Mega Man X2 is probably the most unassuming game in the series. I always forget how good it is until I replay it and rediscover just how good it is. While I can't exactly argue that X2 feels as fresh or instantly memorable as its predecessor, it makes an impressive amount of refinements that it just doesn't get enough credit for. The bosses are more dynamic, the weapons are more unique, the controls are tighter, the rewards feel more... rewarding, and best of all, this is the only X game that you can complete with zero backtracks right out of the box. Similarly to my beloved Mega Man 5, X2 doesn't do as much to stand out as the games it's sandwiched between, but it makes up for that with pure refinement.
RIP, Green Biker Guy
- Mega Man X2 starts with one of the most iconic moments in the series. X riding through a warzone on his Ride Chaser as an unnamed green soldier gets shot down besides him, before he hops off his ride and lets it blow through the gates to the base he's infiltrating. I don't have much intelligent commentary here, it's just plain badass.
- The story is given more of a focus here with dedicated cutscenes, though it's not quite as motivating as the original. Despite Sigma canonically dying in the first game (quite a shift from the Classic games, huh?), X has yet another batch of mavericks he needs to take down. Though the more interesting plot thread involves a group of Mavericks called the X-Hunters who aim to revive Sigma and rebuild Zero to be on their side, so you're encouraged to go out of your way and stop them as well. I like how the game takes the time to show that enough time has passed since the first game that X has become a genuine powerhouse that his enemies fear through some of the cutscenes, but that inherently isn't quite as satisfying as the simple quest to become this powerful to begin with.
- Back to the gameplay, though, X2's opening stage obviously isn't as memorable as the first in terms of its visuals and presentation, nor is it quite as strong of a tutorial. But that's almost the point, X2 assumes you've played the first game so it doesn't bother wasting your time with teaching you things you probably already know.
- This is exemplified by the fact that you already have the dash, which inherently makes this the more replayable stage. I'm glad you don't have to earn it again since this means the developers could design the stages with the dash in mind and make the platforming more challenging, X2 is a harder game than its predecessor in general and this is part of the reason why. And speaking of the dash, another improvement X2 makes over its predecessor is the fact that you don't need to press the dash button every time you wall jump, you can just hold it down this time.
- Sadly, this opening stage is also absurdly short, only clocking in at around 30 seconds. However, it does manage to cram in a lot in this short amount of time, such as conveyors that assemble enemies right in front of you, claws that try to grab you, and a memorable setpiece where you frantically wall-jump up some walls that are about to crush you.
- The first boss is also really cool, a pretty massive robot with some very impressive rotation effects. It's not especially difficult since staying at the top of the arena will allow you to dodge most of its attacks, but it is a very memorable and large-scale first encounter.
- Now that we're onto the Maverick select screen, it's time to reiterate that, yes, you can get all the upgrades in this game without backtracking once. This is the only X game to allow this and it makes X2 my favorite game in the series in terms of the item-hunting. You will have to do a few precise exploits, but not only as these exploits fun to perform, but they also feel easier to pull off thanks to the better dash.
Reappraising X2's Soundtrack
- Though while we're on the subject of presentation, I did want to talk just about the soundtrack for a bit. I reviewed all the X soundtracks a while back and was particularly harsh on X2's music, stating it was my least favorite (not counting the SNES version of X3) OST in the X series for its wimpy guitar sounds and short loops. That mostly still applies, but I do think I was a bit too harsh on it as well.
- First off, I said that the melodies weren't complex enough? That's not true in the slightest. If anything, X2 arguably has the most complex compositions out of the SNES games. It definitely feels like composer Yuki Iwai took inspiration from actual rock songs as most of the major themes in X2 have melodies that abruptly shift in tempo and tone, and the drum and bass patterns go absolutely nuts at points. Magma Centipede's theme is a great example, it goes all sorts of places and keeps rising in intensity until its head-banging conclusion. In contrast, Crystal Snail's theme is a lot slower-paced, but it uses bell-sounding chimes, a catchy bass riff, and calm drums to create a really chill atmosphere.
