Take the ride chaser to the end of Overdrive Ostrich's stage. You can dash it over the gap, and ride it over the spikes, and turn it around just in time for the back end to touch the heart-tank.
See, what I love about X2 is that the game is wide fucking open - you can play and 100% it nearly any way you like when you fully grasp the mechanics. For example - you don't need the airdash for either of the upgrades in Wheel Gator's stage. You can get the arm part with a well-times and placed jump, or you can use the Strike Chain to pull yourself to the wall. You can use the dinosaur enemy that fires rockets to use s to get up the spike wall to the heart tank. Lots and lots of little tricks like that make the game a blast to play. It's by far the most open game out of any of the games on the SNES. By contrast - I've really come to dislike X3 because progression is so rigid when you're going for 100% and to me the arm part feels like a downgrade because of how it works. X2 is my favorite of the three, bar none.
Inafune said they were going to put in a 4th female X-Hunter and a different form for Violen for the fortress but couldn't because the cartridge didn't have enough space. I wish I could see these especially the 4th X-Hunter. I know they had to have drawn art of it, but that's never surfaced, and you know they had to have at least made the sprites, so she has to be on a computer somewhere out there. This also means she would've gotten a 2nd form and a fortress stage. This space issue also probably explains why the final stage is just Magna Centipede's, and it's weird how the map says that's still the X-Hunter's fortress. Also, what's with the destroyed teleporter we see on the way to the 8-maverick rematch? We've never gotten an explanation for that.
X2 just... feels weird to me. It's mostly the music (that wine that's in most of the tracks can get grating after hearing it for a while) some aspects of the level design, and the main 8 Maverick designs. I can't exactly pinpoint what's up about X2, but it just feels like a noticable step down in quality conpared to X1. ESPECIALLY that last stage.
If you start with Wheel Gator, and then proceed in weapon boss weakness order, the X Hunters' appearances throughout the various stages will align/coincide with that, and you will encounter them without having to further alter your boss order / stage selection route.
If you truly can't wrap your head around the best route for this game, I suggest to watch a video J's Reviews made which talks about how to play megman X2 with the least amount of backtracking. It's probably one of the only megaman X games which can be beaten with zero backtracking, actually ✌️ As for me, I really love this one. On par with X3 and X4 (I think X2-X4 are a tiny bit better than X1 personally). It's just such a comfortable game, with a flexible routing and great level design ideas
my problem with X2 is less structure and more execution...as someone who's successfully completed a minimalist run, boss order and planning aren't really a concern for me, while the platforming is really good, i had more fun with my naked X1 run since those details you mentioned do add up and seem to be more annoying in X2 for whatever reason. while this game's bosses seemed to be trying a slower, more strategic approach, my favorite ones from this game, like Flame Stag, kinda just ignore that, and Violen...UGH...the less said about that piece of scrap the better also i like the music less than X1 and X3
i do know a way to manipulate the X-hunters, but it is quite tedious. All you have to do is revisit a stage you've already beaten, then return to the stage select. Every time you do this, the X-hunters will go to different stages. The only problems is that depending on your luck, it can take a while but it does work.
I have 2 big problems with X2: 1. The music. X1's soundtrack was consistently fantastic, whereas I would merely describe X2's as "good", and I find it distracting I'm not getting the high I did. Music is an important part of a game to me, and I really hate it when I go in a series from a soundtrack I love to one I don't. I want every game to sound that awesome forever. 2. The game doesn't do enough to differentiate/improve itself from X1. It's largely more of the same. Compare going from X1 to this to going from Mega Man 1 to Mega Man 2 or going from Mega Man to Mega Man X. I find it disappointing when sequels don't achieve this.
