The iOS platform has seen many classic games ported over as of late, but usually they are never as good as the original. How does MEGA MAN X fair on the platform? The answer may surprise you.

MEGA MAN X ($4.99)

“One of the best action games of all time, “MEGA MAN X” comes to iOS with several new options. ”

Presentation

So what’s new in this iOS version? Well, you can set a customizable control scheme, including auto-fire, auto-charge, as well as auto-ladder latch-on. Leader-boards and Achievements have been added with 80 challenges. One of the most welcomed features though, is the ability to set the difficulty to “Easy Mode.”

The retina graphics are a huge plus and the game looks really sharp and polished on the small screen. The sounds and music go perfect with the fast gameplay. I’ve seen many 16-bit games ported over to iOS, but MEGA MAN X is absolutely stunning.

Gameplay

If you played the original, you remember that the levels in MEGA MAN X were long and continuous.  Right off the bat you’ll notice that this iOS version splits the level intro many individual screens with loading transitions in between. WHY!!! This seems completely unnecessary… just like adding IAP “cheats” that unlock all weapons/armor..

I was expecting the iOS features, like auto charge, auto fire, easy mode, to take away from the game, but they actually made the game more enjoyable. The gameplay is still fast and will keep you on your toes. Despite my issues with the constant loading transitions, I was able to look past after a few levels..

Controls

Touch controls are always going to be tricky for games requiring precise controls, however, MEGA MAN X doesn’t suffer too much from this. I actually was surprised at how well the controls worked. You control Mega Man with a flashy touch screen D-Pad, with Fire and Jump Buttons found on the bottom right corner. Overall,  the game play doesn’t suffer too much considering the touch controls.

Suggestions

Get rid of the black loading transitions….they are waaaay too frequent and make the game feel like a NES game, not SNES..

Also, maybe add an auto-save feature after defeating each boss, instead of having to manually save.

Conclusion

MEGA MAN X for iOS could have been really, really great. Unfortunately CAPCOM decided to add these unnecessary features like IAP Cheats and extra in-game loading… There is absolutly NO REASON why the port should have more loading transitions  than the original. It does look nice, and plays decent, but anyone that enjoyed the original will feel like this port could have been so much more…(7/10)