The Blue Bomber is one of the most prolific characters in all of gaming, on the Analogue Pocket alone, there are forty different games across various different consoles, and multiple series such as the Battle Network games on the GBA.
This title is from one of those sub-series, in fact, it is a spin-off from yet another series, the Megaman X games, that debuted on the Super Famicom in 1993 as Rockman X, his Japanese name. This particular game is called Rockman X2: Soul Eraser over in Japan, but here in the west it is called Megaman Xtreme 2. Appearing on the Gameboy Colour in 2001 in Japan and America, then a year later in Europe, as the name suggests, this is the second GBC entry, following only a year behind Rockman X: Cyber Mission.
The gist of the plot of the Megaman X series is thus, Megaman X was the last creation of Dr. Light, who died long before the events of this series. X had been programmed with free will, intelligence, and the ability to evolve. He had been sealed in a chamber for testing and lay undiscovered for 100 years before being discovered by Dr. Cain, a human archaeologist, while exploring the ruins of Dr. Light's laboratory.
Going Maverick
Dr. Cain used X's design to create the Reploids, a race of humanoid robots that could also think and feel like humans. Some of these Reploids turned rogue under the leadership of the main antagonist of the series, Sigma, they rebelled against humans and began to wage war on them. The Maverick Hunters were set up by Dr. Cain to combat the Mavericks and X decided to join the fight, partnered by his superior, Zero.
Zero to Hero
Friend and partner to X, Zero, was originally designed by Dr. Light's nemesis in the mainline Megaman series, Dr.Wily, as the ultimate robot master who could finally defeat Megaman and Bass. Like X, Zero had been sealed away in a capsule as Dr.Wily was still working on some behavioural flaws.
Awoken by Reploids many years later, his erratic behaviour resumed and Zero began attacking them all, eventually meeting Sigma in battle. Sigma destroyed the crystal on Zero's head, the source of his malfunction, infecting himself with the Maverick Virus in the process.
Sigma would go on to lead the Maverick Reploids in their war against humans, Zero, with free will restored, decides to fight on the side of justice and joins the Maverick Hunters, where he forms a partnership with X.
Xtreme
In Megaman Xtreme 2, we join the duo sometime in between the events of Megaman X3 and X4. Along with their friend Iris in support, the Maverick Hunters are sent to investigate Laguz Island, where a mass breakout of "Erasure events" have occurred.
Reploids have been losing their DNA souls, leaving them hollow shells. At the start of the game you have the choice of two paths, X's or Zero's. I went for the Blue Bomber.
Here is a video of the full introduction
The first level is fairly easy stuff and the boss's pattern is easy to work out, but do not worry, in typical Megaman fashion, the difficulty soon starts to ramp up.
At the end of the intro level, our team are confronted by someone claiming to be a "Soul Eraser", he explains that he has been harvesting the DNA souls of Reploids and using them to resurrect defeated Masters.
The ridiculously named Gareth, goes on to tell our heroes that they will have to defeat eight Robot Masters before he will accept their challenge of battle. Of course, X and Zero are up for the challenge.
Generation X
In X's route, you have a choice of four masters to go after, Neon Tiger, Volt Catfish, Launch Octopus and Flame Mammoth.
These can offer a decent challenge, especially if not completed in the optimal order, and their attack patterns are quite varied.
Design-wise the bosses are large and nicely detailed, and I appreciate the animal theme used for the Masters in the X series.
The music is excellent as well, with Launch Octopus's theme being a particular highlight.
Here is gameplay from Neon Tiger's stage,
I've Got the Power
Following Megaman tradition, you gain the power of the defeated Masters, which makes your battles against the other Masters a little easier.
There is also a hidden chamber in each level, where a hologram of Dr. Light grants you a different body part power-up. These give you abilities such as air-dash and missing these will make later areas much harder.
Furthermore, you can purchase more upgrades between levels, like improvements to X's blaster and Zero's saber, or a life-bar extension.
By the time X reaches Gareth's Castle he is significantly more powerful than the games opening, and is quick and nimble enough to deal with the rise in challenge that the fortress brings.
Half-time
Beat the gauntlet of Gareth's Castle against multiple bosses and it is time to do it all again, this time with Zero. His opponents are Wire Sponge, Blast Hornet, Overdrive Ostrich and Tunnel Rhino. These stages are also nicely designed and pose a decent level of challenge.
The tunes here are all bangers, and I cannot decide if Blast Hornet's or Overdrive Ostrich's is my favourite. I thoroughly recommend sticking on some headphones for this one.
Playing with Zero requires a slightly different strategy as his saber attack is a melee one, compared to X's long-range blaster, but his path is just as enjoyable.
Here is some gameplay from Overdrive Ostriches stage,
They Think It's All Over
Run the gauntlet of Gareth's castle once again and the game is complete, but there is New Game+ in here as well, something we think of as a relatively modern concept.
Extreme mode is now available where you have to play through all eight levels again. This time you can switch between X and Zero freely, with only one of them gaining a new power each time a Master is defeated, adding a touch of strategy to the proceedings.
Get through to the finale again and the leader of the Mavericks, Sigma, awaits you in a final battle, to reveal the true ending.
Game++
If all that was not enough of a challenge, a boss rush mode is now playable. Here you not only have to face all the Masters in a row, but all eight from the previous game as well. Not for the faint-hearted. These extra game modes give the game a lot of replay value, beating everything on offer here is not an easy task.
Summary
This game looks fantastic on the Pocket, it for sure is the best-looking of the Gameboy Megaman games, the cut-scene stills being particularly striking.
The soundtrack is great as well and sounds amazing through headphones. Some of the tunes are up right up there with the best NES Megaman tracks, and had my head bopping.
Performance wise there is little in the way of slowdown and the game runs very smoothly. Both X and Zero are great to control and feel very agile.
There is a lot of depth to the gameplay and the difficulty level hits the sweet spot, where you are close to frustration, then next second, jubilation.
The designers pulled many ideas from this titles 16-bit big brother and projected them backwards into 8-bit. They pull this off, for the most part, although some sections such as the ride-on mech do not work so well.
I had a blast playing this and I would recommend picking this up if you get the chance, It really gets a boost from the Pocket's big, beautiful screen.
Verdict: Underappreciated gem
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