I have to say. Mega Man has the X factor.
For anyone who's new to Mega Man and doesn't like completely dated 2D graphics, this is where to start. Mega Man X is one of the greatest games on the SNES and a landmark in the Mega Man series setting new standards for graphics, sound and gameplay.
If you don't know what Mega Man is, it's a successful and long series platforming games sharing the same core character Mega Man. Some of the elements that sets it apart from other platformers is Mega Man ability to pick up the weapon his boss opponents carry and use later in the game. If you beat a boss, you'll acquire his powers. All games opens with a menu, which asks you to choose between 8 different enemies, each with their own stage. It's a good idea to plan which order you want to defeat the enemies in, because all of the enemies are weak to at least one of the other enemies weapons, so if you defeat an enemy who uses fire, his weapon might come handy against an ice boss, etc...
Once these eight bosses are defeated you'll be about halfway through the game and must challenge one or more fortresses. Depending on the game, you'll have to go through somewhere between five and fifteen stages, each with a boss that must be defeated. These bosses will not pass on their powers to you once you defeat them, but they'll be weak against one or more of the eight weapons acquired from the first eight bosses.
Over the time, Mega Man has acquired new abilities. In Mega Man 3, he learned to slide and in Mega Man 4 he learned to charge his shots. He also have a dog or a bird as a handy assistant in certain situations in some of the games and in recent releases he's even got himself a friend called Zero who you can play as instead of Mega Man.
In the games, Mega Man will pick up items that'll increase his lifemeter or certain healthcontainers that can be used to restore your life when it's low. From Mega Man X you'll also be able to pick up additional abilities that'll make Mega Man jump further or allow him to knock down walls.
Over all, this release together with the anniversary collection released a year ago includes all of Mega Man's 2D adventures since 1987 and is simply a gem for any dedicated fan. The graphics and sound is perfectly reproduced in these collections and the pricetag simply makes it a steal.
My only beef with both collections is that when you save, the content of the healthcontainers and the number of lifes you have is apparently not saved, meaning when you load the game your containers will be empty and your life amount will be set to the default which is 3 if I remember right. You have unlimited continues so it's a small issue, but none the less an imperfection spot on a perfect release.
This is why I've only rated the gameplay to nine.