Don't think I've ever seen a bigger jump in quality between series entires. No more weird stealth mechanics, hub world backtracking, or boilerplate RPG grinding. Instead, level-after-level of sweaty mech action. Every level has some new gimmick, which means there's an occasional miss, but that's just what happens when you commit so hard to taking an already-promising combat system, juicing it up, and placing it into as many varied situations as you can think of. The localization is still terrible - which is a bit of a shame because you can tell the bones of a decent anime OVA style story would be here - but the action is so good that it doesn't matter anymore.

Zone of the Enders 2 is a definitive example of what a sequel ideally should be: an entry that takes all the strengths of the original work and enhances them. The first Zone of the Enders had maximized a lackluster budget with some excellent ideas, revolving around controlling a weighty mech with impressive mobility, engaging in high-speed aerial battles that’d you see out of your run-of-the-mill Gundam anime. Marketing Metal Gear Solid 2’s demo on disc ended up being an enormous boon to the sequel’s development. You see, this title is one of the hidden gems of the action genre as a result, and, after around a half-dozen playthroughs ranging from Hard mode and over, a favorite of mine.

There isn’t much to talk about with the narrative of the game, though controlling your giant robot (otherwise called an orbital frame), Jehuty, is its own thrill. Zone of the Enders 1 and 2, you see, want to help you relive that inner childlike wonder at flying mechs of mass destruction, except now you’re playing said mech and, best of all, it feels like one. Jehuty doesn’t just have weight to its attack; rather, the game emphasizes its mobility in the many battles across space stations and colonial zones. And that’s what separates what it’s like to play this game from most.

NOTE: Quick caveat to this writeup is that the PS3 HD collection is the only version I’ve played. Meaning I cannot speak for others. Moreover, my experience with some of the bonus stages is on the limited side.

Zone of the Enders 2 wastes practically no time getting started from stage-to-stage as each one throws you into the core combat of the game. While Jehuty’s movement is the essential component, the actual moveset is flexible and minimalistic on purpose. Zone of the Enders 2 is not an easy game; its harder difficulties will force you to operate at the highest gear just to survive. To balance out the sheer pace the game will go at, keeping the toolbox small allows players to think about their decisions pragmatically. It’s once they recognize how to be attentive and economical that creative play can open up.

At best, the base moves involve recognizing how to use dashes in rapid succession or what ranges you can melee or use ranged attacks. There are several tricks to keep in mind, such as canceling into burst slashes, the sheer damage your shots can do, and even how environmental knockbacks affect each encounter by the myriad of areas you’ll face enemies in, but it can be easy to see how this is still a bit basic. Thus: subweapons, the arsenal that enhances Jehuty’s combat exponentially. Each has its own utility. Geysers immobilize enemies in place and, depending upon where they’re thrown, will have a different area of effect. Decoys create a clone of Jehuty to draw enemy aggro and allow you to attack separately undetected. Halberds unleash pure destruction on anything that dares to be on Jehuty’s Y-axis. Late game, you’ll even get access to battlefield teleports and another laser weapon that will wipe practically anything off the map. To balance out their potency, subweapons typically require meter, but successful attacks and defeating enemies restores it, keeping combat as frenetic as ever. The only subweapon that requires no meter is the most useful of them all, the grab option – and said ability rivals even the original God of War entries for how important it is.

None of the game’s combat would work, however, without its enemy design. While most action games will introduce an unthreatening roster, Zone of the Enders 2’s adversaries do not mess around. Even your most regular enemy, the Raptor, can slaughter a reckless or passive player. These enemies are fast, can combo, will actively defend, and coordinate to swarm and drown Jehuty with zero mercy. I’d ascertain part of what makes them so effective is that they are given options similar to a player without giving them any sort of edge to make things too unfair. After all, Jehuty remains the fastest and strongest thing on the screen – it’s imperative that enemies can keep up the pressure but ensure enough time for players to fight back. Crowd control becomes imperative in these encounters, starting with isolating the biggest threats, methodically eliminating them, and then taking out the rest. Again, Zone of the Enders 2 is one of the fastest-paced games you’ll ever play, but it never once loses its demand for intelligent decision making because even one foe can and will make you see the game over screen. I think it speaks for this game’s credit that, for the most part, this balance is successfully maintained throughout its run time.

