Zero 2 is an excellent example of a sequel. It's not content to be an improved version of the first, instead adding so many changes to the gameplay and structure that it feels entirely new.

Starting with the sidescrolling action, the controls feel a bit tighter. But the biggest change is that the environments are far more varied in the obstacles they present, and have some very clever use of hopping in and out of the tank.

Top-Down action is far improved as well. The new counter option makes combat more dynamic, and one of the counters is a dash move that makes moving around more fun. This added on top of improved weapons, far better boss fights, and more interesting gimmicks makes these a huge highlight compared to the slightly dull sections present in the original.

The structure is now about flying through space to different planets, which results in a much faster pace and greater variety. It's about the same length as the original, but feels twice as long thanks to how much more stuff happens here.

The story has seen an uptick as well. The stakes and goals are more clearly defined, and the new characters are a fun addition. Jason and Eve's dynamic gets a lot more time to shine, and they stay a very likable protagonist duo.

Music and visuals are improved, although a bit less obviously. Jason's sprites are much better, and his new design features a cape that gives his movement a bit more visual interest. Some sequences, especially near the end, are given a lot of visual flourish that really sells it.

All in all, a shining example of a great sequel. Taking the solid base of the original and cranking up the speed and complexity makes this one of Inti Create's best.

I'm giving the game 4 stars because it really did add a lot to the base stablished by BMZ1, but I think the low points were genrally lower. Some of the level design feels cheap with many insta-death obstacles.

My main problem is the final act of the game. It's been a long time since I've played such a distinctly frustrating and boring platforming section. I won't say what happens to avoid spoilers, but they tried to have a mechanical twist for the last hour or so of the game. I wish they hadn't, as it took away a lot of the fun I'd been having up to that point.

Has that same "road trip" vibe as the first one although it feels more fun, despite the protagonists' urgent and depressing reasons for going on said road trip.
I found it much shorter and much less difficult than the previous entry, which is not a bad thing in this case. The tedium of Zero-One, for the most part, has been stripped away. Travelling between areas is much quicker, and the new energy-recovery functions of SOPHIA greatly facilitate simultaneous combat and movement. It also adds a bit more of a puzzle element to combat in enclosed spaces where you now have to actively manage your energy usage and recovery. There's less to collect to fully power up SOPHIA, but what arsenal you do gain feel more like fully-fledged upgrades as opposed to "weapons you use in a very specific situation to clear an obstacle." Due to the shorter game length I feel like I didn't get to play around with all of the upgrades as much though, particularly the on-foot ones.
Speaking of, I'm still not the biggest fan of the on-foot sections, but the addition of the counter system adds some intricacy and a much needed flexibility on behalf of the player. Even just the minor tweaks to the visuals really improve the sense of speed as well.
I could actually see myself revisiting this game for a quick run-through some time in the future, unlike Zero-One which had so much slog that I think two playthroughs is currently enough for my lifetime. I'm kind of disappointed that there's no hard/destroyer mode that really forces you make use of your entire arsenal in this one, I actually would've liked that challenge this time.
Zero-One had this pervasive feeling of "you against the world" loneliness to it, with Jason and Eve being the only characters who have dialogue during the entire story. I absolutely love the way the world has been expanded in Zero-Two, especially with the references to other Sunsoft titles. I always appreciate the "you are not alone in your fight" message in video games no matter how much it gets done.
I also really like the sequence before the true ending. While I won't elaborate for spoilers, it's a great final challenge and tests the sum of what you've learned from both games in the series.
I think I have my expectations set a bit too high for Zero-Three, but I'm excited to play it anyways.

I played this all the way through when it came out, and after replaying the first Zero game for the third time, I thought I'd try this one again for the second. Welp, I forgot most of it, because it's mostly forgettable and it can get incredibly frustrating quite often.

I love the idea of trying to replicate the thrill of an old NES game, but in reality, it's really hard to do right. The first Zero worked because it was just polish on what was already a competent game. Some things were streamlined as there were more buttons to use and greater processing power, but the maps, avatars, and creatures generally stayed the same. They moved at the same pace, they had the same behavior, and because it worked 35 years ago, it continues to work now.

But with Zero 2, they attempted to create new levels, new creatures, and new rules, but unfortunately didn't change the avatars enough to make the clashes work. Jason still moves like a turd, but some of the new creatures now move faster, or there will be an unfair number on the screen and they all can shoot, and they shoot often. So instead of having the space and ability to plan out how to react (because Jason can't run, you need that space), you have to mash the dodge button and hope you get enough parries off to clear enough of the screen away to get some breathing room.

The car just drives and jumps with that satisfying heft, but now you have to fight other cars, and they can shoot faster than you and hit harder than you. These battles turn into ones of attrition, as you repeat the same moves in a cycle, firing off shots conservatively, which isn't inherently bad, but this should last 3-5 cycles, not 20-30.

There's a neat story in here, where Jason and Eve meet other cars with drivers and robots, but it is reduced down to a handful. This one is a Japanese farmer swordsman, this one is a plant lady (with plant boobs), this one is a WWII soldier guy, and of course, none of them will listen to Jason until after a dumb fight.

