Zero gets his chance to be the man

As an avid Mega Man fan since the first game way back in the 1980's I jumped to import this game. Mega Man Zero (known in Japan as Rockman Zero) stars Zero, one of the heroes of the Mega Man X series in a post apocalypse future. Zero is restored during a conflict and discovers that the world has been taken over by what appears to be "X"! But who cares about that? (just kidding the story is actually pretty good!) Lets get down to the blasting fun!

Gameplay
In this game you play as Zero, and you control him through somewhat typical Mega Man fare. Zero starts out with a puny pistol, but soon discovers his beloved light sword. The control here gets a little tricky since you have to hold down the shoulder R button and then press the shoot button to attack with the sword. After the introductory stage you go on missions with the person that awakened you, and your new best friend Ciel. The game here plays like a standard platformer you run, jump and blast your way through the level. At the end there is a boss where you can acquire an "element" from, this is similar to getting a weapon after a boss just like any other Mega Man game. Bosses are weak against different elements, sadly the element doesn't isn't a separate weapon. This is OK since Capcom has already included a number of weapons in the game. Besides the Beam sword and Z-Buster Zero also can find a staff and a shield boomerang (hey Zero isn't Captain America!). The main difference is that these weapons level up in an RPG-style fashion. The more you use a weapon, the more it levels up. I have to say this is done rather well. You can choose a favorite weapon and it'll rock or you can have a whole bunch of mediocre weapons and be fitted for every situation. Another huge change is the use of the "cyber elf" system. Instead of purchasing weapons enemies drop cyber elves, which alter Zero's power and abilities. Once you use a cyber elf it's gone forever, so you want to think twice before using a rare one. These devices are divided into four categories red (healing), green (ability), blue (defense) and purple (special ability). You can even "level up" your cyber elves by feeding them energy crystals to hopefully get a more powerful cyber elf. The cyber elves are the key to unlocking Zero's best abilities such as: letting Zero walk over spikes (Blue Witch Orb), Increasing Zero's Max Life (Red Mystic Nurse) all the way to the rare purple orb which lets Zero be practically invincible. The story in this game is rather interesting. Without ruining much it takes place after Mega Man X6 where Zero went to sleep for 100 years. It's an excellent follow up to Mega Man X6, it ties up some loose strings almost like a gaiden (side story). By the time you're at the end of the game you'll see that unlike the average cheerful Mega Man game this game is dark. All of this shows that traditional Mega Man games have grown up through the years with their audience. The key problem with this game is its replay value. Like all Mega Man games they're really fun for the first time through but after that they ends up collecting dust. Sadly, Capcom still hasn't solved this problem, but it doesn't mean that this isn't a great game.

Graphics
While the graphics do have a cute anime style design don't let that fool you. Capcom moving towards the darker side of Mega Man has a different direction of artwork. Instead of the zany bosses and colorful backgrounds the design for Mega Man Zero has ruins and drab colors. All of this fits with the design of a war-ridden world. Zero looks soundly different from his smiling "cool" appearance in Mega Man X5. Suddenly he looks more serious and worn out. The design of the game fits well with the storyline. The sprites are well done, even the enemy sprites carry detail like wearing armor down to the gauntlet. However, if a lot of enemies and projectiles are on screen at once flicker becomes a problem. The graphical flicker also brings its friend slowdown to create some annoyance.

Sound
The sound is crystal clear, and almost reminds me of playing Mega Man X4 for the Playstation. The sound effects of the shield being thrown and the beam saber slashing an enemy are excellent. The music varies depending on your taste. It fits the gameplay, it's techno-like mega man music. There's even a remix of Zero's theme, kudos to the designers for that. Overall it's good, but nothing really stands out.

Overall
Zero debuts on the Game Boy Advance with an excellent game that Mega Man gamers are sure to love. Everyone with a GBA should give this game a try. The problem with buying the game lies with the replay value. It's a great game to play once around. Here's my suggestion if you must have it buy and it sell it back as soon as you've beaten it or pick up a used copy of it.