Mega Man X5 Kinda Sucks…

Mega Man X5 is one of the most interesting games in the Mega Man X series because every time you talk about it with someone else who played it, they are bound to have a different opinion on it than the last person. Mega Man X5 is probably the most divisive game in the X series and I can totally see why. Some appreciate it for it’s climactic nature and replay value, but many think the game is bogged down by a myriad of bad design choices. Where do I stand on this? Well, the title of the video says as much. I think Mega Man X5 is a fundamentally flawed game, and we go over all what it has going for it, how it fails in many respects, and the effort from the fans to save it!
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Chapters:
00:00 Mega Man X5
02:04 What X5 Gets Right
05:22 X5's Terrible Pacing
09:46 The Item Game
15:03 The Story
19:08 The Other Bizarre Choices
23:04 The Improvement Project
26:42 The Endgame
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#MegaMan #MegaManX #MegaManX5

[@Shad809]

In the context of X5's world, why does she feel the need to warn X and Zero about so much obvious shit? Aren't they supposed to be highly-ranked Hunters that are very experienced with dealing with these things?

[@flareonblaze3628]

I mean X is still a B class hunter even after all of that. So I can't tell if they are really smart or really dumb, since X (as himself) fought entire wars as a one man army. You really expect them to give him a higher ranking.

[@ayrtonjoga]

@@flareonblaze3628 But this ranking/classes of Hunters weren't well explained In X2 the leader of the Maverick Hunters is X because Sigma turned into a Maverick, Zero died and X proved himself in X1 But when Zero is resurrected in the end of X2, it's not told if X still the leader or Zero took it back And now Signas is the new leader in X5, despite never showing up in the last games

[@flareonblaze3628]

@@ayrtonjoga Isn't X STILL a B class hunter even after X8? At that point in time, he had fought over 8 wars and destroyed Sigma 10 times. If X is skilled enough to be the leader of The Maverick Hunters, why is he a B class hunter, if he is really at the level of a B class hunter, how did he win all those wars?

[@ayrtonjoga]

@@flareonblaze3628 Now that you mentioned it, when you choose which character to play as in X8, X's description tells he's still a B Class Hunter So I honestly don't know why he didn't ranked up over the years, like I said, how Hunters are ranked or how they become a leader isn't well fleshed out in the series, so it's just confusing

[@mr.tie-rex9577]

I know, Iris was a Navigator before Alia and she doesn’t even bother you at all during the Mega Man X4 stages.

[@Pulmonox]

One of my favorite accomplishments as a child was defeating the Full-Powered Zero using an unarmored X. Boy that was a rush.

[@smashmaster521]

You mean Awakened Zero?

[@SuperZombieBros]

I decided to do the same thing when playing the game for the first time a few months ago. It really makes the fight feel like the titanic struggle it represents.

[@amso7169]

if only it wasn’t so easy to cheese

[@fwobebe5164]

Zero was a fun challenge. Beating Sigma with unarmored X took a good few hours.

[@RedHairdo]

If only beating X with Zero was as much a challenge...

[@LamestLameOK]

Coming from X4 (my favorite in the series) X5 was a huge downgrade. Hearing that X6 was even worse scared me away from the rest of the series.

[@desmondlau1385]

X6 was actually fine graphically, but gameplay was too difficult for me back then. It didn't occur to me it was a bad game, I just thought I sucked. I disliked X5 tho cause graphically it was absolutely disappointing seeing what X4 was able to achieve

[@chriskeepit100]

X6 was better than 5 but not as good as 4

[@TsukasaRui71684]

Personally I loved X5 but really didn't like X4 as much. Don't make separate stories that have really bad voice acting, horrible scenery, and random junk I don't get

[@starrush1818]

@@TsukasaRui71684 As someone who just finished X5, it is my favorite(so far) in the X series. X4 has nothing on it, I'm sorry. The ending makes me cry because it's sad, while X4's ending makes me cry because of the voice acting. I love X4 but I'd be lying if I said it was better than X5. X5 just has about everything I'd want from an X game(besides anime cutscenes and voice acting but that's besides the point).

[@TsukasaRui71684]

@@starrush1818 X5 was the first game from the franchise I played. (Cus I don't play in order due to personal reasons) And I loved that they didn't use the x4 voice actors, because imagine hearing x4 voice actors for x5. Especially the ending(s). *Spoilers for the X/Zero/Bad ending.* The X ending had pretty meh substance, but it's nice to see X respecting his fellow fallen comrade by taking his signature weapon for himself. I love the build up. The Zero ending broke me. He deserved better than what he got. The game focuses on him, not X. And then the ending. Mixing the most (or second most) sad track I've heard from this series with such an emotional ending for a character I genuinely wished I loved more in X1/2/3 made me completely break. The bad ending wasn't as bad cus Zero died earlier, but it still feels depressing. But the fact X forgets abt his best friend/boyfriend was strange and frustrating. Doesn't mean X5 is the worst tho! It's my favourite game in the series after all!

[@KenNova]

Yes, X5 definitely has flaws, but I like it. Not to mention the OST, which is one of the best in the entire series.

[@niclaswa5408]

I agreed with J that X4 had an underwhelming soundtrack, so when I played X5 for the first time, I thought “oh yeah now THAT’S a soundtrack!”

[@ChiefMedicPururu]

Even Monkey and Mizu no Naka?

[@JamezJN007]

i agree the OST is great

[@RedHairdo]

The OST, like everything else X5, is overrated. But is not as abysmal as the rest of the game.