It's exhausting and frustrating, and it really dampens the fun in the car exploration. I put this down in the second half of the split planet in favor of something else. I'm not sure if I'll ever pick it up again or if I'll pick up the third one or not.

It's not a wash, it's not terrible, it's mostly fun, but the parts that aren't fun are REALLY not fun. It's a bummer.

What you'd expect from a sequel: more of what made the first good, with refined systems, more expansive levels, a wider variety of stages, and greater use of the overworld map and the way the various pieces fit together.

They basically tried to do more with every part of the game: the action in the vehicle is more dynamic and varied, the top down sections have way more challenge and variety, and the on foot sections are more elaborate. I think they were all successful, though the on foot sections got rather frustrating. I also ran into a soft lock by saving while on foot in a place it turns out you can't get out of, so watch out.

Sill need to play #3, but if it's as good as this one, it should be a lot of fun.

Bit of the case of The Sequels with this one: Much more fleshed out, distinct, and interesting than the first game on one end, more bloated and annoying on the other.

First off, I like that the game moves away from being on a single planet and has you flying around the universe and going on different planets, it works well as a big sequel expansion type of move. Does genuinely make the game feel quite a bit bigger in scope and allows for lots of little smaller levels and challenges to populate the game. And it also makes backtracking less annoying, when it was definitely a bit of a pain in the first game when you had to go back for all the upgrades. (You at least don't have to do that for the good ending here, though there's definitely a fair amount of fetch quests involved.)

Also, considering how much this game relies on SP for weapons and movement, it was a smart decision to introduce the "large falls refill SP" system, which helps keep things moving and allows the level designers to lay things out in such a way where they can be confident that the player will have SP.

That said, my main gripe with this game is that there is quite an increase in really annoying and frustrating bits. The game is generally more difficult than the first one by a good margin, which does make a bit more engaging, but sometimes that crosses over into the game just being a bit too fiddly and annoying. (Fuck that planet that's just jumping across ladders. Or that goddamn planet boss fight just before the endgame that I swear took me half an hour to whittle down its health.) Also I'm not 100% sure on why but I just found Straga to be genuinely exhausting to navigate, somehow moreso than the planet that had instant kills everywhere and required you to literally cross the entire universe just to get to the other side of it.

Also, there's a real disappointing lack of bonus side modes in this game compared to the previous one. No hard mode, no new game plus, no boss rush, no weird-ass multiplayer versus mode...I think a lot of that was added in updates to the original, so I guess that's why, but still, it'd be nice if some of that carried over.

Still, whatever gripes I have with this game, it's not for nothing that I actually had things to say about it this time. After the first game all I could really muster was "well, that was pretty fun." Which I guess shows this is at least a more distinguished game. Even the plot's pretty decent and has some fun, weird little characters. There's even a Vegeta-esq dickhead character. Always a plus.

Oh, uh, also, why is this game so much hornier than the last one now? Eve just grows a giant pair of tits out of nowhere, and there's a character who LITERALLY has melons coming out of her chest. Kinda bizarre considering the first game wasn't like this and there weren't any new artists brought on or anything like with Xenoblade 2. This isn't a criticism or anything, just a bit weird and funny.

This sequel has a much stronger quality in level design, since the areas are divided into condensed levels with their own gimmicks and characters to make each section of the game feel more special. There are also some gameplay improvements, but the parts where you have to walk out of the tank in the open are still as annoying as ever. On the other hand, the top-down sections are way better now. I also really like the boss battles, since they don't die as quickly and are way more fun than in the previous title.

While going from planet to planet seems cool at first, it quickly becomes a little tiresome, as you're just watching the same skippable cutscene of going through the wormholes over and over. There's a screen that you need to come from the other side and you must go through all the other areas, from one wormhole to another, until you eventually get to the one that's linked to the same screen as before, which makes me scream in my head "why do they have to make me lose my time like this??". To give it credit, this essentially gets rid of the backtracking problem in most metroidvanias, but in a sort of a cheap way. I just wish there was a menu level selector or something. Maybe it'd betray the "classic NES" feel of the game, though.

Gameplay-wise, this is undoubtely the most enjoyable entry in the series, as far as I'm concerned. I'm so glad they decided to bring back Blaster Master and then give us such a great follow-up. This proves that, sometimes, making sequels for old stuff can be a good thing.

Gameplay: A
Level design: A
Visuals: A
Music: A
Difficulty: Medium

All the design subtlety of a LEGO Duplo set. "Ooooh lookout for the icky square - don't touch it you'll take damage!" Some telegraphing is fine but sheesh -- when you can play the entire screen in your head at first glance, what's the point in going through the motions?

The first Zero retained some of the mystery and opaqueness of the original Blaster Master to its benefit. That's entirely gone here.

Pointless dialogue, weird side-characters, unmemorable music, and unintuitive tools.

The glow-up, GODDAMN!

This game is phenomenal, a thousand times better than the first game. It does everything right in my eyes.