Well mega man x2 is my favourite part It still has the classic mega man feeling The second armor is the strongest after the fourth armor The bosses are cool The music rocks The levels are hard but exciting And the zero vs x part is way more awesome than sigma battle
Besides X4, X2 has my favourite line up of Mavericks so I will ask one question. What, in your opinion, makes a good fight? For me is these criteria (Thank You Nicky Boy) 1. Pattern/Attack: How good it is, how does it work, is it fair, damage output, etc. 2. Presentation: How good the spritework is (in some cases, animation), how good are the projectiles, htboxes as well how much the attacks fit the boss fight. If Fire Man's attacks were electric based, there's a problem. 3. Creativity: In the foresight, it might seem like a useless criteria but in the hindsight it is an important one. Basically, how unique the boss fight is, how many ways there are to tackle it and some attention to details. 4. Weakness: A good weakness should fulfill 3 criteria, 1. It should make the fight easier 2. But not trivialize it and 3. Should fit the premise of the fight. If a boss's premise is to stay far away, it shouldn't have a weakness that is close ranged. 5. Fun: How much fun I had fighting the boss.
Personally, I tend to like those that are challenging but fair, with patterns you can learn to beat the encounter. I think some of my favorite fights are those that destroyed me when I first attempted them, but eventually became second nature the more I played them. And of course, it needs to be fun. I don't think there's one answer to what makes a good fight, though. Your list is pretty nice and is a bit more comprehensive than what I said.
@@ExploDjinn Basically, after watching Nico Evaluate's channel, more times than I want to admit, I am inspired to make a list similar to his but with X game. Unfortunately, I don't have a computer device (I use mobile device) so that won't happen anytime soon. But If I one day do get time for that I'll make following list. Mavericks, Weapons, Stages, Final Bosses, Final Stages and Miscellaneous Bosses (Like Bit, Byte or Colonel etc.) I do know that Magma Dragoon is at least in Top 5.
What I like is that there are pretty big discussions about the opinions on X2, X3 and especially the games after that(besides X7, that game just sucks objectively). But nearly everyone just agrees that despite a few minor issues, the first game is gold. It's just funny in a conceptual way, because first games are usually not expected to be the biggest classics of the bunch.
I sometimes wonder if the team at Capcom ever got kind of bummed, continuing to put out X games but never being able to capture the lightning in a bottle that was their first entry.
@@ExploDjinn You know? In my honest and humble opinion, they should've either Mega Man X1 as a standalone title or they should've made the the entire X, Zero and ZX series as a different franchise set in the same universe as Classic series.
X2 is my favorite X1 is a close second but I actually like how there is so many different ways to go through the boss order. I only get the Zero parts if it just happens to line up with how I'm playing it so it lead to me adapting my run to how they line up. It's an awesome game and I can't blame anyone for like X1 better but X2 has to be up there for most X fans.
I think that overall, X2 is the best of the SNES trilogy. X1 is great, but the upgrades seem a little basic compared to later games, you don't start with the dash and the game forces you to get the foot parts AND it strongly encourages you to go after chill penguin first. The dash is too central to the gameplay that it feels weird not to have it, and having something influencing your boss route kinda undermines the whole do the stages in any order idea. X3 I also love very much, but that game is significantly less polished than the other two. For those reasons X2 kinda wins by default for me.
X2 is top tier. X1, 2 and 4 are all in that elite class. MMX3 is great but definitely a step below the others I always find criticisms of this game to be so "...eh, who cares?" There is nothing major wrong with the game. I pretty much feel like all your cons to the game were insignificant and off base to begin with. If we nitpick X1 with the same lense we can make that game seem flawed as hell. MMX2 gives you the most freedom for boss order, best music, fun stages, badass mavericks, optional challenge and replayability with the Maverick Hunters and Zero and all. Love it. These criticisms laid out in this video would not be enough to keep me away from any game. a bit nit picky and pedantic dude
X2 is a game that I couldn't play at the time but when the emulation was possible I enjoyed it, and when the Virtual Console came to the Wii and NEW3DS I was able to enjoy the SNES trilogy more Regarding the way the game "forces" you to go, it is not necessary, in the end the bosses are easy to defeat with Buster, if you get the Buster upgrade using the SpongeWire weapon, you literally break the game more since the damage you do with the double shot is insane, to a point that XHunters are also vulnerable to this shot, so in my point of view, it's not bad to go hunt down the XHunters. Besides, the game gives you mechanics so you don't do as much backtracking.
