SciencePilot
Member
The GBA is now retro. Or at least, that's the feeling I was struck by when I first started playing Mega Man Zero.
I'm a decent Mega Man fan and have played many games across the different series, but for some reason I never touched the Zero games when they first came out -- maybe I was scared off by rumors of their difficulty. But now that I'm older I'm more brave, so I finally decided to give the series a try. Luckily, they're all easily playable on current gen hardware (Capcom made a no-frills Mega Man Zero Collection for DS, which is playable on 3DS).
Below are my thoughts after playing through the series, organized in a Q&A fashion.
What are the Mega Man Zero games?
Sidescrolling action platformers with a focus on boss battles. Very similar to the Mega Man X series. You have both a gun and a sword.
What did you like most about the Mega Man Zero games?
I love the whole atmosphere and art style. They've got this whole post-apocalyptic cyberpunk look to them which is super cool. Check out these backgrounds:
Compared to the art for the X series, which has kind of a generic anime look, the art for the Zero series has a more unique, softer, hand drawn look. I much prefer the Zero series here.
How do the games feel / control?
Really great. My enjoyment of a platformer hinges a lot of how much fun it is just to run and jump around, and the Zero games really deliver here. Movement is very fluid. Wall climb --> dash --> jump --> charge slash feels awesome.
Are the games as hard as they say? Is there really an insane difficulty?
Not really, and I don't understand why the games have this reputation. I can see how they are difficult if you're going for high rank (which is essentially just for bragging rights), but if your only goal is to reach the ending then you can use cyber elves -- power-ups improve your health, attack power, etc. at the cost of lower rank. Cyber elves can make you so overpowered that you can essentially just brute force bosses with no skill required at all.
Actually, for this reason the beginnings of the games can be the hardest parts, when you haven't collected many cyber elves. But once you get enough of them, the games can become incredibly easy if you choose.
I still think the games are hard. Any tips?
I wonder if the games are misunderstood. Here's what you should know:
- The games are not about quick reflexes or fast reaction times. They're about learning patterns. Boss attacks have set ways to avoid them, and you have to figure these out.
- Spacing matters in boss battles. Some attacks are impossible to dodge depending on where you are (for example, if you're cornered). You have to figure out the optimal spacing for each boss.
- Use and abuse charge slash when fighting bosses. Sword is basically all you need -- I don't recommend using the buster at all.
The games do have a story but it's pretty light. It's not the greatest story ever, but something I wasn't expecting is that the Zero series is an direct sequel to the X series. I think using that history makes the world and characters feel a lot richer, even though the actual story content is small.
Out of the four games in the series, which is the best? If I only wanted to play one, which should I choose?
Actually, it's hard to say. There isn't really one definitive game, and they all have their pros and cons. Here's a quick, subjective breakdown:
- 1 has the best bosses but by far the worst levels (they're incredibly easy and really boring). It also has the most punishing game systems: lots of stuff is permanently missable, cyber elves cost tons of money, and there's no efficient way to farm lives (leading to a weird metagame where you have to save your lives on the early levels just so you'll have enough to tackle the final boss). Personally, I found the punishing game systems of 1 to be charming, and I like it for that reason. 1 also has a simple but focused and interesting story.
- 2 has much better levels than 1 -- bigger, harder, more explorable, and just more interesting. But 2 is a bit of a letdown because it re-uses a lot of content from 1 (which will be a running theme in this series). 2 also has the least interesting story.
- 3 is the most polished game in the series, which is manifested in a lot of little ways such as having a proper combo system. It also has the most fun equipment system. 3 is let down by significant reused content and not a great story. IMO the story actually kind of jumps the shark here and becomes a little unfocused.
- They reigned in the story a little bit in 4. Other than that nothing really stands out about it.
These really aren't the greatest games of all time thanks to some lackluster level design, heavily reused content, a light but also sometimes convoluted story, and a few questionably punishing design decisions. But they feel great to play, and the boss fights are fun, and I can't deny that I enjoyed my time playing through them. More than anything, I appreciate them for just how evocative they are of the era they came from: the quirky art design, the fact that they star a side character (Zero, instead of Mega Man), the fact that so many of these were churned out in such a short time, and even just the fact that it's a 2D action platformer -- all these things really remind me of the GBA era. An era when Japanese developers felt comfortable making so many smaller games with much less risk. The Zero games wouldn't be created in today's environment, and for that reason I treasure them.