- While I have voiced my complaints about the X2 guitar a lot, I do think I over-exaggerated how bad it sounds. When my favorite Mega Man Zero soundtrack is 4, I probably shouldn't even be complaining because that game's guitar is probably wimpier. X2's guitar can work if you use it well (Flame Stag, X-Hunter Base 1, Song That Might Play When You Fight Sans), and even at its worst, it's nowhere near as grating as X3's overdrive guitar. Not to mention, every other instrument sounds fantastic. The synth is pure SNES bliss, the drums are impressively crisp, and the bass has a real punch to it.
Wire Sponge: A Solid First Stage
- Wire Sponge is the go-to first stage for Mega Man X2. It's fairly easy, the presentation is fairly light and upbeat, it doesn't require any upgrades to get, and beating the boss Buster only isn't that much of a pain.
- It's a really cool stage, though. It's set in a weather control center so throughout the stage, you'll be dealing with various weather effects like rain that pushes you back and sun rays that make the enemies more powerful. It's pretty diverse too, with about half the stage taking place in this artificial-looking exterior area and the other half taking place indoors with more vertical level design.
- It's a fairly open stage too with a few split paths and hidden upper areas. The Heart being obscured behind a foreground column is a bit cruel but at least it's easy to get, but the Sub Tank is incredibly well-placed and requires some satisfyingly tricky wall jumps to get.
- The boss fight against Wire Sponge is also great, and a strong example of how much better the bosses in X2 are, in my opinion. Most of his attacks involve him throwing out grapples to pull himself everywhere, but near the end of the fight, he'll enter a rage form near the end where he starts electrifying himself to make his attacks more powerful. Most Maverick fights in X2 have an attack that they introduce after half health but this is one of the cooler instances of this.
- Not to mention, Wire Sponge's weapon is one of my favorites in an X game. The Strike Chain is basically a hookshot. It's already pretty powerful on enemies and doesn't demand too much ammo, and you can use it to grab items (even if it can be a bit finicky). However, the real clincher is the fact that you can of course use it to grapple onto walls. You can pull off some incredible cuts and tricks with this thing as you'll see in the next stage.
Wheel Gator: Peak Mega Man Exploits
- Wheel Gator's stage has one of the coolest settings for a Mega Man X stage. It's set pretty much entirely inside a giant, moving dinosaur tank, and you can see the city passing by behind you through many of the windows inside. My only gripe is that since the vehicle is constantly moving, the screen vibrates slightly every few seconds which can be pretty hard on the eyes.
- Right off the bat, Wheel Gator has one of the toughest exploits in the game. There's a hole in the ceiling that you're intended to use the air dash to get into to get the Arms Part, but with precise timing, you can use the Strike Chain instead. It's an incredibly tough trick since you need to hold down the attack button while mashing jump to make sure you can hop up the wall once you reach it, but it's immensely satisfying to nail.
- And the reward is well worth it. The Second Armor in X2 is easily one of my favorites in the series as nearly every upgrade feels not just useful but immensely powerful, and even by its standards, the Arms Part really stands out. It allows you to charge up two Charge Shots one after the other. It's an incredible upgrade that allows you to pierce nearly every enemy's defenses and shred through bosses. You can even hold onto the second charge and use it later! The best part is that there are even some shielded enemies placed immediately after for you to try it out on.
- Soon after getting this upgrade, you'll be introduced to the level's main gimmick, which are these platforms that move when you step on them. They're nothing special but they're solid platforming obstacles to figure out.
- And in case this stage couldn't get any better, there's even a fun Ride Armor section that takes place on the underbelly of the mech. The Ride Armor in this game has jetpacks that let you hover for a bit which makes them a lot more fun to use here.
- The second upgrade in Wheel Gator's stage is a Heart perched up on a ledge over some spikes. There are a number of ways you can get it like the air dash, Speed Burner, or a charged Strike Chain but why bother doing all that when there's a perfectly placed enemy that can allow you to damage boost up the spikes. Seriously, this stage has the best exploits.
- Sadly, Wheel Gator's fight isn't quite as strong as the stage. It's got some cool mud effects, but he spends a lot of time hiding and when he does pop out, he mostly just stands around to attack. You can bait him out quickly by hanging around in the mud, but that also makes it easier for him to pop out and grab you.
