Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2

Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 makes the best of the material it's given to work with. Regardless of each game's quality, steps have been taken to clean them up to allow fans the option to relieve both the moderate highs and the very low lows of this era of Mega Man's history. It's disappointing that the X Challenge recycled some boss battles from the first volume, though, because experiencing these games in a new way would've given us a bit more to enjoy.

An homage to the full breadth of Mega Man X's history shows that some parts of its legacy have aged much better than others.

Keep in mind that this mode spans both compilations, so even with the several lackluster choices in the second X Collection you're still getting X Challenge. While it's clear that Capcom tried to think of every possible way to help sell the second pack when the first compilation sells itself, it's a valid addition nonetheless. Just don't get too excited for all the pageantry -- the rumored story is basically nonexistent.

It's difficult not to be a little disappointed in Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2, although Capcom deserves credit for doing the best it could to polish up the weaker games in the series. At the end of the day, putting lipstick on a pig can only do so much, and these games unfortunately don't hold up quite as well as the first four entries in the series. Even so, X5 and X6 are pretty good, and though X7 is a hot mess of confused design, X8 has plenty of fun moments. If you liked the first four games in the series, you'll probably enjoy these four enough to justify the price, but bear in mind that this is easily the most skippable of the two collections.

Ultimately, both Mega Man X Legacy Collections 1 and 2 nail exactly what modern-era collections of retro video game titles should be: a compendium of everything the series has to offer, including the base games, fresh new tweaks, added bonuses, trivia, trailers, and more. There's really no stone left unturned with either Mega Man X Legacy Collection, making them perfect for longtime series fans or for gamers new to the Mega Man X formula.

The Maverick Hunter X's adventures have been neatly compiled into one cohesive package. Whether this is your first or your eighth X game, there's still plenty of charm to be found in X's greatest hits.

Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1+2 provides a lot of value for players.

It's difficult to recommend Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 since it's so wildly inconsistent in its quality. What is essentially being offered is one game that's decent (albeit unmemorable), one that's sometimes great, and then two that are complete trainwrecks. That said, Mega Man X5 and Mega Man X8 are worth playing through as they're still fairly enjoyable in their own right. Otherwise, though, there's not much reason to check this out.

The weaker four games collected in a single package. If you want to collect them all, grab this, if you want to see all the games, it's fine. But there's nothing here that's superior to the first 4.

Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 closes the effort to bring together all the games of the Mega Man X series in a compilation that adds new game modes and extras that are bound to appeal to the fans. Nevertheless, the four remaining games of the X series are also overall less attractive and that has not changed with the years.