After two and a half years of development, AlyssonDaPaz's 16-bit Mega Man X8 "demake" is finally complete and available to play.
The demake, as previously reported, recreates X8 in the style of the Super Nintendo trilogy, while incorporating modern quality-of-life improvements such as widescreen support and 60 FPS gameplay. All of the original game’s stages are included, with some staying faithful to the original while others—like the Ride Chaser stages—have been completely reimagined. The Chip shop from the original game has been removed; instead, items are now hidden throughout the stages and can be used immediately upon discovery. There's some other updates too, like the addition of the Special Weapon radial from Mega Man 11, which allows you to quickly switch weapons at any time.
It's important to note that X is the only playable character. Since AlyssonDaPaz developed the game solo, the scope was deliberately limited to avoid lengthy delays. Nevertheless, X8 fans should be satisfied with the final result! You can download it right here. Enjoy!
It’s very good, you can tell since I’m not a particular fan of X8 yet beat the whole game yesterday, haha.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part has to be the weapons. With Zero and Axl’s omission, X’s special weapons use features from their abilities and are much more balanced and varied than the original game (no more ground only attacks!).
Wait Axl and Zero aren't in it? Well that stinks, I hope they add them...
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way, at least add Zero. For me that alone makes it a clear downgrade. I can't understand what they are going for though, they are trying to replicate the 16-bit stuff.
DeleteThey made it clear from the start so I'm not too upset
DeletePretty good to have a reasonable goal considering for the size of the team
I'm not gonna name specific ones but sometimes I feel like fangames aim for the stars and never gets done as a result
The team being 1 guy
DeleteTell us you are impatient for MMXC without telling us you are
DeleteI am sure someon would modify it to add atleast zero as playable character but no double super attack, I love the art style though
DeleteI haven't played it yet, but I wonder if Alia would be easier to add than the others. It's just X with no armor.
DeleteAlia might be easier to add but the amount of people that would be excited about the prospect would be so minuscule it would be virtually pointless.
DeleteI'd take Alia over any other character tbh.
DeleteBut she def ain't happening.
It was only made by 1 person? Nevermind then, we're lucky we even got a game... Also I'm not in the know on fan games (haven't even played one yet) what's MMXC?
Delete@Megatron X It's Mega Man X Corrupted, been in development for literally 15 years with no end in sight.
Delete@Megatron X There's plenty of quality fan games already out and upcoming. Allow me to list some recommendations.
DeleteFinished games:
-Unlimited
-Rock Force
-Super Fighting Robot
-Rock n Roll
-The Make a Good Mega Man Level Trilogy (also it's various side games)
-Maker
-the Sequel Wars (technically not fully finished but the MM4 portion is fully done)
-Shanghai.exe Genso Network (Battle Network fan game that uses Touhou Project characters instead, post game content not fully done either but the main story is)
Promising upcoming games with demos:
-Shattered Diamond
-Y+1
-Perfect Blue
-Mega Met
-Four Hounds
-Battle Network Chrono X
-X Innocent Impulse
Promising upcoming games without demos:
-X Corrupted
-Unlimited 2
-Recharged
Probably missing a ton more so anyone can feel free to add to the list.
@Anon 6:57
DeleteAdded one of the promising fan games with demos.
-MMZR
There’s also 8-Bit Deathmatch, MM Arena, and MM 2.5D that -like MM Maker- are basically-finished-but-sometimes-get-updates. Also a reimagining of the DOS games in NES style, but between the lack of original music and tiles, and only having a password system to record progress(!), I’d say it’s a little lower tier.
DeleteAlso the Day in the Limelight series, which has the Robot Masters from the previous game in place of Mega Man (MM1 Light Numbers in MM2, etc.). Unfortunately, DitL 3 wasn’t finished, though there’s a demo floating around with 4/8 RM stages.
And I was *gonna* mention Mega Man Alpha, but it seems all traces of it and its dev have vanished from the internet. Shame, it looked at least on par with Recharged.
It's a neat thing and I like a lot of the ideas in it, but personally I still prefer the original. Still, props to the dude for making this, he's clearly got a lot of talent.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, this is the best news we’ve had as of recently! The fan games are what I look forward to anymore. I appreciate all the hard work they put into these. If only Capcom with its resources put this much effort into MegaMan.
