This game is a unique one but still familiar to fans of the X series(specifically X4-6, and X8)

The game is another Mega Man X styled game at heart with dashing and wall jumping available to the player and various abilities gained throughout the adventure.

Unlike the later X games, zero is the only playable character but the player can still play the game like X with a buster with charging and rapid fire capabilities. The next weapon unlocked is the Z saber and its just as fun to use as the non x7 x games with fast swings that also actually cuts enemies in half instead of just making them explode which is just badass. Combining the 2 playstyle into 1 already makes me like this game as I'm not boned in certain areas like X5. Zero also gains 2 new weapons after clearing a few stages and the first one is definitely the better one and it's called the triple rod. It can be stabbed in one of 8 directions and that alone makes it my go to weapon for dealing with airborne foes along with the z sabers superior ground slashes. You can also pogo off of enemies heads too which makes for some cool moments ngl. The last one is pretty whatever all things considered and it's called the Shield Boomerang and it blocks the standard energy pellets that some enemies use and once its charged it can be thrown in an arc and it'll come back to you and if you jump over it it'll continue to spin around you which has its uses but it's overall just an "ok" weapon all things considered.

So with all the things said it sounds like this game is an automatic home run right?

Haha. No.

Before I get into the issues of the game I would just like to say that the level design is far from the worst thing this game has to offer and while the levels themselves arent memorable as a Great X stage the weapons and most importantly the controls just make every interaction with the enemies and even simple things like wall jumping just feel perfect. The controls in the Zero series in every aspect are genuinely perfect. The jumps in the ps1 era feel a bit too heavy for my taste even with dash jumping and the walking speed is a but too slow for my liking along with the SNES and ps1 era dashing feeling a bit stiff but using dashes,dash jumps, wall jumps, and dashing wall jumps consistently in the Zero series is seamless and in terms of traditional 2d and 3d platformers these controls are tied with X8's are hands down the best controls in the genre and maybe just games as a whole.

Now the negatives
The weapon leveling system is ok at absolute best and a bit boring at worst. You start the game off with 1/3 z saber slashes and getting the other 2 slashes is piss easy in the first stage if you primarily use the z saber anyway but it's still just executed poorly as the buster needs to be leveled to get the traditional Mega man 2nd level charge and it makes the first 2 real bosses more annoying to fight. The z saber can also get a giant charged slash later on which shreds boss health but it takes a while to unlock. The triple rod also needs to be leveled which nerfs its use in the beginning which overall makes the system just eh overall.

I would describe retry chips as a flaw but the legacy collection fixes it so no need to talk about them.

Another flaw is just occasional cheap spike placement in 2 spots but mmmm I don't really care.
Energy crystals being hard to obtain a mass amount is a pain and makes getting health upgrades a massive chore for first timers and makes the later bosses a tight rop walk which is baffling design

I have played this game 5 times and I have gotten more and more appreciative of the design each and every time

Base gameplay: 8.5/10
Graphics:8.5/10
Level Design:7/10
Weapon Selection:7/10
Music:8/10
Boss Fights:6/10
Difficulty Design:5/10
Overall:9.5/10