Another old one no longer on GameFAQs or HG.
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Capcom set the stage for a show stealing performance with Mega Man Zero. Action-starved GameBoy Advance owners couldn't contain their frothing anticipation for a straight-up old school action platform game, drool dripping from their gaping mouths at the thought of an alternative to Circle of the Moon's intelligent exploration and Lady Sia's lack of attachment to an overrated franchise. Even before Zero's North American release, such hard core, unbiased and fair Mega Fans as Zer0 prepared their witty 10-out-of-10 review taglines. It's no secret, Zero really is the star of Mega Man Zero. Imagine that. The android with the girlish blonde ponytail (that would be Zero) was also a playable hero in Mega Man X4: a more attractive, more entertaining game, released seven long years ago.
With credibility and objectivity now thrown out the window (fear not for it was already open), I should point out that the hype could have been worse. These people could instead have sudsily frothed over the GameBoy Advance incarnation of Revenge of Shinobi, a game which rates as recent memory's most shameful resurrection of a beloved franchise. At the very least, Mega Man Zero is acceptable. It occasionally even comes across as good.
The introduction performs its duty and introduces the aforementioned Zero and the youthful Ciel, who is a biotechnical genius and leader of the Resistance. With Ciel looking to be around twelve years of age, her overwhelming intelligence and importance are a tad unbelievable, but this is easily dismissed as a byproduct of an eccentric art style. Ciel isn't the sort of scientist to hide behind desks, seeing as the game begins with her running breakneck speed through a gorgeously coloured underground cavern. Turquoise pools of water ripple in response to drips from violet stalactites, this still scenery soon shattered by the ominous lurching of an enormous man-crushing tank. With pistons sliding smoothly in and out, this humongous machine (as humongous as can be on a small screen) demonstrates a great deal of graphical potential.
After this vividly animated and deceptively promising playable prologue of over-the-top selflessness, in which oddly-named characters perish one after another, Zero wanders around a quiet and downright boring military base, searching every nook and finding nothing but old men who tell long stories about their dead wives. Once you've had your fill of fruitless walking and pointless talking, the first mission begins. Destroy a Garbage Disposal center, where peaceful armed robots-but-not (they're called Reploids and the term is never defined) are being incinerated. In these missions, Zero is not working alone, for he has allied with the Reploid Resistance that freed him from his underground prison. These noble Resistance officers, each garbed in camouflage and silly beret, primarily fill the role of expendable plot device, each dependent on Zero for salvation.
The instruction manual informs me, these Reploids live with Ciel in the Resistance base. It even has pictures. Well I'm pretty sure the one in the middle called himself Aztec Falcon and tried to kill me and friendly Resistance members on the heretofore-unmentioned Harpuia's orders. After I returned from the meaningless mission (I won without ever touching the Garbage Disposal itself), Ciel didn't say word one about me having scrapped her Reploid companion.
Despite the blatant contradictions, I did enjoy the skirmish with Aztec Falcon. The boss encounters in this game shine due to the variety of attacks thrust upon Zero. At the far end of a linear train sequence (most levels are distressingly linear), an enormous mechanical eyeball turns on the juice, singing Zero's shiny red chest with jets of flame. During this battle, portions of the floor shoot up every few seconds towards the spiky ceiling, lancing Zero through the head. A simple dash to the side is enough to avoid impalement, but the demand for attention and quick reaction keeps combat entertaining.
In addition to Ciel and the Resistance, Zero is also assisted by cyber elves, known in other games as 'healing potion' or 'life of the four thousand gods'. Unlike former Mega Friends like Rush the Dog or that big dumb robot Forte, the elves are selected from the main menu, do their thing, and disappear. The elves are a dressier version of healing potions or life-bar extension items (or many other bonuses), with one key difference: you have to feed energy cells to the elves before they function. I can understand feeding elves to raise their strength or replenish hit points, but feeding them to even be able to use them? Unacceptable! When I discover an item or ability in a video game, I want to use it. After drying my tears of despair, I discovered the reward for feeding elves: after a single use, they vanish permanently. Bring back my energy cells, you ungrateful parasite!
Obtaining and activating an elf is a cumbersome and distracting process. Visit a data terminal, maneuver across several sets of menus, select an elf, download it to Zero's system, equip it, then feed it. Later, in the middle of a heated Reploid encounter, pause the game, select the elf from a menu, press a button to use it, then unpause the game. The elf flashily twirls around the screen, temporarily stunning all enemies. This stop-watch effect was accomplished in Castlevania by simultaneously pressing Up and B. And the stopwatch could be used more than once.
With all of their elf shenanigans, Capcom overlooked control improvement. Like his forebears, Zero can still only shoot (or slash) left and right, an incredibly irritating trait when jogging down an inclined plane, since Zero's shots (or slashes) pass harmlessly over the heads of lurking snaptraps below. More forms of attack can be earned by gaining levels, which is accomplished simply by destroying as many enemies as possible. Since the bosses are fairly difficult, I ran left then right again through the desert, slicing venomous robo-cobras into snake sausage for experience points. I don't recall any such old-time RPG shenanigans in other Mega Man games but, although the experience system detracts from the game's excitement, the abilities earned do in part compensate for Zero's mediocre controls. In part.
The game's overall concept is simple, but the unnecessary complexity obscures the action. All in all Mega Man Zero is not a bad game; however, it's a pointlessly irritating and ultimately unrewarding game. But not a bad game.
As if it matters. Mega Fans have already long since moved on, anticipatorily frothing over the upcoming double-numeric Mega Man Zero Three.
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