You don't even need Strike Chain if you're willing to tryhard it. The only issue for me is the damn stage graphics shaking, making it hard to judge which pixel I'm jumping from.
Funny. I like X2 better than x1 and x3. It sounds like you don't like X2 because of the randomness element. I have never beat this game without getting the zero parts, and I haven't played this game all the way through since I was 15.
Mega Man X2 is a decent game with okay stages, weak weapons (Besides the speed burner which is the only weapon I use without using it for the boss it's weak to), a okay soundtrack, a great armor, a fine story, and great bosses. As for the X-Hunters, they're one of the main things I don't like about the game. The bosses themselves are pretty easy besides Serges (Or Wily I should say). My problem with them is that they're pretty lame villains with next to no character and that they waste your time. What I mean by that is they usually don't go to the stage that you do next in your order. A little trick you can do is purposely get a game over to have one of them go to the stage that you do next in your order. That and as a side quest, they suck. What they could've done was make it to where if you don't get Zero's parts back, you get the bad ending where X kills black Zero and destroys his body along with his control chip. Which means he can't bring zero back to life. That and they should've done it like how X3 did it where they had mini boss rooms where you would fight one of the X-Hunters. But instead of that, you get a extra boss fight with the exact same ending. Another problem I have is that some of the stages have half cooked ideas like Bubble Crab's where most of the stage is just the Fish mini boss. Or Wire Sponge where the weather effects does next to nothing to affect you or the stage itself in any way. There are stages I like in this game like Crystal Snail because of the slippery slopes are fun to miss around with. I also like Flame Stag's because of the sections where you have to wall jump out of a volcano or where you have to dash across falling flame pillars. Other stages like Morph Moth and Overdrive Ostrich are great with fun set pieces. The mavericks are easy, but fun to fight with just the X buster. Some of them can be time consuming like Wheel Gator or Crystal Snail because they just like to waste your time. Also, you can get the arm parts with the strike chain or with nothing if you're good enough (I can't do the normal X method because it's pretty damn hard to get that way).
Might try your suggestions on my next run. Never really gave much though to the X Hunters' personalities, personally, since most bosses in the series don't get much, but come to think of it, I do feel like I know a lot more about Vile and Dynamo, to name a few, than I do about these three. Shame the Archie comics never got around to them.
My man, you fail to see the awesome power of the almighty Crystal Hunter. You can just dash through frozen enemies and annihilate them. It's just an instant "no" button to most enemies.
Man, I gotta disagree hardcore on the weapons. Crystal is what chill penguins weapon should have been. The wire shot adds a ton of cool platforming aspects to the game in addition to grabbing items. All of the charged power ups are useful and unique. The X hunters do their job just fine given the limitations of games back then. Curious which X you'd place above this other than X1 for being the OG.
@@blainethemono19 the strike chain could've been one of the best weapons in the series if it was done correctly. It could've been Link's Hookshoot from A Link To The Past or the Wire Adapter expect it allows you to shot in more then one direction. As for me, the games I'll place above this are Mega Man X8, Mega Man X5, Mega Man X3, Mega Man X4, and Mega Man X1.
@@superharpuia Thats a pretty interesting take. X5 to me is the worst in the series because it felt so all over the place and the text was annoying. X3 I want to love so much but the level designs were just empty, tho I see why some people like it. Just shows you different strokes for different folks.
I HATE X2. The entire game, from bosses to levels and story, feels rushed and half finished. Getting through it is more like work, or like a chore. The music grates on my ears and I have to turn it off after a few minutes..... turning OFF the music in a Megaman game! Got 100% once, never gonna finish the game again.
Take the ride chaser to the end of Overdrive Ostrich's stage. You can dash it over the gap, and ride it over the spikes, and turn it around just in time for the back end to touch the heart-tank.
See, what I love about X2 is that the game is wide fucking open - you can play and 100% it nearly any way you like when you fully grasp the mechanics.
For example - you don't need the airdash for either of the upgrades in Wheel Gator's stage. You can get the arm part with a well-times and placed jump, or you can use the Strike Chain to pull yourself to the wall. You can use the dinosaur enemy that fires rockets to use s to get up the spike wall to the heart tank.