- Spin Wheel is a ground-based weapon kinda like the Bubble Lead, but it moves quite fast and can absolutely shred through enemies, even the beefier ones. You can even use it to dig through stuff which makes it surprisingly useful for exploration. Sadly, the charged version is kinda just a burst shot making it arguably less useful than its normal version.
Overdrive Ostrich: Pure Adrenaline
- Overdrive Ostrich's stage is cool because it actually lets you pilot the Ride Chaser you saw in the opening. While you don't get to use it for too long, there's actually a decent amount of depth and complexity to its controls. You can press the dash button to boost and launch yourself off ramps, you can dismount in midair to reach higher platforms, you can destroy most enemies with one hit with it, but you also lose it the moment you collide with something.
- The most interesting usage of the Ride Chaser is with the Heart which is placed right above a spike pit in front of a wall of spikes. The only way to get it is to bring the Ride Chaser to the spike pit and essentially play a game of Chicken to nab the heart and quickly turn before you collide with the wall, it's tough but really satsifying to get right.
- This stage also introduces a new collectible in the form of the Zero parts. After Stage 2, you have to consider that there are now three X-Hunters running around across the different stages, and you need to find and beat all of them to retrieve all of Zero's parts and get the best ending.
- In this case, I fought Violen who's a decent enough fight. He swings around a giant mace that can block your shots, so it's very focused on finding an opening.
- As for Overdrive Ostrich's fight, it's also really good! The set-up for the fight where X hitches a ride on a rocket and shoots it out of the sky is super memorable, and the fact that the encounter is set outside is a unique change of pace. Overdrive Ostrich mostly tries to ram you over, but it also mixes in a few projectiles to keep you on your toes. It's a pretty easy fight, definitely intended to be one of the first bosses you face, but it's a fun one too.
- The Sonic Slicer is a pretty solid projectile weapon. The standard shot lets you shoot two at a time at a very light arc, while the charged shot lets you drop five projectiles from above hitting enemies around you. It's also just insanely powerful in general which makes for one of the best weapons in the game.
Bubble Crab: The Joys Of Player Freedom
- Okay, first off, this stage is gorgeous. The calming music combined with that harsh sunset in the opening area immediately helps Bubble Crab's stage stand out visually.
- In terms of just its layout, Bubble Crab is your standard water stage with a lot of open areas and enemies that swim around. Where it excels is definitely the collectibles, since all three of the hidden items in this stage can be collected in a variety of ways.
- First off, there is a fish submarine that swims through the stage. If it reaches the end before you, it will block the door to the X-Hunter, so you gotta get there first. How you accomplish that is entirely up to you. You can try to race it to the end, or you can use everything in your arsenal to destroy the fish sub while staying out of its spotlight. A charged Sonic Slicer is especially useful.
- Speaking of, the X-Hunter that showed up this time was Agile, and he's got quite the fun fight. This dude is fast, he's constantly dashing across the screen and slashing at you which make for a really fast-paced and dynamic fight.
- Anyway, the other two upgrades can also be gotten in a variety of ways as both are placed high up inside a body of water. The general intent is for you to use a charged Bubble Splash to float up, but that would require you to play the stage again. Instead, you can use cleverly placed wall-jumps and a particularly fun exploit that lets you jump higher when you run along a slope to get the upgrades in a single run.
- Bubble Crab's fight is one of the weaker ones in X2, but even it's not too bad. He puts a shield around him that you can deactivate by jumping over him, but he also floods the room with projectiles so you'll need to navigate around them to open Bubble Crab up to being attacked.
- The Bubble Splash is, lo and behold, yet another great weapon. X2 really knocks it out of the park in this department, huh? Its standard shot lets you shoot a continuous stream of damage-dealing bubbles, while the charged variant lets you create a shield of bubbles that also helps you jump higher in water.
Crystal Snail: Good Stage, Bad Bosses
- At this point, you really can just choose between Crystal Snail and Flame Stag. I picked the former because the last X-Hunter was there, and man, he sucks. Serges slides around on his little hovercraft jumping in the air and shooting an absurd amount of projectiles to the point of slowing down the game. On top of that, he even has a shield making him even harder to hit. He's far and away the worst and most frustrating boss in the game.
