Sequels to video games often have large shoes to fill. They are expected to push the ideas and framework of their predecessor to new heights, to solidify the essence of what made the previous game so great and to trim the parts that were hindering the original vision.

In a good number of cases, games manage to accomplish this feat. Super Mario World, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Super Metroid, Final Fantasy IV, etc. They live up to the hype and standards surrounding them, and some have even helped birth new genres or refine them. These are the pinnacle examples of what good sequels can accomplish.

So then, what happens when you have a sequel to a game that was already subpar… and it winds up being an even worse experience?

Enter Mega Man Zero 2.

This game takes two steps forward in fixing certain problems I had with Zero 1, but then also takes two steps back for new problems like its level design as well as problems from Zero 1 that it flat out did not fix at all.

Let’s start with the very few positives I have. Firstly, the Retry system has been removed and the traditional life system has returned. I don’t know if this is because of the Legacy Collection, since that was the version I played for this game or not, but it is a welcome improvement… that still has problems that I despise but we’ll get back onto that.

Secondly, the music is much better. They don’t reuse Zero’s theme from the X series, which means I don’t have to hear it be absolutely butchered, and the other music from the game is pretty good. There are points where the background music sounds like asses farting directly into my ears, but personally those moments were few and far between and weren’t experience ruining.
Next, while there are times where you will revisit earlier stages, those revisits usually take place in an area within that stage that you didn’t see previously, allowing for a different aesthetic. Sometimes though you will just go to an area that looks aesthetically the same and it sucks when that happens.

Finally, the story is at least a step up from Zero 1. Zero finally returns to the resistance after wandering the earth fighting against Neo Arcadian forces on his lonesome. He returns to find the resistance under the lead of a new commander, the reploid Elpizo. Elpizo is a very arrogant and stubborn leader who ultimately means well, but his brash decision making results in terrible consequences.

He commands Zero to help him and his army with taking down specific Neo Arcadian operations to bolster the effect of “Operation: Righteous Strike”, which is meant to destroy the defenses and army of Neo Arcadia, something which former commander Ciel believes is a bad idea. Ciel is also working on a way to create a renewable energy source using these Baby Elves that she’s found, and believes that if she can do so, they can solve the energy crisis and stop Neo Arcadia from hunting them down.

Damn, if that doesn’t hit home nowadays, huh?

Zero winds up helping out Elpizo, who then decides to start “Operation: Righteous Strike” despite the protests of Zero, Ciel, and Cerveau. This results in a massive failure as the Neo Arcadian forces knew this would happen, and much of the resistance winds up completely annihilated, resulting in Elpizo snapping and deciding to go and destroy Neo Arcadia on his lonesome.

It is somewhat implied earlier in the story that Elpizo is jealous of the admiration that much of the resistance has for Zero, and this envy along with the guilt of his failures is what begins his Face-Heel Turn.

Zero is eventually sent by Ciel to find Elpizo, eventually coming into conflict with the Three Guardians once more, before finding out that Elpizo has gone to the deepest part of Neo Arcadia to awaken the Dark Elf using the Baby Elves that Ciel was studying earlier. This of course means world destruction and the extinction of the human race (as well as Reploids honestly) and needs to be stopped.

This ends with a final bout between Zero and Elpizo, now powered by the Dark Elf after he killed X’s body to release it. Elpizo loses and comes to his senses, realizing that he had done the wrong thing. The Dark Elf then temporarily turns to the light and frees Elpizo’s soul, before turning back to evil and escaping the scene.

Zero and X ponder on what has transpired, thus ending Mega Man Zero 2’s story.

It’s definitely more engaging than Zero 1, I’ll say that much… but the story could not save this game from the other myriad problems it has.

Onto the many complaints and I’ll start with the most egregious: The level design in this game is the fucking pits. Spikes are fucking everywhere, like it’s an X6 reunion party. Literally the first recommended level of the game is an ice level with spikes all over the fucking place. Spikes on the walls, on the ceiling, on the floor, fucking everywhere and it feels so fucking senseless.

