Plot. Six months and thirteen days have passed since X defeated Sigma and his Maverick Army. X assumes leadership of the Maverick Hunters, but despite the death of Sigma, the Maverick rebellion continues. X has tracked down the remnants of the Mavericks in an abandoned factory, they succeed in their mission, but this does not end the war. Meanwhile, three Mavericks named Agile, Serges, and Violen, also known as the X-Hunters, have established a Maverick base in the North Pole. The X-Hunters contact X and taunt him with Zero's body parts, which they have split in three pieces, in order to lure X out, hoping to destroy him once and for all.
Concept. The game is comprised of 15 different stages. Players start at a factory where the story begins, then they fight against eight different bosses in the game. When two Mavericks are defeated, the X-Hunters appear, and they randomly head to any stage. If players beat the stage without defeating the X-Hunters they lose the opportunity to obtain a body part of Zero. But if they beat an X-Hunter they obtain a part. When Zero's part are obtained, Sigma appears with a black armored fake Zero, but if not obtained, then the real Zero will fight X.
Design. The game is rendered in 2D, and has the same graphic aspects of the first game. Capcom included an in-cart enhancement known as the Cx4 chip to improve semitransparencies and allow use for some 3D effects in the game. The game is also praised for it's amazing soundtrack.
Rantings. What I dislike about this game is fighting X-Hunters Serges and Violen. Agile was easily predictable, but Serges and Violen were an annoyance. What Serges does is drop landmines and when you shoot him, he activates a force field which block attacks. I hated when he jumped and and spun around, shooting beams all around the room. Violen was a pain when he attacked with his massive spiked-ball with a chain. The stage that I hated was the Crystal Snail, because getting the health upgrade was a staggering challenge, in which you had to use Ride Armor, and make a dash jump through a long precipice, sometimes despite getting off, and jumping to the edge, you think you're that close, but wrong, you fall. The other boss battle I hated was against Wheel Gator, he got under the oil, and his Spin Wheel came out, then he unexpectedly came out and ate you up, draining energy.
Good Aspect. The game is very good in terms of gameplay, storyline, music, and graphics. I really liked the design of the second armor, and also the new double shot. The boss battles are enjoyable when not using the weapons that hurt them the most. Also, the game's storyline started to become more exciting, and then in it's sequels it started to have a much more darker tone.
Overall. Mega Man X2 is a very good game, one of the best in the series. This game gets a 7.9 out of 10