Volume 8

Ok here's a quick history of Zero. In X1 he shows himself for the first time and Saves X from Vile. Then later in the same game kills himself to allow X to beat Vile. X, we know, cares a lot for his partner and mentor, and is deeply saddened by the loss. X then beats Siggy and thats that. But of course Siggy isn't done. He gets the rather bright idea to steal the body of Zero and so his henchmen, the X-Hunters, go and do just that. Of course..showing true bad stupidity they leave Zero's chip at the Hunter Base. X then Sets out and kicks all the X-Hunters' butts allowing Dr. Cain to resurrect him. Why he didn't do that before the game happens no one will ever know. Zero, knowing how to make an entrance, comes in and kills the copy of him Siggy has made saving X a lot of trouble. After a long and rather tough fight X wins and that, as they say, is that.

Until the next game that is. Here you can play tag team with Zero. Somehow your able to get his saber for X but I really have no idea how, and as it's not part of the plot anyway so it's not important. X beats Siggy again and gets to take a vacation.....until X4. I want to know who it was that smashed X's nuts into his lungs. "Dear God," at the voice for him. luckily Zero's was much better and his is the story to follow anyway. X and Zero go about taking turns kicking the 8 Mav leaders asses and soon Zero hauls off and kills the Colonel, big whoop we think until he gets atacked by his Girlfriend and has to kill her. It really kinda messes him up but it's not really noticable until the game ends. He gets to Siggy and we find out that Zero was at First a Maverick who royally kick Siggy's ass. And yes...Siggy is wearing the same armor from X1 in the cinema...probably the coolest one in the game. At the End of it all Zero beats Siggy and mentally beats himself up for not being able to save anyone.

Then we go to X5. Somehow in X5, Zero gets everyone thinking he's a Maverick and this wierd virus that looks like him is floating around infecting things much like the strange Sigma heads that show up earlier in the game. X and Zero both beat up this Siggy but he still gets the last laugh nearly killing off both characters with one final attack. Zero uses the last of his energy to finish Sigma off and then loses power. We see a srange glowing white figure tell Zero it isn't time for him to die yet and the game ends with X having been repaired and Zero Missing. Then we enter X6. Poor Zero isn't having much luck with his reputation as now his virus from X5 has mutated into something called the Zero Nightmare. Luckily Zero is alive and kicking and the Zero Nightmare is easily defeated....like Sigma. Now we enter the area that I can't relate as it hasn't been set in stone timeline wise. But somewhere after that...A hundred years or more into the Future. Zero is awakened rater abruptly by a young repoid scientist named Ciel, the leader of the resistance against none other than X. Thus begins the adventures of Mega Man Zero.

This Game was heralded to be the hardest Mega game of all time.....and i'll be honest with you. It can be. But it can also be so utterly easy that the game is almost too easy. No matter how you play it though the game is fun and well put togeather. You can visit almost any level you have visited before after you have completely cleared that area of the damgerous bosses that lurk there. The game begins to feel like a cross between Castlevania and Metroid at points, intergating RPG elements as smoothly as any 2D adventure game has ever done if not better. It's hard to review this game without wanting to put in some spoilers.....the plot is just that good.

If you don't like controls that are a little odd then this game is for you. Why? Because you can customize your controls. The starting controls are pretty good but you find youreself doing one thing when you want to do another. Both have the same effect but it does get annoying after a time. But trust Capcom to have a solution for you. as there are several control schemes to choose from. The game sports really good replay value and the attention to detail is top notch. Ah but I'm getting ahead of myself.

It's really impressive when you can see each indivigual joint on a hand that is only a matter of centimeters big. All of the main characters in the game are animated really well and the backgrounds are exceptional for the Game Boy as they are even better than their Super Nintendo cousins. Never once do the backgrounds loop. The backgrounds themselves are also animated sometimes giving that extra bit of atmosphere that the game ustilizes to it's fullest ability. Unfortunately the game does have some very visible slowdown at times...however it is usually very well masked into an area where there are few enemies....allowing the game to run smoothly so long as you refrain from attacking anything.

I must say I am impressed with the sound of the game as well. The music is exceptional and the sound effects even more so. While true that the music at the main base can begin to grate on your nerves after a while it is also true that the song takes quite a bit of time to accomplish that. Each character has voices as well and while they do not speak the plot they will talk to you in battle and Zero makes his customaly cry's as he is jumping.

Final Stats
System: Game Boy Advance
Company: Capcom
Game Style: 2D Platforming
Players: One Player
Save Feature: 3 Save Files
Price: About $50
Favorite Character: Zero or Ciel
Least Favorite: The other Rebels.
Review Date: 12/24/2002

Both capable of being really hard and extremely easy MMZ allows the player to set the difficulty to their liking to an extent. The manner it is done is by utilizing things called Cyber Elves. These things are what give you different abilities such as longer dash, faster climbing, and a bigger life bar. there is also one that takes all the super spikes from the levels making them harmless walls and floors.

Work on the Slowdown.

There are plenty of ways to make it worse but I would have to say the biggest way would be to take out the customizable controls.

Draco's Game Reviews gives it a 10 out of 10.

Exceptionally well done with their only problems well hidden and usually not noticalbe. This title is a pleasure to play again and again. Just remember to save often.

Draco's Game Reviews © Ben C. Broome 2002+