Mega Man X2

Mega Man X2, known as Rockman X2 in Japan, is a video game developed by Capcom for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The game was released in Japan on December 16, 1994 and in North America and PAL regions in 1995. It is the direct sequel to Mega Man X, released one year prior. Mega Man X2 takes place in the near future in which humans try to peacefully coexist with intelligent robots called 'Reploids', with some of the Reploids going 'Maverick' and threatening daily life. The plot follows the android protagonist X, a 'Maverick Hunter' who has saved humanity from the evil Sigma six months earlier. A trio of Mavericks calling themselves the 'X-Hunters' has arisen, intent on destroying X by luring him with bodyparts of his comrade Zero, who died in the conflict with Sigma.

Mega Man X2 features much of the same action-platforming elements as the first installment of the series, following the traditional gameplay of the original Mega Man series. The player is tasked with completing a series of stages by destroying enemies, gaining various power-ups, and winning the special weapon of each stage's boss. Like the first Mega Man X, this game lets the player dash, scale walls, and obtain access to special abilities via optional pieces of armor. Mega Man X2 is graphically similar to its predecessor as well, but Capcom included the Cx4 in-cartridge enhancement chip to allow for some 3D wireframe effects. The development team was instructed to utilize this technology as much as possible when working on the game.

Mega Man X2 is set in an ambiguous year during the 22nd century ('21XX') in which the world is populated both by humans and mechanical beings known as 'Reploids' (replicant androids). The mass-produced Reploids are based on a complex, humanoid robot dubbed Mega Man X (or simply 'X') who was discovered by the archaeologist Dr. Cain in laboratory ruins many months earlier. Created with human-level intelligence and free will, some Reploids have a tendency towards destructive, criminal activity and are subsequently dubbed 'Mavericks' by the government. A military force called the 'Maverick Hunters' is formed to halt or prevent such activity. The events of the first Mega Man X game entail the hunter X's fight to stop Sigma, a Maverick overlord bent on the destruction of humanity. X prevails in his mission, but at the cost of his partner Zero's life.

Six months following the incident, X assumes the head of the Maverick Hunters. X tracks a 'manufactured Maverick' bearing Sigma's emblem to a Reploid factory, where he launches a full assault. However, despite Sigma's apparent death and X's recent efforts, the Maverick rebellion continues. Three powerful Mavericks—Serges, Agile, and Violen—form a group called the 'X-Hunters' and gain control of the North Pole. In the time between Sigma's demise and the trio's sudden uprising, Serges has collected the deceased Zero's bodyparts. After the factory mission, X is assigned to seek and exterminate eight Maverick leaders on a large continent directly south of the North Pole. The X-Hunters contact the Maverick Hunters shortly thereafter and taunt them with Zero's body. The X-Hunters drift among the eight Maverick locations and attempt to lure X out, each one promising the protagonist a piece of Zero if he can defeat them.

The story deviates slightly depending on whether or not the player collects all three of Zero's parts before heading to the X-Hunter fortification in the North Pole. If the player gathers all the parts, Dr. Cain states he will attempt to reassemble and reactivate Zero using his original control chip. If the player does not succeed, X is informed by Dr. Cain that the X-Hunters have attacked Maverick Hunter headquarters and stolen any collected parts and the control chip. Just as X annihilates the last of the X-Hunters, Sigma reveals himself to have been behind the plot. X leaves the exploding compound and tracks Sigma to the Central Computer, one of the eight locations he visited earlier. If the player fails to collect all of Zero's parts, X finds both Sigma and the newly rebuilt Zero waiting for him halfway through the stage. X must then beat Zero in combat. If the player does manage to collect all of the parts, a gray-armored clone of Zero accompanies Sigma instead; the real Zero will then appear at X's side and destroys the clone. The outcome of either event has Sigma retreating and Zero creating a passageway in the floor to allow X pursuit. When the villain is defeated, X evacuates the facility to rendezvous with Zero outside, and the two watch as the facility self-destructs.

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 along the ground, and firing his chargeable 'X-Buster' arm cannon. 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. At certain times, the player can pilot vehicles including an attack mech in Wheel Gator's stage and an attack hovercycle in Overdrive Ostrich's stage. Each of the eight stages contains an optional entrance for a battle with one of the three X-Hunters, should the player select that stage when one of them is present. Defeating an X-Hunter will earn the player a piece of Zero, which may affect the storyline late in the game. Like the first Mega Man X, players can locate and acquire numerous hidden power-ups. 'Heart Tanks' extend the player's maximum life bar, 'Sub-Tanks' store life energy for later use, and armor upgrade capsules grant a set of new abilities. For example, the leg part will allow the player to perform a dash in mid-air, while the X-Buster part will allow for two charged blasts in succession. When specific conditions are met a special capsule is unlocked in one of the game's final stages, allowing X to perform a one-shot kill attack (the 'Shoryuken') used by characters from Capcom's Street Fighter series.