Mega Man X2 art
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Mega Man X2 Guide > Basics

Capcom wasn't yet ready to break the tradition of releasing Mega Man after Mega Man after Mega Man during the SNES era, so it's no surprise that the hit Mega Man X quickly got a sequel in Mega Man X2. X2 adds a few minor new elements while polishing a few of the rough edges the first X had.

Mega Man X2 screenshot - Basics

You can tackle most of the stages in any order, defeating bosses, stealing their weapons, and using them to defeat other bosses. Each boss is weak to a specific weapon, so once you defeat one boss, the rest can be easy as pie if you know what you're doing. This guide will avoid jumping around too much, but feel free to explore on your own, visiting levels and fighting bosses in whatever order you like. This guide is just one of many possible routes through the game.

Controls


  • B - Jump/Wall jump
  • Y - Shoot (Hold to charge your weapon)
  • A - Dash*
  • L - Cycle back through weapons
  • R - Cycle forward through weapons
  • START - Pause/Open pause menu

*I strongly suggest mapping Dash to one of the shoulder buttons. Cycling through your weapons in two directions without pausing is useful, but it's less useful than being able to dash while shooting. If you're playing the Wii U Virtual Console version, you can map Dash to ZL or ZR and leave the weapon cycle buttons alone for the best of both worlds.

Story


Six months have passed since Mega Man X defeated Sigma, losing his ally and friend, Zero, in the process. Unfortunately, this wasn't the end of the Maverick rebellion. They continue to appear, still sporting Sigma's mark.

Mega Man X2 screenshot - Basics

What's more, it seems that some sinister force is trying to resurrect Zero for less than noble reasons. Who can be behind all of this? (Hint: It's Sigma.)

Weapons, Items, and Upgrades


Aside from the eight basic weapons you'll collect from the bosses, there are also upgrade capsules left behind by Dr. Light that will upgrade X's various body parts for different effects.

Mega Man X2 screenshot - Basics

Each of the eight main levels also contains one health upgrade, and four of them contain energy tanks you can use to store excess life for later. You won't be able to collect them all the first time you visit each level and you will have to backtrack if you want to collect everything. This guide will help you track down every single upgrade and item this game is hiding!

X-Hunters and Zero's Parts



Mega Man X2 screenshot - Basics

After you clear a couple of stages, the X-Hunters will begin to appear in random uncleared levels. There are three of them, and each of them hold a different part of Zero. Defeat them all before clearing all eight Maverick stages to get the good ending. Failing to do so will force you to fight an extra boss battle. See the X-Hunter section for battle strategies.

Passwords


Mega Man X2 screenshot - Basics

Eww! Yes, Mega Man X2 uses passwords instead of a proper saving system. On the one hand, this means you'll have to deal with passwords every time you want to save or load if you're not playing a version with save states. On the other hand, this gives you the option to be lame and skip parts of the game by using passwords found by other, better players before you. But there's no need for that! I've got your back. Stick with me, and we'll get through this together.

NEXT: Walkthrough