Mega Man X3 (SNES) review "Doing it all again, but with flourish."

At the very edge of the SNES’ capabilities this title dwelt, straining against its decade old hardware and new fangled co-processors in 1995. These were insufficient for the developer’s aspirations, however, and so the same trusty accelerator—the Cx4—was brought on board to bring about the futuristic graphics fans didn’t know they wanted. There are some indicators that this title is better optimized, than its prior utilization, as we’ll discover.

Why push the system so hard? The Playstation and Saturn were on the scene, and had every technological advantage that the SNES lacked. Interestingly, a port of this game was released on the Playstation, as well, though with a different soundtrack, sound effects, and animated cutscenes and introduction videos for each boss.

Wasn’t it just a few games ago that we were touting the impressive power of the SNES? Indeed we were, but the 90’s console wars produced new generations like they were going out of style. In some cases they very much were. In its waning days, the SNES pushed some graphically distinct and impressive titles, of which this was one.

Our opening sequence relates the age-old tale of a utopia unified under a single scientist, Dr. Doppler, who miraculously stems the Maverick tide. They gather together in a new place they call “Doppler Town” and just a short while later, begin to wreck havoc, attacking the outside world. Their first target? Maverick Hunter Headquarters.

The opening stage of MMX3 created some real hype. You enter the scene in dramatic fashion as X, shooting down an enemy craft while clinging to it! You’re joined also by Zero, rebuilt from MMX2. You and Zero have a little chat and then you’re in, with full control over X.

You’ll notice immediately that the “gamefeel” is altogether smoother than MMX2. I have to admit that since the time of their released I was under the impression that X2 and X3 both had different co-processors. In retrospect, however, it does make sense that they’d make better use of it, even in a less than a year turnaround.

So, the game is more fluid, gameplay more considered and determined. The intro boss isn’t a waste of time, instead being a respectable challenge and setting the stage for the level of difficulty you can expect here. What’s more is you get to play as Zero! Perhaps, what’s less is more appropriate.

I recall thinking that Zero was pretty sluggish for someone who was supposed to be cooler and more powerful than X, but having him on tap is worthwhile anyway, even though the overall experience is limited. We’ll get into that shortly. In the opening level you get to explore some of Zero’s distinct abilities, such as his multi-level charge and the Z Sabre, which completes his attack sequence. That will see much refinement in future titles.

In 1995, however, the pure excitement of being able to play as our favourite blond Maverick Hunter is tempered when you get into the game proper. There are some major quibbles that fans have had with his appearance and availability in MMX3, and I count myself among the cheated. The experience with Zero is, in a word, tempered.

All of Zero's abilities are locked in and cannot be upgraded. We've mentioned the majority of them, and extra traversal options do improve the situation somewhat. Zero can explore any level you choose, you call on him while playing as X on the weapon select screen, though that is factually clunky as all get go to figure out how to do. There's no visible toggle. It gives the impression that including Zero at all might have been an afterthought.

While you're running around with this metallic shonen hero, be sure to be careful. He is a delicate flower, which means that if his energy is depleted before he can reach an exit (he can't fight any of the bosses) he will be inaccessible for the rest of the game. So much for that fun, huh? X, meanwhile, gets a fresh set of armour, including even more traversal options, an even better arm cannon, protective torso armour, and semi-useful helmet. Hey, it’s trying. Take it easy.

Overall MMX3 has a more polished feel than MMX2, which probably has a lot to do with the game being a reskin of the latter title. Why rebuild when you don’t have to? In my opinion, this is the most interesting and fun of the two SNES MMX sequels. Without getting into spoilers:

Learning the levels and finding the treats works just as well as any other title, without throwing you into too much of a steep learning curve. Just watch out for conspicuous ledges and other unreachable spots with visual cues. Once you’ve acquired the puzzle piece of equipment that matches, all you need is a little practice and/or skill to obtain the item or gear. Experimenting with charging the weapons you’ll acquire from bosses will fill the gap for anything you miss.

MMX3 has other tricks up its sleeve as well. Though I didn’t mention it in my reviews of the previous to MMX titles, each game has a secret weapon that requires some finagling to obtain. For your hard work you get a weapon that will total a boss in one or two hits, but can’t retain with a save code. How’s that for a bit of unobtanium?

You’re going to find twice as many upgrade capsules in this game as any before, and there’s a good reason for that: Four of these will grant an upgrade chip to further enhance the abilities of one of your body parts. Now, there’s more to it than that, if you’re willing to experiment and explore the game thoroughly. The reward is truly unlike anything the series has granted the player in its relatively short history up to this point.

Telling would be spoiling, so we’re going to shift gears to the components of the game we haven’t yet discussed. Which is to say the music is quite solid and has the same pulse pounding rock vibe that is the series staple. Some themes are quite catchy, as well, but none are bangers like we had in MMX. Can’t win ‘em all.

Graphically the SNES is straining at the end of its leash, and this is apparent with enemy respawns. If they disappear off the screen for more than a single pixel and you go back, they’re waiting happily to blow you to smithereenies. Besides that, the bosses are suitably large and their attacks don’t slow the action down to a crawl. The style of 16-bit X has aged like a fine [insert venerable consumable here].

Now, I’m sure we all know who is behind the shenanigans of Doppler’s crew, and that plays out much as you would expect, though with larger sprites than we’re typically used to seeing on the SNES. The level and enemy variety grant us a list of new weapons that are perhaps superior to MMX2. There’s just a lot more going on, visually, and that can be overwhelming, but it does seem to suit the intended pace of this action romp.

Retrospect isn’t kind to our favourites, though some turn out to be as good as we remember. In my case, the item hunt is annoying, but worthwhile when I'm in the mood to go the distance. It did clear the path for future installments with some improvements, of course, because, well, that what we expect, isn’ t it?

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Community review by hastypixels (August 20, 2025) Wisdom comes from effort and mistakes.