Oh. My. Freaking God. While I have seen some hard Mega Man/Rockman games, this one perhaps stands out as one of the hardest Mega Man/Rockman games ever. Hope you're ready, because this one will cause me to rant at some point.



Introduction: After Keiji Inafune managed to finish X5, he wanted it to be the final game in the series and move on to develop the Mega Man/Rockman Zero series. However, according to him, "And so I’d always planned to make Zero come back to life in the Mega Man Zero series, but then X6 comes out sooner from another division and Zero comes back to life in that, and I’m like, 'What’s this!? Now my story for Zero doesn’t make sense! Zero’s been brought back to life two times!" This, of course, was a massive understatement. Because of the strict development schedule (barely even a year!), it had some massive things that annoyed players. In spite of the mixed reception, X6 managed to sell 106k units by the end of 2001.



Graphics: I do have to admit, the 2D graphics of the ps1's time was good, but some character graphics don't match up well (e.g. Blaze Heatnix, Infinity Mijinion), though the stage design corresponds very well to the bosses. Also, the 3d CGI graphics also return (Nightmare Snake anyone?), and like X5, clashes with the art style. The intro animation and cutscene pictures also look very well designed. I give this part a 7 out of 10 (Nightmare Snake).



Sounds:I do have to admit, the Japanese voice acting sounds very good, although some of them are ruined by the constant yelling (e.g. X's yelling when damaged, Infinity Mijinion's babbling). Also, the sound effects are also very good. Also, the music sounds very good like its predecessor, and did you know that they actually kept the J-Pop soundtracks for the American version instead of replacing them with generic American rock? Even with that, they still sound very awesome. I give this part a 8 out of 10 (Showtaro Morikubo).



Addictiveness: HECK NO. The difficulty, which I will mention below, has made me not want to play the game ever again aside from the fact that I can use codes to play as Ultimate Armor X and Black Zero. I give this part a 1 out of 10 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h8Z-L0JjkI)



Story: One of my personal criticisms of the game is that the story is convoluted and inplausible. Of course, since I'm not allowed to post important plot points in the game, I'll post it later in my guide (which I will do in my free time). Also, the entire premise is just about the same, but with a twist: You jump and shoot, but also get Nightmare Souls and save reploids. I give this part a 3 out of 10 (What A Twist!)



Depth: There's a lot this game has to offer, such as rescuing reploids in exchange for certain parts and power-ups, Sub Tanks, and Armors. By the way, you can also increase your rank by collecting Nightmare Souls, which in turn, gives you a higher rank that lets you equip more parts. The maximum rank for this game is a UH (Ultimate Hunter), in which have to collect, and I'm not kidding, 9999 Nightmare Souls, which is the maximum amount you can get for a character for a game. Good luck with that! I give this part a 8 out of 10 (Survival Necessity).



Difficulty: Do I have to explain everything about this one? Well, short story, Awkward Design = Xtreme Difficulty on Easy Mode. Long story is that due to the rushed stage designs, some end up impossible to beat without the use of certain parts, which are obtained from reploids. Keep in mind that reploid can be killed or infected. If that reploid is gone, well you're on your own! The only reason why I gave this one a 9 rather than a 10 is because you can use certain weapons to make your way through the entire game, and some can be used for exploitation. Also, the bosses are rather easy (Aside from Infinity Mijinion). And good luck if you attempt this game with unarmored X without taking damage AND achieving 100%! Speaking of that, the last time i attempted 100%, it took me at least 400 save state loads and 100 deaths to beat this game. Yes, IT'S THAT HARD. No, really! https://www.vizzed.com/vizzedboard/retro/user_screenshots/saves15/150549/PLAYSTATION--Mega%20Man%20X6%20_Mar5%2020_24_21.png I give this part a 9 out of 10 (Insert Rage Face Here).



Conclusion: My final rating for this game is a 5.8 out of 10 (Dark Souls). Just like Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a spiritual successor to Castlevania, X6 is a spiritual successor to Dark Souls (at least in terms of when it took place). Why? Because like Dark Souls, they are both really hard. They also contain some awkward stage design. The controls for those games are frustrating at times. The music is great in those. The story is complex and requires some other timeline to explain it all. They also have a lot of depth in those games. The only fact that hindered X6 from being a true spiritual successor to Dark Souls is that X6 at least has a pause button. While it's not that horrible, it really is a letdown of the entire 5th Generation Mega Man/Rockman games.

I feel like you over emphasize the difficulty of this game way too much, sure it can be punishing, but once you get the over all mechanics down it's quite easy just like Dark Souls is. Albeit I think they are quite comparable other than 3D/ 2D difference. Wouldn't even go as far as to call it the hardest mega man game, but otherwise pretty solid review I suppose. 

vaderzlk11 : For a relatively new user, this is a pretty good review. I got a very good picture of how you feel about this game. To be honest, I kinda agree with you. The plot is stupid, and the level design is really bad. One thing you forgot to mention, however: the translation is pathetic and they were too lazy to bother dubbing the dialogue in English for the NA release.