[@RetroDark2008]

It has the only good boss theme

[@thefollower2933]

While I personally like X5, I'd be lying if I said it didn't have some "WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?" moments that bog down the experience a lot, with the absolute lowest points in the game being the zero stages. Although I personally still think it's fun. Besides Duff MC Whalen's level I really enjoy all the levels, although again, I definitely don't think this game doesn't have some BS that needs to be pointed out. But I'd play it before X6 and X7 any day tbh.

[@zanmolecules4105]

Has someone been watching the angry video game nerd?

[@thefollower2933]

@@zanmolecules4105 well... Yeah, I'm not gonna hide that.

[@skibot9974]

Funny you bring up that quote considering in AVGN’s Mega Man video X5 caused him to temporarily retire (in-universe)

[@zanmolecules4105]

@@skibot9974 yeah the explosions and dialogue were too much for him

[@ayrtonjoga]

Even J had this moment in his old X5 Review

[@skibot9974]

3:22 fun fact! The English manual for Mega Man 1 incorrectly claims you can duck. On one hand this could be seen as it being a scrapped feature. But given all the things wrong with that manual I’m unsure if they played ANY build of the game

[@alex_-yz9to]

apparently the mitsake comes from the fact they used the template from the TROJAN Us manual which has a completely different controll style

[@skibot9974]

@@alex_-yz9to interesting

[@zernek9199]

Supposedly, the original Megaman had ducking, but was removed as it supposedly made the game "too easy". I heard this in a video like 5 years ago, so I'm not sure who said it, where it came from, or even if it's true.

[@1dayago843]

And Masahiro Sakurai of Smash Bros fame got exclusive access to the cut sprite of Mega Man ducking which he then put in as Mega Man's duck animation in Smash Bros!

[@skibot9974]

@@1dayago843 really?

[@1dayago843]

Seriously, huge major props to the creators of the X5/X6 Improvement projects It's a huge game changer, literally!

[@christianrodriguez5366]

Do you know any links for the X5 improvement project. I'm actually trying to play from my phone.

[@1dayago843]

@@christianrodriguez5366 Have you googled it? Google provided plenty of links to download the patch.

[@sirmoony5633]

At least there are no comments of fanboys screeching about how, "X5 is not bad design, You just suck! Oh that's it! You suck!!" LOL

[@trogg3rdmmxplaya467]

Honestly man, i loved about 90% of this game, the final stages seriously ruin a damn solid game, especially the black devil boss...SCREW THAT BOSS

[@ASteelWheel]

Yeah seriously, SCREW THAT BOSS. I could never perfectly dodge that damn black b lob pattern of his.

[@iggyminious]

Flawed as X5 is, its music is what's keeping me going during college.

[@_acediez]

It's been awhile since I last worked on this, and it's actually moving to still get such kind and detailed reviews of the project. Thanks for the shout-out. (And it's always amusing to hear new english pronunciations for my screen name, yours is my favorite so far)

[@masterjungleninja2393]

Pretty good job

[@Chrisezo]

Yes, I am really thankful for your work. I used to never play X5 because of how tedious it was, but with your romhack which I find as the definitive edition, I can now play it from time to time. It is thanks to projects like yours and others in the community that we can enjoy many games. I do have a question though, is there any way to replace the ROMs in the Legacy collection with your romhack?

[@mexicanmaggot666]

Hey! Thank you for your work on this mod! Could you help out for those who want to play the mod but can't be bothered to install it properly?

[@mrmadmight266]

@acediez Is it possible to do the same with the PC version of X6?By that i mean the PC version for windows that was released around 2002 for south korea only,not the re-release that is part of the legacy collection 2.

[@GarbageGaming_]

27:06 "or you can injure your thumb with the non-dev intended strats" lol i'm glad someone pointed this out thought this was only me, love the review J and i'm excited for more mega man content!

[@hoseinbmr3449]

Well I just learnt it from this video I'll be even a bigger cheater when I play this game again 😁

[@robertlupa8273]

And it's a callback to 14:11 "you can use non-dev intended strats"

[@ZeroX7649]

I avoid X5 solely because I simply don't feel like sitting through the Shadow Devil.

[@niclaswa5408]

I learned it from SomeCallMeJohnny’s review of the game

[@ChaunceyGardener]

This review really fails to see the bigger picture of Capcom's cost-cutting attitude towards this game. X5 was handled by one of Capcom's internal studios responsible mostly of doing ports and on a small budget. The result is the downgraded presentation (no anime), almost no new enemies (or recycled from X4) which results in empty stages, and the new art assets are either pre-rendered or have less frames of animation than X4. The game progressively falls apart on presentation even at the end when you fight Sigma.jpeg

[@rdu239]

Yeah, already noticed the dip of quality when X5 and X6 started to blend obvious 3d rendered backgrounds to their 2d sprites, unfortunately even the sprites had a lot of issues; several new sprites for enemies, obstacles and boss mavericks does not blend well to the background and even so to the sprite work of X and Zero. A lot of small to medium Mavericks sprites looks highly saturated, smudged and washed as if they were heavily colored in large canvas, then was heavily scaled down to sprite sized level, hence why the colors, details and outlines looked odd

[@JimmyJoeMcGurl]

This pre-rendered background style also seemed to be part of the trend in graphics during the 32-bit error. It almost feels like we've recognized pixel art as a style now, but back then they thought pre-rendered was some kind of upgrade because it was "more realistic". Obviously these two styles seem to clash, but it definitely was a trend at this time on the Saturn and PS1, and it works a little better in 240p on a CRT through composite than it does with all it's flaws under a microscope on our HD displays.

[@MiloKuroshiro]

Everything in X5 feels cheap and rushed. A lot of stages look straight up incomplete.

