Mega Man ZX (NDS, 2006)
Graphics-8 Sound-8 Control-8 Challenge-8/6.5* Story-5
Level Design-7 Frustration-8/7* Fun-7 Originality-5
Overall Score-7
*w/ 3+ sub tanks+life upgrades and the right boss order for the right elemental overdrives (besides getting sub tanks 3-4)
+
Very good bosses overall (varied patterns, two phases to the final boss), Mini-bosses
More PA/MV elements (ability gated parts of areas unlocked by alternate suits with new movement abilities: wind/harpuia/model hx - air dash (sideways and upwards, MMX2?)+hover jump+the thunder element to the sabers lets you move some trucks in the town area and activate some moving platforms in area I, ice/leviathan/model lx - underwater swimming and water dash (8 directions)+create ice platforms which rise to the surface if underwater, flame/fefnir/model fx - megaton crash charge shot for destroying certain objects and knocking back enemies+buster edit which lets you draw a trajectory for the shot, shadow/phantom/model px - hang from ceilings and below platforms+see further in dark areas; some backtracking to previously visited areas to progress or get to items, lifebar upgrades via found items return but not via cyber elves, some breakable and false walls)
Some other interesting abilities (enemy analysis (wind/harpuia) - name+hp+if it carries a biometal fragment, ice/leviathan) - search (light which homes in on nearby items)+doesn't slide on ice+item scan feature (mini-map on the second screen), shadow/phantom - night scope (shoot through obstacles and see the whereabouts of nearby threats)+radar scope (more zoomed in mini-map on the second screen which marks enemies and secret paths)+barrier projectile (charge move)+dash through enemies and projectiles in overdrive mode, copy/model a suit - transform into any defeated enemy and use its attacks (similar to zero knuckle an classic MM)+homing shot that can target up to 8 enemies, remove optional flame barriers in one area with thunder charge shots (a bit odd that ice doesn't work))
Various teleporters/transervers that let you move between visited teleporter rooms in other areas (these tend to be placed after bosses at the end of mission areas making them work like shortcuts out of them)
Two somewhat different playable chars (vent (boy) and aile (girl), aile crawls a bit faster while vent has less knockback (?) when shot), somewhat different story)
Some decent puzzles (getting to the life upgrade in area I w/ tornado, using ice platforms underwater and electricity on some platforms to get to some other items, using buster edit for an optional database item in area M)
Skippable cutscenes and the FMV parts of them are now animated and look pretty nice (unskippable staff roll though)
OIS/Overdrive Invoke System - temporary boost to attack power (energy gauge-based and it drains pretty quickly but can be turned off at will, overdrive and some charge attacks activate a suit's element)
Full control config
Some environmental changes (can shut down the lab area machinery and certain traps by taking an optional path there - similar to the side objectives in MMZ4, attack on the HQ, shut down the fountain to reach below it, slow down the lava in area k using a hidden computer)
Database feature (enemy & NPC encyclopedia; sadly these don't have any gameplay use)
Double slot feature - start the game with MMZ3 or MMZ4 inserted into the DS and you can face bosses from those games in a certain area of this game
Difficulty options (easy and normal by default, unlock hard mode by beating normal - faster bosses+enemies and bosses do more damage+no HP upgrades and only one sub tank (which is also the hardest one to get - nurse side mission)+much more expensive biometal repairs)
Some interesting level gimmicks (lava wall/floor chase - Contra HC/Shadow of the Ninja, changing water level - Sonic?, hover near spikes - Lost Vikings/Earthworm Jim, machine that can grab you in the amusement park area - Sonic 2?, partially burning area w/ some surprise attacks in the background, minor wind effect in one area - Ninja Gaiden 2?, satellite discs that reverse your movement if within their range in area l (can be deactivated), etc.)
