This is the first entry into the Zero Divide series, which is basically Zoom's attempt at ripping off Virtua Fighter and using robots as the main cast.
Unfortunately, as far as the gameplay is concerned it really shows that it's Zoom's first 3D fighter. Hitboxes are very wonky at times, movement is not smooth at all, animations are jank and the CPU is terrible and button reads constantly at times especially on normal and hard difficulties. To top it off, the framerate is also very sub-optimal for a fighter even on the PS1 running somewhere between 15-20 FPS. For comparison, Tekken 1's console port was running at 60. It's not the worst 3D fighter I've played for sure, but it's not great either.
It's quite a shame though, as the presentation is actually pretty outstanding. The soundtrack is awesome and full of very hype techno-rock and the robot designs are quite cool. What also sucks is that this was the only game localized to America, as Zoom actually made some major improvements in the next two games which we never saw unless you were importing.
I can't really recommend this game much unless you're just curious. I'd actually recommend listening to the soundtrack on youtube instead as it's the best part of the game by far.
Bonus: I do have to throw an extra half-star onto my review though, as this game has one of the coolest extras in any fighter I've played. If you hold start and select on the second controller as this game is loading up you'll get to play a different shorter version of Zoom's shmup Phalanx! Normally when you encounter a "game hidden within a game" it's something a lot more simple in terms of graphics and gameplay, I guess maybe it was stuff they had laying around from a cancelled project? Fuck it, just throw it in there!
Unfortunately, as far as the gameplay is concerned it really shows that it's Zoom's first 3D fighter. Hitboxes are very wonky at times, movement is not smooth at all, animations are jank and the CPU is terrible and button reads constantly at times especially on normal and hard difficulties. To top it off, the framerate is also very sub-optimal for a fighter even on the PS1 running somewhere between 15-20 FPS. For comparison, Tekken 1's console port was running at 60. It's not the worst 3D fighter I've played for sure, but it's not great either.
It's quite a shame though, as the presentation is actually pretty outstanding. The soundtrack is awesome and full of very hype techno-rock and the robot designs are quite cool. What also sucks is that this was the only game localized to America, as Zoom actually made some major improvements in the next two games which we never saw unless you were importing.
I can't really recommend this game much unless you're just curious. I'd actually recommend listening to the soundtrack on youtube instead as it's the best part of the game by far.
Bonus: I do have to throw an extra half-star onto my review though, as this game has one of the coolest extras in any fighter I've played. If you hold start and select on the second controller as this game is loading up you'll get to play a different shorter version of Zoom's shmup Phalanx! Normally when you encounter a "game hidden within a game" it's something a lot more simple in terms of graphics and gameplay, I guess maybe it was stuff they had laying around from a cancelled project? Fuck it, just throw it in there!