Mega Man 2 Walkthrough

Level Strategies
Although it is possible to complete the eight main levels in any order, this walkthrough provides a recommended order that will make defeating bosses and some enemies easier. However, there is no need to follow the order given, and each level strategy can be read alone.

Metal Man
The first thing you will notice about this level is the moving ground. Some parts move forward and increase your running speed, some move backward and slow you down. Go forward, go onto the lower platform, get the energy tank and go back onto the upper platform. Here you will have to pass a series of spiked clamps. They cause high damage when you touch them, so let them drop and move under when they are going back up. After passing them, you will enter a tunnel in which screws appear from the floor and celieng. They are not hard to dodge, and killing them often yeilds large capsules, so kill a bunch if you need health or weapon energy. The last part of the tunnel has a moving ground, which makes dodging the screws a bit harder, but just don't go forward too fast and you'll be fine. After this, jump across the platforms, and if you have Item 1 or 2 you can get the 1up on the high ledge. Drop down onto the next screen, which has no enemies, and drop again. Move forward and you will see a gear hanging in the air. When you approach, a little creature will drop onto it and ride it towards you. The gear keeps moving if you kill the creature, so destroy the gear instead. Make your way across the platforms destroying the remaining gears. Next are two enemies that look like four cans stacked on top of each other. Shoot them in the face to kill them. If you have Item 1 or 2, drop down to get the energy tank and use your item to cross. If not, you can just make the jump from the top ledge. Pass the spring enemies (Quick Boomerang is useful on them) and enter the boss room. Metal Man stays on the opposite side of the room as you (so he will only move from his place if you approach) and shoots metal blades. Jump over the blades and shoot, and watch for the change in the direction that the floor moves. Metal Man is weak against the Quick Boomerang, and defeating him gives you the Metal Blade.

Flash Man
The floor is slick in this level, so you will slide for a bit after stopping, and will have to pick up speed when you start to move again. The level quickly branches off into three paths. Do not take the top one because it leads nowhere. The middle path has a large energy capsule, but you will probably not need it. The bottom two paths have round enemies that shoot pellets at you; they are easy to dodge and kill. After this there is a high ledge with a 1up on it. You can use Item 1 to reach it, or take the lower path if you don't have that item. The next high ledge also requires Item 1, and has short walls blocking the way. These walls can be broken by the Crash Bomber. If you do not have these items, pass another round shooter enemy and drop down to the next area. On the left side of this screen is a Mech Joe; the right side simply drops down. You can again choose which side to drop down into; the right side is preferable. The next screen has a large energy capsule behind a Crash wall, accesible only from the right side. Drop down again and destroy the enemies, then drop again. If you are on the right side, drop close to the left wall and hold left, and you can land on the platform above the Mech Joe. There is a large energy capsule here, but getting it means having to kill the Mech Joe. Air Shooter is effective against them. Drop down the right side and you will come out on a high platform. Jump across the small platforms here to reach an energy tank. If you have Crash Bombs, break the wall; if not, go back and defeat the last Mech Joe to get to the boss room. Flash Man jumps around the stage for a few seconds, then he will freeze you in your tracks and fire pellets at you. it is not hard to dodge him when he is moving, but to avoid his shots you'll have to time it so you are out of his range when he freezes you. He is weak to metal Blade and Crash Bombers, and defeating him gives you Time Stopper and Item 3.

Quick Man
It is STRONGLY recommended that you have the Time Stopper before attempting this level. Use Item 1 or 3 to get the 1up on your left, then drop down, pass the pipe shooting enemies and drop again. You may want to use the Time Stopper just before you drop onto the next screen. The next three screens have fast moving laser beams that spell instant death. Fall through the area as quickly as possible to avoid them or use the Time Stopper to freeze them. If you fall onto the right side of the screen, your reward will be a 1up, energy tank, and large weapon capsule. Drop down again and into darkness. There are flamethrower enemies here that illuminate the room. Killing them bring you into total darkness, but is necessary to continue. When in the darkness, keep jumping as you go, for the terrain is uneven. The room will light up again as you reach the end. Here it is once again recommended that you use the Time Stopper before dropping. What follows is seven screens of more lasers, with platforms strategically placed to gie you just enough time to get through. It is exceedingly difficult unless you use the Time Stopper. The third screen has a large energy capsule that you can use to refill your Time Stopper, but it will still run out by the last two screens. Do not get the health capsule or 1up on the fifth screen, or the weapon capsule on the seventh, as there is not enough time. Quickly dodge the last few lasers once your Time Stopper runs out and drop into the final area. Defeat the two mech Joes here to reach the boss room. Quick Man will jump very high around the stage and shoots sets of three boomerangs at you. Run underneath him when he jumps and jump over his boomerangs. He is weak to the Time Stopper (the full Time Stopper will take away about half of his health) and Crash Bombs, and gives you the Quick Boomerang when you defeat him.

