Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner

"This reviewer's favorite game ever, until the third entry comes out"

Years ago, Konami released the demo for Metal Gear Solid 2: The Sons of Liberty for fifty dollars. Alongside this extravagantly priced demo was an oft ignored, underrated full game called Zone of the Enders. Zone of the Enders was a fun game with never before seen gameplay mechanics, excellent graphics, and an engaging plot that dealt with themes of the meaning behind killing and the loss of innocence. It was not without problems, however, as the game was considered insultingly short, unusual design, a slightly flawed camera, and an overall whiny main character. However, the fast paced gameplay was so intuitive and fluid that the problems were easily ignored.

Developing a cult following and high sales due to its pack-in demo, Zone of the Enders was followed up with a sequel in 2004, and rightfully so since the first game had unresolved ends. Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner follows up years after the events of the first game and features a new cast of characters. The question, however, is if the newer iteration ever solved the quandaries in the first title.

Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner features a more involved plot than the last game. The game starts you off as series newcomer Dingo Egret, an ice miner working on Callisto, one of Jupiter's moons. While on a routine shift, Dingo comes across a noticeable reading of Metatron, the material used to create Orbital Frames, which are the featured giant robots the series. Dingo finds the OF of the first game, Jehuty before the mining valley comes under attack from BAHRAM, a revolutionary military group that fights against Earth's Space Forces to “liberate” Mars from Earth rule. Dingo climbs into the frame and starts a journey that will take him all the way back to Mars.

The story is pretty standard with nothing too deep. Though there are themes concerning duty and what it means to fight for freedom, it doesn't feel as personal as the story in the first game. The fact that the game features awkward dialogue, no doubt thanks to sub-par translation, doesn't help immerse you in the plot either. Still, the characters are decently likeable and each has a genuine reason for being involved in the main conflict, even if they sound very “Engrish” more than half the time.

One of biggest problems with the first game was that it didn't lend itself to a large variety of environments. Almost the entire game took place in the huge space colony city making the whole game seem rather “same-y.” The Second Runner finally fixes this by increasing the design budget and doing away with the sky hub of the first game. Granted, the game becomes entirely linear, but it's a step up from the mere illusion of choice the first game feigned. You'll progress from a frozen moon to an enemy space station to a canyon to a ruined city to and desert and even to the skies of Mars. It feels like you're constantly moving forward and that's good for a game that has such a speedy aesthetic.

The game also mixes things up with varied ways to complete the objective of killing everything. Unfortunately, this also means the introduction of the despised escort missions and vulnerable allies who are nowhere near as capable as your enemies seem to be. This also means that some cool scenarios are put in place that can be pretty inventive.

For instance, a boss encounter occurs where you cannot kill the enemy frame, but instead must grab a hold of it after crossing blades to knock it back. You must do this several times, the timing requirement getting ever more difficult further into the battle.

Another interesting new feature are two very large battles environments. The first pitting lonely you against an armada of battleships and an orbital frame about fifteen times your size. It is a completely awesome experience slicing up enemies at breakneck speeds while dodging giant laser cannon blasts miles high in the air.

This is only eclipsed by the second large scale battle the game has to offer, which pits you and a ragtag group of Space Force mechs called LEV's against literally thousands of enemy orbital frames. The game doesn't pull any arbitrary survival trigger either. It literally expects you and your troops to take down this enemy force that has you outnumbered by twenty to one. The only problem with this sequence is that it pushes the Playstation 2 to its limit with hundreds of units on screen and the framerate slows down several times. Still, it's a small price to pay for one the most epic moments in gaming.

The gameplay is pretty much unchanged from the last game. The combat is just as visceral before, featuring “high speed robot action” as the ad campaign promises. Jehuty can dash, slash, and blast it's way through waves of baddies, each death proceeding into a beautiful display of fire and explosions. The camera from the first game has been fixed, but only by a little bit. It follows you better during combat than before, but unfortunately it is still a slow struggle to move it around during combat. It's placement can also make movement slightly confusing, but that situation is a rarity.

The subweapon mechanics have also been changed. This time, instead of each weapon drawing from its own ammo pool, they all draw ammo from a single energy bar underneath your life bar. It lessens the emphasis on pointless management and keeps your focus on the environment and combat, where it should be.

While several new and useful subweapons are introduced, the greatest one has to be the new Zero Shift. Being a part of the plot, it quickly becomes an essential part of your play strategy, as it allows you to practically teleport behind enemies and long distances at sub-light speeds. It might seem cheap, but it is only brought in near the end game and it puts you on par with the final boss.

This iteration also features a multiplayer aspect, allowing two players to pit their frames against one another. The multiplayer isn't that much fun though, as the entire fight takes place on one screen and he camera doesn't work as well. It is decent feature at least and allows you to control orbital frames you only get to see in the single-player.

The only unsolved problem is the length. While the game is bigger and longer than the first one was, The Second Runner still isn't very long. An average player can probably finish the game on normal difficulty in about five to six hours. There is some replayability, though, as there is a new game + mode that lets you carry over the subweapons and any Jehuty version, though it does reset your level.

The graphics here are a visual treat. For a Playstation 2 title, it is a great looking game. Unlike the last game, which tried hard as possible for realistic visuals, this one features some very slight touches of cel-shading, which allows for some stylization to the aesthetic. The frame rate is also very impressive, dipping only in the one instance where the game tries so hard that it becomes too much for its system.

The music is also a joy to listen to during playthroughs. The game features a centric J-Pop track that is nicely serene at times but then can be heart-pounding. It works well and most of the background music is nicely paced, keeping in line with the action. Nothing particularly memorable, but it is not bad at all.
Zone of the Enders has done what the developer's intent was, and that was to revolutionize the mech combat genre of games. Usually, they tend to be sluggish, slow, and too focused on customization. Games like the Mobile Suit Gundam series and Chromehounds try to make mech combat too realistic and gritty, but ZOE does away with this, staying fantastical and quick in terms of combat. In short, The Second Runner is a great PS2 title with fun gameplay and some nifty novelties. The sheer amount of joy this presentation inspires makes it this reviewer's favorite game of all time.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/06/08

Game Release: Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner (US, 03/10/03)