[@fortheloveofgodlaugh2981]

Yes but no. Capcom is capcom, and this game isn't bad because of technical shortcomings, although they do exist. This game sucks because of fundamentally bad design decisions like locking off zero, instakilling you in Adler, and locking off Zero from half the heart tanks

[@skibot9974]

To quote Brainscratchcomms “Douglas looks like he’s constantly wondering if he left the oven on”

[@saucymongoose7246]

From TMNT, to Spider-Man and, back to Mega Man X. This is why I love this channel.

[@Inactivechannel-r6]

Yep

[@IamaPERSON]

Same

[@THEREALGAMEMASTER-gz5xg]

so you love people that copies other youtubers kids man

[@IamaPERSON]

@@THEREALGAMEMASTER-gz5xg what are you talking about?

[@THEREALGAMEMASTER-gz5xg]

@@IamaPERSON Guess you never heard of Lord Sega X The act man drinking critic because this channel isn't original I wish you guys can wake up

[@Landonio]

I still love this game, despite it's flaws. Also Izzy Glow's theme is low key one of the best Maverick themes of all time.

[@Josiah1music]

agreed. I don’t really like any of the other stage tracks except this one

[@CarbonRollerCaco]

Don't forget Mattrex's theme.

[@douglaspereira9904]

The music in motocycle's phase is pretty cool too!

[@armanclark]

Don't forget the zero stage 3. That was a tekken level bop

[@omegaweapon116]

@@Josiah1music I like Squid Adler's stage music in this game, but I don't see how it's better than X4's soundtrack. X4's music was just so memorable.

[@CharlyHyo]

I was in the constant tests that Acediez did in the X5 Tweak, they were weeks of seeing how the teasters helped looking for the bugs, without a doubt it is worth using the patch that this guy made. X5 may be the game with a lot of design flaws, but when the fans come in it gives us a different experience that makes it hard to go back to the original game.

[@thevideo-beast122]

The funny thing for me is that, in terms of the X series, X5 is my favorite game. I liked the story and it would've been an excellent conclusion to the X series (even though they made more sequels after this). It also brought the best parts of X4 for its gameplay and the few poor decisions that they made here (The armor parts and a few stages in how you get them) doesn't really bother me that much.

[@LordMetalSonic1987]

X5 was intended to be the end of the X series.

[@dkeuro9543]

I personally think the story in X5 is a step up from X4 but the gameplay is a step down. I also think X5 has the best music (I like the music in all the X games tho)

[@FelOld]

The blah blah blah tutorial nonsense is a pain in the ass. This game treats the player like he is retarded.

[@TheOmegazerox]

X5 introduced a feature some would say made it eazy but I realy liked. In x1 to 4 I had to hold the buster/charge while trying to jump' dash and wall jump. Sigma especially was a pain cause oneley a full charge ( or armadillo shield) could damage him so I'm trying to hold that charge and hit uther butons as I get into attack position but one hit makes me drop the charge and I have to try again. With atoucharge I can focus on dash and jump buttons and the charge is ready for me. That made the game better for me.

[@mohdadeeb1829]

@@TheOmegazerox X5 is not a game. It’s a walking simulator with no punishments. More often than not, you are being helped when you encounter problems or die. No real Game Overs, you don’t have to kill a single stage enemy on a normal run through and overall the game makes no effort to challenge the player. You are constantly being interrupted by text boxes with meaningless tips. Mavericks would be alright if the core game was well made.

[@NeoKokoro20]

I love X5. It might even be my second favorite game in the series, after X4. I thought it would have served as a great ending to the series, seeing as it was originally intended as the final Mega Man X game.

[@trogg3rdmmxplaya467]

Yeah, agreed

[@NeoKokoro20]

@@trogg3rdmmxplaya467 I mean, I get what J is saying in the review, but most of these issues he brings up are very minor to me, and do not ruin my enjoyment of the game.

[@toaster_rtx1829]

@@NeoKokoro20 exactly

[@zerogranger]

X5 and X4 are my top two favorites in the series as well.

[@lokasocba]

I love X4, but X5 is the game I keep coming back, maybe it is because of the OST that is IMO the best in the PSX series. The flaws pointed in the video are quite true, but I really enjoy the game nonetheless.

[@kyyourneutralisminekiske7104]

Oh my god, it's been that long since the original X5 review? I remember watching the X reviews as they came out, and that shit got me thru most of my high school classes. I can't believe I've been watching this channel for that long, and it's nice to see how your opinion on things like this changed.

[@petelee2477]

Is nobody going to talk about the elephant in the room. There was one megaman X5 change nobody has talked about. Buster shots now collide with walls. Repeat buster shots collide with walls. In every megaman game before it buster shots would with very few exceptions would completely ignore walls like it was air and kill enemies.

[@Chale1288]

I have never noticed :O

[@Slvdr1-Gaming]

Fr I used to abuse the charge shot flying through walls in the previous games to kill enemies

[@ProtectorOfMemes]

I remember when X5 used to be commonly accepted as one of the best games in the X series, but especially after having played literally every X game, I'm left wondering if it truly would've been a good finale. Dynamo is practically forgotten about once both fights against him are done, the cutscene presentation is honestly the weakest of the PS1 trilogy, especially with the pings for every single character in the text boxes that get grating fast, the X VS Zero fight having a flimsy justification in all but the bad ending that many will avoid in addition to it being one of the easiest fights in the game, the Parts system requiring repeated Game Overs to take full advantage of, and in general, the RNG that can very likely screw over a player who prefers Zero. For all of X6's faults, I feel it does a great deal of things better than X5.

