Capcom continues its porting of classic MegaMan titles to modern platforms this time with the “Zero/ZX Legacy”. Including Zero 1, 2, 3, and 4 as well as ZX & ZX Advent this collection stars the titular Zero and his adventures as a solo lead in the MegaMan video game franchise. This collection also includes a save-assist feature to help newer players with Mega Man’s storied difficulty.

Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection is a 2020 re-release compilation of the Mega Man Zero spinoff series. It is developed and published by Capcom. It is currently available for PC, Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One.

A review copy of Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection was provided by Capcom in support of this review. Medium to near complete spoilers for the Mega Man Zero franchise may be present within this review. The reviewer is reviewing the game from a first time playthrough perspective. 

Relieve the story of Zero in MegaMan Zero/ZX Legacy Collection.

In 1987 Capcom developed the very first MegaMan game, at the time it was lauded for its difficulty, character designs, and platforming. The series would become one of Capcom’s most popular with several spinoffs including an animated series and games with new protagonist. One such protagonist would end up being best friend of fellow spinoff protagonist X; the Maverick hunter Zero. Zero ended up being one of the franchise’s most popular side characters and even more so as a lead protagonist. Though the Zero franchise fell under the radar compared to most Mega Man entries many have cited the spinoff franchise as some of MegaMan’s best group of titles.

The Zero spin off series “Z” featuring a female protagonist is featured in the Zero Collection.

THE GOOD: If you’ve never experienced the MegaMan titles be it mainline or spinoff, but appreciate the ever increasing difficulty for certain titles like Dark Souls then this franchise might be a good grab. Especially if you’re into the retro gaming industry that’s been getting a ton of love the last few years. I’m still a bit new to the MegaMan franchise despite growing up around it as a kid so these collections are great for someone like myself being late to the party and all. Zero has his own moveset and world unique to himself. The collection also includes bonus content such as the Z Trial mode which is pretty much a time trial.

Zero maintains MegaMan’s legendary difficulty in MegaMan Zero/ZX Legacy Collection.

I love the idea of Zero having his own abilities and such to make him play different from co-protagonist MegaMan. There’s also some customization options to give players different builds to play around with. This mechanic takes the form of chips which gives players the ability to customize certain portions of Zero such as head, leg, & body and gives him a unique transformation with special abilities that more or less aide in defeating in a certain boss.

A new protagonist takes over the MegaMan franchise in MegaMan Zero.

THE BAD: While the MegaMan Zero franchise does a lot to differentiate itself from the core MegaMan franchise it does have stray a bit too close to home so to speak. I’d personally prefer spinoffs to be as original as possible and I understand that this isn’t always realistic, especially for a game of MegaMan Zero’s time. But the further the originality reaches the further I think a spinoff gains its own identity for better or worse. Later entries into the MegaMan Zero franchise also seemingly abandon the idea of giving the spinoff its own identity at least up to the ZX portion of it.

Take advantage of everything at your disposal to surpass the game’s intense difficulty.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: MegaMan Zero is one of the better spinoff franchises around because it at the very least attempts to innovate with it’s new lead. Though there are times when it feels as though it’s going back to square one the creativity that’s put into the initial entries goes a long way. Unfortunately it takes several years before that creativity is re-introduced in the ZX entries of the series, which haven’t gotten the fair shake they really deserve in recent years, though were rather successful during their respective launches.