MMXCM: Beaten again!
Game was a lot more fun on the replay. Knowing how things work, actually trying some optional things, what have you generally made the game better. And I already had a decent enough opinion on it!
X is absolutely nuts in game. If you can get him a set up that has 100 WE turn 1 (at least, it requires a Generator and 3 WE+10s), he's gunning out high MT damage turn 1, enough that unless the enemy resists Shot, they're either dead or in Final Strike. If they aren't...well, a follow up Axl attack will do the job.
This is compounded by the Turbo Buster. That 100k price seems like a turn off...but its worth it. With it, X outspeeds most randoms, AND its a nice strong weapon (only Limit Buster MKII and X Buster MKIII are stronger, IIRC, and both are gotten in the final dungeon only I believe)...to say nothing of its little "Gains more damage as WE goes up." This aspect is in fact significant as X went from doing like 2000~ damage at 70 WE to just below 3k at 100. Unsure if it works in Hyper Modes though.
Other things in X's favor? 4 Force Metal Slots, and unlike Axl, has good Immunity. Only Massimo and Cinnamon beat him, and due to Force MEtals that lower contamination, he's effectively higher than Massimo...and still has a whole extra slot. So yeah, lots of customizability on his end.
Good Hyper modes. Both of them half all damage, and MMXCM bosses are not slouches on offense (while not being damage gods either; also, you have some limited healing, so reducing damage helps there.) X-Fire is servicable for just dishing out damage every few turns with Charge Collider, though, forcing X to Melee does kind of suck (mainly for Mach Jentra.) However, the flipside? Ultimate Armor is absolutely nuts. It can destroy random encounters at 70 WE like nothing else, and due to how Hyper Modes work, can be done indefinitely so long as X never gets a second turn in Ultimate Armor. Bosses, it dishes out even better damage.
To top that all off, X also has naturally *6* turns in Hyper Mode, and then X-Heart is a nice back up Force Metal in battles (due to me having 2 Generators, I could drop one of my WE+10's and keep it on. Seemed to work pretty well.)
Other characters?
Massimo isn't as bad as some people like to hype. I remember him having a good Hyper Mode, and being good at tanking when Elemental damage wasn't factored in, especially since he has a high counter rate. My memory serves me correctly. He's even better once you fully upgrade Berserk Charge, which is not far in power from X and Zero's HATs, and easier to pull off than the latter, while its full potential can be accessed earlier than the former's (He only needs about 70 WE to get full damage.)
Zero still felt a bit too boss oriented. He was good for butchering specific randoms I guess, but generally, X + Axl = Dead randoms in most scenarios. Learning Zero Dragon Slash actually hits Flying units well did make him better though!
Marino...is Marino. We know how she works; Mirage Dive is awesome but I suck at getting it ;_;
Cinnamon...uh, yeah, her worth is entirely reliant on Kitty Gloves. Without it, she's useless. Low damage, low HP, fairly useless AT (Its crappy healing unless she has high WE, but her starting WE is low), boring Hyper Mode, etc.
Kitty Gloves though completely kill the offensive problems. This is further complimented by when she goes Hyper Mode, she can dish out some big damage for bosses. She goes from nigh worthless to actually competent with that weapon alone. Funny that <_<
Axl...frankly, his Species weapons feel worthless. 75% Crit Rate on a one hit high power weapon? No thanks. Better to stick to his 2 Hit Guns which tend to do more on average anyway. Rafflessia was a disappointing AT; just 2000 damage to all enemies? Meh.
However, he was still awesome, even with X getting a lot better. Only other form of consistent MT damage, Hyper Mode + Bait combo is absolutely ruthless (completely owns so many enemies its not even funny. Yes, Bait actually works well.) His ST damage could be better, but having an invincible PC who can actually take advantage of it was such a nice thing to have. Giving him all your Build Hypers feels especially "Duh" as such.
Anyway, on this replay, I must say, X = MVP. If treated properly, he has...well, everything. I know you're thinking "You could twink out other characters!" but...well, actually, you can't. Observe!
Zero and Cinnamon have a complete lack of Multi Target damage. Cinnamon gets another shot in that she can't do crap against fliers (Zero...has his AT for Zero Dragon Slash at least.)
Massimo has only 2 Force Metal Slots. I think he gets an MT weapon (if actual passable power) at some point, but its late, so he's ST as well.
Marino's damage is never on par with X's...barring Mirage Dive...which is late. Her AT is less useful against bosses too (UNLIMITED TURNS!!! ...then she runs out of Hyper Mode turns. Meanwhile, X can do a similar level of damage in one HAT, and lasts for 6 turns total anyway, while being a complete tank.)
Axl's ST damage is nowhere near X's for bosses. The MT damage is worse compared to twinked Charge Shot, let alone Nova Strike.
So yeah, overall, I think X actually is the best character in the normal game. Requires knowing how to use the game, and Ultimate Armor is absolutely nuts for both randoms and bosses alike.
