Mega Man X7 (PlayStation 2)

This page details pre-release information and/or media for Mega Man X7 (PlayStation 2).

Mega Man X7 started development in 2002, shortly after X6's release. Following the development of two 2D X games back-to-back, X7 was handled by Capcom's Production Studio 3, a team comprised of people who had previously worked on games such as Resident Evil 2 (PlayStation). In light of the prior games not being particularly well-received, especially X6, the team was said to have focused primarily on getting the series' transition to 3D right. Producer Tatsuya Kitabayashi has stated that the decision to include both 2D and 3D gameplay was made very early on in development, and intended for the game to have equal amounts of both.

Trailers#

E3 2002 Trailer#

The game was first shown off to the public at E3 2002 with a trailer showing a build that's drastically different from the final. Such differences include;

• An early version of the game's international logo is seen, with a different looking 7 that looks noticeably edited on to an existing logo.
• X is shown to be playable in the Intro Stage, a scenario that is impossible in the final game.
• X's stage intro animation looks noticeably unfinished here, lacking the teleport visual effects. X also faces towards the screen then turns to face the direction of the 2D Plane instead of spawning in facing the right direction.
• The area that seems to be an early Highway stage has a different background and seems noticeably unfinished, with the background buildings cutting off early.
• X's animations seem rougher overall than the final game, with a slightly different running animation having his hands open instead of closed.
• X's Dash seems to have very different physics, going a lot faster and carrying more momentum during the endlag.
• The Highway stage seems to differ in stage layout, having a section with the road broken in a zig-zag line that is not present at all in the final game.
• Zero is also shown to be playable in the Highway Stage, just like the final game. The inclusion of both here suggests that the character switching mechanic was initially going to be introduced earlier in the stage.
• The Ball De Voux seem to walk around without adherence to the 2D Plane here, which is not the case in the final game.

Mega Man X7 US Press Event Build Trailers#

Included in the US Press Event prototype is two variations of a trailer showing an early build that is not currently accessible. Although the trailers seem to be similar in structure and content, the builds actually shown in them may be different builds each. Among the differences noticeable in these trailers are;

• In the first trailer, the first segment with X shows him in seemingly a 3D section of the Highway Stage with 3 Ball De Voux facing him. This enemy layout is not present in the final game.
• The Radio Tower stage shows X going down the tower instead of up unlike the final game, and has darker lighting.
• The scrolling images of stages seems to show some that aren't in the final game, such as one with X on a staircase. This section was found unused in the US Press Event build. X is later shown in a hallway firing at some laser generators, also from this cut section.
• A stage is shown where X fights a Guardian enemy on top of a tank from the Lava Factory stage. This section was also found in the US Press Event build and is a scrapped section from the stage.
• Zero has a different walking animation that looks similar to X's. His Z-Saber also always shows the afterimage here even when the player isn't attacking.
• In the second trailer, X has a different intro teleport animation that looks closer to the PlayStation-era X games.
• X also has a different visual effect on his Dash that resembles the animation from the PlayStation X games.
• The Mega Scorpio encounter has a different camera angle for the intro.
• The Cyber Field stage uses different textures. Additionally, a section where X stands on a rotating cylinder is shown that seems to have been a cut second section for the stage. It has since been found in the game's released prototypes.

E3 2003 Trailer#

This trailer was shown at the game's E3 2003 display. It was notably where the character Axl was formally shown and introduced to the public. Among the differences in the build shown here are;

• The Lava Factory seems to have a W.I.P. stage layout with nothing noticeable in sight besides the player.
• X seems to move around the first part of the Intro Stage in 3D Mode, a scenario that is impossible in the final game.
• Zero doesn't have his double jump animation here, instead doing a second normal jump.
• Zero is shown in the Crimson Fortress section of the intro stage, a scenario that is impossible in the final game.
• The lock-on reticle is shown when Zero approaches a Radarroid enemy. Zero lacks any capacity to make the reticle display in the final game, even though he does have special weapons with lock-on functionality.
• X and Zero are both shown in a section of Palace Road standing without seemingly any threat from the approaching Mole Borer boss. This may be one of the stage's cut sections as it appeared in the E3 Special Edition build.
• The Mega Scorpio intro, aside from having a different camera angle compared to the previous or final build, also seems to lack background objects here.
• The Boss theme is a different rendition compared to any other available version, with noticeably different synths and percussion.
• When X switches with Zero in Crimson Fortress, the latter does his intro animation, which does not occur in the final game.
• A very early version of Crimson Fortress is seen that seems to lack textures.
• Flame Hyenard's boss arena looks very different compared to the final game. The version shown here was found in the E3 Special Edition build.
• Snipe Anteator's boss arena is on a different looking, smaller tube that originates from the stage's cut second section mentioned above.