ReplyDeleteThat would be nice, I miss getting Mega Man games released regularly. However at this point it’s up to the fans to make games because Capcom most likely won’t.
DeleteThis is awesome! I hope Capcom considers a proper X9 sooner then later. I miss MMX…
ReplyDeleteAnd you miss MMZ… luckily you’re getting MMZR. Which is still being revamped and still in a work in progress.
DeleteCapcom won't ever make a x9.
Delete@Anonymous September 8, 2024 at 11:42 AM What's MMZR?
DeleteOh, you haven’t heard of it. I could’ve have memorized you with the story. I known the whole story of it until today. MMZR stands for Mega Man Zero Resurrection. After Zero’s final battle with Dr. Weil on Ragnarok, everybody thought he died during that incident.
DeleteBut wait, there’s more. Zero was brought back due to unknown meaning after a long time of his sacrifice. He was found by the group known as Telos. An independent guardian movement made from the remains of the resistance. They guard the city called the Inner Circle, it was protected from maverick attacks. And they confirmed it, a scariest maverick regime was responsible for the recent attacks, Neo Repliforce, lead by Colonel, resurrected and thirsty for revenge, seeking to destroy humanity and ‘liberate’ the replies that inhabit the Inner Circle. And X and Zero’s old rival being part of the organization was Vile. He was destined to bear both of their histories. It has four chapters. In chapter 1, you play as Zero. In chapter 2, you play as X, and in third and fourth, you can switch between the two.
DeleteThey definitely will make an X9 one day.
Delete@10:19 am, no Capcom won’t make a X9. With blind optimism like that you will be waiting for 30 years and still have no X9 unless fans decide to make it.
DeleteSorry I was just testing out my mind-reading powers too. Maybe they’re on the fritz…
Delete… Unless you’re not a mind reader and are actually the owner of Capcom. Can’t argue with the big cheese since obviously they would know with 100% certainty that the company would never make an X9.
I mean, how else could you claim to know that, amirite?
There's quite a few people around here who act like they know better than Capcom themselves what Capcom will and won't make in the future.
Delete@3:15pm, it's a waste of time arguing with you. It's been 20 years since x8, it's pretty clear it isn't happening.
DeleteI’m just saying my MMX game-making prediction skills might surpass yours one day. *fist bump*
DeleteWhen Capcom makes a new MMX game will the crow be served medium or well-done? Will you savor it or…?
Delete@12:46am
DeleteIt’s a waste of time to start an argument at all on a MM enthusiast news blog. Someone posts the sentiment that they hope Capcom merely considers the prospect of making X9 and you jump in with a childish and mean-spirited “no they won’t EVER” just to stir the pot.
Trust me, we all have better things to do. The rest of us don’t need to burden whatever chip you have on your shoulder. Fans should be able to politely express their hope for an X9 without it being shoved in their face (especially in a place like this).
If you perceive someone having “blind optimism” as you put it how about you just leave them alone instead of trying to ruin their day somehow.
You better freeze your crow, oh prognosticator of prognosticators. You'll be waiting a good while to serve that dish.
Delete@11:42am Different anon here, but we need more people like you in this community. It would be nice if those of us who still have optimism could share it without constantly getting shot down by doomers and gloomers who can't tolerate other people not being as miserable and pessimistic as they are.
DeleteImagine starting an argument because someone wanted to be optimistic. Let people have hope.
DeleteBlind optimism is never a good thing, calling people "doomers and gloomers" for being realistic is complete and total bs. But you know what? You keep holding out that hope for a new game and keep getting disappointed when nothing happens year after year. One day maybe you'll learn Capcom doesn't give a crap about Mega Man anymore.
DeleteThat's the thing, you think you are being "realistic" but you're not. You're just jaded and pessimistic and taking it out on anyone else who isn't the same. Being realistic would be respectfully sharing the opinion that you don't think it's going to happen, not going out of your way to try to ruin other people's optimism by acting like a jerk to them with ridiculous nonsense insistences you can't possibly know to be true as you aren't psychic and you don't work at Capcom. Like the other guy said, if other people are feeling optimistic, let them feel optimistic. They're not hurting anyone, not even you. You don't need to rain on everyone's parade just because of your hatred towards Capcom.
