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Nice Upgrade. Skipper's been a prominent name in the MM Fangame community, and the guy's hacks, while not drastic, don't shy away from delving into the noteworthy issues of the originals, this is a good example.

Various welcome changes include:

• Level design improvements, with highlights including: 1. Better level gimmick introductions like the falling platform with a floor underneath in Bubble Man's stage. 2. Added spice to the level gimmicks like adding spikes and then platforms you've got to jump to in Crash Man's Lift segment, adding more thrill and less waiting around. 3. Actual signification for fake floors in Wily 4 (no shadows). 5. Proper energy refill spots before Boobeam Trap and Alien Wily. 4. Generally more danger and less emptiness to the Wily stages and a couple other areas.
• The weapon rebalancing, with highlights including: 1. Leaf Shield being fired by pressing B, meaning you can actually move around with the shield active. 2. Being able to control when the Crash Bomber explodes. 3. Metal Blade getting a notable nerf while still having good usability. 4. Letting you actually pause while a weapon is active such as the Items, allowing you to select another without any awkward waiting.
• Checkpoints before Wily Castle bosses, as opposed to being taken back to the middle of the level.
• Staying on Ladders after unpausing.

There's only a couple of letdowns:

• A lack of proper level extensions, Wily 2 was the only one I really noticed.
• Mecha Dragon and Guts Dozer still go down pretty quickly.

Overall, great attempt at improving the original, by both fixing the game's distinct flaws and not completely overhauling it.

Much like in Mega Man 3 Revamped, the game has received numerous graphical embellishment which is a great introduction.

Apart from that the level design has been massively improved to be more consistent and more enjoyable, every level has been changed for the better.

One aspect this rom hack does better than 3 Revamped is the weapon balance.

Every one of them has a purpose and none are broken. Air Shooter, Crash Bomber, Leaf Shield and Time Stopper are massively better, Bubble Lead and Atomic Fire are now decent but definitely the two lesser weapons. On top of all that, the new nerfed Metal Blade feels right at home.

Bosses have been slightly changed to be more balanced and/or just feel better ie. no sprite flickering in wood, new arena for flash, air has better tornadoes etc. etc.

The Wily Castle has new life breathed into it, WILY 4 in particular is a great level.

All of these positive changes i mentioned come together in the hack perfectly.

While Mega Man 3 Revamped felt like an upgraded version of MM3, this feels like a proper remake. The definitive way to play Mega Man 2.

I was eager to try this hack out, since Mega Man 3 Revamped is one of my favourites. Mega Man 2 doesn't suffer from the same level design issues that 3 has, so the overall impact of the level design changes is not as significant to me. That said, the modifications do make it feel more fresh, and speeds up some gameplay elements. Some of my favourite changes:

• Boobeam Trap's room layout was changed, to require less shots of Crash Bomb. Remote detonation makes using Crash Bombs so much better.
• Respawning enemies are placed in a checkpoint hallway before a couple of bosses in order to recharge weapons before the fight.
• Making Time Stopper toggleable solves its major issue. You still can't kill Quick Man on a single energy bar though.
• Making destroying some enemies with their weaknesses, like the Sniper Armors and the Changkey Makers, work consistently is a godsend
• Level layout tweaks are subtle, but enjoyable. Not hugely transformative, but easily more fun.

On the flip side, a couple of negatives in my opinion:

• Leaf Shield staying around you when active is great, but it constantly drains energy while it orbits. This kind of balances out how useful it is when you can carry it around, as its energy drains very quickly. I would personally love to see this work more like it does in Mega Man 2 Weapon Hack/Mega Man 2 Megamix, where the weapon energy is only consumed when you throw the shield.
• I appreciate having a way to recharge weapon energy before fighting the Wily Machine, but having a weapon capsule appear in the actual boss room feels a little bit out of place. A respawning weapon capsule in the teleporter room would be the most elegant way to do it in my opinion, but I don't know how feasible it would be. A very minor quibble, not really a problem.

All in all, a very interesting new playthrough. It's not quite as transformative as Mega Man 3 Revamped, but the level design changes and minor graphics tweaks are great. I could see this easily replacing vanilla for many players.

This is the best weapon rebalance hack of MM2. But, metal blades should be fixed, because they cause the same damage as the buster, respectively, they have become less useful.