Mega Man X7 details and screens

[OB1]

From Games Are Fun:

New details on Mega Man X7
Thanks to Mega Man Network and Planet Mega Man, we've gotten our hands on new details about Capcom's PlayStation 2 action title, Mega Man X7. The information comes courtesy of Japan's NTT Publications.

First and foremost, the newest playable character, (tentatively) called Excel, can be seen in a few of the shots below. He used to be a bounty hunter for the Red Alert Syndicate, but mysterious events have set the employer after the employee. He'll wield a gun of some sort, but no further information on his abilities was revealed.

However, new gameplay information has come out. Most interesting, perhaps, is that Mega Man X7 won't be a strictly 2D game, nor will it be based around "2.5D" concepts (2D path through a 3D world). Instead, the entirely polygonal engine will allow side-scrolling levels and fully explorable 3D environments. The camera will change perspective in levels whenever theg ame calls for it. We're not entirely sure how the controls will work, but MMX7 is expected to make a showing at E3. We'll have the details.

In the meantime, enjoy the new art and screens below. It looks like Mega Man X7 has come a long way since its annoucement last May.

Sounds promising!

[A Black Falcon]

It is looking better... I'm very concerned about those 3d levels, though. Legends was just so awful...

Anyway, hmm. A new character. I wonder... will there be no Zero? I know that would make more sense storywise (since he died at the end of X5 and wasn't in X6 and Zero says that after being killed in X5 he was in some capsule for over a hundred years) but I thought I'd heard that Zero was back, somehow... we'll see...

This Excel does look a lot like Zero though...

The game is looking better, though. I just hope that they can keep the same level of gameplay and fun from X4-6 and is in no way like Legends or MMBN:T...

[OB1]

Does this answer your question?

And I'm really looking forward to the 3D stuff. Sure Legends sucked, but give Capcom another chance! I'm rather see them try the 3D thing a few times and then finally get it right than see the same stupid 2D game for the 50th time.

[A Black Falcon]

So, Zero is back.

So how exactly do they explain THAT? In X5 he dies and vanishes... then in X6 he is gone and X uses his saber... then in Zero it says Zero has been in some capsule for over a hundred years after being hurt or something and lost his memory... a fairly clear reference it seemed to the end of X5... uh, how DO they explain this?

And I'd rather it was all 2d. Make it polyagonal 2d if you want... but 2d!

[OB1]

WHY??!!

There are already around fourty 2D Mega Man games that play almost identical to each other! Why on earth would you want more of the same? For cripes sake, you and others like you are the reason why Capcom rarely ever innovates.

[A Black Falcon]

Because X4-6 are the best games in the series, IMO... they DID add a bunch of things to the game, and are a lot of fun, so it'd be good to see them continue with that and not go the way of Legends and so many other serieses ruined or changed dramatically when they went to 3D.

And there are approximately 30 Mega Man games, not 40. :p

[OB1]

So you want them to just stop trying to innovate and create the same damn game a hundred times over? Good grief. I'm glad that you're not in charge of Capcom.

[A Black Falcon]

Did you play X4 through 6? While they are very similar they DO add things to the series...

[OB1]

Yes I have all of the PSX MM games. They added small things to the series. Aren't six MMX games enough for you? Don't you want Capcom to try their best to innovate for the better??

[A Black Falcon]

But I love X-style gameplay... its a lot better than the original series style because of the additions -- real plot, armor pieces to collect, multiple characters, being able to slide/jump on walls, ducking, X4's experiment with HORRIBLY dubbed anime cutscenes... etc...

[OB1]

And you have six of those games already (even though they're only minor improvements over the old games)! You just want them to keep on churning out the same games over and over?

[Dark Jaguar]

Um ABF, you do know there are many different endings to X5 don't you? Depending on how you play it, there's an ending where Zero locks himself up. That's the correct ending according to X6 and Megaman Zero.

I think this is a new Zero, or some sort of Zero clone bot, or just his image but he doesnt' appear except in dreams or something. The only explanation aside from that is that Zero temporarilly left the pod to battle and at the end he locks himself up again (cheap). I think Excell is supposed to replace Zero though.

[A Black Falcon]

Yes, yes, different endings... but the point was that in NONE of them should Zero be anywhere but in that crystal thing at any time between X5 and MMZero...

[OB1]

Oh who cares. MM's plot is pretty thin, anyhow.

[A Black Falcon]

The rest of the series, sure... but not X4-6 and Zero. Those games have real stories for the first time in the series.

[OB1]

kinda..

[A Black Falcon]

Kinda? They have as much story as you can possibly expect in a game in that genre, I'd say...

[OB1]

But that's not saying much.

[A Black Falcon]

Not a whole lot, but I would say that the games have stories. Not super deep stories, but decent stories that aren't just 'kill everything because its evil'. A bit overdramatic, perhaps... but still IMO that's better than "Dr. Wily took over robot masters for the 10th time"...

