Retro spotlight: Mega Man X2

A game that manages to exceed its predecessor while also trailing behind it, depending on what you're focusing on.

This column is “Retro spotlight,” which exists mostly so I can write about whatever game I feel like even if it doesn’t fit into one of the other topics you find in this newsletter. Previous entries in this series can be found through this link.

Mega Man X was something of a reset for Capcom, as they got to move away from what was expected in a Mega Man game by creating a spin-off series with its own time frame and rules. No longer was Dr. Wily a menace, and Dr. Light, the creator of both Mega Man and his successor, X, could now only be found in recordings kept in capsules throughout the game world. X had powers that his predecessor did not, as well as a new fight and new foes — not only were the likes of Sigma and Vile introduced to the series, but all of the robot masters were now animal-themed instead of just [Power] Man — and, of course, there were new friends like Zero.

So it’s no surprise that Capcom did not simply sit back and do Mega Man X a second time with Mega Man X2: there were additional changes made to the formula. Some of these would work well out of the gate, others were in need of further tweaking (and in some cases, would receive that tweaking in later installments). All in all, I’m not convinced it’s a better game than Mega Man X, but X2 at least plays fairly differently, making enough changes to what is very much The Mega Man Formula to stand out and be worth revisiting for reasons other than just being a completionist.

Here’s what’s different between X and X2. For one, you have the eight robot masters as per usual, but you don’t necessarily approach them the way you always have in Mega Man games. Which is to say, picking one to face off against with your standard X-Buster arm cannon, then utilizing the power you won from your victory against the robot weak against it, and so on down the line. That still is a thing you do, but you need to be a little more calculating, and willing to deviate from the process, if you want the true ending and optimal play path that doesn’t see you having to face off against your old pal, Zero.

Image credit: MobyGames

Zero sacrificed himself in Mega Man X to destroy Vile’s powerful ride armor, leaving Vile vulnerable to X’s attacks. In X2, three mysterious reploids — a portmanteau of “replica” and “android” — calling themselves the X-Hunters phoned up X to let him know they have Zero’s body parts, and are going to put him back together and make him a problem for X should he fail to meet them in battle. After you’ve defeated two robot masters, these three will begin to move around the map to the various levels, and you’ll fight them as midbosses should you select a stage where one resides. These X-Hunters have their own strengths and weaknesses to consider, which means you’re going to want to have the proper powers to take them down just like any other reploid you fight.

And on top of that strategy, you’re going to need to consider the fact that, should you ignore taking on these X-Hunters for too long, they’ll simply vanish from the map, one at a time — meaning you won’t be able to recover Zero’s body parts, which also means you won’t be the one reviving your very powerful friend who could easily be programmed to be your foe. It makes for both a happier ending and more prudent decision making to attempt to recover all of Zero’s body parts and revive him yourself. Luckily, you can still exit out of a stage if you’ve already completed it, so revisiting just for finding upgrades or taking on X-Hunters in stages you’ve already defeated the master of isn’t too much of an ask, and if you defeat an X-Hunter but fail to then complete the level before suffering a game over, don’t worry: in older versions of the game, your password will still reflect the progress you’ve made, and in the various Mega Man X collections, you’ll be able to save your progress without the use of a password, and continue on with the X-Hunter defeated, even if the stage itself remains incomplete.

This whole deal manages to be both intriguing and a neat change to the standard formula, as well as kind of a pain in the ass at times. There is no real warning that the X-Hunters will vanish if you wait too long to challenge them, and it’s harder to know what power will make fighting them easier — and even more difficult to set things up so that you’ve managed to both secure that power and not have tarried too long to be able to utilize it. You can figure it all out with practice (or by looking up an online guide, given this is 2022 and not 1995), but the game is a little more punishing for first-time players than its predecessor was.

There are some notable graphical tricks within Mega Man X2 thanks to the use of the Cx4 chip, which was Capcom’s proprietary cartridge-enhancing chip that allowed for wireframe 3D effects. A couple of the bosses you face — including the final computer virus version of Sigma — are presented as 3D wireframe objects. These graphics maybe aren’t as impressive all these years later, but if you have enough familiarity with SNES titles, you’ll easily recognize what the Cx4 ship allowed Capcom to do that otherwise they would not have been able to pull off.

