"After playing this game; Remakes = 1, Originals = 0"

Megaman Maverick Hunter X is a remake of the original Megaman X that was released for the SNES. This title is a PSP title, currently priced at $30.00 at the writing of this article. This game is both a great site for old school veterans of the series like myself, as well as a great title for newcomers to the series due to its gameplay as well as its price tag.

This game actually has a back story now thanks to the unlockable anime movie. Basically Sigma feels that Reploids are the future, and that humans are whats holding them back from becoming even greater. Sigma sees a lot of potential in X, since all Reploids are based off of him. But due to his emotions he won't ever tap into his true potential. So after betraying everybody at Maverick Hunter headquarters he frees Vile, convinces many Reploids to fight with him(most like Sting Chameleon needed force to join), and starts terrorizing the world. Megaman steps up and decides to put a stop to this Maverick rebellion, and that's where Megaman X MH starts.

The graphics are now 3D. Having played my share of 2D sprite games, including the original Megamans, it took me awhile to get used to this game. But frankly after playing for a few hours I grew to love these graphics. All the enemies have been redone in 3D, and the levels as well. Unless you play only 2D games for whatever reason.

A lot of the games music was remixed. A lot I don't have a problem with, others needed to not be touched at all. Also X's voice has changed as well. He actually sounds like a man :D. He talks during the movie as well, and frankly after having to play X1-6 and Megaman 7 and 8 with a girly voiced Megaman I'm THRILLED at this change.

Being a remake, many of the levels remained the same in terms of their structure. The enemies may have been moved around a bit, but overall it's the same. All the original bosses are in here, and with one exception all the final stage bosses are in the same order as well.

That said, Megaman Maverick Hunter X plays like any other X game when you pick X. He is armed with a X Buster that can fire Buster shots and Charged Buster Shots. Defeating bosses nets you a weapon they used against you during battle that is also the weakness for another boss. Scattered in the levels are also Armor Upgrades which give X new abilities and defenses, Heart Tanks which raise your Max Health bar and Sub Tanks, which refill your health gauge when you use them. The location of many of these upgrades and tanks were changed from the original game, so don't be surprised when you go through Chill Penguins stage and magically don't see the Leg Armor Capsule in your path anymore. Basically if you've played X in another X game, you know how he'll play like. Not much has changed from the original, with the exception of Zero's Buster upgrade. It used to be exactly the same as the Arm Capsule upgrade in the original. Now it's stronger and faster, plus getting it still lets you get the Hadoken capsule. So this time around it'd be a better idea to pick the Zero Buster up, although it makes trekking through the earlier final stages more difficult, since you won't get it until before the Boss at Final Stage 3.

The real treat in this game is Vile Mode. This is unlocked after you beat the game with X, which also unlocks a special 30 minute anime movie. Vile plays VERY differently from X. He has weapons armed in his hand, shoulder and knee. He gets weapons and upgrades from beating bosses and certain combinations of bosses. Meaning he might not get a certain weapon until both Armored Armadillo AND Launch Octopus are defeated. Each of these weapons have their strengths and weakness, and the combination you make will determine how exactly you plan to use Vile. This mode is my favorite mode really, because playing as Vile is a whole new experience. It's like playing as Zero when I first got X4. I'm not going to lie to you though. He WILL take some getting used to. I was stuck on the highway for about an hour until I got off. It was that bad >.>. But after you beat a few bosses and get a significant amount of upgrades, the rest of the game is a walk in the park. Until you fight X and Zero :/.

After beating the game for X or Vile, you can save it and unlock Clear Mode. This lets you play the game again with your respective characters. All the stages are unlocked, and all of them have their Maverick bosses waiting for you at the end. You can use this chance to pick up any upgrades you missed like the Hadoken capsule for X, plus to play a few levels whenever you want to kill some time. Vile also gets unlimited energy in Clear Mode, meaning he can equip any combination he wants now, without hindering one of his other sections.

Clear Mode and Hard Mode will add a few more hours to your play time. If your not a big Megaman junky like me then you'll probably stop there and put the game on the shelf, picking it up once in a while to play it through again. I play a few levels everyday just to stay sharp.

A great remake of a classic game, not much more you can ask for with this game. It's extremely cheap for a new PSP title, priced at only $30 dollars here in the US, and the time you can put in this game adds up. It also comes with a Demo of Megaman Powered Up, a remake of the 1st Megaman game that Capcom is releasing. After playing it and finally beating Cutman on Hard Mode, you will see a review for that game when its released as well :D.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/21/06