In the beginning, there was Mega Man.
And it was good.
And each game had a plot, but you probably weren’t paying attention to them, but that’s
okay.
Then there was Mega Man X, and it too was good, but as that series went on the plot
started to push its way to the forefront, and it kinda felt strange, but the gameplay
was still good.
(If you can overlook that Guns ‘n Roses nonsense.)
And then there was Mega Man Zero, which took the desire for a more cohesive narrative and
just... did it better.
Made the whole thing make more sense, while significantly deepening the actual gameplay
to include a vast array of cyber-elf upgrades.
Unfortunately, it was also tough as nails, and pretty darn long compared to its predecessors.
And there were four of them.
And they all made many references to the ones that came before.
If only there was a convenient way to obtain them all at the same time!
Preferably on a DS cart!
Well, here ya go.
I covered the first Mega Man Zero, and the other three follow in suit: It’s the bastard
hybrid of Mega Man X and some RPG mechanics, with a resistance full of NPCs to help out
and mission-based gameplay that, depending on the version, may or may not pray for your
death.
But you knew that.
What sets this DS version apart is a new “easy” mode, which - rather like Mega Man 9 and 10
- plants blocks over some sections of spikes for your safety, while soldering all four
games together into one constant narrative.
It’s an interesting idea, and if the concept of such a concession makes you throw up in
your mouth a little bit, you’re free to leave it untouched and just play direct, faithful
ports of all four games instead.
Hope you’ve got some sandwiches ready, though, because compared to your garden-variety Mega
Man, these are a bit on the long side.
You’ll notice I haven’t said much about the plot... and after having been called for
spoilers in my review of the first of the quadrilogy, it leaves me effectively no way
to discuss any of the rest of ‘em.
Suffice to say, the more you’ve studied up on the Mega Man mythos, the more callbacks
you’ll pick up.
Though the Zero series is an acquired taste, this DS collection seems to be, by leaps and
bounds, the most effective way of acquiring it.
(And not just because it’s a darn sight cheaper than tracking down the original games.)
Sure, it doesn’t really do jack with the bottom screen, save for display some nice
collectible wallpaper every now and again.
Beat the various modes, and not only can you also unlock some character data cards, but
the e-Reader cards that could be used to enhance the third outing in the series.
Because, as we’ve asked time and again, who the heck had an e-Reader?