Not only that, but the level of Phoenix Magnion has a very similar gimmick to, guess who, Blaze Heatnix’s stage from X6, with you fighting the same mini-boss at least 4 times, one right before the boss fight itself, which also has a 30 second cutscene before it, which you have to witness every time you die.

If there is something I hate about both Zero 1 and this game, it is the fucking unskippable cutscenes. This is a problem I swear only exists in the Zero series, because guess what. If you die at a boss in X5 or X6, games that came before this one, they wouldn’t do the fucking dialogue before the boss fight, you would just fight the fucking boss. Why is it that this doesn’t apply to Zero 1 or this game? It’s the single most aggravating shit and serves nothing but to waste time mashing buttons to get to the god damn fight.

Another thing I hate, carried over from Zero 1, there are no checkpoints if you play this game raw. These levels aren’t short either and making even a single mistake (which is very easy to do in an early game with your first playthrough because you don’t know where shit is, and also the overwhelming amount of spikes) will result in you going to the very beginning of the stage, which fucking sucks.

Again, the X series, hell even the Classic series had fucking checkpoints, what is with the Zero series and this bullshit.

If you are going to play this game for the first time, I recommend using the Legacy Collection’s checkpoint feature that it added. It makes the game far more bearable to experience. That or use save states if you intend to emulate this shit.

Bosses in this game feel far more learnable than in Zero 1, which is nice, but there’s still some fights that just feel like ass, and I’m mostly referring to the fight with the double beetleborg brothers. One of which is a boss from Zero 1 who reappears in the final dungeon for the rematch and it was a 2 Vs. 1 fight in a fucking Mega Man game where you don’t really have the tools to deal with that shit, and there aren’t even walls to walljump on to avoid most attacks for this fight. It sucked massive dick.

Cyber Elves return and are still useless 90% of the time. They still have some that lock health upgrades behind themselves, which is a terrible design choice when again, the X series had a perfectly functional way of doing this.

And of course, weapon grinding also makes a comeback… I still have to grind for a basic three hit combo… in a fucking Mega Man game.

There is so much about this game that just pisses me off to an almost irrational degree, but weapon grinding basically not even changing between Zero 1 and now was the biggest deal breaker for me.

The moment I booted up the tutorial and realized that my basic necessities from Zero 1 were gone, I wanted to quit playing the game immediately. It looked as though almost nothing had been fixed, and honestly… almost nothing had been fixed with this game.

When you play a sequel to a game, you would at least expect more than just two improvements… but no. Mega Man Zero 2 fails to deliver much of any positive improvements and instead adds more problems.

EX Skills, which are only given to players who have high rankings and beat a boss, basically fucking new players out of techniques that would probably make the game a lot more enjoyable and manageable. New forms where the way of acquiring them isn’t actively told to you, and most have very specific requirements.

It all just results in an experience that had me wanting the game to end before it even started.

I didn’t try to be excited, I didn’t try to put too high of an expectation on this game like I did with Zero 1. I only expected at least some baseline improvements, and Zero 2 didn’t even give me that.

What I got was a mangled remake of X6 in all honesty, and it disgusts me on an inherent level.

As an aside, I’ve been told that Zero 1 and Zero 2 get better upon replays, but I ask you this: If a game isn’t fun or remotely enjoyable upon the first playthrough, why would anyone want to replay it to see if it gets better. A game should present its encompassing positive traits on a first playthrough, because if it can’t do that, then I don’t believe those positive traits exist.

I’m not looking forward to Zero 3 at this point, or Zero 4. Zero 2 has damaged my perception of this series to such an extent that I’m afraid that even having the most minimal expectations for its sequels will just leave me further disappointed.

I hate this game, because it couldn’t even fulfill the most basic needs to even be a subpar sequel.

Em matéria de história, esse jogo é superior ao primeiro e o que eu mais gostei é que ele deixa de lado o sistema de missões do primeiro MZ e volta com o sistema de seleção de fases, característico de Megaman.