First off, you are no longer secluded to one giant area. Instead you get to explore multiple small and medium sized areas, which I found more enjoyable. It feels like you're truly exploring space and going to different planets. It honestly did feel like a collectathon at points, probably why I liked it so much.

Second, the gameplay. There's only a few changes for Sophia and I actually really liked it. The reason why it's different is pretty iffy but I had fun controlling it so I didn't really mind. The Jason specific areas were great a lot better than the first thanks to the new mechanic of Counter. It helped make battles more interesting than just spamming the shoot button with the strongest attack.

Third, the story is also way more interesting than the first, plus the final level was hype as hell. The worldbuilding was great. And meeting other characters was cool. Helped make the world feel lived in and they all had great characterizations.

I'm all aboard the Blaster Master Zero train, very excited to play the third game. I'm really itching for what it's gonna be all about.

And lastly, Fred is best boy once again and he did SOMETHING this time! Three times in fact which is better than zero.

I truthfully was not ready for how much of a direct upgrade this game was over the first. Now given full control to make whatever game they want Inticreates immediately capitalizes on this by creating an entirely unique entry that blows the first game out of the water for me. This game follows immediately after the ending to 1 where Jason and Eve created a new Sophia to travel space and try to find a cure to Eve's constant mutantification.

The sidescrolling gameplay in Sophia is a lot more refined in this game, giving you a new energy bar that doesn't automatically recharge (unless you run full out of energy) and can be charged by falling far distances without hovering, which removes a lot of the frustration of the first game where at some points you just had to sit there and wait for your energy bar to recharge. In the 3d section a lot has changed, with Jason getting a few tool changes to his gun levels that fall more in line with Megaman Zero. Wave has also had a nerf in this game so it gets weaker when spammed which gives incentive to try out other weapons, but it's still pretty strong on its own right anyways. Both segments have new QoL in the form of Fred who will now create wormholes to take you out of a dungeon when you finish it or warp back to the Sophia in a sidescrolling section so you don't risk getting softlocked or immediately killed by outside enemies.

By far the best parts of this game for me is the new layout of exploring, characters, and story. Instead of going through one giant web of connected zones with a bit of backtracking the game is broken up in sectors on a world map now, with a major planet in each sector to replace the Zones of the previous game and some bonus smaller planets that are usually mini challenges to get some optional upgrades. There are also some new MA pilots and I adore all of them for different reasons, plus it's just fun to see what MA's they pilot. And finally the story starts off strong and only gets better as time goes on, with all the cool fights building up to a climax in the final battle that genuinely gives me chills because of how cool the whole segment is.

If I had one gripe, it's once again the fact you need to do some extra work to get the true ending. It's not nearly as bad as 1, only requiring 3 items, but it is pretty easy to miss them if you don't know what to look out for. If you don't mind a small hint, you start the process to get them all by going back to a planet with a MA pilot after finishing the story objective there to start a new sidequest.

Overall, if you even so much as enjoyed the first game a little bit you'll absolutely love this game. It really endeared me to Jason and Eve in particular, but also a 3rd character you'll meet in the journey across space :).

I meant to buy the first Blaster Master Zero, but I somehow accidentally bought the second, so here I am.

Blaster Master Zero 2 is the second in a revival series of the NES game Blaster Master. It's kind of a Castleroid, but not really. While the game does indeed have a somewhat interconnected map and upgrades, there are several planets that you unlock in different levels. While there is interplanetary backtracking, very rarely will one be required to return to a planet after doing the main object (Unless you want the good ending, that is). Even so, the game never feels restrictive and does give freedom in how you tackle many of the missions. It also helps that the Tank sections are really fun. Most of the weapons are fun to use, and while movement options like Dashes, Wall Jumps, and Ground Pounds, and hovers are ridiculous to see a Tank do, they're pretty fun.

The Top-Down sections are good too, but I had a few issues. You see, in the Tank sections are pretty simple. The basic guns are your bread and butter. The special moves use gaia power, which is recharged by... jumping from a high place. It's pretty simple.

The Top-Down sections have the upgradeable blaster, a selection of grenades, and multiple counter moves. I think that there's a bit too much to deal with here. All of the 8 blaster settings are somewhat different, but I rarely felt compelled to use half of them. The same goes with many of the grenades. The counters are interesting and executed fairly well (Although I kinda wish the dash move was independent of it so I could use it without countering). Apparently Blaster Master Zero 3 simplified it with only one counter and Five Blaster Options with statistical upgrades, which sounds much simpler and funner.

Aside from that, these Top-Down sections are designed just fine, but they're pretty simple. There's really no moments where you have to use any unique powerups to progress, besides grenades breaking cracked walls. There are a few interesting level design gimmicks, but it's not as diverse or engaging as the Tank sections.

Obviously I didn't play the first game so I was kind of thrown into the story, and I can't say I'm too impressed. It's kind of neat that the other pilots you meet are references to Sunsoft titles, and they have fine enough personalities, but they aren't particularly special. I did like how occasionally gameplay mechanics were used to inform the story, such as how the gaia system was used near the end, but other than that, it's alright.

I'm definitely gonna check out the other games. It's a fun retro revival that I'm gonna give a 7/10.