FINALLY gonna write this thing, I beat the game months ago and just never got around to it.
Unlike the first game, though, this wasn't due to a lack of enthusiasm for the game: In fact, I'd say this was one of the biggest surprise delights I've played this year.
The original Blaster Master Zero, that I played and wrote about earlier in the year, is still a game I'm very lukewarm about. It looks and sounds great and sets up a great foundation, but nothing about the level design or weapon balance felt nearly as confident as it should. I think a large part of that stemmed from wanting to be faithful to the original to a notable degree. Inti's strength doesn't lie in creating interconnected, Metroidvanian worlds, and it seems their best solution to that was to just...not make the game difficult at all.
Its a weird little game, one thats fun enough just for its ace presentation and the satisfaction of shooting things with a tank, but I'm so unbelievably happy that Blaster Master Zero 2 decided it was time to focus more on what these developers truly want to make. Right off the bat: The awkward wall climb is replaced by a super satisfying wall jump, no interconnected world, no waiting a third of the game to get the hover, and a bunch more abilities for both Jason and SOPHIA that feel fine-tuned toward high octane movement and combat. You're just jumping and shooting with the tank anymore for so much of the game, you can move around in so many fun, fast and creative ways, and due to levels being segmented the level design finally feels like its offering the player challenges to overcome
Granted its not perfect, it still retains some of the Metroidvanian roots from Blaster Master and Zero in its individual-world level design which means a lot of it isn't quite as focused on pure gameplay as I'd like it to, but its a compromise I can live with. After all, the worlds this time around are all super visually and thematically interesting, shedding BMZs generic themes altogether and going to more interesting places. Giving each planet its own MA-Pilot also naturally helps bring the worlds to life, and I loved all of them. The small bits of stort in the original Blaster Master Zero were pretty enjoyable and I always wish the story did a little more, so it warms my heart to see Jason and Eve getting to interact with new characters and helping them with their struggles. Leibniz is fucking amazing, too.
Its not just the side-scrolling SOPHIA segments that have been improved gameplay-wise either, as Jason has finally become fun to play as. He moves around drastically faster, just about all of his different guns are good and balanced, and the dedicated counter button is just ace. I do kinda wish it wasn't so easy to rely on though...? Its always satisfying to use of course but given that every enemy is given the universal tell of "when the little reticle on them shows it" for when to counter, I kind of wish it worked more like a traditional Parry. That or just a flat-out dash, though maybe that wouldnt work as well in a game about aiming and shooting. I've been playing Hyper Light Drifter on the side which does a near perfect job at top-down combat with its dashing and slashing so I'm a little biased.
So while yeah, a lot of the individual elements of the game could be improved upon in my eyes: More challenging level design, faster movement, more intense Jason combat, etc, I think the way the game ties all its elements together and paces them out elevates them all higher. The rock-solid presentation is still here and better than ever, the quest for 100% is very fun to just do along the playthrough and gives purpose to levels being explorative still, and the bosses are only heightened in quality by how good the writing and character dynamics are.
Simply put: I was finally invested in the Blaster Master Zero games, and that investment was actually rewarded. While BMZ1's true ending did...try, coming out of nowhere, BMZ2's true ending is the real deal: A true Inti Creates climax on the same level as Gunvolt. Blaster Master Zero 2 justified my interest in the series by breaking free of the chains that held BMZ1 down, and is in my opinion just a straight improvement in every area. Sure its still not exactly the kind of game I want it to be (Gunvolt, MMZ, HLD), but I didn't care. Really, its hard to care about what I "wish" the game was, when the game is so self-assured and thoroughly expressive in doing what it wants to. And because of that, this time I was fully along for the ride.
[Playtime: 10 hours]
[Key Word: Confidence]
Unlike the first game, though, this wasn't due to a lack of enthusiasm for the game: In fact, I'd say this was one of the biggest surprise delights I've played this year.
The original Blaster Master Zero, that I played and wrote about earlier in the year, is still a game I'm very lukewarm about. It looks and sounds great and sets up a great foundation, but nothing about the level design or weapon balance felt nearly as confident as it should. I think a large part of that stemmed from wanting to be faithful to the original to a notable degree. Inti's strength doesn't lie in creating interconnected, Metroidvanian worlds, and it seems their best solution to that was to just...not make the game difficult at all.
Its a weird little game, one thats fun enough just for its ace presentation and the satisfaction of shooting things with a tank, but I'm so unbelievably happy that Blaster Master Zero 2 decided it was time to focus more on what these developers truly want to make. Right off the bat: The awkward wall climb is replaced by a super satisfying wall jump, no interconnected world, no waiting a third of the game to get the hover, and a bunch more abilities for both Jason and SOPHIA that feel fine-tuned toward high octane movement and combat. You're just jumping and shooting with the tank anymore for so much of the game, you can move around in so many fun, fast and creative ways, and due to levels being segmented the level design finally feels like its offering the player challenges to overcome
Granted its not perfect, it still retains some of the Metroidvanian roots from Blaster Master and Zero in its individual-world level design which means a lot of it isn't quite as focused on pure gameplay as I'd like it to, but its a compromise I can live with. After all, the worlds this time around are all super visually and thematically interesting, shedding BMZs generic themes altogether and going to more interesting places. Giving each planet its own MA-Pilot also naturally helps bring the worlds to life, and I loved all of them. The small bits of stort in the original Blaster Master Zero were pretty enjoyable and I always wish the story did a little more, so it warms my heart to see Jason and Eve getting to interact with new characters and helping them with their struggles. Leibniz is fucking amazing, too.
Its not just the side-scrolling SOPHIA segments that have been improved gameplay-wise either, as Jason has finally become fun to play as. He moves around drastically faster, just about all of his different guns are good and balanced, and the dedicated counter button is just ace. I do kinda wish it wasn't so easy to rely on though...? Its always satisfying to use of course but given that every enemy is given the universal tell of "when the little reticle on them shows it" for when to counter, I kind of wish it worked more like a traditional Parry. That or just a flat-out dash, though maybe that wouldnt work as well in a game about aiming and shooting. I've been playing Hyper Light Drifter on the side which does a near perfect job at top-down combat with its dashing and slashing so I'm a little biased.
So while yeah, a lot of the individual elements of the game could be improved upon in my eyes: More challenging level design, faster movement, more intense Jason combat, etc, I think the way the game ties all its elements together and paces them out elevates them all higher. The rock-solid presentation is still here and better than ever, the quest for 100% is very fun to just do along the playthrough and gives purpose to levels being explorative still, and the bosses are only heightened in quality by how good the writing and character dynamics are.
Simply put: I was finally invested in the Blaster Master Zero games, and that investment was actually rewarded. While BMZ1's true ending did...try, coming out of nowhere, BMZ2's true ending is the real deal: A true Inti Creates climax on the same level as Gunvolt. Blaster Master Zero 2 justified my interest in the series by breaking free of the chains that held BMZ1 down, and is in my opinion just a straight improvement in every area. Sure its still not exactly the kind of game I want it to be (Gunvolt, MMZ, HLD), but I didn't care. Really, its hard to care about what I "wish" the game was, when the game is so self-assured and thoroughly expressive in doing what it wants to. And because of that, this time I was fully along for the ride.
[Playtime: 10 hours]
[Key Word: Confidence]