My love of Mega Man X is well-established. I have it on SNES, GameCube, PSP, Wii, and Wii U. I’d always forgotten that there was a Game Boy Color version of the game, called Mega Man Xtreme. Back in the day, I’d assumed it would be a hack-job like the GBC “port” of Donkey Kong Country. Today, I’m happy to say I was incorrect. MMXtreme takes elements from MMX and MMX2, adds in a few new characters for good measure, and includes basically everything you already love about the MMX games. You’ll explore eight lovingly reproduced stages and battle eight familiar bosses. I can’t really describe how impressed I am with the conversion, here: even minor enemies have the same movement patterns and little animation touches that are present in the console games. The music, while tinnier, is recognizable and still catchy.

You’ll find eight Heart Tanks, four Subtanks, four enhancements (all from MMX) and four new Dr. Light capsules that contain, for lack of a better term, summons in which Mega Man calls Zero to deal some major enemy damage at the expense of some HP. You can even find a secret capsule that betroths X with both the Haduken and Shoryuken moves.

The game’s structure is worth noting: you’re initially faced with four Mavericks before you go through Sigma’s facility, beat the game, and see the end credits. But then you unlock “Hard” mode, which is really just the other four Mavericks, and then Sigma’s facility again (you keep all your weapons and equipment). Beating that unlocks “Extreme” mode, which is all eight Mavericks from the beginning, and none of your equipment carries over. So it’s the “real” Mega Man X game. There are also auto-charging and rapid-fire toggles, which makes certain sequences much easier.

I’m having a ball with the game. Sure, it’s not as pretty as an SNES game, but MMXtreme is shockingly faithful to its console counterparts. If you want a genuine MMX game on the go, this is your ticket.