Rockman CX is a ROM hack created by Zenkaku Himajin for the classic NES title Rock Man 2 in which you set out as a clone of Mega Man with the goal of defeating Dr. Light.
Mega Man 2 is the bestselling Mega Man game of the franchise, a pleasant surprise to Capcom as the first game did not sell nearly as well. It was initially released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988 and has gone on to become recognized as one of the greatest game of all time prompting the title to be rereleased across several consoles. Mega Man 2 is recognized for its detailed and stunning graphics as well as its addictive gameplay and balanced difficulty as compared to its predecessor.
New Game Features
This game has the following new features
- All New Levels
- New Enemies And Bosses
- New Abilities/Powerups
Game Description
If you want to see a video of Rockman CX in action, check out the video below.
Rockman CX is possibly one of the largest hack of Mega Man 2 available and reskins the entire game complete with its own plot, unique stages, new powerups, and new enemies. Taking heavy inspiration from Mega Man X, this hack follows a similar progression and ability outline.
Each level in this hack pulls design influence from the boss that resides there which makes for an extremely varied and imaginative game overall as each level differs greatly from the last. I would have loved to see themed enemies as well to match the levels that the player faces.
Starting off the game with only the basic abilities (the Platform is particularly useful but the other two are negligible) can be daunting depending on what level the player decides to start on. While it is obvious to note that certain abilities will aid against certain bosses, this game has some balance issues that make certain bosses next to impossible without defeating others first.
Title Screen
Rockman CX offers a unique title screen inspired by the title screen of Mega Man X, as seen below.
Graphics
A variety of graphical changes were made for this hack including custom models and tilesets to accommodate the change in theme from the original game; furthermore, there are a number of new effects to look out for as this game makes use of unique weapons, bosses, and enemies.
Gameplay
Rockman CX is a mixed handbag when it comes to design from level to level. For the most part, the levels flow well and are entertaining to traverse through but many of the enemies bog down the gameplay to a degree by making the game feel like a mad dash gauntlet run which in turn makes the game a battle of trail and error – not particularly fun when you have limited lives. I recommend save states. Still, the game shines when you reach Dr. Light’s fortress as each of the bosses, and the level design itself, are unique and entertaining.
Overall, the game is significantly harder than its parent title and I feel that the majority of this is due to the speed of enemies’ attacks. Damage can appear quite inevitable as normal enemies tend to spam their attacks at an alarming rate so you typically end up trading with them, while many of the bosses have attacks which can stunlock you for them to continuously damage you until death (e.g. Firemario’s Jump attack). This is only slightly countered by the fact that most minion type enemies drop loads of health but in boss battle your a typically S.O.L.
Sound
Many of the songs in the game have been replaced with songs from other titles that most players are bound to recognize; notably, the title screen starts us off with a soundtrack from Pokemon.
Download
If you wish to play this game you can download the Rockman CX Rom by clicking here.
Conclusion
So is this game worth a try? Rockman CX is a highly ambitious hack with as much going for it as it has taking away from it. New levels, bosses, weapon, and abilities all breath life into Rockman CX but it suffers from some unfair bosses and situations which feel more like artificial/cheap difficulty inflation. Overall, the game offers a tone of variety and interesting new levels to explore and the end game stage, Dr. Light’s Fortress, easy stands out as the best part of the game and a highlight of Megaman hacks.
If you have played this game please let us know what you thought of the game by leaving us a comment.