Delete@8:50pm Did you ever stop to consider that other people might have reasons for feeling optimistic? The series has been getting a huge bump in promotion lately, Capcom themselves have said they're considering future projects, and while not technically a "new" game we did recently get X DiVE Offline which is actually by far the best way to experience X DiVE and is a lot of fun, it's a great way to tide us over for a little while until the next game. But you jaded jerks who refuse to see the glass as anything other than half empty always assume the worst and let your hatred of Capcom skew your perspective of every single thing that happens. You say blind optimism is never a good thing, but blind pessimism is far, far worse, especially when you delude yourself into thinking that your relentless pessimism is the same thing as realism.
Delete@11:46 AM
Delete>The series has been getting a huge bump in promotion lately
No more than it was getting in the past decade.
>Capcom themselves have said they're considering future projects
They say this type of thing all the time to get the investors off of their back, this means nothing as history proves. Also Crapcom should stop considering making a new game and actually start doing that.
>while not technically a "new" game we did recently get X DiVE Offline
X Dive is gutter trash designed from the ground up for phones, porting it to PC doesn't magically save it as it's rotten to the core because of the aforementioned reason. Literally the only good things that Mega Man got post MM11 have been fan games, which is no thanks to Crapcom, outside of that it's been miserable being a fan of this series.
@5:13am Thanks for proving my point. You're not a realist at all, you're just a jaded loser with tunnel vision on the worst possible outlook you can come up with. It's especially obvious with your description of X DiVE Offline. The game has actually garnered an entire fan community of its own and is by far the preferred version of the game, as it's actually incredibly fun, but you'll never know because you're so blinded by hatred that even if you did give Offline a try, which you clearly haven't and also clearly never will because you're too addicted to being miserable and jaded, you wouldn't enjoy it anyway because you're so seeped in pessimism and hatred that you'd be blind to all the quality of life enhancements and the actually quite decent underlying design shining through because of the worst aspects of the game finally being removed.
DeleteIf you want to seep yourself in jaded pessimism then fine, you're more than free to, but stop deluding yourself into thinking that your warped viewpoint of reality steeped in hatred and pessimistic tunnel vision is the same thing as being realistic and then using that as an excuse to be a downer to everyone else in the community who's not like you.
@5:13am
DeleteNothing you wrote matters in regard to what the originally poster said.
In response to the statement “I hope Capcom considers making MMX9” you did the following:
1. Proclaimed to be a prophet and stated Capcom will NEVER make a MMX9.
2. Inferred having hope/optimism is wrong and that it’s your job to correct them into not having hope or… something.
These things just seem like something a jerk would do.
@4:40pm and then he proceeded to have a total lack of self awareness and proceeded to have literally only bad things to say about Capcom while trying to make the case for being a realist, with his biased negative opinion towards X DiVE being the chief example. There's plenty reason for us to be optimistic right now, but I guess the guardians of pessimism really just can't stand the idea of anyone else being happy. Just like he did in his 5:13am post, they just see everything that happens in the worst possible light and use that as an excuse to moan about it every chance they get, especially when others aren't as miserable as they are. I'm so tired of it plaguing these discussions.
DeleteWe interrupt this Drama Alert with shocking news flash: Found today in connection with the battle against the soldiers of Neo Repliforce in the forest was the legendary reploid hero supposedly died after the final battle against the evil Dr. Weil on Ragnarok, Zero.
DeleteMMZR hype man anon is best anon.
DeleteThis is meant to be more like X1&2 where Zero was not playable, rather than X3. I totally get what he was going for here.
ReplyDeleteIncorrect, he simply limited his scope during development. He's moving on to making his own original game, but he's mentioned that if he ever returns to add content to this he'll probably add Zero and Axl. There's no guarantee he will add anything to this though.
