Mega Man X4 Masochist Challenge Part 01

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Oh, God. Here we go. Sigh. This will be painful. Welcome to the X4 version of the Masochist Challenge of the Mega Man X games for the original PlayStation - and yes, I'm doing all three of them. And don't let the bitterness fool you: this is something I want to do.

For those not yet aware, the "Masochist Challenge" is my concept where I basically beat Mega Man X games as unarmored X, without taking damage.

In the case of X4, this means no air dash, no Nova Strike, no special weapons, no nothing. The X in intro stage is all the X you get to see.

Unlike the X1-X3 on the Super Nintendo, which pretty forgivingly lend themselves to a playthrough like this, the Playstation X games are designed differently from the ground up, and they definitely were not designed with unarmored X in mind.

You're not supposed to play through these games as unarmored X, and X4-X6 make sure to remind you on several occasions of what an idiot you are for even attempting something this idiotic - especially without taking damage.

When it comes to challenges like this, the most joy and satisfaction I get is never from the actual execution, but from the planning, finding routes, et cetera. The meticulous groundwork that goes into making a run like this even possible. Especially in X5 and X6.

I chose to do this because I am nowhere near as good at X4-X6 as I am in X1-X3. This really forces me to sit down and think, and do actual trial and error, rather than playing blindfolded like I can with X1-X3.

Working on this run has already made me realize a few things about X4 that I hadn't really noticed before. I knew there was a reason why I prefer the Super Nintendo trilogy over X4 any day, even though X4 is often praised as the second best X game after the first one. And I do like X4 a lot, don't get me wrong. But the level design and enemy placement in many of the stages make me suffer from claustrophobia, and it's often too crowded to really blaze through and feel like an unstoppable force like you would in the original trilogy.

It doesn't help matters that both the dash speed, as well as the speed of the X-Buster have been nerfed.

Also, I don't know if it's the sprites or what, but in X4 it's often difficult for me to see what's happening on the screen. What I mean by this is that sometimes projectiles from enemies mesh into the graphics and it's hard to spot them until it's too late. In addition to that, like you see in the intro stage here, sometimes there's stuff like debris from explosions that fill the screen, including enemies and their projectiles, which makes it impossible to dodge in time.

Just some nitpicks that I hadn't paid attention to before really figuring out how to do a Masochist Run of the game.

Anyway, I hope I'm able to make my personal journey to pain entertaining for you guys. I've figured that even if you're not interested in Mega Man X games, my cheerful negativity will keep you entertained.

Enjoy the best music track in the game.

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