I cannot go on enough about how special the MegaMan series is to me. It's something I've loved since I was a kid, and it is something I will continue to come back to for the rest of my life. Despite this, I've never actually told the story of how I got into the series. I'm not sure why it slipped my mind, but I guess it just isn't a topic that usually comes up for me. So today, I want to do just that! The story of my first MegaMan game -- MegaMan X.
It was the mid 90s, and I had just moved completely to my home town. Now, I know this may sound weird, but growing up I actually lived in two places. No, not because of my parent's being split up or anything, but because my mom's work required her to actually live there. She managed a home for the developed mentally disabled, and would work Monday - Friday. Such a job required her to care for both the ladies that lived there around the clock, and also manage the house to ensure everything was running as it should. My grandma would come in and take over for her during the weekend, but because our actual house was located nearly an hour away, often we would just stay on Saturday and Sunday as well. This was fine and all, but things were about to change... I had turned 5, and it was time for me to start school.
Obviously we wanted me to go to school in my actual home town, so my mom's work office had to move as well. So we packed up our things, found a new location, and moved home. Around this time is when I also got my Super Nintendo for my birthday (thanks Grandpa!), and because we were now so close to my grandparent's house, I started spending more time there. During this time my uncle still lived at home as well, and he too had a SNES. So every time I'd go over to my grandparent's house, I'd usually go upstairs and check out what my uncle had to play. That's when I saw it -- MegaMan X.
I didn't know what MegaMan was, but seeing him playing it completely sucked me in. I loved robots, I liked the color blue, and just about everything I saw looked amazing to me! He knew all the secrets and made things look easy, but when I'd pick it up I found myself getting destroyed in no time. Gaining powers and using them against enemies who are weak to them was a completely new concept to me, and being able to pick levels in different orders was something new and strange as well. At this time I didn't get to play it too often, but I'd make it a point to play it every chance I got. Heck, even when my cousins came over we would sit there and play it -- and they could actually get somewhere with it! Of course I enjoyed watching them play as well, but I still wanted to be able to beat it myself. During this time the MegaMan cartoon was still on TV as well, and thanks to MegaMan X I started watching it. Little kid me didn't realize MegaMan and X were two different people, but I didn't care -- I just knew I loved MegaMan and wanted more out of it. I didn't own the game, so watching the show was the next best thing I could do while I was at home. Eventually, that all changed however.
As my grandpa's fan also had a SNES in it for long road trips, MegaMan X became the game I started taking with me when we would go somewhere. Living in the middle of nowhere meant car rides were usually 1-2 hours long to get anywhere, so that was the perfect time to play some games. This is where I finally started to learn more about the game, but it wasn't actually until a little later that my uncle just flat out let me take the game home with me. That is when the true obsession with it started.
For countless years, MegaMan X became my go to game. I didn't use the password system for some reason, but instead would just leave my SNES running so I could play it after school. Eventually it got to the point where I just played the thing from start to finish daily, and that was a tradition I carried on throughout the years. Shortly after getting X1 I do remember renting X2 from the local rental place as well -- but it actually scared me for some reason. The next MegaMan game I would play was MegaMan Legends, while the next one I would actually own was MegaMan 8. MegaMan X5 became the next entry I just had to have, and eventually that was followed up by Battle Network, Zero 1, and X6. Of course I eventually got Legends 1 as well, and went on to get the other Battle Network and Zero games... and basically everything else. I simply fell in love with the series as a whole, and used every chance I got to get the next game. Even so, X1 remained my favorite throughout the years, and once again, remained the game I would play almost daily. Heck, when I got a PSP with Maverick Hunter X, I ended up with over 30ish save files of me switching between X Hard Mode and Vile Hard Mode save files. I'd just start it up, and alternate story modes each time I finished one -- and this was when I was 16. Despite roughly 10-11 years passing by, I still couldn't get enough of X1. (And yes, still to this day if I turn the game on, I sit there until I finish it. Speed running it is fun!)
And, that's basically it! Now here we are 26 years later, and MegaMan is still one of my favorite all time series. It'll always be special to me, and it's something I still can't get enough of. I'm still waiting on the day that X9 gets announced, but in the mean time, I have all of the other releases to keep me busy. Such a great series.