DeleteTrying to play it with a Xbox1-Pad, but every time I press the a-button for jumping the game goes into the weapon menue. Re-configuration doesn't work for me. I think I need to wait for a fix. :-/
ReplyDeleteHello, I hope you are all well, I have a problem when running the game, only a black screen appears, and the program does not respond, I tried to update graphics and put it on the data execution prevention list but it gave access denied because it is a 64-bit program, what could be the cause and what solution is there please?
ReplyDeleteAre you running a 64-bit OS?
Deleteyeah bro
DeleteFor as creative and impressive as this is, it's also very lazy, ugly, and rubbish. It's as much of a "demake" as Final Fantasy VII Remake is an actual remake — which is to say this is more an "adaptation". They also didn't bother to remake the music with the appropriate instrumentation, and the play field isn't 8:7 ratio, or even 4:3.
ReplyDeleteI could go on and on about everything wrong with this "demake", but to summarize: nothing drives me up the wall more than when people try and "remake" something only for it to be anywhere from vaguely close to almost entirely different. Why bother saying "it's this" to begin with if you're not going to actually make "this"? Either try harder, or just make something original.
This is a really good way of capturing the way I feel about this game. Something always felt off about this product from the start.
DeleteIt hurts me to see people come out and compare this game with the original. Shitting on X8 when there really isn't too much to directly compare the games together. Even then the game does not beat out X8 I feel. I suppose most peoples idea of a better version is the fancy sprite work and less features?
The improvements this game try's to make are less like improvements and more of different ideas of similar quality. With many of these ideas feeling really stilted and awkward (BossRush, Yeti, and Man-O-War's stages). Strip away the impressive graphics and you have a okay game, its not something I'd come back to. But I love anything x8 related and im starved for new mega content.
I actually agree about the music. I can only imagine that arranged songs weren’t produced or even compiled since the game plays fast and loose with “demake” anyway, but it feels off.
DeleteAnd yeah, the levels are overall a little *too* easy, but I’ll always bat on the side of “too easy” over “too hard.” In particular, a segment from the original Troia Base was used for the boss rush, which *really* made me realize how “Kaizo” it is.
Personally I wasn't a fan of a lot of the choices the original X8 made so having a more "back to basics" approach resonated with me way more but I get it
DeleteNo matter of what I think about X8 I can't deny that it has a really distinct flavor to it
I can only imagine how much it would feel like a massive downgrade to have so much stuff stripped out or just straight up changed
As much as I like the demake I understand if someone feels like it's just a standard x game wearing X8's skin
So, can you guys make a better game?
DeleteTo me, Jo Li's comment reads kinda like asking for a more 1:1 recreation of the original, which might be a bit unfair to ask from someone making a fan project basically single handedly. Just because a free project doesn't meet their standards, or it did things differently, they should've tried harder? It's not like the original X8 ceases to exist somehow, fan projects like this Demake instead offering a different spin to try, if you're yearning for a new MMX related to play. Those don't come around often, after all.
DeleteThat's not to say the X8 Demake isn't without its faults, but I can't really knock it on the same grounds as something like FF7 Remake. One is a free project, while the other is a commercial project by larger team, split across multiple titles. They both do their departures from the source material, but for different reasons, like available man power, budget and (perhaps most importantly fan projects) time.
Personally, I believe fan projects are a good way to learn and hone's one's craft, using them as a stepping stone to go and build other things. For that reason, I can respect the Demake's creator for wanting to keep the scope at a more manageable level, instead of trying to recreate everything X8 had to offer. Not every fan project needs to expand their scope just to match the expectations people carry for more commercial releases.
@Anon 12:38: Well I can't but I am sure others out there can.
DeleteWhat does making a better game have to do with judging the quality of this one though? I don't follow.
If you are starting a new subject, I suggest making a standalone comment, so the people who can make better games can better spot and and interact with your question more cleanly.
@Anonymous (September 11, 2024 at 2:24 AM)
Delete"[…] a free project […]"
I've never agreed with this "defense". Just because a project is free, or a "labor of love", or even if it's done by one person alone, does it mean it should be impervious to criticism and/or feedback. I did say it was impressive and creative, but as noted, it simply doesn't meet my specific expectations. A lot of people seem to really enjoy this game, and more than a few of them even say it's "better than the original" — which is a laugh, but never mind. I'm in the small minority of people who simply don't.
