Mega Man Zero 4 is a strange game. It makes a number of design decisions that I disagree with, but the things it carries over from the previous games are handled really well.
Zero 4's biggest problem is that the very different way it handles cyber elves and chips leads to a fairly grindy experience if you want to be at your best. The chip system especially is guilty of this, crafting doesn't really work well for me in a case where you need really specific parts to actually get equipment. This is disappointing, since one of the biggest things I loved about Zero 3 is how it eliminates the need for grinding.
I really like how the level design and bosses were handled, some of the best are almost as fun as the best of Zero 3's, but I think it's far less consistent as there's some real stinkers among both of them.
Story-wise, this is probably my favorite entry in the whole series. I really like how the game is generally themed around nature and the environment. The core of the story is about protecting the rebirth of nature into the world and letting it thrive, and the gimmick of its difficulty selection is based around the weather. It's an interesting motif that ties into the X-onward games' themes about the relationship between reploids and humanity. The entire finale with Ragnarok is the best conclusion I could think of for this series, it's a fantastic sendoff to the whole journey.
I suppose I'll conclude this by talking about my general thoughts on the whole series. These games are incredibly fun, Zero 3 especially, and are really well done stories, but most of them have some things holding them back from reaching their full potential. I'm still incredibly glad I played this series, and I'll gladly revisit them sometime.
Zero 4's biggest problem is that the very different way it handles cyber elves and chips leads to a fairly grindy experience if you want to be at your best. The chip system especially is guilty of this, crafting doesn't really work well for me in a case where you need really specific parts to actually get equipment. This is disappointing, since one of the biggest things I loved about Zero 3 is how it eliminates the need for grinding.
I really like how the level design and bosses were handled, some of the best are almost as fun as the best of Zero 3's, but I think it's far less consistent as there's some real stinkers among both of them.
Story-wise, this is probably my favorite entry in the whole series. I really like how the game is generally themed around nature and the environment. The core of the story is about protecting the rebirth of nature into the world and letting it thrive, and the gimmick of its difficulty selection is based around the weather. It's an interesting motif that ties into the X-onward games' themes about the relationship between reploids and humanity. The entire finale with Ragnarok is the best conclusion I could think of for this series, it's a fantastic sendoff to the whole journey.
I suppose I'll conclude this by talking about my general thoughts on the whole series. These games are incredibly fun, Zero 3 especially, and are really well done stories, but most of them have some things holding them back from reaching their full potential. I'm still incredibly glad I played this series, and I'll gladly revisit them sometime.