Bubble Man
You start out on a platform over a pit. Make your way across several floating platforms, killing the frogs that get in your way. It's a pain to kill the baby frogs with the Mega Buster, so try Metal Blade or the Leaf Shield. Soon you will come across a series of small platforms that look like Crash walls on their sides. These drop away almost as soon as you touch them, so jupm over them quickly. Try to jump to the far side of the first one so you don't have to run across before jumping again. Once you're back on solid ground, drop down, kill the hermit crabs, and drop two more times into the water. Try to fall on the right side so that you avoid falling on another hermit crab. kill these ones and drop down again. This entire area has a celieng lined with deadly spikes. Remember, you can jump much higher underwater, so be careful. A giant anglerfish that shoots out seahorses is your first obstacle. Shoot the light dangling from its head to kill it. Next you will need to do some controlled jumping around uneven terrain, avoiding the spikes. Use Metal Blade to kill the enemies that descend on you, as it can shoot up. Another anglerfish is next, followed by two more frogs. Once you pass them, you will come out of the water and make your way across a few floating platforms. Crabs will descend from the sky, so wait until they fall or use the Time Stopper to avoid them, and enter the boss room. Bubble Man will shoot out 1-3 bubbles, then swim diagonally up while shooting at you, then swim down to repeat the process. The bubbles are not hard to dodge, since you can jump high, but be careful of the spikes on the ceiling. The best time to hit him is when he is swimming down, as he does not fire at you then. He is weak against the Metal Blade and Quick Boomerang, and defeating him gives you Bubble Lead.

Wood Man
This level is much easier if you simply equip Metal Blade at the beginning and use it for the entire level. The first room is easy; the bats in the trees are slow and weak, and the rabbits do not pose much threat either, although they will shoot out carrots. Climb down the ladder, past some more bats, and down again. Here you will face a large blue wolf-like creature. Jump over his fireballs and shoot him; he is not hard to kill. The next two rooms also contain wolves. If you want to avoid them, use the Time Stopper in the room before the first one and they will not appear. Climb up the ladder, past the bats, and up again. This room will have birds flying across dropping eggs, which hatch into many baby birds. It is easier to use Metal Blade to eliminate the egg before it hatches, but the baby birds give out lots of large capsules if you kill them. On most of the platforms here, monkeys jump up and hang on to the platform from beneath. You can kill them by shooting the Metal Blade diagonally downwards, or approach them to make them jump up. Climb down the ladder and kill the rabbits in the next three rooms, climbing down into the final room. Your only enemies here are chickens that jump every few steps. Kill them quickly or run under them when they jump. Wood Man forms a shield of leaves around himself, shoots four leaves up, then tosses his shield at you as the four leaves descend. You can only hit him when his shield is down, so jump over it when he tosses it and fire away. He is weak to Metal Blade and Atomic Fire, but it should be noted that the latter only hurts him when it is fully charged, so charge it while his shield is up. You get the Leaf Shield for defeating him.

Air Man
This level is entirely made up of floating platforms over pits, so if you're not good at jumping, you can always use Item 1 to make the trickier jumps. As you approach the end of the platform you start on, a large head will materialize. This is your platform to cross, but don't jump on it right away, because it slowly raises (non-lethal) spikes on both sides of its head. Wait until the spikes drop and jump across to the next platform. You will have to jump across five of these big heads in this area. They also send out small heads that swarm you, so watch out for those and take them out if necessary. After this, an enemy will aproach you on a cloud, throwing lightning. You will have to kill him and ride his cloud. There are five of these cloud creatures and you will have to use all five clouds. The third one is tricky to kill: you must jump to fire at him or aim Metal Blade diagonally in order to kill him in time to jupm onto his cloud. For the fourth one, wait until he is behind you or aim Metal Blade up. Once you're back on solid ground, just run along and watch out for the egg dropping birds. Some of them are behind clouds, so be careful. Once you reach the very edge of the screen, you will drop down behind a cloud to the next screen. Ignore the pipe shooting baddies in this room and drop down behind the cloud on the left side. (Don't worry, there are no more pits hidden behind clouds.) Once again, a large head will appear, and another one will appear once you are at the edge of the first one. Unfortunately, this means that it will be hard to jump to the second one, as it will have spikes up when the first has spikes down. Item 1 lets you avoid this tricky jump. Next comes a platform with a fan creature on it. This enemy will blow you back, so keep jumping forward as you shoot it. Take out all the fan guys in this area and watch out for more birds. Air Man shoots out a bunch of mini-tornadoes and then blows them towards you. He will do this three times, then jump across the stage and start firing them the other way. Jump and dodge the tornadoes as best you can, but there will probably be some that you cannot dodge. The tornadoes deflect your shots, so wait until he is jumping to fire. The Leaf Shield will kill him in two hits, and you get the Air Shooter and Item 2 for clearing this level.

