Thanks to 16-bit visual loveliness and some new moves, the first Mega Man X stood out from the many 8-bit Mega Man games that had popped up on the NES and Game Boy. Released the following year, this sequel may lack the freshness of that first title, but Mega Man X2 still provides the expected action-platforming fun, backed by some great music.
As before there are eight stages for you to tackle in whichever order you feel like, and defeating the end of level boss character grants you a new weapon which may be useful on another foe you've been struggling with. Vanquish all eight and proceed to the final challenge or you can replay the stages to uncover some secrets.
The stages are well designed, with your route through seeing you travel in all directions as you head towards the boss. There's a variety of locations here with mechanical looking levels alongside mountainous terrain, a cave and a underwater stage. The battle armour from the previous game is back, allowing you to stomp through certain sections punching anything that gets in your way, and the Desert Base stage gives you a hover bike to whiz along on. As you work through each stage you'll see glimpses of areas, seemingly impossible to reach, but after gaining an upgrade or a new weapon you can go back and see what treat you were missing out on.
Visually the game features the same cartoony style as the first game, with easy to follow action and good detail on the sprites as well as the foregrounds and backgrounds. There's also a little bit of wireframe 3D thrown in too courtesy of the Cx4 enhancement chip in the original cartridge; it's nothing particularly fancy, but smooth-moving none the less. Elsewhere there are effects used to add to the atmosphere such as rain and a sandstorm, but a vibration effect used on the Dinosaur Tank stage is mostly just distracting. Overall, though, the game looks good and as always with these SNES re-releases on New 3DS you can turn on the Original resolution mode for a crisper display.
There's a lot of fun action in the game as you run, jump, slide and shoot through the various stages, and it can be tricky in places until you pick up a few upgrades. The Air-dashing ability in particular prevents many a catastrophe and by the time you're looking for the last few secrets the various spikes, pits and enemies throughout the levels are unlikely to cause you any trouble.
Until you've worked out a good route through the levels and learnt the best way to defeat the bosses the game will keep you busy. Searching out secrets adds to the longevity of the experience and these secrets include battles with a trio of "X-Hunters" tucked away in hidden rooms that affect the outcome of the game. The fast-paced action suits portable gaming and passwords can be used to return to your game – or you could be sensible and use the standard Virtual Console suspend and restore point functions instead.
Conclusion
There's a lot of enjoyment to be had with Mega Man X2, whether blasting away at enemies, trying to outclimb lava in a volcano or finally gaining access to an out-of-reach portion of a stage. Decent level design, good visuals and a bunch of secrets make this a fun game to play through. It often feels like additional levels to the first game, but that's not really a problem; like its predecessor Mega Man X2 is a good 'un.
Comments 24
I remember as a kid my video game magazine(think it was gameplayers) was confused and thought the X stood for ten. They thought Capcom skipped eleven.... And that's my random story for the day.
Mega Man 7 was a step down from the first 6 (well, 2 through 6) and X, but X2 and 8 are really where the series started to lose me. While 8 was just not a good game, X2's problem is that this was the first time I thought no effort went into the bosses at all other than "Name an animal..."
I don't remember whether it was my first fight with Overdrive Ostrich or Wheel Gator where I said "this idea is stupid", but it was a reaction I hadn't even had with "Yamato Man" or the unfortunately named "Junk Man". X2 and X3 held on for a little while (Zero's theme in X3, un-freakin-forgettable) but this is about where they stopped being "Mega Man" games for me.
I call foul sir! All Mega man x games are 10/10 now change the score lol😊
Any Mega Man X game past X4 sucked IMO.
man i always start this game from the beginning and never finish it oddly enough, and its not that i dont like it because i freaking love it! life just always gets in the way and i have to put this game on pause hahaha
@amishpyrate hahaha thats a funny story man! ive never heard of something like that happening before
X is a great game, but it felt like a classic Mega Man game with a few new features fastened on. X2 is where the X series started to form its own identity, I think.
Perfect game in my books, love the classic Mega Man X games on SNES.
I missed out on the Mega Man X series the first time around. Only just played the first one a few weeks ago. Very cool game. I started the second, but took a break to play various other games for some variety. But this one looks good and I look forward to continuing it.
I'll buy this asap. Hope they roll out the whole X series on 3DS. I also enjoy Maverick Hunter X on my Vita
@audiobrainiac It's the reason I did not bought X on 3DS. I prefer the maverick hunter X version BUT, X2? Oh yeah! That game is going in my 3DS........as soon as it's release in North America.
@Dr_Corndog
The X games were fundamentally different from the classic games. X games gave X more mobility options and greater speed.
While on the surface, X seems to be a graphically updated game, but they greatly differ in that X relies mostly on your ability to react, while mega man classic heavily relied on your ability to memorize and follow a routine.
In classic games, you had to be in the right place at the right time for the most part, while X gave you time the speed and mobility to react to most threats. Knowing what's coming next helps, but wasn't necessary like it was in the classic games. The Zero game sped up the player much more, making the game able to be played in a more reactive way...
I'm going to prepare my flame shield... X2 is my favorite of the X series. It replaces a lot of the enemy challenge of the original with straight platforming, which means once you've gotten a feel for the stage layouts you can blitz through the game as quickly as you can imagine. Brilliant game, one of my top five of all time.
@khaosklub I totally agree. I feel the best way to approach the X series is as a separate entity. It's not the steady tense platforming experience of its predecessor. It's much more of an action platformer hybrid, a subgenre that saw a heavy rise on the SNES. New control options allowed them to give characters new mobility options. The focus is more on the gun...er...buster play and your reflexes than it is on knowing a level layout or timing that perfect jump.
The screenshots almost comtemplate the immortal moment of the green npc guy, forever in our hearts. Sorry.
On topic though: X2 is great, as it scratches the new Megaman X itch unlike many newer sequels didn't. Still, I prefer the very first X, for reason I can't quite put my finger on.
I did not love MMX2.
X1 and X2 and X3 are classics like the original Mega Man 1 and Mega Man 2 and Mega Man 3.
What a game.
"passwords can be used to return to your game – or you could be sensible and use the standard Virtual Console suspend and restore point functions instead"
lol
I still need to get this game because I loved X so much but when I do it will be on Wii U instead of 3DS.
@khaosklub Yes, but I was referring to the first X only. The series continued to differentiate itself as it progressed.
@mig-EL I didn't even know they were wrong til years later. I didn't know this was a separate series back then and didn't know there wasnt a mega man 9 at the time. I had six for NES so I assumed they kept going
@amishpyrate hahaha yeah as a kid it totally makes sense, we don't question many things when were little XD
I wonder when this will come out in the US. I'd love to have all the X games. I am considering grading X1 on the 3ds, just so i can carry it with me. I have it on Wii U but i rarely play my Wii U.
@3MonthBeef
Sir, that was the best twist on the usually tired "First!" formula I have ever seen. Kudos.
@Dr_Corndog
I would say it all applies to the first game too. It only looks like a classic game, but played completely differently. Just the ephasis on exploration alone made it vastly different
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