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X / Re: Do you like Axl?
« on: July 04, 2010, 07:10:16 AM »Hell no. Because at least to me, everything that Axl represents seems like something that could have been a possible development for an already established character, like say....Dynamo.
I mean, how do we go from a guy like Dynamo, who had decent development as an antagonist who rivals X and Zero in combat ability (and certainly has enough common sense to retreat), yet clearly has his own agenda to...nothing at all? And in his place, we get this new kid who comes out of nowhere, and is the impetus of a new plotline that just does more to ditch everything that X5 and X6 were building up towards?
That was......objectionable!
Dynamo is an annoyance and little else. In design, he's a bastardization of X and Zero thrown into a blender. In gameplay, he's a pushover. In story, he's a jerk whose Robin Spitz-Swallows survival rate makes it a miracle that X and Zero retain their sanity. His "combat ability" being remotely comparable to X and Zero is complete rubbish. If he's not even a Hunter, not even KNOWN by Signas, then how in the hell does he get a mission efficiency rating higher than Zero? Especially when his only priority is his own ass. He barely has any place as a meaningful antagonist (gluttons for punishment have some value, I suppose) and CERTAINLY has no place as a player.
I don't dislike Axl, but I must admit that I'll always regard X and Zero as "the" dynamic duo of the Hunters. Nevertheless, he does provide a fresh perspective, especially in X8, when you get to see a new character confront the old nemeses (in one game he already gets sick of Vile, you can't help but laugh at that). In gameplay, he's been a bit of trial-and-error, but I think that both X8 and ZXA offered some strong possibilities. Incorporate double-pistols into his default attacks (even if only for aesthetics), and make shape-shifting the basis of his special attacks instead of some limited stage gimmick, and he'd be set.
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To me, Axl does even more to represent what went wrong with Inafune-less Rockman X than even X6. So if he gets retconned away, I won't have any problem with such at all.Excuse me, but it's not as if Inafune-equipped Rockman X hasn't suffered its own pitfalls. X5 was horrendous in gameplay and badly presented in story. MHX is ugly as sin (in terms of character models, anyway) and watered down one of the best buster upgrades the series ever saw to half strength. And X6, while not the best way to broaden the series audience, happens to rock a lot of socks as a challenge for the hardcore fans, not to mention features some of the finest large-scale enemy battles and SNES remixes that the series has seen, and the fact that you finally get to kick the recurring villain while he's down.
And know this: Whatever X5 was building towards, Inafune had no intention of continuing. No shred of evidence has ever suggested that Wily's appearance would ever have anything to do with the Zero series. From the Sigma Virus's defeat, to Zero's death, to Wily's confirmed yet off-screen and unresolved involvement, X5's story was exceedingly badly executed. Inafune let it pass because all he wanted was to end the series, and it was evidently his assumption that the series dies when Zero dies (he's probably right in that regard). With all due respect, screw him. At least X6 had the decency to show us that Wily dropped out versus X5 referencing his involvement without ever having him make an appearance in the first place. And while Zero is my favorite character, the Zero series was never and will never be a substitute for the X-series.
