Mega Man Zero

"Never fear, Zero is here!"

Never Fear, Zero is Here!

I admit, when I first started playing the game I didn't think I could expect much from a GBA game. But when I started a new game file, I was stunned by the incredible graphics and pictures, sound effects, and smooth animation. It may have been in Japanese, but the pictures gave enough information to glean the situation. It is the year 22XX, a hundred years after Megaman X6. A group of resistance members, in particular the female scientist known as Ciel, are escaping from the evil Omega X's minions. Eventually, they arrive at a strange structure. Within, they find Zero, protected by a force field and unconscious. He seems seriously damaged. Suddenly, enemy forces bust in. Ciels companion dies protecting her. At the last moment, Ciel decides to use her Cyber Elf to heal Zero as a last resort. A flash of light results, and Zero is revived, Z-Buster ready in hand. The game just gets better from there.

Graphics, 9/10

Of course, the first thing one sees when looking at the graphics is the sweet smoothness of it all. When Zero is revived, the screen is filled by an incredible caricature of Zero. When you fire the Z-buster, the top of the gun actually recoils. The Z-sabre attacks are fluid, and when you slash an enemy, it doesn't just explode, it splits in half! The same goes for bosses, who have multiple death animations depending on how you kill them. The backgrounds flash with activity, and the water ripples with realism. However, the graphical limitations of the GBA prevent me from giving it a full 10/10.

Sound, 9/10

The music pertains to the mood exceptionally well. It can instill fear, and increase haste. When the roof's gonna crush you, it becomes fast-paced. When there's a boss you have to fight, it becomes ominous. The sound effects are also excellent, from just swinging your Z-sabre to an exploding boss. Shooting the Z-buster has a cartridge-removal sound, which adds to realism. Despite the fuzziness heard in all GBA games, this gets 9/10.

Storyline, 8/10

The storyline is rather gripping, though little substandard. Apparently, the world has been taken over by an evil copy of X, or Omega X. Your job as Zero is to destroy the despotic government and bring peace to the world. Sound familiar?

Gameplay, 10/10

Holy moley! The controls are sleek, the power is great, and you realy feel like you're wielding the Z-sabre! The style has been changed slightly to an RPG, where you perform missions by talking to Ciel. Practically the whole area can be travelled to as long as you know where to go. You can now level up your weaponry to improve they're attacks. The ranking system too provides a challenge. Also, there is a new feature installed: The Cyber Elf system. Using these elves, you upgrade your systems to become more powerful and to have an advantage in the field, since there are no capsules anymore. However, using them will ensure a low rank. Included are the new elemental attacks and weaknesses of certain bosses in which you can use to your advantage. The game is just fun to play.

Replay Value, 5/10

There is some replay value, just not a lot. After completing the game, you probably have collected most of the cyber elves. At this point, you can reply the game through Continue Mode, after the credits roll. Doing so will result in you starting a new game, but with every cyber elf you had and used, the time you spent, and also your energen crystals. Your weapons are back down to level 1. One more feature: Hard Mode. In this case, your weapons NO LONGER LEVEL UP, hence the difficulty. The only reason why you'd want to use continue mode is to collect every last Cyber elf there is. And that's no easy task.

Overall, 9/10

Overall, I'd say this is a great game. Get it. NOW.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/07/02, Updated 05/07/02