The Best Intentions - Mega Man Zero 2 Review and Story Breakdown

[@Roxasofmalice]

I can’t believe the .Hack Guy is giving Megaman a chance. I’m so hyped!

[@badderymemez4948]

Yeah I am shocked also I hope he also gives starforce a chance Aswell

[@mtperute269]

On the off chance you're not joking he did reviews for all the battle network games

[@mechashadow]

@@mtperute269 Sometimes it's better to lay back and leave the joke be instead.

[@elipticalecliptic481]

@@mtperute269 they are indeed joking

[@Ra3_ar1adnE]

Oh Matt...

[@Mrdengekioh]

"Dr. Wily's favorite son." Wow, John, you didn't have to murder Bass like that, especially after Zero somehow stole Bass.EXE's cloak.

[@esteban8471]

I'm pretty sure Wily told Bass that Zero was better than him in a spinoff, so Bass is probably aware he isn't the favorite.

[@superoakwood5513]

@@esteban8471 MegaMan The Power fighters if i recall,you gotta beat the arcade mode as Bass for that,wily reveals Zero's blueprint to bass and says he invented something better then Bassnium for a new robot (Ie Zero)

[@esteban8471]

@@superoakwood5513 I don't know if Wily said he made something better than Bassnium for Zero, but he did tell Bass about Zero and how he was much stronger than him and Mega Man.

[@tonyhakston536]

@@esteban8471 in the English version at least he says Zero is made with even more Bassnium.

[@TheKpa11]

We really need games to give characters like Bass, Protoman, Roll, Rush, and such a proper send off.

[@AndrevusWhitetail]

One thing to note, you aren't neccesarily screwed if you miss the A rank for a mission. There is a saving throw (2 to be exact) you can use to restore your rank mid-stage. There are TWO cyber elves that, for that mission only, boosts your rank back to A on use. Of course this dinks you points for elf usage, but if you're only missing 1 or 2 of those EX skills you can just forgo the whole rank stuff and get the skill. OH AND FUN FACT : ELPIZO'S LIFE STEALING ATTACK??? IT BYPASSES INVINCIBILITY CHEATS. YES EVEN THE FUCKING GAMESHARK CHEAT DEVICE CAN'T SAVE YOU FROM IT ON ORIGINAL HARDWARE!

[@ashharkausar413]

That fun fact...WOW...

[@keidrienmccollum3476]

WAIT WHAT?

[@animeking1357]

"OH AND FUN FACT : ELPIZO'S LIFE STEALING ATTACK??? IT BYPASSES INVINCIBILITY CHEATS. YES EVEN THE FUCKING GAMESHARK CHEAT DEVICE CAN'T SAVE YOU FROM IT ON ORIGINAL HARDWARE!" H-How is that possible? Did the devs foresee this or something and coded it like that?

[@superoakwood5513]

This is giving me flashbacks to the secret boss of ZX that also Bypasses invincibility cheats and I Frames when using his special grapple 5 hit combo lol

[@ashharkausar413]

@@animeking1357 It's because all attacks in the game are done through contact. If zero is hit by enemy? Deduct hp based on the damage parameter assigned to said enemy. Now what if Elpizo's grapple move did the same? if it did the same the cheat code would work. However it is not the same, it does not do damage on contact but does damage per tick. So there was a different function created for Elpizo's grapple vs every other enemy in the game that does damage on contact. Hope this made sense.

[@amateraceon5202]

I’d just like to take this time to thank John for forcibly spawning the Battle Network Legacy Collection into existence, your efforts will be beloved by many

[@GatorRay]

Seriously hate that they're charging 60 bucks for it. I mean for crying out loud. They're not even including the DS version of Battle Network 5.

[@MH_Zard]

@@niczvr I would mostly want double team ds for the map, but really, i can give them a pass, since they are porting all the versions of the games, so they are technically in a way putting in several more games than Z/ZX. For hardcore fans, thats pretty good value and lots or replayability.

[@lpfan4491]

I honestly hope they will do some sort of edgecase-game collection. There is a lot of cool stuff that they left out that does not really fit into the vision behind these collections. The World-games(Which could be their own legacy collection-set, tbh), the Megaman&Bass-games, random one-off games like Rockman exe Wonderswan, the DS versions of Battle Network, maybe even Megaman Soccer for the memes. It would also be a neat way to bring back the PSP-remakes so that they are not stuck on emulator, with how dead their original hardware is these days.

