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Mega Man Zero (video game)

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Mega Man Zero
Developer(s)Inti-Creates
Publisher(s)Capcom
Designer(s)Ryota Ito
Yoshinori Kawano
Artist(s)Toru Nakayama
Composer(s)Ippo Yamada
Setsuo Yamamoto
Platform(s)Game Boy Advance
Genre(s)Platformer
Mode(s)Single player

Mega Man Zero, known in Japan as Rockman Zero (ロックマン ゼロ, Rokkuman Zero), is the first installment in the Mega Man Zero series, the fifth series in Capcom's Mega Man video games franchise. It is the first Mega Man platformer to appear on the Game Boy Advance and was released in Japan on April 26, 2002, in North America on November 9, 2002, and in Europe on November 26, 2002.[1]

Gameplay

Mega Man Zero is set 100 years after the end of the Mega Man X games and follows the Mega Man staple of side-scrolling platform action. The player takes control of the Mega Man X character Zero and guides him across several missions, defeating a boss near the end.

As is common with Mega Man games touching spikes means instant death (except spikes touched during the limited invincibility period granted by taking damage). Continuing the "tradition" from the Mega Man X series, Zero can cling to walls (albeit he slides down it at a uniform rate) and dash. When clinging onto walls, pressing the jump button and the D-pad in the direction opposite to the wall, makes Zero soar off the wall halfway up the screen (referred to in the manual as wall-kick).[2]

Unlike previous Mega Man games, instead of separate stages, there is a mostly single interconnected overworld as the Resistance base in the center, where almost every area in the game can be explored freely (a feature that is removed in later Zero games, but returns in Mega Man ZX). In place of the stages is a choice of missions that Zero can undertake in each of the separate areas of the map, and completing one may unlock others.

There are still bosses to fight in these missions, but not every boss is fought near the end of the stage. It's also possible to fail non-critical missions and continue on with the game,[3] either by using the "Escape Unit" or by choosing to "give up" a mission after losing a life. Doing so marks the mission as a failure, and it will no longer be available; as well the player will miss out on several important items in doing so.

Weapons overview

The player begins the game with a Resistance buster and soon acquires Zero's trademark weapon, the Z-Saber. There are two other weapons that the player can acquire: the Shield Boomerang and the Triple Rod. By pressing and holding the button a weapon is assigned to, the player can charge a weapon and use a more powerful attack. There are two charged levels, but the second level can only be unlocked after prolonged use of the weapon. All weapons start off weak, but with constant use, the weapons level up, unlocking more advanced techniques and abilities.

  • Buster Shot - Also known as the Z-Buster, this weapon is a buster with long range distance, but weak attack power. It can be leveled up three times.
  • Z-Saber - Zero's trademark weapon. It is short range, but has the most techniques to unlock. It can be leveled up six times, and can be used when walking or dashing.
  • Shield Boomerang - Given to the player by Cerveau. This weapon acts as a shield and when charged, can be thrown as a weapon. Zero cannot dash when it is being used, unless he is wall-kicking.
  • Triple Rod - A spear-like weapon that can attack in eight directions. Leveling it up will allow the player to extend its length, as well as shorten the length of its charge time. This weapon can be used in all directions when Zero is in the air, however, it can make Zero bounce off enemies if Zero lands on an enemy with the Triple Rod facing down.[4]

Elemental damage

As well as levelling a weapon up, the player can use weapons in conjunction with elemental chips that they win from boss battles. There are three in all: Ice, Fire and Thunder, and are effective against certain enemies. The chips only affect a weapon's charged attacks, but are still useful. Furthermore, the elemental chips do 1.5 times the damage of a non-elemental attack if they match the target's vulnerability. For example, Copy X's armor form is weak against Ice, so the Ice chip can be equipped, making it easier to defeat him.

  • Thunder Elemental Chip - The first available Elemental Chip. It shocks an enemy and makes them unable to harm Zero for a while. It is effective against enemies with a Fire Elemental Alignment.
  • Ice Elemental Chip - Charged attacks freeze and slows an enemy. It is effective against enemies with a Thunder Elemental alignment.
  • Fire Elemental Chip - Charged attacks damage an enemy slowly after the initial attack. It is effective against enemies with an Ice Elemental alignment.[4]

Cyber Elves

Further information: Cyber Elf

This game also introduces the concept of Cyber Elves, which are single-use aids with either temporary or permanent effects on Zero or the game's levels. They are hidden throughout the game as well as dropped by enemies. The use of Cyber Elves penalizes the mission score. There are four types of Cyber Elves:

