Capcom's latest Japanese DS release, Mega Man ZX, has garnered plenty of praise from the U.S. media and for good reason. Not only have the developers taken popular elements from the popular X and Zero titles and woven them together, but the publisher has seemingly spared no expense in making it one of the most feature-intense games in the series, an epic side-scrolling adventure that features high production values, intriguing gameplay elements, and plenty of signature Mega Man blasting.

ZX tells the story of Aile and Vent, two children that have access to the famous X suit. After their parents are brutally murdered at the hands of Maverick bots, they set out to exact revenge by taking out the various Maverick hunters and their evil minions. What ensues appears to be an intense adventure that's chock full of tough boss battles and plenty of attractive scenery, but things don't necessarily play out as they would in a typical Mega Man game. Some core mechanics have certainly stayed the same, such as charging up your shots for maximum damage and stealing powers from hapless opponents, but there are plenty of unique elements that will set this game apart from its predecessors, beginning with how you acquire your new abilities.

Unlike in previous Mega Man games, you don't just take powers from your defeated foes. As reported by Gamespy in its preview, one of the primary goals in ZX is to find what are called Live Metals, which appear to be different suits/forms that alter your appearance and grant you special abilities. Some will enable you to swim or air dash, and similar to some of Konami's Castlevanias, you'll be able to access previously unreachable areas, but that's another reason why this game differs from its predecessors. Previous Mega Mans feel disjointed because they're nothing more than a bunch of themed levels that have no relationship to one another, but that's not the case in ZX. You basically explore this giant world, so there's a go anywhere sort of vibe, hence the Castlevania reference. However, it appears that the game still contains a central hub where you can select the missions that you'd like to play.

While in battle, you can change your suits in real time by pressing X, but what's especially interesting is transforming back into human form. Since the world has been divided into two components, the dangerous outer world and the Maverick-free inner world, some of the citizens that reside in this inner sanctum will only communicate with you if you're "out of costume", so to speak. Furthermore, there may be some puzzles that can only be completed in this form, though that hasn't been confirmed.

According to IGN, the game is a mixture of the X and Zero series in the sense that it features some familiar enemies from the Zero games as well as some levels from Mega Man X. However, it doesn't appear to be nearly as difficult as some of its predecessors. That's not to say that it's a cake walk, as I'm almost positive that there will be plenty of incredibly difficult challenges to overcome, but it appears that Capcom has achieved a harmonious balance that's perfect for beginners as well as seasoned Mega Man vets. Hopefully, this will be welcomed by those who were intimidated by the insane difficulty of the Zero titles.

Then there are the production values, which are far greater than most of the Mega Man games. Not only does the game feature voice acting, but there are quite a few animated sequences that have been peppered throughout the adventure, though at this early stage, I'm not sure how many of them there are, though the ones that I've seen compliment what's truly a very attractive package. The game's predominantly 2D, and by the looks of things, the developers have injected that with some 3D elements that give the enemies some pop.

As an avid importer, I'm very tempted to buy this game immediately, but I'm a little wary of the language barrier. The entire game is straight up action so I'm pretty sure that it's easy figuring things out, but Capcom will be releasing it in the U.S. on September 12, so I'm probably going to wait and I advise you to do the same if you'd rather have the English language version. However, I can't make any promises that I won't jump on it tomorrow, primarily because it looks outstanding. Hopefully, Mega Man ZX is the first in what should be a long-standing DS series.

If you crave more Mega Man ZX, I recommend checking out GameBrink.com's import review.

Editor's Note: GameDaily has yet to play Mega Man ZX and some of the details in this preview may not be accurate. We will have in-depth impressions in the near future.