Com isso, o problema das áreas se repetirem, que existia no primeiro jogo, foi resolvido. Também diminuíram o farm, tornando mais rápidos de upar as armas e os Elfs. Nesses quesito, o segundo jogo evoluiu comparado ao primeiro.

Agora, não dá pra falar a mesma coisa da dificuldade. Eu achei esse bem mais difícil que o primeiro, e grande parte disso é o problema de level design de algumas fases, que existem quedas mortais por conta da câmera não mostrar os espinhos que te aguardam no fundo, ou também o posicionamento dos inimigos que te ferra em muitos locais.

Além disso, há algumas armadilhas do cenário que você precisa ser um mestre no jogo pra escapar do dano ou de até a morte.

A gameplay continua basicamente igual ao primeiro, com a diferença que agora o Zero conta com um gancho pra puxar objetos, itens e até se segurar no teto para de balançar e acessar algumas áreas. Na teoria parece ótimo, mas pense numa coisa travada que muitas vezes mais atrapalha do que ajuda.

Você consegue habilidades dos chefes aqui também, mas só se você derrotar o chefe em rank A ou S, que você precisa ser um mestre no jogo para conseguir esses ranques nas fases, e também não usar nenhum Cyber Elf, nem mesmo os que aumentam a vida ou os atributos do Zero.

Outras coisa nova são as formas, que você consegue cumprindo alguns requisitos durante as fases. Essas formas dão vantagens para o Zero quando equipadas. O problema que você precisa cumprir esses requisitos nas fases em que os chefes ainda não foram derrotados, e isso muitas vezes envolve farm, o que vai fazer seu rank cair, por causa do tempo que você vai levar pra concluir a área. Ou seja, é praticamente impossível ter todas as formas e todos os ataques de chefes ao mesmo tempo.

Megaman Zero 2 é superior ao seu antecessor em vários quesitos, mas repete alguns erros e consegue piorar alguns que já existiam no primeiro e ainda ter novos. Ainda assim, é um bom jogo pela história e também, vamos ser sinceros, o Zero é um personagem extremamente carismático!

2nd best game in the Mega Man franchise. I appreciate it more and more with every replay. Weapon levels may still exist, but it's faaaar less grindy than Zero 1; you can reasonably max them out this time. It's got extremely satisfying platforming, bosses and enemy design, with the best level of difficulty in the series. Best soundtrack in the zero series too.

And no, there is nothing wrong with the system for gaining EX skills. This isn't the X series anymore; they're cool bonuses that complement the ranking system, rewarding you for playing well. And besides, if you MUST have them without putting in the effort, there's always the A-rank cyberelves to help you nab a few.

The ideal sequel that improves every aspect

No other 2nd entry in a series will get as much praise from me as Mega Man Zero 2. Where to begin

Zero controls just as good as he did in the first entry and I've stated the control as being perfect in that game with seamless wall jumping to saber slashing action and that will stay consistent throughout this sub series.

The weapons available to zero are mostly identical to the ones in the first game but numerous tweaks make them more fun to work with overall. Firstly before you can choose your first level you have 4 weapons at your disposal as opposed to just the saber and buster which somewhat fixes the issue I have with alot of the X game where you're just a bit too limited at the start for my liking but Zero 2 gives you all these weapons and unlike the extra weapons in zero 1 the game is designed with them in mind so that's a plus but let's talk about the new weapon

The chain rod I had mixed feelings on when I first played the game but now I love the thing as you can use it to latch onto surfaces and swing like spider man.I will admit it's a bit finicky but its required like 2 times in the game so I can let it slide. In combat though like the triple rod it can be aimed in 8 directions and has more reach than the triple rod so those pesky enemies on the ceilings will no longer pose a threat. The rod is also how you get access to the 2 sub tanks found in the levels throughout and having physical sub tanks unlike zero 1 which forced you to grind for them makes the game that much more accessible to everyone. The issue in the X games where even if you only needed a little bit of health the character in question would use all the energy stored has been fixed as well which is as good as it sounds.

