Ah, Mega Man 2. The most iconic and beloved game in the entire series, and one of my least favorites. MM2 is certainly a great sequel for its time, but I've already gone on about how much it drops the ball in the finale, and how much Metal Blade sucks, and how its "normal mode" obscures how unbalanced it is, and how it spearheaded some of the more aggressive genwunner-ing this side of the Pokemon franchise to the point of actively influencing later games. I don't think it's one of the best Mega Man games, let alone one of the best games of all time.
That being said, even I still quite like the music. Mega Man 2 was a gargantuan improvement over its predecessor in terms of music, going for a more energetic and complex 8-bit rock style that the series would become defined by. It's absolutely one of the best soundtracks on the NES, especially at the time... but yet again, most of the later soundtracks just sound a lot richer to me. The crushing oversaturation of tracks like Wood Man and Wily Castle 2 don't help, despite their undeniable quality. That being said, there's still a lot to love here. It is a Mega Man soundtrack, after all.
Mega Man 2
Introduction
Mega Man 2 starts with a lower-pitch remix of the ending theme of the first game. While not as long, I think the lowered pitch makes this version sound just a bit better.
3/5 Stars
Title Screen
What can I even say about MM2's title theme that hasn't already been said. It's a slower remix of the Wily Castle theme that gets the player pumped for the game ahead, and the melodic solo in the second half just screams Mega Man.
4/5 Stars
Password Screen
Ehhhhhhhhh... Look, MM2's password theme is certainly iconic and instantly recognizable, but try actually listening to it for longer than, like, five seconds. It's a very short, high-pitched loop and it gets repetitive fast. That being said, this isn't just an MM2 problem. Most password themes in Mega Man kinda suck, this is actually one of the better ones.
2/5 Stars
Stage Select
This is a solid middle-of-the-road stage select theme. It's not as energetic as some of the later ones, but it's got a nice groove to it, and like the rest of the soundtrack, it's just plain iconic.
3/5 Stars
Metal Man
Definitely one of my favorite themes in the game. Maybe I just have a lot of nostalgia for it since it's the first Mega Man stage I ever played, but Metal Man's theme feels particularly energetic even by the standards of Mega Man 2's soundtrack.
5/5 Stars
Air Man
Apparently Manami Matsumae worked on this track, particularly the "guitar solo", and what an improvement over all of her work in the first game. I think I gained a lot more appreciation for this one, it's really good. The groovy riff, the earwormy main melody, anthemic chorus, and yes, that guitar solo, all make for one of the most rocking tracks in the soundtrack. After countless listens, I think Air Man's theme holds up the best.
5/5 Stars
Bubble Man
Bubble Man has my favorite Robot Master theme. I always adored this track as a kid, and I still do now, it's really underrated by this game's standards. I love the melancholic vibe the entire track exudes, and the chorus is once again pretty fantastic. There's just such a nice flow to the entire track, it's fantastic.
5/5 Stars
Quick Man
Quick Man brings back the buzzing sound from some of the first game's tracks and puts it to much greater use with this fun and groovy samba-sounding tune that only just feels like it ends a bit too quickly, no pun intended.
4/5 Stars
Crash Man
Crash Man isn't nearly as energetic as the last few tracks, but it's still a pretty solid earworm. The central riff is pretty catchy, and that "guitar solo" in the middle is pretty great.
3/5 Stars
Flash Man
Flash Man's intro is phenomenal, the clap-sounding background notes and exciting melody do such a good job at getting you pumped. The rest of the track isn't quite as strong, sadly. The chorus is iconic for sure, but it just doesn't live up to that intro for me.
3/5 Stars
Heat Man
Heat Man's theme is probably the shortest and most repetitive Robot Master theme, and is thus my least favorite. The melody is certainly iconic and memorable, like every track in MM2's soundtrack, but there's no chorus at all. It's just the intro and verse repeated ad infinitum.
3/5 Stars
Wood Man
Yeah, Wood Man's theme is pretty great. It brings back the game's main theme for a really dramatic and driving piece that feels way too epic for the stage it plays in. Granted, I do think Wood Man's theme has gotten a bit too oversaturated over the years, but it's still a top-tier track.
5/5 Stars
Boss Battle
This is a solid boss theme. It's pretty short, but it's very catchy, and I like how dramatic the intro is. Once again, this is probably a mid-tier boss theme in the wider scope of the series.
3/5 Stars
Weapon Upgrade
Sorry, not a fan of this one. Once the novelty of the bass notes wears off, this is a pretty thin and repetitive weapon upgrade theme.
2/5 Stars
Dr Wily Stage 1
Okay, I'm going to say something a bit heretic here. MM2's Wily Stage 1 is not the best Wily Castle theme. It's not even Top 5.
That being said, no way can I hate it. This is easily the best MM2 track by a mile. It's so long and complex, it keeps building and building with increasingly crazy guitar solos and blood-pumping choruses. It's the culmination of everything MM2 has been building up to musically, perfectly capturing that endgame feeling. It's an incredible track, I just don't think it's the best.
5/5 Stars
Dr Wily Stage 2
Hmm... I'm not really sure how to feel about this one. On one hand, MM2's Stage 2 track does a pretty good job at evoking a sense of dread, and I like how it steadily increases in volume to make you even more unnerved. On the other hand, it's short, repetitive, somewhat grating, plays on the worst levels of the game, and pales in comparison to the rocking tunes that Wily Fortresses usually have.
3/5 Stars
Ending
This is a solid ending theme. It's not one I immediately remember all that often, but it does a really good job at evoking a somber tone even if that leads to some pretty ridiculous mood whiplash considering what happens in the game. Am I the only one who finds it weird that MM2 ends with a gag about Wily pretending to be an alien before immediately shifting tones to a somber ending where Mega Man contemplates his place in the world?
3/5 Stars
Staff Roll
And going full circle, this is basically the title screen theme again with a cute extended ending that takes the weapon upgrade and makes it into kind of a banger?
4/5 Stars
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