Rocman X is a 1995 unlicensed Famicom/NES platformer from the Taiwanese developer Sachen, riding on Mega Man’s look while playing its own game underneath. The title screen borrows its logo from Rockman X, but the story is Sachen’s own: as Gadem City celebrates its centennial, the mayor’s daughter, Miss Lucy, is kidnapped by the Pau-Lung-Tang Gang and their leader Havel, who take over the city and hold it for a $20 billion ransom. It falls to Rocman to fight through the gang’s forces and get her back.
How to Play
Battle through each stage toward the Pau-Lung-Tang Gang to rescue Miss Lucy. Rocman’s main weapon is a boomerang rather than a standard blaster â only one is ever on screen at a time, so throws need to be timed rather than spammed. Holding the attack button charges Rocman for a burst of flight instead of a bigger shot, letting him cross gaps other platformers would clear with a simple jump. Move with the arrow keys, throw the boomerang and jump with Z and X, and press Enter to start or pause.
Tips
- Time your boomerang throws â button-mashing wastes throws while your only boomerang is still in flight.
- Save the charge-flight for gaps and hazards; it’s the game’s substitute for a proper jump boost, and mastering it is close to mandatory to reach the end.
- Spend the currency you earn on extra boomerang and batarang-style weapons between stages â the starting weapon alone makes later levels much harder than they need to be.
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