Mega Man Zero / ZX Legacy Collection

 Switch
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 98 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 66 out of 98
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 98
  3. Negative: 27 out of 98
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  1. Fliff
    Feb 25, 2020
    10
    This collection is worth the price of entry for Mega Man Zero 3 alone, and Zero 1, 2, and 4 aren't too far behind. I only have limited experience with ZX and ZX Advent, so I won't touch on those in this review, but that would not affect the greatness of the first series nor the score this package deserves.

    With the Zero series, Inticreates perfected the movement and combat that Mega Man    This collection is worth the price of entry for Mega Man Zero 3 alone, and Zero 1, 2, and 4 aren't too far behind. I only have limited experience with ZX and ZX Advent, so I won't touch on those in this review, but that would not affect the greatness of the first series nor the score this package deserves.

    With the Zero series, Inticreates perfected the movement and combat that Mega Man X pioneered while putting a new emphasis on close quarters combat and an exponentially greater emphasis on speed.

    Mega Man Zero is a solid action platformer. A few odd choices, like the almost RPG-esque but wholly pointless star system, weigh it down a bit and keep it from being as good as the games that follow.

    Mega Man Z 2 adds some interesting new weapons, much better bosses, and overall provides a significantly stronger experience than the first entry, but it's clear there was greater potential here as well.

    Mega Man Z 3 leaped ahead of Z 2 in nearly every way. A great new weapon, the recoil rod, gives Zero insane close range, multi-directional damage, and rounds out Zero's arsenal into an extremely varied kit, and 2 weapon slots gives you some room to experiment. One of these weapon combos is bound to click with you, and when you find that one this becomes one of if not the greatest action platformers of all time, with 11 main bosses, consistently fantastic level design, and fast, fluid, and challenging gameplay throughout.

    Mega Man Zero 4 is a bit of a letdown as a finale, but mostly holds up as a solid entry somewhere between Z and Z 2 in quality. The enemy weapon stealing system is pretty fun and interesting at first, but gets stale fairly fast. Otherwise the bosses and stages are a bit too much of a rehash of the series successes, but not done as well as before. This game feels like the most by-the-numbers of the bunch, and where 2 and 3 made major improvements, 4 goes backwards while doing little of interest to make the game fresh.

    This series wasn't as groundbreaking or iconic as the original Mega Man or X series, but it is all about distilling the base given to it by the X series into it's purest, hardest, and fastest form, and it is successful across the board. The series doesn't fluctuate in quality as wildly as the X series either, which is nice. There aren't any bad games to dread getting to through all four games.

    I can't overstate this, Mega Man Zero 3 is a masterpiece and deserves every bit of recognition it can get, and I hope this package could mean a new entry in the series at some point.    … Expand
  2. Korius
    Feb 27, 2020
    10
    An excellent collection of some of the best games in Mega Man history. Pros: + Save assist and Casual Scenario for a more relaxed playthrough
    + Remastered audio and full-resolution anime cutscenes
    + Bonus content like the e-reader cards and the Z3 and Z4 boss fights in ZX are accessible. + Massive gallery of Zero and ZX art + Z-Chaser mode for some extra replayability + English and    An excellent collection of some of the best games in Mega Man history. Pros: + Save assist and Casual Scenario for a more relaxed playthrough
    + Remastered audio and full-resolution anime cutscenes
    + Bonus content like the e-reader cards and the Z3 and Z4 boss fights in ZX are accessible. + Massive gallery of Zero and ZX art
    + Z-Chaser mode for some extra replayability + English and Japanese versions

    Cons:
    - Typos and minor censorships are still present. Ergo, changing “die” to “retire”
    - Despite having a touchscreen, it’s not possible to touch the “bottom” screen for actions such as A-Trans in ZX Advent. The stick works, but isn’t ideal. - Filters leave a bit to be desired. I personally like the smooth one, but I would’ve liked to have more options, such as a different type of smoothing technique or a CRT filter.

