Mega Man X2

About This Game

Gameplay

Mega Man X2 is an action-platform game in the same fashion as the first Mega Man X and the original Mega Man series. The player takes on the role of the titular character X, who must traverse and clear a series of eight, side-scrolling stages in the order of the player's choosing. The protagonist's initial abilities include running, jumping, scaling walls, dashing forward to make longer jumps, and firing his chargeable "X-Buster" arm cannon. Unlike Mega Man X, the dash is a permanent ability at the start of the game, instead of being an armor upgrade found in a capsule. The player must contend with countless robotic enemies and several platforming hazards such as bottomless pits, deadly spikes, and rising lava. Along the way, the player can pick up extra lives and items that restore health and weapon power. Each stage contains one main boss at the end; defeating the stage's boss will earn the player a special weapon that can be quickly switched to and used in any remaining levels. Every boss is weak to another's weapon, so the player may strategize the order in which the stages are completed. Mega Man X2 features a number of extra gameplay elements.

History

Mega Man X2 was developed by a team at Capcom, which included artists Hayato Kaji and Keiji Inafune, as well as designers Sho Tsuge, and Yoshihisa Tsuda. A majority of the people who worked on Mega Man X2 had either been heavily involved with the development of the first Mega Man X or were completely new to the franchise. Inafune was "hands-off" with the art design in Mega Man X2. He instead began focusing more on planning, producing, and story writing for the newer series beginning with this title. According to Tsuda, it was Inafune's decision to bring Zero back to life in Mega Man X2 simply because he thought it would be "a shame" to keep him dead.