Mega Man ZX Advent (DS) Review
Posted by Morakoth Tang on 11.29.2007
Dr. Light where are you?
Title: Mega Man ZX Advent
Type: 2d Platformer
Publisher: Capcom
Players: 1
Mega Man ZX Advent
The Mega Man series have had its ups and downs through the pass two decades or so since its first appearance on the NES. Capcom has blessed us recently with Mega Man ZX and now they have given the series another game, Mega Man ZX Advent. Yes, it’s a new game, the title is similar but hey trust me it is. One of the main stays of the Mega Man series were that they were hard as hell, but there was always a loop hole to defeat that crazy ass boss. The last iteration of the game kept the winning formula; will this version stay true to the franchise? Let’s find out.
Graphics:
Mega Man ZX Advent looks great. The game animations are well animated and give off a great fluidity. There is one animation however that I do find a bit funny. The game like its predecessor allows you to choose from two characters: Grey and Ashe. When the Character Grey merges with Bio-Medal A, his run cycle looks weird while he’s shooting. The arm looked a bit low; however, that’s a minor flaw in the huge set of animations. The rest of the animations are great, I just hate to see one of the main animation cycle in the game flawed. Now on to the game’s well chosen color palette, the developers chose to stay with the game’s main stay mid range colors. The game is never overly bright or dark which stays true to the Mega Man universe. The backgrounds are painted to look vast and huge. The atmospheric depth painted in the background plays well with the foreground giving off depth and perspective. Not all is good there are some character sprites that suffered from the “quick sequel syndrome” as I like to call it. Some sprites have been rehashed and repaletted for Mega Man ZX Advent. The colors were simply swapped on some sprites, which is good data saving technique however I’d appreciate it more to see new sprites in a new game. The rehashed characters are a little disappointing.
Game Play:
ZX Advent took what ZX did and expanded on it. The game is familiar to Mega Man ZX such that you start by choosing from two different characters, Grey and Ashe. This time around choosing the characters matter a bit more. The characters play differently as opposed to just a different character sprite animation. Grey’s character plays much like the original Mega Man. He shoots faster and when holding down the shoot button a large charge blast will be available. Ashe on the other hand is the more powerful of the two. Her shots are slower but more powerful, and her charge shots bounce of solid areas. The game’s story is a rehash of ZX, and nothing to be wowed about or expect awards for; however, Mega Man games never had the award winning stories from the get go. The story does alter slightly depending on which character is chosen; the cut scenes are different and reveal a bit more about each character. Regardless of the character you pick, the game’s progression is the same for both. Each character will encounter the same bosses and miniboss in the same sequence. New to ZX is the ability to not only gain the boss’ ability like in old Mega Man games but also the boss’ physical body. This allows the player to take full control of the defeated boss’ ability, unlike previous Mega Man games where Mega Man only gets a pseudo like ability of the defeated boss; This is refreshing to the series and a welcomed addition. The game’s new traversing properties are also another welcomed addition. The game now has warping areas where the player must activate a machine that allows players to easily warp from one point to another from a central hub. The warps areas must be visited and activated by the player for it to be a valid warp spot. The new map now offers a way to actually navigate around the world. The map that lives on the bottom screen for most of the game puts the touch screen to good use. A simple tap and drag on the screen allows you to pull the map around navigating it. The re-centering option allows an easy way to reference your location in the world. The map reveals all warp areas and tapping on them will traverse you to that area quickly, so yes the map is pretty cool renovation from the previous version.
Lasting Appeal:
As with all Mega Man games, the replay value is pretty weak after beating the game. ZX is somewhat a little different. If you’re a Mega Man fan and just love the platforming and adventure that the first run through of the game served up for you, you may want to give it another crack with the other character you didn’t chose. The cut scenes are different and reveal more about which ever character you choose, but that’s about it. The game will progress the same and the only light at the end of the tunnel is the pretty cool anime style cut scenes.
Fun Factor:
The game is plays a lot like previous Mega Man games. There will be some wall kicks, robot blasting, boss’ ability gaining and saving the world hoopla present in this game as well. If you’re a Mega Man fan expect to have fun with this iteration. The game adds a great deal to the formula. The new map makes navigating and getting from Point A to Point B with much ease. The new way that Mega Man gains the boss’ ability is interesting and keeps the game refreshing because you’re now playing the game not only as one form of Mega Man. ZX Advent keeps the same formula as the old and upgraded for the better.
Sound:
The game’s music is decent. The poppy tunes and upbeat soundtracks accompanied the action packed battles and levels properly. The most notable addition to sound in ZX Advent is the support of voice acting. The cut scenes and important in game dialogues all have voice acting attached to them. It’s a very impressive feat that the developers packed in that much data onto the cartridge, but the voice acting…well, lets just say were not done by any Hollywood actors. When the characters dialogue are suppose to be infused with anger and frustration, the voices present a different emotion such as bewilderment. When the character were angry the voices acting made it seemed as if the character were reading sentences that ended with a question marks...okay that’s a bit harsh, but it was really bad. I kind of wished the voice acting weren’t in the game at all. I would have done fine with reading the text in the usual text boxes.
The 411:
Mega Man ZX Advent is an impressive addition to the series. It has kept much of the old formula from previous Mega Man games and added a great deal of new concepts aided by the Nintendo DS’ touch screen. The game’s boss’ ability gaining mechanic is a nice touch to the series, allowing players to experience and control the bosses that they fought so hard to beat. It’s a great reward and a satisfying experience. The art in-game is pretty and easy on the eyes, while the cut scenes were entertaining and impressive with its anime style presentation. The game’s sound holds up well until the voice acting starts. ZX Advent has its flaws and hiccups but over all it is a fun game worthy of the Mega Man legacy. Mega Man fans will have a fun time with this iteration.
Graphics
8.5
The hand drawn sprites all look great and the cut scenes are pretty.
Gameplay
8.5
True classic Mega Man gameplay plus the ability to be the defeated bosses.
Sound
7.5
The soundtrack is poppy and pleasing but the voice acting sucked.
Lasting Appeal
7.0
The game gives you the option to play as two differently characters that actually play different from each other.