Crash Man
This level is one big tower with a lot of ladders. Climb up the ladders at the beginning, ignoring the cylinder enemies. You can kill them easily with metal Blade if you feel the need. Once you reach the top of the ladder, kill the mets and proceed upward. Here you will see a moving platform on a square track. Ride it to the ladder at the top, avoiding or killing the cylinder guys. The Leaf Shield is very useful here, since you are not technically moving when on the platform, so the shield will protect you for the entire ride. Climb up and repeat the process on two more platforms on tracks, this time with more complicated shapes. When you reach the top, kill the enemy here and climb up two screens. To kill the met, jump onto the platform to your left, then quickyl jump back. The met will move to the next platform, where it is easier to kill him. Jump across and climb the ladder. Here you will see two ladders, and once you climb onto the next screen they branch off into five ladders. The first and third lead to dead ends, the second leads to an energy tank, the fourth leads to a large energy capsule, and the fifth is the path that leads to the top. So take the rightmost path, watching out for egg dropping birds. The best way to deal with them is to hold still when they appear and use the Leaf Shield when they drop the eggs. Once at the top, if you have Item 1 or 2 you can drop down and get the energy tank, then use the item to get back up. Here are another two ladders, the left of which requires Item 1 or 2 to reach. If you have one of the items, take the left ladder for a 1up. In the final room, avoid the enemies that fall and chase you, or kill them with Metal Blade. Crash Man jumps around the stage throwing bombs at the walls and floor. Run under him and dodge his bombs, and shoot him at any time. He is weak to the Air Shooter, although it can be tricky to aim the tornadoes to hit him. Your reward is the Crash Bomb, which can be used to break open certain walls.

Heat Man
It is recommended that you have Item 2 before attempting this level. Jump over the lava pits, avoiding the falling enemies. Avoid the cylinder enemies or take them out with Metal Blade, then jump across the platforms and dodge the spring enemies or use Quick Boomerang on them. Climb down into the next screen. There are disappearing blocks here. Jump onto the first one as soon as it appears, then immediately jump straight up and you will land on the next block. Jump across the remaining blocks to the ladder. You can use Item 3 on the far wall to bypass this puzzle. Next is a long area where you will have to jump onto disappearing blocks to get over walls, all while avoiding cylinder baddies. Metal Blade is extremely useful for getting them out of your way. Jump across the blocks, and make note of instances where you have to jump again to land on a block above the one you are on. Many of the walls are breakable with Crash Bombs, so use them if you have them to bypass the jupming. After this, run along and jump onto the upper platform. What follows is a very long section of disappearing blocks you have to cross, making sure you do not fall into the lava or pit. Some of the blocks have blocks appear right above them, and this spells death if you do not jump up in time. This is where Item 2 comes in. You can use the item to cross the entire area without fear. You can also jump down to get the 1up on the ledge if you think you can make it. If you do, be sure to wait until the blocks on the lower right disappear before casting Item 2 again. Once you reach the end, climb down the ladder and take out the Mech Joe (Air Shooter is good for this). Climb down and into the boss room. Heat Man tosses three flames at you, which form pillars of fire once they hit the ground. When you hit him, he will stop, raise a heat shield for a second, then streak across the room. Jump over him when he is crossing the room and heep hitting him to prevent his flame attack. He is weak to the Bubble Lead, and killing him gets you the Atomic Fire and Item 1.

Wily 1
First you will pass through a large open area with birds dropping eggs. Use Metal to kill them. You will soon come to a wall. Use Item 1 or 3 to get up. I recommend Item 3 because you will be needing Item 1 later on. The Leaf Shield is helpful against the pipe shooting enemies past the wall; just keep running and casting it. Use Item 3 on another wall and pass another pipe enemy. Item 3 up the wall to your right. If you want, you can pass the pipe enemy on the ledge for the 1up, but you will need to climb the wall again if you do. Climb the ladder and pass the Sniper Joe. You can pick up the large weapon capsule if you need it. Climb the next ladder, pass another Joe and climb another ladder to reach an open screen with a spring enemy. Pass it and climb the ladder, you will find yourself on a screen with a ladder in the far corner. Stand on top of the ladder you just climbed, cast Item 1, and jump on it. Cast another and jump on it, and cast a third time to reach the ladder. Climb up two screens, ignoring the cylinder enemies, and continue onwards at the top. Jump across the platforms, and soon the level will start to move. A large dragon will appear behind you and knock the blocks away. Let him chase you until you reach an areas with three uneven platforms, then prepare to fight him. The dragon will move up and down, shooting either one fireball or a stream of fireballs at you. The hardest part of this fight is staying on the platforms, as the fireballs knock you back quite a distance. Try to stay on the leftmost edge of the platform and jump over his single fireballs. Jump to another platform when he uses his stream attack. The dragon is weak to Quick Boomerang.