The designs of the X-Hunters are all memorable, which makes sense, as they were all created as aspects of what would become Sigma’s look from Mega Man X, and then further fleshed out into their own characters for the sequel. The robot masters from each stage are a little less notable than those of its predecessor, but it’s also possible that part of this is just an internal bias: I’ve played Mega Man X2 a few times in my life and enjoyed it each time, but I’ve probably played Mega Man X more in the past couple of years than I’ve played X2 since its original release. Part of that might be that the powers aren’t quite as fun to use just around in levels, whenever you feel like it: they have their clear uses, for reaching certain upgrades or defeating the reploids weak to them, but the X-Buster is more than enough in most cases otherwise. Especially once you get the upgraded version that lets you charge a pair of big blasts rather than just the one.

The level design feels a little too safe at times, maybe as compensation for the complexity of the stage selection process — you can feel pretty overpowered pretty early, after some initial problems getting used to just how little health X has prior to the upgrades. It’s all good, but it’s a rung below what the original X presented you, and the major set pieces aren’t as memorable, either — there’s no Storm Eagle stage here, for instance, and nothing as shocking as what Spark Mandrill’s stage looks like after Storm Eagle’s aircraft crashes into it, which is disappointing considering how much returning to completed levels is a part of X2’s process. Graphically, though, there are still impressive bits outside of the Cx4 3D effects, like how much action is going on in the background at times while you’re in the foreground, especially in stages with quick movements or parallax scrolling in play. (Though, I could do without the weird screen-shaking blurriness in Wheel Gator’s mobile stage that’s meant to evoke how you’re traveling inside of an enormous, moving vehicle — it’s more an impediment to your vision than a working effect.)

Similarly, the soundtrack is still really good, but it’s following up one of Capcom’s best efforts: this is what I mean when I say that Mega Man X2 is notably better than X in some ways, but also obviously worse in others. The changes made to the formula are good enough to make X2 worth a play and a worthy successor, but there’s a reason I’ve gone to it less often than the original over the years when I get the Mega Man itch, despite having roughly as many opportunities to play the first sequel.

With all of that being said, it’s good that Mega Man X2 found a way to bring Zero back into the series that involved player choice and the need for strategy, and not just “hey we rebuilt your dead friend in the six months in between these stories” — otherwise, I think it would have diminished what successful narrative design existed within the original X title. Zero’s sacrifice was real, showing both the importance of the mission as well as allowing for X to step into the role he was destined for, and to have anyone besides the player be in charge of his return in the followup would have been a disappointment. And the further emphasis on story is also welcome: X’s shift away from telling the story in the instruction booklet, and instead letting the game fill you in on what was happening and progress the story itself, was a welcome change, and X2 continued that push by adding in the intrigue of the X-Hunters and the return of Sigma, who delivered on his promise of sticking around despite losing his body in the first game.

X2 has its issues, and they’ve been laid out here, but they aren’t gamebreaking by any means. They’re just the kind of things you point out when you have to compare a sequel to a classic original: X was such a stellar change of pace for the Mega Man series because it had to be in order to break free from that, and X2 didn’t have to be nearly as ambitious. It had the foundation of X to build on, however, and did so successfully, even if it wasn’t quite as groundbreaking or vital in the end.

Which is a fancy way of saying X2 is still fun to play today, and you can do pretty easily, even, thanks to the Mega Man X Legacy Collection. Or Collections, I should say, since Capcom has split them up into two parts: the $20 digital title Mega Man X Legacy Collection, which includes the three SNES titles (X, X2, and X3) as well as Mega Man X4, which released on the Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation in 1997. Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 (also $20 and digital) includes the rest of the main series titles, concluding with 2004’s Mega Man X8 for the Playstation 2. These collections are regularly on sale, and usually heavily so — don’t fret if you don’t want to pay $40 to get them all, just wait until you don’t have to.

These collections are available on all of the primary console platforms — Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Windows, as well as backwards-compatible on PS5 and Series X|S. And you can grab X2 by itself on the Nintendo 3DS eShop for $8 until that closes down. Though, given the pricing on that compared to the collections, and the quality-of-life changes to the game made for the collections, why would you if you had an option otherwise?

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