History YMMV / MegaManX6

** Ensuizan messes with Zero's invincibility; it turns out the game makes you invincible when starting Ensuizan and only removes it when the spin ends. If Ensuizan is interrupted somehow (such as destroying the platform Zero's standing on), Zero can keep the invincibility for the rest of the area since the spin technically never ends. Entering a new area or using another Ensuizan cancels the invincibility.

** High Max in Gate's Fortress. It's not that you can't hurt him by that point in the game; but it can take some time to get a shot in on him [[note]]unless you use Blade Armor's ChargedAttack[[/note]] that you'll be waiting for a long ass time to get that hit in.

** The Guard Shell wreaks havoc on any enemy's MercyInvincibility, letting you deal dozens of hits with Zero's standard jumping attack. Turn it on, get close enough to the bosses, and you can jump slash bosses to shreds in about three seconds flat. It's even faster than ''X4'' and ''X5'''s infamous [[LagCancel slash-dash-cancel]] (which is still available in this game, but is made obsolete by Guard Shell's insane kill power).

* TheWoobie: The villains in this game alternate between this and JerkassWoobie (with the exception of Blaze Heatnix because he's ''just'' [[{{Jerkass}} an asshole]]). Put simply, all of them are victims of unfortunate circumstances that ended with being unjustly labeled Mavericks, or in Gate's case, [[PersecutedIntellectuals the victim of]] [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer being looked down on]] [[TallPoppySyndrome for his creations being too powerful]], despite the existence of X and Zero being accepted.

* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: Difficulty or not, players often go to Mijinion's level first since that's where the [[BrutalBonusLevel Nightmare area]] is reached both the fastest and easiest, and unlock Zero as a playable character. Speedruns especially also go with defeating just Sheldon for his Guard Shell, then go defeat High Max in one of the Nightmare stages to unlock the Gate's Lab stages early.

* EventObscuringCamera: Most egregiously in Commander Yammark's Amazon Area, forcing the player into a LeapOfFaith onto spikes and a caterpillar platform. Spoiler alert, it's ''very'' easy to miss the caterpillar and die instantly.
* FridgeLogic:
** If you pay attention to the layout of Gate's boss room, you'll notice that, upon entering the room, X/Zero lands ''on thin air'' and runs to the nearest platform. They mask it by suddenly turning off the lights when you enter.
** How the Nightmare Phenomenon works is incredibly inconsistent or most generously is ''very'' versatile in application, to the point that it feels like it just does whatever is convenient to the story or level design. On paper, it [[YourMindMakesItReal causes deadly hallucinations]], but it can also irreparably corrupt Reploid civilians, power a giant robot in such a way that it's invisible to scanners, teleport X and Zero to other areas that are effectively communications dead zones (no explanation as to why it doesn't just cut off comms entirely), create an evil clone of Zero, and somehow allow Gate to control all of Reploidkind. About the only thing that's actually clear about the Nightmare is that it was reverse-engineered from Zero's viral DNA, effectively making it a sub-species of the Maverick/Sigma/Zero Virus.

** Zero's infamous UnexplainedRecovery. X wonders how he survived, causing Zero to state the infamous "[[BlindIdiotTranslation I hid myself while I tried to repair myself]]" line. Keep in mind that ''VideoGame/MegaManX5'' was supposed to be the last ''X'' entry, ending with his death. Furthermore, his next appearance was going to be his reemergence ''centuries'' later as seen in ''VideoGame/MegaManZero1'', making it clear that the dev team just {{Handwave}}d him into ''X6'' with no real thought whatsoever. While players never get a coherent explanation beyond what Zero tells X, an exchange between Zero and [[VirtualGhost Dr. Light]] has Zero admit he really doesn't know who was responsible for his repairs while in a critical state. Dialogue from [[MadScientist Isoc]] instead suggests ''he'' was largely responsible for Zero's restoration between games -- which might be a hard pill to swallow given [[BlackBox Zero's nature]] if not for the fact that, like Serges (''VideoGame/MegaManX2'') before him, Isoc is implied to be [[BackFromTheDead an incarnation of Dr. Wily]] (who was established to be Sigma's benefactor in the previous game by WordOfGod).

** After the boss of the intro stage, the D-1000, is defeated, it isn't completely obliterated after it explodes. Suddenly, the [[EvilKnockoff Zero Nightmare]] teleports in, slashes the D-1000's remains, and then teleports away as the latter explodes again. This time, there is no trace left of the D-1000. It comes across as a poor attempt at allowing X to be aware that Zero may still be alive...for some reason. Furthermore, it's never explained why the Zero Nightmare helped X in the first place, with later encounters only establishing it has a very [[MoodSwinger erratic personality]] and possibly some of Zero's memories yet never following up from that first appearance -- despite the fact that the Zero Nightmare sometimes attempts to pass himself off as Zero.