Lots and lots of little tricks like that make the game a blast to play. It's by far the most open game out of any of the games on the SNES. By contrast - I've really come to dislike X3 because progression is so rigid when you're going for 100% and to me the arm part feels like a downgrade because of how it works. X2 is my favorite of the three, bar none.
100% agree
Inafune said they were going to put in a 4th female X-Hunter and a different form for Violen for the fortress but couldn't because the cartridge didn't have enough space. I wish I could see these especially the 4th X-Hunter. I know they had to have drawn art of it, but that's never surfaced, and you know they had to have at least made the sprites, so she has to be on a computer somewhere out there. This also means she would've gotten a 2nd form and a fortress stage. This space issue also probably explains why the final stage is just Magna Centipede's, and it's weird how the map says that's still the X-Hunter's fortress.
Also, what's with the destroyed teleporter we see on the way to the 8-maverick rematch? We've never gotten an explanation for that.
X2 just... feels weird to me. It's mostly the music (that wine that's in most of the tracks can get grating after hearing it for a while) some aspects of the level design, and the main 8 Maverick designs.
I can't exactly pinpoint what's up about X2, but it just feels like a noticable step down in quality conpared to X1. ESPECIALLY that last stage.
If you start with Wheel Gator, and then proceed in weapon boss weakness order, the X Hunters' appearances throughout the various stages will align/coincide with that, and you will encounter them without having to further alter your boss order / stage selection route.
If you truly can't wrap your head around the best route for this game, I suggest to watch a video J's Reviews made which talks about how to play megman X2 with the least amount of backtracking. It's probably one of the only megaman X games which can be beaten with zero backtracking, actually ✌️
As for me, I really love this one. On par with X3 and X4 (I think X2-X4 are a tiny bit better than X1 personally). It's just such a comfortable game, with a flexible routing and great level design ideas
Ride Armor always reminded me of Magitek armor and that's alright with me.
my problem with X2 is less structure and more execution...as someone who's successfully completed a minimalist run, boss order and planning aren't really a concern for me, while the platforming is really good, i had more fun with my naked X1 run since those details you mentioned do add up and seem to be more annoying in X2 for whatever reason. while this game's bosses seemed to be trying a slower, more strategic approach, my favorite ones from this game, like Flame Stag, kinda just ignore that, and Violen...UGH...the less said about that piece of scrap the better
also i like the music less than X1 and X3
Constantly wonder if I'm supposed to be able to read the trajectory of that guy's attack.
Violen is the biggest pain the ass in a minimalist X2 run, I swear most of the time the only way to beat him is to get lucky.
@@MentallyIdiotic something i know from experience
i do know a way to manipulate the X-hunters, but it is quite tedious. All you have to do is revisit a stage you've already beaten, then return to the stage select. Every time you do this, the X-hunters will go to different stages. The only problems is that depending on your luck, it can take a while but it does work.
I have 2 big problems with X2:
1. The music. X1's soundtrack was consistently fantastic, whereas I would merely describe X2's as "good", and I find it distracting I'm not getting the high I did. Music is an important part of a game to me, and I really hate it when I go in a series from a soundtrack I love to one I don't. I want every game to sound that awesome forever.
2. The game doesn't do enough to differentiate/improve itself from X1. It's largely more of the same. Compare going from X1 to this to going from Mega Man 1 to Mega Man 2 or going from Mega Man to Mega Man X. I find it disappointing when sequels don't achieve this.
Well mega man x2 is my favourite part
It still has the classic mega man feeling
The second armor is the strongest after the fourth armor
The bosses are cool
The music rocks
The levels are hard but exciting
And the zero vs x part is way more awesome than sigma battle
Besides X4, X2 has my favourite line up of Mavericks so I will ask one question.
What, in your opinion, makes a good fight?
