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.