Mega Man ZX (NDS, 2006)

• Partially non-linear mission-based structure (choose from 4+ at a time after the early game where you choose between 2, can only complete one mission at a time and have to activate them in a teleporter or save room which leads to backtracking, optional backtracking and sidetracking for items with new abilities, some mission areas are very straightforward (amusement park, area L), some optional side missions can be taken on via the HQ), Some backtracking to previously visited areas to progress or get to items

• Pretty frequent save points which also heal you (3 slots, shows current area+time taken+money, take on missions and report back on finished ones at these) - they don't refill energy/ammo however. Some additional quick save points were added to the legacy collection version

• Lives system (carry up to 9, rare drop but some are placed here and there and can be farmed) - can't choose to restart at the last teleporter or save room after dying

• Gain transformations/robot AI suits (biometals) w/ new movement abilities (wind/harpuia/model hx - air dash (sideways and upwards, MMX2?)+hover jump+the thunder element to the sabers lets you move some trucks in the town area and activate some moving platforms in area I, ice/leviathan/model lx - underwater swimming and water dash (8 directions)+create ice platforms which rise to the surface if underwater, flame/fefnir/model fx - megaton crash charge shot for destroying certain objects and knocking back enemies+buster edit which lets you draw a trajectory for the shot, shadow/phantom/model px - hang from ceilings and below platforms+see further in dark areas)

• Various teleporters/transervers that let you move between visited teleporter rooms in other areas (these tend to be placed after bosses at the end of mission areas making them work like shortcuts out of them)

• Full control config

• Some other interesting abilities (enemy analysis (wind/harpuia) - name+hp+if it carries a biometal fragment, ice/leviathan - search (light which homes in on nearby items)+doesn't slide on ice+item scan feature (mini-map on the second screen), shadow/phantom - night scope (shoot through obstacles and see the whereabouts of nearby threats)+radar scope (more zoomed in mini-map on the second screen which marks enemies and secret paths)+dash through enemies and projectiles in overdrive mode, copy/model a suit - transform into any defeated enemy and use its attacks (similar to zero knuckle an classic MM)+homing shot that can target up to 8 enemies, remove optional flame barriers in one area with thunder charge shots)

• Two somewhat different playable chars (vent (boy) and aile (girl), aile crawls a bit faster while vent has less knockback (?) when shot), somewhat different story)

• Some decent puzzles (getting to the life upgrade in area I w/ tornado, using ice platforms underwater and electricity on some platforms to get to some other items, using buster edit for an optional database item in area M)

• Skippable cutscenes (unskippable staff roll though)

• Some environmental changes (can shut down the lab area machinery and certain traps by taking an optional path there - similar to the side objectives in MMZ4, attack on the HQ, shut down the fountain to reach below it, slow down the lava in area k using a hidden computer)

• Database feature (enemy & NPC encyclopedia; sadly these don't have any gameplay use)

• Difficulty options (easy and normal by default, unlock hard mode by beating normal - see mini review for notes)

• One hidden boss which unlocks an overpowered model ox/omega suit

• Can hit a larger consumable (placed or dropped) to make it split into three smaller and different kinds if you need something other than what it is

• Off screen enemy and destructible object respawning (placed consumables respawn after moving to a different sub area which means they can be farmed). A few mini-bosses also respawn and they don't drop anything

• Ammo/energy-based elemental attacks here

• The Model X suit is replaced by ZX after a couple of missions unless you've beaten the game with both characters on Normal or above

• No pits outside of mission areas but still plenty of them overall

• Static difficulty curve (doesn't dynamically change depending on the mission order picked)

• Can take off the suit to move around in human form but it's not used that well (lets you crawl to go into smaller spaces but doesn't let you shoot or wall jump/slide or dash (a slide would've also been better than crawling - see MM3), can't talk to certain NPCs with the suit on), NPCs can see you put on a suit but still not recognize you

• Boss gauntlet in the final area - no health or ammo recharges in-between these (just some enemies in-between each pair that may or may not drop them though right before the final boss it's easier to grind for ammo and HP)

• Spikes insta-kill and you can't become immune to them here (normal or hard)

Some notable cons:

• Constant beeping after finishing the objective in an area

• Aborting a mission puts you back where you accepted the current one and you lose your current progress+you can't take on more than one mission at a time - makes exploration less dynamic since you also can't properly explore and finish a mission area you might've discovered on your way to another mission (the teleporter is generally placed after the boss room which is locked until mission activation)

• Confusing and uninformative map system (doesn't show area layouts - only if an area contains a teleporter or save room but not where they are, doesn't show where entrances to mission areas are - only roughly how areas connect, can't mark points of interest such as ability gated parts - Ultima Underworld/System Shock/Ore ga Omae o Mamoru, can't see if an indoors room connects to a different area from outside of it, can't see which locked doors you've moved through on the map nor locked doors themselves, for some reason the corridor rooms connecting one sub area to another (B1-B2 for example) aren't marked in-game like the other transitional rooms are, the second screen could've been used for the map screen - instead used only for the analyze ability which is seriously wasteful and could've been displayed in the regular HUD, oddly some of the areas also aren't placed logically on the map - for example area E is to the left of area C on the map while it's to the right in-game (the maps using only letters and not area names also makes it harder to remember the areas), sometimes the progression order between sub areas in an area is jumbled up in terms of their numbering - for example you'll visit sub area 4 in the lab before sub area 3)

• Shots from off screen

• Mission briefings don't tell you about rewards (key cards, crystal amount) - specific missions reward you with colored key cards that let you open doors of that color nor do they show you where an area you haven't been to yet is located

• Some backtracking - generally no new enemies are encountered when backtracking and sometimes there are no new paths to take with gained suits either

• Some one-way paths which seem pointless

• Too many detours just lead to database items - good challenges leading up to them makes doing them not feel worth it

• No health drops from mini-bosses and enemies don't drop health more frequently when at low health - the splitting mechanic helps a little though

• Odd boss-specific ranking system (based on which part of the boss you hit - have to not hit their weak point to get the highest rank which is level 4 and it can be very hard to avoid+can force a more reactive approach to fights) - can't restart a fight if you got a low level. If you don't get a high level you'll have to spend money/crystals on repairing the biometal afterwards to get the full energy/ammo bar for it and this is pretty expensive so it leads to grinding

Playthrough - Video Review/Analysis - Mini Review

Infuenced by: Probably Igavanias and Metroid series, possibly Zelda series, Wonder Boy/Monster World series, Mystical Ninja 1-2 (N64), Mega Man Legends

Influenced: Super Princess Peach?, Azure Striker Gunvolt 2?