Mega Man ZX

"Time to blast evil to bits! Now, where the heck is evil?"

Mega Man's always been there, hasn't he? Fighting robots, stealing their powers, and saving the world. Sure he's had a lot of faces, but he's been there. Mega Man ZX is the latest face to add to the large variations, offering the side-scrolling fun of the Mega Man Zero games with the ability to go around a giant 2D world.

When you start it up you'll have a choice between a boy named Vent, or a girl called Aile. There's little difference in game play, and actually, there's little difference in the story too. They're both very similar. A long cut-scene explains that you work for a delivery company and that you're delivering a mysterious item, but on the way you're attacked and are separated from your boss. You find a small group of people forming a resistance against an evil company but they're also attacked, and the package activates and gives you the power of Mega Man X. The story carries on from there with you joining the resistance and fighting the company.

The game works like any other side-scrolling Mega Man game. You go around, shooting enemies and jumping from platforms to reach the boss. ZX mixes it up by adding a Biometal system which allows you to change your look and gain new abilities, like allowing you to fly, throw ninja stars, swim, or go on an all-out offensive with powerful guns. It's a fun addition, but they don't really seem necessary throughout most of the game, and I found it easier to go through levels with your standard form. The levels are spread throughout a giant map and you'll have to find your own way there. They'll tell you a coordinate like F-4 for example) and you won't get any more information, making wander aimlessly throughout the world until you happen upon the correct spot. When choosing which coordinate to follow, they give you the illusion that you can choose a level in any order. But you often will need a certain key to get into an area and the only way to get it was to go through the mission above it on the list.

The levels are a bit bland, can be a lot of fun, like a mission where you have to save people from a burning building. The game can also be a bit frustrating, but shouldn't difficult for most, especially if you play it on easy mode. Each level usually has one save point, but some won't have any, so if you lose all of your lives you'll have to hike it back from where you last saved. They have a warp room to get to any level, but to gain access to it you have to beat the level first, so it isn't that much of a help. The bosses are probably the hardest part of the game, if you're not careful you can die quickly. You are ranked on defeating bosses by how many times you hit their weak point, hitting fewer times the better. This is often frustrating because it seems like the bosses are just begging you to hit them there.

Nothing about the music really stood out to me, which disappointed me as I expect more from Mega Man games. The graphics are in 2D, and a lot like the Mega Man Zero games, but they aren't that bad. There are multiple difficulties, which are fun, as well as two characters but as I said, there isn't much of a difference. There are some side-quests, but not much of a reason to do them. Mega Man ZX is a good game if you know where you're going.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/25/07