However, you are right about one thing. It is unfair to expect a "1:1 recreation" of a 3D game into a 2D medium. Two stages are from-behind "chase" stages, and numerous stages use perspective shifts on the 3D plain. The way the Yellow Brontes mini-boss in Earthrock Trilobyte's stage was handled is about what I'd expect and perfectly passable, but the Gigabolt Man-o-War and Avalanche Yeti stages felt like the creator just kind of didn't try. They were more "traditional", sure… if you compare them to Overdrive Ostrich's stage and only Overdrive Ostrich's stage. I'm sure there's a way they could have been done in the style of X4 onward, if not in the style of AfterBurner or even Star Fox and the like, with screen fades for transitions between the "3D" and 2D areas.
—
@Anonymous (September 11, 2024 at 12:38 AM)
"So, can you guys make a better game?"
I've never been a fan of this argument, either. That's like asking if a film critic can make a better movie, or a food critic can make a better meal. Anyone can give feedback or have an opinion. That doesn't make them a skilled veteran of their field, nor would them being skilled necessarily make their opinions more valid than anyone else's. The saying "I may not know art, but I know that I like" exists for a reason, after all. And this particular piece of "art"? I don't especially like it.
You guys don’t like anything, I bet if it had the x4-X6 aesthetic you guys would be gushing all over the game.
DeleteI actually liked the Overdrive Ostrich style to the stages. It was only done once after all, and I definitely never liked any Ride Chaser stages from PS1 onward (even Wave Man’s stage is better).
DeleteAgreed about the “can you do better?” defense though, haha.
New anon to this discussion here, I feel like a lot of people are missing the point of his criticism. He's not just blindly shitting on the game, or even really saying that it's bad. He's just saying that it's not what he wanted, and that's fine. Everyone wants different things, we don't need to force our love of this onto him.
DeletePersonally, while I still love the original X8 and prefer it over this, this version has it's own merits too and it does bring to light ways that X8 could have been better. In particular, the vehicle levels could have been handled better and could have been actual levels rather than just glorified minigames. There are some things the fangame couldn't have replicated due to the art style, mainly the 3D sections, but for what it had to work with I think it did a decent job at what it was going for. It just so happens that a 1 to 1 remake wasn't it. I think that's fine too, the guy making the game had his own vision for what he wanted to make and didn't limit himself based on other people's expectations.
Personally I think the gaming community needs to set a more strict standards regarding terminology such as "remake", "demake", "remaster", "reimagining", etc. The usage of these terms has become interchangable to the point of confusion and controversy, and that particularly becomes a problem when it comes to devs giving people what they're asking for. For instance, when people say they want a remaster of an old game, that doesn't necessarily mean they want a full remake from the ground up. When people say they want a remake, that doesn't necessarily mean they want the original game with upscaled screen resolution, HD textures, higher poly models, and maybe a fancy new lighting engine slapped on top for good measure. In the case of demakes, even that isn't a term that's necessarily clear about how faithful the "demake" in question should be. Should it be developed in a retro style but as though it were a new game? Should it be as close to the original as possible but within the hardware limitations of older systems? There seems to be a need for more variations of the term to clarify what something is and what someone is talking about. Words being too broad in scope can lead to a lot of miscommunication and confusion.
I like the terms "Retread" and "Rehash".
DeleteSpecifically: Final Fantasy 7 Rehash.
Or
Final Fantasy 7: You will (not) Remaster.
@shrap
DeleteDon't remind me of those terrible films, please(in reference to the bottom title).
Dude bitching even for the aspect ratio, game might be shorter but smaller and polished is better than longer and mediocre like x8, if you want to play x8... go and play x8
DeleteI did watch the video and I like X8 more. They released a lot of sprites in this. I just looked at part of the end of X1's Armor Armadillo stage and as I thought, that waterfall in the background is copy paste mostly. Also the frame rate looked bad.
