It was a commercial success and garnered a generally positive reception among critics, many of whom agreed that it would satisfy diehard fans of the series despite the stale gameplay formula and presentation of the story.

[2] At any point between levels, the player can choose to fire the Enigma at the Eurasia, though the chance of success increases as the game progresses.

[5] Like other entries in the series, Mega Man X5 takes place in "21XX", an unspecified year in the 22nd century, where humans have adapted to life with intelligent androids dubbed "Reploids".

He also hires a Reploid mercenary named Dynamo to hijack the orbiting space colony Eurasia, infecting it with a new virus that puts it on a collision course with Earth.

To maximize their chances of success, Hunters X and Zero are dispatched to collect parts for the two devices with the aid of their new teammates Alia, Douglas, and Signas.

X (and Zero, if the colony was destroyed) proceeds to hunt for the source of the virus within Area Zero, penetrating a bizarre cybertronic fortress beneath it.

[16] Suetsugu believed that the navigator Alia might be the most fitting heroine in the series in contrast to the tragic Iris from Mega Man X4.

[19] X's new Falcon Armor was designed by Ryuji Higurashi to resemble a bird with a beak-shaped chest piece, wings coming out of the back, and a talon-like arm cannon.

[13] Other new characters were introduced to expand the roster of the Maverick Hunters beyond just the fighters, with Signas being the most mature among them and possibly having connections to the Repliforce from X4.

[24] The Maverick bosses in the English localization of the game are named after members of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses.

[13][25] Capcom voice actress Alyson Court, who was involved in the game's English localization, chose the new names as a tribute to her then-husband's love of the band.

[5] Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine stated that the game's difficulty felt harsher than previous installments as a result of enemy placement but still appreciated the focus on more checkpoints and continues, which balance it out.

[45] Eurogamer agreed that players would need to properly collect most power-ups, like heart-shaped items, to make X and Zero able to fight the bosses.

[40] GameSpot said the gameplay would appeal to non-Mega Man fans and gamers in general due to the attention given to detail and the design of the new bosses.

GameRevolution enjoyed the narrative associated with Armageddon but still felt it was poorly executed due to having to retread previous stages at the cost of losing hours to attack the colony.

[5] Both IGN and GameSpot enjoyed the presentation for relying on nostalgic tracks fitting for popular Super Nintendo games.

[44][1] The PC port was also the focus of some reviews, with Absolute Games criticizing the lack of noticeable improvements to the visuals or gameplay compared to Mega Man X4.

[47] According to the Japanese publication Famitsu, Mega Man X5 was the third best-selling video game in Japan during its release week, with 46,033 copies sold.

[50] Dengeki Online reported that Mega Man X5 sold a total of 215,687 copies in Japan by the end of 2001, listing it as the 132nd best-selling game of the year in the region.

[51] Toy Retail Sales Tracking (TRST) data showed that X5 was the fifth best-selling PlayStation game in North America for the month of February 2001.