[@train4292]

@@niczvr I dunno if that’s true considering ZX and ZXA got ported to the Zero/ZX LC. But either way, while it would’ve been cool, I wouldn’t say it’s a HUGE lost however.

[@elipticalecliptic481]

@@niczvr the point is that it probably should not be Capcom practice anyway a multimillion dollar company isn't going to give you a reward for defending them, you are allowed to be critical of them (in fact you should be)

[@sirwolfy9372]

Actually it does... IF YOU fight a boss in Zero 1 with A/S Rank in the previous mission, you can see the boss use his EX SKILL.. showing that if you go well on missions, the reward is having more troule to the boss... THIS KINDA SUCKS SINCE THE EX SKILL OF COPY X IS USING A SUBTANK

[@SHADOMEGA7569]

Damn talk about pu ishin the player for doing well in an already hard title. Also really? Copy X will just rub salt in the wound by using a sub tank? Damn Z1 feels like a filter now

[@sirwolfy9372]

yep! Zero 1 is kinda horrible.... speedrunners love it, casuals hate it.. just like X6 : 3 @@SHADOMEGA7569

[@PikangsFutaba]

Also if you play on Hard Mode, ALL bosses will have their A/S Rank AI behavior on all games, in the case of Zero 4, the wheater system will ALSO always favor the stage boss.

[@deazee2288]

I like how capcom woke up amidst their terrible development phase and decided to drop this banger of a game

[@vncaheo8441]

It's funny how "Stabwolfus Spinderrson" actually has one of the simplest names in the series.

[@DjPrimeVideos]

Even though Panther Fauxclaws is a cat

[@vncaheo8441]

@@DjPrimeVideos Well technically, panther is a "big cat". However, he is based on the black panther, not a cat at all.

[@mikaelcrucible]

i really do enjoy the little jp voice clips they use and kept even for english releases. it has a nice charm to it

[@Josuh]

it's not like there even were english voice clips lol (not counting zx)

[@GatorRay]

Meanwhile in terms of Mega Man games with bad English voice acting. Peter Von Gaum (Sorry if I spelled his name wrong. He's the guy who voiced X in X7) voiced Grey (I think) in ZX Advent.

[@JetZV]

I highly recommend discussing the DS collection of these games at some point. It doesn't include ZX and ZX Advent, but it has a mode that is solely unique to it: the Easy Scenario. It lets you to play through each of the games in chronological order, but with a neat twist. Every game is set to Ultimate and, more notably, each game gets its own special benefit. Those benefits are as follows: In all games, you get every Cyber Elf unlocked and all of the effects that require feeding (max health, energy tanks, etc.) are permanently enabled. The permanent ones do NOT have an effect on your rank, but the basic ones operate normally. For Zero 1, you also get the secret Cyber Elf that only appears for completing the game outright. It also maxes out all of your weapons for free, so no grinding them either. Zero 2 is special since it gives you the ultimate form right out the gate. The other forms and EX skills are not unlocked. As for 3 and 4, they give you some of the more notable parts and items from the start, but that's about it. Side note: Rainbow Devil MK2 is the last boss with an EX skill; if you have everything else, this is where you can give up the A rank run.

[@jaydenliberty9536]

I spent MONTHS wondering why I didn’t remember having to deal with ANY of the bs from Zero 1 when I played and beat it until I actually went and checked and saw Easy Mode

[@niclaswa5408]

I wouldn’t necessarily call it a unique mode because the original GBA releases has those modes known as Ultimate Mode, and good luck unlocking those. To unlock it for each game is to beat the game using every single cyber elf in the game. For Zero 4 you need to beat the game with every enemy part in your inventory. For Zero 1 you first need to beat the game with every cyber elf collected and fully fed, *without* using any of them, when you’ve done that, you’ll unlock the secret elf, and *then* you need to beat the game using every elf. I spent a whole weekend doing nothing but grinding for crystals in Zero 1 and it still wasn’t enough. I can see why the DS versions changed that.

[@strawberryforte]

A little tidbit that I haven't seen anyone bring up (as far as I know) regarding Sand Wilderness, the beginning stage: According to material from Remastered Tracks Rockman Zero Idea, the sandstorm that we see in the Sand Wilderness not only limits sight, but adds to the wear and tear of Zero and reploids in general via magnetizing micro mines that cause a paralyzing effect, which would explain the cloak that Zero wore since it would cover most of his body from what was basically a weapon. This is part of the countermeasures that were deployed against Zero after Copy X's demise in the first game.