    Ultimately, very much worth the $30. Capcom has done a lot right here and the cons are essentially nitpicks. Highly recommend for fans of Megaman and action platformers in general.    … Expand
  3. blinkme0
    Mar 24, 2020
    10
    A truly underrated experience. did not get the attention they deserved back then, please give it a shot it is worth it on any system it is available on.
  4. Carlinhos_86
    Jul 16, 2020
    10
    A collection of the best and most challenging Megaman games, that actually encourage skilled gameplay by providing the player with power-ups based on his performance and rankings. What's not to love?
  5. waltpayn
    Nov 30, 2020
    10
    Excellent collection of games for an amazing price point. The combat and overall gameplay are very satisfying. The earlier Zero games are a bit brutal, but there are some quality of life additions in this collection that make these games more accessible. Overall, I can't recommend this enough.
  6. Copyzero
    Mar 10, 2021
    10
    Simply the best series of the entire franchise, it's hard, it's fun, it has the best plot and incredible mechanics
  7. CappnPlanet
    Feb 29, 2020
    10
    Great value and the gameplay still holds up. I own all the legacy Collections and this is the best one. Great to have the save checkpoint system. It's better than save states and feels better embedded into the game and removes the grind.
  8. gonzalo94
    Jul 31, 2020
    10
    Espero que capcom pueda sacar mas juegos de megaman realmente la saga merece mas cariño, es de los megaman con mejor historia y tiene personajes que no se olvidaran facilmente. Recomendado.
  9. WhoDaDev
    Aug 6, 2021
    10
    6 games for $30 isn't a bad deal, this collection features the best that the Mega Man series has to offer in these 6 Metroidvania-like games.
  10. Megamanfreak
    Mar 14, 2020
    9
    A really lovely Mega Man Collection. It feels fresh to play on the big TV Screen. Zero2&3 and the bith TX Games are great. Buy it!
  11. alan2pc
    Oct 15, 2020
    6
    So I have real fond memories growing up playing Mega Man games, especially Mega Man 2 and Mega Man X. So, in this game I’ve only played a bit of Zero 2 so far, but I came away unimpressed. Your character, and the enemies, are disproportionately big for the screen, which gives little time to react, especially since there is no wide screen. The graphics look bad. Like, the NES games lookSo I have real fond memories growing up playing Mega Man games, especially Mega Man 2 and Mega Man X. So, in this game I’ve only played a bit of Zero 2 so far, but I came away unimpressed. Your character, and the enemies, are disproportionately big for the screen, which gives little time to react, especially since there is no wide screen. The graphics look bad. Like, the NES games look better. The dialogue is boring and tedious. And I have to hold down the R button and tap another button at the same time to use my secondary skill. Being that the sword is so much more powerful than shooting, I usually put that as my primary skill, and I’m left with A MEGA MAN GAME THAT I HAVE TO HOLD DOWN 2 DIFFERENT BUTTONS JUST TO SHOOT!!! The simplistic gameplay of earlier mega mans was much more accessible and enjoyable. I would only recommend this game to people who’ve previously played and enjoyed this game.… Expand
  12. Prof_Wild_Young
    Jun 10, 2020
    0
    (Reviewing based on the games themselves and not the adaptation.) All 4 Zero entries are plagued 3 by major, gameplay ruining additions:
    New powers, but only if you do good - In an incredibly baffling turn of events, Zero only learns new powers 'um actu-' I DON'T CARE THAT THEY ARE CALLED SKILLS. Anyway, Zero only learns new powers on the condition that the player performs incredibly    (Reviewing based on the games themselves and not the adaptation.) All 4 Zero entries are plagued 3 by major, gameplay ruining additions:
    New powers, but only if you do good - In an incredibly baffling turn of events, Zero only learns new powers 'um actu-' I DON'T CARE THAT THEY ARE CALLED SKILLS. Anyway, Zero only learns new powers on the condition that the player performs incredibly well... too well, impossibly well. Odds are that the average person will be VERY behind that mark.
    Cyber Elves! Er, guess not... - You can use Cyber Elves to make the missions more bearable... but they lock you out of the previously mentioned perfection required to obtain new abilities. I mean, I guess its more likely to make use out of the quadruple health bar elves than it is plausible to get an A in these levels. Some Elves even grant you a guaranteed A rank, thus a guaranteed power, but they are VERY few.
    Study the maps like its a goddamn exam :/ - Instead of asking for skill or to learn a pattern, this game asks for memory. A lot of memory. It feels like there are up to thousands of mistakes that you, the player, are forced to make and then remember for next time. This sucks, and from my memory has always sucked in any game, ever.

    The worst part? These issues create a loop of dissatisfying gameplay. The level is difficult in unfair ways that you can't avoid without already making the severe mistake and remembering all 400 of them for next time > you can't use Cyber Elves because that will lock you out of powers > you can't get powers because you are expected to breeze through as though its easy > it isn't easy because of the reason at the start of this loop. That doesn't even mention the forced damage either! What a trainwreck of not just a game, but a series. Yes, they added stuff to make it easier, but these problems are rooted down to its core - to fix them, Zero series needs reworked, not re-released.

