Current Events > Let's talk about Mega Man Zero. *spoilers*

(+) Yeah! (+)

Seems like this series gets overlooked a lot these days. They're all quality games though.

I go back and forth on a favorite.

1 had a lot of cool ideas going for it, with the connected overworld and the general lack of teleportation except at a few story-related points. I also loved the story with Zero and Copy-X. It's like the perfect sequel to the X series, and Zero's dialog when he deals with Copy-X is seriously top notch. He doesn't hate Copy-X for being an ass or disgracing his friend's name (partially because his memories are faint) but he looks at him with pity and disgust, which is an awesome role reversal from traditional hero/villain roles. Having certain events actually change the overworld and sometimes setting the action stages in or around the Resistence Base really made the whole thing feel real, like you were actually on the enemy's radar and should be taken seriously. Just a masterpiece game. I could talk about it for hours.

2 was probably the low point for me, but this isn't so much a diss on 2 as a compliment to the other games in the series. It dialed it back a bit in terms of the unique features of 1, which was kinda disappointing, but it had fantastic opening, ending and mid stages. Bringing back the Guardians was a great move, since a decent-sized assortment of persistent villains is something the series has always lacked. It really adds to the "ongoing struggle" feel of the series. Unfortunately, it suffered from a forgettable villain and a few mediocre stages. There's just not the kind of chemistry between Zero and Elpizo that we saw before in 1 and later in 3-4. Killing X (kinda) was a bold move, and I like that they actually followed through moving forward. It was necessary for Zero to have that thrust on him in order to develop as a character.

3 was just great in every way. Bringing back Copy-X, and providing a traditional 8 stages before fighting him was the perfect misdirection for the actual villain. They should have had a boss rush too, but I applaud the effort anyway. I loved the conclusion to the Guardians' arc so much. Omega was a nice irony, and finally killing X for real cemented Zero's role as the antihero while simultaneously showing approval for his particular flavor of neutral good heroism in contrast to X's lawful good approach. This one had my favorite stage designs by far.

And 4, to me, had the best bosses and lots of clever stage gimmicks. I really liked the new characters, too, especially Craft. He's one of the deepest chracters in Mega Man as a whole, while Weil in turn goes full-on mustache-twirling evil to highlight the moral gray that Craft represents. I loved that they actually wrapped up the story for once. There are basically no loose ends, unless you think Zero might have survived (though I really can't see how). The Z-Knuckle was a fun gimmick, though most of its uses are mediocre at best (with the exception of the axe). I also loved that they painted Neo Arcadia as another victim of Weil's ambition, pointing out that its people are and always have been deceived by wicked leaders.

It's clear that somebody had their head on straight from stsrt to finish with this series, which you really can't say about X.
---

Always appreciated the weapons in those games. Coolest system imo.
---

Under rated series. Fun, difficult, and a good story
---

Absolutely amazing games! My ranking for the Megaman series has BN, Zero, then X as my top 3.
---

I also always loved that the games were designed to encourage you to challenge yourself. Using cyber-elves tended to wreck your rank, which in turn kept you from getting new abilities.

Until 4 came along and gave you a little leeway in that regard.
---

I don't remember a lot except I think 3 had the best weapons, and I could never understand the more complicated dynamics with Cyberelves. I couldn't get good scores for the armor upgrades either, but I did beat all 4 games.
---

This game was hard as fuck. In fact after MMX4 the whole entire series became HARD as fuck. The whole charming thing about MMX1-4 was that is was casual. It just got way too hard for me.
---

I agree, underrated series. I consider all four of the games to be top ten original GBA titles. The plots are all super boring but the gameplay is solid. From a completionist's perspective it's a little weird that you sort of can't 100% them but that's fine.

I would like 2 the most if the hookshot mechanic was better. Since it's kinda clunky, 3 probably tops it.
---

Veggeta_MAX posted...

This game was hard as fuck. In fact after MMX4 the whole entire series became HARD as fuck. The whole charming thing about MMX1-4 was that is was casual. It just got way too hard for me.

no one bite
---

Great games.
---

Sexypwnstar posted...

Veggeta_MAX posted...

This game was hard as fuck. In fact after MMX4 the whole entire series became HARD as fuck. The whole charming thing about MMX1-4 was that is was casual. It just got way too hard for me.

no one bite

Water is wet.
---

Yeah Zero 1 was a little too tough in spots, but overall it's the kind of game that makes you rise to the challenge until you eventually surpass the learning curve and just wreck everything.

Which is a rare sweet spot. Even its sequels didn't quite pull it off.
---