Box Art
Game: Megaman Zero 4
First Released: April 21, 2005, GameBoy Advance
Developers: Capcom, Inti Creates, Natsume
Platforms: GameBoy Advance, Nintendo DS
Rated: E, for Cartoon Violence
First Released: April 21, 2005, GameBoy Advance
Developers: Capcom, Inti Creates, Natsume
Platforms: GameBoy Advance, Nintendo DS
Rated: E, for Cartoon Violence
How I Came To Play This Game
Meet Tech Kraken
After playing Megaman Zero 3, I was hooked on the series. The next one I got was the fourth game because I wanted to see what happened next in the story. This was around the same time my brother got his copy of Megaman Zero 2, which mysteriously disappeared after a visit to a friends house (Our friend didn't steal it, we know we brought it home with us. We just lost track of it afterwards, so I bought him a new one like eight years later). In my opinion, Megaman Zero 4 isn't as good as the other games, but it was still fun to play and actually matched Megaman Zero 2 in some ways.
Story
Humans have begun leaving Neo Arcadia since Dr. Weil assumed power. Labeled as human Mavericks for opposing his rule, a caravan led by a journalist named Neige is attacked by Weil's army of Variants on their way to freedom. Zero and the small handful of resistance members happen upon them as they drive cross-country in their convoy and come to their aid. After rescuing the caravan, Neige explains that they were in route to Area Zero, one of the last natural habitats that can support human life outside of Neo Arcadia. Shortly after parting ways, Zero learns of a plot to destroy Area Zero from Craft, Doctor Weil's second in command, called "Operation Ragnarok" . It was meant to destroy all environments outside of Neo Arcadia, so that life could not be sustained outside of it; this was meant to force all humans to return and live under Weil's rule. After defeating four of the Eight Warriors, Area Zero itself comes under attack by Neo Arcadia. Zero fights through it and sees Craft at the end. Zero and Craft fight, with Zero winning but Craft still alive. Neige appears to break up the fight, and Craft kidnaps her. Zero then goes to the prison where Neige is held and rescues her. After stopping the Einherjar Warriors, Zero learns that they were just a distraction, and an orbital satellite, Ragnarok, can wipe out the environment with its cannon. But before Weil can use it himself, Craft rebels against him and attempts to fire upon Neo Arcadia in an attempt to kill Weil, regardless of the fact that innocents might be killed, but is stopped by Zero. Weil had teleported directly onto the station and manually directed its flight path into a crash landing into Area Zero. As the station plummets toward the planet, Zero teleports onto it and makes his way to Weil. Zero questions him as to how he survived the initial strike on Neo Arcadia. Zero learns that Weil was a human, made into a bionic/reploid hybrid Weil by the same people who exiled him and Omega into space at the end of the Elf Wars. His new body is incapable of aging, or more importantly, dying as it constantly repairs and upgrades itself. Weil purposely set the station to crash knowing full well he could survive the impact and oversee the destruction of Area Zero personally. Weil then fuses with the Ragnarok core and attacks Zero as the final boss. After an intense battle and destroying Weil's fused body, Ragnarok breaks apart down to Earth, leaving Zero unable to escape. Ciel passes through Area Zero where it is confirmed that Zero did not teleport back. For the final scenes of the game, the player sees Ciel atop a hill, on her knees and crying during the credits. Afterwards, she stands up and expresses her faith in Zero, and the hope that he'll return someday. The scene fades to white, and then to an image of Zero's helmet as it lays shattered on the ground along with various other metal pieces and the sun in the background.
Einherjar Warriors
Noble Mandrago, Pegasolta Eclair, Sol Titanion, Fenri Lunaedge, Mino Magnus, Popla Cocapetri, Heat Genblem, and Tech Kraken.
Review
Me and my brother have noticed many similarites between the difficulties of Megaman Zero 2 and Megaman Zero 4. Mainly that both don't drop health items as much. This makes the game more difficult than it has to be because you actually have to watch your health bar. I'm used to just breezing through all of the levels in the first three games and not really having to pay attention to my health. The second game was harder than the first and third games, but in Megaman Zero 4, you actually have to stop and think sometimes. In some sense, it is a good thing since games should be intuitive and be able to stump you sometimes, but it just isn't the style of Megaman Zero. The gameplay is the same as always with minor differences. This is the first game to not include a rod weapon or the Shield Boomerang. Instead you are given a new weapon called the Zero Knuckle. This weapon is pretty cool because it allows you to steal other weapons from enemies. The weapons you steal can have many uses to help beat other enemies. Some can be used infinitely but others have limited amunition. You can toss the empty weapons at enemies to deal more damage to them. You can also grab items such as a computer chip or a light bulb which are required to get certain items. The Zero Knuckle also gives you the ability to grab onto bars or platforms like you could in the Megaman X series. One sad thing in the game is that Zero dies at the end. This had never been done before at the time of it's release. However, it's excusable, because the developers originally planned for Megaman Zero 3 to be the last game in the series, but the fans demanded for another sequel. They killed off Zero to end the series. Zero soul lives on though as Model Z in the Megaman ZX series.
Releases
Megaman Zero 4 was first released for the GameBoy Advance in 2005. Then in 2010, the game was released for the Nintendo DS as part of the Megaman Zero Collection.
My Rating
I give this game a 10/10. A small step back, but still a great game. I rank it right around there with Megaman Zero 2.