more like mega mid x2

What a letdown. Nothing in this game was improved from the first, and while its more challenging, the challenge comes from bullshit gimmicks and enemy spamming (the air dash is great though).
Well, atleast we have the comically bad writing.

Sigma: Wait Zero! I know your secret! You were destined to follow me!
Zero: Maybe so, but I don't like you!

I'd heard the second game in the Rock Man X series was just about as good as the first, but decidedly the lesser of the two, and I found that to be more or less correct. Though the second entry does try to bring a fair bit more to the table, a lot of it is for questionable gain in the end. It took me about 3 hours to beat the Japanese version of the game with the good ending.

The story of this game is quite light, much like the first game was. X has continued fighting the remnants of Sigma's forces after his battle in the last game, and that's led him to his current battle against the "Counter Hunters" (or X-Hunters, as they're known in English), a trio of reploids specifically built to hunt down Maverick Hunters (or rather very specifically X, as their English name implies). They've also taken it upon themselves to try and gather up the parts of the destroyed Zero to try and resurrect him for their own evil purposes, and preventing them from doing that is what will net you the best ending. The Counter Hunters are a neat idea, but the story isn't ultimately any more substantial than the first X game. It sets the stage for the action at hand, and that's all it needs to do.

X2 is very much like X1 in terms of how its set up. You go through eight Maverick stages before going onto the Sigma (who, surprise! ain't really dead) stages, and in those stages are hidden four armor parts to upgrade your abilities as well as heart containers to increase your maximum life amount. There are also hidden rooms that the Counter Hunters will be waiting for you in, if you manage to go there while they're in that particular stage. That's right, they swap the stages they're in every time you return to the map screen. It's an interesting gimmick, but I wouldn't really stay it makes the game any more fun.

The stage design itself is quite solid, but "not quite polished enough" is what a lot of the game sorta feels like. The bosses are all around not quite as good as the first game's (although the last few fights are a little better balanced, I thought), and the X armor isn't really as fun or powerful either. Your upgraded charge is almost outright worse, as the two-step double shot freezes you in place long enough that you'll likely be taking a fair deal of unwanted damage from being unable to move after a charge shot as quickly as you could before. A good deal of the hidden stuff in this game is SUPER hidden, and leaning harder into that almost Metroid-y sort of hidden upgrades is something this game fumbles on a fair bit, with the hidden Counter Hunter rooms only being part of that problem. There are some parts where it's a bit better than the first, like how this game's equivalent of the hadouken is nowhere near as unfindable as the first game's, but that sort of improvement is the exception rather than the rule. It isn't bad by any means, not by a long shot, but it's also decidedly not as good as the first game's design, by and large.

The presentation is quite solid but largely more of the same. The Mavericks and Counter Hunter designs are as cool as could be expected, and the stages are bright and colorful, but the music is overall not so memorable compared to the first game's stellar soundtrack.

Verdict: Recommended. This is a super solid entry in the series, but it is a very safe albeit not nearly as polished followup to the first Rock Man X game. If you enjoyed the first game, you'll almost certainly enjoy this one, but if you didn't like it, this isn't gonna change your mind.

More of the same, and the same is the best around.

1994’s Mega Man X 2 is a fine game. The character designs, music, and settings all live up to the standard that 1993’s Mega Man X pushed the limits to set.

X2 pushes things further by adding new armor parts abilities and three roaming bosses to defeat in exchange for story-related items that slightly changes how the endgame goes. If you don’t beat them, you’re out of luck, so the game demands some pretty slick gameplay.

Unfortunately, you might find that gameplay a little less than slick. Finding the buster parts to upgrade your charged shot gives you a double shot that ignores i-frames and melts through bosses without resetting their ai (this makes Wheel Gator’s fight a breeze compared to using his weakness). The Double Shot is very cool and X does a cool punch animation when he fires the blasts. However, you can’t dash while his charge shot is going, it forces you to stand still. The most iconic thing about the Mega Man X series and X2 denies us constant usage of it. Such a shame.

This doesn’t ruin the game by any means, I’ve played and beaten it multiple times with only a smirk of frustration out of it. It’s just that after X1, my standards are staggeringly high.

Mega Man X 2 is a great time and you should play it just to hear Bubble Crab’s theme.

comeco e meio: caralho que jogo bom cara, e relativamente mais facil do que o X1! To adorando a forma que a temática dos cenários interagem ainda mais com o level design, os bosses serem mais dinamicos e a trilha sonora no mesmo nivel de excelência do primeiro! Caramba por que mais gente não indica ESSE aqui como porta de entrada da saga? a unica coisa que você tem que manjar é a mecânica de dash!

x hunters lair + boss rush dos 8 mavericks + luta do zero + sigma fase 1 e 2: I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

Initially played on the GameCube version of Mega Man X Collection, but never made it far. Later, played on the Switch version of Mega Man X Legacy Collection, collected all upgrades, retrieved Zero's parts, and cleared the game.

I have mixed feelings towards Mega Man X2. Maybe it was due to me finishing it around the same time I graduated college, or maybe because I went in expecting it to be better than X1. Whatever the case may be, I simply feel neutral towards this game—it wasn't bad by any means, and yet I have no intention of playing it again.

Unlike with its predecessor, Mega Man X2's stages aren't affected by clearing others beforehand, so you're allowed a bit more freedom in choosing your path. Unfortunately, in order to collect all the upgrades, five stages at minimum need to be returned to, meaning that there is still an objectively correct route. And if you plan on reviving Zero, you'll also have to deal with the X-Hunters, who randomly occupy different stages in hidden rooms and become accessible should you clear the stage without destroying them. They have weaknesses just like any other boss, but you might not have the right weapon when it comes time to face them. I had hopes X2 would address the linearity issue, but instead, the game's design exacerbates it and cements this flaw as a perpetual trend.

Aside from that, I didn't take much issue with X2. The stages are aptly themed, and the only one I disliked was Overdrive Ostrich's, with its annoying Ride Chaser segment (why did this have to become a reoccurring thing?). The music, while not consistently good as X1's, is catchy and memorable. It's funny how fans of the series bash the later games for reviving Zero or Sigma, but the developers couldn't resist bringing them back immediately following their deaths. (What do you mean Zero's alive again, I watched him disintegrate in my arms, for God's sake!) But in the end, Mega Man X2 demonstrates that no Capcom series is safe from an endless stream of unimaginative sequels. If you were less than impressed with this game, please jump ahead X4 and call it good, otherwise you may be in for a world of disappointment.