For me is these criteria (Thank You Nicky Boy)
1. Pattern/Attack: How good it is, how does it work, is it fair, damage output, etc.
2. Presentation: How good the spritework is (in some cases, animation), how good are the projectiles, htboxes as well how much the attacks fit the boss fight. If Fire Man's attacks were electric based, there's a problem.
3. Creativity: In the foresight, it might seem like a useless criteria but in the hindsight it is an important one. Basically, how unique the boss fight is, how many ways there are to tackle it and some attention to details.
4. Weakness: A good weakness should fulfill 3 criteria, 1. It should make the fight easier 2. But not trivialize it and 3. Should fit the premise of the fight. If a boss's premise is to stay far away, it shouldn't have a weakness that is close ranged.
5. Fun: How much fun I had fighting the boss.
Personally, I tend to like those that are challenging but fair, with patterns you can learn to beat the encounter. I think some of my favorite fights are those that destroyed me when I first attempted them, but eventually became second nature the more I played them. And of course, it needs to be fun. I don't think there's one answer to what makes a good fight, though. Your list is pretty nice and is a bit more comprehensive than what I said.
@@ExploDjinn Basically, after watching Nico Evaluate's channel, more times than I want to admit, I am inspired to make a list similar to his but with X game. Unfortunately, I don't have a computer device (I use mobile device) so that won't happen anytime soon. But If I one day do get time for that I'll make following list.
Mavericks, Weapons, Stages, Final Bosses, Final Stages and Miscellaneous Bosses (Like Bit, Byte or Colonel etc.)
I do know that Magma Dragoon is at least in Top 5.
What I like is that there are pretty big discussions about the opinions on X2, X3 and especially the games after that(besides X7, that game just sucks objectively). But nearly everyone just agrees that despite a few minor issues, the first game is gold. It's just funny in a conceptual way, because first games are usually not expected to be the biggest classics of the bunch.
I sometimes wonder if the team at Capcom ever got kind of bummed, continuing to put out X games but never being able to capture the lightning in a bottle that was their first entry.
@@ExploDjinn You know? In my honest and humble opinion, they should've either Mega Man X1 as a standalone title or they should've made the the entire X, Zero and ZX series as a different franchise set in the same universe as Classic series.
X2 is my favorite X1 is a close second but I actually like how there is so many different ways to go through the boss order. I only get the Zero parts if it just happens to line up with how I'm playing it so it lead to me adapting my run to how they line up. It's an awesome game and I can't blame anyone for like X1 better but X2 has to be up there for most X fans.
I remember x2 and x3 being very rare and expensive back in the day… Was that true?
An old Funcoland listing has X1 at 9.99, X2 at 29.99, and X3 at 49.99, so it does seem like they got progressively rarer.
@@ExploDjinn well that snot all that expensive to me.. i remember x3 being like $300 in year 2000
I think that overall, X2 is the best of the SNES trilogy. X1 is great, but the upgrades seem a little basic compared to later games, you don't start with the dash and the game forces you to get the foot parts AND it strongly encourages you to go after chill penguin first. The dash is too central to the gameplay that it feels weird not to have it, and having something influencing your boss route kinda undermines the whole do the stages in any order idea.
X3 I also love very much, but that game is significantly less polished than the other two. For those reasons X2 kinda wins by default for me.
X2 is top tier. X1, 2 and 4 are all in that elite class. MMX3 is great but definitely a step below the others
I always find criticisms of this game to be so "...eh, who cares?" There is nothing major wrong with the game. I pretty much feel like all your cons to the game were insignificant and off base to begin with. If we nitpick X1 with the same lense we can make that game seem flawed as hell. MMX2 gives you the most freedom for boss order, best music, fun stages, badass mavericks, optional challenge and replayability with the Maverick Hunters and Zero and all. Love it. These criticisms laid out in this video would not be enough to keep me away from any game. a bit nit picky and pedantic dude
X2 is a game that I couldn't play at the time but when the emulation was possible I enjoyed it, and when the Virtual Console came to the Wii and NEW3DS I was able to enjoy the SNES trilogy more
Regarding the way the game "forces" you to go, it is not necessary, in the end the bosses are easy to defeat with Buster, if you get the Buster upgrade using the SpongeWire weapon, you literally break the game more since the damage you do with the double shot is insane, to a point that XHunters are also vulnerable to this shot, so in my point of view, it's not bad to go hunt down the XHunters. Besides, the game gives you mechanics so you don't do as much backtracking.