** Zero has a completely different sword combo in this game from [[VideoGame/MegaManX4 X4]] and [[VideoGame/MegaManX5 X5]], and whether players appreciate the change largely boils down to whether they enjoy the rest of the game or not.

* CriticalBacklash: ''Mega Man X6'' received mediocre reviews from critics (scoring 65 at Metacritic) and has been torn apart by a great part of the fandom as one of the weakest installment in the series, but some fans like to give it some credit. They appreciate the harsh difficulty of this game as a fun challenge (as ''VideoGame/MegaManX4'', while far more popular, is criticized for being too easy), the gameplay upgrades over the previous UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation}} ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' games (''X4'' and ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX5 X5]]''), the more balanced focus between X and Zero, and giving Alia more relevance to her character. Despite its confusing nature and its overdone difficulty (both of the {{fake|Difficulty}} and [[NintendoHard legitimate]] varieties), the difficulty actually is a selling point for some.

** The game is seemingly designed around the Falcon Armor, its upgrades, and Zero, and is near-impossible to play as unarmored X. Several parts are even harder or legitimately {{Unwinnable}} without specific parts or armors; most parts are [[PermanentlyMissableContent lost forever]] if you can't rescue their respective Reploids. And the game [[GuideDangIt never tells you to find them beforehand.]]
** As listed in GoodBadBugs, there are glitches that can absolutely break the game’s difficulty, such as using Magma Blade to fly or doing a simple trick with Zero to become completely invincible to everything except being crushed. He’s even immune to spikes in this state.
** Zero’s special upgrade, Black Zero, is only obtainable through an in-game code on the title screen. However, it was intended to be possible to obtain it in normal gameplay, by beating the Zero Nightmare when it is at Level 4, requiring you to collect 5,000 nightmare souls. The issue comes in the fact that you unlock the final stages with 3,000 souls due to an oversight, and once you unlock those stages you cannot fight it at all, making it impossible to obtain without the code.
** Its localization was so rushed that the English script became a BlindIdiotTranslation full of terrible grammar and nonsensical lines, and the Japanese voice-overs were left intact.

** Rescuing Reploids. The devs sought to better develop the system as the players believed it to be underdeveloped in ''X5''. However, their mortality from Nightmare Virus possession ruins the fun this could have had. This is worsened by the fact that some carry with them parts that may be necessary for you to complete certain objectives, and when they die (due to the Nightmare Virus infecting them -- and they may be put ''very close'' to those Reploids), so do your chances of obtaining them. It becomes so distracting to the overall gameplay experience that a few people view it as an irritation rather than a feature.

** As previously mentioned, getting Parts is a Scrappy Mechanic in and of itself; getting the ability to '''equip''' a lot of them stinks. You have to collect a ton of Nightmare Souls to boost your Rank, which is tied to your ability to hold parts. To be able to equip three or four parts, you have to collect over 5,000 and the maximum 9,999 souls respectively. The souls however only go eight per Nightmare Virus (four if you let the orb shrink from not grabbing it fast enough), 200 for each of the eight Nightmare Investigators (and if you take too long to defeat one, you'll actually only get ''100''), and 600 per [[OptionalBoss Dynamo]] encounter if you hit him with his weakness weapon and make him drop three 200 souls. The grind is so tedious and frustrating that many just settle for two parts and a limited upgrade (which only requires 1,200 souls, which is bearable in a normal run for both X and Zero without much grinding).

* SeasonalRot: ''Mega Man X6'' is usually considered the weakest of the [=PlayStation=] games, and one of the least popular games in the ''Mega Man X'' series overall. The low points include the poor localization, being extremely difficult [[FakeDifficulty for all of the wrong reasons]], being an unplanned sequel that caused more confusion plot-wise, and the rushed development cycle clearly showing in the final product.

** Sigma was meant to be permanently defeated at the end of ''X5''. ''X6'' brings in new villains like Gate (a Reploid researcher with ties to Alia who was ostracized for his intelligence) and Isoc (Dr. Wily's implied vessel), suggesting the game would take a slightly different path from previous entries but continue to build upon certain aspects of the ''X'' series' MythArc. Instead, Sigma becomes the FinalBoss as usual (even claiming in a rare moment of clarity that he didn't need Gate's help to return) and Isoc disappears from the plot altogether in its closing stages, meaning StatusQuoIsGod and the bombshell reveal that [[GreaterScopeVillain Wily]] [[JokerImmunity is still around]] and [[TheManBehindTheMan directly influencing events]] [[AbortedArc goes nowhere]].

