There’s nothing new to say about the story of these games except that x and zero are absolutely the flavor of cis gay white dudes that wanna be accepted by the mainstream so badly that they’ll slip a knife between the ribs of any and every other marginalized group at any moment to get even the obviously false façade of that.

Anyway Mega Man X2 rules. If X1 is an immediate, obvious, stone cold classic, where every level and character design and upgrade and hidden collectible placement is tightly designed and meticulously placed for maximum effectiveness, X2 is simultaneously scrappier and more ambitious, leaning harder on spectacle and gimmicks to decidedly more mixed success, and it’s a better game in my eyes for it.

Where X1 has a tutorial level so famous even I, a girl who thought until like a month ago that Mega Man and Mega Man X were the same guy, knew about it, X2 eschews the elegant intro for something that feels a lot more at home in the 90s – gritty and cool, our war hardened hero making a bombing run on a giant warbot factory, his adorable partner getting sniped off of his sick hover-motorcycle in an unintentionally hilarious opening cutscene. The difficulty is amped up here compared to the opening of the first game, the graphics noticeably more complex, with lots of background layers and big, fluidly animated sprites, and everything caps off with a boss that isn’t a test of skill so much as the kind of wowza look what we can do that is less about showing off what kind of GAMEPLAY is possible now and more about showing off what kind of COOL LOOKING SHIT is possible now. And it worked on me its rad.

This is an ethos that permeates the entire game. Levels aren’t as consistently fun and they’re certainly not as tight as X1 but they ARE consistently beautiful and I think the score is better to. It’s still goofy, fuzzy SNES soundchip buttrock but it’s more sonically varied, more likely to switch up the sound even outside of obvious level-theme-dependent musical cues.

The bosses here, too, are just a straight upgrade to X1. I appreciate that we’re taking advantage the SNES’ power to vary what the bosses are able to do, something that this team dabbled in a little bit last time with the likes of Storm Eagle’s open arena but you see a LOT more of here. You get arenas with unlimited vertical space, bosses who don’t populate the arena at all, bosses that don’t HAVE arenas. Overdrive Ostrich is a king and I will not hear otherwise. The endgame, too is a flat upgrade over the first game. Better levels and better bosses. I saw that final form of the final guy and my jaw hit the floor, utterly joyful.

Mega Man X is a series in an interesting place, at this point in its life. It doesn’t feel like it quite has its own identity. It seems like it wants to be distinct from Mega Man proper, what with the emphasis on movement tech and secret upgrades hidden in all the levels, expanded here with the addition of hidden boss fights to unlock an alternate ending. At the same time though, it’s clinging to convention in a way that I don’t think is helpful. Like, the X games have enough going on in them, with much more incentive to revisit levels and thoroughly explore levels, to lengthen the games enough that having me refight the first eight bosses at the end of the game feel like an exhaustive exercise in padding rather than an exciting road to the endgame. Even though I don’t think this game is as consistently excellent as X1, I appreciate the intensity of its ambition, and I think it hits higher highs, especially when it pushes against the boundaries of what Mega Man is allowed to look like. I hope the X series finds it in itself to keep exploring that space, and find a more unique identity in Mega Man’s legacy.

Some subtle things keep it below the first one. Mainly the weapons being more situational, some of the hidden collectables being straight up horseshit to get to, either due to some opaque hiding spot that you’d never find without scanning the entire map with the radar upgrade (which even then sometimes doesn’t work as intended), or some of the pixel perfect platforming it demands of you, and the story, which is more elaborate than X1’s, but also more wooden and intrusive. I compare X1 and X2 to the movies The Raid and The Raid 2. In both cases, the second technically has more of a story, but it dwells on itself more leading to more bloat, whereas the first is more simple but more honest about what it is and more focused as a result.

Other than that though, almost everything else is at least as refined as it was in X1, and I love having the dash boost right from the get go.

gostei mais que do X1

mais ousado, mais esquisito, menos ortodoxo, fases com temas incríveis e que utilizam muito mais do arsenal do X visto que nesse jogo você começa com o Dash.

os poderes não são tao bons e uns chefes são meio estranhos, mas divertidissimo... fez até eu aumentar de volta uma estrela na nota do X porque me dei conta que eu tava era com fadiga de jogar o mesmo Mega Man X sempre. esse aqui é novo e legal

A LOT of the music in this game loops just as it sounds like it's about to kick in and that just drives me up the fucking wall

Bubble Crab is half a song
X-Hunter stage 1 is a third of a song
Zero's theme is a quarter of a song

I don't have much to say about Megaman X2, but I think it's about on par with it's predecessor. Though it is worse in some areas, it builds upon the first in others. Namely movement and weapon wise. The introduction of the air-dash, though you're not guaranteed to get it bolsters replayability quite a bit and makes exploration a lot easier to stomach.

Although they're a lot... wackier in this one, I found myself cycling through X2's roster of weapons much more than X1. They should be a lot less practical, but they're oddly useful. However, I think the levels take a bit of a seat back in this one. They feel more... empty for lack of a better term, and for the worse. Bosses are pretty much on par with the original, if not a bit samey.

