• Publisher: Capcom
• Developer: Capcom

The last traditional side-scrolling Mega Man game to come to a Nintendo console before the franchise migrated away for over a decade, Mega Man X3 was a solid send-off for the 16-bit era. Like its immediate predecessors X and X2, it cast players as a more futuristic, modern Mega Man living further into the future relative to his NES predecessor – and the faster pace, emphasis on exploration and suit upgrades for the hero continued to distinguish X from the original Mega Man.

X3's major claim to fame, though, didn't come from Mega Man at all – it came from Zero. This was the first game to ever make the pony-tailed sword-wielding sidekick into a full-on playable hero. Zero's actually gone on to outshine X several times since, getting his own spin-off series and getting picked for playability in fighting games like Marvel vs. Capcom 3. His solo career started here!