One hidden boss which unlocks an overpowered model ox/omega suit
Quick charge upgrade (talk to fleuve multiple times after beating all main bosses; required for getting one of the sub tanks)
Can hit a larger consumable (placed or dropped) to make it split into three smaller and different kinds if you need something other than what it is
+/-
Partially non-linear mission-based structure (2-4 to choose from at a time and then you can move on to the next set - actually ends up a bit more linear than the regular MM games only with more backtracking and searching for mission areas, optional backtracking and sidetracking for items with new abilities, the town and mountain pass areas (C and B) are hubs of sorts as they connect to four other areas - 8 areas only connect to one other area besides via teleporters, some mission areas are very straightforward (amusement park, area L), some optional side missions can be taken on via the HQ)
Pretty frequent save points which also heal you (3 slots, shows current area+time taken+money, take on missions and report back on finished ones at these) - they don't refill energy/ammo however. Some additional quick save points were added to the legacy collection version
Lives system (carry up to 9, rare drop but some are placed here and there and can be farmed) - can't choose to restart at the last teleporter or save room after dying
Collectathon element to some missions (second mission - hide and seek with 4 guards, ) and optionally for the database (bestiary/NPC encyclopedia)
Play as a human in an AI robot suit (biometal) here rather than as a robot
Off screen enemy and destructible object respawning - good if grinding for health or crystals but sometimes annoying when backtracking or sidetracking (placed consumables respawn after moving to a different sub area which means they can be farmed). A few mini-bosses also respawn which is a bit tedious since they don't drop anything
Ammo/energy-based elemental attacks here
Radio transmissions and tutorial messages during missions pause gameplay
Model X has a second charge shot which stays charged after releasing the button to shoot the first one (tap again to fire; MMX2-3) - however after gaining the zero suit you have to press two different buttons as these charge attacks are mapped to the blade and gun separately and you can't charge both while moving. Model X is also replaced by ZX after a couple of missions unless you've beaten the game with both characters on Normal or above
Sub tanks/e-tanks return as does one W tank (weapon energy/ammo - hidden at the HQ)
Contact damage (can stand on a few enemies however)
No pits outside of mission areas but still plenty of them overall
Static difficulty curve (doesn't dynamically change depending on the mission order picked)
Main bosses have fairly long invincibility times after taking damage unless using the right combos (combine them with the right elemental attacks and they go down super fast) or a somersault attack
Can no longer hit an enemy two times with a single jump slash by turning in mid-air
Model X and ZX don't have an overdrive function
Spikes insta-kill and you can't become immune to them here (normal or hard)
Can take off the suit to move around in human form but it's not used that well (lets you crawl to go into smaller spaces but doesn't let you shoot or wall jump/slide or dash - weird that you can't crawl with the suit on and makes moving around without it boring (a slide would've also been better than crawling - see MM3), can't talk to certain NPCs with the suit on - sometimes annoying since there are enemies in town areas and sometimes their reasons are a bit crap (gets pretty ridiculous during a certain rescue mission later on))
Have to switch to or use model hx/harpuia to see main bosses' weak points
Cyber-elves can't be used by the player here
Overpowered tornado charge attack (hx/harpuia; no invincibility time in-between hits) and sometimes overpowered somersault slash. With overdrive the tornado kills bosses in one hit!