That pretty much sums up my thoughts on X2. I really don't have much to say about it as a sequel, most praise I give it also applies to X1. If you're looking for more X1, then this is probably your place to go. Another solid installment in the series.

I hate to join in on the "oh god the cover arts are so bad" debacle that seems to spring up once every two weeks, but I'd really like to shake the hand of the guy who photoshopped this for a whole night and still decided to leave just enough empty space as to constantly set off my "that's shit" artist sense.

2/28 Update for Context: They changed this to something more acceptable, even if I hate the offscreen Magna Centipede tail, but originally it was artwork for this Nintendo Power poster I assume because the person didn't feel like trying to make the actual cover fit here. It looked stupid as shit.

I think my problem with Mega Man games is their identity isn't super distinguishable between titles, so at some point everything kind of blends together and I start having trouble telling games apart. I'd chalk this up to a case of my old man brains degenerating as I enter senility, but me and the other guys at the home frequently try to remember which robot masters showed up in which game, so I don't think it's just me. Was Junk Man in 3? No... no I think it was four. That's the one with Centaur Man, right?

Anyway, the Mega Man X series is similar to me in this regard, although it at least has a more clear delineation between each console generation the series persisted through. I can easily tell X3 apart from X4, for example, but the first three games on the SNES get a little fuzzy for me. This is all one long preamble to me saying I remember liking X2 a lot more than X1 but damned if I can articulate why, at least on a level-to-level basis.

What I do remember quite clearly about X2 is that it's a more dynamic game. I think X1 was a bit slow, faster than anything in the core Mega Man series but bogged down a bit by its design ethos and style. X2 is able to push further into its own direction, helping to establish the *X series as being the more "radical" and "x-treme" younger brother. As such, I just find it a lot more engaging and fun to play.

It also has Overdrive Ostrich. Right...? Or was he in X3? I think Chill Penguin was in X2 and I'm pretty sure Bubble Crab was in X1*. Oh god, I think I forgot to take my pills again...

more like mega mid x2

What a letdown. Nothing in this game was improved from the first, and while its more challenging, the challenge comes from bullshit gimmicks and enemy spamming (the air dash is great though).
Well, atleast we have the comically bad writing.

Sigma: Wait Zero! I know your secret! You were destined to follow me!
Zero: Maybe so, but I don't like you!

Mega Man X2 is decent but it takes a serious hit in all of the original's strongest suits. The level design is more frustrating, the music is weaker, and finding the upgrades is more tedious. Much more frequently now is the requirement of a specific weapon and armor upgrade combination (Speed Burner + Arm Parts in multiple cases, for example) just to get another life tank or something. There's a much more specific order of operations here going on, allowing for less freedom in the process of powering yourself up further. I guess a better way to describe it would be that it feels less like exploring and more like crossing things off a checklist. Maybe it's just that the stages that you have to revisit aren't fun like in the original. Maybe some of both.

I would probably hold this in a higher regard than I do if they didn't get everything wrong here right the first time. The changes are detrimental, and generally too slight anyway. Mega Man X3 would further emphasize these weaker spots, with yet more tedious backtracking, yet weaker level design, and outright shitty music. Can't be helped I suppose, but I think it's a much quicker burnout than the NES series' often-cited slow decline (which I personally disagree with anyway).

Veredito: Igual ao primeiro, só que bem pior.

Pense em Megaman X1. Agora retire o level design genial e o ritmo extremamente bem balanceado, piore a maioria das músicas, deixe a história mais sem graça e os segredos menos intuitivos, e por último transforme o que era um desafio super equilibrado em um monte de tourobosta feita pra você passar raiva. Com pulos praticamente pixel-perfect pra dar e vender, exigência de upgrades super específicos que o jogo nunca sinaliza bem, e chefes que pra tu derrotar não precisa ter habilidade, e sim saco de repetir infinitamente o mesmo padrão arbitrário idiota enquanto a barra de vida deles diminui leeeeeeeentamente. Agora imagine isso feito por fãs incompetentes que adoram o X1 mas não entendem nada do que faz dele um jogo tão incrível e pimba, você já sabe o que esperar de X2.

Pra ser justo, o jogo tem muitos ótimos momentos... que são quando ele se parece com o X1. Mas enquanto no X1 a diversão era garantida como o estado normal das coisas, enquanto lá a serotonina era a CNTP, aqui são momentos espaçados entre as fases. Sei lá, de 1 a 3 momentos desses por fase. E olhe lá.

MMX2 is exactly what a good first sequel should be. It's all the original X1 has and more. I'd call it even better than the first. However, its merits lie more in the addition of extra content rather than the way it expands on the formula. For that reason, I can't justify rating it as highly as the original.

I will say, save for a few annoying stages, the level design is top notch, probably better than X1. The armor upgrades finally get to trully shine too. In the original, they kinda felt like a necessity rather than a cool extra. Here, X's moveset is already great from the start, and the armor pieces really open up many more possibilities (air dash, double charge shot, giga crush).

I'm torn whether I like this soundtrack better than X1 or not. On one hand, X1 has banger after banger, and arguably better instrumentation. On the other, X2 has more variety in tone. Bubble Crab's theme is a great example.

