Mega Man X3 is in a lot of ways better than X2, but in other ways, not as good.
For starters, I found the process of 100% completing X3 less frustrating than X2, and the stages themselves were longer and felt more complete than X2's.
Problem is, the soundtrack relied a lot on a very specific guitar-like instrument, and it made the OST stale and not as memorable as previously. Even if there are some good themes here and there.
Bit and Byte, the new baddies that accompany Dr. Doppler, were also not as interesting as the X-Hunters, and while it's cool that Vile is back and has a very unique boss fight... after he's gone... yeah, he barely meant much.
The final boss, I also found to be more annoying than previously, especially with having to climb up to avoid the lava, otherwise you're pretty much dead and have to fight him all over again.
Overall, while Mega Man X3 does a lot better than X2, it also comes with its own problems that made this one inferior to its previous entries.
For starters, I found the process of 100% completing X3 less frustrating than X2, and the stages themselves were longer and felt more complete than X2's.
Problem is, the soundtrack relied a lot on a very specific guitar-like instrument, and it made the OST stale and not as memorable as previously. Even if there are some good themes here and there.
Bit and Byte, the new baddies that accompany Dr. Doppler, were also not as interesting as the X-Hunters, and while it's cool that Vile is back and has a very unique boss fight... after he's gone... yeah, he barely meant much.
The final boss, I also found to be more annoying than previously, especially with having to climb up to avoid the lava, otherwise you're pretty much dead and have to fight him all over again.
Overall, while Mega Man X3 does a lot better than X2, it also comes with its own problems that made this one inferior to its previous entries.