Overdrive mode is canceled if you take a hit
Can't jump out of water in swim mode (lx/wind) - seems done so you'll use the ice platforms
Leviathan/model lx's spin attack and harpuia/model hx's ranged attack (happens at the end of a combo) are pretty weak - the former can't even take out the small fish in area J in two hits without overdrive
Some mini-games (sideways arkanoid-style - meh, bejeweled-lite - meh)
Model hx/harpuia is like a worse version of ZX for combat unless you use overdrive (slower and trickier to use combo, no somersault). FX/fefnir is also kinda weak unless you use overdrive or charge shots
No combos for the leviathan/lx suit+ice platforms disappear quickly and are hard to hit many enemies with efficiently so it's weak for combat besides when using the level 2 charge attack (have to gain a second suit part separately to gain these)
Kinda weak rewards for most of the optional side missions
Can't move while shooting as fefnir/fx nor aim diagonally
Phantom/px's alternate attack is the same as the main attack
No time limit for the fire rescue mission
Can't make a fefnir shot move diagonally (only in "stair steps" upwards)
Boss gauntlet in the final area - no health or ammo recharges in-between these (just some enemies in-between each pair that may or may not drop them though right before the final boss it's easier to grind for ammo and HP)
-
Aborting a mission puts you back where you accepted the current one and you lose your current progress+you can't take on more than one mission at a time - makes exploration less dynamic since you also can't properly explore and finish a mission area you might've discovered on your way to another mission (the teleporter is generally placed after the boss room which is locked until mission activation)
Some control/interface issues (still can't dash if charging your sub weapon (the weapon mapped to R) - have to actually let go of that button or you just attack with the sub weapon when pressing dash, confusing and uninformative map system (doesn't show area layouts - only if an area contains a teleporter or save room but not where they are, doesn't show where entrances to mission areas are - only roughly how areas connect, can't mark points of interest such as ability gated parts - Ultima Underworld/System Shock/Ore ga Omae o Mamoru, can't see if an indoors room connects to a different area from outside of it, can't see which locked doors you've moved through on the map nor locked doors themselves, for some reason the corridor rooms connecting one sub area to another (B1-B2 for example) aren't marked in-game like the other transitional rooms are, the second screen could've been used for a map screen for ZX, oddly some of the areas also aren't placed logically on the map - for example area E is to the left of area C on the map while it's to the right in-game (the maps using only letters and not area names also makes it harder to remember the areas), sometimes the progression order between sub areas in an area is jumbled up in terms of their numbering - for example you'll visit sub area 4 in the lab before sub area 3), can't look down/up - a few leaps of faith, the game is sometimes picky about your positioning when talking to NPCs, automatic hover jump when jumping down through platforms or off ladders as harpuia, can't keep dash jumping by holding down the button (like in MMX4) - holding it actually makes you unable to use the sub weapon here, can't turn around or jump cancel during a combo (can do it in mid-air) - also a .3 second delay on movement after the third strike in a combo, can't shoot charge shots with both fefnir cannons at the same time - can fire them right after another but there's some delay between shots, firing both fefnir cannons at the same time doesn't work, mission select menu doesn't wrap around, bestiary doesn't show boss weak points or elemental weaknesses, can't attack with the weapon mapped to R while holding dash - triggers another dash for some reason, )
Some trial & error (shots from off screen, most boss patterns, mission briefings don't tell you about rewards (key cards, crystal amount) - specific missions reward you with colored key cards that let you open doors of that color, dark rooms in area I without phantom or leviathan, some moves aren't explained, the mission briefings don't show you where an area you haven't been to yet is located, can't backtrack from a boss corridor, for some reason the analysis tool doesn't show a boss's elemental weakness, getting the absorber chip (reduced knockback) and quick charge chip - have to talk to Leonardo near the fountain 4 times and Fleuve at HQ 3 times respectively, area K lava flood rooms)
Bad how NPCs can see you put on a suit but still not recognize you
Kind of bland and tedious level design early on (good enemy variety but most are too easy, few hazards or platforming challenges, various pointless detours (these tend to lead to locked doors (have to beat the first two missions to get the key card that unlocks doors of the first color (yellow - indicates the first tier of mission areas) and then specific missions for the other keys) or some health and/or crystals and database entry items without a challenge leading up to them - sometimes need to take on a mission for an area before it can be entered)
