Zone of the Enders: The Fist of Mars

"One of the best games I've ever played."

Introduction - ZOE: The Fist of Mars is a truly wonderful game; with a plot so involved you can't help but fall in love with the characters. It's not a very well-known game, but it should be. It's elite.

Gameplay - Very simple gameplay, sometimes a bit too easy. IAS gives you more of a challenge, but without using IAS the battles are plain and as boring as possible. Use the IAS when you play, it’s way more fun. It's a shame you only control characters on the battlefield though, it would be nice to be able to do other sorts of missions. However, there are some very nice animated CGIs for each attack and they're very specific. Each Orbital Frame or LEV (the mechs you use) is very different, and they can be enhanced by using little things on the battlefield such as level-ups and Local Servers, and at the Intermission, where you can pay to have your machines upgraded. Sometimes, the missions can take a very long time to complete, and so can get repetitive and often boring. You're well rewarded though. There's a little function which can help you level up more -- in battle, on the menu there is a Retreat command. If you use it, it starts the battle again, but keeps and experience from when you fought before.

Story - The story of this game is fantastic. OK, I will admit it, it made me cry on a couple of occasions (not revealing when, of course). I absolutely love the story; it's definitely the best part of the game. If you're not a fan of long storylines, you shouldn't get this, because a LOT of the game is made up of characters talking. If you like that kind of stuff, though, then this is the game for you. Each character is much defined and twists and turns of the plot will have you entranced. There's a little romance, too -- but don't be put off if you don't like that kinda thing.

Graphics - Not the most amazing, very simple backgrounds that are repeated and are rather too simple and undetailed. But the characters have several different icons for facial expressions -- something I've never seen on a game before. There are some very, very nice CGIs of the characters at some points in the game, some of the best I've ever seen on the GBA.

Sound - The soundtrack to this game has to be my favourite soundtrack ever. I love the music, it's wonderful, and with a special section just to play music, I sometimes play just to listen to it. There are some quite good sound effects too -- Very good sound for a GBA game. There isn't any voice acting, but what do you expect from a GBA? It's up to standards and past them.

Play Time - Nowhere near as short as the PS2 games, The Fist of Mars is quite long, although most of it is taken up by the story. There are several scenes in the game -- but it depends on which ending path you choose. Still, it can be very long if you use the IAS in your battles. It can also be longer if you use the 'Retreat' command to start the scene again. But, it keeps the EXP you gaining, so is a very good device for levelling up.

Replayability - Since there is more than one ending ‘path’ for this game, the replaying it can be rewarding. Since there are 15 slots to save your data in, this game can be played a lot and you won't loose anything. Although after doing all that, everything is exactly the same, so it can be a little bit boring. Once again, the retreat function plays a little role. It can sometimes be worth replaying just to get your characters to a higher level or to get them more weapons.

Final Recommendation - This game, I think, is my favourite for the GBA. I absolutely love it to pieces, and I'm sure you would too. It can actually be quite rare in gameshops, but why is beyond me. There should be several million copies in every shop.

Rent or Buy - Buy!!! You've gotta buy a game as fantastic as this. It's a little uncommon in some gameshops -- but buy it all the same. It's worth looking for.

Gameplay: 8/10
Story: 10/10
Graphics: 8/10
Sound: 10/10
Replayability: 8/10
Overall: 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/25/04