The graphics and music in the game are just way more memorable than the first's as well. A variety of colors and environments are on display such as a forest that goes into some old ruins, a train with a detailed background that makes it seem like it's going as fast as you can imagine with cargo stored on board, the outside of a laboratory with ice chunks floating on the water and the inside being completely frozen over. I'll always prefer the best spritework of 16/32 bit games more than the graphics of any game releasing on current gen platforms cuz sprites just have more charm. The music is upbeat when it needs to be and sinister when the story ramps up later on as well. Overall the presentation hits the mark in every area it needs to and I cant think of anything i dislike. The remastered tracks are all phenomenal and add that much more to the experience

With all that out of the way now onto the level design and other gameplay elements. The cyber elves system has been improved with 2 simple tweaks. The required e crystals needed to feed the elves has been lowered and the drop rate has been raised substantially making getting health upgrades a non issue for new players. This let's the player determine the difficulty of the game like some of the best metroidvanias and mega man x games. EX skills are introduced in this game and I find it to be a awesome reward but still pretty challenging to get. You have to go into a stage with an A rank in order to get the ex skill from the boss and this just encourages the player to get better at the stages to get skills that gives the combat variety like with the ice buster ex skill that acts like a shotgun when used right or the powerful downward stab. The EX skills are a bit hard to get but I still find them to be a great addition and Zero 3 definitely perfects the system.

Now, the level design. The most important part of any platformer. Inti creates handled the design so well that 4 playthroughs later I enjoy the game as much as i did when I first played the game. I think that this game has some of my favorite platforming in the entire series and it balances with combat a lot better than games like X1, X3, and even better than Zero 3 and 4. The first 4 stages are all very memorable for their own reasons like jumping across floating ice chunks in the frozen factory to avoiding icy gusts that freeze you while enemies approach then handling ice physics to clear gaps and avoid hazards which sounds bad but it's very fun when you master the way to keep your speed going. That's just one level yet I can just point out these amazing parts of the level off the top of my head which isnt something I can do for MMZ1 very often. The train stage has multiple blinking lights that pass the train then a gate passes by that you have to jump over while dealing with the usual enemies too which makes a stage that's technically flat as all hell really interesting and engaging overall. Most of the levels in the game all have level design like this and it's just a major step up. The factory level in the 2nd half of the game is definitely my favorite no contest. This level has flaming buckets going up and down which the player has to avoid by dashing under or jumping over them but the fun part is that you can use an ice infused attack to deactivate the touch damage and using this across the level to make extra platforms while dodging enemy fire jumping across crumbling platforms that drop into lava after a couple of seconds dashing under invincible enemies all without getting hit once raises my serotonin levels to the max. There are some stinker levels and some stinker aspects of good levels like the first part of the 2nd midstage which has you jumping from airship to airship and sometimes the ship is off screen and you have to either wait for it or take a leap of faith which is just not very fun but thankfully the latter parts of the stage are all pure kino. My least favorite stage is harpuias stage with terrible spike placement and a mind numbing gimmick wherr you have to hit an enemy when it's a specific color to reveal platforms of the corresponding color which just feels like a waste of time. But other than that my problems with the level design are pretty small and I just move on pretty quickly.

The bosses are mainly just ok overall. Some are pretty annoying and too fast but alot are also cakewalks with or without weaknesses so that's pretty whatever. The panther boss is probably my favorite for the unique arena and his selection of attacks and I like fighting him without his weakness but other than that the bosses are pretty much improved overall.

So yeah I enjoy this game quite a bit as you can tell. Easily in my top 15 games ever made and in my top 3 mega man games

Base gameplay: 9.5/10
Graphics:9/10
Level Design:9.5/10
Weapon/Technique Selection:9/10
Music:9/10
Boss Fights:7/10
Difficulty Design:10/10
Replayability:9/10
Overall:10/10

Some people call me Supreme Edgeboy

Some people call me the Burble Hekelot

And some people call me Elpizo

This game really defined me. My connection with it is probably one of the deepest I have with any game, let alone the MM series.