[@brandonweiss8364]

Yeah I used to love X5 but I think the more times you play through it the more monotonous it feels. Like it’s essentially a combination of the weakest elements of X4 and X6 and the constant scrolling through dialogue in and out of levels legitimately hurts it. X6 on the other hand is one that I got when it released on PSX and thought the difficulty was cheap. Never really liked it. But now having played it recently I actually think it’s got it’s own identity and enjoy it more than X4 and X5.

[@ultrairrelevantnobody1862]

X5 is a game where you can get through most of it without having to kill any enemies. X6 has a similar issue, albeit not as bad.

[@UnifiedEntity]

What are these great things X6 did better than 5? Cause it probably only did music better. But level design, difficulty, mechanics, story presentation, ALLL REALLY BAD. Just ask the Great Clement.

[@skibot9974]

I honestly feel the bad ending should’ve been canon and would’ve lead in better to the zero series

[@zhaoyun255]

@@UnifiedEntity I have nothing to say about the Level Design since it was very flawed since it catered to Zero instead of X (especially the nightmare effect). HOWEVER, the item games, the part system, the story presentation, and the mechanics? I can vouch for that. The item games: It's now possible to get everything with both characters. Not just X or Zero anymore. Granted, Heart tanks are still not shared. Zero, however, can help collecting for X for the most part. The backtrack is still just as bad though (especially with the Museum) The part system: A HUGE UPGRADE from X5. Now, it was tied to hostage instead and no longer you have to deal with the stupid convoluted system that X5. It came with a flaw of permanent dying but it was far between than what you have to deal with in X5 (Need I remind you about committing suicide in the first stage for the part? and the RNG of Zero dying and TOOK ALL OF YOUR UPGRADE WITH HIM TO THE GRAVE?) Difficulty: Yeah, no reason to defend it since it was inconsistent. Sometime it was very hard sometime it was pissed off easy. Though the moment you got all of the upgrade, even Nigthmare Mother or Gate falls like a stack of domino. Story Presentation: HUGE UPGRADE because it got VAs with the JP dub and can be skippable. That count for even in game conversation as well. Alia was fixed and only mandatory talk in a few occasion. Most of the time, you can ignore her notice and it was not even annoying since you didn't even know it happen either. The Mechanics: Zero got major overhaul with faster saber swing and his Z Buster buffed tremendously. Dash cancel combo is back (In X5, beating the Skiver basically disable your dash combo) X sadly got left behind until you discover his saber trick.

[@donskiver]

I unironically love this game, despite its flaws. For me, the X Saga ends with X5. The build up through the previous 4 games to the final battle between two friends who were built to be enemies...it's just too good. Not to mention the original localization and boss names will forever make this one of my favorite Mega Man X games. Yes, this is my real name. Yes, The Skiver is my favorite maverick.

[@Asterx5]

destiny it is then to play this game knowing your name

[@EnigmaticGentleman]

X5 is the first game where they actually tried with the story, finally using the incredible premise that had just been wasted for so many games. For that It will always have its place in the series, unlike 6 and 7. (8 also tried, but not as hard)

[@TheDudeOfSteel87]

I felt like it was a good attempt but it fell into many rookie mistakes considering that the people who make these games are not writers, there are many plotholes and underutilized characters in X5 that it feels more like a waste than a cohesive story, Wily is teased but never gets developed, Dynamo is teased to have found purpose with Sigma but that also goes nowhere after the intro, and there are a lot of details missing such as why there's only one Enygma cannon, why after a space weapon destroyed in X4 our heroes did not make countermeasures against orbittal weapons and have to rely on 20XX relics.

[@XBladenoJutsu]

About the music, I'm absolutely baffled that anyone could consider X4's soundtrack better than X5. X5 definitely has the best soundtrack out of the Playstation games, regardless of it being a worse game. I couldn't even be mad if someone said X5's soundtrack was better than X1 or X2, because the entire soundtrack is top notch, with essentially not a single bad track to speak of. Also about the Armor mechanics, they probably made it so where you have to collect them fully because they didn't properly implement a system so you could mix and match parts. That or the game design didn't take that into consideration, so they just made it to where you needed the full armor. Too bad, really. In X6's case, it's probably a combination of design, and the fact that the game was rushed so they didn't bother, so just reused the system they made for X5.

[@miahthorpatrick1013]

Same. I think people are blinded by the superb gameplay and controls into thinking X4’s music is stellar front to back. While it absolutely does have some bangers for sure, it’s not a solid OST. There are a few too many forgettable tracks. X5’s music on the other hand is just flat out fantastic like the SNES X trilogy.

[@ayrtonjoga]

Same, X4 is my favorite game from the X series but I prefer much more the OST from X1, X3, X5 and X6 over it The only songs I love are X and Zero intro themes, Magma Dragoon and Split Mushroom, the rest is alright but not very memorable imo

[@NovaBlazerZX]

Same. I prefer the gameplay and stages in 4. But, I didn't care for the soundtrack as much. X5's was pretty good.

[@zacharyessey5904]

I love the music for X4. I think that it just comes down to personal taste.

[@niclaswa5408]

X5 is my second favorite X soundtrack with X6 barely surpassing it 🤏

[@DendalionTV]

I will die on the hill that the guns and roses names were better

[@d4c_reznor470]

It’s a shame too because the X vs Zero theme is the most epic part of the series. Too bad that’s also ruined by the wall of text

[@jonesthemoblin1400]

FINALLY someone else who figured out you can just hide in the corner in Shadow Devil's fight.

[@isaacfaith9369]

X5 is so bad. My brother and I LOVED it as kids, it was OUR WORLD. But we can’t even fucking replay a single playthrough now because it’s so insufferable and BORING to play… so many cool ideas cut short by 0 effort and horrendous execution.

