Woah ... I just went there. I'm going to use this page to explain why Mega Man 2 is an awesome game and the next to describe why there's a better game in the series.
The original Mega Man was very fun and challenging. But as its successors made evident, there was much room for the series to grow. Most of these additions were introduced in Mega Man 2. All of the basic mechanics which made the original so much fun were present here, but in ten-fold. The Magnet Beam of the first game was cool, but the three numbered items added great depth to the platforming challenges. The boss battles were much more epic and challenging. The stages and enemies were given a significant dose of character and charm, something which the first game was slightly lacking.
Perhaps the best aspect of Mega Man 2 is the level layout. Seemingly simple on the surface, the levels had a subtle nuance of fast pace yet careful planning. Certain areas required dismantling of any and all enemies, others were best handled by attempting to skate by unscathed and as quickly as possible. Some passages were blocked by enormous enemies which broke up the level flow into Halo-esque "action chunks." If you've never played Mega Man 2 (shame on you!), it's difficult to imagine this type of variety packed into an 8-bit level layout. Trust me, it's in there.
Oh, and let us not forget arguably the best video game soundtrack ever (keeping technological restraints of the time in mind).
