Mega Man X5: Сигмаға қарсы күрес

2000 video game

Mega Man X5, known as Rockman X5 (ロックマンX5) in Japan, is an action platform video game and the fifth main installment in the Mega Man X series. Developed by Capcom, it was first released for the PlayStation in Japan on November 30, 2000, and in North America and PAL territories the following year. In 2002, the game was ported to Microsoft Windows as retail packages in both Japan and North America. Players control X and Zero, heroes who traverse eight selectable stages and acquire the special weapon of each stage's boss. Mega Man X5 was intended to be the final game in its series, according to Capcom producer Keiji Inafune. Its story is set in the 22nd century, in a world where humans coexist with androids called "Reploids". X and Zero once again face their nemesis Sigma who aims to destroy the planet and infect all Reploids with a virus. The design of X's upgrades, new villains, and new tactics for the platform franchise were the biggest focus from Capcom when developing the game. It was a commercial success and garnered a generally positive reception among critics, many of whom agreed that it would satisfy diehard fans of the series despite the stale gameplay formula and presentation of the story. It was re released in 2006 as part of the Mega Man X Collection for the PlayStation 2 and in the Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 in 2018 for additional consoles.

The gameplay in Mega Man X5 is similar to the previous installments of the Mega Man X series. The player is presented with a series of action platforming stages that can be cleared in any order desired. The core aspects of gameplay are largely unchanged from previous installments, though X5 differs from its predecessor in a few notable ways. Before each level, players can choose whether to play as the shooter X or the swordsman Zero. X focuses on distanced combat using his X Buster while the latter instead uses his Z Saber in close combat. Defeating bosses results in the two characters gaining new weapons and techniques, respectively. After the introduction stage, the player has 16 attempts to challenge four Maverick bosses in stages to complete the Enigma weapon needed to protect the planet from a space colony. A mid boss named Dynamo also appears at predetermined intervals, stalling the player for time. At any point between levels, the player can choose to fire the Enigma at the Eurasia, though the chance of success increases as the game progresses. Whether the Enigma succeeds or fails, a new virus appears on the Earth, identified by Alia as the Sigma virus. If either one of the two methods succeeds, X and Zero proceed to hunt for the source of the virus. If the shuttle fails or if time expires, the colony crashes into the planet, nearly destroying it, and Zero is then infected by the virus. In either case, once the virus' origin is discovered, the Hunters investigate, penetrating a bizarre underground fortress. In the fortress, X and the infected Zero cross paths, where mutual suspicion and mistrust leads them to duel. After the duel, the story diverges into a few possible paths, each with its own ending. If Zero's mind is unaffected by the virus, he saves himself and X from Sigma, and they confront Sigma together. Upon defeating him, Sigma attempts to make the Hunters' victory for naught by taking them down with him. X tries to save Zero but is ambushed by Sigma and both Hunters are critically damaged. At this point, the endings diverge again depending on the player's chosen character. If Zero defeats Sigma, he reflects on his origin and life before dying. If X defeats Sigma, he inherits Zero's beam saber weapon and lives on as a Hunter. If Zero becomes a Maverick as a result of the virus, he sacrifices himself to save X from Sigma, and X continues on alone. Upon defeating Sigma, X is badly damaged. A mysterious figure recovers him but deletes all his memories of Zero.

Mega Man X5 was originally intended to be the final game in the Mega Man X series. According to producer Keiji Inafune, he had little to do with the title and told the staff his idea. Haruki Suetsugu, an artist for Mega Man X4, designed almost all of the characters and promotional artwork for X5, adding various details to differentiate the characters from each other. X5 uses still images without voiceovers instead of the animated cutscenes displayed in X4, which bothered Suetsugu as the price players paid was the same as before. Artist Hitoshi Ariga agreed with this sentiment as the boss characters were unvoiced. Suetsugu believed that the navigator Alia might be the most fitting heroine in the series in contrast to the tragic Iris from Mega Man X4. Alia stood out as the only female character, which Suetsugu did not mind since the game is aimed towards a young demographic. As the idea of having a calm woman as navigator proved difficult to execute, the other navigator Roll Caskett from Mega Man Legends was used as a reference. The villain Dynamo was based on Western movies, with a design that combined features from X and Zero. X's new Falcon Armor was designed by Ryuji Higurashi to resemble a bird with a beak shaped chest piece, wings coming out of the back, and a talon like arm cannon. Suetsugu designed the Gaea Armor to resemble Sanagiman from the Inazuman manga series. Douglas and Lifesaver were created as minor characters for the roles of mechanic and doctor, respectively. The game does not employ voice acting, except that yells in the Japanese version were performed by Showtaro Morikubo, who replaced Kentarō Itō as X's voice actor, and by Ryōtarō Okiayu for Zero. Morikubo found the task challenging as he was debuting as a musician during the release of X5. The Maverick bosses in the English localization of the game are named after members of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses. Capcom voice actress Alyson Court, who was involved in the game's English localization, chose the new names as a tribute to her then husband's love of the band. For the Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 release, the names of the Maverick bosses were changed to translations of their original Japanese names. The musical score for Mega Man X5 was composed by Naoto Tanaka, Naoya Kamisaka, and Takuya Miyawaki. The Japanese version of the game features "Monkey" as the opening theme and "Mizu no Naka" (水の中) as the closing theme, both composed and performed by Morikubo and his band Mosquito Milk. The theme songs were included in the Rockman Theme Song Collection, published by Suleputer in 2002, and all of the game's instrumental and vocal music was included on the Capcom Music Generation: Rockman X1 ~ X6 soundtrack, released by Suleputer in 2003. The game was first released in Japan for the PlayStation on November 30, 2000. The North American release followed the next month on January 31, 2001. It was later released in Europe on August 3, 2001. A Microsoft Windows port was first released to retail in Asia on July 30, 2001, in Japan on May 24, 2002, The game was included in the North American Mega Man X Collection for GameCube and PlayStation 2 in 2006. In 2014, the PlayStation Network released Mega Man X5 alongside X4. It became available for Windows via Steam, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch as a part of Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 on July 24, 2018, worldwide and July 26, 2018, in Japan.

Mega Man X5 was generally well received as an appealing sidescroller, although several sites commented that it did not contribute new major ideas to the franchise. On the other hand, Wolf praised the handling of stages and skills needed to defeat the bosses. According to the Japanese publication Famitsu, Mega Man X5 was the third best selling video game in Japan during its release week, with 46,033 copies sold. It placed at number eight the following week with an additional 22,963 copies sold. Media Create sales information showed that the game was the 96th best selling video game in Japan in 2000. Dengeki Online reported that Mega Man X5 sold a total of 215,687 copies in Japan by the end of 2001, listing it as the 132nd best selling game of the year in the region. Toy Retail Sales Tracking (TRST) data showed that X5 was the fifth best selling PlayStation game in North America for the month of February 2001. The game was eventually re released as part of Sony's PlayStation The Best for Family collection of budget titles in Japan.