Mega Man Zero 2 | |
---|---|
![]() North American cover art | |
Developer(s) | Inti Creates |
Publisher(s) | Capcom |
Director(s) | Ryota Ito Yoshinori Kawano |
Producer(s) | Takuya Aizu Keiji Inafune |
Designer(s) | Yoshihisa Tsuda |
Programmer(s) | Takayuki Inoue Kazutaka Yanagisawa Akihiro Shishido Tomoyuki Kajihara |
Artist(s) | Toru Nakayama |
Composer(s) | Masaki Suzuki Luna Umegaki Tsutomu Kurihara |
Series | Mega Man Zero |
Platform(s) | Game Boy Advance |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Action, platform, hack and slash |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Mega Man Zero 2 [lower-alpha 1] is a 2003 action-platform game developed by Inti Creates and published by Capcom for the Game Boy Advance (GBA) handheld game console. It is the second video game in the Mega Man Zero subseries of Mega Man video games.
The game is set one year following the events of Mega Man Zero , and follows the same basic format as its predecessor, being a side-scrolling, platform action game. Once again, players take control of the Reploid known as Zero, and lead him through various levels in the battle against the forces of Neo Arcadia.
The European version also released the same day as the North American Mega Man X7 was. The European version featured a completely different logo, which was also used on Mega Man X7 , Mega Man X8 , Mega Man X: Command Mission , Mega Man Zero 3 , Mega Man Zero 4 , Mega Man Network Transmission , Mega Man Battle Chip Challenge , Mega Man Battle Network 3 , Mega Man Battle Network 4 , and Mega Man Battle Network 5 . It was released in Japan on the Wii U's Virtual Console on January 7, 2015. [4] In February 2020, the game was released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam as part of the Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection .
One year has passed since Zero defeated Copy X. He has since separated from Ciel and the Resistance, now wandering the desert and defeating countless Pantheons. The three surviving members of the Four Guardians have assumed command of Neo Arcadia, with Harpuia as the leader. Copy X's death was covered up, as the humans revered him as their savior. The Resistance is now being led by a Reploid named Elpizo, while Ciel continues her work on a new form of energy that will hopefully eliminate the need for war.
Zero wearily makes his way through a sandstorm wrapped in a tattered cloak. As the sands die down he is once more being chased by enemies. Despite being in disrepair, with cracked armor and broken weapons, he charges into the fray. After the battle, Zero collapses from exhaustion and is found by Harpuia. Wishing to see Zero die in battle rather than perish from exhaustion, Harpuia rescues Zero and covertly delivers him to a location near the Resistance base, where he is found and repaired. He learns that Elpizo is planning a frontal assault on Neo Arcadia, as he doesn't believe in Ciel's plan of creating energy as means to resolve the war. Unable to convince him to call it off, Zero is left to do busy-work in the meantime.
Elpizo's assault fails miserably, himself being the only survivor. Driven mad, he declares his desire to harness the power of the legendary Dark Elf to destroy Neo Arcadia (and wipe out the humans), which had brought about the Elf Wars a century ago that left the Earth in a disastrous state. Using the powers granted by partially unsealing the Dark Elf, he invades Neo Arcadia and breaks into the temple where the body of the real X is kept. It is revealed that X ended the Elf Wars by sealing the Dark Elf away with his body, thus leading to his disappearance. Despite the Guardians' and Zero's best efforts, Elpizo destroys X's body, which unseals the Dark Elf, and Elpizo absorbs its powers.
After a fierce battle, Zero puts an end to Elpizo's plans, who reverts to his normal self and apologizes as he dies. Surprisingly, the Dark Elf turns him into a Cyber-elf, convincing Elpizo that she is not truly evil. As the Dark Elf departs, X appears and tells Zero about the Dark Elf: she was originally known as the Mother Elf and was the savior who ended the Maverick Wars, but was later cursed by a man named Dr. Weil. Zero admits to feeling like he knows her.
In a post credits scene, an unknown man notes the Dark Elf has been released, and tells an entity known as "Omega" that it is time to take action.
The controls are identical to that in the previous game, with players given the option to assign functions to the buttons they are most comfortable using. The weapons are also identical, with the exception of the Triple Rod, which has been replaced by the similar but somewhat more complex Chain Rod.
Cyber Elves are present in the game, and function in the same manner as they did in the previous game. However, unlike the first game, in which four specific Cyber Elves could be transformed into health-storing Sub-Tanks, two of the four Sub-Tanks are now hidden in various stages as collectible items, as they were in the previous series, while the remaining two must be unlocked using Cyber Elves.