There are several things to say about the enemy roster specifically, though I do want to give particular mention to the Mummyheads. Although they are a support unit, they teach players the importance of allocating threats and recognizing weaknesses. Mummyheads deal an incredible amount of damage and they can repair other enemies, yet they are consistently open to grabs and being stunlocked. Sure, they are dangerous, but only if you let them be. Enemies are at their most dangerous in groups and, in my view, should be individually threatening to up the player’s game. You have all the tools to handle them; ergo, enemies should demand that back from you. And that’s why Zone of the Enders 2 succeeds in this department. With the exception of Clods and their inconsistent grab hitbox, I cannot say I truly dislike anything about how enemy design is handled.

Of course, the game has boss fights. A friend of mine once likened them to puzzles and I feel that’s the best way to look at them. They still illustrate the game’s core tenets, movement and decision-making, but openings are no longer as easily given. You may have to apply lessons you’ve learned from regular fights, forcing the bosses to set up their barriers, chain stunlocks with grabs and subweapons, and so on. What’s surprising is that these fights will change as they progress, and bosses alter their patterns or aggression. On higher difficulties, they may even restrict what sorts of openings work and how many times you can abuse them. These aspects keep the fights frenetic and demanding, though I’d be remiss if I also didn’t mention their variety. While some double-down on their puzzle aspects and some become wickedly-fast aerial dogfights, there are context sensitive interactions to find and you’d be surprised by what subweapons can work and how they can work. Except for the tedious Viola AI battle, I’d happily call this an incredibly successful lineup of how to make engaging boss battles, with the standouts being Zakat (one of the best of the genre) and the final duels with Anubis.

I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to some sour grapes with this game though. The most egregious problem is the game’s auto lock-in actively interfering with the camera. With how the camera centers close to Jehuty and how chaotic battles can get, it becomes a mad scramble to regain your bearings. You can toggle the lock-on off, though you may find it reapplies shortly thereafter. At worst, you’ll find yourself disoriented with your position and, especially in aerial or cramped fields, not be able to target what you need to and get stunlocked for your trouble. This is by far the most frustrating part of the game.

While encounters are varied, there are a number of gimmick setpieces that I would say fall short of their mark. The battleship section can be offset by the aforementioned camera issues, while an endgame warzone against hundreds of enemies that should be one of the game’s highlights instead turns into the world’s most disappointing escort mission as you end up defending or moving useless allies for nearly twenty minutes. I wouldn’t necessarily call these sections bad nor would I say it’s a negative that the game is willing to keep trying new things, though I believe these conceptually interesting moments have poor execution.

Nonetheless, Zone of the Enders 2 is a genuine, unheralded classic of a game. Its short runtime, demanding playstyle and tight design means replay value is fairly high, though its difficulty and particular quirks probably means it asks for a certain audience. Ultimately, it’s a fantastic title and, even if I’ve admittedly come to enjoy it less as I’ve played more, I’d wager I keep on coming back for a reason.

After the game that felt like a demo but stretched to 2 hours(zoe1). This game finally takes more advantage of the movement with adding environmental grapples, ability to move while using gadgets(except one, because it's a heavy missile). Also of course with this better movement also there is more stronger and faster enemies to fight. Also gadgets have a better use this time fortunately, because some enemies dies more easily with certain gadgets. Also this game have a better pace, rather than hiding bosses to the end of the game, almost every level ends with a boss fight in this game. this bosses are excellent made btw, because they have gimmicks that you need to solve to beat them rather than just holding the shoot button like the first one. Not just that, levels are now more fun with making it more lineer but with a lot of variety(some in the air, some in mountains, some in valleys etc). Also fortunately you don't go key hunting the entire time in this one.

For the story, it's fine. It's more convoluted than the first one, but still more on the simple side and it's fine for me. Voice acting is a bit iffy but it's miles better than the shitty voice acting of the first one(maybe I should return one day for trying the newly released japanese voice patch for that game). Also they made the excellent choice of whenever a character shows up, it just shows a 2d portrait or full 2d animation rather than clumsy 3d models and animation of the first game.

My only complaint would be slow and inverted camera I think, but game rarely forces you to use it, because game handles everything with lock on anyway, so it's fine for me.

So I think this game is a masterpiece. If you haven't played it and you like fast movement with interesting gadgets/weapons, play this game!