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.
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.