[@Jahlil.W]

So there's a bit of an inconsistency throughout the X series when it comes to Zero's primary weapon of choice. X1/MHX - Z-Buster only. X2 and X3 - Z-Buster primarily, Z-Saber secondarily. X4 - Z-Saber only. X5 and X6 - Z-Saber primarily, Z-Buster secondarily (Z-Saber only, if you start as X in X5). X7 and X8 - Z-Saber only.

[@Jahlil.W]

@2d fighter fan He can also use the Z-Buster in X6.

[@DarthFhenix55]

In X3 his Buster get damage so it has sense that he doesn't have it in X4.

[@InfernalBanana]

I think the “best soundtrack” poll was slightly biased/skewed because there’s a chance more people played X4 and not as many played X5, or even not as many replayed it as much as X4.

[@MuffinMythos]

It has issues, but I really enjoy it. The look, the levels (besides Duff McWhalin’s stage), and the armors/weapons are all fantastic. Definitely one of my favorite X games, along with X4 and X8. Not to mention, X vs Zero is one of my favorite climatic tracks ever made. =)

[@VirtualBilly]

“Mega Man X5 Kinda Sucks” I mean, are you just now realizing that, or just now letting us know you’ve realized that? Because the rest of us have known it for more than 20 years.

[@austenpowers9940]

“Honey Wake up, J uploaded megaman”

[@VincentVeak]

"The soundtrack is spectacular". You can say whatever you want about the game now lol

[@m.heyatzadeh]

The two big issues I have with X5 is the boring explanation by Alia and the story randomness. What you explained about Zero going Maverick by random happened to me exactly and I felt bad not being able to continue the story with him.

[@ASteelWheel]

My worst experience is losing Zero (and this was a pure Zero run) and being left with X who had no upgrades at all. It was an aboslute nightmare trying to go through Duff McWhalen's stage with unarmored X.

[@zeroattentiongaming820]

I feel like we've been here before, so why are we still here? Just to suffer? I can feel the good game design we lost, Alia's voice ringing in my ears every night. All the good ideas botched by awful execution, the X9 we deserve. We're gonna bitch about it until they give it back. Not gonna lie, I forgot you were revisiting the series and assumed you simply had achieved a new level of hate for X5, leading to an unprompted revisit.

[@HybridAngelZero]

Okay, wow, I definitely need to set aside time to check out that improvement patch sometime. That looks awesome!

[@nixuniverse5240]

As a kid I always thought X5 was in the same camp as X3 to me for some reason but as I got older and learned more words I figured out that it's because they both had unique aspect that separate them from the A B C style of the previous games but didn't handle them in the most gracious manner. Just kinda threw them all in there because the devs were like "Hey I just had an idea !"

[@munchrai6396]

If I'm being honest, I really like the idea of a luck based plot system because it leads to a lot of surprising experiences and interesting stories, especially for first playthroughs. The fact that the Enigma cannon actually has a chance of working is fascinating and can really catch you off guard when it happens

[@formula091]

It just pissed me off because I lost Zero. Very surprising and interesting.

[@Nierez]

I love that too

[@systemshocker2875]

19:25 To be honest,X5 should have introduced customisable armors here

[@reviewdle6173]

It's really neat to see you revisit these reviews that boosted your channel so much. I remember, I kept up with the original videos as they came out while at a really rough spot in my life back in 11th grade. Fast forward to me watching this as it comes out today. Since watching the original retrospective series, I've- 1. Finished high school 2. Graduated college 3. Moved out of my parents house and now live on my own 4. Worked at a store long enough that I'm now in a managerial position And through all that, here you are, revisiting that series that helped me out so much through the hell year that was my 11th grade. KZbin is a funny thing. Thanks, J. Keep on that grind.

[@JsReviews]

Thanks for watching man. I have obviously been through a transformation in the last five years myself. I mean, I was in 10th grade when I did the X reviews. Five years can change a lot of things.

[@sukmykrok3388]

X1,2,3, and 6 have the absolute BEST soundtracks in the series! The rest are OKAY at best.

[@amso7169]

5 and 7 have great soundtracks

[@hayato1886]

X3 has only like 3 good tracks, and the rest is awful

[@sukmykrok3388]

@@hayato1886 I'll take that as a hot take

[@hayato1886]

@@sukmykrok3388 You cannot honestly tell me Blizzard Buffalo, Neon Tiger or Drill Rhino are good. The only decent themes are the intro stage, Blast Hornets stage and Gravity Beetle. The rest is incredibly forgettable, or are one of the 3 stages mentioned above

[@sukmykrok3388]

@@hayato1886 oh, but I can. In fact, so much, that I'm willing to say get really stoned and play blizzard Buffalo's theme in the background for good, somber ambiance. Of course, that's my jam so I don't expect anyone else to like it. I like x3's ost more than x4 and 5 because it translates to heavy music easily. Not that techno/ synthesized bullshit 4 and 5 are.

[@AidGum]

It's funny how the two choices in characters at the beginning is really one choice, runining the whole point of having a choice since one is clearly superior to the other.

[@DEVeloper_ACE]

how exactly do I play the x5 improvement project? is there a rom with the latest version of the patch applied? or do I need to download the rom and the patch separately and apply the patch myself?

[@LordMetalSonic1987]

Is there some sort of program where I can patch the fixes onto the X5 & X6 ISOs?

