4/5 ★ – BlueSorcerer's review of Mega Man ZX.

[SPOILER WARNING ADVISED!] I really liked this game. It starts off the ZX series quite well and is a really good transition from the Zero series. Starting with the story, it's honestly really good and in some instances I liked it more than some of the story-telling in the Zero games. At the start of the story, two transporters by the name of Vent and Giro are tasked to deliver a mysterious package from the recon unit to the headquarters of the local Guardians. Right off the bat, it's established that a lot has changed since the Zero series, all two hundred years in fact, and the humans and Reploids have sustained a coexistent life of peace. This was all thanks to Slither Inc. and its president, Serpent, who not only put an end to the energy crisis that had plagued the world for years but became a genuine hero through his efforts. And the townspeople respect him highly. Vent, however, has conflicting feelings on the subject. Despite the apparent peace, Vent has endured a difficult past because of the Maverick raids caused by the energy crisis. And due to the location's lack of security a decade back, Vent lost his mother to the raids and it really takes a toll on him. Like later on when Vent has to carry out a mission in the Area G amusement park, he is suddenly hostile since this was the exact place that his mother took him right before the raid that killed her. He really struggles to collect himself because he could not do anything to stop her death, and he struggles to the point where he is almost ready for history to repeat itself and be too helpless to do anything again. This is very hard for someone like Vent and the writers do a great job of making you feel apologetic for him. And I think it all really worked out. I quite like Vent as a character. He becomes much stronger as the story progresses and his growth is very well-handled. I never had anything against X or Zero as protagonists, but I think I just like Vent's character the most. There's just a lot about him that people can relate to and I really like that. Back on the subject of the story, Giro reassures Vent that everything will be fine now and he needs to move on so they can deliver their package. But suddenly, a group of Mavericks intercept the two and send Vent off a cliff into the forest below. The contents of the package end up unveiled and reveal a robotic mask that looks like the face of Mega Man X. And in the process Vent encounters Prairie, a Guardian who came to investigate the area. As it turns out, she is also looking for the package because her sister left it behind years ago, which is revealed to be Ciel from the Zero series. Ciel ended up falling victim to the Maverick raids and lost her life, and in turn Prairie is doing all she can to cover her sister's steps. Unlike Ciel, Prairie was a Reploid designed to look like a human and she has technically been alive for centuries, and this really gets to Vent. She's been fighting her struggles much longer than he has and it really opens up Vent's eyes to what others have experienced compared to him. Prairie lost her sister and all of the Resistance forces that they worked with. Vent only lost his mother and boss, and he realizes he can not hold a candle to what Prairie has suffered for as long as she has. This is deep stuff and I really get moved by it. This story does a great job of making the characters not only question the worth of the world but whether or not their own worth is enough to change it for the better. Man I just really love the story in this game. It just has an interesting charm to it that I didn't connect with as much in the X or Zero games. Again, not to say that the X and Zero games had bad stories; they were quite the opposite. I just found myself relating more to the story of ZX than a number of the stories in those games. It's subjective, I realize, but so is this whole review. I'm sure people can understand where I am coming from. Anyway, it's soon revealed that Serpent is the one responsible for all of the Maverick raids and killing Vent's boss, all due to being corrupted by Model W, a Biometal program that obviously shares the consciousness of Dr. Weil from the Zero series. On the subject of Biometals, Vent finds out that the package he was delivering at the start of the game was actually one of these Biometals named Model X, which holds the consciousness of Mega Man X. And the two end up merging together to take down a giant mechaniloid and... holy crap the FMV animation sequence that takes place during the transformation looks amazing, mind you for a DS title. Everything about the animation sequences in this game look amazing, especially in the Legacy Collection where their quality has been upscaled significantly. There is Japanese voice acting in these sequences but I don't pay much mind to them since the music tends to drown out their voices. But damn the music though: the music in this game is just great! There's a lot about it that I absolutely love. My favorites include: ● Prologue Theme ● Sadness Theme ● Maverick Siege ● Area A Theme ● Boss Theme ● Trans Server Theme ● Guardian Theme ● Area B Theme ● Area C Theme ● Area D Theme ● Double Megamerge ● Area F Theme ● Mid-Boss Theme ● Area H Theme ● Biometal Theme ● Guardian Attack ● Vs. Prometheus & Pandora ● Area I Theme ● Area J Theme ● Area L Theme ● Serpent's Ambition ● Area M & N Theme ● Area O Theme ● Slither Inc. Theme ● Model W Theme ● Vs. Serpent ● Epilogue Theme ● Credits Theme Ok I'm getting off track very easily. So back to the story, Serpent is convinced that he and his two subordinates, Prometheus and Pandora, are destined to rule the world and shape it in their own image. Of course this is the Model W Biometal that is convincing Serpent of such and he clearly only wants this destiny for himself. All of the other Biometals, however, directly oppose this, and in desperation Vent assumes the powers of both Model X and Model Z—who his boss had took the power of before dying—and becomes Model ZX. From this point on, Vent must retrieve all of the missing Biometals, defeat the subordinates that hold them, and defeat Serpent once and for all. And soon enough, Vent succeeds in his efforts, is able to learn how to cope with his emotions, and truly carve out a destiny that he can surely sustain. Yeah I just love the story in this game, nothing more and nothing less. Now on to the gameplay: it's also really good. Mega Man ZX levels take place across multiple areas that encompass open-ended exploration. And Capcom did it surprisingly well. I like the feeling of traveling to different areas and interacting with everything in them. It's so unique for a Mega Man game. The levels themselves are quite good too. Area A is in a forest and is a great starting level for the player, Area B is in the mountains and is just as good, Area C is in the city and is just beautiful to look at, Area D is the same city at night and is heavily inspired by the opening stage from Mega Man X, Area E is in a powerplant and is solid too, Area F is at a lake and is an alright level, Area G is in a burning city and is also an alright level, Area H is in an amusement park and is a solid level, Area I is in an imprisonment facility and is a decent level, Area J is in a marine city and is decent too, Area K is in a lava site and is honestly an annoying level, Area L is in an abandoned laboratory and is an alright level, Area M and Area N are in ruins sites and are decent enough, Area O is in a similar location as Area D and is a decent level as well, and the final stage is just alright. Serpent's first form is honestly a great boss. His attacks are predictable, and it honestly feels like a balanced battle. His second form, however, it does not hold up as well. Meteors, fireballs, orbs that blast off in four directions, crystals that shatter and fly across the screen, particles that reduce your jumping, a gravitational field that pulls you both ways depending which side of the screen you are on, other orbs that lock you in place and steal your health, and giant hands that shoot projectiles in numerous directions at once. The boss is something you can learn to analyze in a matter of time, but with everything it throws at you it makes fighting it a big struggle. It took me nearly 15 times to beat this boss, including restarting the stage and redoing the boss rush almost 10 times. Honestly, my biggest gripe with this game are the bosses. Of the 8 central bosses, I only like half of them. The boss in Area F can be a nightmare to fight because she throws so many attacks at you. The boss in Area I can be annoying for similar reasons but thankfully is more forgiving to fight. The boss in Area H can throw a lot at you too, and the boss in Area L just takes forever to beat because of its small hitbox. Every other boss I have next to no issue with. After you do defeat each of these bosses, instead of getting an elemental chip or anything along the lines of what you got in the Zero games, you are instead given the Biometals that take on the form of many characters from the Zero games. There's Model HX which is a Biometal containing Harpuia's abilities plus a hover skill, Model FX which gives you Fefnir's abilities that can even be utilized vertically, Model LX which gives you Leviathan's abilities plus the ability to swim underwater, Model PX which gives you Phantom's abilities, and then there's Model OX which allows you to transform into... Omega? From Zero 3? Oh yeah, there was this feature in earlier releases of Mega Man ZX where you could combine Zero 3 or 4 with the game and face off against a couple of bosses from those respective games in Mega Man ZX. And defeating Omega will give you his Biometal. That's pretty cool. Anyway, I really like what the Biometals offer and they are rather fun to utilize. Do I prefer them to the forms in Zero 2? That's a tough one. But they are both still good to begin with. Mega Man ZX also offers a secondary campaign with a girl name Aile, but as far as I know it's largely the same as Vent's campaign only with some differing dialogue segments. I didn't choose to play through her campaign since there wasn't much to distinguish it from Vent's, but if it interests others then all the power to them. More times than not, one campaign is enough for me if it does what it should. That being said, I don't have too much else to say about this game. I don't know what the general consensus is on Mega Man ZX, but as far as I know I really enjoyed it. In spite of its difficulty spikes and tough bosses, it's a really solid game with a good story, good cast of characters, and good thematic elements. It's totally worth giving a shot. 🌟 4 / 5 Stars