Mega Man X: Command Mission (GCN)
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom Production Studio 3
Genre: Third-Person Action RPG
Release Date: September 21, 2004

By Phil Theobald | Sept. 20, 2004


Can the Blue Bomber put his platforming past behind him as he sets off on an RPG adventure?

Mega Man X has seen his share of trouble in the past few years. The last few games in the X series (the most recent being X7) have been, well, uninspired to say the least. Given Mega Man' s long history of platform-based games, it was quite a surprise to see that the latest X title is a full-on, turn-based RPG. This was somewhat of a risky move on Capcom' s part considering that Mega Man hasn' t had the best of luck in switching genres (remember that a game called Mega Man Soccer actually exists).

Sure, a lot of people doubted how good a Mega Man RPG would be, but their worries were alleviated somewhat when it was announced that Command Mission was being developed by the same team that created Capcom' s popular PS2 RPG, Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter. The end result, it turns out, isn' t nearly as good as Dragon Quarter, but it' s by no means a terrible game.

The story is much like the previous X games -- a tangled web of anime inspired cyberpunk techno babble that will confound all but the most dedicated fan fic writer. Still, the X universe fits in well within the RPG genre. Here, the story and characters can be fleshed out far more than they could in a platform game. Unfortunately, aside from the two lead characters, X and fan favorite Zero, the other characters aren' t terribly interesting. New heroes like roguish bounty hunter, Spider, and the cute ' n' innocent healer, Cinnamon, are straight out of the Big Book of Anime Clichés. The infamously bad voice acting from the Mega Man series isn' t all that prominent this time around. Although the voices are never great, they certainly aren' t as offensive as in past games.

I really enjoy the game' s graphical style. The muted, almost washed-out colors help create an atmosphere that reflects the gritty tone of the storyline. Unfortunately, most of the environments tend to be rather bland and end up looking a lot alike. The Mega Man series typically has great level design, but here, the areas here seem to blur together.

Unlike most RPGs, Command Mission isn' t one long adventure. The game is broken up into several chapters, each with its own mini plot that is part of the larger, overall story. It' s a clever idea, but it makes the game far too linear. Since you' re lead straight to the end of each chapter' s boss, there' s very little exploration to do. There are a few side quests to occupy some of your time, but nevertheless, I often ended up feeling quite claustrophobic as I was shuffled off to the next goal. The feeling of a grand epic (something one comes to expect from an RPG) is also lost due to the linear gameplay. It' s almost as if the developers didn' t want to make a " real" RPG, so the game was broken up into multiple " RPG-lets."

An important area where Command Mission excels is the battle system. There are several different techniques at your disposal, allowing for tons of different strategies in each battle. The X Orders menu in the lower right on the battle screen gives a real-time indication of which characters will be attacking for the next eight turns. This lets you plan your moves far in advance, forcing you to really think before you act.

Special moves add extra strategy as well. The Action Trigger is Command Mission' s equivalent of a magic spell and you pull it off by inputting character specific commands. Sometimes the command is as simple as holding down a button to charge a shot. Other times, you' ll have to play a slot machine or input a set sequence of buttons under a tight time limit.

Hyper Mode upgrades your character' s armor for a set number of turns. During this time, you gain more hit points, your attacks become stronger, and the Action Triggers become incredibly powerful. But again, Hyper Mode only last for a short time, so it shouldn' t be wasted. Juggling the proper time to active Hyper Mode and your Action Triggers add new levels to the battles than your typical RPG.

Remember the side quests that I mentioned earlier? One such quest involves deploying captured (and reprogrammed) enemy units into previously cleared areas while you continue in the game. Depending on what robots you send off, they' ll return with extra goodies like new armor and weapons, character sketches, music, and movies. There are also collectible figurines that you can purchase by finding Figure Tokens throughout the game. If you have a Game Boy Advance and a Link Cable, you can connect it to Command Mission and use it as a " Treasure Radar." This allows you to find Treasure Tokens that are used to buy figures exclusive to the GameCube version of the game.

Sure, Command Mission has a number of flaws, but it' s still a fairly enjoyable (if relatively short) RPG. And it' s a heck of a lot better than the recent batch of Mega Man X games. If you' re looking for a hardcore RPG experience, pass on this, but Mega Man fans should appreciate the change of pace.


Pros
Solid battle system; deep strategy; nice looking graphics.

Cons
Boring environments; some battles go on for too long; generic music.