I got a pirated copy when I was 8, and fatally, it couldn't save a damn thing. The solution? Playing and playing til I was good enough to beat it in one sitting. Lemme tell you, that sort of stuff really does something to you at such an age. I barely even knew english back then; I could hardly follow the plot, but even still, nothing could or has been able to compare to what I felt when I got to the last stage for the first time and heard the incredible music.

It's unbelievably corny for me to say this, but I think Zero 2 really taught me what it meant to persevere against all odds.

The action and movement are amazing. It's much faster than the X games, they genuinely feel sluggish to go back to.

However, this one just compounds the issues of the first game. They've re-used the same bad cyber-elf system which requires all these nonsense upgrades and have added the horrible EX-skills system... which rewards you with a skill if you manage to beat a level on A or S rank, which means beating levels that are harder than the X games without dying or taking much damage. Do the kinds of folks who have those capabilities really need extra skills?

The biggest issue here is the antagonistic level design. Spikes are put in places that, to put succinctly, just make me sad.

There's an ice level where you need to master inscrutable ice physics to miss spikes, a factory level in which you need to dash before spikes... there are very specific ways to interact with spikes that just take lots of practice not to get good but to learn the bizarre ways in which you are expected to bypass them. It makes me sad because Zero controls so well but unfortunately I was given levels that hated me with a passion to maneuver him around.

I got all the way through Zero 1 and mostly enjoyed it but think I've hit my block with the series here. I'll give the ZX game a go!

A sequel that takes one step forward and one step backwards. Zero 2 is a weird entry to talk about, it sure does feel more like a Mega Man game in comparison to its predecessor, but it falls short in many other areas. EX Skills are a nice addition that complement the combat in a non-intrusive manner, not interfering with the guaranteed Elemental Chip drops, being obtainable through high ranking, and coming in pretty handy in subsequent playthroughs, encouraging replayability. But maintaining high ranks in this game fucking sucks due to the level design somehow managing to contain even more bullshit moments than last time. The Form system is also a bit ass-backwards since most of them aren't useful at all, crippling your triple slashes for absolutely no reason in exchange for insanely minor buffs. If you want to use Forms, stick to Rise and Active. They're the easiest to obtain and actually improve something. Oh yeah, by the way, obtaining all of them is a terrible decision. Most require doing very specific and repetitive tasks for the very first time you enter a mission. Fun.
Let's see, what else? Cyber Elves are a bit cheaper, Bosses are quite boring, uhhh...
Yeah this game is kinda just supposed to be a prequel to Zero 3, isn't it? I told you it's a weird entry to talk about.

I didn't like Zero 1 very much, so I was worried if the next game was gonna keep the same level of mediocrity as the first game. Fortunately it didn't! I might not love Zero 2 but it's a huge improvement over the first game in every way.

The levels are a big improvement over the first game, not only are all of them fun but they give you some goodies like lives or Cyber-Elves as a reward for experimenting with the different abilites of your weapons, especially the Chain Rod which, despite being a bit janky and imperfect, was a ton of fun to use. The soundtrack was also an improvement over the first game, it wasn't amazing but there were definitely some bangers. The mission format went back to the more traditional Mega Man style which I definitely appreciate and thank god they improved the save system.
Despite liking all the levels, I do feel like Zero 2 suffers from the same imperfections of Zero 1 within the levels, there are definitely some points where the game can be a little cheap. But it's pretty infrequent and it's definitely not as cheap as Zero 1. Mega Man Zero 2 really slaps, if you haven't played any Zero game I highly recommend starting with this one.

