Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner Mars Review

Finally, oh finally. I trudged through the first Zone of the Enders game so I can touch it's superior sequel. Upon replaying for the 3rd time, it very much is that. It's an improvement upon the first game in just about every way. It's why I even play ZOE1 so it makes ZOE2's leap feel that much better. The Second Runner is one of my favorite game sequels of all time. I thought time would make me harsher on it but I still love it just as much. The only big issue I can level towards it is it's short length but this could in part in that I enjoy so much that I wished it was a little longer. Instead of 5-6 hours, perhaps 7-8.

Anyways the first improvement right away is the story. Yes, the awkward voice acting and dialogue are still there but in terms of everything else? It's a vast improvement. I also think the aforementioned issues adds to the game's charm at least for me. Where the Metal Gear Solid series can whiffs of being a bizarre 90s OVA, ZOE takes that and makes it part of it's identity also due to it being a cult franchise compared to it's more mainstream cousin. The bizarre translations and acting does give more of a vibe that it was a side project at Kojima Productions.

That aside, Dingo Egret is a far better and more realized character than Leo Stenbunk in the first game. You have a far better idea of his backstory and he has an actual connection with the main antagonist, Nohman. You learn bits and pieces of it throughout the game. His weird one liners and dialogue sort of adds to wannabe tough guy persona. He also has some interesting connections to my favorite character Viola. Leo himself is a lot more independant and compelling here. Ken Marinaris on paper should be a destestable damsel in distress character but she does hold her own and doesn't constantly screw over Dingo.

Nohman is a surprisingly fun to hate villain. Kickstarts the game by "killing" Dingo. He defeats the player and Dingo multiple times. Kills Inhert then worf effects Leo towards as well as trick Dingo into thinking the Anubis Ken was in was actually him. As far as being a villain I want to defeat in an action game he does his job very well.

This leads to the biggest star of the the show: the gameplay. The first Zone of the Enders had a solid controls and a good foundation for a great combat system. Key word is "foundation". ZOE2 takes all that and improves by over a hundred. The game feels much faster and more responsive. Lock on missiles actually have a better chance at hitting their target. You can now grab enemies and man throwing enemies into each other feels so damn awesome. I try to do it whenever I have the chance or smash robots into each other. Grabbing weapons can feel great as well as smashing them into other enemies.

Sub weapons even with the default controls feels much faster and responsive to switch between. In terms of game feel and controls. 2nd Runner is a massive improvement.

It doesn't end there. ZOE1 had about only 3 enemies and bosses. Now in the 2nd Runner, there are Naritas, Commanders, and Clods. All 3 do a good job at changing up combat Naritas move very quickly and you have to to heavily prioritize Commanders since enemies fight better with them around. Breaking out of Clod grabs does feel like RNG however.

Bosses like Nepthis, Inhert and Aumaan Anubis can really test the player skills and can really hurt my hand. Inhert's 2nd phase can be a very intense game of Simon Says.

Aumaan Anubis does an incredible job at replicating a fast paced fight you'd find in a fighting shonen anime better than a lot of if not al the licensed games based on them due to how fast everything is moving and of course, the Zero Shift ability.

It's easily one of the coolest abilties in a game in how you can instantly teleport, attack and wipe out enemies by it's use. It can be overpowered but it is a late game ability.

One issue is that the action can move so fast that it can be hard to keep up at times.

Another issue is the campaign sturucture due it's short length. Sub weapons and abilites keeps getting add to the arsenal without the player being familiar with it. Many of the regular combat arenas can be over very quickly and there's a good number of bizarre escort missions and one off levels. Some ideas like wall stuns and using makeshift weapons can feel like they go away as soon as they introduced. Commanders only show up 3 times maybe.

Due to the short length and quick pacing. The escort missions and the infamous mission where Ken directs you through a minefield can be over before you know it.

However I would've liked a couple of more combat areas. Maybe a few more that slowly introduces Zakat before you fight him since he can feel very out of nowhere when he shows up in the campaign.

Overall, my criticisms are that I like the game so much that I want more but it is indication of how good ZOE2 is that my main criticism is that I want more out of what's already excellent. Still an amazing sequel.