[@Triforce9426]

I'm very glad you decided to make videos on the rest of the games considering MMZ is without a doubt the best MegaMan series from both a narrative and gameplay perspective. What I wouldn't give for the MMZ/ZX collection to have made these games widescreen so the most glaring issue with them that being the screen crunch would have been resolved.

[@tdawgmaster1729]

In order to make them widescreen I think they'd have to be completely remade from scratch, and at that point, they might as well make new games

[@lpfan4491]

@@tdawgmaster1729 Not really, no. They would just have to adjust the screen size(Which iirc, they already did in the collection to add borders) and adjust stuff like enemy spawns and cameras. The only thing it may screw up is gamedesign and at least the first game already seems to be designed around a bigger field of view to begin with.

[@tdawgmaster1729]

@@lpfan4491 Yeah, I thought about it shortly after writing that comment, and I think one of the aspect ratios for the game already does that a little bit. Not enough to really affect gameplay, but enough to be noticeable. I could be entirely wrong about that, though

[@Triforce9426]

@@tdawgmaster1729 I think also a big part of converting an old side-scrolling game from 4:3 to 16:9 is being able to render the entire stage all at once which wasn't possible on original hardware. At least I'm given to understand that's part of how Sonic Origins was able to make all of it's games widescreen.

[@caswellweird]

I don’t think the screen crunch is the most glaring issue with the game. I think its ass backwards reward system that has you barely engaging with 60% of its game design, lack of basic QoL features for games of this nature, and unnecessary grinding are far worse. I think Zero refined the movement options and combat of Megaman very well. But compared to the early X games its very unpolished.

[@shiromatsunoki]

I remember playing this game as a kid and never getting a single EX skill because I wasn't great at playing the game and I only figured out how to actually get the skills right before heading to fight the final boss. I like the idea of your rank being important in unlocking something, but the execution here leaves much to be desired. Also the train boss' name is Panter Flauclaws, but I won't lie Stabwolfus Spinderrson is a way better name

[@lukahn1987]

Not gonna lie, the "not even good for XDive" joke got me Poor Fenrir, forgotten by a dozen of Seasonal Alts and OC's being released in a week basis...

[@Rodolphin]

21:34 I laughed so hard because I didn’t expect that Mickey Mouse creepypasta picture when you were complaining about the screen crunch. Love your videos man

[@GatorRay]

Yeah. It was unexpected to me as well.

[@nabilsalha1941]

I cannot F U C K I N G S E E

[@zeekslaharl]

My favorite part of the video.

[@dango2917]

"Only a bored 9 year old would do this" Why am I being attacked so...

[@Applemangh]

Totally agree with you on the cyber elf VS. Ex skills problem. It's not impossible to deal with if you know the game well enough, but it's not at all intuitive. Fortunately, Mega Man Zero 3 does a lot to improve that system. I'm psyched to see you do a video on that one!

[@timelessmoron]

A yes Megaman Zero 2, the 4-8 hour Prolouge to Megaman Zero 3, and somehow my favorite one as a kid, just cause of the intro was so fucking memorable.

[@RiderWithTheScarf]

A little late but Harpuia's name is a mistransliteration of how the japanese write "Harpy" in their language since they use the original word for Harpy so it ends up being "Harpia" with a silent "H" when properly translated into english from japanese. And yes, it only adds to Harpuia's ambiguous gender since it's a female name. Since you mentioned and showed the soundtrack cover, Inti-crates have a bit of a boner for those greek names and letters and it's a shame the localization semi-botched it in some places, like Elpis' name which is hilarious considering in japanese they got the name right, being greek for "Hope" yet his english name is the verb "to hope". Then again, they nearly fucked up some of the french names later down the line...

[@nabilsalha1941]

As a french speaker yep they nearly did lmao

[@kaimcdragonfist4803]

Elpizo phase 1 is probably my favorite boss in the game because it highly encourages aggressive fighting and I have dumb monke brain

[@blazesona12]

that damn scream during the phaze transition of the elpizo fight.... chilling to the spine well done with the effects for that bit too

[@MothFable]

The thing I loved about the villain here is the fact that he isn’t just super evil for evils sake. He’s is misguided and slightly nuts, but also sort of right. I think 3 had the best gameplay and weapons, four had the best final boss, one had the best levels, and 2 had the best story. Also power bom is probably the best track in the mega man series entirely, and one of the best tracks in gaming period

[@durand4l]

If anyone’s curious, the song at the beginning is called Clover

[@CrimsonMoonM]

I'm eagerly (and somewhat nervously) looking forward to your review of Zero 3. While the Zero subseries is my favorite platformer franchise as a whole, Zero 3 is straight-up my favorite platformer period.