- Thankfully, Crystal Snail's stage is a lot better. It's quite the complex stage too as you have to guide a Ride Armor through this cavern filled with blocks only it can break along with tight gaps only X can go through. Most of the upgrades require getting the Ride Armor somewhere and it can be a genuinely fun puzzle.
- On top of that, there's also a few collapsing blocks that you often have to run away from, along with slopes that amp up your speed to absurd degrees allowing you to zoom through the stage. There's a lot here, it's really dense.
- The Helmet upgrade you get here is probably the only dud out of the armor upgrades in this game, though. It's just used for finding hidden secrets, which renders it useless once you know where everything is.
- Sadly, Crystal Snail is yet another dud of a boss. I'm noticing how many bosses in this game have invulnerable periods, but Crystal Snail's is the worst for two reason. First, you can't interrupt his invulnerability in any way like with Bubble Crab or Wheel Gator. When Crystal Snail gets in his shell, it's a waiting game. Second, he will purposefully induce slowdown to make the boss fight drag even more. Good thing his health bar is short.
- Crystal Snail's weapon is also not the best, but it's not awful. Despite probably being my least favorite weapon in X2, it still feels like it has a use. You can use it to encase enemies in a crystal to get onto higher platforms which is genuinely really cool and versatile, but its charged variant just inducing slowdown on the enemies is pretty damn useless.
Flame Stag: So Good But So Short
- Flame Stag's stage was always one of the most memorable in the game for one particular moment. Frantically dashing up a volcano as the lava is rising, all the while its hard rock theme wails in the background. They even put an out-of-the-way Heart in there which adds an even stronger level of risk to the whole thing.
- However, when I replayed it, I was surprised at how little of the level this actually was. This whole segment just lasts around 10 seconds, and nothing else in Flame Stag's stage is quite like it. Even more, the stage as a whole is quite short. There's a lot of fun hazards to deal with like those flying beetles, the collapsing pillars, and the flamethrowers in the final climb, but this is easily one of the briskest stages in the game which is a real shame given how fun it is.
- Flame Stag's boss fight is also fantastic, though. It takes place in a large vertical shaft so you have the choice between staying on the ground and dodging his punches and dashes, or fighting him mid wall-jump. Either way, it's a really engaging encounter.
- The Speed Burner is also a fantastic weapon. On its own, it's a pretty powerful fire attack, but charged up, it lets you dash across the screen and really snap the level design in half. Definitely another favorite.
Morph Moth: More Highs And Lows
- Morph Moth has one of the more unique stages in X2, taking place in a junkyard filled with shambling zombie robots. The main gimmick are these ceiling magnets that can attract or repel you, augmenting your jump height, and can even bring it blocks of metal that can block your shots. It's built upon well over the course of the stage too, with the later sections having you do platforming and fight a creepy sub-boss while dealing with the magnets.
- This stage is also absolutely flooded with enemies at points which encouraged me to really start experimenting with my weapons. The Strike Chain can pierce a bunch of weak enemies in a row which I found quite helpful, as was the Spin Wheel's ability to deal continuous damage.
- My biggest criticism here though is that some of the upgrade placements are pretty easy to miss, especially the Body Upgrade which is hidden under normal floor tiles that you need to think to dig through. It's a neat upgrade though, giving you a powerful screen clear called the Giga Crush that refills when you take damage. Sadly, it doesn't work on most bosses, but it's still nice to have, and you also get the defense boost that the body armor in X1 had as a cool bonus.
- Morph Moth has one of my favorite maverick fights in the entire series, as well as the standout fight in X2 alone. The first half of the fight has you fight him in his cocoon as he swings around and shoots debris at you, it's a really hectic and fun fight that forces you to be constantly moving. Then, in an unprecedented twist, Morph Moth leaves his cocoon and starts an entire second phase with an entirely unique moveset where he flies around and shoots dust and lasers at you. There aren't many other Mavericks with two entirely distinct phases like this, and both of them are a ton of fun.
- Morph Moth's weapon, the Silk Shot, is basically the Dust Crusher from Mega Man 4, but its charged variant amps up both the size of your projectile and the amount of debris that can hit enemies making for a decently effective option.
