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"The Jet Gamer" Game Review: Megaman Zero 2
9 years ago
This is part two of the Mega Man Zero collection.
Megaman Zero 2
Yes, right after the last in this series, we are here to go over Mega Man Zero 2 now. I guess when you buy a collection this is what you should expect. Well, how different is Mega Man game than the one in the previous review? We shall find out now, though due to some similarities this review may be a bit briefer than the last one. Let’s see how similar though.
Gameplay
The gameplay of Mega Man Zero 2 is almost identical to the last Zero game, though there are some differences as well. Being so similar though, that does mean, some of the same complaints and compliments I mentioned about Zero are exactly the same in Zero 2. The game is still brutally difficult, and honestly, until you can get some power ups to be able to refill your health easily, you are going to be very furious at this game. I do find that Zero 2 isn’t as hard as Zero 1, though that is also because it wasn’t that hard to get the Subtanks that are needed to make the game so much easier. All the stuff with the cyber elves is still here, and all the score stuff is still the same as well. I did read that there are bonus’ that are available to players that can get A ranks on the levels, but good luck getting them. The normal player is likely never going to see these power ups, not unless you use the cyber elves that make you automatically get an A rank at the end of a level. Unless you are willing to do lots of work at trying to do well at the levels, there is no point in even trying to get these power ups. It is sad, as the weapons I read about sound neat, but I never was able to even see one of them. Some of the main differences between this game and the last one, is first, that instead of the game sort of being this big open world you can roam around between the levels and you are just put in the area you need to be in at the moment, Zero 2 has gone back to the traditional level format. That means you have a picture of enemies and a description of the area and you pick which level you want to go to now. This does take away the open world feeling that the original has, but this does mean more unique areas and also levels that are all unique and not reused a few different times. Though also, the levels themselves are WAY harder than the levels in the first game. When you get the subtanks, the bosses actually aren’t that hard, at least when you figure out their patterns. The levels themselves turn into the real difficulty compared to the bosses, that you can almost power through in the long run. Even the final boss is much more tolerable than in the first game. Another new thing is that Zero now also has various forms he can transform into, each with their own special ability and also stat differences. One form may be focusing more on defense, one more Zero’s sword, and also one that focuses heavily on the buster and less on the sword. This does mean you can pick the forms, as you unlock them, that you like to use and can make zero play as you want him to play, instead of how the game makes you play as him. Seeing Zero blue in color, based on the form I chose, was quite interesting. One good thing as well is that you no longer really need to grind for the items that make the cyber elves grow to be used. However, some of this may be due to the fact that I didn’t use as many as I did in the first game, but the game did seem more generous with the items that is used to help grow cyber elves for those that do want to use them. Minimizing the grinding was much needed after the last game. Other than these things mentioned here, Zero 2 isn’t that much different than the original Zero game. They are very similar games, and they play in much the same way, just with a few new things thrown into the game to keep the game from being too samey and getting too stale too quickly.
Story
The story of Zero 2 is pretty much, Zero has gone off on his own for about a year, instead of hanging around with Ciel and the resistance, and has over time slowly kept fighting while going into disrepair. Eventually though, Zero is found by the resistance, and is brought back to the group where he once again finds that the resistance is still fighting against Neo Arcadia and the same group of reploids from the first game. Ciel is happy for Zero to return as she is busy trying to find a peaceful solution to the constant energy fighting between the reploids and humans that has gone on for a long time. The resistance is now run by a new commanded named Elpizo, but unlike Ciel, Elpizo is all about fighting back against the other group and is trying to use Zero to help him to so. The big thing in this game though is that these things called Dark Elves that have come up, and these are a big source of conflict, especially for Elpizo. I don’t want to spoil it all though, but you still do get to see small glimpses of X every now and then. There are reasons for this though. What I just told you here though, that’s about the bulk of the story, other than little twists here and there. The game ends rather suddenly, and there really doesn’t really appear to be as big of a conflict later in the game as in the first game. The first half of the story seems very similar to the first game and does almost pick up where you left off. The second half of the story just seems to go off on its own and seems more like the game is trying to set up its sequel once again. I wasn’t as impressed with the story as much as I was the first game, but it wasn’t that bad.
Graphics
This game looks almost exactly the same as the previous Zero game. There are so very few differences at all. If you played the first game, you have played this game. This is one of the categories I’m not going into that much detail on, as this game is literally just the same engine and graphics as the last game. There are a few minor tweaks here and there with the pictures of the characters and such, but that is about. What was good and bad with the first game is the exact same here. That’s not bad, but you aren’t going to earn any bonus points here.
Sound
The sound is pretty much the same as well. I find it quite nice and it does the job of keeping you entertained as you are playing the game, but is just short of being that super memorable level that makes you want to listen to it other than when you are playing the game. The sound effects are nice, and the few voice clips are okay, though a bit on the blurry side still. Once again, this is pretty much the exact same as it was in Zero 1. What I said there, pretty much applies here as well.
