Mega Man X5

Mega Man X5, known as in Japan, is a video game developed by Capcom. It is the fifth main game in the Mega Man X series. It was released in 2000 for the PlayStation, three years after Mega Man X4, and in 2002 for PC. It was re-released on January 10, 2006 as part of the Mega Man X Collection for the GameCube and PlayStation 2.

Story
Sigma, who has been revived again (as in X4, it is unknown who revived him or how), conducts research on the origin and design of Zero and decides to discover how to unlock Zero's true power, hopefully destroying X in the process. Sigma attacks the Maverick Hunters directly, intending to lose. When he does, he spreads the Maverick virus across the Earth, throwing it into chaos. Meanwhile, a Reploid mercenary named Dynamo is hired by Sigma to make the space colony Eurasia collide with Earth. The Hunters have only 16 hours to stop the collision.

In order to prevent Eurasia from striking the planet, the Hunters pursue two options. The first option is to fire a powerful cannon called Enigma at Eurasia, vaporizing it. If the Enigma shot fails, the second option is to launch a space shuttle and pilot it into the colony, destroying it. To maximize their chances, X and Zero are dispatched to collect parts for the two devices. The necessary parts to upgrade the Enigma and shuttle are held by eight Reploids and Mavericks), and X and Zero must defeat them to claim the parts.

Whether the Enigma and shuttle succeed or fail is randomly determined by the game, although the Enigma's chances of working successfully are low even with all its parts, while the shuttle has a much higher probability of succeeding assuming all of the parts are collected. Whether the Enigma succeeds or fails, a "new" virus appears on the Earth, noted by Alia as the Sigma virus combining with the scraps from the colony. If the Enigma or the shuttle succeeds, X and Zero proceed to hunt for the cause of the virus. If the shuttle fails or if the time expires, the colony crashes, nearly destroying the planet; Zero then is infected by the virus and goes Maverick.

In either case, once the location of the virus' origin is discovered, the Hunters investigate. X and Zero penetrate a bizarre underground fortress. In the fortress, X and Zero cross paths, where mutual suspicion and mistrust leads to a duel between the heroes (which had been foreshadowed since the end of Mega Man X3).

After the duel, the story diverges slightly. If Zero went Maverick, he sacrifices himself to save X from Sigma, and X continues on alone to defeat Sigma. If Zero did not go Maverick, he saves X and himself from Sigma, and both have a chance to confront Sigma.

There are three possible endings. If Zero went Maverick, X defeats Sigma, but is badly damaged. A mysterious figure recovers him, but also deletes all his memories of Zero. X is seen, three years later, talking to two other hunters, while Douglas, Alia, and Signas discuss the fact that X's memory of Zero has been deleted. This ending is treated as non-canon by Capcom, as there are further games where X and Zero work together.

If Zero did not go Maverick, Sigma decides 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. Zero manages to finish Sigma off, then the endings diverge again. If Zero defeated Sigma, he reflects on his origin and life before dying. If X defeated Sigma, he inherits Zero's beam saber and continues to fight as a Maverick Hunter. This is considered the "true" ending.

In each of X's endings, the mysterious figure is shown to be a hologram of Dr. Light, who discovers X's badly damaged body after the battle with Sigma and repairs X, saying "Not yet... Actually, I want you to rest and relax for now. Hold on X... Just for a few more moments."

Gameplay
X5 was developed by a different team than X4, and this is evident in the style of gameplay. The most prominent difference in this iteration is the time limit of 16 hours (though at points the game or manual claim 24 hours), until the space station Eurasia crashes into Earth. Every time the player enters a stage, one hour is expended. At any point between levels, the player has the option of firing the Enigma at the Eurasia. If the Enigma misses, then the player has the option of launching the shuttle. Whether the crash is prevented or not is determined by random chance. If the crash is not prevented, the course of the story is changed. Due to the nature of the storyline, there are multiple endings. Whether X or Zero is used to defeat the last boss also affects which ending is seen.

The main gameplay remains the same. There are four armors for X—his Ultimate Armor, the upgraded armor from Mega Man X4, and two others that must be assembled from capsules. However, X cannot wear parts of these armors separately. X can also no longer shoot his buster through walls, and each character has the ability to duck. Zero is able to find and use the capsules. However, if Zero reaches the capsule that contains X's Ultimate Armor, Dr Light will offer the "Black Zero" Armor instead of the Ultimate Armor.

Development
Mega Man X5 was originally meant to be the last game of the X series, ending with Zero's death in order to have him revived by the Mega Man Zero series. However, Capcom later decided to publish Mega Man X6 in which Zero survived his fight from X5.

The Maverick bosses in Mega Man X5 are named after members of the American rock band Guns N' Roses.

The Japanese version of Mega Man X5 features one opening theme, "Monkey", and one closing theme, "Mizu no Naka" (水の中), both composed and performed by Showtaro Morikubo and his band Mosquito Milk.

Reception
According to the Japanese publication Famitsu, Mega Man X5 was the third best-selling video game in Japan during its release week at 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 96th best-selling video game in Japan during 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) sales data showed that Mega Man X5 was the fifth best-selling PlayStation game in North America for the month of February 2001.

The game was generally well-received, with IGN giving the game an 8.5 out of 10. However, they added that though the game was fun to play, it was "more of the same" from Capcom, and that Mega Man, like many other series made by Capcom, was being milked for as much as it was worth. GameSpot similarly commented that "Fans of the classic 2D games will no doubt find much to love in X5, while those who can't get into the aging conventions and mechanics probably won't care a great deal for it."

Mega Man X5 was included on the North American Mega Man X Collection for the Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2 in 2006.