Mega Man ZX

"Definitely Mega Man's worst game thus far."

Yesterday, I was browsing through Game Crazy in search of a fun, yet inexpensive game to play for my new Nintendo DSi. Nothing really caught my attention, other than Mega Man ZX, which was priced at $12.99. I thought to myself, hey, I love Mega Man games. I'm sure it's at least worth thirteen bucks! I was mistaken. I could have spent the $13 on losing lottery tickets and would have been more satisfied.

In Mega Man ZX, you play as neither X nor Zero. You play as one of two characters: Vent or Aile (who are almost identical in appearance and pathetic excuses for protagonists). Vent and Aile have the ability to "Megamerge" into different Reploid Models based on many past characters, such as X and Zero. Eventually, you obtain up to 8 different forms, including the Human form and the OX form. This, in my opinion, was one of the few good aspects of the game. However, some forms are much more useful than others (namely, the X model) and the Human form is completely useless. The only time you use it in the game is to talk to civilians (which you don't do that often) and to crawl through tight spaces.

The graphics are subpar by Nintendo DS standards; in fact, they equal Game Boy Advance graphics. I'm not bothered much by graphics, but I think Capcom could have tried a bit harder to make the game prettier.

The music is annoying and childish. Let's leave it at that.

This game is redolent of previous Mega Man installments because of its side-scrolling action, but deviates in its new "exploration and backtracking" addition. Instead of having levels, this game has a large map through which you are supposed to navigate after accepting a mission. This is its biggest flaw, and it completely ruins any playability the game might have had without it. It's my guess that Capcom tried to give the game a sort of "Metroid" or "Castlevania" flavor, but did nothing but make a mockery of adventure games. The map is comprised of "areas," which are lettered and numbered. The map is nearly impossible to read. One, because it is misleading. For example, Area A-1 may be to the left of Area-B2 on the map, but the door connecting the two is to the right of Area B-2 and at the top of Area A-1. Two, because a mission may require you to travel to "Area C-1," but you have no idea where that is because you have not explored in that area yet (and most of the areas are not in alphabetical order). This map system was obviously haphazardly organized. Not to mention, most of the areas are basically the same in layout.

The difficulty of the enemies and bosses fluctuates wildly. It's either laughably easy or mind-numbingly difficult. This adds to the frustration of playing the game.

The story is uncreative and uninteresting. In fact, I won't even give a synopsis of the story, because it is THAT TERRIBLE. There's not much going on other than a fight between robots, some of which can transform into multiple types of robots. The beginning, middle, and end is unsatisfying in every way possible.

This game is absolutely painful to play. I think this game is the end of Mega Man. I can think of few games that are worse than this. For the love of God... do not buy or rent this game. The only time I would condone someone playing this game was if they found it on the ground (or where it belongs, in a pile of garbage). If you want a headache, just bash your face into a wall for a few minutes-- you'll save time and money.

Reviewer's Score: 2/10, Originally Posted: 06/18/09

Game Release: Mega Man ZX (US, 09/12/06)