* BrokenBase: Depending on who you ask, the presence of Japanese voices are either a proof of how poorly executed the game was or a good thing considering the bad quality of the English dubs in ''VideoGame/MegaManX4'' and ''VideoGame/MegaManX7''.

** The Guard Shell wreaks havoc on any enemy's MercyInvincibility, letting you deal dozens of hits with Zero's standard jumping attack. Turn it on, get close enough to the bosses, and you can jump slash bosses to shreds in about three seconds flat. It's even faster than ''X4'' and ''X5'''s infamous [[LagCancel slash-dash-cancel]] (which is also available in this game, but is made obsolete by Guard Shell's insane kill power).

** Zero's UnexplainedRecovery. X wonders how he survived, causing Zero to state the infamous "[[BlindIdiotTranslation I hid myself while I tried to repair myself]]" line. Keep in mind that ''VideoGame/MegaManX5'' was supposed to be the last ''X'' entry, ending with his death. Furthermore, his next appearance was going to be his reemergence ''centuries'' later as seen in ''VideoGame/MegaManZero1'', making it clear that the dev team just {{Handwave}}d him into ''X6'' with no real thought whatsoever. While players never get a coherent explanation beyond what Zero tells X, an exchange between Zero and [[VirtualGhost Dr. Light]] has Zero admit he really doesn't know who was responsible for his repairs while in a critical state. Dialogue from [[MadScientist Isoc]] instead suggests ''he'' was largely responsible for Zero's restoration between games -- which might be a hard pill to swallow given [[BlackBox Zero's nature]] if not for the fact that, like Serges (''VideoGame/MegaManX2'') before him, Isoc is implied to be [[BackFromTheDead an incarnation of Dr. Wily]] (who was established to be Sigma's benefactor in the previous game by WordOfGod).

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: This game did the first steps on upgrading Alia by making most of her dialog skippable, more relevant and less of a shoehorned tutorial, and giving her a backstory.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: Inifinity Mijinion's theme starts just like Music/{{Europe}}'s "The Final Countdown" and Metal Shark Player's theme sounds just like the theme from ''Film/TheTerminator''. The Gate's Lab theme is a reprise of the second X-Hunters fortress theme from ''VideoGame/MegaManX2''.

* ObviousBeta: This game was rushed out in ten months, and it shows.
** Many enemy sprites and music tracks are lazily recycled from previous games. (Curiously, the latter tracks are missing from the sound test.)

** The game is seemingly designed around the Falcon Armor and its upgrades, and is near-impossible to play as unarmored X. Several parts are even harder or legitimately {{Unwinnable}} without specific parts or armors; most parts are [[PermanentlyMissableContent lost forever]] if you can't rescue their respective Reploids. And the game [[GuideDangIt never tells you to find them beforehand.]]
** Its localization was so rushed that the English script became a BlindIdiotTranslation, and the Japanese voice-overs were left intact.

** After [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse disappearing from]] ''X5'' as a KarmaHoudini, Dynamo is back. Unfortunately, despite him collecting Nightmare Souls and given the opportunity to be a plot-relevant rival by gradually powering himself up over multiple encounters, he's a [[LoneWolfBoss completely irrelevant]] OptionalBoss with only one variant, you still can't give him his comeuppance, and [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome he hasn't made an appearance since]].

* {{Sequelitis}}: ''Mega Man X6'' is usually considered the weakest of the [=PlayStation=] games, and one of the least popular games in the ''Mega Man X'' series overall. The low points include the poor localization, being extremely difficult [[FakeDifficulty for all of the wrong reasons]], being an unplanned sequel that caused more confusion plot-wise, and the rushed development cycle clearly showing in the final product.

** Zero's UnexplainedRecovery. X wonders how he survived, causing Zero to state the infamous "[[BlindIdiotTranslation I hid myself while I tried to repair myself]]" line. Keep in mind that ''VideoGame/MegaManX5'' [[WhatCouldHaveBeen was supposed to be]] the last ''X'' entry, ending with his death. Furthermore, his next appearance was going to be his reemergence ''centuries'' later as seen in ''VideoGame/MegaManZero1'', making it clear that the dev team just {{Handwave}}d him into ''X6'' with no real thought whatsoever. While players never get a coherent explanation beyond what Zero tells X, an exchange between Zero and [[VirtualGhost Dr. Light]] has Zero admit he really doesn't know who was responsible for his repairs while in a critical state. Dialogue from [[MadScientist Isoc]] instead suggests ''he'' was largely responsible for Zero's restoration between games -- which might be a hard pill to swallow given [[BlackBox Zero's nature]] if not for the fact that, like [[VideoGame/MegaManX2 Serges]] before him, Isoc is implied to be [[BackFromTheDead an incarnation of Dr. Wily]] (who was established to be Sigma's benefactor in the previous game by WordOfGod).

