Mega Man Xtreme must have sold pretty well because Capcom decided to pump out a sequel less than a year later. Mega Man Xtreme 2 seems to be a fairly polarizing title because depending on where you go, fans either consider it considerably superior or inferior to the original. I went in with somewhat optimistic but tempered expectations because although Xtreme wasn't exactly a good game, you really could only go up from there. Unfortunately, director Koji Okohara and his team at Capcom proved me wrong.

Xtreme 2's story is a bit...odd, to say the least. A group of Mavericks, led by Berkana and Gareth, known as the Soul Erasers is going around erasing the "souls" of innocent reploids and using them to increase their power. Apparently, reploids possess something known as a "DNA soul" which is comparable to a human soul. The weird science-fiction terminology confuses me, and the game, being a portable platformer, never really bothers to take the opportunity to elaborate further. Antagonists Berkana and Gareth aren't given any motivation beyond "we want MOAR POWER" and of course, Sigma was behind it all, intending to use the captured souls to repair himself after the events of Mega Man X3. It's rather odd how X and Zero have no qualms with using captured Maverick souls to create upgrades, despite that being exactly what Berkana and Gareth were doing. I can see Zero feeling indifferent, but X would at the very least question it. The plot is somehow both simplistic and confusing at the same time, but hey, it's a platformer for the Game Boy Color, it's not what I started the game for.

Shino Okamura served as the game's lead designer, and I can't help but wonder what went wrong. The game proposes some interesting ideas, bringing in the shop from Mega Man 4 GB and allowing you to play as Zero, but these are either poorly implemented or simply functional. Playing as X is generally the same as the first game, but Zero is just infuriating. His saber has a very small range and his special weapons all share the same bar, meaning you can only use them once or twice before you're out in totality. Why did they do this? X's special weapons work normally so I don't understand the reasoning here. I criticized the original game for copy-pasting levels from the SNES games, so Capcom decided to create entirely new levels based on the first three SNES games, and in theory, I'd consider this a major improvement. The main issue is that the level design is perhaps some of the worst in the series, filled with instant death traps right offscreen and enough electrified walls to make Mighty No 9 cry like an anime fan on prom night. At most it's acceptable, but at worst it is infuriating. Xtreme 2, similar to the first game, also requires you to complete it multiple times to see everything it has to offer. Normally, you'd pick X or Zero, and you'd play through the game as normal, with the story or special weapons differing, but fundamentally it'd be the same game. However, X only gets to fight the first four bosses and to fight the other four, you have to replay the game as Zero. If you want to fight the true final boss, you have to replay all 8 stages plus the fortress stages. This tedium is why I dropped the game and due to its plethora of game design issues, I do not intend to try it again.

On the contrary, Capcom's art team was firing on all cylinders. The art direction was led by Haruki Suetsugu, who was responsible for all of the original designs. The game impresses from a visual standpoint, with detailed sprite work and fluid animation. Backgrounds are more detailed compared to the original and character portraits are expressive. Berkana and Gareth are cool designs and it's a shame they're not in a better game. The game also does give a good sense that X and Zero are actually working together, as they interact frequently throughout the stages. It still suffers from somewhat garish colors, but most games on the GBC do.

The game's soundtrack was composed by Toshio Kajino and Mitsuhiko Takano, and consists of no original music whatsoever, simply music ripped from the SNES games. However, the music more closely resembles the originals this time around and it serves the game quite well. I do wish they were a little more ambitious, but what's here is good.

Mega Man Xtreme 2 is a game that I went into with optimism but came out with spite. Capcom had every opportunity to turn the framework of Xtreme 1 into a pretty solid platformer, but due to a plethora of questionable game design decisions, it's just a painful chore to play. The story is weak, too, but the visuals and soundtrack are strong. Not recommended, even to Mega Man diehards.

Mega Man Xtreme 2 has to be one of the more ambitious titles in the Game Boy's library, and a top tier game for the system. It's certainly a heck of a lot more complex than the original Xtreme, but that comes at a price. While I think this one's the better game, it is undoubtedly a more flawed experience.

Xtreme 2 seems to push the GB to its limits both in terms of performance and control, so it never comes out as smooth as a home console game. Air dashes can happen when you don't want them to, and to my dismay, they added X3's buster upgrade (which already only half worked in that game and is worse here).

The two campaigns now have you playing as either X or Zero, which is neat both gameplay and story-wise. I'll say that the game feels much more balanced towards X, making Zero feel lacking or unequipped to deal with some challenges, but that may just be me.

Bosses are where it gets the worst. There are some awfully cheap mf that feature the poorest coding you'll see in any MMX game, particularly some end-game bosses. Berkana and Gareth are cool tho, certainly cooler antagonists than Zain and whatever the other guy's name was in Xtreme 1. Most bosses also get new attacks in extreme mode, which I wish were standard in other MMX games, at least for the refights.

While Xtreme 2 has a lot more to offer than the original, I also found it to be a more frustrating experience. Its ambitions are admirable tho, so I'm comfortable rating it highly.