S&S; Indie Review: Street Fighter X Megaman

Title: Street Fighter X Megaman
Format: PC
Release Date: December 17, 2012
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Independent
Price: Free
ESRB Rating: E

Street Fighter X Megaman is a new fan made homage to a couple of Capcom's biggest franchises.  Any fan of the old school Megaman games will feel right at home with this new downloadable title.  

Story, Presentation, and Core Gameplay:
To start off, I'm not gonna sit here and gush about one of Capcom's storied franchises, because honestly, when Megaman first arrived in the U.S., I wasn't even born yet. In fact, the first Megaman I got my hands on was Megaman 8 for the Playstation, and I was instantly hooked. When that game came out, anything new with the name Megaman on it, I wanted it. I actually did go back and attempt to play the older titles, but I didn't realize how difficult these games were. Even with the brutal gameplay, I still enjoyed the retro games. There isn't much there in terms of the game's story, just the big twist of fighting Street Fighter characters instead of classic Megaman bosses. The visuals are good, you can only do so much with the classic 8-bit style. Seeing Blanka and Chun-Li in 8-bit form is pretty cool. All of their signature skills are still nice to look at as well, Ryu's Hadouken is still cool to see, and in the style the game is presented in, it comes off as adorable. The different levels all look different, as they directly correlate to the boss at the end of the stage. All in all, the game fully recreates the classic NES presentation. The music is extremely catchy, even though I've heard most of the music before, the soundtrack is still really nice to listen too. 
 The gameplay is tough, just like its always been. I don't mind a challenging game, but what I don't admire is a cheap game. Thats one thing I've always thought highly of from the Megaman games, the games never felt cheap. You have 8 bosses to choose from, the notables ones being Ryu, Chun Li, and a pretty tough Blanka. After you make your way through the obstacle and enemy ridden level, you get to confront these iconic characters. The boss fights feature some of the toughest fights I've ever partook in, you have to learn each characters distinct fighting patterns, while trying to survive. It becomes a pretty big hurdle to overcome with each new character, but its pretty satisfying ending blasting away Blanka. If you want to see the ending, you'll have to finish the 8 bosses without quitting out of the game. The lack of a save system is pretty strange, you can minimize the program, but I don't think anybody thinks thats a good alternative to saving your work. Its hard to complain about a free game, and I won't give the mistakes and problems the game has because of that. There really isn't that much wrong with the game. The game is pure nostalgia, and thats all it strives to be.  
Final Thoughts:Street Fighter X Megaman is a good game, and thats all it is.  For the hardcore Megaman fans, its a lot more.  The game has a few minor technical issues, but none to noteworthy.  Its free for everyone, so if you're curious, go download it for yourself.  
S&S Rating: 7.5/10 @whatsPlay