[@246theguy]

Kinda ironic that I also found X4's soundtrack to be my least favorite of the PS1 lineup. Is it biased or am I weird? I know music is subjective, but I didn't find it to be that memorable aside from some songs (It's mostly high-synthetized noises like Iris' theme being a major guilty). X6's is a banger with its guitar and melancholic tunes while X5 finds the perfect balance between X4 and X6's instruments. And as for the game, Alia and the slow pacing bothers me but not the item collection (because I don't need all the upgrades to stand a chance at the endgame) and the Enigma Cannon (because I always get the same outcome). So yeah... I like X5 but it's one of those games that you can either love or hate. Also, the Improvement Project is amazing! Once again, the fans saved the day (or in this case, the game).

[@miahthorpatrick1013]

No you’re not weird at all. X4’s music is easily the weakest aspect of the game with a few too many forgettable tracks. It’s still good just not start to finish like the older games.

[@SeekerLancer]

X4 felt like a weird transition with the music where they all of a sudden had redbook audio but wanted to keep the synth sound. The Saturn version of X3 is similarly kind of off.

[@robertlupa8273]

Yeah, I don't get why some people love X4's soundtrack so much. I won't say they should change their opinion (as opinions are subjective), but I just can't think of any good songs from X4, except maybe some of the boss themes and both intro stages. They're just not _catchy,_ which is a very important aspect for me. X5 is better in that regard, although partially because they re-used so many songs, like the English intro, Light Capsule, the first two Zero Stage bosses, etc. Still, it's got some good originals like Dynamo, Izzy Glow, Zero Stage 4, X vs Zero... even the scrapped songs were pretty good, like X vs Zero, McWhalen or Armageddon. X6 meanwhile is just chock-full of bangers. I'm not even gonna list any, because you can quite literally pick any song and it'll sound great or at least be catchy. And don't even get me started on the Japanese credits song!

[@brunolinares604]

Upon revisiting, this is probably the worst Boss Rush in the series. Like, I get they tried to make them difficult (although the point of these boss rushes is to show how X can overpower them in comparison of before) but all them do is giving them a million HP for a very tedious time.

[@Rodolphin]

I like boss rushes because of Megaman but I do agree it’s to show how much stronger you were from the beginning but it’s pointless. Devil May Cry execute boss rushes better. Not only you’re stronger because of the new weapons and moves you learned but since bosses have complex designs, you can still lose despite the power boost you earned after you already beat the bosses with a much limited moveset.

[@ciaranponchomann3044]

One issue with X5 is a massive one: if you're playing as X with the X4 armour, the enemies do such little damage that there's no real challenge. Add in the fact that Alia constantly interrupts you, and you have no real game. No challenge = no game.

[@redreploid1713]

When I was younger I thought X5 was the best megaman game ever. But looking back that was just because of the many references to other games and the fight between X and Zero. My favorites now are X1 and X4, but I’d be lying if this game didn’t have a special place in my heart

[@Monke80s]

23:59 dude really? The Guns n roses names are amazing! At least I prefer them whether for how hilarious it is that they did what they did with them or because they just go hard. I was a bit let down that the Legacy Collection removed them.

[@bezhfezh]

The virgin tidal whale vs the chad duff mcwhalen

[@NewZen41]

The game's got some very strong concepts in its armor system, potential in the RNG/Ending system, and the level design for most stages...but that's the thing that strikes me: the CONCEPTS are good, but the fact that the game flubs up on these honestly just makes the game a bit tedious to do repeat runs for. Overall, yeah. Game's hella flawed, but even then, it's no X6 or X7...

[@KiExx0]

So... how do I download the X5 improvement project? I don't exactly know what download link I'm supposed to use or what I'm supposed to do with it.

[@turrican3839]

I feel like people who voted for X4 having the best music probably only did so either because its "the best game" or Final Weapon

[@davidchez513]

Slash Beat? Magma Dragon? Frost Walrus 2nd part? Storm Owl? Colonel's stage? X4 has amazing music, if you can't see it that way then well, too bad I guess

[@ArcNeoMasato]

I gotta ask, since you're clearly into the MegaMan series, is there a chance of you ever reviewing the Gunvolt/Luminous Avenger iX games? I mean, I've already bought them all and really like them, but I always wanna hear other people's opinions too, and no one I follow has covered them.

[@noaht2005]

Good idea. I always have been curious about them

[@mnguyen7484]

In X5, I think they were trying to expand more "branch" stories, how they did midway in X3 and entirely in X4. In X5, they offer 2 solutions to destroy the colony. If you gather the shuttle parts first and then the laser, they will skip the shuttle scene and the laser will destroy the colony completely.

[@starstrudel8417]

I remember my brother was playing this game (which he did often) and as always I was watching next to him on the carpet; just for fun he fired the cannon without fighting any bosses, and it successfully destroyed the colony. We laughed so hard at the time. Not until I became an adult who looked this up, did I realize how bonkers the chances were of that.

[@MegaMiquelon]

I wanna comment on how much I love playing as Zero, and Megaman X5's stage design really hates Zero. So in order to get Zero's chip parts, you have to choose Weapon & Energy+. I mean, Zero doesn't even need that many Energy+. Not to mention he can't obtain half the HP upgrade in the stages. So wtf.... It's like the game is designed for X, and you just get to play Zero in the stages not meant for him

[@TheDudeOfSteel87]

I fucking hate this game, feels like an X4 rom hack that delivered an unsatisfying conclusion so Inafune could go make Zero games, shafting X as a character

[@robertlupa8273]

I don't know what people were smoking when they voted for the "best PS1 X game soundtrack" - X6 is literally banger after banger after banger after [repeat until the Sun dies]. I don't think there's a single song in X6 that isn't memorable.

[@ashharkausar413]

100%. But x4 had great music too.

[@Pussyrepelent]

God damn it’s a good feeling to end school only to watch an episode of J’s reviews.

