If you were a fan of any Mega Man X games, you will feel right at home with iX 2. Luminous Avenger iX 2 is a 2D, side-scrolling action platform game that pits you against many robotic foes as you attempt to explore and essentially escape a parallel world filled with strange technology and mysteries. Copen, the player’s main character, can dash, jump and kick up walls, much like Capcom’s legendary hero can. However, Copen has a few more tricks up his sleeve, like the incredible Recoil Dash that can send him smashing into enemies and fling him out of the way of danger in minutes. Along with Copen is his spherical robot sidekick, Lola, who can heal Copen and give him the power to use mighty super attacks that can rip robots to shreds.
After beating the intro stage, players can select between different levels to take on the robot gatekeeper that oversees them. Winning each one will equip Copen and Lola with a new power that will allow them to defeat enemies that have a weakness to the gatekeeper’s powers. Copen will explore jungles, technological towers, volcanos, and more as he continues to find a way back to his world. Each level usually has two sub-levels with copious checkpoints before reaching the boss. The game looks tremendously sharp with great animations, detailed pixel art, and a fantastic soundtrack that would stack up with any Mega Man game.
As someone who did not play the original Luminous Avenger iX, I was worried that jumping into the sequel would cause a disconnect with understanding the main storyline protagonist’s mission. Thankfully the game gives you just enough story detail about the original game to set the tone for who everyone is. The parallel world setting removes the need to know any significant chunk of background story from the first game. The game’s introduction level will give you plenty of information on how to utilize Copen’s many skills, and I honestly love the fact that if you are quick enough to do it, Lola can heal you to full health at any time. I had a lot of fun tearing through this game and utilizing Copen’s extraordinary move set to my advantage. If you’ve been looking for a new Mega Man X style game to check out, I highly recommend picking up Luminous Avenger iX 2.
