4/5 ★ – BlueSorcerer's review of Mega Man X2.

Mega Man X2 is a perfectly good example of a game where if things aren’t broken, don’t fix them. And while this is mostly the case, some things don’t stack up as well. 6 months have passed since the end of the first game and X and the Maverick Hunters have traced the remaining Mavericks to a factory in hopes of ending the war for good. However, war is not yet quashed as a group known as the X-Hunters emerges with the body parts of Zero, who blew himself up in the last game in an attempt to destroy Vile. Although X still has possession of Zero’s control chip, all of this is fruitless without having Zero’s parts to reassemble him like a LEGO set. So, X sets out to defeat eight new Mavericks, the X-Hunters, and reclaim Zero. But there is more because Sigma is back, meaning that war just became more involved. If there’s one thing that I can give X2 over X1, it’s the presentation. Mega Man X2 is a great looking game and is swimming in such beautiful environments. I love the hazy aesthetic of Wire Sponge’s level, the crystal architecture of Crystal Snail’s level, and the mobile interior of Wheel Gator’s level. The eight main stages and bosses are certainly unique and do lean closer towards the positive side, however I’m not too big on everything here; namely the levels of Crystal Snail, Morph Moth, and Magna Centipede. I’m also not the biggest fan of Wheel Gator, Magna Centipede, and some of the X-Hunters as bosses. As for all the other stages and bosses, they are perfectly fine. But yeah, the stages were a little more of a mixed bag for me this time around. My feelings towards the game’s soundtrack are also similar. There are still some good tracks in here like the prologue theme, Maverick Factory, Crystal Snail, Morph Moth, Magna Centipede, Bubble Crab, Dr. Light’s theme, the X-Hunter Fortress, Zero’s theme, the credits theme, and the staff roll theme. But minus those, a lot of songs sound samey mainly due to the instruments used. The special weapons were perfectly fine too, but not as fun to use as those in X1. By the end of the game, the eight Mavericks and X-Hunters are taken care of, Zero is restored to his former self, and Sigma is defeated for the second time cueing the credits to roll. Overall, Mega Man X2 is a perfectly solid sequel to X1 especially in the visual department. However, it is admittedly more challenging and not as equally great of an experience as that of X1.