On a personal note, I may think this one's better than X1 simply because I've already played X1 to death. It'll never stop being a great time, but it really makes me appreciate just how much variety is packed into X2.

comeco e meio: caralho que jogo bom cara, e relativamente mais facil do que o X1! To adorando a forma que a temática dos cenários interagem ainda mais com o level design, os bosses serem mais dinamicos e a trilha sonora no mesmo nivel de excelência do primeiro! Caramba por que mais gente não indica ESSE aqui como porta de entrada da saga? a unica coisa que você tem que manjar é a mecânica de dash!

x hunters lair + boss rush dos 8 mavericks + luta do zero + sigma fase 1 e 2: I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

Pros compared to X1:
Stage design has more flair this time around. X1 had some pretty killer level design itself, but you could tell a couple of the 8-main stages were phoned in. X2 rectifies that and then some.
Likewise the bosses are more interesting. Many have multiple phases or quirks. Kicking a robotic snail's shell away like a football so he can't use it is peak comedic action.
X1 vividly wanted you to play Icy Penguigo's stage first to get the dash upgrade. Tackling some bosses without the dash was a nightmare (and just plain unfun). X2 has a much more uniformly balanced layout. You can pick any stage from the start and not screw yourself.
Less slowdown. X1 was nearly too fast for the SNES's anaemic CPU. X2 remedies this with an onboard enhancement chip. The slowdown's not extinct, but mitigated greatly.

Cons compared to X1:
Upgrades in the first game where acquired by simple puzzle solving or novel platforming challenges. In X2 they're cryptic bullshit.
The boss weapons suck. Replaying X1 is enjoyable because of the armament on offer. In X2 all the boss weapons are either worse than your default Mega Buster, or just flat out ineffectual.
The stage alteration mechanic of the first game is gone entirely. Another facet that made replaying X1 so fun.
The whole theme of growth and X unlocking his full potential worked harmoniously with collecting power-ups across the first game. In X2 the blue bomber inexplicably threw away all his upgrades from the previous game. Now you're collecting armour pieces, heart upgrades, ect... again without a strong narrative tie.
* It may be unreasonable to ask every X game to live up to the music of X1. X2's VGM is quite good, but pales in comparison.

Despite the game design being tighter in many ways, I find myself gravitating toward the first game more. The clogs along the way do knock X2 down a peg, but it's still a damn solid game. If you loved the first one, give this a try for sure.

Mega Man X2 is a great sequel to the already beloved predecessor. It implements what made the original X game so great in the first place while making a few tweaks, and additions that make it one of the greats in this beloved sub-series. After booting up the game and being greeted with a fantastic opening stage, I knew this game was going to rock me the same way the first game did

Let's start with the stuff that was implemented in the sequel. Weapon upgrades, heart and sub-tanks, and the armor upgrades are all still here and they are a blast collecting them the second time around. I want to list a few of my favorite upgrades in X2. The foot parts include an air dash, making it easier to reach platforms or walls that you've previously missed the first time around. I love what they did to the arm parts, which gives X the ability to fire a Double Charge. Using this is awesome; it looks good, it sounds good, and it feels good to use for decimating enemies in your path. Last but not least, and my absolute favorite is the Shoryuken (like from Street Fighter). I don't need to explain what this move does since most gaming fans know what it is, but it is a one-hit kill like with the Hadoken from the first game. Triggering the right command input that can take down bosses in one hit is oh-so-satisfying; although I wish we could've received this a little bit earlier in the game, since this you can only get this in the third stage of the fortress. The dash is now a permanent move rather than being exclusive to a body upgrade, which is a nice needed change because dashing around stages is one of the best things you can do in the first game

Alongside collecting the upgrades and heart and sub-tanks, X now has to collect three of Zero's body parts that are held by the X-Hunters. After you complete a certain amount of stages, they will start to appear and will change randomly once you completed or exited out a stage. Don't wait for too long, however, as they will start to disappear as you almost clear out the eight Mavericks. You can access these fights by finding specific rooms in each of the Mavericks' stages. Getting those parts only affects the ending, so it's not a big deal to some, but I recommend getting it since I like fighting each of the three X-Hunters and just whaling out my strong attacks (I.e. my Double Charge shot)

Another new thing they added in X2 is the Ride Chaser. Using this, X can drive at high speeds, decimating enemies with the little blaster at the front, and even go up ramps. It's so cool to use, which is why I hate how this was underutilized here. It only appears at one stage, and that is in Overdrive Ostrich's Stage, which is really lame

I don't think I need to go over the soundtrack in X2 because frankly, this is another banger in the Mega Man music department. The Opening Stage, Wheel Gator, Overdrive Ostrich, Magna Centipede, and the X-Hunter stages are my favorites to come out of this soundtrack

Overall, Mega Man X2 is a really good sequel. It takes what worked with the first X game and added a few new things that didn't detract from the experience. Great upgrades and bosses, and a banger soundtrack lead this to become of my favorites in the series so far. Now it's hard for me to decide to which one is better, since they're both great games that you should try; but for right now, I'm giving the slightest edge to X1