Mega Man X
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The Mega Man X (Rockman X in Japan) series was the second Mega Man franchise which debuted in 1992 on the Super Famicom/Super NES. It is one of the spinoffs of the Capcom video game series.
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Series History
Capcom released a more action packed Mega Man X for the Super NES to give a new image to the Mega Man game series. There are a total of eleven games in the Mega Man X series. Mega Man X1-3 on the Super NES (with ports of X1 and X3 to the PC, and a port of X3, released only in Japan, to the PlayStation and Sega Saturn), Mega Man X4-6 on the PlayStation (X4 also being on the Sega Saturn, and X4-5 being ported to the PC), Mega Man X7-8 on the PlayStation 2 (X8 also being on the PC in Japan), the RPG Mega Man X: Command Mission on the GameCube and PlayStation 2, and Mega Man Xtreme 1-2 on the Game Boy Color.
Gameplay
Similar to the original series, the Mega Man X series features a formerly peaceful robot who, after a disastrous betrayal, begins fighting to save the world. This robot, named X (hence the series name), is Dr. Light's final creation; he was the most advanced robot ever created, and the first truly free-willed robot. As part of a testing procedure to prevent him from becoming dangerous, X lay dormant for thirty years, during which Dr. Light apparently died (though he lives on in the form of a sentient hologram) and the events of the original series were forgotten. In 21XX, X was discovered and awakened by a scientist named Dr. Cain, who used X's design and numerous modified versions to create a race of sentient robots known as Reploids. However, a mysterious computer virus, apparently contracted from a Reploid-like robot named Zero, spread amongst many of the Reploids, and convinced of their superiority, these so-called "Mavericks" began to terrorize the human race. A task force was created to silence the uprising, and a strong, brilliant Reploid named Sigma was created by Dr. Cain to lead the newly-formed Maverick Hunters. Sigma managed to defeat Zero in battle, after which he was rebuilt and became a Maverick Hunter himself. Sigma later contracted the Maverick Virus and took most of the Hunters with him, leaving X and Zero responsible for defeating the Mavericks and protecting Reploids and humans alike.
Upon his defeat in Mega Man X2, Sigma mentions that Zero was "the last of the doctor's creations." To support this theory, Wily, in his later years, was said to have worked on a robot to counter both Mega Man and his own renegade creation, Bass, who described its plans as "girlie-looking" and "long-haired". Zero also has memories of a human resembling Dr. Wily in Megaman X4 and X5.
Despite the different storyline and characters, gameplay is very similar to the original series, with several exceptions -- most notably, X and Zero can cling to walls, and from the second game onward, Zero is armed with a beam saber rather than the traditional "buster" gun. Mavericks replace the Robot Masters, and Sigma replaces Dr. Wily. The Mavericks all take the form of robotic animal anthromorphs. For example, instead of "Flame Man" there is "Flame Stag," instead of "Spark Man" there is "Spark Mandrill," etc. Though some Mavericks have new, never-before-seen powers (e.g., "Toxic Seahorse"), most have the traditional element-based weapons of the past games, such as fire, water, air, earth, and so on.
Notes
There seem to be running jokes with this series in the form of references to Star Wars. In the first game in particular, Zero played a role similar to that of Obi-Wan Kenobi (including dying and his body disappearing) and Sigma fighting with a light (or "beam") saber (Zero, who returned in the second game, gained such a saber himself in the process). The most prominent resemblance is that Vile (known in Japan as VaVa) wears something very similar to Boba Fett's distinctive "T" helmet.
In Mega Man X5, it should be noticed that almost every new Maverick had some relation to members of the band Guns 'N Roses. (Note that in the Japanese X5, there were no such Guns 'N Roses allusions, with the possible exception of the guns in the background of Spike Rosered's stage.) Also, in Mega Man X3, Neon Tiger's stage uses a non-lyrical and simplified SNES version of the Guns 'N Roses track "My Michelle".
Mega Man X5 also contained many allusions to past games in the series. Some of these connections are certain boss fights (Rangda Bangda from Mega Man X, brought back as Rangda Bangda mk II along with its original boss music), Duff McWhalen's stage music (Bubble Crab from Mega Man X2), and the first Sigma Stage, which is an almost exact replica of Quick Man's stage from Mega Man 2. Along with this, the boss of the first Sigma Stage is based on the "Devil" monsters from the earlier Mega Man Games (complete with a remix of the Wily Fortress boss music from Mega Man 1), and in the first and third boss rooms, a faint, distorted logo of the antagonist of the original series, Dr. Wily, can be seen in the background.
Mega Man X Command Mission is said to take place in the year 22XX. Therefore, the Zero series may not take place in 22XX as once thought. All official game information simply stated "100 years after the X series". Seeing as it is unsure of when the X series actually ends, it is impossible to guess the century in which the Zero series takes place.
Also, Mega Man X is the only Mega Man series to not appear in a cross-over as of 2005, unless you count the super-deformed cameos in Pocket Fighter.
Is X really Mega Man?
It should be noted that the relation of X to Rock, the original Mega Man, is under dispute. Some fans believe X is Rock, but upgraded; others believe he is a totally different robot who simply has a similar design. Comparisons between the two in terms of technical parameters seem to indicate that the two are separate: for example, X is 28 cm (11 inches) taller and 48 kg (105.6 lbs) lighter than Rock. Their personalities and artificial intelligence systems are also quite different. Additionally, X lacks any memories of the 20XX era, and Keiji Inafune, the man generally associated with being the creator of the series, expressed in an interview that Rock and X are conceptually separate. [1] (http://www.planet-megaman.com/visualmedia/interview/)
However, some of Sigma's speech in X5 essentially says Dr. Wily and X were once "comrades," which could only be true if Rock was X; as well, the lack of existence of X's plans at the time Zero's were shown in the Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters suggests they may be the same robot. Also, the ending to Mega Man: The Power Battle, where X is thought to be mentioned, merely states that Dr. Light needs to do more work on an AI program, not that he is building a new robot.
Finally, Inafune has said in interviews that the original conception for the series was that the X games would be set the future of Mega Man's world, about 100 years in the future, but the separate, new "Mega Man" character was to be Zero. Zero was replaced plot-wise by X, as Inafune felt people would still want a "Mega Man" to play as. Zero was later re-added as a side character. [2] (http://megaman.retrofaction.com/articles/interviews/interview002.php)
It is likely Capcom does not wish to reveal the truth behind the link at this time, and it is completely open to debate. While the widespread conception is that X and Rock are without a doubt separate characters who merely share a creator, and many are derided for supporting the theory that they are the same, the truth is that either scenario is somewhat possible.