5. Flame Stag Stage - Mega Man X2 (SNES)
Mega Man X2 is certainly more challenging than the first game but I find the original X title to be the more enjoyable of the two. Having said that, I still find X2 to be a solid game. Rushing through Flame Stag's level is always a blast, quickly scaling the outside of the volcano and racing for your life as you try to beat the lava and not get caught in the volcanoes eruption. Flame Stag's theme music fits the quick actions that you'll need to take in order to stay alive here.
In Mega Man X4, not all of the foes you fight are Mavericks. Some are members of Repliforce. Magma Dragoon, however, is definitely a Maverick, Once a member of the Maverick Hunters, Dragoon wrecked the Sky Lagoon killing tons of innocent people down on the surface all for the chance to fight X and Zero. Dragoon's stage takes you you deep inside a very unsafe volcano. The music of Dragoon's level is extremely intense, matching the harsh eruptions of lava that can damage X and Zero as they make their way through. Dragoon is quite the tough customer so using that Ride Armor to take down as much of his health as you can is highly recommended.
3. Flame Mammoth - Mega Man X (SNES)
Mega Man X is my favorite game in the X series and my second favorite Mega Man game overall. Everything about this baby just oozes with top quality. The stage design is excellent, the new dash mechanic is super fun to use and the soundtrack is phenomenal. In a game filled with so many rocking tunes, Mega Man X still belts out a hardcore fire piece. The main course repeats four times and each repeat has a new variation. Flame Mammoth may be a heat based Maverick but if you defeated Chill Penguin prior to coming to his stage, the entire level will have all of its flame based elements removed. This wasn't the only stage that could be altered from conquering another.
2. Mattrex Stage - Mega Man X5 (PS)
Mega Man X5 was originally intended to be the finale of the X series. But then... things happened. While not on par with previous entries, X5 is still a competent X game and a better one than X3. When being localized for English speaking audiences, the Mavericks had undergone the usual name changes but this time, they were all named after band members Guns & Roses. The flame themed Maverick, originally named Burn Dinorex ,was changed Mattrex. A lot of fire themed tracks have a tendency to be more fast paced by Mattrex takes it a bit slow. It still manages to bring the heat with some sick guitar riffs and solos. Mattrex Stage is an incredible fire themed track, more than deserving of such a high ranking spot.
1. Blaze Heatnix Stage - Mega Man X6 (PS)
The lowest of the low points in the X series. Mega Man X6 is riddled with horrendous level design and thanks to the Nightmare System that introduces stage elements at random, makes some stages near unplayable. Even without the Nightmare affecting his level Blaze Heatnix has one of the worst stages in X6 to play through. The Nightmare Snake is a reoccurring mini boss with a stupidly long life bar that shows up throughout the entirety of the level. That's right, the whole level consists of fighting a the same dumb mini boss over and over. The only good thing about Blaze Heatnix Stage and about X6 in generally is the badawesome soundtrack. Seriously, Blaze Heatnix theme is straight fire. The drums and electric guitar are doing serious work throughout the course, getting you jazzed for a level that ultimately ends up being a bore fest. Good thing this list about the quality of the track and not the gameplay. Blaze Heatnix, your stage may be hot garbage, but your level music gets me very hot and bothered, earning your theme the number one spot.
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