[@thatrandomweeb7804]

How dose the rope Mechanic work. I keep dying to The part in grizzly slashs stage where you need to grab the rope because its not grabbing for some reason. Is their a tip or way to get a guaranteed grab.

[@JsReviews]

you hold up in the air.

[@bezhfezh]

I like to play on the legacy collection on my Switch, but joy con drift specifically screws up this one up button

[@milkymalik2628]

I've never seen anyone mention it and I've just had the thought, maybe Alia existed as a tool for devs to inform the player exactly what dangers await so that they can beat it in as few attempts as possible? Although it ends up making the overall product worse lol

[@GhostEchoX17]

Definitely my favorite soundtracks in the MMX series is X4 X1 and X6. I absolutely hate everything about X6 but its soundtrack is killer. Well I did like X's new armor designs too but the rest is totally crap

[@6DADADA]

One thing I don't understand is the logic behind mashing through dialogue on initial playthroughs

[@feed8271]

What a great timing, I was just re watching your recent X1 - X4 reviews, since I started watching your videos on mega man I took an interest in the series, I might pick up on of the games someday.

[@MrDark086]

X5 was actually my first interaction with the entire X series and will always hold a special place in my heart. From it i went backwards into X4 and then forwards into X6. Down the line i went all the way back and did X1-X3 to 100%. Growing up on the entire OG Megaman series it was a complete mind blow to see all the cool new characters (Zero from start to finish all day every day), the new graphics, the killer soundtracks, and just how much the series had changed in my absence. With all that said, screw those F Laser paths. I hated those as a kid and i still hate them as an adult. Such a pain to navigate and one little oopsie and gotta try again and if you run outta ammo oh well! Literally the only part of the game that ever gave me trouble besides the Devil fight.

[@ayrtonjoga]

I always thought X5 was just ok and disappointing by the fact it was supposed to be the finale of the X series, I love the OST and the story, but some design decisions were weird, to say the least, and the slower pace made the game overall very boring My opinions on X5 changed the least over the years compared to the other X games But I'm so excited to see your Re-Review for X6 soon, go check out the X6 Tweaker and we'll se you there

[@matthewwylie2735]

I really love the new video. Not only because of the modern improvements, but I also feel you made a better case (or at least a more fleshed out one) as to why you don't like the game as much as the first four, and I can certainly relate to those frustrations; the game slowing you down more than in previous entries, the convoluted and unexplained systems the game throws at you, and how much backtracking the game makes you do for items. And using the hack to contrast the two really helped drive your points home.

[@emilholst9789]

Not being able to use one armor piece at a time is a cardinal sin an ABSOLUTE inexcusable! 😢

[@KCBurger_]

At one point X5 was my favorite Mega Man game. I looked past most of it's flaws because I loved the story of it so much and I thought it was cool to defend one of the less popular games. Nowadays I still like it, but I find it the second worst game to replay (X7 being the worst in terms of replay value). Now that I've played the Zero games I can't say X5 has the best story. and although it's my least favorite game I think I would replay X6 before I replay X5. X5 still has the best soundtrack and I will stand by that.

[@horricule451]

I like this game but I know that it's not very good and every time that I try to analyze I always think of more and more small things that it does wrong. But it's not enough to outright ruin it for me on a personal level, I personally find Megaman X's core gameplay and controls so fun that any game that has that nails that can never be something that I truly hate (I even like X6 if I'm honest). I can't necessarily give X5 too much credit for that given that it's literally just reusing X4's gameplay, engine, and assets but the fact is that it still manages to activate the dopamine sensors in my dumb lizard brain better than a lot of actually good games do. Although I wouldn't exactly call it a guilty pleasure because, well, X6 occupies that place for me. So X5 just occupies this really weird place in my opinion of megaman games where it's too flawed to be a good game but I don't think it's outright horrible like X6 or X7 either.

[@valiantparagonvideos2383]

I don't mind the boss rush in the rest of the megaman games, but the X5 boss rush is truly atrocious with those ridiculous life bars. Like I get where they were coming from but geeez what a miss.

[@Evanderbear]

I don't normally leave KZbin comments, but I've watched every single one of your DCAU videos in the last week and I'm slowly going through all your other content. You have an amazing voice and a great way of writing. It's very conversational. It feels like you're taking part in a conversation rather than lecturing like many other essayist and it makes watching and listening to your content so relaxing and enjoyable. Thank you for your work

[@0Impeesa]

The Gaia Armor is awesome and I like to use it for the rest of the game from the moment I unlock it. Yes, that includes the flash beams. Yes, I hate the shadow devil that much.

[@fogblades6811]

I'll be honest, I felt like the X5 Review before this one felt like you were jaded over minor details, but I think this one feels a lot more fleshed out and thorough, and you even talked about the Improvement project, not something I'd think you'd touch upon! I agree that the Improvement project has done wonders for the game and just made the package feel a lot more concise and focused as a result. Nice video and look forward to the X6 review.

[@mrmadmight266]

I didn't know how lucky i was when i saw how hard it is for the enigma cannon to destroy the space colony and then being able to play the last stages right away. Of course i was dying a lot on the last boss fight by the way since i didn't have much of anything,but it was fun to do.

[@fortheloveofgodlaugh2981]

X5 has the typical X formula of being mechanically fun but absolutely horrific game design. X and Zero control like an absolute dream. Incredible speed, mobility, and weapon control, but at the cost of a game that puts your balls in your mouth. This game literally has a random chance of permanently taking away one of your characters and you can do nothing about it. I have played this game for over 8 years, and I have had the Eclipse Cannon succeed *4 times across 30+ playthroughs*

[@justmike3018]

That X5 improvement project is exciting! Makes me want to replay it. All we need now are some animated cutscenes.