[@BunstoppableForce]

One thing you forgot to mention about the ranks is that what rank you get isn't fully based on how well you do in a stage - it's the AVERAGE of all the scores you got in all stages up to that point. This means, for example, that if you do really well on the train stage but kinda threw on the temple, power plant and ice lab stages beforehand, you'll probably still end up getting a C or B. I think this is the reason why most players get barely any EX skills on their first playthrough, if any at all. This is already a feature in the first 2 games, but they only actually start showing you your average points in Z3. This is the number that actually matters in the long run, and what I said earlier can also work the other way around as a little safety net - if you do well in a lot of stages but kinda screw up one or two along the way, the average score of your previous A ranked missions will probably save you.

[@mr.protagonist5639]

That explains so much

[@maurogonzalez6242]

Have a happy new year, Cobman! Just don't overdo the Corn Fiesta. While I did like MMZ2, it's in this awkward position of being setup for 3, and I love both 3 and 4. It lacks the initial mystery of the first one with X as a possible antagonist and finding out the truth, Elpizo was... kinda meh, and the story felt more straight forward. But it's a nice sequel, overshadowed by what are imo the best two games story-wise in the Megaman series. To this day I want a Megaman X game that focuses on the Elf Wars proper. Looking forward to the eventual reviews of 3 and 4, and whatever else is coming next year.

[@biobroly9324]

When the world needed him most he returned with Zero

[@TheKpa11]

The Phoenix boss actually changes his tone as you deplete his health. He starts cocky and stolid, then he gets more agitated in his voice when his health gets to half

[@swampert564]

This is my favorite game of the Zero games. 3 is arguably a better game but I always liked this one for its smaller scope.

[@GrimmShane]

Next time that MMZ is revisited with the 3rd game: a dark messiah with might if not magic, descends upon us.

[@sirwolfy9372]

About a lore thing.... AND A FUN FACT! Zero, as robot with this new body.. can handle ONE YEAR without any type of repair in a desert... maybe in other weather conditions he could last longer.

[@Josuh]

man managed to last 100 years while only losing an arm and even kept most of his hair, impressive

[@sirwolfy9372]

@@Josuhhe was put into stasis... its not THAT IMPRESSIVE! I only wonder HOW THE HELL HE WAS LIKE THIS!(AS F-KING CRUCIFIED JESUS!) IF HE WAS ON A SLEEP POD!

[@MH_Zard]

Another one to the collection of mega marathon review vids. Neat. Thanks John. Burble/Frog is really easy, and can be knocked off the air/walls if you're fast enough. He only becomes a slog if you let him eat. You have enough time between hits to stun him and destroy caterpillars. He is imo easier than Hyleg. Both just die to standard Saber combo spam. The Guardians relish their rivalry with Zero because in this wasteland where they and Neo Arcadia are at the top of the world with no actual challenging enemies to fight, Zero comes along and finally gives them a sense of purpose and a way to test their abilities. It wasn't until the temple stages that they considered Elpizo a legitimate threat, since he is just scurrying around and taking stuff that they couldn't figure out what for. No matter how many times people mention it, i just don't get the 'screen crunch issues' thing. Every time someone shows a clip showing it off, it's a result of playing reckless, not taking advantage of wall slide, and simply not reacting, when game gives you plenty of time and through pattern recognition/sound cues telling you what the bosses are doing. Aside from my gripes with some of the criticisms, the video was good. Z2 is filler, but still pretty solid.

[@Skallva]

Tbh a lot of the critiques in this vid just feel very weak to me. These games for sure have their fair share of problems regarding clarity (lotsa mechanics the games don't tell you about) but the stuff he decided to complain about just seem more like a lot of impatience than anything. Like the ice physics in Kamuros' stage, where the game gives you a bunch of places to give you a feel for how dashes function on ice before the game makes you do some harder dash jumps. Or the whole Cyber-Elves rant at the end, where he complains that the Elves are meaningless on a new run and you have to start from the beginning if you want the higher ranks... when you're already starting from the beginning anyway and are not planning on using them so you're not really losing anything starting over. Plus a lot of the script is just 'this stage has this and this, this boss happens; anyway.' And at the end, I certainly didn't feel like he considered it an improvement over Z1 with how much of the video was him complaining about it without really going into its supposed improvements besides the more traditional lives and level design ig. It just feels very messy overall.

