Mega Man Xtreme Review
26/40
Presentation
7
Controls
7
Content
5
Fun Factor
7
By Charles - May 31st, 2026
Mega Man Xtreme is one of the more unknown games in the Mega Man series. Why a Mega Man X game needed to be made on GBC in 2000 is beyond me - why not make a Mega Man X remake for GBA in 2001? Nonetheless, it's cool that X did get an 8-bit adventure, and it's pretty cool to see how the developers managed to downgrade X and X2 to make this game.
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Mega Man Xtreme
2000
~$275 New ~$40 Used
Also Available on:
Virtual Console
Presentation
7
Mega Man Xtreme looks great and does a great job of adapting the SNES graphics. I am especially impressed with X and the Maverick sprites. They are animated very well. I noticed that X has the afterimages when he dashes just like in the PlayStation titles. Everything is colored well and the limited palettes never get in the way. One problem with X is that you only see the armor pieces on his sprite once you collect all four. This makes it hard to tell which ones you still need to collect, although there is a menu now that shows you.
There are some cool graphics in the cutscenes, both during the story and in the intro, although it takes the game forever to convey any dialogue because of the size of the text box. The biggest issue that I had with the presentation is the huge, blinking, black and white "Auto-Save" zones placed throughout levels as checkpoints. They're so indiscreet and get in the way of the level design.
I thought the music was well done, and the sound effects matched well. If you didn't listen too closely everything meshed together into a perfect GBC feel. Some tracks have some neat tweaks that set them apart from the SNES versions, but for the most part they are the same but with a weaker soundfront. One problem was that the charge shot would use up one of the sound channels so part of the music would cut out.
Pros:
Fantastic character sprites
Detailed custscenes
Well-adapted backgrounds
Cons:
Auto-Save zones
Small dialogue boxes
Poor soundfront
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Controls
7
Mega Man Xtreme faced the issue of porting a platformer from a console with four face buttons to one with two, with the main issue being the dash move. To the developers' credit, you are given multiple options to deal with this and are allowed to switch between them. First, you can dash like Mega Man's slide, down plus jump. You second option is to double-tap forward. Finally, you can simply press Start.
The first method is the best and works just as well as it did in the classic series, but I could not very easily dash jump to get the distance boost. If I wanted to jump very far, I had to stop and press Start while I jumped. This wasn't as huge of an issue as it may seem since the screen is small enough that you won't often be making these jumps. However, there were a few instances where the level design required it that were very annoying.
Mega Man's charge shot works great just like in the SNES games, to the point where I never needed to use the Special Weapons for combat. However, they always worked as intended and I was happy with them.
Aside from the slide, X controls very well and always does what I want him to. The physics line up well and Game Boy X actually felt like the same character as SNES X.
Pros:
Physics match SNES
Special Weapons work well
Charge shot is awesome
Cons:
Slide is very awkward
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Content
5
Mega Man Xtreme has a very bizarre way of laying out its levels. You battle the first four Mavericks in their stages, then play the Sigma Stages. Then, you unlock "Hard Mode", which contains the next four Mavericks (you keep your upgrades), and then play slightly altered Sigma Stages. Finally, you unlock "Extreme Mode", where you can battle all eight Mavericks in any order before facing Sigma one more time.
In this way, the game's 11 stages are stretched out so you play 25. It's not the end of the world to get another look at these levels since they're short, but it's just such an odd way to do things. This is solely for padding, but the story is ruined since Sigma is defeated and the ending plays before you even get a chance to battle Armored Armadillo. The fact that there is a new story that explains why the SNES levels are re-hashed is actually an accomplishment.
The levels are all really short and easy, especially due to the "Auto-Save" points I mentioned before. There are tons in each level and all act as checkpoints. Aside from Game Over, you cruise through every level. Even boss fights are easy. There are four sub-tanks to collect but I barely ever used them. You could finish the game in one sitting, but I'm not sure who would want to since you have to play the same Sigma levels three times.
I kept encountering a glitch in Sigma Stage 2 where the level tiles would not follow the screen scrolling. X would move, but the actual graphics wouldn't change. This happened to me at least three times.
Pros:
Manageable difficulty
Collectibles
Cons:
Repeating Content
Too easy
Only 11 Stages
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Fun Factor
7
Mega Man Xtreme makes the same mistake as many of these handheld Mega Man games - it's short and easy. This game also struggles from the issues from converting SNES to GBC. There is a big lack of polish in this game, but there's a big draw to seeing Mega Man X on Gameboy.
The music is good, the graphics are good and the enemies are good. I would say that this game does a better job than the classic series Game Boy games of matching the experience. Mega Man looked the same but it didn't feel quite the same. Mega Man Xtreme feels the same.
The story is fun enough with some new characters but it's nothing crazy. The way the levels are arranged is kind of unique and doesn't ruin the fun since it's so easy. This game is just another retro platformer. It's decent.
Pros:
Feels like Mega Man X
Decent Platformer
Unique graphic style
Cons:
Too bland
Lack of polish
No challenge
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Worth the Money?
Worth the Time?
If you're a huge Mega Man game this is worth the money but otherwise, there are other fun games to get for Game Boy Colour.
I would definitely put in the time to finish at least Normal and Hard mode. That is where all the new content is. Aside from that is just extra.
Screenshots from [Mega Man Xtreme] © [Capcom], used for review purposes.