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Players often describe the music in this game as some of the best in the franchise ([[AwesomeMusic/MegaManX which is no easy feat]]), and even detractors usually have no problem admitting as much, leading many to wonder if Creator/{{Capcom}} put more time and effort into the songs than [[ObviousBeta the actual game]].

** After the boss of the intro stage, the D-1000, is defeated, it isn't completely obliterated after it explodes. Suddenly, the [[EvilKnockoff Zero Nightmare]] teleports in, slashes the D-1000's remains, and then teleports away as the latter explodes again. This time, there is no trace left of the D-1000. It comes across as a poor attempt at allowing X to be aware that Zero may still be alive...for some reason. Furthermore, it's never explained why the Zero Nightmare helped X in the first place, with later encounters only establishing it has a ''[[AxCrazy very]]'' [[MoodSwinger erratic personality]] and possibly some of Zero's memories yet never following up from that first appearance -- despite the fact that the Zero Nightmare sometimes attempts to pass himself off as Zero.

* ContestedSequel: Some fans appreciate the difficulty of this game as a fun challenge, the gameplay upgrades over the previous UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation}} ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' games (''[[VideoGame/MegaManX4 X4]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX5 X5]]''), the more balanced focus between X and Zero, and giving Alia more relevance to her character, while others dislike or hate this game for its unfairness and for being an unplanned sequel that caused more confusion plot-wise. Some detractors would even say that this game is ''worse'' than ''VideoGame/MegaManX7''.
* CriticalBacklash: This game has had a lot of criticism for its confusing nature and its overdone difficulty (both of the {{fake|Difficulty}} and [[NintendoHard legitimate]] varieties), but for some the difficulty actually is a selling point.

* {{Sequelitis}}: Fans usually consider the game to be one of the worst games in the ''Mega Man'' series due to it being a FranchiseZombie, the poor localization, being extremely difficult [[FakeDifficulty for all of the wrong reasons]], and the rushed development cycle clearly showing in the final product.

* BetterThanCanon: The ''X6 Tweaks'' project has been viewed by many players as a ''vast'' improvement over the original version of the game, mitigating a lot of the game's infamous difficulty, restoring some of the leftover but unused features, addressing the game's many errors, and giving players a proper localization of the game. And for those who the feel like the changes to the gameplay make ''X6'' too easy, they can customize the patch however they like, and a workbook is available to help educate them on how the modifications work.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Players often describe the music in this game as some of the best in the franchise, and even detractors usually have no problem admitting as much, leading many to wonder if Creator/{{Capcom}} put more time and effort into the songs than [[ObviousBeta the actual game]].
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn5LFvpSjlM The intro stage's theme]] starts the game's soundtrack off on the right foot: a somber, but cathartic piece, which perfectly describes the calamity of the crash site ruins. [[https://youtu.be/CoXmFmRurBI The international version]] adds in a couple of guitar riffs here and there, which gives the song a lot of flavor and shifts the mood to something a bit more hopeful and action-y.

** As previously mentioned, getting Parts is a Scrappy Mechanic in and of itself; getting the ability to '''equip''' a lot of them stinks. You have to collect a ton of Nightmare Souls to boost your Rank, which is tied to your ability to hold parts. To be able to equip three or four parts, you have to collect over 5,000 and the maximum 9,999 souls respectively. The souls however only go eight per Nightmare Virus (four if you let the orb shrink from not grabbing it fast enough), 200 for each of the eight Nightmare Investigators (and if you take too long to defeat one, you'll actually only get ''100''), and 600 per [[BonusBoss Dynamo]] encounter if you hit him with his weakness weapon and make him drop three 200 souls. The grind is so tedious and frustrating that many just settle for two parts and a limited upgrade (which only requires 1,200 souls, which is bearable in a normal run for both X and Zero without much grinding).

** Sentsuizan has its detractors for making rope sections even harder. If you kept Up pressed and need to do a saber attack, Zero would dive would to the floor or, much worse, spikes or BottomlessPits. This is most apparent in the secret area of Infinity Mijinion's stage, the Weapon Center, which has almost no solid footing and relies mainly on rope navigation.

* {{Sequelitis}}: Fans usually consider the game to be one of the worst games in the ''Mega Man'' series due to it being a FranchiseZombie, poor localization, being extremely difficult [[FakeDifficulty for all of the wrong reasons]], and the rushed development cycle clearly showing in the final product.

** Sigma was meant to be permanently defeated at the end of ''X5''. ''X6'' brings in new villains like Gate and Isoc, Dr. Wily's implied vessel, suggesting the game would take a slightly different path from previous entries but continue to build upon certain aspects of the ''X'' series' MythArc. Instead, Sigma becomes the FinalBoss as usual (even claiming in a rare moment of clarity that he didn't need Gate's help to return) and Isoc disappears from the plot altogether in its closing stages, meaning StatusQuoIsGod and the bombshell reveal that [[GreaterScopeVillain Wily]] [[JokerImmunity is still around]] and [[TheManBehindTheMan directly influencing events]] [[AbortedArc goes nowhere]].

