The game where the Mega Man series really began, if you could only start with one game in the series, make it 2 and skip 1.
1 is miserable by comparison, and that's odd because structurally there's not much different. But as a Mega Man fan, 1 feels like obligation when you're playing Legacy Collection and 2 feels like actual fun.
With tightened up control, improved physics, better level design, fun weapons, and even better graphics and soundtrack than the first, Mega Man 2 blows the original away.
My only real problem are the 3rd and 5th Wily Castle Bosses. The third requires you to blow through all your Crash Bomb ammo and Game Over if you can't do it right on the first go.
And the fifth can only be hurt by your bubbles with, again, no way to regain your ammo so it's an instant Game Over.
Save states are a must in those cases but other than those late game hurdles, Mega Man 2 has stood the test of time.

This is without a doubt a vast improvement upon the original Mega Man in practically every aspect. While I had an absolutely dreadful time with the original Mega Man, I actually had a pretty pleasant time with Mega Man 2. It wasn’t some stand out, blow me away type game, but for what it is, it’s honestly pretty fun.

Level Design is where the game vastly improves, though I definitely would say it’s not 100% perfect. There’s some areas that conceptually seem fun, having to dodge or avoid instakill objects, but they’re vertical segments, and the transitions between sections interrupt the flow of things. I think the parts of levels that I disliked most weren’t cause of platforming this time around, but more so enemies. That one bird enemy that drops an egg that spawns like, 10 baby birds is the bane of my existence. And as well, this is just a major pet peeve of mine, but enemies respawning off screen was annoying at times, especially if its one of the tougher enemies, like the Sniper Armors in Flash Man’s stage.

Almost every boss is pretty solid as well. Much like with the first game, typically the first robot master you fight is going to be the hardest, as you won’t have their weakness. I honestly can’t imagine not doing the fights without that robot master’s weakness, sometimes it feels absolutely necessary. Especially in the case of Quick Man, he feels way too fast to deal with without his weakness. The Wily Castle bosses are just as easy, aside from the boss of I believe it was stage 4, which that boss just feels cruelly designed. That boss requires some thinking to figure out how to hit all of the sirens, which is fine, but every so often each of the sirens will shoot at you, and it was way too fast to react to. Aside from this and the one robot master though, the bosses were actually kind of fun to figure out, even if they were slightly on the easier side.

And I’m so happy E Tanks are a thing. Just being able to heal back to full as long as you have one is really nice, and can help ease some amount of difficulty that the game has otherwise. They seemed somewhat generously placed throughout the game, which helps a lot too, even if you can only hold 4 at a time.

Yet again, this game is a vast improvement upon the original in practically every aspect. I actually had fun playing Mega Man 2, though that being said it didn’t blow me away in any degree. I do wonder what the next Mega Man games would be like, I’ve heard complicated things about Mega Man 3, but I don’t know anything beyond that. But Mega Man 2 was a pretty fun time overall.

An improvement over the first one which was to be expected but it was interesting to see how much the developers improved in only a year. The game felt overall more forgiving than the first entry with more forgiving platforming and enemies and bosses that don’t all hit like trucks. On a first run through a level, you will still likely die, which I am not fond of, but the improvement in the level design made redoing sections far less tedious. The iconic soundtrack was great for getting me pumped up for each stage and the sprite work is stellar with the team using every pixel at their disposal to create some awesome-looking designs, my favorite being the Guts-Tank. My major gripe with the game is its reliance on certain weapon types which can lead to situations where I run out of energy for that weapon and I might as well waste all of my lives so I can get that energy back. Case in point the final boss which is only weak to one weapon type which you can not replenish in between attempts. Not a hard boss by any means but that resource management is a bit unnecessary.

There’s not much else to say as this game and the ones to come all follow a similar set up albeit with minor alterations. This title would set the groundwork for what the series will truly become and still holds up all right.

Megaman 2 is often considered one of the best titles not only in the franchise, but one of the best games ever.

And honestly I don't buy that.
I played this game multiple times and yeah, I totally see the things that does incredibly: the movement and jump-&-shootery is fluid and fun even today, the grphics are nice, the ability to approach the game as you want was a novel concept for the time and the soundtrack is a banger to this day (Seriously, Wily Castle 1 still gives me goosebumps)

But also there is a lot of weird design choices, specifically in the later sections of the game. Some parts of the final levels are straight up unaccessible if you don't have the good equipment (ITEM-1 and ITEM-2 being so important to progress feels kinda weird too), and one specific boss (the worst mf I have ever fought) is impossible to pass if you used Crash Bomber at all before it.
Not to mention that, after playing later titles, I really felt the lack of Slide Kick, Rush and Charge Shot in thos one.

My criticism aside, there is not denying that it is a classic that everone should try, and its pros are able to outshine its cons to make it a great experience even after 30+ years.

Mega Man 2 is epic, go figure

I have never understood the love for Mega Man 2. Among many fans of the Mega Man series, as well as fans of platformers and retro games in general, Mega Man 2 is often considered the best game in the series. Of the original classic games for the NES, it sold the best by a considerable margin. Some would say that is reflective of the game’s quality, but to me, that sales figure just reflects why the game is so beloved. It’s the most popular, and most people’s first entry into the series before the Legacy Collection came along. I think Mega Man 2 is the worst of the eleven classic Mega Man games, and I will try to explain my numerous issues with this game. Unlike in Mega Man 1, where most of the issues were systemic and affected many different parts of the game, in Mega Man 2, a lot of the issues are caused by a single bad decision that just casts a wide shadow over the game.

Full review at https://queenemilyscorner.wordpress.com/2024/04/11/mega-man-2-the-worst-classic-mega-man/