While the first game in the series had the player select missions from a list, Mega Man Zero 2 returns to the traditional Stage Select option found in the Mega Man and Mega Man X games, although the player can only select from four at a time. In addition, whereas Mega Man Zero had a large, interconnected world, none of the stages in this game are linked.
New features added to the game are Forms and EX Skills. Forms are unlocked by completing various tasks during a mission, such as destroying a set number of enemies with the Buster Shot. Forms alter Zero's abilities in various ways, such as increasing the power of certain weapons or making him more resilient. However, they also tend to decrease performance in other areas, such as lowering attack power for increased defense or removing special attacks of the Z-Saber to enhance the Buster Shot. EX Skills are unlocked if a player completes a mission with an A or S rank, allowing the player to give Zero's weapons the properties of the bosses he's defeated.
Players begin the game with the Buster Shot and the Z-Saber. After the introductory mission, Zero is granted the Shield Boomerang and the Chain Rod, which replaces the Triple Rod in the previous game. As with the previous game, the player can unlock new attacks and abilities for the weapons through repeated use. There are fewer upgrades in this game; the Z-Saber has a total of four upgrades, while the rest only have two.
Cyber Elves function in the same manner as the previous game, being 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 three types of Cyber Elves, "Nurse", "Animal", and "Hacker". While certain Elves can be used immediately, the larger Elves need to be fed crystals in order to be used. The cost for doing so is significantly less than it was in the previous game.
This game introduces the concept of Forms, which can be earned by meeting certain criteria throughout the game, ranging from killing twenty enemies in a stage with a dashing slash technique to getting twenty-five energy capsules in one stage.
Another new addition to the series is EX Skills, which are similar to Mega Man's ability to copy powers from the bosses in previous series. Unlike the previous series, however, Zero has to have an A or S rank going into the stage to unlock the bosses EX Skill. Unlike Mega Man's copy ability, which required weapon energy to feed the attacks, EX Skills modify Zero's weapons, adding new abilities or replacing their normal abilities with an ability similar to the defeated boss. For example, the Buster Shot can be modified to fire a long-piercing beam instead of its normal charged blast, while the Z-Saber gains additional moves such as a powerful rising slash.
As with the first game, a "New Game Plus" can be played by beating the game and 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). Zero will also get to keep any EX Skills and alternate forms that he earned in the previous game. Additional modes can also be unlocked under proper conditions.
Hard Mode is unlocked by beating the game once. To play, hold L when selecting to start a New Game. In Hard Mode, Zero starts with the "Proto Form", which doubles his attack strength but halves his defense and locks his weapons at their basic level. Zero also cannot earn any EX skills or alternate forms. Beating Hard Mode will unlock a special "Image Gallery" option. Hold L and Select when selecting New Game to enter it.
Unlike the other games in the series, there is no Ultimate Mode to be unlocked. However, an "Ultimate Form" can be unlocked by leveling up and using every Cyber Elf in the game. It increases all of Zero's stats and also allows him to use full-charge attacks instantly by means of simplistic button combos.
If you have two cartridges and a link cable, the players can link two GBAs and take part in a two-player game. There are three modes available to take part in: [5]
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
GameRankings | 82% [6] |
Metacritic | 81/100 [7] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
1Up.com | B− [8] |
Famitsu | 31/40 [9] |
Game Informer | 7/10 [10] |
GamePro | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
GameSpot | 8.6/10 [12] |
GameSpy | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
IGN | 8/10 [14] |
Nintendo Power | 7.8/10 [15] |
Play | 10/10 [16] |
![]() | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2015) |
Mega Man Zero 2 was the seventh best-selling video game in Japan during its week of release at 53,839 copies and climbed to the number one spot the following week with an additional 25,283 copies sold. [17] [18] The game appeared on Famitsu magazine's top 30 best-sellers list for the following four weeks. [19] [20] [21] [22] By the end of 2003, Mega Man Zero 2 had sold 158,479 copies in Japan alone. [23]
A common remark is that the game has not changed much in its formula since its predecessor, though they do acknowledge that improvements have been made to the stage select menus. [14] A general complaint is the difficulty of the game, with one reviewer expressing concern that the difficulty would put some people off the game. [12]
The Nintendo e-Reader, commonly abbreviated as e-Reader, is an add-on manufactured by Nintendo for its Game Boy Advance handheld video game console. It was released in Japan in December 2001, with a North American release following in September 2002. It has an LED scanner that reads "e-Reader cards", paper cards with specially encoded data printed on them.