Some other tedious aspects (not enough teleporters sometimes leads to backtracking to get to a mission area when taking on a mission - there should've been one right before or near each mission area (or there could've been an upgrade specifically for moving around quickly similar to shinespark in Metroid), generally no new enemies are encountered when backtracking and sometimes there are no new paths to take with gained suits either, some empty rooms, some one-way paths which seem pointless (Area I mid), kind of annoying to have to go into overdrive to use electric slashes with the harpuia suit as your energy drains really quickly and there's not enough energy in some areas, too many detours just lead to database items, pointless detour for nothing in area F (underwater part), no teleporter at the end of areas J and H, plenty of backtracking during the optional nurse side quest for a sub tank, can't buy anything other than suit upgrades such as tanks or HP and ammo refills)
Have to go back to a transceiver or operator room to give a mission report before you get your reward - not too bad except there's also a constant beeping sfx until you do this (wtf)
Some difficulty spikes (area I/model h boss if you do it right after harpuia - you're supposed to fight two more bosses before it if you do the missions in order, area L) and dips (some mini-bosses such as the area J one)
No teleporter in two of the areas (J and H)
No health drops from mini-bosses and enemies don't drop health more frequently when at low health - the splitting mechanic helps a little though
Some platforming challenges for getting to items don't feel worth it (database items near spikes)
Somewhat slower blade charging
Cliché and sometimes overly wordy story with dumb plot devices like the villains conveniently not grouping together besides in certain cutscenes or explaining their plans to the protagonist
Odd boss-specific ranking system (based on which part of the boss you hit - have to not hit their weak point to get the highest rank which is level 4 and it can be very hard to avoid+can force a more reactive approach to fights) - can't restart a fight if you got a low level. If you don't get a high level you'll have to spend money/crystals on repairing the biometal afterwards to get the full energy/ammo bar for it and this is pretty expensive so it leads to grinding
No chain rod (grapple hook+pull blocks) or recoil rod (high jump+bounce off of enemies to reach higher or push enemies away) here
NPCs just stand around in the base
Some enemies can't turn around
A few invisible walls at the end of rooms/sub areas where you'd expect to transition to the next room
Ice platforms melt quickly so you can't ride them very far
Repeats some enemies here and there
Can't upgrade the suits to have them use more of the bosses' abilities or gain melee combos
Kinda scratchy sounding music at times and some leads are a bit muted
Some life bar upgrades are easy to get to unlike some database entries - should be the other way around
Enemy drops disappear after only 4 seconds and if they fall far enough below the screen they disappear immediately
Fefnir's charge shot becomes melee only if you have no ammo
Lame "cut the weeds in town" quest
Fefnir's Buster edit tool is underused (can hit ceiling switches with swords, only one puzzle that make use of it)
Model fx/fefnir's level 2 charge shot is kinda weak and hard to hit things with
Notes:
-Beat it w/ 2 sub tanks and one W tank
Level Design-7 Frustration-8/7* Fun-7 Originality-5
Overall Score-7
*w/ 3+ sub tanks+life upgrades and the right boss order for the right elemental overdrives (besides getting sub tanks 3-4)
+
Very good bosses overall (varied patterns, two phases to the final boss), Mini-bosses
More PA/MV elements (ability gated parts of areas unlocked by alternate suits with new movement abilities: wind/harpuia/model hx - air dash (sideways and upwards, MMX2?)+hover jump+the thunder element to the sabers lets you move some trucks in the town area and activate some moving platforms in area I, ice/leviathan/model lx - underwater swimming and water dash (8 directions)+create ice platforms which rise to the surface if underwater, flame/fefnir/model fx - megaton crash charge shot for destroying certain objects and knocking back enemies+buster edit which lets you draw a trajectory for the shot, shadow/phantom/model px - hang from ceilings and below platforms+see further in dark areas; some backtracking to previously visited areas to progress or get to items, lifebar upgrades via found items return but not via cyber elves, some breakable and false walls)
Some other interesting abilities (enemy analysis (wind/harpuia) - name+hp+if it carries a biometal fragment, ice/leviathan) - search (light which homes in on nearby items)+doesn't slide on ice+item scan feature (mini-map on the second screen), shadow/phantom - night scope (shoot through obstacles and see the whereabouts of nearby threats)+radar scope (more zoomed in mini-map on the second screen which marks enemies and secret paths)+barrier projectile (charge move)+dash through enemies and projectiles in overdrive mode, copy/model a suit - transform into any defeated enemy and use its attacks (similar to zero knuckle an classic MM)+homing shot that can target up to 8 enemies, remove optional flame barriers in one area with thunder charge shots (a bit odd that ice doesn't work))
Various teleporters/transervers that let you move between visited teleporter rooms in other areas (these tend to be placed after bosses at the end of mission areas making them work like shortcuts out of them)
Two somewhat different playable chars (vent (boy) and aile (girl), aile crawls a bit faster while vent has less knockback (?) when shot), somewhat different story)
Some decent puzzles (getting to the life upgrade in area I w/ tornado, using ice platforms underwater and electricity on some platforms to get to some other items, using buster edit for an optional database item in area M)