[@MH_Zard]

@@Skallva Yeah i can agree. I notice this a lot of people who critique MMZ. A bit of it comes off very impatient, not even bothering to actually understand some of the things. I dunno how people arent getting that Poler stage ice physics is just momentum based. While I feel a lot of theres valid critiques like Elves being a hassle or not being incentivized enough, grinding being a thing, and some unclear mechanics (forms being wonky with how they actually are), I also think people blow them way outta proportion. A lot of powerups in Z are mainly add-ons and tweak crutches, because Zero is plenty powerful in the games already, you just need to be better and actually learn the stages and bosses. Everyone just wants every powerup to be stacked in their arsenal and free to use, and while I get that feeling, these games dont need you to that with the options you have already, you dont need 2 large bars of cyber elf given health ontop of 4 subtanks unless you're just that bad at the game. Zero doesn't start the game as naked blue and restricted to only firing lemons he has 2-4 weapons available at all entries. Element Chips are unlockable regardless of ranks, and dont require ex skills to be used. I feel sometimes people take the options you had for granted. Hell, save assist being an addition is there as well to make the games more accessible than ever. A lot of these screen crunch complaints I hear are from people doing yolo dash jumps and dying because they landed on pits and spikes when there were preventative measures already like walls or taking advantage of waiting over moving platforms/ladders. If you dont know whats in front of you, dont go thinking you're safe and rushing in. Should be common sense really.

[@jonathanrussell8998]

@@MH_ZardYou can understand something and still think it’s badly designed or presented.

[@Gusername]

So can we talk about how harpuia turns into a bird, leviathan turns into a whale or dolphin or something, but fefnir got a backwards tricycle.

[@GatorRay]

Also. For some reason Fefnir is the Guardian with an auto scrolling fight despite being land based.

[@burner555]

The guns are dragon-head-shaped, not much but it's something

[@GatorRay]

@@burner555 Well that makes him being land based even weirder. Since Dragons are normally drawn with wings.

[@KyuubiNaruto41]

Thinking about it yeah 2 was almost filler in its plot with most everything being self-contained or just repeating what was said in 1 like Ciel working on the energy crisis. The opening text crawl of 3 only mentioning the Dark Elf being released by Elpizo before hyping up the Dark Elf's significance. Besides that the most notable thing in 2 that carried over to 3 is Crea and Prea the baby elves still being around in 3, everything else was only setups for later.

[@ScottE-2]

YES YES YES YES! FINALLY. Just before the end of the year too. Happy New Year John, happy to see you cover the sequel. I am positively bushed from the work these past few days, so it is great to see you cover something I've been waiting for all year. Thank you, your content has both entertained me but also lightened my mood on the rainier days this year. Sincerely, Scott.

[@juliosaavedra2777]

The baby elf are the real mastermind and antagonist in this Game, they have a control mental ability to manipulate weak heart people to achieve they goal to see they mother again by any mean and Dr. weil created the baby elf and give them that ability to come back to earth, it was a domino effect, he only going to return only if the dark elf it was release from his seal

[@DjPrimeVideos]

John: Has issues with Hyleg Ourobuckle's name Also John: Doesn't even bother with Panther Fauxclaws

[@DewMan31]

26:02 I was caught off guard by that joke, but damn is it so accurate. I dont think I'll ever hear another person motivated by their weakness without thinking of Infinite. Lmfao.

[@CobCobberson]

Awww shit more red sword guy does everything the midquel

[@Josuh]

Except this time he can change colors. bravo vince

[@pridefulmaster1390]

26:02 …oh shit, Elpizo is Infinite by way of Knuckles & his dumb military operation. Seriously, I think it was close to the same strategy as Operation Big Wave except it had a better & more serious story execution 😂

[@TheReapers520]

Good review. Glad to see you put it out before the end of the year. Rest up cob king. Also roxas was right.

[@JetblackJay]

This review was Pretty Mega Man

[@tahamohammad8842]

23:57 X5 called, it wants it’s award for have a literal bastardized quick man stage

[@devonwilliams5738]

ZX is also a semi open world that completely ripped out those mechanics for it's sequel. It's even worse now due to a non-functional map system and no fast travel.