* TheWoobie: The villains in this game alternate between this and JerkassWoobie (with the exception of Blaze Heatnix because he's ''just'' [[{{Jerkass}} an asshole]]). Put simply, all of them are victims of unfortunate circumstances that ended with being unjustly labeled Mavericks, or in Gate's case, the victim of being looked down on for his creations being too powerful, despite the existence of X and Zero being accepted.

* {{Narm}}:
** In spite of the serious tone of the game, some of the resurrected Maverick names and ideas are just ridiculous. Just try saying Rainy Turtloid, Metal Shark Player and Shield Sheldon (the latter being a silly looking Clamfish-styled Reploid) without chuckling. [[note]]This is likely the reason behind most of the {{Dub Name Change}}s of Maverick bosses in the previous games.[[/note]] Also, one of the bosses, Ground Scaravich, is a robot dung beetle, whose main attack is rolling his rock ball at you.
** After you defeat Gate, he reveals that he resurrected Sigma as a last resort. Sigma claims he didn't need Gate to bring him back from the dead and brutally injures him, and Gate lets out a ridiculously high-pitched and drawn-out scream which sounds way more hilarious than it should have been given the circumstances.

* ToughActToFollow: Even discounting how ''X5'' is a ContestedSequel, it still provided an epic GrandFinale for the ''X'' series still fresh in fans' minds. ''X6'' being a PostScriptSeason with little input from Creator/KeijiInafune was going to be a hard sell for fans even if it hadn't been rushed.

* HilariousInHindsight:
** Turtonator from ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' has the exact same stance as Rainy Turtloid, which people familiar with ''X6'' made out immediately upon its reveal.
** A LongHairedPrettyBoy with a red, black and gray ColorMotif originally created to destroy the blue-clad titular protagonist but ends up befriending him, sent from the past to the future through hypersleep, has a brainwashing program installed in him, and ends up choosing to put himself back into hypersleep again because he believes his existence is dangerous to humanity. Are we talking about Zero or the Winter Soldier by the end of ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar''?

** One of the Mavericks you fight in the game is an aquatic creature named [[WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants Sh]][[WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife el]][[Franchise/{{Splatoon}} don]].

* SoOkayItsAverage: If you're not turned off by its flaws, the game falls under this. ''X6'' has a lot of ideas which could have made for a fun game, but due to a ''very'' rushed and tight development schedule, most were never ironed out or revisioned and resulted in a broken mess.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Players often describe the music in this game as some of the best in the franchise, and even detractors usually have no problem admitting as much, leading many to wonder if Creator/{{Capcom}} put more time and effort into the songs than [[ObviousBeta the actual game]]. [[LethalLavaLand Blaze]] [[ThePhoenix Heatnix]] in particular is so rocking that it's common to see people complimenting the song and [[ThatOneLevel hating the level]].

** Zero's UnexplainedRecovery. X wonders how he survived, causing Zero to state the infamous "[[BlindIdiotTranslation I hid myself while I tried to repair myself]]" line. Keep in mind that ''VideoGame/MegaManX5'' [[WhatCouldHaveBeen was supposed to be]] the last ''X'' entry, ending with his death. Furthermore, his next appearance was going to be his reemergence ''centuries'' later as seen in ''VideoGame/MegaManZero1'', making it clear that the dev team just {{Handwave}}d him into ''X6'' with no real thought whatsoever. While players never get a coherent explanation beyond what Zero tells X, an exchange between Zero and [[VirtualGhost Dr. Light]] has Zero admit he really doesn't know who was responsible for his repairs while in a critical state. Dialogue from [[MadScientist Isoc]] instead suggests ''he'' was largely responsible for Zero's restoration between games--which might be a hard pill to swallow given [[BlackBox Zero's nature]] if not for the fact that, like [[VideoGame/MegaManX2 Serges]] before him, Isoc is implied to be [[BackFromTheDead an incarnation of Dr. Wily]] (who was established to be Sigma's benefactor in the previous game by WordOfGod).

** Blaze Heatnix could be an apology to how annoying the [[GoddamnedBoss Nightmare Snakes]] miniboss gauntlet is.
** Just like he was in ''X5'', Dynamo (one of the {{Optional Boss}}es) is the easiest boss in the game, compared to the Nightmare area you have to traverse to get to him. He also falls down easily to his weakness weapons, and if you do so, he drops a big Nightmare Soul (which you normally get from the 8 bosses, for 200 points), up to 3 times. And the best part, you can engage him countless times.