Skippable cutscenes and the FMV parts of them are now animated and look pretty nice (unskippable staff roll though)
OIS/Overdrive Invoke System - temporary boost to attack power (energy gauge-based and it drains pretty quickly but can be turned off at will, overdrive and some charge attacks activate a suit's element)
Full control config
Some environmental changes (can shut down the lab area machinery and certain traps by taking an optional path there - similar to the side objectives in MMZ4, attack on the HQ, shut down the fountain to reach below it, slow down the lava in area k using a hidden computer)
Database feature (enemy & NPC encyclopedia; sadly these don't have any gameplay use)
Double slot feature - start the game with MMZ3 or MMZ4 inserted into the DS and you can face bosses from those games in a certain area of this game
Difficulty options (easy and normal by default, unlock hard mode by beating normal - faster bosses+enemies and bosses do more damage+no HP upgrades and only one sub tank (which is also the hardest one to get - nurse side mission)+much more expensive biometal repairs)
Some interesting level gimmicks (lava wall/floor chase - Contra HC/Shadow of the Ninja, changing water level - Sonic?, hover near spikes - Lost Vikings/Earthworm Jim, machine that can grab you in the amusement park area - Sonic 2?, partially burning area w/ some surprise attacks in the background, minor wind effect in one area - Ninja Gaiden 2?, satellite discs that reverse your movement if within their range in area l (can be deactivated), etc.)
One hidden boss which unlocks an overpowered model ox/omega suit
Quick charge upgrade (talk to fleuve multiple times after beating all main bosses; required for getting one of the sub tanks)
Can hit a larger consumable (placed or dropped) to make it split into three smaller and different kinds if you need something other than what it is
+/-
Partially non-linear mission-based structure (2-4 to choose from at a time and then you can move on to the next set - actually ends up a bit more linear than the regular MM games only with more backtracking and searching for mission areas, optional backtracking and sidetracking for items with new abilities, the town and mountain pass areas (C and B) are hubs of sorts as they connect to four other areas - 8 areas only connect to one other area besides via teleporters, some mission areas are very straightforward (amusement park, area L), some optional side missions can be taken on via the HQ)
Pretty frequent save points which also heal you (3 slots, shows current area+time taken+money, take on missions and report back on finished ones at these) - they don't refill energy/ammo however. Some additional quick save points were added to the legacy collection version
Lives system (carry up to 9, rare drop but some are placed here and there and can be farmed) - can't choose to restart at the last teleporter or save room after dying
Collectathon element to some missions (second mission - hide and seek with 4 guards, ) and optionally for the database (bestiary/NPC encyclopedia)
Play as a human in an AI robot suit (biometal) here rather than as a robot
Off screen enemy and destructible object respawning - good if grinding for health or crystals but sometimes annoying when backtracking or sidetracking (placed consumables respawn after moving to a different sub area which means they can be farmed). A few mini-bosses also respawn which is a bit tedious since they don't drop anything
Ammo/energy-based elemental attacks here
Radio transmissions and tutorial messages during missions pause gameplay
Model X has a second charge shot which stays charged after releasing the button to shoot the first one (tap again to fire; MMX2-3) - however after gaining the zero suit you have to press two different buttons as these charge attacks are mapped to the blade and gun separately and you can't charge both while moving. Model X is also replaced by ZX after a couple of missions unless you've beaten the game with both characters on Normal or above
Sub tanks/e-tanks return as does one W tank (weapon energy/ammo - hidden at the HQ)
Contact damage (can stand on a few enemies however)
No pits outside of mission areas but still plenty of them overall
Static difficulty curve (doesn't dynamically change depending on the mission order picked)
Main bosses have fairly long invincibility times after taking damage unless using the right combos (combine them with the right elemental attacks and they go down super fast) or a somersault attack
Can no longer hit an enemy two times with a single jump slash by turning in mid-air
Model X and ZX don't have an overdrive function
Spikes insta-kill and you can't become immune to them here (normal or hard)
Can take off the suit to move around in human form but it's not used that well (lets you crawl to go into smaller spaces but doesn't let you shoot or wall jump/slide or dash - weird that you can't crawl with the suit on and makes moving around without it boring (a slide would've also been better than crawling - see MM3), can't talk to certain NPCs with the suit on - sometimes annoying since there are enemies in town areas and sometimes their reasons are a bit crap (gets pretty ridiculous during a certain rescue mission later on))
Have to switch to or use model hx/harpuia to see main bosses' weak points
Cyber-elves can't be used by the player here
Overpowered tornado charge attack (hx/harpuia; no invincibility time in-between hits) and sometimes overpowered somersault slash. With overdrive the tornado kills bosses in one hit!