Mega Man Zero is a series in Capcom's Mega Man video game franchise. It was developed by Inti Creates, with Co-Producer Keiji Inafune and Director Yoshinori Kawano. The series consists of four games that were first released on the Game Boy Advance and later on the Nintendo DS and the Virtual Console.
Mega Man & Bass is a 1998 action-platform game developed and published by Capcom. It is a spin-off game in the original Mega Man series and was originally released in Japan for the Super Famicom on April 24, 1998. It was later ported to the Game Boy Advance (GBA) handheld in 2002, and localized in English and released the following year.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection is a compilation of video games developed by Atomic Planet Entertainment and published by Capcom. It was released in North America on June 23, 2004 for the PlayStation 2 and GameCube and on March 15, 2005 for the Xbox. The Anniversary Collection contains the first eight games in the original Mega Man series, which debuted on the NES with the first six games, moved to the Super NES with the seventh game, and moved to the PlayStation and Sega Saturn with the eighth game, plus two bonus arcade games. The plot follows the robotic protagonist Mega Man in his continuing adventures battling the evil Dr. Wily and his army of Robot Masters. A similar set of compilations, Mega Man Legacy Collection and Mega Man Legacy Collection 2, were released in 2015 and 2017 respectively.
Mega Man Network Transmission is a 2003 action-platform video game developed by Arika and published by Capcom for the GameCube video game console. The game was first released in Japan on March 6, 2003, and in North America and PAL regions the following June as Arika's only GameCube game. Network Transmission is part of the Mega Man Battle Network series, which originated on the Game Boy Advance (GBA) handheld and takes place in an alternate timeline to the main Mega Man series.
Mega Man Zero 3 is a 2004 action-platform game developed by Inti Creates and published by Capcom for the Game Boy Advance (GBA) handheld game console. It is the third video game in the Mega Man Zero series of Mega Man video games. The European version featured a completely different logo, which was also used on various other Mega Man titles.
Mega Man Zero 4 is a 2005 action-platform game developed by Inti Creates and published by Capcom for the Game Boy Advance. It is the fourth and final installment of the Mega Man Zero subseries of the Mega Man franchise and is set several months after the events of Mega Man Zero 3. The European version featured a completely different logo, which was also used for various other Mega Man titles.
Mega Man Battle Network 3: Blue Version and Mega Man Battle Network 3: White Version are video games developed by Capcom for the Game Boy Advance (GBA) handheld game console. It is the third game in the Mega Man Battle Network series, released in 2002 in Japan and 2003 in North America. While in North America and Europe, two complementary versions of the game - Blue Version and White Version - exist, marketed simultaneously, this was not the case in Japan. The game was first released in a single version in this region. However, later a Black Version version containing bug fixes, new areas, optional bosses, and other improvements was released some months after the original. It was released on the Wii U's Virtual Console in Japan on December 17, 2014 and in North America on May 14, 2015.
Mega Man Battle Network 4 is a video game developed by Capcom for the Game Boy Advance (GBA) handheld game console. It is the fourth game in the Mega Man Battle Network series. The European version featured a completely different logo, which was also used on Mega Man X7, Mega Man X8, Mega Man Zero 2, Mega Man Zero 3, Mega Man Zero 4, Mega Man X: Command Mission, Mega Man Network Transmission, Mega Man Battle Chip Challenge, Mega Man Battle Network 3, and Mega Man Battle Network 5. Like Battle Network 3 before it, Battle Network 4 has two different versions, Red Sun and Blue Moon, that differ in story and gameplay details. Battle Network 4 is compatible with the e-Reader, and can be linked up with Rockman EXE 4.5 Real Operation and the Battle Chip Gate for NetBattles. It is able to link with Mega Man Zero 3, and contains references to Konami's Boktai series.
Mega Man Battle Chip Challenge, known in Japan as Rockman EXE Battle Chip GP, is a video game developed by Inti Creates and published by Capcom for the Game Boy Advance (GBA) handheld game console. It is a spin-off title in the Mega Man Battle Network series. The game saw a simultaneous August 8, 2003 release in Japan on the WonderSwan Color and Swan Crystal titled Rockman EXE N1 Battle. The GBA version was localized in North America and Europe the following March. The game was released on the Wii U's Virtual Console on July 30, 2014 in Japan, with both the North American and PAL region release occurring in August 2014.