  • Nurse - These are concerned with improving Zero's health, by increasing the life energy gauge, giving a subtank or dropping life energy.
  • Animal - These primarily concerned with improving Zero's abilities. They can help boost agility and some provide backup support during battle.
  • Hacker - These are capable of rewriting Area and Mission data. Some are capable of cutting the level Boss' HP in half, others turn all enemies into Mettaurs or remove them entirely. There are some that can remove the danger of one-hit-kill zones such as spikes and lava permanently, or raise rank to A for one level.
  • Rare - This hidden Cyber Elf (Jackson) can only be obtained by completing the game after all of the other cyber elves are found, fed to their maximum level, or 'grown up', and none have been used. This Elf operates by holding A for a couple seconds until Zero is changing colors. While Zero is Changing colors, he is invincible to all enemies and damage zones, but also can't pick up items or use doors or Transervers.

Some elves can only be used once fed energy crystals lying around or from defeated enemies.[1][5]

Ranks

At the end of each level, the player is scored on their actions throughout the game. The results are split up as follows:

  • Mission - How well the mission was completed, usually passing or failing.
  • Clear Time - How quickly the mission was completed.
  • Enemy - How many enemies were destroyed in the mission.
  • Damage - How much damage was taken during the mission.
  • Retry - How many times the mission was retried (akin to how many lives were lost).
  • Elf - How many and how advanced Elves were used. The less, the better. Elves with permanent effects will continuously penalize Zero for the rest of the game.[2][6]

The total, out of 100, is graded with a lettered rank - S, A, B, C, D, E or F. It's also accompanied by a codename determined by actions taken. Interesting to note is that an elf is hidden in Ciels room (the door behind Ciel that is locked) if an A or S rank has been gained

Bosses have special attacks that they only use if the player is of S or A rank.[2]

Modes

When the game is beaten, a "New Game Plus" can be played by loading the completed save file. In the new game, Zero will start with all activated Cyber Elves used from the previous game still in effect (the penalties, however, will still remain).[6][7][8]

By meeting certain criteria, three additional modes can be unlocked:

  • Hard Mode is unlocked by beating the game once. To play, hold L when selecting to start a New Game. In Hard Mode, Zero takes 50% more damage from enemies, cannot use Cyber Elves, and his weapons cannot level up or become elemental.[6][7][8]
  • Jackson Mode is unlocked by beating every mission in Hard Mode at A rank or better and collecting every cyber elf, or collecting and powering up every Cyber Elf. In Jackson Mode, Zero starts with every Cyber Elf including Jackson.[6][7][9]
  • Ultimate Mode is unlocked by beating the game after using every Cyber Elf, including Jackson. To play, hold R when selecting to start a New Game. Ultimate Mode starts Zero off with all Cyber Elves with permanent effects already in use and without penalty. Also, all of Zero's weapons are at full power, and he can use full-charge attacks instantly by means of simplistic button combos.[6][7][8]

Story

The story begins with a human scientist named Ciel and her reploid companions being chased through an underground lab. Their relentless pursuers are mass produced X look-a-likes called Pantheons, among other terrible machines. After heavy losses, Ciel and the remaining resistant troops arrive at a sealed chamber containing Zero who has been powered down for 100 years.

After sleeping for a hundred years, Zero awakens to a world where reploids are being constantly accused of being Mavericks and systematically "retired", apparently under the direction of X himself. Zero assists Ciel to escape from the lab and reveals that he can't remember a thing - not even his name -. The female scientist thinks of his loss of memories as a result of "hibernation sickness". Zero chooses to join the resistance and begins his fight against X's utopia, Neo Arcadia, and its Four Guardians: Harpuia, Leviathan, Fefnir, and Phantom.

Later in the game, Zero found that the X that is controlling Neo Arcadia is just a copy made by Ciel, because the original disappeared a long time ago, so in order to find a new leader for Neo Arcadia, Ciel built a copy of X. Since Copy X didn't have the experience of the original, he just focused in the security of the human race, believing that Reploids were dangerous for them and started an operation to destroy every Reploid who looked like a menace for Neo Arcadia, naming them Mavericks. Knowing this, Zero fought Copy X and defeated him. Before dying, he auto-destructs himself in order to destroy Zero in the process. Zero escaped just in time from Neo Arcadia before being destroyed by the explosion.

