Welcome to my 100 point S Rank run of Mega Man Zero 2. As a direct sequel to the already stellar original, MMZ2 seeks to make major refinements on the solid foundation established. Firstly, the addition of EX Skills and Forms alike greatly expand Zero’s offensive repertoire, and while the combo system may be rudimentary relative to it’s successors, it doesn’t detract from the enjoyment of utilizing these skills in general gameplay. Secondly, stage design receives a dramatic uplift; gone is the repetitive nature of Z1’s structure. Instead, stages are uniquely crafted to suit the boss within, many times containing seemingly disparate elements that somehow manage to coalesce into a cohesive experience. The variety on display is stunning, many times it outpaces it’s successors in this regard. Thirdly, boss AI has been restructured to prevent snafus as blatant as some of the more hilarious examples in Z1, such as Hanumachine and Harpuia. A good balance of explicitly pattern driven fights alongside more reactive ones is achieved, testing players in multiple disciplines. These improvements show a clear maturation of the design principles used in developing the first game, resulting in another fantastic entry. With that said, here are the notes for this part, as well as the run in general.
-The intro stage actually presents a decent opening challenge, chiefly due to the bizarre hitboxes the Electric Golems possess. Accurately striking them with just the Z-Saber isn’t trivial; contact damage is an ever present risk. Additionally, the crumbling terrain alongside the rather devious enemy selection and placement necessitates more planning than you might expect.
-Routing is a major component this time, and Phoenix is up first for three distinct reasons: Tenshouzan is an amazing EX Skill, the X Form can be easily farmed, and defeating Phoenix removes some pesky enemies present in the other three stages. Rise Form is obtained in Panter’s stage by fighting the miniboss with jump slashes, and an arduous farming session within Poler’s stage grants Active Form. These three forms are the only ones I deliberately acquire as the rest don’t present particularly compelling advantages.
-As a generalization, the X Form excels in stages that are oriented towards a frontal enemy assault whereas the Active From excels in crowded sectors filled with several weaker enemies. For those reasons I chose to use X Form in Panter’s stage and Active Form in Hyleg’s, showcasing their strengths. It’s worth noting that both the X Form and Active Form lack the ability to triple slash, irrespective of your Z-Saber level. For boss fights during which I have these Forms equipped, I generally play them in a pseudo hard mode style, primarily utilizing individual Z-Saber strikes along with some EX Skills. Rise Form is the most balanced overall, offering a direct upgrade to Normal Form Zero by way of a stronger triple slash. If you don’t want to bother with the Form system when playing, I’d recommend acquiring Rise and sticking with it.
-The Chain Rod falls further towards the category of utility weapon, at least when discussing its basic strike. The grapple function is incredibly useful for specific moments in traversal, offering a uniquely stylish set of movements compared to it’s siblings which both emphasize bouncing off enemies. A decent number interesting interactions are available when used on stage elements, enemies and bosses alike, so experimentation is key. Its charged attack is ripped directly from Z1, though the properties have been altered so as to inflict invincibility on bosses. Even so, this attack can be used to great effect when following a charge slash or EX Skill. The two major examples within this part are against the miniboss in Hyleg’s stage, as well as performing the stunlock on Poler.
-A few minibosses in Z2 lack invincibility frames, in these cases I make use of a simple property called damage stacking. When two hitboxes from distinct attacks overlap an enemy, they’ll deal damage every frame. The generators present in Phoenix’s stage are one such example, I stack the charged slash and Shield Boomerang to almost instantly destroy them, though even a regular jump slash will do the job just fine.
Here are the timestamps for this part:
00:00 - Sand Wilderness | Mega Scorpia
02:29 - Power Room | Phoenix Magnion
07:04 - Neo Arcadia Train | Panter Flauclaws
10:00 - Computer Zone | Poler Kamrous
13:25 - Forest of Dysis | Hyleg Ourobockle
16:12 - Residental Area | Elemental Golems
Thanks for watching, I hope you enjoyed this part! As usual, please feel free to leave any comments and questions below.