Hunter Rank (ハンターランク) is a ranking system used by the Maverick Hunters in the Mega Man X series. It was initially mentioned in supplementary material for the first Mega Man X, and was first integrated into gameplay in Mega Man X5.
Description[]
Within the Maverick Hunters is a set of rankings to determine not just how powerful a Reploid is, but also to determine how efficient they are in missions. The highest rank in the story is SA or Special A Class (特A級), given to high-performance Reploids such as Zero, Vile, and Sigma in the first Mega Man X. X was originally a B Class (B級) Hunter due to his merciful personality, but by Mega Man X7 he has been promoted to a Special A Class Hunter.[1]
In Mega Man X: Command Mission, X, Zero, and Axl are all called Class S (S級) Hunters, and in Mega Man X7, Vanishing Gungaroo calls Zero a Class S Hunter. This is possibly a shortening of SA. Additionally, in Mega Man X8, Zero calls Vile V a former A Class Hunter, despite him formerly being referred to as an SA Class.
Besides the Hunter Ranks mentioned in the story, there are many additional ranks in the video games as well. Here is the list of Hunter Ranks seen throughout the Mega Man X series:
- Rank E - Lowest possible rank in Mega Man X5.
- Rank D - Default rank in Mega Man X6.
- Rank C - Between D and B.
- Rank B - X's rank for a large portion of the story.
- Rank A - Between B and SA. In the overseas versions of Mega Man X8, the player can also gain "AA" and "AAA" rankings, the latter being the highest rank in that game. In the Japanese version, they are "Special A" and "S", respectively.
- Rank SA - SA is short for "Special A" (スペシャルA also written as 特A).[2] The highest rank story-wise, being used for powerful Reploids such as Zero and Sigma. It also replaced "AA" in the Japanese version of Mega Man X8.
- Rank S - S was only featured in the Japanese version of Mega Man X8 (replacing "AAA" rank), as well as in Mega Man X4 in Cyber Peacock's tests in Cyber Space.
- Rank GA - Stands for "Gold A" (ゴールドA).[2]
- Rank PA - Stands for "Platinum A" (プラチナA).[2]
- Rank MEH/MMH - The highest rank in Mega Man X5. This rank was renamed MMH in the English version, being displayed on the Mission Report screen, but the change wasn't applied in the English save screen, being MEH in both Japanese and English versions.[3]
- Rank UH - Stands for "Ultimate Hunter" (アルティメットハンター).[2] The highest rank in Mega Man X6 and X7.
Gameplay[]
Mega Man X5[]
Hunter Rank on the Mega Man X5 save screen.
In Mega Man X5, Hunter Ranks become a gameplay feature, playing into how Boss Level is calculated. X begins at B Class and Zero begins at SA Class on the save file. Their ranks are then recalculated at the result screen after every stage, based on an invisible points system. The player's performance indicates how many points they receive after a stage. The points system is calculated using the variables below:[4]
| Result | A (+8 points) |
B (+4 points) |
C (+2 points) |
D (+1 point) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clear Time | 0-2 minutes (except for PA Rank) 0-1 minutes (for PA Rank only) |
2-3 minutes | 3-6 minutes | ≥6 minutes |
| Mavericks Destroyed | 0-40 destroyed | 41-80 destroyed | 81-150 destroyed | ≥151 destroyed |
| Damage Received | 0-16 damage | 17-32 damage | 33-64 damage | ≥65 damage |
| Highest damage dealt to boss in one attack | ≥8 damage | 6-7 damage | 4-5 damage | 1-3 damage |
| Number of viruses touched | 0 viruses | 1 virus | 2 viruses | ≥3 viruses |
These points are then totaled, with a maximum of 40 points from a perfect run. This number is then used to calculate whether the Hunter Rank increases or decreases - the Hunter Rank cannot skip, and must be incremented up or down one at a time.[4]
| Current Rank | Decrease | No change | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMH Rank | ≤31 points | +32 points | - |
| PA Rank | ≤31 points | 32-39 points | 40 points |
| GA Rank | ≤23 points | 24-35 points | ≥36 points |
| SA Rank | ≤19 points | 20-31 points | ≥32 points |
| A Rank | ≤17 points | 18-31 points | ≥32 points |
| B Rank | ≤14 points | 15-27 points | ≥28 points |
| C Rank | ≤11 points | 12-19 points | ≥20 points |
| D Rank | ≤8 points | 9-15 points | ≥16 points |
| E Rank | - | - | - |
Mega Man X6[]
Hunter Rank on the Mega Man X6 save screen.
Hunter Rank is calculated much more simply in Mega Man X6, only being based on the number of Nightmare Souls collected by each player character. This determines Boss Levels and also how many Power-Up Parts a character can equip.
| Rank | Nightmare Souls | Parts capacity | Boss Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank UH | 9999 Souls | 4 Parts + 1 Limit Part | Lv.04 |
| Rank PA | +5000 Souls | 3 Parts + 1 Limit Part | Lv.03 |
| Rank GA | +1200 Souls | 2 Parts + 1 Limit Part | |
| Rank SA | +900 Souls | 2 Parts | Lv.02 |
| Rank A | +500 Souls | 1 Part | Lv.01 |
| Rank B | +300 Souls | None | |
| Rank C | +200 Souls | ||
| Rank D | +0 Souls |
Mega Man X7[]
Hunter Rank is again calculated based on the player's performance in stages like in Mega Man X5. It is only calculated from damage taken (Damaged) and number of enemies destroyed (Hunted), excluding the rest of the results screen numbers. Hunter Rank affects Boss Level, and the player takes slightly more damage when their rank is S Class or higher.
Mega Man X8[]
Hunter Rank is calculated based on stage Clear Time, Foes Defeated, and Highest Combo. Unlike past games, Hunter Rank does not affect anything in gameplay, acting simply as a measure of performance.
References[]
- ↑ Compendium of Rockman X, p. 19.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Compendium of Rockman X, p. 97.
- ↑ YouTube: Megaman X5 rank route 8/8 - X to MMH on Zero
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Haoh Game Special 188: Rockman X5 Kanzen Kouryaku Guide. Kodansha. 2000.