Developer: Capcom Publisher: Capcom Release: 01/95 Genre: Action
Despite its release in the middle of the Super Nintendo’s lifespan we all knew Mega Man X would spawn sequels. A Capcom game getting a sequel is as sure as death and taxes. Mega Man X laid down a perfect foundation for the new series and Mega Man X2 builds on it. It loses a few of the smaller touches that made its predecessor special but is still an amazing game overall. It might even be my favorite of the SNES trilogy.
Six months after the death of Zero Mega Man X now leads the Maverick Hunters. Despite their best efforts and the apparent death of Sigma the maverick rebellion continues. X leads an assault on a Reploid factory, unaware that it is merely a distraction by the X-Hunters, a new group of Mavericks bearing Zero’s parts.
The X series is notably more story heavy than the classic games and Mega Man X2 ups the ante in that regard. Sadly the English localization removes many of the references that connect the X series to the classic games. In particular it is directly stated that Zero was created by Dr. Wily before this revelation in X4. Also one of the X hunters, Serges, is implied to be Dr. Wily in a robot body. Much of the intent in the dialogue is preserved but something is definitely lost in translation. The X-Hunters in particular had distinct personalities but the localization loses that. Sad too as later games would build on the revelations in this game.
A Mega Man game is only as good as its bosses and X2 has a decent set. The animal motif continues and the choices here are a bit odd; an ostrich, moth, and stag? But they make up for it with intense fights and excellent level design. The stages are massive, featuring all manner of inventive machinery and traps that keep the game lively. There are secrets everywhere to the point there is a specific item to help find them all. The armor upgrades are similarly fantastic; the X-buster allows two consecutive full power shots and charges your special weapons for interesting effects. The greatest addition is the air dash which really opens up the levels to find secrets.
While the core remains great Mega Man X2 does lose one of my favorite features of the original. Seeing the effect defeating a maverick would have on subsequent levels was awesome. They didn’t always result in direct gameplay changes but seeing Spark Mandrill’s power plant suffering a blackout was cool nonetheless. At least the special animations when using their weaknesses returns. In some cases the effect is dramatic: Magna Centipede loses his invincible shell and Wire Sponge cuts in half at the end of the fight!
The first game proved to be a bit easy, especially once you had gained all of its equipment upgrades. Gathering the armor parts and other upgrades will prove to be a task in itself this time. Many of these items are incredibly well hidden; probably too well in my opinion. One particular upgrade, the X-radar can assist in locating everything but you will have to spam it literally everywhere. Some items such as the chest armor would be impossible to find without a guide otherwise. They hide the heart tanks and sub tanks so well you might give up. There is such a thing as being too clever and they have crossed that line.
Mega Man X2 is a tougher game than its predecessor and I like it. Using a maverick’s weakness is only half the battle. Some of the bosses are incredibly aggressive and have irregular patterns. Without the difficult to find upgrades these battles can be a chore but in a good way. The rematch with each X-Hunter is a true contest of skill in the way that only the best action platformers can accomplish. Even with that I was still able to finish this during a rental back in the day. An extremely tight rental but a rental nonetheless.
With their engine in place Capcom were able to push the presentation forward. Mega Man X2 looks great and is a clear step above the first game. Overall the color palette is far more vivid and richer in detail. Many of its backdrops are three to five layers deep which adds a sense of depth. The main highlight would be the C4 chip. This chip allowed for basic polygonal effects as well as pretty cool sprite animation and rotation. These effects look pretty nice but are not as prevalent as you would expect. Personally the fantastic soundtrack is the true star of the game. This might be my favorite of the X series as it perfectly blends the hard rock of the first game with the slower melodic sounds of the past titles that I really liked.
In Closing
Mega Man X2 is a worthy follow-up to its legendary predecessor and surpasses it in many ways. As it is a sequel it is hard to compete with the iconic status the first game has attained. But that does not matter, a great game is a great game and this is one of the best action games in the Super Nintendo library.