Overdrive mode is canceled if you take a hit
Can't jump out of water in swim mode (lx/wind) - seems done so you'll use the ice platforms
Leviathan/model lx's spin attack and harpuia/model hx's ranged attack (happens at the end of a combo) are pretty weak - the former can't even take out the small fish in area J in two hits without overdrive
Some mini-games (sideways arkanoid-style - meh, bejeweled-lite - meh)
Model hx/harpuia is like a worse version of ZX for combat unless you use overdrive (slower and trickier to use combo, no somersault). FX/fefnir is also kinda weak unless you use overdrive or charge shots
No combos for the leviathan/lx suit+ice platforms disappear quickly and are hard to hit many enemies with efficiently so it's weak for combat besides when using the level 2 charge attack (have to gain a second suit part separately to gain these)
Kinda weak rewards for most of the optional side missions
Can't move while shooting as fefnir/fx nor aim diagonally
Phantom/px's alternate attack is the same as the main attack
No time limit for the fire rescue mission
Can't make a fefnir shot move diagonally (only in "stair steps" upwards)
Boss gauntlet in the final area - no health or ammo recharges in-between these (just some enemies in-between each pair that may or may not drop them though right before the final boss it's easier to grind for ammo and HP)
-
Aborting a mission puts you back where you accepted the current one and you lose your current progress+you can't take on more than one mission at a time - makes exploration less dynamic since you also can't properly explore and finish a mission area you might've discovered on your way to another mission (the teleporter is generally placed after the boss room which is locked until mission activation)
Some control/interface issues (still can't dash if charging your sub weapon (the weapon mapped to R) - have to actually let go of that button or you just attack with the sub weapon when pressing dash, confusing and uninformative map system (doesn't show area layouts - only if an area contains a teleporter or save room but not where they are, doesn't show where entrances to mission areas are - only roughly how areas connect, can't mark points of interest such as ability gated parts - Ultima Underworld/System Shock/Ore ga Omae o Mamoru, can't see if an indoors room connects to a different area from outside of it, can't see which locked doors you've moved through on the map nor locked doors themselves, for some reason the corridor rooms connecting one sub area to another (B1-B2 for example) aren't marked in-game like the other transitional rooms are, the second screen could've been used for a map screen for ZX, oddly some of the areas also aren't placed logically on the map - for example area E is to the left of area C on the map while it's to the right in-game (the maps using only letters and not area names also makes it harder to remember the areas), sometimes the progression order between sub areas in an area is jumbled up in terms of their numbering - for example you'll visit sub area 4 in the lab before sub area 3), can't look down/up - a few leaps of faith, the game is sometimes picky about your positioning when talking to NPCs, automatic hover jump when jumping down through platforms or off ladders as harpuia, can't keep dash jumping by holding down the button (like in MMX4) - holding it actually makes you unable to use the sub weapon here, can't turn around or jump cancel during a combo (can do it in mid-air) - also a .3 second delay on movement after the third strike in a combo, can't shoot charge shots with both fefnir cannons at the same time - can fire them right after another but there's some delay between shots, firing both fefnir cannons at the same time doesn't work, mission select menu doesn't wrap around, bestiary doesn't show boss weak points or elemental weaknesses, can't attack with the weapon mapped to R while holding dash - triggers another dash for some reason, )
Some trial & error (shots from off screen, most boss patterns, mission briefings don't tell you about rewards (key cards, crystal amount) - specific missions reward you with colored key cards that let you open doors of that color, dark rooms in area I without phantom or leviathan, some moves aren't explained, the mission briefings don't show you where an area you haven't been to yet is located, can't backtrack from a boss corridor, for some reason the analysis tool doesn't show a boss's elemental weakness, getting the absorber chip (reduced knockback) and quick charge chip - have to talk to Leonardo near the fountain 4 times and Fleuve at HQ 3 times respectively, area K lava flood rooms)
