Mega Man Zero 2

"Zero's back in the hardest Megaman game ever!"

When Megaman Zero was announced, people from the four sides of the world would finally have a chance to play a side scrolling game of the blue robot in the Game Boy Advance. And the game caught people all around the world, as they saw that the main character was not Megaman: it was Zero! But the game was a success and people claimed for a sequel. Well, the sequel that people asked is here, and it’s better than ever!

A year after the battles of the first game, Zero is still fighting against Neo Arcadia and after defeating a big troop, he falls unconscious near the new Resistance Base. Ciel and some soldiers find him and take him to the base. There, he discovers the new plans of the Neo Arcadia and also discovers that the Resistance has a new leader: Elpizo, a man that once was an evil guy, but now claims to be in Ciel’s side. Now, it’s up to Zero (Zero no, you) to help the Resistance!

Even though the story may seem simple, it is not: after every stage completed, it becomes more complex and a little harder to understand, since new problems appear for you to solve.

This game is way harder than the first. When you select a mission, you have to stay there and finish it. If you want to choose another one, you will lose all your weapon’s upgrades and all the crystals collected. But, you can try as many times as you want the same stage and you won’t lose anything. But, don’t worry: you will have fun trying to go through the difficult stages.

The Cyber Elves are still here and better than before: Capcom noticed how hard it was to feed all the elves and made it a lot easier. For the ones who don’t know, Cyber Elves are small programs that, when used, gives you a new ability (some are permanent and some acts only in one stage). Only with them, you can increase your life bar and get the Sub-Tanks. But, you can’t just get and use them: you will need to feed some elves in order to use them and unleash its effects. And, to feed them, you will have to collect Energy Crystals. It is the blue thing that some enemies drop after being defeated. So, try to get as many elves as possible and use them to see their various effects.

The weapons here had some changes: you start with the Z-Saber and the Buster Gun, but you’ll get the other weapons later in the game. The Triple Rod left and the Chain Rod took its place. This weapon can hold in almost any wall and can prove to be very useful in your adventure. The forth weapon is the Shield Boomerang, that you may already know.

The upgrade system of the weapons remains the same: the more you use the weapons, the stronger it becomes. The way you use the weapons also influences in the upgrade you will receive first.

Also, there’s a ranking system, which is the same that the first game had: after you complete a mission, you’ll receive a grade, which can be F, E, D, C, B, A or S (from lowest to highest). You will also receive a codename, depending on how you acted in the stage.

There are two major new things: the first one is a thing called Forms, which you win by doing certain things in the missions. If you do what it is necessary to gain a new form, you will receive it when you complete the mission. The last new thing added is called EX Skills. In order to win one of these, you must complete a mission and get a ranking of A or S. Otherwise, you won’t get anything. Yes my friends, Zero has a hard life!

The graphics in this game are pretty good. It has the same structure that the first one had, but with a little improvements. The stages are a little more colored and brighter than before and the animations fell more natural. The sound is better too. The stage’s music really matches! And the controls are still simple and easy to understand.

To finish, this game is way better than the first one, in all points. Harder than ever, you will have a lot of fun playing this game. If you want to play it for the first time, rent it to see if you like. If you liked the first game, you should definitely buy it!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/23/03, Updated 12/24/03