In previous game reviews, I’ve mentioned the drought of games released in early 2020. With eyes focused on March releases – Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, Nioh 2, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and Doom Eternal, among others – Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection was released to little fanfare.
To be fair, the Mega Man community was extremely excited about this game. But as they will tell you, the Mega Man Zero and ZX games don’t hold the same name recognition as the Mega Man and Mega Man X games. And honestly, that’s a shame. All six games of these two series – four from the Zero series and two from the ZX series – are considered absolute classics, with the Zero games thought to be some of the best Mega Man games ever released.
The Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection brings all six games to the current generation of consoles in one convenient package. As with other Mega Man Collections, Capcom has done a great job keeping the classic feel of the games while updating them for players of all stripes to enjoy.
When I speak of “the classic feel of the games,” I refer mainly to visual style and feel of gameplay. Having played these games on their original consoles, the GameBoy Advance and the DS, seeing the classic Mega Man pixelated graphics was such a treat. Even as the industry has moved towards more realistic graphics, Capcom’s dedication to the original pixilation pays off in a gorgeous and timeless aesthetic.
It should be noted that on bigger screens or specific full screen settings, the pixelation does lose its luster. This is understandable given that these games were made for screens arguably smaller than most smartphone screens. To rectify this situation, Capcom provided multiple different screen size settings as well as smoothing and CRT filters.
The second “classic feel” Capcom recreated was the games’ intense difficulties. Mega Man games are known to be difficult and the Zero and ZX games take the cake. Part of the reason for the difficulty was the rank system, where your rank (and, subsequently, access to certain abilities) is based on how fast you go through a level, whether or not you die, whether or not you get hit, and more. New save-assist features help ease the challenge without necessarily notching down the difficulty of the combat. Save-assist simply removes some of the repetitive backtracking. Much like the other Legacy collections, there’s also a casual mode that lets you enjoy the story without worrying about the difficulty.
Overall, Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection is a hidden gem on the console. Whether it’s something you pick up to hold you over before the influx of games coming out in the next 2 months or something you keep coming back to time and time again with the hours of gameplay available through all 6 games, it certainly is a game both Mega Man fans and newcomers can enjoy.
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