People have been asking for Mega Man recently and Capcom just hasn’t been able to deliver the goods. Other than Mega Man 11, the fans haven’t been able to get that fresh feeling Mega Man game we have been waiting so long for. Please allow me to introduce Battery Staple Games and Fire Hose Games and their Mega Man X styled game, 20XX. I am a big Mega Man fan and it feels just like a Mega Man X game and the people playing the demo right before me felt the same way.
It can be played solo or multiplayer and the characters pay homage to Mega Man X and Zero but the third has a whip similar to Simon Belmont of Castlevania fame. I was able to play the demo with Chris, one of the developers of the game, and you could tell from the start that we both really enjoy Mega Man games. He was about to tell me how to perform a dash jump and them I did it like it was nothing and then he could tell it was going to be a fun demo. He even said it’s more fun to play with someone who understands the concepts of the game, like a SNES Mega Man game such as being able to air dash or wall jump. It was so much fun that we played the whole game and completed it.
We got to level 11 and there was nothing else after that. It was a good thing that we played so far because there was frame rate issues in the last levels the developers didn’t know about because they didn’t have anyone playing that far during Pax(What can I say, I’m that good!) If you’ve played a Super Nintendo Mega Man X game then you have a good grasp of the controls because 20XX does feel like a rebranded Mega Man game and that is a good thing. You have the ability to air dash and the ability to steal the enemy robot powers after you beat them, you know typical Mega Man stuff. However, there are differences as well such having three power-ups to use at a time or being able to buy health during the level from a vending machine. You also have the ability to locate upgrades in bonus rooms and “shop” rooms in the level.
These will help you but you will have to think strategy if you want to switch out powers during the level. I found that in some of the levels with platforming and jumping, the hover jump ability was a much better ability than the long jump ability. This will have you make you think throughout the level. Boss fights are pretty straightforward in the Mega Man formula where you can use a weapon the enemy is weak to for a much easier time but you have to have that weapon already and knowing the info on the robots is half the battle! Controls for 20XX are simple even if you’ve never played a Mega Man styled game before.
We were playing it on PS4 controllers and the controls felt tight and precise to me. I was able to perform every jump I was able to as well as charge my attack without worrying if it was going to charge, The only issue was the frame rate on the late levels but even the developers didn’t know that was going to happen and that stems from demo builds and too much going on during play. People who have been looking for a good Mega Man styled game will want to give 20XX a good long look because it will bring them back to the glory days of the super fighting robot on the Super Nintendo. It feels and plays just like it did all those years ago, if it wasn’t a really fun game, why did myself and the developer play the demo and complete it and basically wipe the floor with it? It’s because it’s that good!