April 14th: "Today I met "X". Not simply a robot, X is something totally different. Light has give him the ability to think and make his own decisions. At times, X seems more like a man than like a machine."
 * April 15th: "Light was a genius! I've been going over his design notes and they are a quantum leap beyond anything the world has ever seen. Using them as a guide, I may be able to replicate his design and integrate them into a new generation of robots. I'll begin transporting X and the rest of Dr. Light's things back to my lab tomorrow."
 * November 22nd: "With X's help I have completed my first "Reploid." Although I don't completely understand how all of Dr. Light's systems works, I was able to make some minor modifications and the reploid seems to be functioning perfectly. His strength and intelligence seem limitless and he is fully able to make his own decisions. In fact, we got into our first argument. How intriguing!"
 * January 3rd: "The new reploids have been running off the assembly line for several weeks. It's amazing how easily they have been able to adapt to even the most difficult jobs. It still is a bit odd to see them working side by side with humans, but everyone seems to be happy to accept them."
 * February 16th: ''"Three reploids went "maverick" today and injured two people before they were stopped. This is the third instance of this type of behavior and I still have no idea of what is causing it! There is some talk about stopping the assembly of any more reploids, but I don't think it will happen. Maybe we've become too dependent on them....
 * May 16th: ''"It's been two months since Sigma took control of the Maverick Hunters and he and his hunters have been able to prevent any further injury to the population. Everyone is starting to breathe a little bit easier....
 * June 4th: ''"My worst nightmare has just come true. Sigma went Maverick today and took most of the other hunters with him. His motives are unclear, but it seems that he "decided" that humans are inferior and limiting the growth of the Reploids. For that reason, he decided that all humans should be eradicated.

Note: The dates from the Journal of Dr. Cain are given simply as month and day. The years in the game and manual are stated simply as "21XX." However, the timeline of events are believed to take place in the 2110s, as the copyright of Dr. Cain's computer in the opening scene of the first game shows three years when booting up: 2105, 2109 and 2114. (see game script.)

Bosses


Eight Mavericks:
 * Armored Armadillo
 * Boomer Kuwanger
 * Chill Penguin
 * Flame Mammoth
 * Launch Octopus
 * Spark Mandrill
 * Sting Chameleon
 * Storm Eagle

Others:
 * Vile
 * Bospider
 * Rangda Bangda
 * D-Rex
 * Velguarder
 * Sigma

Armor

 * * See Main Article: X's armors

X can find Armor Capsules throughout the stages of the game. They were hidden by Dr. Light to help X fight the Mavericks, should the case ever arise. They are usually hidden, but the Leg Capsule, which is required to nab the rest of the capsules, is in plain sight (and is impossible to avoid receiving).

Helmet Part, in Storm Eagle's stage: Dash-jump off of the bottom of a tower to find a corridor filled with DR tubes. Destroy them to find the Helmet Capsule.
 * Allows X to break certain blocks with his head.

Body Part, in Sting Chameleon's stage: Dash-jump onto the ceiling of the cave from the left. Climb up the wall and defeat the mini-boss, RT-55J, to reveal the Body Capsule.
 * Halves the damage X takes.

Arm Part, in Flame Mammoth's stage: Right before a very large room with flaming geysers that destroy platforms, dash-jump to the left to find several blocks that can be broken if X has the Helmet Part. This jump takes practice. Climb the wall to find the Arm Capsule. Alternately, defeat Vile in Sigma's Fortress to receive the Arm Part.
 * Allows X to charge his X-Buster to the next level, as well as to charge special weapons.

Leg Part, in Chill Penguin's stage: In the middle of the stage, in the cave-like area. You can't miss it.
 * Allows X to dash along the ground and break some blocks by jumping off them. The dash feature remains a part of X's arsenal for the entire series.

Rockman X Japanese commercial
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Trivia

 * The first boss (Vile in his Ride Armor) is the smallest intro stage boss in the series. Other intro stage bosses are often huge, taking up half the screen in many cases.
 * Keiji Inafune had originally planned for the series to star Zero, but thereafter Capcom made the decision for the game to star Mega Man X, with Zero appearing as a support character.
 * In Mega Man X Collection, when the Hadouken is used, X does not shout Hadouken! like in the SNES version.
 * During the credits, the music has a certain similarity to Mega Man 4's Wily Capsule fight stage.