Also Elpizo is epic

A solid improvement on the first game, Mega Man Zero 2 does not dissapoint. Opening on one of the most iconic introductions of all time, Megaman Zero 2 is an absolute blast - fixing a lot of the problems I had with the original game while keeping the fast speed, the great vibe, the wonderful music and challenging difficulty. I had so much fun getting through this game. However, despite it's improvements, it still hasn't improved everything yet. Weapon levelling is still there - even if it isn't as present, it still sucks. Some of the levels are overreliant on spikes, pits and lava instadeaths to create challenge, which I thought was dissapointing. However, the boss fights in this game are even better than the first, so it does balance out. All in all, barring my complaints, Megaman Zero 2 does not dissapoint. It is everything a sequel should be. Let's hope Zero 3 continues the trend!

Zero 2 review:


This reivew will be based on a recently finished replay:

I’m not really sure why, but Zero 2 really hit me hard this time in the feels. My original sentiment of it being a considerable improvement to 1 still stays true for me, and I feel I come to appreciate its story and characters even more now:

Introduction stage:
Ok, first off, I have to mention the introduction stage, Sand Wilderness. It's probably one of the best starting levels I’ve ever seen in a megaman game, and I even want to say any platformer I’ve played really. Continuing from the ending of 1, we see a now weak Zero with his weapons at the point of breaking and his skills all but gone, amazingly represented through the now worn-out sunscreen from Zero 1; he needs to find the Resistance to have any chance to survive and to find a new purpose. The stage is good at allowing the player to become familiar with the platforming basics and to become accustomed to the Z-saber and Buster quick, with two mini-bosses and one final boss. After the stage, you’re now at the new resistance base, fixed up and with a new subscreen, allowing for a good transition from “old” to “new”.

The major appeal of this stage for me probably has to be the music: the stage theme, Departure, is absolutely beautiful, giving a sense of hope and letting you know that even in his current condition, Zero is still a badass. And I absolutely love the Crash remix they used for the scorpion boss of this stage; it's a bit funny, with how it sounds like it has a banjo incorporated into it now, but it's still a bop to listen to.

Honestly, I’m not sure what else to say about this level: it’s just one of the most incredible opening stages I’ve seen, especially for a sequel.

Gameplay:
Gameplay is solid as usual, similar to Zero 1. Fast paced with the mission requirements for A or S rank providing further incentive to improve. Some new features and changes were however introduced to further enhance the gameplay:

Firstly, the upgrade system of weapons was reworked a bit, with most of the upgrades being related to providing a charge attack and increasing the speed of it.. These aren’t too difficult to obtain depending on how frequently you use these weapons.

Forms were now introduced, each one improving aspects of Zero or providing new skills at the expense of something else being decreased. I find this feature to be great, as it can easily work into a playstyle you’re attempting to achieve or enhance the kind of weapons you typically use with Zero. The X-form for example improves the buster’s damage output while the Active Form increases Zero’s speed and gives him two Z-Saber skills. You do have to work to obtain these forms, usually some form of requirement that needs to be completed by the end of the stage to obtain it. With multiple forms you’re also able to switch between to better fit the situation you’re in during a level.

EX-skills were now also introduced. These are skills you obtain from bosses when you beat them at A or S rank, and can be activated from the sub screen. Another great addition, as it further provides motivation to improve your rank and adds more variety to the gameplay.

Cyber-Elves are the same as they were in Zero 1, with some new cyber elves and others being replaced. The biggest change is that the Energy Crystal requirement was significantly lowered for evolving cyber-elves, making it easier to utilize their help.

There’s better level design generally as well as better level gimmicks compared to Z1, making it really fun to go through them and get to the boss. Difficulty I feel also has increased but aside from a few specific cases the game provides a satisfactory challenge.

Mission structure and World:
Unlike Zero 1, Zero 2 opts for a mission structure more similar to the X and classic games. You’re provided a set of 4 missions to complete each time, with the boss icon, boss name, and area name being shown.

