Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner

"Among the greatest action games ever"

The first Zone of the Enders game, or Z.O.E., for the Playstation 2 had a lot of potential with its beautiful graphics, music, and smooth, unique game engine. However it wasn't the ideal mech game like some thought it'd be, it was very short, lacked variety(mostly in terms of enemies to fight), and didn't have much replay value. Despite that, it was still fun in my opinion and i just couldn't wait for the sequel which i was sure to be like the first except with so much more. Did Z.O.E.2 meet my expectations? Actually, in a couple of minor cases, no, but it just had so many good things about it that i can say it is much better than its predecessor and one of the best action titles out for the PS2.

Story: 10/10
The year is now 2174 AD, two years after the first Z.O.E. game. Bahram has been fighting the United Nation's Space Force(or UNSF) for some time now to gain independence from Earth however the high-ranking officials of Bahram have clearly become quite corrupt over the years and their true goals are uncertain. Dingo Egret is a retired soldier, mining for Metatron(a rare and powerful new energy source) on Callisto, a moon of Jupiter. He comes across the Orbital Frame Jehuty which was abandoned on the Metatron-rich Callisto in order to keep it hidden from Bahram. After Dingo enters the cockpit of the Orbital Frame in order to protect his friends from hostile Bahram forces, he is reluctantly thrown into several conflicts that could very well decide the fate of Mars and Earth.

Gameplay: 9/10
The controls are quite different than any other mech/action game i've played(besides Z.O.E. of course). If you haven't played the first game i highly recommend you go through VR Training mode. Even so, the controls are pretty easy to remember once you play through the first few minutes of the game.

There is a good amount of different enemies to fight throughout this game including various other Orbital Frames, gun turrets, homing mines, and huge battleships. You'll find yourself using(sometimes, you're forced to) lots of different techniques to fight them. In other words, people who button-mashed their way through Z.O.E. will find themselves actually using some strategy(hopefully). A different thing about this game is that you no longer only fight enemies in small groups. You'll usually be fighting 4-8 different Orbital Frames simultaneously with support units such as walking tanks or small fighters(which come in huge numbers).

Your regular energy shot is pretty weak and only needed on certain missions, when fighting small enemies, or keeping a larger enemy at bay. Homing lasers have been upgraded and can be discharged in the tens upon large groups of enemies, this is very useful when fighting swarms of fighters and when you need to keep some opposing mechs busy as you go in close. You also have an arm-mounted blade to use when you're in close range with an enemy. Holding down the burst button(R2) and attacking(with shot or slash, depending on how far away the target is) will perform a powerful bust attack, which are basically techniques used to finish off large mechs. Subweapons are acquired throughout the game and players of the first Z.O.E. will be happy to know they are much more useful this time, not to mention fun as hell to use. Many of them are actually weapons already seen in the previous game(some have also been omitted) but they have new looks and work a little differently.

Cons: Unfortunately, the game's amazing graphics come at a price. There is some slowdown whenever a lot of effects are shown on screen, usually whenever a lot of enemies are exploding or when a boss is performing a flashy attack. Though this isn't a very big deal and doesn't take away much from the fast-paced battles. The only other bad thing in terms of gameplay would have to be the last two very long and frustrating boss fights.

Note: The game's difficulty has risen since its release in Japan. In fact, Easy mode is actually the Japanese version's Normal mode, Normal mode is the Japanese Hard mode, and Hard mode is the Japanese Very Hard mode(the Japanese Easy mode has been omitted). So don't feel too bad if you're having a lot trouble getting through Normal mode, others did as well.

Visuals/Graphics: 10/10
Next to Final Fantasy X(no comment on X-2, never played it), these are probably the best graphics i've ever seen on Playstation 2. There is some cell-shading used(mostly in explosions and weapon effects) but thankfully Konami didn't overdue it like in some games(Robotech, Wild Arms 3, etc.). The mecha polygons are detailed very nicely, even better than in the first game, and all of the old attacks look much improved. Explosions are very detailed and anime-like but not half-assed like the ones in Robotech: Battlecry and whenever Jehuty flies through an explosion or dust cloud its body drags trails of smoke. Unrealistic, yet really cool. Environments also look great, especially when structures are being blown apart. ^__^ There is also quite a bit of blurring and light-''trailing'' effects used. I think it looks nice but some will find it overused and a little annoying at times. The only thing that probably could have made the graphics better would be to have shadows(though players don't even notice that objects don't have shadows under them in all the intensity).

There are both 3D cutscenes for parts involving a lot of mechs and battles, and 2D anime cutscenes for parts showing a lot of character movement and such in the game. The 3D ones are good and basically just like gameplay visuals. The anime cutscenes were done by Studio Gonzo, some anime fans may be familar with some of their titles such as Blue Submarine No. 6, Full Metal Panic!, and Kiddy Grade. Anyways, like their animes, the scenes in Z.O.E.2 look superb. One little disappointment was how i was hoping to see at least a little mecha action in 2D animation. Unfortunately there is none.

Music/Audio: 9/10
The music is excellent. Most of the soundtrack is made up of dramatic, ''epic'' sounding instrumentals, along with some techno tunes in there, much like the music from Z.O.E.'s soundtrack. Z.O.E.2's main theme ''Beyond the Bounds'' has to be the best video game vocal i've heard since Metal Gear Solid's ''The Best is Yet to Come''.

The voice acting is better than most English dubs but that isn't really saying much, it could've used some more work, Dingo's voice acting in particular. I was really hoping Konami would include a Japanese audio option but they didn't.

Note: The music is flawless and would have earned itself a 10, the English dub is what brought the score down to a 9.

Replay Value: 9/10
Once you start a new game, a Versus mode will be unlocked and be accessible from the main menu. You'll have to beat the game and perform other tasks to get new Orbital Frames to use. Versus mode is much like it was in the first game, it's not split-screen and can cause some disadvantages for players. Konami really should have added a split screen option even though the graphics would suffer.

After beating story mode once you will have the choice to play through it again using different versions of Jehuty and whether or not to carry over acquired subweapons. Extra Missions mode will also be unlocked. You will be able to unlock a total of 165 missions in this mode by searching for items in story mode. Most of them are set in areas you've already been to(with only one new area) and have you fight enemies while you're timed and given handicaps such as not being able to use long-range attacks or lock-on disabled. There is also a special minigame where you can use Leo's Vic Viper mech in a level much like one from Konami's old Gradius side-shooter series called Zoradius.

Rent or Buy?
Unless you really hate action and/or mecha games, i highly recommend you buy this game. Story mode will only take 7-10 hours at most to complete but you'll probably find yourself playing through it again and again, especially with the option to use different Jehutys and all subweapons from the beginning after beating the game once. Also Versus mode is a fun thing to play when friends are over and Extra Missions will keep you busy for hours.

Overall: 10/10
Amazing graphics, fast-paced combat with no gravity restrictions, great music, and a gripping sci-fi storyline gives Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner an easy 10 out of 10 even with its minor flaws.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/23/03, Updated 03/30/03