Overall: 9.4

Let's be realistic. The Mega Man X series, not counting the first one, is the scapegoat of the Mega Man franchise. The classic series made up for its repetitiveness for being so classic, and so casual, and just a fun series. Mega Man X, on the other hand, had little effort towards the story. And because of the game being newer, and the fact that better stories were starting to develope, this series has no excuses for its repetitive story. As for Mega Man X5, it's my favorite game in the series. Despite its obvious storyline in some instances, the gameplay and most definitely the music made up for it. It added some new features from Mega Man X4 that I'll get to later. For being a good game, despite its story, Mega Man X5 gets a 9.4.

Graphics: 8

The graphics of this game aren't the best for the playstation, but they are good nonetheless. The colorful, unique environments are fun, plus, they added a new feature to each level, the Sigma Virus, it's a small purple ghost-like enemy that will chase you. You cannot kill it without a special type of weapon. Some of the graphics are so complicated that they might make you sick, just a warning. But it's not something to get worked up about. The graphics of this game were pretty good for its time, and I wouldn't change them. They're slightly better than Mega Man X4's. The animation is as smooth as any Mega Man or Mega Man X game. Just right. Why fix what isn't broken, am I right? For having smooth animations and satisfactory graphics, this game gets an 8.

Sound: 10

Let me start with the sound effects of this game. They're excellent. The sounds you make when you shoot, then sounds when you jump, when you die, all of it, are just perfect. If I were making this series, I'd put those sounds in Mega Man X4, 5, and 6. They fit perfectly. I like them tons more than Mega Man X4's. Mega Man X4's got extremely annoying at times. Let me give you a perfect example. Everyone who has played Mega Man X4, you'll know what I'm talking about. When you play as X, the sound he makes when you dash and jump at the same time, his voice sounding like X is saying "BOOP" every single time you jump. At first this sound is okay, but it get's extremely annoying after a while. I can't stand that. Capcom realized their mistake there and completely eliminated the sound in Mega Man X5. Thank you, Capcom. Now, the music. The music of this game is nothing short of a Mega Man game. Perfect! Because of the music, you'll know when to get pumped, when to be sad, when to be scared, and others. The music portrays the mood of this game perfectly. An example of this, after the first stage, the music portrays a chaotic time. It fits it perfectly. The Sigma Virus was spread all throughout the world! The music displays the game's mood perfectly for this situation. For being just right in every aspect, the sound in this game is no short of Mega Man fan's expectations. The sound in Mega Man X5 gets a 10.

Addictiveness: 7

This game is pretty addictive for a while. There's a good amount of extra abilities, or skills, that will make the game much easier. If you play the game without these extra items, the game seems extremely long and difficult. But if you know what you're doing, this game is pretty average length. If you're inexperienced, it might take you a couple days to finish, but if you're very good, 2-4 hours would be about an average time. But again, the length of the game depends on the way you try go about beating it. I like that this game is variable. It's eccentric, and adds to the addictiveness of the game. You'll like spending a couple days, or a few hours while playing this. You'll like playing through it a few times. It's pretty fun. For being pretty addictive, and for having variable length, this game gets a 7.

Story: 7

The story of this game is its weakest aspect, in my opinion. For one, it's extremely repetitive as a series, two, it's not too plot twist heavy, which is good for stories. I personally like plot twists, because they surprise me. This game doesn't portray that aspect very well. But I do like some things to the story. Like, it's more fluent in addressing the storyline than the previous X games. But the story isn't too surprising. I can't really address much more on this aspect. That's really about it. The story in this game gets a 7.

Depth: 6

This game really isn't very long. You can beat it within 3 hours if you know what you're doing. But like I said before, it all depends on the way you plan on beating the game. If you go about doing it with getting no items, and no armor, it will take quite a while to beat. Which by the way, is a new feature. Instead of getting armor the normal way like in Mega Man X4, where the armor just appears on you as soon as you get it, this game gives it to you in data form, making it so you have to collect all of the pieces of the armor before wearing it. I don't mind this new aspect, but it can be troublesome if you want to use that armor's ability right then and there. Another cool thing they added. Instead of only getting one new armor per game, you now can get 3 armors! Two of them you have to find pieces to around each stage, and the third armor, is a secret. I won't tell you how. Don't ask. For being relatively short either way, this game gets a 6.

Difficulty: 8

This game isn't very hard when you get the hang of it. Plus, once you get the armor, and the powerups, the heart tanks, et cetera, the game will get significantly easier, and I think you'll notice. But the cool thing they did, is that they made getting all of these items optional. You really don't have to. So, if you're looking for an incredibly easy game, this is your game, and if you're looking for an incredibly difficult game, this is also your game. Overall, some parts of the game are difficult anyways. I love how some of the game's aspects allude to the previous games in the series, and even reference back to the classic series! When you play this game, try looking for those references. They're not too hard to find. It's one of those little things they added in that I like a lot about this game. For careful planning of difficulty, and for giving this game multiple difficulties, this game get's an 8.

Wrap things up...

This game is alright. It is my favorite game in the series, yes, but the repetitive, very predictable story kind of ruins the game's true potential. I recommend this game to people who aren't really looking for a game that's too touchy with storylines. If you're looking for a game that's difficult, I recommend this game to you. If you're looking for a game that's easy, I recommend this game to you. If you like game music, you'll love this game. What more can I say? Mega Man X5 is a pretty good game. I forgot to mention, one thing, I have to touch on this, if you've played through Mega Man X, this game will probably make you mad. It was supposed to be the last game of the series. You'll understand when or if you beat this game. Good luck, and over everything else, have fun!

Megaman is in my top 5 video game franchise favorites.

It's overall a fun and great series to play.

Capcom has been delivering good Megaman games for a while and have done a good job at it

This was a well written review. Good job

This was a well written review. I am a really big Mega Man fan. But I would have to say Mega Man x 6 was the best in the series. (just an opinion)

Yeah I enjoyed playing this game on the X collection as much as I enjoyed MMX6, nice review TPA.

Hey! Buddy! That's a great review!
I laughed about the MegaManX4 comment you made, that every time X jumped it sounded like he is saying BOOP XD
I got tired of trying to play the games with armor and everything, so I tried to play without any power-ups, I beat the MegaManX4 game with X and Zero, without collecting Armors, E-tanks, life ups, and nothing like that, just pure skill.
About the secret armor... I found it, I know where the armor is, and where to get it I discovered it by pure luck!

Megaman X series. Only one word to describe it. EPIC! 5 stars!!!

mega man is very fun to play and very addictive in my book

Mega man X5 is the best X series game on my opinion, I don't know why but it is, I play it every time I can on the mega man X collection for the ps2  (yes I still have one ps2)

I still own one and I play that game,I like Mega man x6.