Mega Man Zero 2

"Now we're talking"

I must admit I was quite disappointed with the first Mega Man Zero. With all that innovation and production values, it could have been great, but merely ended up being a tedious piece of gaming not helped by the mediocre stage design.

Obviously, I was not very excited about the sequel, and at first it seemed to be plagued with same problems than its predecessor. Is there any redeeming quality in MMZ2 or will it simply turn out be an another mistake?

OVERVIEW:

Mega Man Zero 2 is a two-dimensional, non-linear amalgamation of a platformer and shoot 'em up.

CATCH:

Mega Man Zero 2 introduces forms, which allow Zero to change his properties, and EX Skills, special techniques for weapons.

GRAPHICS:

Very similar to the first game, which, admittedly, is not a bad thing. The menu is redesigned, for obvious reasons. Also, the mission selection screen presents mug shots of the bosses, which is infinitely better than the boring mission list of the first MMZ.

Obviously I was not the only one complaining about the lack of imagery in MMZ, since MMZ2 has mighty many still motion images.

SOUND:

The music of MMZ2 is excellent. Despite having many similarly-themed stages, MMZ manages to keep it's musical score fresh.

GAMEPLAY:

The forms are probably the most notable change in this game. Depending on Zero's actions, he can invoke differently-colored that will change his attributes and abilities. For instance, if you use the buster a lot, you will invoke the X form (the meaning of "X" should be obvious), which will turn Zero blue and makes his Buster more powerful, but only allows Zero to slash once.

The forms are a good addition, since the forms unlocked will probably be best suited for the player. E.g. players who use dashing slashes a lot will unlock the Active Form, that allows jumping and dashing somersault slashes. Some of the forms have outright bizarre requirements and you are unlikely to invoke more than three forms unless you know what you are doing.

EX Skills bring the VWS (Variable Weapon System) back. When you defeat a boss with A or S rank, you will copy their techniques that can be used with certain weapon. Some of the EX Skills can be imbued with a certain elemental chip, like Sengatotsu with Thunder and Sharp Edge with Ice. Thanks to this, you can actually fight bosses the way you did in MMX. There 4 techniques for Z-Buster, another 4 for the Z-Sabre, and one for both Shield Boomerang and Chain Rod.

Chain Rod? Yeah, Chain Rod is the new weapon that replaces the Triple Rod. Chain Rod can attack to 8 directions like Triple Rod, but can also pull enemies and blocks, and also allows to latch into surfaces and swing yourself across pits. Just think the Vampire Killer of "Super Castlevania 4" but in steroids. While still not as used as the Z weapons, it is a useful weapon, especially with its EX Skill. It recycles the Triple Rod's charge attack, which looks bit rushed.

For some reason, Mega Man Zero 2 keeps the weapon levels, which clashes with the form system. E.g. If you have leveled up your sabre and then equip the Power Form, all your leveling up will be a wasted effort as Power Form disallows combos. On the other hand, if you invoke the Rise Form, but don't have enough Sabre levels for triple slashes, the form will do exactly jack and sh... well you get the idea. Besides, the weapons have less proficiency levels than in MMZ, so why just not get rid of them?

Cyber Elves work exactly like in the first game, but this time the developers cut the crystal cost to about 1/3, making this game far less tedious. Also, crystals are found more often, so you can get as much as 250 crystals per mission, enough to raise a vitality elf.

The stage design is a definite improvement over the MMZ, though it is still bit cheap. MMZ2 remembers that Mega Man's one true strength is the ability to fill a 5 minute long stage with larger variety of action than a standard Michael Bay movie. For example in the bomber aircraft mission Zero first jumps from plane to plane then battles an fighter aircraft on a bomber's roof, disables electric barriers, protects Ciel against a horde of enemies, escapes from the bomber and finally fights a cockroach reploid. All this in 6 minutes. Sure, the stage is frustrating, but never boring.

CHALLENGE:

People say MMZ2 is harder than it's predecessor, but I actually think this is easier. Sure it's hard as hell, but it is much easier to get good ranking, and Cyber Elves are effortless to raise. There even are Cyber Elves that raise your rank.

STORY:

After the destruction of Copy X, Zero is lost to the desert. Somehow he survives, and finds himself at the new base of tje resistance movement. He learns about Ciel's effort create a new form of energy, which is supposed to bring peace. Meanwhile, Zero got nothing to do, so he agrees to help Commander Elpizo in his "Operation Righteous Strike".

Lots of people constantly criticize Mega Man for less than stellar plots. Seriously, stop whining. The sole plot twist of this game might be utterly predictable and the story is mainly unfold with lots of dialogue, but at least it is not at all convoluted.

The characters, while two-dimensional, are no worse than those of Final Fantasies. While Mega Man Zero 2's text and still images might lack the spectacle of Mega Man X4's cutscenes, the characters actually have sort of semi-believable motives rather than being black and white caricatures dragging the story to the level of "Inchon". And that matters much more than flashy cutscenes.

It is a video game plot: Why are the resistance soldiers complete chickens? Simply so that Zero can take over for them, giving the player something to do. I couldn't have it any other way.

With only few exceptions, video games aiming for cinematic plots have failed in both narrative and interactive levels. If you want a engaging, well written and meaningful story, do me a favour and go read a book.

LONGEVITY:

Mega Man Zero 2 is roughly as long than MMZ, but not as tedious. By cutting the need of powerleveling, MMZ2 is actually much more enduring experience, since the temptation to beat the game twice is much stronger.

CONCLUSION:

Mega Man Zero 2 is definitive improvement, simply making its predecessor obsolete. All it took was few minor tweaks.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/11/06