    As for ZX, its much more bearable due to the existence of Easy Mode. Unfair fall? Unavoidable damage? Want to simply have a safe environment to learn the game? Plain just don't like normal and hard difficulty? Got you covered with fall recovery, reduced damage received and boosted damage dealt! Also, powers are guaranteed again, FINALLY. Only issue is the exploration and navigation, gets very confusing without a better map from online, but you can get there.    … Expand
  13. JohnDude
    Jul 4, 2020
    2
    I'm really disappointed to be writing this review right now and I can't believe how much I disliked these games :(
    I've loved the Mega Man and Mega Man X games, always have, so when I saw this collection, I thought "Wow, how come I never heard of these games before!?" So I didn't hesitate to pick up this collection for only $30 and try it out. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before I ended    I'm really disappointed to be writing this review right now and I can't believe how much I disliked these games :(
    I've loved the Mega Man and Mega Man X games, always have, so when I saw this collection, I thought "Wow, how come I never heard of these games before!?" So I didn't hesitate to pick up this collection for only $30 and try it out. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before I ended up with a serious case of buyer's remorse.

    I'll talk about the Zero games first - Mega Man Zero 1 - 4. Right of the bat, I totally hate the ELF system, the grading system, and the grinding involved. Remember in the Megaman X games when you explore the levels carefully, find the upgrades, then get to equip and use them automatically? Well guess what, that doesn't happen in these games. Instead, you find the cyber spirits called ELFs. The ELFs do various things such as replenish your health or increase your maximum life bar, However, you cannot just use them after finding them, you have to grind crystals from enemies until you have enough to "Feed" them.
    It gets very annoying, especially in the first game because you only get about 100 crystals per mission and most ELFs take at least 1000 crystals to feed before you can use them. Totally lame!
    On top of that, these are the kind of Capcom games, like the DMC games, where you are graded after every single mission based on your time, enemies killed, damage taken, lives used, etc... On top of that, using the ELFs affects your ranking and ruins your score, so if you want to get all S rankings on every mission, you can't use any ELFs and you have to play each mission perfectly without dying or taking any damage at all from the bosses. You cannot replay the missions for better ranks. You are only graded the first time you play them, then the only reason to replay is to grind for crystals to feed your ELFs, which further reduce your mission rankings when you use them. WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING!??? I absolutely hate everything about this gameplay. I hate the grading system so much.

    You might be tempted to ask - Why not just ignore the grading system and enjoy the game? Well here's the thing - there are some super secret costumes/ ELFs that you can only obtain by getting S or A ranks on the missions. That's why it pisses me off because I have no desire to replay these games until I am good enough to do that. Capcom should've let the player replay missions to improve their grades but they don't, so they can f*** right off with this bulls***.

    Finally, we have 2 Metroidvania type Mega Man games also included in this collection. They are both OK. Not great, kind of average Metroidvanias to be honest. That is the only reason I give this collection a 2/10 instead of a 0/10. Unfortunately by the time I finished Mega Man Zero 1 - 4, I was just kind of burned out and didn't feel like finishing the Metroidvania ones.

    Overall, I'm very disappointed and wish I had just replayed the X collections instead.    … Expand
  14. Nintendist
    Jun 30, 2022
    0
    this game is not good. i really wish it was more longer and has more options. dislike it
  15. lucinhagamer
    Aug 26, 2022
    0
    this game is boring, very repetitive and like the others megaman games, nothing good to do

Awards & Rankings

24
#24 Best Switch Game of 2020
86
#86 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 27
  3. Negative: 0 out of 27
  1. Eurogamer Italy
    May 4, 2020
    80
    Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection contains four GBA games of the Zero series, and two DS games of the ZX series. All of them are playable with enhanced graphics through a couple of filters and there are nice add-ons too in the form of new modes that increase accessibility or expand longevity. Meanwhile, a huge gallery full of artworks and soundtracks will surely please all the fans of the series.
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  2. Nintendo Force Magazine
    May 1, 2020
    90
    With another great collection under its belt, we can only wonder now where Capcom goes next. [Issue #45 – March/April 2020, p. 72]
  3. Nintendojo
    Apr 14, 2020
    91
    Overlooking the flawed storytelling, fans will find six games stuffed with content and gameplay to enjoy. In the Zero series, players are treated to the same zippy run-and-gun platforming adventures that the X series did so well. Zero can be upgraded throughout each entry, with a number of both permanent and temporary buffs to take advantage of. The Zero games are notoriously challenging, but the Casual Scenario mode and Save-Assist features do a lot to ease the difficulty for those that are interested in a reprieve. This collection is a perfect way to spend some time and it’s highly recommended to consider giving it a download!
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