"Mega Man X blasting his way on the PSP. Capcom! YOU RULE!"

The Mega Man series has always been a favorite of mine, and this game is no exception. While there may be a special place in my heart for Mega Man X4 and Mega Man 2 & 3, this one is a close contender as well. Mega Man Maverick Hunter X has a lot of things that have been added and retweaked to make it better. One of the most recognizable differences upon first playing Maverick Hunter X is the graphics. When I first started the game, I was amazed with my jaw dropped at how bright, colorful and detailed the characters, items, and even the backgrounds are, but this is nothing out of the ordinary when you consider the capabilities of the PSP. The second recognizable positive aspect of this game is the music. While the original tunes for the different stages were breakthrough for their time, they cannot quite compare to the newly updated soundtracks. One worth mentioning is Boomerang Kuwanger's stage since it is comparable to many of today's dance and trance songs, a perfectly renditioned remake of the original. One other aspect worth mentioning is the video footage that has been added. Upon writing this, the reviewer has not beaten the game and thus I cannot fully extemporate about this particular aspect of the game. However, the opening sequence of the game is able to give one an idea of the beauty of the cartoon that awaits those who are able to finish the game as Mega Man X. One other thing that is enjoyable about the game is the Mega Man Powered Up demo included as a bonus.

There are a few negative aspects to the game, and even though they are not that noticeable, I'm sure that most hardcore Mega Man fans will look past this. The first recognizable hinderance is the control scheme. A lot of times it can be difficult to defeat certain enemies, and you may bump into them even though it looks like you aren't that close to them. This is terribly true when fighting the bosses. If you don't time your jump right you will take damage even though it looks like you've cleared past them. The obtaining of special items can be extremely frustrating, and to make it more challenging, the game designers have decided to move the capsule items to different places. The voice acting is chessy and a bit childish but definitely worth a good laugh, and it certainly makes the game up-to-date.

Overall, this game is certainly worth buying especially if you are a big fan of the Mega Man series. Since there are not a lot of extremely great PSP games of this sort, I feel that this is a refreshing change of pace and also a sign that the PSP is finally starting to reveal how powerful a system it truly is. Hopefully, the development parties responsible for making PSP games will realize that there is a huge market for this genre, and perhaps this will be a sign of things to come in the following months of this year (Mega Man Powered Up, Gradius Collection, Castlevania perhaps?).

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/09/06