[A Black Falcon]

http://www.capcom.com/megaman/clip_04.html

Gameplay trailer! And it looks better than I thought it would...

[OB1]

It looks great! I told you that it could be good, oh ye of little faith. Capcom is finally successfully bringing the Mega Man franchise into three dimensions.

[A Black Falcon]

Well its not like I'd suddenly believe in it based on your word... but a gameplay movie of that quality (though the sound volume was very low... oh well...)? That convinces me. Now, I've got to agree -- it looks like a great X game. Now if only MMBN:T looked/played this good!

[OB1]

I never said that it was going to be great, I just said that you shouldn't dismiss it without seeing anything more than a few screenshots.

[A Black Falcon]

Well after Legends, I saw no reason to be positive... but the gameplay moviie changed my mind. For one thing it had a lot of classic enemies in it... like those giant helicopter bug robot things from the MMX intro stage...

[A Black Falcon]

Well after Legends, I saw no reason to be positive... but the gameplay moviie changed my mind. For one thing it had a lot of classic enemies in it... like those giant helicopter bug robot things from the MMX intro stage...

[OB1]

People say the same exact thing about the upcoming 3D Castlevania game for the PS2, just because the N64 Castlevanias weren't that great. It's by the say team that made the past four 2D Castlevanias, so I see no reason to worry. The N64 Castlevanias were developed by a Canadian studio.

[A Black Falcon]

I'd still be suspicious... different studio doesn't mean it'll translate any better to 3d...

[OB1]

If it's done by the best Mega Man team it will be.

[A Black Falcon]

Good at 2d doesn't equal good at 3d. Hence the skepticism... until proven otherwise.

[OB1]

What, do you think that Capcom's never made a 3D game before?

[A Black Falcon]

Of course not... but has the team that made the PSX MMX games?

[OB1]

I think they just had a robot churn out the past hundred or so side-scrolling Mega Man games. Just add a few new costumes and enemies and voila!, we have a new MM game.

[A Black Falcon]

Hah. Robots would make them EXACTLY the same, and not add small additions here and there... :)

[OB1]

Not if they're somewhat smart robots.

[A Black Falcon]

There are admittedly a lot of them, but they aren't THAT similar... every time they move to a new platform there are big changes...

[OB1]

Big changes? Adding a slide button isn't a big change, ABF. None of the stuff added in the X series is a big change. You just have very low standards.

[A Black Falcon]

You are saying that it WASN'T a big change from 6 to X? Huh? But so much was added... a slide button, wall climbing, upgradable parts to find, better graphics, new graphic style and enemy naming system, new badguy... I wouldn't say that that's such a tiny improvement. Now sure within platforms there is very little change. But each new one they go to adds stuff.

[OB1]

Hahaha, good Lord, man, you should look at what you just wrote! New enemy naming system, better graphics, and new bad guys??!! If that's what makes a game a huge difference from previous ones then you've got the lowest standards for video game sequels than anyone on the planet.

Hahahaha... oh my...

[A Black Falcon]

Those are small things but the other things are big.

And in the MM series where small changes are the rule, bigger ones like adding the slide button and wall-climbing are huge...

And a big part of the charm of the series is exactly THAT it hasn't changed too much!

[Dark Jaguar]

There's no slide button, but there's a dash button. As Megaman and Bass pointed out, sliding and dashing are two different things. Megaman slides, Bass dashes. Dashing won't get you under small spaces, but will allow for long jumps.

[OB1]

I'm sorry, ABF, but adding a wall slide and a dash is not a huge difference in gameplay.

[A Black Falcon]

The wall slide was. Maybe not the dash, but certainly the wall jumping... that was a huge addition.

[OB1]

Good Lord, I can't believe you're serious about this. They added a new move to the PS2 and GC versions of Splinter Cell, so does that mean that they're majorly different from the X-Box and PC versions?

[A Black Falcon]

Well it depends on what kind of move... yeah, MM doesn't innovate much and change comes slowly... but as I said, THAT IS A BIG PART OF WHY I LIKE IT! If it changed too much it wouldn't be Mega Man!

And the wall-jump is the biggest gameplay move feature addition ever in the series, IMO.

[OB1]

And that's a very, very sad fact. Saying that you like the series as it is is just fine and dandy, but please don't make me chuckle by saying things like "the wall jump is such a major difference OMG!!".

[A Black Falcon]

But the wall jump is the biggest reason (of many) why I prefer X to the original series. I never said it was a HUGE change compared to other serieses... just for the MM series...

[OB1]

So you were saying that it was a huge addition in context of the MM series? Well that's not saying much at all.

[A Black Falcon]

Not a lot... but its a addition I liked a lot. It makes the games more fun... like being able to charge your shot... nice extras that improve gameplay. And IMO the gameplay is fun... and the extras while not huge do add up. Its why the X4-6 PSX series is my favorite part of the whole MM series...

[OB1]

More screens.

[OB1]

More screens.