Unlike XLC1, XLC2 will either offer you a challenging experience or a really awful one.

X5 is somewhat the same as X4 in terms of quality, however some things hold it back, the time limit, RNG, the 4 armor pieces, the parts system for instance, some levels like Duff McWhalen and Squid Adler (or Tidal Whale and Volt Kraken since they changed the names) are a drag.

X6 is, somewhat the same quality as X5 however it is much more difficult and frustrating, with the non-existant enemy variety, cheap deaths, inconsistent difficulty, permanently missable upgrades, etc. X6 is either a game you can have some enjoyment out of it, even if it's cheap or frustrating at times (like at the final 3 bosses) or a game you won't like at all.

X7 is, on the other hand, single-handedly the worst Mega Man game ever. Too slow, uninteresting levels, too boring, ugly, too easy, awful voice acting (despite having VAs of characters like Anna Williams, Raven and even Alucard?), bad story... I doubt a single thing is good about this game, it takes the worst of X6 and makes it unbearable.

X8 is a larger step-up to the previous 3 games, it handles the best, music is amazing, has decent bosses, but I think what holds this game back is the level design and graphics. Its levels are too linear and too gimmicky for me to properly enjoy, especially out of a MMX game. The graphics however could've been done some more work, I think if it had gotten cel-shading, it could've hold up much more.

If you can keep up with X6's ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, I'd say the only game here you'd have a bad time with is X7 since nothing about that game is good.

Button mapping resetting is still an issue with X5 and X6, although X7 and X8 don't suffer from that issue

childhood =)))

X5 is boring, X6 is bad, X7 is awful with no fun to be scavenged, and despite remembering X8 fondly it was kinda ♥♥♥♥. Regardless of the quality of the ports, this is likely the worst bundle of games out of any Mega Man Legacy Collection possible

I was gifted the collection on PC recently, so since I already have hundreds of hours on Switch and PS4 I thought I’d make some short reviews for each of the games to help anyone thinking of buying this collection.

I think XLC1 is the better choice for beginners, and I believe you should always play these games in order of release date. But overall this is a very solid collection. The main menu has all the cool stuf XLC1 had like a music player and product images. The emulation is very solid as well with X1-3 running smoothly. Even X8, which like X5-7 is ported instead of emulated, runs very well on my old 8GB RAM work laptop at 1280x720p. So even if you don’t have a good PC the games will run fine.

Mega Man X7

Nothing needs to be said about this game, really. But I’m gonna tell you why you shouldn’t play it at all. It is a horrible game. There are countless problems with it, including, but not limited to; Bad enemy attack patterns, almost entirely redundant and terribly designed weapons, questionable stage design, and borderline boring bossfights. Although the worst part for me has to be Zero’s saber controls — it feels like I’m swinging a stick through molasses. With the cherry on top being the god awful sound design. If you liked hearing these characters speak in the Japanese version of X4, your mind will one-hundred percent be changed by the end of this game. X sounds like a whiney soy-boy, Axl is comparable to a raspy midwest emo band singer, Zero is way too mean sounding, and Flaming Hyena exists. Only redeeming factor about the voice acting is Red’s voice, the VA for him actually cooked. And the bossfight theme isn’t too bad. That’s about it though. If you don’t care about getting all the hunter medals, skip this one.

Mega Man X6

The ranking for this game may seem like it’s the runner up for the worst in the series but it’s actually a decently fun time if you know what you’re doing. That’s not to say it doesn’t have it’s bad moments, though. The game has a difficulty chart like a heartrate monitor, one stage you’ll be breezing through without much trouble, blowing up enemies, defeating Commander Yammark with ease, and the next you’ll be pulling your hair out wondering why they thought Gate’s bossfight would be a genuinely good idea. On your first playthrough without any guides the game really feels like a hunk of ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ — which, I’ll admit, at times it still is — but with a bit of preparation, and a lot of trial and error, it’s a bit less tedious. I also really, really like the soundtrack in this game. Blaze Heatnix’s theme and Sigma 2nd are top tier tracks.

Mega Man X5

This is my 3rd favorite X game for personal reasons. It was the first PS1 X game I played, so I have a ton of nostalgia for it. Especially the music. But without the nostalgia glasses, this game is just okay. It’s got more going for it than X6 or X7, though. I like the level design — especially Grizzly Slash and Izzy Glow’s stages — and the armor sets in this game look and feel awesome to control. Falcon Armor X has to be my favorite armor design in the whole series. Because of this the game is a lot more enjoyable for a newcomer comparative to X6’s barrage of bullcrap. But what might turn you away from this game at first is the convoluted Enigma/Shuttle stuff and the parts system, to which I say; just use a guide. Aside from those few issues, this is a very enjoyable game in my opinion. (The Dynamo fight also resets the cannon’s success rate, so you can save right before his fight and keep playing through to the cannon fire if you want the achievement for succeeding in destroying the colony.)
For a detailed explanation on the stupid parts system, I would use this page on retropixel: https://megaman.retropixel.net/mmx/5/parts.php

Mega Man X8

The best of the bunch. Almost every aspect of this game is perfect to me. It’s got a perfect intro stage that teaches you how to control each character making you swap between them throughout the stage, and all three of them control smooth as butter. All but one stages are incredibly well designed, too; I especially enjoyed Pitch Dark, Metal Valley and Primrose. The one stage that isn’t very good at all, and the rest of the community can resonate with this, is Dynasty. It’s just a scrappily made on-rails shooter that has you getting close to the boss with boost items scattered around and shooting him until he gets knocked out of his ship so you can fight him. That’s the whole stage. It’s pretty bad your first time around, and it’s even worse in hard mode, but after a few tries you’ll get the hang of it. All the other stages are great, I thoroughly enjoy the Jakob, Gateway and Sigma Palace stages. Not to mention how utterly insane the final boss is. The boss is super hard, but not in an unfair way, just hard enough to give you a great sense of accomplishment for beating it.

The item game is something a lot of people complain about, mainly taking issue with how much backtracking is required for 100%. Which is valid to an extent. For me, though, it all pays off in New Game + when you get the Sigma blade and have the option to play as the navigators. And, spoilers, you also get Ultimate Armor X, Black Zero, and White Axl. NG+ X8 is such a relaxing and rewarding experience, which is why I don’t mind the copious amounts of metal farming and item acquirement needed to get 100%. X8 is definitely my favorite of the collection. Maybe even the whole series.