Mega Man X Collection brings together the first six Mega Man X titles on one handy disc. The first three X games first appeared on SNES, X4 on PlayStation and Saturn, and X5 and X6 on PlayStation. Although the quality of the last two titles is somewhat dubious (OK, X6 sucked), the remaining four titles were quite good and should please fans of the Blue Bomber's futuristic adventures.
The biggest treat for Mega Man fans, however, comes in the form of X Collection's seventh title -- the previously unreleased in America Mega Man Battle & Chase. Although not part of the X series (it features characters from the original series), this polygonal kart racing game was originally supposed to be released on PlayStation until Sony rejected it at the last minute. Capcom had even run magazine ads for the game before it was cancelled. An English version of Battle & Chase was released in Europe, however.
Battle & Chase's graphics definitely look dated, but it's still a fun game. The weapon-stealing gimmick of the Mega Man series appears here in the ability to steal kart parts from defeated boss characters. These stolen parts (like tires, spoilers, engines, etc.) can be added to your kart to enhance its abilities.
A scene from the SNES version of Mega Man X.
Not much is known about Capcom Classics Collection except that it will contain over 20 classic Capcom arcade games. A few years ago, the company released a classics series in Japan called Capcom Generations for PlayStation and Saturn. Each of these discs contained a few games from popular Capcom franchises such as Ghosts 'n' Goblins, Commando, and 1942. No doubt some of these titles will be contained within the Classics Collection, but considering that there will be more games in this collection than in the Capcom Generations, we don't have to worry about this being a mere rehash of previous compilations.
Again, no specific titles have been announced at this time, but sadly, we won't be seeing any of Capcom's licensed arcade titles like Willow or Alien vs. Predator (at least on this collection). It has also been hinted that there may be at least one NES title in the collection -- one that was superior to the arcade version. We can only guess that this would be Bionic Commando, but we weren't given any confirmation.
Capcom hasn't announced what system these two collections will be released on, but considering how well Mega Man Anniversary Collection sold on PS2 and GameCube, those seem like obvious choices. Perhaps if MMAC performs well on Xbox, these titles will come to that as well.
