you probably weren’t paying attention to them, but that’s okay. Then there was Mega

Man X, and it too was good, but as that series went on the plot started to push its way to

the forefront, and it kinda felt strange, but the gameplay was still good. (If you can

overlook that Guns ‘n Roses nonsense.) And then there was Mega Man Zero, which took the

desire for a more cohesive narrative and just... did it better. Made the whole thing make more

sense, while significantly deepening the actual gameplay to include a vast array of cyber-elf

upgrades. Unfortunately, it was also tough as nails, and pretty darn long compared to

its predecessors. And there were four of them. And they all made many references to the ones

that came before. If only there was a convenient way to obtain them all at the same time! Preferably

on a DS cart! Well, here ya go.

I covered the first Mega Man Zero, and the other three follow in suit: It’s the bastard

hybrid of Mega Man X and some RPG mechanics, with a resistance full of NPCs to help out

and mission-based gameplay that, depending on the version, may or may not pray for your

death. But you knew that. What sets this DS version apart is a new “easy” mode, which

- rather like Mega Man 9 and 10 - plants blocks over some sections of spikes for your safety,

while soldering all four games together into one constant narrative. It’s an interesting

idea, and if the concept of such a concession makes you throw up in your mouth a little

bit, you’re free to leave it untouched and just play direct, faithful ports of all four

games instead. Hope you’ve got some sandwiches ready, though, because compared to your garden-variety

Mega Man, these are a bit on the long side.

You’ll notice I haven’t said much about the plot... and after having been called for

spoilers in my review of the first of the quadrilogy, it leaves me effectively no way

to discuss any of the rest of ‘em. Suffice to say, the more you’ve studied up on the

Mega Man mythos, the more callbacks you’ll pick up. Though the Zero series is an acquired

taste, this DS collection seems to be, by leaps and bounds, the most effective way of

acquiring it. (And not just because it’s a darn sight cheaper than tracking down the

original games.) Sure, it doesn’t really do jack with the bottom screen, save for display

some nice collectible wallpaper every now and again. Beat the various modes, and not

only can you also unlock some character data cards, but the e-Reader cards that could be

used to enhance the third outing in the series. Because, as we’ve asked time and again,

who the heck had an e-Reader?