Further significant changes relate to the game world in general: in Zero 1, most areas were connected and so you could traverse them outside missions (with Trans Servers acting as fast travel). Here, you’re only able to explore the resistance base outside missions, with the Command Room allowing you to go through levels you’ve already done before by speaking to the operator to use the Trans Server. I prefer this new change, as I usually didn’t have much incentive to explore outside the resistance base in zero 1 anyways aside from crystal hunting. As such, the resistance base is the main area you can explore outside missions, allowing you to talk to old and new faces since the first game.

This removal of an interconnected world also means that each level acts as its own area with its own unique stage theme, which I personally prefer more. Some stages technically share the same area as a previous level, but you usually explore a completely separate part of that same area that the level still remains unique. The main exception are two forest levels that share the same stage theme, for whatever reason.

Overall, the new mission structure does give off more of a professional or organized feel now, relating to the new and improved resistance base.

Music and Visuals:
My complaint with Zero 1’s music was that in general most of its tracks were good but rather unmemorable. Zero 2 rectifies that issue, with most of its soundtrack being quite memorable and with the change in mission structure providing more focused pieces for specific areas. It hits hard and each track fits the situation they’re used in.
Visuals are mostly the same from Zero 1, sprites and backgrounds are all appealing to look at. A significant change they did do however was change the text box and decrease portrait size, which was for the better and allowed for easier reading.

Story and Characters:
The zero series continues to provide more of a focus on its story and characters, with Zero 2 providing an enjoyable, decent plot with compelling characters and villains. Zero’s a badass, Ciel’s sweet, the remaining Guardians are still interesting, the bosses are cool, the resistance members are all likeable; I especially love Elpizo, the initial resistance leader turned main antagonist. Suiting an awesome design, Elpizo is just a really fun character for me, a person who desires power and eventually becomes corrupted by his desire, realizing how truly pathetic he was. I love him aaaaa

The story also furthers the overall plot, and leaves at a cliffhanger that left me with the urgent desire to immediately start replaying Zero 3. It’s good stuff.

Complaints:
Again, I think the upgrade system could have been removed entirely, but it's less of a hassle in this game I find. The Chain Rod I unfortunately don’t think was a good enough replacement for the Triple Rod. It feels underutilized, and I can only really call using it for really specific situations. I really think they should have implemented it in a better way that allowed for more usage of it.

The forms system, as cool as it is, does feel unbalanced. Some of the requirements for them feel like you can only accomplish through only certain stages or to really commit to it at the possible expense of affecting your rank. Furthermore their usefulness compared to each other feels unbalanced, and made me feel less incentivized to try certain ones out e.g. Active Form felt better to use than say Erase or Power form; admittedly though this I think this also depends on your own playstyle and what weapons you typically use.

NPC dialogue doesn’t seem to advance as much as it did in Zero 1, so for several missions they’re usually stuck with the same dialogue. This is more of a nitpick though I suppose.

While I like the difficulty, there does seem to be some inconsistency with it between levels and bosses. Seriously why is Phoenix Magnion so ruthless lmao. Regardless, I feel it’s more of a nitpick on my part yet again.

Other Notes:
I absolutely love love LOVE Elpizo

Awakening Will as the credits theme was SUCH a good choice.

Conclusion:
Overall, Zero 2 is a considerable improvement over 1 and I think is where the series really started to get its fame of being absolutely great. It's a blast, and if you liked 1 then you’ll definitely love Zero 2.

Sets aside a lot of what was unique about the first game in favor of a more conventional world, progression structure and sense of setting. Levels themselves are often more mechanically distinctive and visually complex, but the game as a whole lacks a strong sense of identity and plays like something of a kaizo take on the X series. The story's largely carried by the presence of repeated, dead-serious use of the phrase "baby elf".

Borges, describing Kafka, says that great authors make their own antecedents, and the way the recurring bosses in this game are written with more of a psychosexual fixation on Zero confirms for me that the series is a premonition of Revengeance.