[@lpfan4491]

Honestly, it is just a really bad design mismatch that I am surprised they managed to have twice. I like openworld-like metroidvanias and I like missionbased gameplay. However, these two do not mix, unless the missions are minichallenges. The game is effectively a missionbased game with the exploration to both confuse you and force you to have traveltime, with the connected world being largely aestetic rather than functional. What would happen in Zero 1 is that I play a mission and then have no reason to ever return to the location on my off-time to the point where I have no idea the world is even connected. What would happen in ZX is that I explore the world, find something cool and just...either can't progress or don't know how to progress, because story scenes don't play without the mission. And then I realize I wasted my time because I didn't just follow the rails in a world designed to be a metroidvania(Way more than Zero 1 even, since there are legitimate progression-gates based on items and gameplay-advancements). It's dumb.

[@devonwilliams5738]

@@lpfan4491 You can also only have one mission active at a time, and if you make it to the boss arena and you don't have that boss' mission active, nothing happens.

[@malachiallenbarron8492]

Elpizo & infinite: I'm not weak! Shadow & Zero: yes. u r. What can you do all by yourself?

[@ariano1561]

I just started the video but yup clover still makes me cry :' D

[@reicherwallace6774]

I lost my A rank to Black Panther there because that little detail of losing control upon the finishing blow

[@oguzhangungor9117]

I think the reason you only get the special abilities for entering the stage with A rank is because the bosses will only do their special attacks which Zero uses as an inspiration for his moves I guess, IF you enter the stage with an A rank. The same was present in Z1 too, with only difference being that you don't get special weapons for beating bosses in that game.

[@Josuh]

my man zero deadass tracing other peoples arts zamn

[@GameboyFanatic]

@@Josuh He’s a Master Martial Artist

[@Four_scythe]

Man I had a rough flight home and this made my day

[@neoleo1752]

Honestly i like how megaman zero games sort of have 2 ways to upgrade zero. The speedrunner way, playing levels perfectly and extending your abilities by the way of EX skills, which help you be better at speedrunning, and the explorers way, finding cyber elfs, which are basically stat buffs and much simpler. Basically ex skills are for more quick and skilled players, and elfs for more casuals.

[@DoritoGOD2811]

i like zero, eh's cool and doesnt afraid of anything

[@NewZen41]

Upon seeing this, I expected Jon to bring up the issues in regards to the Form system...and I was not disappointed. Seriously, for as good as the system COULD be (Watch Magnus Zero's vid on a more detailed analysis on this if you'd like!), most of the forms being absolutely useless and pretty obscure to obtain on your own is a very piss-poor system as a whole. Still, the fact that they didn't really try it again and used the Chips system (Which WAS amazing in Z3, mind you) is a bit disappointing, but hey.

[@G_Travel99]

Great seeing you continue the zero series, it really is a great spin off of the X games. Ps: At least cyber elves in Zero 2 foward are WAY more cheaper to upgrade than zero 1, and leveling up is way quicker too so its not so grind heavy as zero 1.

[@Josuh]

There's a recent patch that relased a couple of months ago that ports Z2's elves and leveling systems to Z1, good stuff

[@GrayMongerArk]

I can't wait for your review of three the fourth one made me sad for reasons

[@BrettLane256]

Looking forward to seeing you play Zero 3. Glad you gave the rest of the series a shot!

[@Juuken0m6]

Cant wait to hear your take on megaman zero 3

[@ShadowoftheMask]

Interesting that Guardian second forms where concepted for first game hence why Phantom has concept art for one despite being dead :O

[@GorDDoKarp]

I've been looking forward to this video ever since I got called out watching the final stream. I still chuckle about that death to black panther during the boss rush. Great video John!

[@Cool30Comics]

Thanks for this review man. Not only was it funny🤣, but helpful as I never had any idea how to get the other armors😎👌

[@Rabbitlord108]

It says something that Klonoa Empire of Dreams had a dynamic camera during boss fights where it will zoom in & out depending on how close you are to the boss. And that's a PUZZLE PLATFORMER released EARLIER in the GHA's life.

[@Arehexes]

Oh wow, what a nice time for this to come out. Something to watch while ignoring people for new years \o/

[@TheFluBugZ]

This was pretty fun to watch through. The GBA Zero and Battle Network games where my favorites growing up. I really do appreciate seeing your view/opinions on them, and can't wait to see the rest of the Zero series on here. I believe the reason that the gaurdians and expando frog are more interested in fighting Zero is because the baby elves are influencing them to prioritize Zero and ignore Elpizo. The Baby elves have the ability to control reploids, as they were created as copies from the Mother/Dark Elf. They very well could be the reason as to why he begins searching for the Dark Elf. They wanted to be reunited with their mom, so Elpizo was a perfect target to manipulate and use to get them to her.