Magna Centipede: The Grand Finale
- Magna Centipede's stage is pretty much intended to be the final stage you visit. It's easily the hardest and most complex of the bunch (immediately made clear by the many shielded enemies scattered throughout), and its hidden collectibles require the most upgrades. It's also arguably the most important Maverick stage in X2 for reasons we'll get to later.
- The first half of the stage has you dodging spotlights in some surprisingly tough arrangements. The spotlights move fast enough that having to play stealthily doesn't drag down the pace of the stage, but the punishment of tanky cannons falling from the ceiling if you get caught encourages you to still try to play it safe.
- One of the upgrades pretty much demands you play perfectly here since you need one of those aforementioned cannons to stay inactive so you can use it to climb up to the Heart Tank. It's a great upgrade, and like many of X2's best ones, you can get it in a variety of ways. Personally, I like to use a charged Speed Burner from a nearby ledge to reach the shaft.
- The Sub Tank is also a bit of a tricky get as you have to use a charged Speed Burner and an air dash back to back to reach it, but it's very satisfying to get the timing right here.
- The second chunk of Magna Centipede's stage has you dodge a ton of giant blocks that try to crush you in erratic patterns. You can totally dash through them if you're skilled enough, but for new players, it's best to play it safe because these blocks can move very fast.
- With this stage's sub-boss, I might as well tackle one of the elephants in the room when it comes to X2. This game came with a special custom chip that allowed the SNES to handle wireframe graphics and sprite rotation without needing the SuperFX chip. So Capcom tried to shoehorn this tech in any way they could. It looks pretty natural in most of the menu effects along with Morph Moth's web, but this stage has you fight a holographic wireframe sword and it kinda looks out of place. It's a decent fight otherwise though and as you need to hit the hilt or else it'll block your shots.
- But wait, the stage just keeps going! Next up is a very fun vertical stealth segment where you have to dodge the spotlights while falling down a shaft, which is then followed up by another memorable section with falling blocks and a crosshair that follows you.
- After yet another sub-boss, you reach the final segment where regardless of your actions, the alarm gets tripped. Now you have to make a frantic chase through cannons, moving blocks, and falling platforms all to get to the boss door. As you can tell, this stage is pretty amazing, cramming in so many fun and unique ideas and bringing it all home for an exciting conclusion.
- As for the boss, it's pretty solid. Magna Centipede's most memorable attack is when he tries to suck you in and force you to lose one of abilities, an interface screw move done right unlike with Crystal Snail. There are ways to get out of it though, like using Silk Shot to blow off his tail, using the air dash to stall for time, or just frantic button-mashing. Aside from that, it's a pretty standard fight but Magna Centipede's cool design and the neat ideas at play make this a pretty memorable one.
- Sadly, his weapon, the Magnet Mine is kinda just okay. It's a slow-moving bomb that you can aim and stick to walls, and the charged version is pretty much the same except it now goes through walls. It has its use as it can destroy certain enemies in one hit and is one of the easiest ways to shoot directly above you, but I just don't find myself gravitating to it much.
X-Hunter Base: ???
- Let's get this out of the way. The X-Hunter Base isn't nearly as strong of a final castle as X1's Sigma Palace, but it's not bad either and has some pretty strong elements.
- First off, X-Hunter Base 1 is a pretty great stage that combines and expands upon a lot of mechanics from the intro stage like the crushing walls and the claws that can grab you. I like how managing to get past the claws can help you get through the level faster and not have to do that slow vertical section with the moving platforms.
- The Violen fight is pretty much just like the first one, though now he adds blocks into the middle of the arena that his ball and chain can bounce off of making it harder to dodge.
- X-Hunter Base 2 isn't quite as standout but it's still a fine enough stage with some neat underwater segments, cramped hallways with a lot of enemies, and a particularly memorable segment where you have to ride a thin platform up a vertical shaft lined with spikes and riddled with flamethrowers to dodge.
- Despite how much I hate his first fight, Serges's second fight is actually really fun. His tank has two phases to take out and you have to spend the entire fight balancing on increasingly few moving platforms. The second phase is pretty easy to cheese though since you can just stand on the same spot and spam charged Sonic Slicers to take him out with little hassle.
- I'm not a huge fan of the first half of X-Hunter Base 3 which has you try to guide one of the platforms from Wheel Gator's stage up a shaft, though parts of it can be skipped by using the Crystal Hunter on the various enemies in the room.