Okay, por onde começar?
Eu simplesmente AMO os bosses desse jogo.
Eu adoro quando você dá de cara com um boss e de primeira acha ele impossível, mas conforme você vai morrendo e morrendo pra ele, você vai aprendendo cada vez mais seus padrões e mecânicas, até que você se torna um mestre e usa de todo o seu conhecimento adquirido pra acabar com ele. E isso foi algo que eu senti bastante em MegaMan Zero no geral.
Mas de longe eu posso dizer que esse jogo tem meus bosses favoritos.
A Boss Fight contra Kuwagust & Herculious representa perfeitamente o que eu quero dizer.
A primeira vista quando eu olhei pra aquilo eu disse "O QUÊ?" "ISSO É IMPOSSÍVEL, NÃO EXISTE COMO EU PASSAR DISSO", mas foi só morrer algumas vezes pra aprender seus padrões, que eu consegui, e até mesmo esse processo é ridículamente divertido.
A trilha sonora desse jogo quase é tão boa quanto a de MegaMan Zero 3. "The Last - The Wish Punished", "Sand Triangle" e "Melt Down" na certa batem de frente com "Cannonball" de MegaMan Zero 3.
Esse jogo é quase tão bom quanto Zero 3, se não fosse pelo level design.
Vamo lá, eu não gosto muito do Level Design desse jogo, e muitas vezes eu já me mordi de raiva em certas fases.
É claro que tem algumas fases que se salvam e isso não impede o jogo de ser bom. Ele é um ótimo jogo e quase alcança MegaMan Zero 3.
8.1/10

Best Mega Man Zero game IMO. The level design is fun, story's pretty great, the chain rod is the most useful one-time weapon in the series (Triple Rod was cool but I just always found the chain rod to be more useful for combat), and it's overall the Zero game I can come back to the most and have a great time with, especially considering it's a perfect length.

Sorry Zero 3 fanboys. I honestly get a bit bored playing Z3, usually never finishing the playthroughs I start. I still have beaten it multiple times, but it's the least replayed of the 4 for me. I'm not sure where the issue with Z3 is, but what I can tell you is that those issues aren't in Z2.

Mechanically speaking this is an upgrade both in gameplay and story compared to Zero 1. They even made grinding weapon experience a lot less tedious thankfully. However when it came to enemy placement and level design I feel they got worse from the first game. So many instances of enemies on a wall or ledge to hinder you from going forward and getting blind sided way too often. Lots of bosses just doing a butt load of damage more than what's expected of the Zero games. It was just a frustrating experience and it didn't feel hard, it just felt tedious to play through

this was better than the first, but still not really on the level of the first few X games. some frustrating level design, partly because of screen crunch but also just because they wanted to be mean. there's also just a lot of systems in this game that complicate it needlessly IMO. elves, elemental chips, multiple sub weapons, different forms, ranking systems. it's not all bad but there's just a whole lot. the sub weapons are okay, but are generally pretty situational and you're just gonna wanna use your saber most of the time. i do wish the grapple hook felt better, it could have been really fun for platforming but it generally just feels really awkward and bad so i never really used it unless i had to. the ranking system is a cool concept but it kinda bums me out to know i'm missing out on cool extra attacks and abilities if i don't get an A rank on a prior mission. the story is commendable but i honestly just wasn't particularly interested in it. i respect them wanting to go for more of a serious story but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

all of that isn't to say i had a bad time, it's still some solid action platforming with great sprite work, great character designs, and an amazing ost! there's just a couple kinks i hope the next few games work out.

Starts off promising but then there's an awful ranking system that is tied to your EX skills and you cannot redo boss stages. Not to mention pretty grueling stages makes it one of the fastest I've dropped a game. It really shouldn't boil down to "be good at these same dragging stages immediately or just miss content" and that's not a hill anyone can defend.

It feels like a game still aimed at the "tough as nails" crowd without thinking of basic, good game design. I've played some sleepers but this is just sad.

If Zero kept his cloak from the first cutscene then maybe it'd be worth something.
Reformatted because it apparently wasn't clear this game has awful design and decisions. No "you haven't played a real bad game" does not invalidate this game's choices. Comparing eating shit to fried shit does not change that they are shit.