[@tvgg1]

I'm sure some one else will already mention this, but the reason you need the rank before the stage is because your rank actually impacts the boss. I don't know 100% of the specifics but at least A rank will give the boss access to their version of the EX skill during the fight that zero will then mimic after defeating them. it may also impact other aspects of the boss difficulty (like pasterns, other moves, etc. but don't quote me on that, I wouldn't even say I'm 30% sure on that.) iirc having a low rank will also at least impact boss dialogue and maybe(?) fight difficulty inversely. As far as I can tell the idea is if your rank is below A, then you aren't performing on par with what zero should be in story, and as such the bosses are under estimating you and not going full force, it's kinda neat, but aspects of the implementation aren't stellar; I still really like it though.

[@lpfan4491]

Ok, but...wouldn't it make sense for the rank at the beginning of the bossfight to matter then, rather than the rank at the beginning of the stage?

[@tvgg1]

@@lpfan4491 they don't tally in until after the stage though, it's not like it's dynamic. it's a GBA game. Plus it is kinda a half in universe reaction, it's not like every boss is constantly getting intel on how zero stumbled to them, but it's at least a little reasonable they got a report on how zero previously shredded his way to the previous boss and ripped them apart; ripped them apart when they weren't holding back too most likely, since it's your average score that matters. At the end of the day the system wasn't really perfect in anyway, having to walk this weird narrative/gameplay tightrope the specific route it chose.

[@Josuh]

The only part that sucks is having to grind killing enemies for the score

[@rhinox9292]

No better way to close out the year than with a MM retrospective😅

[@draggerhatter]

i accidentally unlocked power form in the first level because i just grinding all my weapons up in the jungle level so i kept pulling the shield enemies around

[@meathir4921]

I think you did X form a little dirty; it’s quite competent for Buster spam since it buffs lemons and 1 damage is a lot in Zero games.

[@bigtacotime4382]

Chain rod is the best friend in the ice level. Slippery floor? Ceiling it is then.

[@TheAlvaster]

Thank you for this content. I really enjoy your videos. Great watch and great length for background sounds after I've seen them. I really appreciate your stuff. Have a wonderful new year.

[@Shamax0]

Hyyyype, another certified KNIJohn classic for sure Edit: Finished the video, great one as always John! I forgot about most of the issues mentioned since I played the games ages ago, but goddamnit I think I'm gonna have to go through em again 😀

[@DigiTism]

Elpizo being the leader in Z2 made no sense to me. He just comes out of nowhere with no direct backstory or explanation. It’s like they’re *heavily* signaling “this is the bad guy as well”. Especially when you remember Ciel is still a character. She was flat in the first game but she was still obviously the leader and it just makes sense she should still be the leader in all the other games. Boy I sure hope that’s the case and if there are other add in leaders I hope they aren’t all bad guys.

[@knijohn3581]

The funny thing is that Elpizo DOES have a backstory, but like all the other important lore it's only in the extra audio dramas that aren't in the game for stupid cartridge space reasons.

[@Ai_M3talloidX7]

Happy New Year, John. When I first played Zero 2 in the original "Zero collection" for DS, I learned my lesson from Zero 1 (via my also totally legitimate GBA) and not use cyber elves... but I only got the Rise Armor but no EX skills. Anyway, You'll love Zero 3.

[@captaincz5763]

I was waiting for this video! It's always interesting to hear people's thoughts on the Mega Man Zero games, and I like how you construct your retrospective on this series. I look forward to your Mega Man Zero 3 video now, as that game is honestly a lot better and you could also include the audio dramas to get another perspective on the story. 😊

[@marksmith-po7wl]

This game on the anbernic RG351V along with a few beers after a long day at work, your talking about some serious fun my friend.

[@OHYisWatching]

Aztec falcon has a bunny head on its hip, and now you cant unsee it

[@GatorRay]

In regard to the screen issue. There's a GBA game called Klonoa: Empire of Dreams where the camera will zoom out during boss fights. And that's a platformer as well (A puzzle platformer. But still) Also given the start of the bomb defusal stage. It's pretty much a disgusting blend of Quick Man's stage & the start of Wind Crowrang's level from X7 (Funny given Zero 2 came out the same year)

[@LightningZerker]

Bless John for this gift!