* ContestedSequel: Some fans appreciate the difficulty of this game as a fun challenge, the gameplay upgrades over the previous UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation}} ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' games, ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX4 X4]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX5 X5]]'', the more balanced focus between X and Zero, and giving Alia more relevance to her character, while others dislike or hate this game for its unfairness and for being an unplanned sequel that caused more confusion in the plot. Some detractors would even say that this game is ''worse'' than ''VideoGame/MegaManX7''.
* CriticalBacklash: This game has had a lot of criticism for its confusing nature and its overdone difficulty (both in the fake and legitimate difficulty), but for some the difficulty actually is a selling point.

* FauxSymbolism: For some reason, Gate's heavily fortified lab entrance has figures/statues that resembles a semi-mechanical devil and a similarly semi-mechanical headless angel. As you progress through the stage, the devil statue gains bat wings, and finally stands as if roaring, while the angel statue gets chained and progressively stripped of materials. Probably a vague commentary on Gate's SanitySlippage, but only comes off as tacky since religious themes barely have anything to do with the series except for ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX8 X8]]''.

** The Guard Shell wreaks havoc with the enemy's MercyInvincibility, letting you deal dozens of hits with Zero's standard jumping attack. Turn it on, get close enough to the bosses, and you can jump slash bosses to shreds in about 3 seconds flat. It's even faster than ''X4'' and ''X5'''s infamous slash-dash-cancel (which is also available in this game, but is made obsolete by Guard Shell's insane kill power).

* ItsHardSoItSucks: The very high difficulty (both {{fake|Difficulty}} and legitimate) has alienated a few players, although others are actually attracted to the game because of it.

* MorePopularReplacement: Some fans believe that Gate serves as a better BigBad than Sigma, citing that his involvement in the story is more personalized, he has a unique backstory with Alia, and that his ultimate plan of a MonsterProtectionRacket to let society know of his genius when they had previously turned it down is [[TheChessmaster brilliant]]. It also helps that, unlike [[VideoGame/MegaManX3 Dr. Doppler]], [[VideoGame/MegaManX4 Repliforce]], or [[VideoGame/MegaManX7 Red Alert]], he's not actually [[HijackedByGanon being used by Sigma]], and is instead ''using'' Sigma as [[GodzillaThreshold his secret weapon]], which is a concept that ([[AmbiguousSituation depending on who you ask]]) wouldn't be explored again until Lumine in ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX8 X8]]''.

** After you defeat Gate, he reveals that he resurrected Sigma as a last resort. Sigma claims he didn't need Gate to bring him back from the dead and brutally injures him, and Gate lets out a ridiculously high-pitched and drawn-out scream which sounds way more hilarious than it should given the circumstances.

** The secret areas are very tough. They are reached through blue teleporters (which are also sometimes used to just get to the next part of the stage) and you're trapped once you go inside, forcing you to face whoever's waiting in the boss room before you can exit. If it's the Zero Nightmare, it's not that big of a deal, but if it's High Max and you're unprepared...either try to defeat him before you're ready, or kill yourself until you can return to the stage select screen (thanks to the Reploids all giving you extra lives, this may take a while too).
** The Z-Saber is now rather slow in its slashes. This is problematic when Zero goes against invulnerable targets, since the final slash can last very long and cannot be canceled.
** As earlier mentioned, getting Parts is a Scrappy Mechanic of itself; getting the ability to '''equip''' a lot of them stinks. You have to collect a ton of Nightmare Souls to boost your Rank, which is tied to your ability to hold parts. To be able to equip three or four parts, you have to collect over 5,000 and the maximum 9,999 souls respectively. The souls however only go eight per Nightmare Virus (four if you let the orb shrink from not grabbing it fast enough), 200 for each of the eight Nightmare Investigators (and if you take too long to defeat one, you'll actually only get ''100''), and 600 per [[BonusBoss Dynamo]] encounter if you hit him with his weakness weapon and make him drop three 200 souls. The grind is so tedious and frustrating that many just settle for two parts and a limited upgrade (which only requires 1,200 souls, which is bearable in a normal run for both X and Zero without much grinding).

* ThatOneBoss: [[ThatOneBoss/MegaMan Has a page]].

** The [[{{Nerf}} downgrades]] to the Falcon Armor (e.g. removing its nigh-invincible flight in place of [[VideoGameDashing an air dash]], charge shots can't go though walls anymore) were understandable given how much of a GameBreaker it was in ''X5'', but the strip-down was so bad especially in the face of the game's upscale in difficulty that it was poorly received by the players.
** The ''X Legacy Collection 2'' release completely replaced the original opening and ending songs with new tunes that many fans don't find as memorable or fitting. Even worse, even switching to the Japanese version doesn't help with this. This doesn't apply to the Japanese release of the collection, however, since all songs are kept there (suggesting [[ScrewedByTheLawyers licensing issues]] may have played a hand there).