Control
I didn’t appear to have as much of a control issue with this game as I did with the last game, some of that being the fact that the games controls are the exact same in this game as in the last game. That’s a good thing for veterans of the last game, and also a good idea for those making sequels to games. Still, the main complaint I had about the last games controls is still present here as well. Please for goodness sake go into the options when you start this game up and change the sub weapon to a single button and now a double button use move. You will thank me later when you do this, as it is pretty much essential to using your sub weapon, which most of the time for me is my Saber, which is more my main weapon at time for bosses. Other than this, once again, this games controls are the same as the last game. Keeping them the same though does make a positive though, as you want people who played the last game to be easily able to flow into the controls of its sequel.
Replay Value
The replay of this game isn’t that much different than the last game, though there are a few positive notes I will mention. Most of the reason this game is very similar to the last game is still the difficulty of these games. The levels themselves are of the hard part once you get more into the game. At first, it is still the bosses that are monstrously difficult, but as soon as you get a subtank or can increase your life bar, they become much more tolerable and beatable. The beginning of the game just has that feeling of you have to press on until you get your help, which can be very frustrating to some people and can make some people want to just give up. There was even one point where I felt like giving up, but didn’t do so. The only real replay value boost I feel is in the fact you don’t need to grind as much as you did in the first game, at least in my opinion. If you are trying to use all the cyber elves, then yes you would need to grind, but in my opinion, you don’t want to use them all, and honestly shouldn’t need to use them all. Other than this though, the replay value I still feel is a bit lacking due to the extreme difficulty at times. Get past this though, and I can see some people wanting to play this game again. Those people that are easily frustrated though, will be turned off real quick here and not want to replay this game ever again.
Overall, pretty much if you enjoyed Zero 1, then Zero 2 is more of the same game. There are only so many differences between the two games, and you can tell they are pretty much direct sequels to each other and why they are in a collection together. Most of the problems and pluses in the first game are still present here, and other than the story being a little less interesting than the first game, I would say they are almost the same game at times. So really, I can see those that enjoyed the first game, enjoying this game, and those that didn’t like the first game, not liking this one either. This is pretty much a case of what I said for the first game, still applies here as well. This is even reflected in the score. Which as you are about to see, even that is pretty much the same. I do wonder how different the next may be now after seeing this one.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give Megaman Zero 2 a seven point five out of ten.
Gameplay: 7
Story: 6
Graphics: 8
Sound: 9
Control: 9
Replay Value: 6
Overall: 7.5
Now let us get ready for part three. So, to be continued with more about Megaman Zero Collection.
Megaman Zero 2
Yes, right after the last in this series, we are here to go over Mega Man Zero 2 now. I guess when you buy a collection this is what you should expect. Well, how different is Mega Man game than the one in the previous review? We shall find out now, though due to some similarities this review may be a bit briefer than the last one. Let’s see how similar though.
Gameplay
The gameplay of Mega Man Zero 2 is almost identical to the last Zero game, though there are some differences as well. Being so similar though, that does mean, some of the same complaints and compliments I mentioned about Zero are exactly the same in Zero 2. The game is still brutally difficult, and honestly, until you can get some power ups to be able to refill your health easily, you are going to be very furious at this game. I do find that Zero 2 isn’t as hard as Zero 1, though that is also because it wasn’t that hard to get the Subtanks that are needed to make the game so much easier. All the stuff with the cyber elves is still here, and all the score stuff is still the same as well. I did read that there are bonus’ that are available to players that can get A ranks on the levels, but good luck getting them. The normal player is likely never going to see these power ups, not unless you use the cyber elves that make you automatically get an A rank at the end of a level. Unless you are willing to do lots of work at trying to do well at the levels, there is no point in even trying to get these power ups. It is sad, as the weapons I read about sound neat, but I never was able to even see one of them. Some of the main differences between this game and the last one, is first, that instead of the game sort of being this big open world you can roam around between the levels and you are just put in the area you need to be in at the moment, Zero 2 has gone back to the traditional level format. That means you have a picture of enemies and a description of the area and you pick which level you want to go to now. This does take away the open world feeling that the original has, but this does mean more unique areas and also levels that are all unique and not reused a few different times. Though also, the levels themselves are WAY harder than the levels in the first game. When you get the subtanks, the bosses actually aren’t that hard, at least when you figure out their patterns. The levels themselves turn into the real difficulty compared to the bosses, that you can almost power through in the long run. Even the final boss is much more tolerable than in the first game. Another new thing is that Zero now also has various forms he can transform into, each with their own special ability and also stat differences. One form may be focusing more on defense, one more Zero’s sword, and also one that focuses heavily on the buster and less on the sword. This does mean you can pick the forms, as you unlock them, that you like to use and can make zero play as you want him to play, instead of how the game makes you play as him. Seeing Zero blue in color, based on the form I chose, was quite interesting. One good thing as well is that you no longer really need to grind for the items that make the cyber elves grow to be used. However, some of this may be due to the fact that I didn’t use as many as I did in the first game, but the game did seem more generous with the items that is used to help grow cyber elves for those that do want to use them. Minimizing the grinding was much needed after the last game. Other than these things mentioned here, Zero 2 isn’t that much different than the original Zero game. They are very similar games, and they play in much the same way, just with a few new things thrown into the game to keep the game from being too samey and getting too stale too quickly.
