Welcome to another edition of For What it's Worth, where bargain titles are examined to see if they are worth your bottom dollar. Tonight we take a look back at the second portion of the Mega Man timeline as Mega March continues.

The Mega Man X series is well known and beloved by many of the Mega Man fanbase for two key reasons:

1. It took the light hearted style of the classic series and transformed it into a darker and more stylized version of itself, while still somehow managing to make it work, as well as still making bright and colorful.

2. It took the gameplay of the classic series and although it kept all of the core mechanics, the X series gave it a massive upgrade, adding new elements and expanding upon difficulty and robot master, er, I mean Maverick variety.

As much as I may hate to admit, I haven't really had enough experience with the X series on the SNES (again I was a Genesis kid), so I can't review the first game in the series as much as I would like to. So instead I offer a look back at the first Playstation/Sega Saturn exclusive entry for the series Mega Man X 4.

Is this a milestone worth revisiting or should you keep it buried deep into your memory?

 Story: After Sigma was defeated for the third time, Cain Labs creates a reploid army to aid the Maverick Hunters in their fight against Sigma. However, General (the leader of this reploid army) has joined forces with a shadowy figure who convinces him that the Maverick Hunters are a threat. Six months later, the massive floating city, Sky Lagoon is somehow sent crashing down to the city below it, killing millions. As a result of this, the Maverick Hunters are sucked into yet another fight with Sigma, as well as having to face General and his army. The interesting aspect with this and the X series titles is that you get two different storylines, featuring X or Zero. 

 Graphics & Design: The game looks exactly like the 16-bit games but with an updated polish thanks to the superior graphics of the Playstation and Sega Saturn. The characters and backgrounds are much more vibrantly animated and you can tell that a lot of effort was put into making these characters come to life. Even the basic enemy characters are well animated and have their own bit of personality. I also like how well the explosions are animated. What? I like when things go boom.

Sound: Its the standard Mega Man X style music, which is by no means a bad thing. The heavier and more dramatic riffs are in tact and with this being a Playstation as opposed to a Super NES title, the sound quality has improved, although it kind of takes away from the nostalgic feel just a little bit. I also want to mention the pure crap that is the voice acting. I mean this is the absolutely the worst voice acting, Hell acting in general I have ever heard. Period. I'm not usually one to bitch about something as small as voice acting but there isn't really much more to complain about otherwise and it is just so fucking awful and it kills the top notch animation as well as any emotional impact that the cutscenes should have had. I mean you will be praying for a Ryan Drummond and Jason Griffith cameo. Jesus H Christ. Zero sounds like he is trying to sound like a little Emo bastard and somehow fails and X sounds more womanly than Princess Peach.

Gameplay: Its the same blasting away enemies and collecting weapons from the bosses, just like every other Mega Man game, although when X blasts his enemies away it is slightly more graphic and it looks awesome and Zero can actually slice and dice enemies with his sword, which is even more awesome. The gameplay is still basic and still fun but it is also much more fast paced and difficult (especially when fighting the Mavericks), which gives the game an interesting challenge.

Extra Features: None.

Replay Value: It is a fun Mega Man game but it doesn't have the same replay value as the other titles but even so it is still good enough for repeated playthroughs, especially considering you have the two different storylines. I would just recommend hitting the mute button on your TV during the cutscenes.

Overall Value: Retail Price: $15 (eBay price)

                         What it's Worth: $25

What can I say? I love the look of the game, the classic gameplay is tack and the amped up difficulty makes things more interesting and gives the added incentive to continue playing but it is not the best in the franchise. If you have a Playstation 2 or a Game Cube, I say just pick up the Mega Man X Collection instead.

I apologize for the swearing and I'm sure Drummond and Griffith could do a better job if the dialogue in most Sonic games wasn't total fail.

Until next time Happy Hunting.

Couldn't resist.