Mega Man X2

"Good in parts, but overall little more than a substandard sequel"

I don't know about you, but whenever I play Mega Man X2, I get this persistent, nagging thought in the back of my head saying 'unfinished'. Somehow, X2 feels like a less polished and characteristic game than X1. That's not to say that it doesn't have it's good points, because it does. It does have two great Mavericks and some good music and imaginative stages. That was a cruelly short list but X2 isn't going to repeat what Mega Man 2 did in surpassing the original.

Those who have played the original X will feel right at home with this one. The control system is exactly the same, and this time you don't have to find Dr Light's capsules in order to be able to dash. You will, however, have to search for his capsules in order to air-dash, as well as hearts and E-tanks in order to stand a chance against the foes ahead.

The graphics don't seem to have taken any obvious dips - if anything, there are a few nice touches. The detail-demanding levels through which X battles are beautiful. My favourite level is the Dinosaur Tank; a gigantic machine exactly as its title suggests, laying waste to the city in its path. A wonderful touch is how, the longer you take to play the level, the more daytime passes, until eventually it's nighttime. There are other good graphical features, such as semi-static for the Maverick screens. The Mavericks are very well rendered; whether they're beautiful and charming characters is another story.

Sadly, the characters and character design is a major step down from X1, and in a franchise as dependant on its bosses for character as Mega Man, this is bad news. Instead of the big mammals/vertebrates of the first game, it seems that gastropods and similar life forms became the new fashion. Only Wheel Gator, Overdrive Ostrich and Flame Stag really justify their existence as Mavericks; the rest range from crabs to centipedes to moths and even a sponge, and they are bland and forgettable. Wheel Gator is probably the unofficial star of the game, firing spinning spiky wheels at X from underneath a pool of sludge. Not to mention is he a pleasing character to behold. The same can be said about Flame Stag (the beauty, not the sludge). A Maverick needs to be a good character, not just to have a gimmick (which is about the only thing the rest have going for them), to register. Both X1 and X3 have stronger Maverick casts overall than this game and it's a serious slip in their quality.

There's a fine line between 'gimmick' and 'characteristic'. Overdrive Ostrich has probably the game's most unusual and memorable battle, which takes place out in the desert. No matter how far you run over the sandy hills, you never meet a barrier. Should you stray too far away from your foe, he will be shown running far in the background and then jump toward you, and you better dash away to escape heavy damage. Flame Stag's battle takes place in a shaft, which makes him hard to hit and even harder to dodge, especially when you consider that he spends most of the battle jumping from wall to wall. Insert Wheel Gator's battle that I mentioned earlier. Morph Moth's battle is almost as unusual as Overdrive Ostrich's, in that you fight a larva for half the battle, then the moth himself in the latter half, whose dangerous attacks are hard to dodge. X2 is fun and enjoyable in its own way.

The story brings another element to light. While X and the rest of the Maverick hunters are tracking the last resistance Maverick group to an abandoned Reploid factory, a group of three Mavericks calling themselves the "X-Hunters" plan to get revenge on X for destroying Sigma, and to rebuild Zero. After a few levels, you can go to certain levels and - by straying from the path a bit - battle one of these X-Hunters. Some of them are quite tough indeed, like Serge. They will be even more so when you meet them later in the game, however. You have to be careful to fight them as soon as you can, to get Zero's parts, if you want to avoid battling Zero later in the game. You heard that right, you'll actually fight against him.

No offense to Yuki Iwai but this is probably the most bizarre Mega Man soundtrack I've ever heard. Many tunes have unusual or even difficult rhythms to follow, making it hard to hum along to them even if they sound good in theory. A few of them are top-notch, however, in particular Wheel Gator's violent and high-charged, wailing guitar-techno track. Flame Stag's guitar-heavy track also wins me over. Even Wire Sponge's Weather Control Stage has an oddly haunting sound, and Crystal Snail's plinky-plonky guitar number is quite infectious. The rest, however, just aren't that memorable, if not downright irritating, especially the two quite putrid tunes before and after (not during) a boss. Something about the soundtrack sounds kind of off-putting, if oddly fascinating. Much like the game itself. The X-Hunter boss battle tune is quite hilarious, let's leave it at that, and again with that renegade rhythm. The sound effects are quite ear-grating, too, including the powered-up shot (not the charge) and especially the marbles-meet-glass sound as an energy bar is filled up.

After you beat the Mavericks and have beaten the X-Hunters a second time round (that is, if you faced against them earlier), you of course catch up with their leader. X2's final boss battle is deservedly one of its most recognisable traits, where you fight Sigma in the form of a virus head, spewing enemies (useful for energy) and other attacks. He has no energy bar in this form, but he will change colour and eventually tactic after several hits. One of the last and most dangerous is a possessing attack which can deliver big amounts of damage on you.. I'll give the game extra points for this battle, which is quite memorable (and the music doesn't spoil matters).

Mega Man X2 is not a bad game at all; in fact, it can be enjoyable. It all comes down to character and replayability. Mega Man X2 doesn't entice me to play it again as much as X1 or even X3. I can play a couple of levels – Wheel Gator and Flame Stag – but I won't go finishing the game often. It lacks something... Namely that character and personality so shining throughout the predecessor and most of the follow-up. X2 is a step down, but as far as steps down go, it could have been worse; at least it's enjoyable.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 07/20/09

Game Release: Mega Man X2 (US, 1994)