** There a few hints that imply that Isoc is actually a [[BackFromTheDead vessel]] for Dr. Wily (hints include calling Zero a "robot" instead of a Reploid as well as [[VillainTakesAnInterest having a vested interest in Zero]] while showing X nothing but contempt), but he "dies" at the end and nothing comes out of this. The only assumption is that it was a plot point to be followed up in a sequel, but ''X7'' and ''X8'' [[AbortedArc never even come close to bringing up Isoc again]]. Also, despite being shown to be able to paralyze Zero (and therefore that he has some extra powers at his disposal, or at least the ability to tamper with Zero given his knowledge of Zero's inner workings), he is one of the only villains in the series to be TheUnfought.

** Sigma is [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere so superfluous to the plot]] that he might as well have been left out. The idea of a desperate Sigma on his last legs is explored much better in ''X8'', where his vulnerability pushes him to FlingALightIntoTheFuture for his Maverick dream, rather than just being an angry zombie. It doesn't help that Sigma was meant to stay dead after ''X5''.

** Sigma was meant to be permanently defeated at the end of ''X5''. ''X6'' brings in new villains like Gate and Isoc, Dr. Wily's implied vessel, suggesting the game would take a slightly different path from previous entries but continue to build upon certain aspects of the ''X'' series' MythArc. Instead, Sigma becomes the FinalBoss as usual and Isoc disappears from the plot altogether in its closing stages, meaning StatusQuoIsGod and the bombshell reveal that [[GreaterScopeVillain Wily]] [[JokerImmunity is still around]] and [[TheManBehindTheMan directly influencing events]] [[AbortedArc goes nowhere]].

* ViewerGenderConfusion: Commander Yammark can be confused for a woman at first glance, what with those big eyelashes and slender frame...then you get into battle and hear his surprisingly masculine voice.