DeleteI was a bit turned off, but I'm open to trying it, maybe, but X8 is better and I do prefer better detail like X8 has. I don't have a nostalgic 'going back to 8-bit and 16-bit' fetish like some do. It is too limited when it goes back to that. I did not like that they did that to MM9 or MM10 either and that should have been at least 32-bit (Rockman and Forte should have too and kept the MM8 explosions and sounds vs lame MM7 style ones).
But I will say at least this looks better than the SNES details in debris and explosions and buster shots and impact effects at least a little bit better. I was turned off seeing the stage selection screen though (just more copy pasting from X2 and X3 laziness).
If I try it, I hope the frames won't be that bad. Gamepad support is a must as well, unless I use a tool that can make the keys to the buttons (like using the steam controller companion program). Should I download it?
@Anonymous (September 12, 2024 at 3:02 PM)
DeleteOh, trust me. If I want to play X8, then I'll play X8. I happen to own it on both PlayStation 2 and Windows, in fact. That aside, of course, I'm going to point out the inconsistencies with the games this "demake" is based on — widescreen support being one of them. The only "classic" X game that was natively widescreen was Maverick Hunter X — a semi-faithful remake of Mega Man X. And there's the rub.
When I heard about this "demake", I assumed it would be like Maverick Hunter X. Instead, we got something more akin to "Twials" of Mana for modern consoles, or Final Fantasy VII (not exactly a) Remake. As I said before, this project did not meet my — what I consider to be — reasonable expectations. That doesn't make it bad. What makes it "bad", in my opinion, is the bait-and-switch.
I adamantly stand by the idea that the creator wanted to make "something else", but decided to make this, instead. Why else would there be completely and totally new stages instead of 1:1 recreations? Yes, Maverick Hunter X changed things up, too — specifically during the Sigma Stages. That was done in a clever way that rewarded players of the original game with something new. This "demake", though? It just feels like the creator ditched the original stages to suit their own tastes. Again, that's doesn't mean what they've made is bad. Just different. And again… I didn't want something almost entirely different. So.
I meant to say 'they reused a lot of sprites in this'. A shame I can't edit my posts here to fix typos or errors and have to double post instead.
DeleteAnyways, I just downloaded it and plan to try it.
Delete@Gary, the PS1 X games were notorious for copy paste assets. Even more so than the previous gens.
DeleteI beat 5 stages and will beat the rest later. Good it has 144hz refresh option and gamepad and good they use sounds and music from the real X8. I still do prefer the original more as it has better graphics, has voices, more story and dialog, multiple characters one can play as, its own stage selection style and map, cutscenes, and all new vs reused assets (X8 was all original while this reuses half its stuff from previous SNES X games). But this isn't too bad. It's fun enough to attempt a playthrough to see how it turns out all the way through.
DeleteNot the backgrounds, AFAIK, but things like X6 like Rockman and Forte did copy paste too much, yes. X6 was rushed, of course. But it seems like some fan made mods do it more so.
DeleteI loved this game and while I don't know if this is the right place for this, I already posted this on reddit so thought I'd do so here. My stage order for this game, in order to get all the items cleanly, is: Troia Base, Central White, Inferno, Metal Valley, Dynasty, Pitch Black, Booster Forest and Primrose. I think it is a pretty good order if anyone wants to try it! Anyway, I think the creator did a fantastic job with this demake thought it feels like is more for people who dislike X8 rather than existing fans of X8. I just don't think many hardcore X8 enjoyers will get much out of this game but I sure got a lot out of it, especially exploration wise.
ReplyDeleteI like how it’s basically a “what if” version for snes, probably my favorite aesthetic for the X series. I haven’t played it but it looks more like a straightforward X game without the bs state gimmicks, my only gripe is no playable Zero. I would have at least liked to see how he was handled in X3 where you could switch as him for certain parts of stages if you wanted to. But other than that it looks great and I appreciate the creator for finishing the game.
DeleteI meant *stage gimmicks*
DeleteI just beat it minutes ago. Yeah, I surely like the original more, though it wasn't bad. Also odd Zero and Axl are not in it. Some of it can be quite hard, but I collected everything to make it manageable. Since it is just an exe file, I wondered where it saved the game. I deleted it now after beating it. Alia only gets two very short dialogs in the whole game and there are no story scenes between levels.
Delete