Rockman ZX - Totally Not A Zero Clone

This is starting out as a total Rockman blog. Heh. It's purely coincidental that the game I played through and want to talk about is Rockman ZX. I beat it some time ago, but mentioned I would post about it. Other games I am currently working on are the insanely cheap-hard Maximum Carnage, a weird Spider-Man beat 'em up, and a Fearow Only Run of Pokemon LeafGreen. Sofa the Fearow is going strong.

Anywaaay...

Thanks, GameFront.

Rockman ZX is the next series part of the main storyline. Meaning, it takes place some 200 or so years after the Zero series. Reploids and humans live in peace. There are still Irregulars, however, as always. There's also these mystic devices called BioMetals, which are similar to Power Ranger belts in that they transform you in a super hero type thing. You get to pick either Vent who is a boy or Aile who is a girl, which is a first in the Rockman series. Their parents died in a Irregular raid, and now they work as a delivery boy/girl for a dude named Gino. One day there's an attack while they're delivering some BioMetal. So Vent/Aile fuse with Model X, which makes you resemble X the hunter. You decide to fight for justice with X along side some people, and eventually fuse with Model Z to be Rockman ZX. Your mission is to stop Serpent from doing terrible thing with Model V/W. Of course, you first gotta defeat the 8 "Falseroids" before you can confront him. I personally picked Aile for the game, because she's so darned cute.

IGN, everybody!

Despite being a completely new series, it plays alot like the Zero series. It'd be completely identical if not for the other BioMetals you fuse with (which actually resemble the Four Guardians from the Zero series...). You get a buster pistol which you can charge, and a saber you can charge. They could've revamped it a bit more than that, I think, but at the very least it's a gameplay style that worked. So it plays fine. You get to use different Models that give different powers and abilities, but personally I rarely used them. The trusty ZX model is all you will need, unless you're planning to hunt down some extra items. The difficulty of the game isn't too intense, but will have some gamers frustrated. As said previously, it's a lot like the Zero series, so expect some difficult bosses. If you can spare a death (or two) to get their patterns down, the bosses become quite easy. So with practice, the game becomes very passable.

"I'm going to be nothing like Zero! I'm serious, stop laughing!"

You play the game in a giant world, free to explore and go through for your missions. It would've been all right, if not for the horrendous map you're given. The Areas are listed from A to X, with variations like A-1, A-2, etc. Getting from, say, Area A-2 to Area J-1 shouldn't be too much of a problem, right? Just check your map! Well, check again, it's mostly useless! All the map is is a web that shows which Areas are linked to each other. A line will be between area A-1 and A-2, for example. That wouldn't be so rough, but it doesn't tell you where the door or access points are! You'll be standing in Area A-1, see that there's line to Area B-3 on the left, and spend a while trying to find the door to Area B-3. Sorry mac, the door is on the right side of Area-1! On the side of a building! Beside other doors! In the end, it becomes a hassle using the map, since you're left to find the way to the places yourself anyways. This makes side missions more of a hassle, but it doesn't matter, because side missions are mostly pointless anyway. If you want a couple upgrades, go for it, but it's completely unnecessary since the life saving upgrade you get from naturally progressing through the game (the Charge Speed-up). Speaking of missions, they can get rather annoying as well. You can take a mission from any save point on the giant map, and you're told which Area to go to. If you end up getting a continue, you can kiss your effort goodbye, as you must start from the beginning of the mission. Essentially making your time a waste, as it's not like all the missions are that short. Basically, having a continue at the beginning of the Boss' Area would be much appreciated rather than starting in the middle of wherever-you-last-were.

"Roar, I feel so disposable!"

Don't let those negatives completely discourage you. Since it's based off the Zero formula, you're guaranteed a pretty good Rockman experience. Better yet, you get to look at some awesome backgrounds. The graphics of the game are splendid, with amazing backgrounds to all the areas. Some of the Falseroids suffer from being run-of-the-mill bosses, but some stick out as being fun and unique (the lure fish boss is great). The music, however, is a little boring. Nothing particularly catchy, but there are a couple gems in the mix (as I recall the Zero series is sort of similar). We get treated to a few cutscenes in the game, with Japanese voice-acting, since they were too lazy to dub it. Not that I'm complaining, since I'd actually prefer the original voices over whatever blandos they get to dub it, but it creates inconsistency since they refer "Rockman", when the N.A name is "Megaman". Oopsie!

Identity crisis sucks.

If you're a fan of the Rockman games, I suggest snagging this one. It's a new series, and plays rather well despite a terrible map, and you get to play similarly to old Zero villains. Fun! For the average Joe/Jane, I'd still suggest you pick it up, because it's a pretty solid side-scroller. However, whether or not you will get into it is unknown. Some will like it, others will let the terrible map ruin their day. All in all...



Seven Pharoahmans out of Ten. I hear the sequel is vastly improved, though, so I will be definitely picking that up. Here's hopin'!



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