[@officialFredDurstfanclub]

If you haven’t already played it, please do. It is a genuine game changer and turned X5 from a game I don’t really like to one I can actually enjoy. It’s still got some pretty big faults and some stages are still pretty slow and dull regardless but being able to skip cutscenes; use armor pieces without collecting all 4 and knowing that I’m not going to be locked out of an ending because of random RNG bullshit is a godsend

[@ThunderDragonRandy]

Ooh, I didn't know there was an Improvement Project patch of this game until now. But I do know the Uncut Dub project for Mega Man 8 & X4 and the Tweaked project for Mega Man X6.

[@ThunderDragonRandy]

Correcting myself (don't want to lose the heart by editing my main comment

[@mothman566]

how do I start the improvement project? I downloaded it and XDelta but it doesn't work

[@DJPrimeAmvs]

I'm curious...are you gonna cover battle network and starforce?

[@Registeel_Enjoyer]

My biggest issue with x5 is that x and zero doesnt have too many differences like in x4,the only differences are the start,the battle and the end,theres not even additcional things like extra cutscenes like in x4,but still,x5 is still good

[@X1stence]

Loving these 'remastered' videos! Makes me wanna play x5

[@moseskuria1234]

The bane of my existence no matter how many tutorials, help and etc I couldn't beat Shadow Devil 😫

[@SamRubyTheCat]

Nice review, btw, Duff's heart piece can be obtained by Zero with Squid's weapon, the odd colored segments in the ship can be destroyed by it.

[@SwatyChopsuey]

X5 is my Favorite of the X game along with X4. The gameplay is just amazing to me

[@PaddyRoon7]

Was this game made by a different team or something? I feel like they just took the previous game's mechanics and gameplay, updated the graphics a little, then added a bunch of unnecessary timewasting bullshit because they didn't know how to make good games

[@Marverickluigi]

One thing that i would really like to know is that if you saw the beta version of some musics from X5 (because if you did i really want to ask you opinion on one of the tracks that i think it would fit perfectly in X6 instead of it being reused from this game)

[@mexicanmaggot666]

I've been having issues installing the X5 and X6 Improvements and working on my PSone emulator. Any tips on that?

[@enderaceofspades8579]

I know this is about X5, but if you decide to skip talking about X6 again, I totally understand.

[@HordikaNate3821]

I get the feeling that he'll have a field day going over that one again. Although he may want to skip it lol

[@oguzhangungor9117]

I have a lot of nostalgia for X5, particularly that english opening but let's face it, the game has A LOT of issues that prevent it from being actually good.

[@Striderthedripper_]

Can you tell me how to play the x4-x6 mods? I installed them but idk how to play them the files were installed through winrar

[@rlscube]

26:26 Thanks for the Least Backtracking order! I always come back for these lol But how do you get the Armor Capsule from The Skiver’s level without having the completed Falcon armor? The improvement project only makes it so you have the added air dash at this point

[@zemchia]

In the OG X5, the Falcon Armor is required to get the capsule in Spiral Pegasus's stage.

[@rlscube]

@@zemchia Right lol

[@chewymew]

​@rlscube You can get it with Zero, but it's pretty precise. You need Jumper equipped and Tidal Whale's air dash weapon for Zero. You have to double jump up to the corner that has no spikes, then do a high jump followed by an upwards air dash with Zero to reach the ledge where you wall jump to get the armor

[@edgelord8337]

I like x5 but it has so many stupid issues in it that take away the fun to me. At least it's music rocks and in a lot of areas it truly feels like a ceremonial game just wish more effort could be put into it.

[@_MintArcade]

I kinda feel the music of x5 is nice but as a sequel to x4 its missing a lot of dimension, x4 has a lot of instruments that reflect its stage

[@brandonweiss8364]

X5 is the one entry that gets less enjoyable with each playthrough. I used to love it, now I’d rank it second to last only above X7.

[@xzs432]

i downloaded and patched the psx iso of X5 with the improvement project last year, has it changed since then?

[@TheNawaf258]

Will there is cheat code for both ultimate armor X and black armor zero right form start of the game instead getting in zero virus 3

[@jaybyhop]

I've beaten this game, but it's honestly one of my least favorite. It and X6 felt unfinished. I was lucky during my first playthrough I get badass RNG and managed to get the good ending.

[@HOL457]

I agree with you, and I actually prefer the storyline of X6 way more than X5's at least. Also, first time round I got the bad ending where X forgets Zero. I was so annoyed lol

[@jaybyhop]

@@HOL457 I personally really enjoyed X6. I know it had flaws, but it's still a fun game. I used to speedrun it and that really made me enjoy it more.

[@HOL457]

@@jaybyhop props to you for speedrunning X6, I know I couldn’t do it! I personally think Gate shouldn't have been killed off, he would have been a good alternative recurring villain to Sigma.

[@jaybyhop]

@@HOL457 it's surprisingly a lot easier than most of the games. I recommend everyone speedrun it. I was 10th place at one point in the all stages easy category.

[@jaybyhop]

@@HOL457 I honestly thought Gate died off screen haha

[@DCandtheInsectobytez]

I'm not the only one who thinks the SNES X games not only had better graphics... but waaaay better graphics, am I? These PS1 graphics are terrible...

[@zyro7756]

The presentation thing speaks really loudly as somebody who’s been playing recent Inti Creates games like the Gunvolt series ( wonder if J will ever do videos on those, they seem like they’d be up his alley )

[@moobysnaxx6086]

I remember getting through the game easily as zero then it forced me to play x so I gave up. I had no idea about the armor and upgrades