1UP Salutes the Nintendo DS with a Look Back at Mega Man ZX Advent

TMMN Staff

February 15, 2011

In about a month and a half, Nintendo will unleash its new 3DS handheld upon the masses of North America and Europe (with Japan getting their first batch in just 12 days). To that end, 1UP.com’s Jeremy Parish is taking the time to look back some of the best games the system has to offer, be they his personal preference or due to their general importance in the grand scheme of the system’s life.
One such salute takes a look at none other than one of Capcom’s own Mega Man titles, specifically the seemingly unloved Mega Man ZX Advent. Of this game, he notes:

An extension of the Mega Man Zero series (in turn a sequel to the Mega Man X franchise, which was a spin-off of Mega Man), Advent is very much rooted in the old-school way of doing things. It’s a 2D platformer, and it iterates on the template of 1987’s NES classic Mega Man — though many times removed, of course. As its annoyingly arcane title indicates, it’s the direct sequel to 2006’s Mega Man ZX; it is, however, the better game by far.

The short article goes on to praise the game’s improved map system, used for exploring the title’s vast network of interconnected areas, the dual-protagonists and their ability to go one better than taking their enemy’s powers by becoming their enemies, and of course, paving the way for Inti Creates to go on to develop Mega Man 9 and 10.

But is it really the better game? To say it is or is not is purely subjective, of course, but despite the improvements in the map system and the *ahem* advent of the return to 8-bit style, this writer personally preferred the original ZX for its less-cumbersome transformations and less-bothersome final level. To not even be able to find anyone in a large gathering of Mega Man fans at Otakon up to the task of tackling that part would seem to speak volumes.

Either way, however, it seems that Capcom has no immediate interest in picking up the loose threads left hanging by the game’s cliffhanger conclusion. With Mega Man 9 and 10 now a wrap and Legends 3 on its way, could ZX the new series everyone waits an unthinkably long time to continue? Will 2017 mark the return of Mega Man Model ZX and the Guardians, fighting to prevent a future which we know to be inevitable?

Only time will tell.