Story
The story of Zero 2 is pretty much, Zero has gone off on his own for about a year, instead of hanging around with Ciel and the resistance, and has over time slowly kept fighting while going into disrepair. Eventually though, Zero is found by the resistance, and is brought back to the group where he once again finds that the resistance is still fighting against Neo Arcadia and the same group of reploids from the first game. Ciel is happy for Zero to return as she is busy trying to find a peaceful solution to the constant energy fighting between the reploids and humans that has gone on for a long time. The resistance is now run by a new commanded named Elpizo, but unlike Ciel, Elpizo is all about fighting back against the other group and is trying to use Zero to help him to so. The big thing in this game though is that these things called Dark Elves that have come up, and these are a big source of conflict, especially for Elpizo. I don’t want to spoil it all though, but you still do get to see small glimpses of X every now and then. There are reasons for this though. What I just told you here though, that’s about the bulk of the story, other than little twists here and there. The game ends rather suddenly, and there really doesn’t really appear to be as big of a conflict later in the game as in the first game. The first half of the story seems very similar to the first game and does almost pick up where you left off. The second half of the story just seems to go off on its own and seems more like the game is trying to set up its sequel once again. I wasn’t as impressed with the story as much as I was the first game, but it wasn’t that bad.
Graphics
This game looks almost exactly the same as the previous Zero game. There are so very few differences at all. If you played the first game, you have played this game. This is one of the categories I’m not going into that much detail on, as this game is literally just the same engine and graphics as the last game. There are a few minor tweaks here and there with the pictures of the characters and such, but that is about. What was good and bad with the first game is the exact same here. That’s not bad, but you aren’t going to earn any bonus points here.
Sound
The sound is pretty much the same as well. I find it quite nice and it does the job of keeping you entertained as you are playing the game, but is just short of being that super memorable level that makes you want to listen to it other than when you are playing the game. The sound effects are nice, and the few voice clips are okay, though a bit on the blurry side still. Once again, this is pretty much the exact same as it was in Zero 1. What I said there, pretty much applies here as well.
Control
I didn’t appear to have as much of a control issue with this game as I did with the last game, some of that being the fact that the games controls are the exact same in this game as in the last game. That’s a good thing for veterans of the last game, and also a good idea for those making sequels to games. Still, the main complaint I had about the last games controls is still present here as well. Please for goodness sake go into the options when you start this game up and change the sub weapon to a single button and now a double button use move. You will thank me later when you do this, as it is pretty much essential to using your sub weapon, which most of the time for me is my Saber, which is more my main weapon at time for bosses. Other than this, once again, this games controls are the same as the last game. Keeping them the same though does make a positive though, as you want people who played the last game to be easily able to flow into the controls of its sequel.
Replay Value
The replay of this game isn’t that much different than the last game, though there are a few positive notes I will mention. Most of the reason this game is very similar to the last game is still the difficulty of these games. The levels themselves are of the hard part once you get more into the game. At first, it is still the bosses that are monstrously difficult, but as soon as you get a subtank or can increase your life bar, they become much more tolerable and beatable. The beginning of the game just has that feeling of you have to press on until you get your help, which can be very frustrating to some people and can make some people want to just give up. There was even one point where I felt like giving up, but didn’t do so. The only real replay value boost I feel is in the fact you don’t need to grind as much as you did in the first game, at least in my opinion. If you are trying to use all the cyber elves, then yes you would need to grind, but in my opinion, you don’t want to use them all, and honestly shouldn’t need to use them all. Other than this though, the replay value I still feel is a bit lacking due to the extreme difficulty at times. Get past this though, and I can see some people wanting to play this game again. Those people that are easily frustrated though, will be turned off real quick here and not want to replay this game ever again.
Overall, pretty much if you enjoyed Zero 1, then Zero 2 is more of the same game. There are only so many differences between the two games, and you can tell they are pretty much direct sequels to each other and why they are in a collection together. Most of the problems and pluses in the first game are still present here, and other than the story being a little less interesting than the first game, I would say they are almost the same game at times. So really, I can see those that enjoyed the first game, enjoying this game, and those that didn’t like the first game, not liking this one either. This is pretty much a case of what I said for the first game, still applies here as well. This is even reflected in the score. Which as you are about to see, even that is pretty much the same. I do wonder how different the next may be now after seeing this one.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give Megaman Zero 2 a seven point five out of ten.
Gameplay: 7
Story: 6
Graphics: 8
Sound: 9
Control: 9
Replay Value: 6
Overall: 7.5
Now let us get ready for part three. So, to be continued with more about Megaman Zero Collection.
