It's not often I say positive things about the Megaman series, but...
PostPosted:Sun Nov 02, 2003 8:29 am
<div style='font: 12pt ; text-align: left; '>After reading the script for Megaman Zero 2, I'm really looking forward to Megaman Zero 3, and dare I say this might have the potential to be the best Megaman game ever. Now of course there is nothing profound in the Megaman series plot-wise. But unlike the X series, and even the original series, the script in Z and Z2 shows whoever wrote them actually put some thought behind it. After the tiresome "save the world from yet another incarnation of Sigma while Zero and X go on being fascist Nazis and kill everything in sight" filth that is the X series, it is refreshing to the Zero series with a real sense of plot. Although I loath the new 'not-so-evil villians' trend, I think Capcom actually pulled this off convinicingly. Zero 1 explored the idea that they briefly touched upon in X4 when X said, "If I become a Maverick, you have to destroy me, too." The idea that Reploids fight each other not because they're evil, but because it's required, is of course exemplified in Copy X of Zero 1. Although somewhat superficial in personality, he is nevertheless the best villian the Megaman series have had. For a series that constantly stressed on coexistence between humanity and robot/Reploids, human interaction was decisively lacking, even in the original series, and nonexistent in the X series. On the other hand, in the Zero series, Ciel is human and the Guardians of Neo Arcadia that are the villians of the series are the defenders of humanity. For the first time in the series, human interest is a factor, and this is supposed to be what the X series is about. Remember in X1 when Dr. Light warned how X must obey the 3 Laws of Robots? But how can the first law even be a factor when there are no humans ever present in the X series? To defy Neo Arcadia, the legacy the original X left behind, is to defy humanity itself. But that is no problem for Zero, one who was born to bring destruction to Reploids and Humans alike. Zero had legitmate reasons to destroy the Neo Arcaia, and Neo Arcadia had legitmate reasons to destroy the Resistance. It was perhaps the first time in a Megaman game where the conflict was actually meaningful.
Zero 2, as expected, is a bridge type of game. Nothing important actually happens in the game itself. You have your generic Sigma-clone Reploid philosophy (create an utopia with only Reploids and screw the humans!), but with the foundation of Z1, this actually make sense. In the X series you see Reploids always trying to create their utopian society without humans, but why? You don't even see human intervention in the X series! Well now you know, in the Zero series Reploids are not trusted by humans and put into the equivalent of concentration camps and killed off. So even though the game is spent fighting someone who has the same idea that every game in X had, it's actually pretty good. Harupyia of the Neo Arcadia reinforces the idea brought up earlier that Reploids have to fight each other due to human will. The Generals of Neo Arcaia, after all, are modeled after the original X, and Harupyia's lines sounds like something the original X would say. Well, Harupyia isn't whiny like the original X, and that's actually a good thing. He does what needs to be done and doesn't spend his time crying about why Reploids always end up killing each other. He doesn't agree to it and he knows this isn't the way things ought to be, but he accepts his destiny. Which, really, is what X would've done, as X is incapable of saying no to the demands of humanity. Heck, even the normally cheesy 'mysteriously guy saying this is all part of the plan' is a welcome change from the stagant mess that is the Megaman and X series. At least if someone has been planning this all along that means something important ought to happen in the next game. So that brings us to Zero 3. X is almost certainly going to finally return. Zero still stands by Ciel's Resistance still stands against Neo Arcadia, the defenders of humanity. This means that these two might now really have a reason to fight each other that doesn't involve brainwash, especially if the Dark Elf is who I think she is... Ever since X3 it has been said that X must destroy Zero, and this was later revised to something like 'one of them must kill the other' in X4, but the X series has always been unable to explain why this is going to happen since X series do not have any source of conflict beyond good (Hunters) and evil (Sigma). Of course Zero doesn't support wholesale slaughter (he might've been programmed to do that but it's obvious that's not what he really cares for) so of course Zero and X will always team up to beat Sigma. But now that Zero series has put the two on two opposing sides, perhaps there can finally be an end to the Megaman series that has simply gone on for too long.
Come on Capcom, you can do this. Give the venerable Megaman series a deservomg end.</div>
Zero 2, as expected, is a bridge type of game. Nothing important actually happens in the game itself. You have your generic Sigma-clone Reploid philosophy (create an utopia with only Reploids and screw the humans!), but with the foundation of Z1, this actually make sense. In the X series you see Reploids always trying to create their utopian society without humans, but why? You don't even see human intervention in the X series! Well now you know, in the Zero series Reploids are not trusted by humans and put into the equivalent of concentration camps and killed off. So even though the game is spent fighting someone who has the same idea that every game in X had, it's actually pretty good. Harupyia of the Neo Arcadia reinforces the idea brought up earlier that Reploids have to fight each other due to human will. The Generals of Neo Arcaia, after all, are modeled after the original X, and Harupyia's lines sounds like something the original X would say. Well, Harupyia isn't whiny like the original X, and that's actually a good thing. He does what needs to be done and doesn't spend his time crying about why Reploids always end up killing each other. He doesn't agree to it and he knows this isn't the way things ought to be, but he accepts his destiny. Which, really, is what X would've done, as X is incapable of saying no to the demands of humanity. Heck, even the normally cheesy 'mysteriously guy saying this is all part of the plan' is a welcome change from the stagant mess that is the Megaman and X series. At least if someone has been planning this all along that means something important ought to happen in the next game. So that brings us to Zero 3. X is almost certainly going to finally return. Zero still stands by Ciel's Resistance still stands against Neo Arcadia, the defenders of humanity. This means that these two might now really have a reason to fight each other that doesn't involve brainwash, especially if the Dark Elf is who I think she is... Ever since X3 it has been said that X must destroy Zero, and this was later revised to something like 'one of them must kill the other' in X4, but the X series has always been unable to explain why this is going to happen since X series do not have any source of conflict beyond good (Hunters) and evil (Sigma). Of course Zero doesn't support wholesale slaughter (he might've been programmed to do that but it's obvious that's not what he really cares for) so of course Zero and X will always team up to beat Sigma. But now that Zero series has put the two on two opposing sides, perhaps there can finally be an end to the Megaman series that has simply gone on for too long.
Come on Capcom, you can do this. Give the venerable Megaman series a deservomg end.</div>