Did you know that the Mega Man Zero series is actually the best series in the entire Mega Man franchise, bar none? This is an indisputable fact, and as such it is absolutely non-negotiable.

As far as the actual collection goes, it's just that: a collection; nothing more, nothing less. Well, I suppose there is just a little bit more. First, the music is in an (ever so slightly) higher quality. There's also an EXTREMELY easy mode that basically puts you in Ultimate mode for every game (full upgrades, basically). It's only really for individuals that void their bowels at the thought of any difficulty at all in their video games, as the average person would find it far too easy. The series isn't much harder than the average classic Mega Man game. Lastly, the most important "new" addition in the collection is that e-Reader card functionality is now built in to Mega Man Zero 3. It worked just fine in the Japanese version of the original game (although you would've needed the Card-e-Reader and the cards themselves), but it was removed in the US version (probably because the peripheral never took off in the west). Now, in the Zero Collection, you can collect cards simply by beating the games! Each of them, when enabled, can modify Mega Man Zero 3 in a wide variety of ways, including increasing weapon or cyber-elf damage, spawning or altering NPCs in the base, changing the aesthetics of the base itself, customizing the message window, and so on and so forth. You can even make it snow, and cause little cats to appear! It's not much in the grand scheme of things, but it's fun to play around with.

Since the Zero/ZX Legacy Collection has all these bonuses and more, however, there's no longer really any reason to use this for your collection needs, unless you want to play the Zero games on your DS for whatever reason. But the box art is still pretty cool!

And don't you dare skip Zero 1.

"Erm... 'war is bad' is kinda cliche... and uhhh if they like peace... why are they fighting??? 🤓"

Yeah whatever poindexter, if the beginning of mission 27 didn't at least make you smile, then your joyless, jaded ass better stick to Drakengard and keep that mouth shut. Out here we EMBRACE the cheesiness.

With that being said, the scripted nature of the game leads to missions that feel just a little too long, and in the event that you die, replaying them can feel like pulling teeth.

"Atsui~
Atsukute hikarabisoouu~
Ugoite nai no ni atsuiyoo~"

One of the greatest voice lines in all of video games. I needed it for myself. Dumped 200 rolls on Mika's banner the other day. Mika's cute and all, and the 6% rate was tantalizing, but what I was really chasing was that heat. Even with so much saved, it was still a 0.3% rate. Fate/GO players shot for the stars with more, and died in disgrace for less. It was a steep price to pay for missing the train back in January. I wasn't a believer then, but half a year of Twitter art forces a man to acknowledge the sheer strength Blue Archive commandeered as the head honcho of the cute and funny genre. Come April, I knew what I had to do. I installed, started grinding, and bided my time until the fated day would come. Ohhh I waited. Banners came and went, and my gem stock slowly grew. They called me a fool for skipping Himari. But there is no virtue chasing higher ranks in a future without Summer Hoshino. Days became weeks. Weeks became months.

Until Judgement Day. 7/25. The red carpet was rolled out for Mika. Fanfare, Twitter campaigns, displays, advertisements. She had it all. Even Arona Hot Dog was there. But I was only concerned about my pink, 0.3% prize. I only had a 45% chance to get her. I had nothing else but hopes and prayers; I prostrated before the numbers, completely at the mercy of a coin flip. And it flipped.

It was a silly little thing. One moment I didn't have her, and then in the next, I did. 70 pulls in. It's an unbelievable feeling, to entrust the culmination of several months of dreams on a dice roll, and win. At that time, at that place, for a fleeting moment, through no power of mine, the whims of reality and my wordly desires were one and the same. With no rhyme or reason, the Mandate of Heaven bestowed upon me Hoshino. Don't you see what this means? I walked the path forged by the stars, and it was written in indelible celestial text that Victory was my lot.

Anyway +3 stars for Ui, she's my favorite.