Bad how NPCs can see you put on a suit but still not recognize you
Kind of bland and tedious level design early on (good enemy variety but most are too easy, few hazards or platforming challenges, various pointless detours (these tend to lead to locked doors (have to beat the first two missions to get the key card that unlocks doors of the first color (yellow - indicates the first tier of mission areas) and then specific missions for the other keys) or some health and/or crystals and database entry items without a challenge leading up to them - sometimes need to take on a mission for an area before it can be entered)
Some other tedious aspects (not enough teleporters sometimes leads to backtracking to get to a mission area when taking on a mission - there should've been one right before or near each mission area (or there could've been an upgrade specifically for moving around quickly similar to shinespark in Metroid), generally no new enemies are encountered when backtracking and sometimes there are no new paths to take with gained suits either, some empty rooms, some one-way paths which seem pointless (Area I mid), kind of annoying to have to go into overdrive to use electric slashes with the harpuia suit as your energy drains really quickly and there's not enough energy in some areas, too many detours just lead to database items, pointless detour for nothing in area F (underwater part), no teleporter at the end of areas J and H, plenty of backtracking during the optional nurse side quest for a sub tank, can't buy anything other than suit upgrades such as tanks or HP and ammo refills)
Have to go back to a transceiver or operator room to give a mission report before you get your reward - not too bad except there's also a constant beeping sfx until you do this (wtf)
Some difficulty spikes (area I/model h boss if you do it right after harpuia - you're supposed to fight two more bosses before it if you do the missions in order, area L) and dips (some mini-bosses such as the area J one)
No teleporter in two of the areas (J and H)
No health drops from mini-bosses and enemies don't drop health more frequently when at low health - the splitting mechanic helps a little though
Some platforming challenges for getting to items don't feel worth it (database items near spikes)
Somewhat slower blade charging
Cliché and sometimes overly wordy story with dumb plot devices like the villains conveniently not grouping together besides in certain cutscenes or explaining their plans to the protagonist
Odd boss-specific ranking system (based on which part of the boss you hit - have to not hit their weak point to get the highest rank which is level 4 and it can be very hard to avoid+can force a more reactive approach to fights) - can't restart a fight if you got a low level. If you don't get a high level you'll have to spend money/crystals on repairing the biometal afterwards to get the full energy/ammo bar for it and this is pretty expensive so it leads to grinding
No chain rod (grapple hook+pull blocks) or recoil rod (high jump+bounce off of enemies to reach higher or push enemies away) here
NPCs just stand around in the base
Some enemies can't turn around
A few invisible walls at the end of rooms/sub areas where you'd expect to transition to the next room
Ice platforms melt quickly so you can't ride them very far
Repeats some enemies here and there
Can't upgrade the suits to have them use more of the bosses' abilities or gain melee combos
Kinda scratchy sounding music at times and some leads are a bit muted
Some life bar upgrades are easy to get to unlike some database entries - should be the other way around
Enemy drops disappear after only 4 seconds and if they fall far enough below the screen they disappear immediately
Fefnir's charge shot becomes melee only if you have no ammo
Lame "cut the weeds in town" quest
Fefnir's Buster edit tool is underused (can hit ceiling switches with swords, only one puzzle that make use of it)
Model fx/fefnir's level 2 charge shot is kinda weak and hard to hit things with
Notes:
-Beat it w/ 2 sub tanks and one W tank