Mega Man 8, known as Rockman 8: Metal Heroes (ロックマン8 メタルヒーローズ Rokkuman Eito Metaru Hīrōzu) in Japan, is a 1996 action-platform video game released by Capcom. It was directed by Hayato Kaji, who had previously worked on the series as an artist. Keiji Inafune, who was also an artist for the series, was given the role of producer after the departure of Tokuro Fujiwara who had been producer for the series since Mega Man 2. It is the eighth installment in original Mega Man series, and was originally released in Japan on the PlayStation in 1996. The following year, Mega Man 8 saw a release on the Sega Saturn and was localized for both consoles in North America and the PlayStation alone in PAL regions. Upon its release, Capcom reached the franchise's tenth anniversary. Mega Man 8 is the first game in the series made available on 32-bit consoles.The plot begins as the robotic hero Mega Man is called to investigate a mysterious energy reading coming from a recent meteor crash on an island. Mega Man discovers that his nemesis Dr. Wily has beaten him there and immediately retreats with the energy source. Mega Man is charged with stopping Wily's evil plans to use the energy, as well as discover the purpose of a mysterious, alien robot found at the crash site. Along with new animated full-motion videos (FMVs) and voice acting, Mega Man 8 features improved graphics and sound when compared to previous iterations in the series. Aside from a few minor conventions, the game utilizes the same 2D side-scrolling and platforming formula established by its predecessors on the Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Nintendo Entertainment Systems.Many reviewers appreciated the aesthetic and gameplay qualities of Mega Man 8 when compared to its earlier counterparts. However, several other critics were displeased by this same lack of innovation, finding that it does not utilize the full potential of the 32-bit platforms; additionally, the English-language version of the game received considerable criticism for its voice acting, which was perceived by many as being comically poor-quality. This resulted in an overall average or mixed critical reception. However, the game was a moderate commercial success and was re-released on best-seller lines in both Japan and North America. Mega Man 8 was followed by Mega Man & Bass, a 1998 spin-off game for the SNES and later Game Boy Advance. A true sequel to the game, Mega Man 9, would not be released until 2008 and would revert to the graphical and gameplay style of the early NES games.

Mega Man X3, known as Rockman X3 (ロックマンX3) in Japan, is a video game released by Capcom for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The game was originally released in Japan on December 1, 1995 and later in North American and PAL regions in 1996. It is the third game in the Mega Man X series and the last to appear on the SNES. Mega Man X3 takes place in a fictional future in which the world is populated by humans and intelligent robots called "Reploids". Like their human creators, some Reploids involve themselves in destructive crime and are labelled as "Mavericks". After twice defeating the Maverick leader Sigma, the heroes Mega Man X and Zero must battle a Reploid scientist named Dr. Doppler and his utopia of Maverick followers.Mega Man X3 follows in the tradition of both the original Mega Man series and the Mega Man X series as a standard action-platform game. The player traverses a series of eight stages in any order while gaining various power-ups and taking the special weapon of each stage's end boss. Mega Man X3 is the first game in the series in which Zero is a playable character (albeit in limited form) in addition to X. Like its predecessor, Mega Man X2, X3features the "Cx4" chip to allow for some limited 3D vector graphics and transparency effects.A 32-bit version of Mega Man X3 was released on the PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and Windows in various countries. This version was included on the North American Mega Man X Collection in 2006. The game was also ported to Japanese mobile phones in 2010. Critical reception for Mega Man X3 has been above average. However, the game, particularly the 32-bit version, has received miscellaneous criticism from reviewers for its lack of improvements to the series.Capcom announced that Mega Man X3 would be coming to the Wii U Virtual Console in 2014.[7] It was released in North America on August 28, 2014, Japan on October 8, 2014 and the PAL regions on November 6, 2014.

Mega Man X6, known as Rockman X6 (ロックマンX6) in Japan, is a video game developed and published by Capcom. It is the sixth main entry in the Mega Man X series. The game was first released on the PlayStation in Japan on November 29, 2001 and was later made available in both North America and Europe.The plot of Mega Man X6 takes place during the 22nd century where humans and intelligent robots called "Reploids" live together. The game follows shortly after the events of Mega Man X5 in which planet Earth was devastated by an attack by the "Maverick" leader Sigma and the protagonist Zero sacrificed his own life to save it. As the world recovers, a Maverick known only as the "Zero Nightmare" has begun spreading chaos. Zero's comrade Mega Man X, curious of its name, seeks out this new threat. Like past games in the series, Mega Man X6 is an action-platformer in which the player tackles a series of stages and adds the unique weapon of each boss to X's arsenal.Prominent series artist and producer Keiji Inafune was not involved in the game's production, as he had intended the fifth installment in the series to be the last with Zero's death. Critically, Mega Man X6 has received mixed to positive reviews. The game was released for the Windows in different parts of Asia in 2002 and 2003. It was also re-released in 2006 as part of the North American Mega Man X Collection for the GameCube and PlayStation 2. Mega Man X6 was made available on the PlayStation Network as part of the PSOne Classics line on July 8, 2015 in Japan.

Metal Gear Solid is an action-adventure stealth video game produced by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and released for the PlayStation in 1998. The game was directed, produced, and co-written by series creator Hideo Kojima, and serves as a sequel to the MSX2 video games Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, which Kojima also wrote and directed.Metal Gear Solid follows Solid Snake, a soldier who infiltrates a nuclear weapons facility to neutralize the terrorist threat from FOXHOUND, a renegade special forces unit. Snake must liberate two hostages, the head of DARPA and the president of a major arms manufacturer, confront the terrorists, and stop them from launching a nuclear strike. Cinematic cutscenes were rendered using the in-game engine and graphics, and voice actingwas used throughout the entire game.Metal Gear Solid was well received, shipping more than six million copies, and scoring an average of 94/100 on the aggregate website Metacritic. It is regarded as one of the greatest and most important video games of all time and is often seen as the game which helped popularize the stealth genre. The commercial success of the title prompted the release of an expanded version for the PlayStation and PC, titled Metal Gear Solid: Integral; and a remake, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes was later released for the GameCube. The game has also spawned numerous sequels, prequels, and spin-offs, including several games, a radio drama, comics, and novels.