Mega Man ZX (DS) Review
Posted by Damian Sarcuni on 09.26.2006
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Mega Man fever seems to run in hot and cold increments. As far back as I can remember, there were some periods of time when we heard almost nothing from Capcom involving the blue bomber, followed by periods of new games and huge promotions to go with them. Luckily for Mega Man fans, we’ve just hit a hot spot, this time on the next generation portable systems. Still, it’s been a long time and let’s be honest, the franchise is getting on in years. Capcom wanted to stay true to the side scrolling formula everyone knows and loves, but they needed to add a dash of flavor to keep things fresh. Enter Mega Man ZX for the Nintendo DS.
While Capcom’s basic 2D system is still very much the star, Mega man ZX takes all the frills that surrounded the classic Mega Man and Mega Man X series and changes them completely. Gone are the wide open stage select screens, replaced by a story driven almost Mercenaries style mission mode that takes players across one giant sectioned off map. You’ll revisit the same areas plenty of times, both for the sake of new items and exploration as well as completing different missions and overall getting where you need to go.
The game takes place long after the age of the blue bomber and his hulking counterpart – neither of them makes an appearance in the game! Instead, the story focuses around two human orphans, Vent and Aile, who are employed by a delivery company to transfer a special bio metal weapon system to a band of guardians who fight against maverick robots. The mavericks attack, things get F.U.B.A.R., the weapon system chooses the kids as a host and voila, instant video game story. Looming in the background the whole time is the shady and mysterious character Serpent, who runs Slither Inc. Serpent is apparently a hero to the people of the world because he has discovered an inexhaustible energy source and solved a world crisis. Yes, the people of the world trusted a guy named Serpent. Then again, these are the offspring of the people who let Dr. Wiley out of jail like 7 times, right?
Graphics
Boasting a mix of 2D gameplay and 3D graphics, the art and visuals in Mega Man ZX are really something spectacular. The background areas such as the Slither building from a distance are really enchanting. Character and enemy animations are almost as smooth as an X PS2 game, and in some cases they are even smoother. The game has several full on anime cut scenes which are beautifully drawn and animate with the same smoothness and detail of the game, taking nothing away from the game itself.
My favorite part is the character design. The theme here is change, and its fun to watch as human characters turn into kick ass elite robot units. Even the special lighting effects (i.e. Met Hats with lightsabres!) add a nice little accent to each of the characters. Explosions and death animations are quick but amusing, and the stage design layouts are a vivid remix of what we’ve seen in previous Mega Man games.
My only complaint is the androgyny of the characters. If you fans of Mega Man X thought Zero was bad, you haven’t seen anything yet. Every character in the entire game looks like a girl and you’ll most likely drop your DS a few times as your own hormones become a carnival house of mirrors…unless of course, you’re into that sort of thing.
Gameplay
The old saying goes “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” and clearly Capcom is listening. Mega Man ZX plays, at its core, like a Mega Man X game. The same classic X moves are here, including an armor change system similar to that of the later X games. Between Vent and Aile there are mostly minimum differences, so you can mostly ignore the whole “Play as two different characters!” advertisement angle.
In human form, the gameplay resembles something out of the towns in Link’s Adventure. Changing into X mode changes the gameplay into a Mega Man X style game and ZX mode basically changes you into a clone of Zero. The other armor modes resemble a mix of various weapons and abilities from previous Mega Man games, but you’ve probably seen it all before.
Mega Man ZX does not make use of the Nintendo DS at all. Even the start screen doesn’t use the DS touch screen. There are almost no points where both screens are used, and there are no wireless features. I wish this game had been released on the N64, but its solid even by today’s standards.
Sound
Hey! The voices are in Japanese! Attempt at cultural merging or lazy sound programmers? You decide. Either way, it’s amusing to hear the M.E.G.A. system referred to as the R.O.C.K. system in the few vocals the game has.
The music for the game is catchy and fits well into the futuristic techno world that is ZX. The sound effects are gritty and fit in perfectly with the anime motif. Overall the sound just blends and synchronizes very well with no odd loading points, and quite frankly I haven’t heard anything this good in awhile. I don’t know if I’ll be listening to the sound test menu anytime soon, but for the purposes of the gameplay, the sound is perfect.
Lasting Appeal
There is really no major difference between playing as Vent and playing as Aile except for a few minor changes in the storyline dialogue and a permanent change of in game voices. They have different abilities but it’s really nothing that will affect players for most of the game. There are two difficulty modes so you can go through the game a second time around slightly easier than the first, and collecting money unlocks arcade mini games in town (though this takes quite awhile). Other than that, ZX has the typical Mega Man style of seeking out all armors and abilities, which blends in well with the games new seamless map mode.
Fun Factor
Maybe it’s just me, but the DS controls feel a bit awkward and make the gameplay feel a little strange. All in all the game is Mega Man X with a face lift of new bells, whistles, and a story driven mission mode that holds interest much better than the older stage select style. It’s easy to get lost in the sounds, visuals, and classic Mega Man gameplay of the whole thing. The storyline does hold player interest for quite awhile, and the characters are loveable if nothing else. If you want to relive the old Mega Man days but in a truly modern way, ZX is the best way to do it.
The 411
While its nothing like it promises to be, Mega Man ZX is still a great game that keeps the classic Mega Man flavor. At this stage in the series, the games needed a face lift and its good to see some storyline progression in the new series. Here’s hoping that whoever got creative control on this game gets to keep their hold on the wheel in the future, as Mega Man ZX has taken classic fun in an interesting direction. If they add in some of the features of today’s portable consoles, the game will be that much better as well.