Mega Man X7, known as Rockman X7 (ロックマンX7) in Japan, is a 2003 action-platform game developed by Capcom for the PlayStation 2 console. It is the seventh main game in the Mega Man X series and the first in the series to appear on the sixth generation of gaming consoles. Mega Man X7 was first released in Japan on July 17, 2003, with North American and European releases following in October 2003 and March 2004 respectively. The European version features a redrawn logo also used for future releases in the region. It was also as part of Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 on July 24, 2018 for the worldwide release and July 26, 2018 for Japan, whose Windows version was released internationally via Steam along with PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
Mega Man Battle Network is a role-playing video game developed by Capcom for the Game Boy Advance (GBA) handheld console. It is the first title of the Mega Man Battle Network series of games. It was originally released in Japan as a GBA launch game on March 21, 2001 and was released later that year in North America and Europe. It was also released via the Wii U Virtual Console in Japan on July 9, 2014, in Europe on July 24, 2014, and in North America on July 31, 2014.
Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team ProtoMan and Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team Colonel are 2004 role-playing video games developed and published by Capcom for the Game Boy Advance (GBA) handheld game console. Combined, they make up the fifth mainline installment in the Mega Man Battle Network series, and follows Lan Hikari and his NetNavi MegaMan.EXE, as they attempt to take down Nebula, who have kidnapped Lan's father and taken over the internet, with an anti-Nebula task force.
Mega Man III is an action-platform video game by Capcom for the Nintendo Game Boy. It is the third game in the handheld version of the Mega Man series. The game follows the title character Mega Man as he fights the evil Dr. Wily, whose latest attempt to conquer the world involves sucking energy from the Earth's core to power a new machine. Along with foes from his past, Mega Man must contend with the next robot in Wily's line of "Mega Man Killers", Punk. Like its two consecutive predecessors on the Game Boy, the game combines elements from two previously released Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) titles: Mega Man 3 and Mega Man 4. In 2013, Mega Man III was made available on the Virtual Console of Japan's Nintendo eShop for the Nintendo 3DS. It was later released in the North American and PAL region eShops the following year. In 2024, the game was added to the library of Game Boy games available through the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service.
Mega Man Battle Network 6: Cybeast Falzar and Mega Man Battle Network 6: Cybeast Gregar are 2005 tactical role-playing video games developed and published by Capcom for the Game Boy Advance (GBA) handheld game console. They are the sixth and final games in the Mega Man Battle Network series, and involves Lan's family and MegaMan.EXE moving to Cyber City, only to need to stop the returning WWW from re-awakening the Cybeasts.
Mega Man Zero is a 2002 action-platform game developed by Inti Creates and published by Capcom for the Game Boy Advance. It is the first installment in the Mega Man Zero series, the fifth series in Capcom's Mega Man video game franchise. The game is set 100 years after the events of the Mega Man X series and follows Zero, a Reploid awakened from his sleep to aid a human scientist named Ciel and her resistance force in a fight against the utopia of Neo Arcadia.
Mega Man ZX is a 2006 action-platform game developed by Inti Creates and published by Capcom for the Nintendo DS. It was released on July 6, 2006 in Japan, September 12, 2006 in North America, June 20, 2007 in Australia, and June 22, 2007 in Europe.
Mega Man ZX Advent is a 2007 action-platform game developed by Inti Creates and published by Capcom for the Nintendo DS. The game was first released in Japan on July 12, 2007; in North America on October 23, 2007; in Europe on February 29, 2008; and in Australia on March 5, 2008.
Kid Klown in Crazy Chase is a platform video game developed and published by Kemco for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in North America in September 1994, Japan on October 21, 1994 and in Europe in 1995. The game features the Kid Klown, the player character who is tasked with rescuing the Princess Honey from the villain Black Jack. Players view gameplay from an isometric perspective as Kid Klown pursues a lit fuse in order to stop it from reaching a spade bomb. The game was re-released for the Game Boy Advance as Crazy Chase and features 11 new levels, four mini-games, and a multi-player mode. The re-release was released in Europe and North America in October 2002, while a release in Japan was planned but ultimately canceled. It was met with mixed reception from critics, who found it to be inferior to other games of its type. The game has a Japan-exclusive sequel Kid Klown in Crazy Chase 2: Love Love Hani Soudatsusen released for the Sony PlayStation in 1996.
Mega Man Legacy Collection is a series of video game compilations based on Capcom's Mega Man franchise. Each compilation features several playable video games from one of the Mega Man sub-series and adds new gameplay features and bonus content such as concept artwork. These compilations were developed internally at Capcom and were released between 2015–2023 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One, with the exception of the original Legacy Collection which was developed by Digital Eclipse and also released on Nintendo 3DS.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)