Vimm's Lair: SNES Reviews - Mega Man X2

Super Nintendo
Mega Man X2

Graphics:
Sound:
Gameplay:
Overall:
8.48
8.39
8.61
8.65
Votes: 69
Reviews: 4


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Reviewer: Teh J Date: Sep 29, 2008
My favorite of the SNES Megaman X games. X2 stands out, because while it has the tight stylings of its predecessor, it expands on them in just about every fashion. It was also the first X game to make use of the new CX4 Chip, which allowed for improved graphic response time and better animation.

The game also featured an enhancement on Megaman X's Ride Armor system, and was the first X game to feature a version of the Ride Chaser (in the form of its prototype, the Mobile Attack Cycle). Paired with it being the sole X game in which literally every weapon in the game is at least somewhat viable, X2 stands quite apart from the other games, even as it wasn't as advanced as X3.

Graphics: 9
The graphics are nothing short of beautiful for an SNES game, and a stunning achievement. Though there are games with better graphics, such as Megaman and Bass (Rockman and Forte as it is also known) on SNES, X2 broke new ground, and its use of the CX4 chip allowed it to make use of exceptionally-animated sprites and wireframe enemies.

Sound: 9
The sound was great, with the same quality SFX from its predecessor. The one drawback is that a lot of X2's music is rather repetitive, a forgivable sin as many of its songs absolutely kick ass.

Gameplay: 10
X2 was a delicate balance. The game was challenging without being too hard, kept you searching for secrets for tangible rewards, and had genuinely useful special weapons you could acquire without having ones that were completely overpowered like MM2's Metal Blade. The game had 2 endings, and a surprisingly good storyline that hinted at things to come in the X Series. To this day, I point at it as a standard upon which all X games must be judged. If I have anything bad to say about X2, it's that its environments are simply not as compelling as X1's, though they are certainly more so than X3's.

Overall: 9
Megaman X2 is a classic, a hallmark in the X Series that was a good example of what the series could achieve. It was technologically brilliant, had a good balance of abilities and weapons, more than a few clever tricks you could perform, and no shortage of challenge (the game gets hard late game, but never "throw controller through wall" difficulty like say, MM2 did in its closing hours).

It's an excellent game, one that deserves to be played, and enjoyed.

 

Reviewer: sethkoopa Date: Apr 29, 2004
I hate to judge games I like, but here I’ll give it a shot...

I’ve always had a soft spot for Mega Man, and Mega Man X was better than I dared hope. So playing X2 the day after I finished the first is, I must say, a bit of a disappointment, though only in the sense that it’s just not as good. Think Mega Man 6 after Mega Man 5.

Graphics: 8
Nothing to complain about here. The graphics are as detailed as ever, and the sprites are very colourful.

Sound: 6
This is where the game is at its worst, in my opinion. I’ll split my views on this into music and effects.

Music: The music’s not bad, but it just pales in comparison with that of X1s and X3s (partially thanks to the some of the tunes’ absence of pattern). It just fails to interest me... with the exceptions of Flame Stag and Wheel Gator’s stages, both of whom have have excellent tunes, and the music when X is battling a boss (not before and after; both are awkward and out of place). So, in summary, the music is okay, but I’ve heard better.

Effects: Whatever happened to the quality of the effects that Mega Man X had? The filling-up of the energy bar sounds like marbles being poured into a jar, annoyingly, and the explosions are disappointing as well. The worst aspect of the game.

Gameplay: 9
This is a very enjoyable game to play, with charming levels, enough challenges to keep you on your toes, and a storyline that's satisfying to witness unfold.
Nevertheless, the boss characters are not quite what I would have expected of a Mega Man game. Half the boss characters I find really imaginative and charming; namely Flame Stag, Morph Moth, Overdrive Ostrich and Wheel Gator. Flame Stag is my favourite, but I find Morph Moth to be one of the most unusual boss battles in Mega Man history. Half of his energy, you fight him as a pupa, then when half his energy is depleted he becomes a moth.
The other half of boss characters; namely Weather Sponge, Magma Centipede, Bubble Crab and Crystal Snail, just fail to charm me (I’ve personally never found a sponge a good idea for a boss character, but to each his own).
Despite this, the gameplay is as good as ever.

Overall: 8
A good game, while not a great game. Very enjoyable and challenging, but simply could have been better.

Mega Man X and X3 are much better, but this one's still worth a look.

 

Reviewer: Kurt Date: Sep 19, 2002
This is the second game in the Megaman X series. As well as new features and upgrades, it features a plot and storyline that can change depending upon what you can and cannot accomplish.

Graphics: 7
Unlike MMX1, some of the graphics, particularly the smaller enemies, were rather cartoony. But most sprites were very detailed and colorful. The animations of the sprites were good, but not as good as the ones in MMX1. I also wondered why X didn't move his mouth when he was speaking. And I don't remember Zero being that tall...
The backgrounds in the stages were very pleasant to look at, especially Overdrive Ostritch's desert stage. And it was actually a little easier to see the backgrounds underwater in Bubble Crab's stage.

Sound: 5
Although a few themes came out ok, most of them were pretty annoying, mainly the X-Hunter stages. I think this is the game that started the scratchy, annoyingly repetitive sound curse for the X games. The themes were mostly scratchy, like the music when you just beat the boss, and the music in Overdrive's stage sounded like the *attempted* guitar was dying rather than playing. For a C4 chip, the music wasn't as great as X1.
The sound effects were still decent, although the energy capsules filling X's life meter back up sounded more like marbles in a jar.
I also didn't like the sounds of the explosions as much...they just didn't sound like they were big enough.

Gameplay: 4
I didn't like the X-Hunters. Trying to get Zero's parts is a MUST if you don't want to be killed and re-killed later on. I swear, there is only one way to beat Zero, and it takes forever to figure it out.
I didn't like playing this one as much, since its pretty easy. The bosses were relatively simple, and the control isn't as great as I hoped it would be. I guess some things are only fun the first time...

Overall: 6
Regaining Zero, mid-air dash, items being fairly easy to get to...these are really the only things I liked.

The music, the bosses being too easy, the X-hunters too hard, and having to fight Zero is a pain. If it weren't for these, I would have liked this game best.

If you like Megaman X, this game is good, just not the best. Even if you find it as annoying as I do, enjoy it, because its better than X3, at least.

 

Reviewer: WingZero_42 Date: Jun 20, 2001
MegamanX2 is yet another MegaMan game by Capcom. I have to say, it is pretty impressive, although not quite as entertaining as X1 or X3. X2 has decent graphics, coupled with really good music. Gameplay is similar to X1, but I find it's a step up in difficulty than its predecessor. Not as many of the weapons are offensive as one would like; Most have limited range or power. This makes planning much more essiental and requires a more accurate shots to nail the enemies at the proper time. Capcom still hasn't screwed up a Megaman game; let's hope it stays that way!