Mega Man X4

I have to admit, this wasn't quite as bad as I expected and actually is a slight improvement over X2 and X3, but its still a pretty pail comparison to the first X. The difficulty on this actually felt a bit more fair and balanced and the bosses in this weren't as forgettable and bland as the previous 2 games, but there are still some annoying moments, one level is pretty much a Battle Toads style Jet Ski level that is full of instant death bullshit, and another level that is a time trial where you have to rush and complete the level as fast as possible, which is another annoying level. Although I do prefer the Final levels of this game because there are no annoying bullshit levels with instant kill traps, its mostly just short segments that lead straight to the boss, which is a lot better than going through an annoying gauntlet of cheap platforming and tough enemies. Although the final boss in this game is kind of annoying, but still an improvement over the past 2 X games. The graphic style of this also is a little weird, maybe its just me but it just comes off kind of odd looking to me. I feel this graphic style hasn't aged as well as the first 3 X games. The story in this is also pretty forgettable and feels a bit more dragged out than the previous games, there is more dialog in this and more cutscenes, but to be honest, I'm not going to complain too much because this game was a relief to play after the blandness and poor design choices of the previous 2 X games and there were really only 2 levels in this game that I found poorly designed. Plus after this the X series sort of jumped the shark in terms of story, gameplay, and design. So this is really the last decent X game because X5 onward were just trash.

endlessly charming, a unique entry into the franchise that gives all the characters actual character.