Mega Man X2

I feel it too. It's like they're compensating for Mega Man X being one of the easier Mega Man games

I don't think any Megaman game is hard, in the grand scheme of games, but this one is definitely more challenging than the first for the simple reason that it takes for granted that wall jumping and dashing are necessary to complete a stage. Something they couldn't do with the first because dashing was an upgrade and they didn't know when players would stumble upon it. A lot more of MMX1 is straightforward platforming, whereas in this it's more reliant on button skill checks during both level and boss fights, which in my opinion is always harder to do than just jumping and shooting, which is what you do 90% of the time in the first game.

A lot of MMX1 is face roll levels and nothing in that game comes close to being as hard as the optional bosses in this.
The upgrade items are also significantly harder to get in this one. Their difficulty can be more comparable if you ignore everything "optional" in this but my mindset as a completionist just can't see things that way.

The blocks in Centepede's stage are pretty intuitive too.

i am a little confused about centipede blocks to this day ngl

you can literally just sit and watch most of the centipede blocks fall. not a challenging part of the game by any means

the only two parts that annoyed me were the vertical shaft you need to climb before it crushes you (easy when you know it's coming) and the moving platform segment where you need to maneuver it delicately through a vertical segment (gimmicky but also free if you just use the crystal gun to hop up on enemies instead).

Maybe I just got better at mega man, but I found this sequel to be way easier than the first. The bosses especially.