* ThatOneBoss:
** Infinity Mijinion. His green bubble attack and constant replicating means he can easily [[IncreasinglyLethalEnemy get out of control and occupy almost the entire screen if you can't keep him in check]], and even his weakness weapon is awkward to use against him.
** High Max can be a real pain, especially if you stumble into a secret area early in the game. He needs to get hit by a special weapon and then the Z-Saber to take damage, which promptly resets his pattern after one hit. This makes the battle ''extremely'' tedious. Then he gets to his Death Ball rampage at low health, which makes him easier to damage but also rains tiny projectiles at the player for the ''rest of the fight'', so you'd better kill him quick unless you want to die and spend three minutes getting his health back down again.
** Nightmare Mother. A boss in which even refined skills and talent at this game can still warrant utter luck on the part of the player. Imagine two squares, 1/4 in size of the entire arena circling around the room. On Xtreme difficulty, they go even quicker, to the point where you may need the Hyper Dash and Jumper parts to avoid getting hit repeatedly. (And if you lost those Reploids that give those out, tough nuggets!) Its moveset is also at home in a ShootEmUp for that matter! Many of its hits are crazy in {{spread shot}} arcs, or the Mother will place itself in areas in which the player will find themselves in very uncomfortable areas just to get around and by. Finally, the Mother is impossible to read -- given that its pattern can have the boss go in any direction once the pattern stops combined with shots in arcs that may be impossible to dodge based on the cellular position of the Nightmare Mother itself, the player may have no choice but to take a few hits anyway!
** Gate. Hope you have a ''LOT'' of patience, [[MarathonBoss because you're sure as hell going to need it here]]. Unlike the other bosses you dealt with, you ''can't hurt him'' directly, not even with [[LimitBreak Giga Attacks]]. So to hurt him, you [[TennisBoss must destroy his energy spheres so they break up into smaller spheres and hit him]]. Problem is said spheres can also hurt you and they can produce effects that can make the fight even more tedious -- from making the ground slippery, [[HomingProjectile to following you around]], [[BulletTime slowing the game]], and [[MookMaker spawning]] [[FlunkyBoss Nightmares]] on Xtreme mode. The battle takes place above BottomlessPits with few very small platforms that Gate can destroy temporarily if his health goes low. As if all that wasn't bad enough, [[LuckBasedMission depending on the RNG you get]], Gate may take a good while moving around before throwing out spheres, meaning the fight can drag multiple minutes longer than it otherwise would, without you being able to do anything about it.
* ThatOneLevel:
** Ground Scaravich's stage revolves around getting teleported to four random areas, all of which are some half-baked platforming segments with FakeDifficulty in the form of nearly every bit of available space being packed with Nightmares and damaging asteroids. It is especially hard when trying to rescue Reploids or any other sidequest.
** Blaze Heatnix's stage is a BossBonanza with the Nightmare Snakes with four weak points, some of which range from aggravatingly hard to nigh impossible to hit without taking hits or flat-out dying in turn depending on which fight you're on. Using the Rekkoha or charged Ray Arrow and Metal Anchor, however, will shred all that HP in a matter of seconds. There's also the fact that the only enemies in the entire stage are the aforementioned Nightmare Snakes and Nightmares, which means absolutely no health or weapon powerups.
** Metal Shark Player's stage is the [[DescendingCeiling trash compactor stage]] from hell. Extremely cramped spaces flooded with enemies abound, and lots of stretches requiring extreme feats of speed and precision to clear the further you go, including one point near the end that only gives you exactly your height in wall to cling to to avoid falling into spikes. If you've beaten Blizzard Wolfang before this stage, some parts of the stage will also be riddled with slippery ice and if you clear Ground Scaravich's stage mentioned above, blocks will appear in inconvenient locations that can only be destroyed or pushed with his weapon. The Hyper Dash part, and Rekkoha in Zero's case, help to ease the pain to a significant degree, however. What really takes the cake though is the secret area, which is [[AutoScrollingLevel an auto-scrolling section]].
** Infinity Mijinion's stage isn't too bad by itself, though the second part ''does'' get annoying if you don't have Meteor Rain/Ensuizan or the Ultimate Armor. The secret area on the other hand is a bottomless pit that can only be crossed with ropes, swarming with Nightmares and injured Reploids. If Blaze Heatnix's phenomenon is in effect, there will be falling lava rocks as well (you can visit Metal Shark Player's stage to take care of that problem, however). This is where the Sentsuizan's flaws are most apparent; you ''will'' need to attack and jump a ''lot'' just to get through, let alone get all the injured Reploids, so if you're playing Zero, you'd best take this area on before defeating Ground Scaravich, or else prepare to practice briefly releasing up just long enough to attack then holding up again before Zero misses the rope and falls to his doom.
** Gate's second stage, especially the first half. The first half is a spike-covered hellhole clogged with enemies, and full of floating columns that require constant wall-jumping to stay on, combined with totem poles that block your path and need to be destroyed in addition. With Zero, the difficulty ramps up to the 9th degree when said totem poles are always just out of reach of your Z-saber, requiring lots of tricky jump attacks. The second half, while not as hard, alternates between tight corridors with lots of enemies (and that same DescendingCeiling) bearing down on you and the acid rain from Rainy Turtloid's stage combined with precarious wall jumps over bottomless pits if you're X. [[note]]And if you were hoping to make things slightly easier for yourself by going in with the spikes-immune Shadow Armor? Tough luck, because one of those wall jumps over a bottomless pit is placed in such a way that you ''need'' an air dash to make it across all the way (which the Shadow Armor cannot do) ''unless'' you happened to equip some combination of the Speedster, Jumper and/or Hyper Dash parts to give X the extra boost to make it across (and if you haven't or failed to rescue the Reploids holding those parts? Even worse luck!)[[/note]] Zero, on the other hand, gets another round with the trash compactor from hell. On top of that, it's a two-boss stage, fighting [[GoddamnedBoss High Max]] at the halfway point and [[ThatOneBoss Gate]] at the very end for the cherry on top. By comparison, the final stage holding the BossRush and Sigma is ''far'' more straightforward and easy.

* MemeticMutation:
** "I hid myself while I tried to repair myself." This single line failing to explain Zero's UnexplainedRecovery encapsulates the game's translation in a nutshell.
** "ZELLLO! JUSDIE!" Even the final boss is sick of Zero [[NeverLiveItDown coming back from the dead]].
*** Even though said final boss [[HypocriticalHumor is guilty of coming back every game, himself]]. Then again, [[CameBackWrong his botched resurrection]] in this one reflected [[FranchiseZombie the game's status]] perfectly in the eyes of its detractors.
** Zero and X's reunion scene is made into a meme in Japan called "Obentou" (meaning "Lunch Box") where the caption is changed into Zero saying that he woke up early and made a lunch box for X. It's because [[HoYay their faces look more appropriate for such an exchange]] rather than what's actually in the game. Parodies of this involve two characters from other series replacing Zero and X.

* HarsherInHindsight: A subtle example regarding the release of this game. It has been noted that ''X6'''s quality issues were partially because it was rushed out near the end of the [=PlayStation=]'s life cycle, as the [=PlayStation=] 2 was on its way. It may strike some fans as this trope, as that exact thing happened to ''VideoGame/MegaMan6'' for the UsefulNotes/{{N|intendoEntertainmentSystem}}ES.