Admittedly, I likely am letting the game psych me out a bit too much.
You don't even need Strike Chain if you're willing to tryhard it.
The only issue for me is the damn stage graphics shaking, making it hard to judge which pixel I'm jumping from.
yeah, X2 gives you the biggest variety to boss paths. X1 and 3 are a bit more rigid especially when it comes to getting armor pieces and hearts
Funny. I like X2 better than x1 and x3. It sounds like you don't like X2 because of the randomness element. I have never beat this game without getting the zero parts, and I haven't played this game all the way through since I was 15.
Mega Man X2 is a decent game with okay stages, weak weapons (Besides the speed burner which is the only weapon I use without using it for the boss it's weak to), a okay soundtrack, a great armor, a fine story, and great bosses. As for the X-Hunters, they're one of the main things I don't like about the game. The bosses themselves are pretty easy besides Serges (Or Wily I should say). My problem with them is that they're pretty lame villains with next to no character and that they waste your time. What I mean by that is they usually don't go to the stage that you do next in your order. A little trick you can do is purposely get a game over to have one of them go to the stage that you do next in your order. That and as a side quest, they suck. What they could've done was make it to where if you don't get Zero's parts back, you get the bad ending where X kills black Zero and destroys his body along with his control chip. Which means he can't bring zero back to life. That and they should've done it like how X3 did it where they had mini boss rooms where you would fight one of the X-Hunters. But instead of that, you get a extra boss fight with the exact same ending. Another problem I have is that some of the stages have half cooked ideas like Bubble Crab's where most of the stage is just the Fish mini boss. Or Wire Sponge where the weather effects does next to nothing to affect you or the stage itself in any way. There are stages I like in this game like Crystal Snail because of the slippery slopes are fun to miss around with. I also like Flame Stag's because of the sections where you have to wall jump out of a volcano or where you have to dash across falling flame pillars. Other stages like Morph Moth and Overdrive Ostrich are great with fun set pieces. The mavericks are easy, but fun to fight with just the X buster. Some of them can be time consuming like Wheel Gator or Crystal Snail because they just like to waste your time. Also, you can get the arm parts with the strike chain or with nothing if you're good enough (I can't do the normal X method because it's pretty damn hard to get that way).
Might try your suggestions on my next run. Never really gave much though to the X Hunters' personalities, personally, since most bosses in the series don't get much, but come to think of it, I do feel like I know a lot more about Vile and Dynamo, to name a few, than I do about these three. Shame the Archie comics never got around to them.
My man, you fail to see the awesome power of the almighty Crystal Hunter. You can just dash through frozen enemies and annihilate them. It's just an instant "no" button to most enemies.
Man, I gotta disagree hardcore on the weapons. Crystal is what chill penguins weapon should have been. The wire shot adds a ton of cool platforming aspects to the game in addition to grabbing items. All of the charged power ups are useful and unique. The X hunters do their job just fine given the limitations of games back then. Curious which X you'd place above this other than X1 for being the OG.
@@blainethemono19 the strike chain could've been one of the best weapons in the series if it was done correctly. It could've been Link's Hookshoot from A Link To The Past or the Wire Adapter expect it allows you to shot in more then one direction. As for me, the games I'll place above this are Mega Man X8, Mega Man X5, Mega Man X3, Mega Man X4, and Mega Man X1.
@@superharpuia Thats a pretty interesting take. X5 to me is the worst in the series because it felt so all over the place and the text was annoying. X3 I want to love so much but the level designs were just empty, tho I see why some people like it. Just shows you different strokes for different folks.
I HATE X2. The entire game, from bosses to levels and story, feels rushed and half finished. Getting through it is more like work, or like a chore. The music grates on my ears and I have to turn it off after a few minutes..... turning OFF the music in a Megaman game! Got 100% once, never gonna finish the game again.