- The second half of this stage, on the other hand, contains the obligatory Street Fighter upgrade, the Shoryuken. Personally, I prefer this to the Hadouken since you don't need to repeatedly die and do some absurdly obtuse shit to get it. Instead, you have to make it through an incredibly difficult alternate path with a lot of tight platforming around spikes that utilizes all your movement abilities to the fullest, so getting it along with the ability to one-shot bosses feels like an actually worthy goal.
- This stage's boss is Agile again and his fight is actually pretty cool as he tries to drop spiked platforms from above. Sadly, this also puts him right within Shoryukening range so I don't actually get to enjoy the fight all that much.
- Finally, there's Stage 4 which is the usual boss rush. The format X1 used is sadly not brought back. However, once again, I tend to prefer the boss rushes in the X games since you're usually able to get a lot more powerful over the course of the game. And if you manage to bring in one of the game-breaking cheat weapons like the Shoryuken, being able to wipe the floor with the bosses feels really fun and cathartic.
The... Weird Final Battle
- The final stage of X2 is... strange. So, story-wise, Sigma shows up at Magna Centipede's stage, which means that the final stage is just a carbon copy of the first half of Magna Centipede's stage. It's such an odd choice because it only ends up feeling like such blatant asset reuse.
- If you aren't able to retrieve all of the Zero parts, you will have to fight Zero in an optional boss fight. Of course, I want to get the good ending so I never actually bothered to fight him. Thankfully, Mega Man X2 still uses the password system so I decided to skip over to the Zero fight and experience it.
- And yeah, it's a pretty good fight. Not quite as flashy or complex as the one in X5 as he only really has two attacks, but they combine well with each other. His three-shot combo forces you to cling onto the wall, but he'll smash the floor and launch debris at you if you hang onto there too long. His shots can also block your shots so having the Arms Parts is an absolute must.
- The Sigma fight is also somewhat polarizing. The first phase has him sport Wolverine claws and dash around trying to slash and you, and it's really fun. Dare I say, it's more fun than the lightsaber phase in his first fight.
- The second phase, on the other hand, has him turn into a holographic head that floats around shooting lasers and dropping enemies. As you can expect, this is another showcase of Capcom's special chip and it feels particularly intrusive and gimmicky here. For some reason, this phase doesn't even tell you how much health Sigma has so I just use the Shoryuken on him to get it over with.
- Mega Man X2's final stage isn't exactly bad, but it feels weirdly anticlimactic. The stage being entirely reused, the Zero fight being so skippable, and the final phase feeling like a gimmicky tech showcase over being an actually threatening final boss. Most of X2 is incredibly strong, so to have it end on such a mediocre note is a bit of a shame.
- But on the bright side, one thing I like about this game's ending is that it hints at Dr Wily a lot more than the previous game did. Between Serges boasting a serious resemblance to the character and Sigma's final lines, it's implied that Zero is one of Dr Wily's last creations which is a very interesting plot thread that the games will at least try to continue expanding upon.
Conclusion
Overall, I've definitely gained a stronger appreciation for Mega Man X2 upon replaying it. In a lot of ways, it's a pretty dramatic improvement over the first game. It's got a stronger boss lineup, more impressive visuals, level design that's about on par with its predecessor, a much faster first stretch, and some of the best weapons and armor upgrades in the series. More than any other X game, X2 in particular just feels really satisfying to get better at. Learning all the tricks, figuring out the X-Hunter's movement patterns, trying different strategies with every playthrough, it feels particularly replayable. It's a Mega Man X game for Mega Man X fans that manages to up the difficulty without feeling like it's going too far like X6 did.
That being said, I still prefer Mega Man X1 overall. X2 just has a lot of little rough edges. The story isn't quite as impactful or memorable, the difficulty feels a bit more uneven at points, the soundtrack obviously isn't as strong, and the finale is a bit of a let-down in some ways. Mega Man X1 is a tough bar to beat though, and I think Mega Man X2 does more than enough to be called a worthy sequel. It absolutely deserves to be remembered more fondly than it is now, and stands as one of the most underrated entries in the franchise.
4.5/5 Stars
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