Zone of the Enders: The Fist of Mars

"Anime cliches and watered-down strategy do not an exceptional game make."

I'm a big anime fan, but fundamentally, a lot of it is the same. Please don't try to deny it. Sure, there are plenty of amazing series with fresh new characters, brilliant writing and a fantastic plot, but for every one of those you see, 300 obnoxiously bad series are sure to accost you. This is especially true of genre animes: in romance shows you're gonna see plenty of boring male main characters (tailored to be generic so the loser viewer can easily put themselves in their shoes), fantasy is host to a bevy of stoic sword-wielding hotties, and comedy will be bursting with ditzy big-boobed girls. Sci-fi, unfortunately, is the worst of these genres as it stands, because it tends to incorporate cliches from every possible corner of the Earth. Combined with the typical hyper-dense plots, impenetrable biological jargon and tedious political psychodrama, the genre can be one of the most difficult to execute convincingly.

This is where Zone of the Enders: Fist of Mars is at fault. One of the GBA's earlier titles, as well as one of its first strategy games (that honor going to Advance Wars), it makes an earnest attempt at being an enjoyable SRPG with a complex and deep plot. Unfortunately, in its execution, it takes many things granted, and thus as a gamer I felt jilted and rather snubbed. Ultimately, the game seemed directed far more towards fans of the original series than fans of good video gaming. This much I could understand, since Konami would want to obviously cash in on a successful series' wake -- but did they really have to make the meat of the game as tedious as it is?

As previously mentioned, ZoE is a game crafted in the fictional universe of an anime series also called Zone of the Enders. Within it (or at least from what I gather), there's a lot of racial prejudice brimming between the people of Earth and the people of Mars. Add a healthy batch of governmental deception, civil war and crazy explosions to the mix and you basically have Fist of Mars's backdrop all ready to go. It sounds simple, and the basic plot is not that difficult to follow. However, in an attempt to make it seem more complex, Konami embellishes endlessly, adding in hundreds of organizations, important figures and distant celestial bodies to better complete its universe.

This means, of course, that there are more oblique terms and references than you can shake a self-propelled laser blade at. BIS! NUT! BAHRAM! Considerately, the game provides you with a built-in encyclopedia in the options menu, which to me seems absolutely ludicrous. If a game needs to use a freakin' encyclopedia to complete its plot and setting, then something is wrong. Granted, a lot of these companies/people are probably nods to the series or the content therein, and if you've already seen that then you'll be far better equipped than I was. As it stands, though, just about all of these flew over my head, and like hell was I gonna be bothered to take time and read dry information about an unimportant part of the plot just for my own personal benefit.

And of course, when there's so much plot to be addressed, the game sure takes its sweet time doing it. As many will tell you, Zone of the Enders: Fist of Mars has long cutscenes. Very, very long cutscenes. Expect at least 5 to 10 minutes of text to preface and epilogue every battle -- longer, if there's a lot to be discussed. Oh and I hope you're a fast reader, because I am and it STILL felt like it took forever to get through. For a second here, let's be perfectly honest with ourselves...as much as any gamer values a strong plot, is this much talking really necessary to craft a good game? Many games in the past have managed to keep their exposition blessedly brief and have been just as, if not more, expressive in their plot. As some might say, "Brevity is the soul of wit."

Surprisingly, all of this squandered time is not occupied by dry science fiction babble. There are also heaping servings of character development as well. Like most video games, Fist of Mars has an extensive cast to its name, boasting diversity and depth. Well...sure. It's hard NOT to develop a character when you take that much time out of a game and go out of your way to do so. An example everyone will be familiar with is Xenosaga. Fantastic plot, amazing characters...and agonizing half-hour cutscenes. Zone of the Enders: Fist of Mars is like Xenosaga Lite in that regard. But I digress -- the characters make amazing strides as far as their progression goes. And surprisingly, aside from a few exceptions (Semyl and Razma), all of these people are highly interesting as well, with distinct and multidimensional personalities. The only problem is that, like the terminology glossary, there's also a character reference guide that's supposed to fill in the holes left by the game. Lame.

But with all of this ranting about the plot, how does the gameplay hold up? To keep things brief (which I fear I've already failed at), it really doesn't. At the core, Zone of the Enders: Fist of Mars has a lot of really good ideas floating around in its combat system. The game first plays out as any SRPG would, with the player advancing units across a grid to meet the foes and attack. That's where the similarities end, however. After you've picked your technique and target, you then are advanced to the IAS, or Interactive Attack Simulator. Here you control a crosshair on a first-person screen with an enemy floating about. You have a fixed amount of time to lock on to this enemy in order to do damage, and if you're really good you can hit the tiny red dot in the center of the enemy to do a critical hit. Similarly, when you're attacked, the enemy shoots little crosshairs at you and if you wander into their path then you take damage.

The big problem with this is that it makes the game way too easy. WAY too easy. It is a cinch to land an attack even with the smallest of projected odds; on the same token, when you're defending, just a simple circular pattern will protect you from the enemy's most accurate assault. Now if this all sounds unfair to you, you have the option of turning the IAS off...but this would be suicide. Towards the end of the game, the enemy does at least 40% damage to you with one attack (with an 85+% hit rate on average), and your hit rates usually hang out in the lower 50% scale. See, with the IAS on, that high damage doesn't matter because you won't get hit anyway, and that low hit rate doesn't matter because you can always nail your opponent. But no matter how good your strategy, turning off the IAS is begging for slaughter. So either you can play the game way too easy, or impossibly hard. Balance issues suck!

Speaking of balance issues, some of the LEVs (your combat vehicles) are far superior to others. Testament, the main character's mecha, can single-handedly wipe the field with very little effort. On the other hand, Semyl's bot Caliburnus can barely scratch the paint off your foes throughout almost all of the game. You can try to rectify this by changing the Balance Meter in order to sacrifice accuracy for power, but even then, some of the characters are obviously pulling more weight than the rest. A good SRPG places value on every member of the party, but when the game can be completed using just one person, then there's not much fun to be had.

Finally, the last issue with the game play is an overall lack of freedom and uniqueness. You can't buy any new equipment (other than upgrades to your HP, defense and weapons) and the allies you use and receive are entirely forced. You can give your mechs three items to take into each combat, but there's only a selection of three items for them to choose from in the first place! They can learn new techniques, but only at specific points in each map, and some barely get any at all. Ultimately, this all renders the game extremely linear. This is a thorn in the side of many SRPGs, but a little more customization in the gamer's experience would really have gone a long way.

As it stands, Zone of the Enders: Fist of Mars is a noble attempt at bringing a solid SRPG to the Game Boy Advance. Though the game is fun at its roots, there are too many kinks in the gameplay and the flow/continuity to make the experience really amazing. With a little more verve injected in its creaky, lifeless pipes, it could really have been something amazing and unique. As it is now, however, it's merely an overblown, wordy and self-important entry on the GBA library. Some may appreciate it more than I do, and I recommend that you play the game to formulate your own opinions -- just don't be surprised at its sheer density.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 04/06/06