[@octosalias5785]

Thank you for suffering for us. I'm always looking forward to more Zero

[@Ksintai1]

Looking forward to seeing you cover Zero 3,my favorite in the series by far

[@Seeker_of_Truth_and_Beauty]

Merry Christmas, Jon. I'll probably binge your reviews again, because I have nothing else to do for the next week, lol

[@hickknight]

Ugh, that comment about the cyber elves usage getting you penalised is so true. Why did they make the scoring system like that? Upgrading and getting better parts should just be an inherent part of the game. If they wanted to challenge the player, make the score double of what it would and have SSS rank or some such. For those who would want the challenge, which would also penalise the usage of elves. Eh, hindsight is 20/20 though.

[@Xshunin]

Amazing video again. Still loving the sassy commentary ❤ Can't wait until Zero 3 (and Zero 4 because of more stuff to rant about :D)

[@GatorRay]

Seriously. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING when they came up with the weather mechanic?

[@samuelromero4696]

Merry Christmas John and a happy new year!..... Just by listening to CLOVER i already liked this review. I hope you keep uploading the Starforce 1 VODs on YT, i just can't get enough from your misadventures with -DEPRESSION- Geo and friends, and chat wars for best girl! 🤣

[@Stringblazer]

Ah, I see you were doing your best Megaman 8 Dr. Light impression for the end card there.

[@LanEXHikari]

Happy new year, John Cob. Thanks for the video, keep it up ✌🏼

[@Megaman.ExE7]

I've been waiting for this!!!!!!!!! Please do Zero 3 next!!!! Favorite series of yours this year!

[@stupidgoop]

Phoenix Fucker's copy attack DOES have a tell, its just incredibly shitty and unnoticeable. It flashes SLIGHTLY brighter. Then again with this originally being on the GBA, I have no idea how I saw it back in the day, let alone on a fully sized monitor.

[@TotalJusticeGaming]

I used the train level to max out all my weapon stats, I think its the middle of the level where there's a great car that respawns a mass amount of enemies that you can just stay there for about uh, i wanna say an hourish and you can get all your weapons maxed.

[@Xavier95621]

Solid review, glad to see a deeper look at the forms in this game especially

[@zacharydobbins6267]

God yes, I can’t wait to see zero 3

[@nabilsalha1941]

Im so glad the mmz series is getting the recognition it deserves ♥️

[@Manga_ManX]

Bro I literally rewatched your Zero 1 vid last night, get out of my head dude. Nah just kidding I adore your Mega Lad content and shit myself when I saw this; so happy to see this in my feed

[@Majextic]

the Blonic at 37:00 caught me off guard lmao I used to love those so much

[@Yume_Nikki_Shenanigans]

I need that intro music, ngl it was pretty fire

[@kuraux56s59]

Its called Clover. Its a vocal version of the game's ending theme.

[@YassineTorchani-dc2cm]

Trivia about some the EX Skills: -Tenshouzan (天昇斬) means "Heavenly Rising Slash" -Sengatotsu (旋牙突) means ''Whirling Fang Thrust" -Kōgenjin (光幻刃) means "Light Illusion Blade" -Sharp Edge is called Rakuretsuzan (落烈斬, meaning "Falling Fury Slash") in Japan (Please reply)

[@beanut7759]

The best Xmas present. Thanks, john!

[@beanut7759]

Albeit a bit late lol

[@alxcus2962]

I could be wrong about this, but my personal headcannon is that the Proto Form is supposed to be the "Black Zero" form from the Megaman X series. Seeing as it's been about 100 years since the X series, technology from that time would be outdated, which is reflected by the halved defense that Proto Form has. Also, the lack of charge shots mimic how Zero plays in the Megaman X titles.

[@1337w0n]

31:30 "No Comment" Okay, let me: "Mommy"

[@anthonytamuzza591]

36:47 Hey he makes the same noise I do when I stub my toe.

[@CogDisso]

Besides charged attacks, EX skills also ignore the damage modifier of your form. I used ryuenjin (or whatever the shoryuken uppercut attack is called in this game) from the Phoenix boss with the fire chip to demolish the majority of the game while taking half damage with the defense form. It also completely trivialises the final boss's second form as you can hit his hitbox by just using it underneath him. You also get four "convert rank to A" hacker cyber elves that you can use to guarantee four EX skills if you're really struggling to get the rank yourself. You take a -1 score penalty for using it, but that only applies to the next mission as its just a one-time temporary bonus rather than being a permanent score penalty.

[@SolidSnake684]

I've played the shit out of Zero 2, and seen a ton of videos on it, but I decided what the hell I'll watch this is one. This was a great video! Love the presentation and the clear explanation of the games funky ass mechanics.

[@SeraphOC]

AYO LETS F*CKIN GOOOOOOO