With low energy to continue, Zero fainted in a desert not so far from Neo Arcadia. After that, a mysterious yellow Cyber-Elf appeared (the same that gave back Zero his Z-Saber and the one who helped him to enter Neo Arcadia), revealing to be the original X. Since he didn't have a body anymore, he tells Zero that he's going to leave him the duty of bringing peace to the world. After that, X disappeared, Zero got up and found that a great number of Pantheons appeared. Realizing what X said, he accepts the duty and decides to destroy Neo Arcadia once and for all, as he starts to destroy the Pantheons.

Development

The first screenshot from the game first appeared on IGN on January 22, 2002.[10] With the screenshots came information that the game would feature an "Admiration System" that records how many enemies the player defeated, how much energy was lost and how much time it was taken to clear a level. This would later become the Rank System.

A copy of the game appeared at the 15th Next Generation World Hobby Fair in Japan on January 28, 2002, where the main plot was revealed. The game mechanics appeared to be near complete, though Gamespot did complain that the button configuration felt uncomfortable.[11] At the time, Ciel's English version name was incorrectly stated to be Shelly. The North American and European versions of the game also suffered from censorship by Capcom, most likely to keep the Mega Man franchise's family image. Specifically, any instances of blood (such as when human soldiers are killed) were deleted from the Western releases of the game.

The Cyber Elf, Passy, was present in the demo, but details on the Cyber Elf System were only revealed on March 26, 2002.[12]

From them on, news updates consisted mainly of new screenshots.[13] Mega Man Zero appeared in the E3 show in 2002 and it was then that the name, Neo Arcadia, was first introduced.[14] The Official Capcom webpage for the game first appeared in June and promised a system to give players bragging rights and that the game would contain seventy Cyber-Elves to collect.[15]

Critical response

Mega Man Zero was the first new Game Boy Advance Mega Man game to go back to the traditional 2D platforming action of its prior series, and the game earned much praise for returning "to its roots".[1] Overall, the game gained an average rating of 82 out of 100[17] and a favourable reception, despite its difficulty.

Reviewers across the board agreed that the game was the most difficult in the series,[3][17][18] with one reviewer suggesting that it is not for younger or casual players.[16] Avi Fryman of GameSpy.com states that the ability to give up on missions and still continue the game is a sensible feature of Mega Man Zero[3], whereas IGN states that given the difficulty of the game, no one would call a player "cheap" if they were to use the newly introduced Cyber Elf system to make boss fights easier.[1]

Overall, the Cyber Elf System earned a lukewarm response, though many did acknowledge that it made an otherwise difficult game easier.[1][3]

Common complaints with the game were slow down,[18] "unseen deathtraps"[3] and being required to make blind jumps.[1] These, however, did not seem to detract much from the gaming experience as reviewers tended to recommend the game in their conclusions.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Craig Harris (2002). "IGN: Mega Man Zero Review". IGN. Retrieved 2006-08-25.
  2. ^ a b c Mega Man Zero Instruction Booklet © Capcom CO., Ltd 2002
  3. ^ a b c d e f Avi Fryman (2002). "GameSpy.com - Review". GameSpy. Retrieved 2006-08-25.
  4. ^ a b "Weapons Guide". Planet Mega Man. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
  5. ^ "Cyber-elf Guide". Planet Mega Man. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Hints and Tips". Planet Mega Man. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
  7. ^ a b c d various. "Mega Man Zero Cheats - Mega Man Zero Codes". GameFAQs. Retrieved 2007-01-17.
  8. ^ a b c "Mega Man Zero for Game Boy Advance Cheats". Gamespot. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
  9. ^ "Mega Man Zero Cheats". Gamespy. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
  10. ^ IGN Staff (2002). "Game Boy Stuff from Capcom". IGN. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
  11. ^ Yukiyoshi Ike Sato (2002). "Hands-on Mega Man Zero". Gamespot. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
  12. ^ Staff (2002). "More Mega Man Zero gameplay details". Gamespot. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
  13. ^ Staff (2002). "Mega Man Zero Screens for Gameboy Advance". Gamespot. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
  14. ^ Craig Harris (2002). "E3 2002: Mega Man Zero Update". IGN. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
  15. ^ Capcom Entertaint, Inc. (2002-06-22). "Capcom: Mega Man Zero for Game Boy Advance". Capcom. Retrieved 2007-01-26. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ a b Tim Tracy (2002). "Mega Man Zero for Game Boy Advance". GameSpot. Retrieved 2006-08-25.
  17. ^ a b c d "Mega Man Zero (gba: 2002): Reviews". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2007-01-26. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  18. ^ a b Carlos McElfish (2002-10-01). "Mega Man Zero Review - Game Boy Advance". GameZone. Retrieved 2007-01-26. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
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