Mega Man X2 (SNES, 1994)
Graphics-8 Sound-7.5 Control-8.5 Challenge-7* Story-4
Level Design-8 Frustration-7.5 Fun-8 Originality-4
Overall Score-7.5
*With upgrades & correct order
+
Secret items (upgrades for X and energy tanks)
Choose your own level order (replay beaten levels to find items)
Boss affinities (most bosses are easy with the right weapon)
New moves and weapons ('hook shoot', air dash, x-ray, charged up special weapons)
Good variety (though not quite as good as in the prequel)
Faster paced than X1
Great bosses overall (multiple patterns, very little slowdown)
Switch special weapons by the press of a button
Button config available
Start out with dash boots this time
Cool stage themes (junkyard, weather station, alarm fitted base, bike segment)
New mid stage bosses appear after beating two levels (find them to gain Zero's body parts (required?) - these are very tough
Some nice effects (weather, underwater search light, huge intro stage boss), teleport out of beaten stages (pause>exit)
Ride a mech (again)
Interesting physics (freeze enemies to use as platforms, open a black hole which moves slowly and grows larger when enemies fire into it, bounce around Crystal Snails shell on your own head)
+/-
Spikes kill instantly
Can't dash jump off ladders
Respawning enemies (as soon as you scroll the screen out of view of their spawning points)
What was the point of the rocket sequence in Ostrich stage?
No skill involved in getting most items - just use the correct weapon (exceptions are the bike segment, stealth segment and a tricky jump in Wire Sponge's stage)
Some silly looking bosses
Air dash doesn't work on icy slopes
The optional shuryuken (SF2) attack is seriously overpowered
If you collect all three Zero parts then you won't fight him later on (he's easier than any of the bosses you fight for the parts)
The second encounter with bosses plays out in classic NES fashion (teleporter room) instead of being weaved into a stage like in the prequel
The weather effect from beating certain levels (MMX) is gone?
-
Mostly a rehash of old ideas
Some unavoidable hits (Agile boss, volcano upwards vertical part without the right weapon)
Slower scrolling/walking speed than in the NES games
Some trial & error (boss patterns - first boss's glove parts hit you even from the background, enemy shots from off screen, wall squeeze traps in later levels)
Some items are pretty tedious to get (water stage)
Somewhat weak sound effects (with too much low quality reverb)
You'll get tired of mashing the dash button to do running jumps
Long passwords
Some slowdown
No difficulty options
Sigma's stage is recycled from Magna Centipede's stage
Can't disable double shot (it's a bit distracting at times because it makes X stop moving)
Still can't duck (having to charge your beam or pick the correct weapon for small/flat enemies breaks flow)
Can't switch weapons while one of your shots is on screen (can be helped by pausing and switching thus making the shot disappear)
Reuses the annoying "robot with shield" enemy in several stages (breaks flow)
Less memorable music with no sample quality improvement
Wheel Gator is pretty tedious without the right weapon (unless you can trigger a somewhat rare patten of his)
Some poor bosses (Agile's first form is easy to manipulate, same with Bubble Crab, second Serges form (safe spot))
Silly scooby doo-like story which interrupts more often than in the prequel
Mostly lame dialogue (skippable)
Level Design-8 Frustration-7.5 Fun-8 Originality-4
Overall Score-7.5
*With upgrades & correct order
+
Secret items (upgrades for X and energy tanks)
Choose your own level order (replay beaten levels to find items)
Boss affinities (most bosses are easy with the right weapon)
New moves and weapons ('hook shoot', air dash, x-ray, charged up special weapons)
Good variety (though not quite as good as in the prequel)
Faster paced than X1
Great bosses overall (multiple patterns, very little slowdown)
Switch special weapons by the press of a button
Button config available
Start out with dash boots this time
Cool stage themes (junkyard, weather station, alarm fitted base, bike segment)
New mid stage bosses appear after beating two levels (find them to gain Zero's body parts (required?) - these are very tough
Some nice effects (weather, underwater search light, huge intro stage boss), teleport out of beaten stages (pause>exit)
Ride a mech (again)
Interesting physics (freeze enemies to use as platforms, open a black hole which moves slowly and grows larger when enemies fire into it, bounce around Crystal Snails shell on your own head)
+/-
Spikes kill instantly
Can't dash jump off ladders
Respawning enemies (as soon as you scroll the screen out of view of their spawning points)
What was the point of the rocket sequence in Ostrich stage?
No skill involved in getting most items - just use the correct weapon (exceptions are the bike segment, stealth segment and a tricky jump in Wire Sponge's stage)
Some silly looking bosses
Air dash doesn't work on icy slopes
The optional shuryuken (SF2) attack is seriously overpowered
If you collect all three Zero parts then you won't fight him later on (he's easier than any of the bosses you fight for the parts)
The second encounter with bosses plays out in classic NES fashion (teleporter room) instead of being weaved into a stage like in the prequel
The weather effect from beating certain levels (MMX) is gone?
-
Mostly a rehash of old ideas
Some unavoidable hits (Agile boss, volcano upwards vertical part without the right weapon)
Slower scrolling/walking speed than in the NES games
Some trial & error (boss patterns - first boss's glove parts hit you even from the background, enemy shots from off screen, wall squeeze traps in later levels)
Some items are pretty tedious to get (water stage)
Somewhat weak sound effects (with too much low quality reverb)
You'll get tired of mashing the dash button to do running jumps
Long passwords
Some slowdown
No difficulty options
Sigma's stage is recycled from Magna Centipede's stage
Can't disable double shot (it's a bit distracting at times because it makes X stop moving)
Still can't duck (having to charge your beam or pick the correct weapon for small/flat enemies breaks flow)
Can't switch weapons while one of your shots is on screen (can be helped by pausing and switching thus making the shot disappear)
Reuses the annoying "robot with shield" enemy in several stages (breaks flow)
Less memorable music with no sample quality improvement
Wheel Gator is pretty tedious without the right weapon (unless you can trigger a somewhat rare patten of his)
Some poor bosses (Agile's first form is easy to manipulate, same with Bubble Crab, second Serges form (safe spot))
Silly scooby doo-like story which interrupts more often than in the prequel
Mostly lame dialogue (skippable)