It has been included in several game compilations such as Mega Man Legacy Collection, rereleased for mobile devices, and become a part of console emulation services.

[7] After defeating the eight Robot Masters, the player proceeds to Dr. Wily's fortress, which consists of six levels that are played linearly.

[7] A password is displayed after defeating each Robot Master, allowing the player to return to that particular point in the game after restarting the system.

Unlike the first game, Mega Man 2 does not feature a score counter, and the player is unable to return to Robot Master levels once completed.

[11] According to Roy Ozaki, director Akira Kitamura had wanted to make a sequel to Mega Man, but producer Tokuro Fujiwara was against it.

[2] On the previous game, Inafune worked as an artist and character designer but became more involved in the production process of the sequel.

[16] "Working on [Mega Man 2] marked my second year at this, and I even got to mentor a 'new kid', which opened up a whole new world of stress for me," Inafune recounted.

[2][17] Due to the limited amount of cartridge space available for the first game, elements such as planned enemy characters were omitted from the final product.

[16] The gameplay system from the original game was kept for Mega Man 2, but the team included more traps for the player to navigate.

The original version was labeled "difficult", and a "normal" setting was created that made the "arm cannon" and boss weapons more powerful.

Ericksen explained that he was unfamiliar with the game and was directed by the Capcom America creative team to give Mega Man a pistol.

Tateishi's musical background was unusual compared to his contemporaries at Capcom, in that he had not been classically trained but was instead drawing on his experience performing in a band.

Tateishi would not remain with the franchise after Mega Man 2, as he and Kitamura both resigned from Capcom soon afterwards to work on Cocoron.

[26] Tateishi's initial compositions for the game were of varying moods, with some of them being considered "too cute" by Kitamura, requesting them to be changed to fit in with the rest of the soundtrack.

She further stated that Mega Man 2 improved the gameplay of its predecessor by removing excessively difficult elements.

Joey Becht of IGN listed three stage themes from Mega Man 2 along with the main title song among the best in the series.

[15][35][46] IGN's Levi Buchanan listed three of the game's bosses among the "Top 10 Mega Man Robot Masters".

They listed Mega Man 2 as number 67, citing the action and strategic elements along with the impact it had on the series.

[54] Kitamura chose to leave Capcom and joined the company Takeru, where he worked on the game Cocoron instead of Mega Man 3.

[22] Retro Gamer credited it with helping the series obtain the global presence that allowed spin-offs and more sequels to be created.

[22][31] The Energy Tank became the series' iconic health refill item and later served as inspiration for a promotional "Rockman E-Can" drink.

"[58] In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, Wily Castle, as depicted in Mega Man 2, appears as a selectable stage in both versions of the game.

[4] It is largely identical to the original NES release, but had a number of bonuses, such as a "navi mode" for beginners that presents the player with a slightly remade version of the game, detailed encyclopedic content, image galleries, and remixed music.

Reggie Fils-Aimé announced that the games were slated for release on the 3DS and would possibly use the 3DS' features, such as 3D effects, analog control, or camera support.

[72] The book's cover also lacks the gun depicted on the North American box art of the game, due to a "no weapons" policy that Worlds of Power writers had to abide by.

Dr. Wily escapes and sets his course for the Lanfront Ruins in South America, foreshadowing an adaptation of Super Adventure Rockman.

[74] Mixdown magazine described the soundtrack as one that would be "rehashed and reimagined at conventions and festivals until the end of time" and further that covering it had been a rite of passage in the early period of the nerd rock scene.

[77] Many bands of the era additionally drew their stage names from the series, such as Armcannon, The Protomen and DJ Cutman.

Capcom endorsed some of these groups, officially licensing Mega Ran's 2007 cover album and bringing him to San Diego Comic-con that year.

[81][82][83][84] In a 2023 interview, Tateishi stated that his favourite rendition of the Mega Man 2 score was JAM Project's version.