As much as I can and want to discuss this game down to the wire, that feels wayyy beyond the scale of what I want for my kind of work on this site. As such, I've tried to make something of a trim of a longer piece I've been working on. The following writing is just focused on the combat.
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It still remains genuinely impressive that this game's foundation is as smooth as it is. Jehuty has a fluidity to its movement that is simply excellent to play with, no matter what orientation you're in. Combat is simple, but each of your offensive options are still meaningfully distinct: the regular shot applies basic pressure, the Dash attacks work as one-time enemy catchers, the guard-breaking BURST slash is slow but serves as a great combo ender, and the BURST shot is the ultimate long-range destroyer. The Grab and most Subweapons don't really see much use, either due to slow speed, poor damage output, or issues with range, but they do help add some more options (that the Subweapons are directly lifted from the enemies' movesets is also a nice touch, since it can give you a feel for what their strengths and weaknesses are…conceptually).
Unfortunately, said enemies are mostly underwhelming in their designs. Conceptually, it could be a perfect trifecta, with each of them complementing the other, but only Mummyheads remain effectively threatening at enough ranges so as to let their attacks properly shine. Despite being best at close-range, Raptors and Cyclops are still slow enough to get attacked by a spammy player, even with parries involved. In the game's intended flow of "One Squad at a time", there also aren't really going to be times where you need to be aware and react to other enemies closing in on you, not that enemies are still rather passive already.
This extends even further into how strangely easy it is to just spam BURST shots at a far range, as most enemies don't try to dodge it. Combine it with their tendency to simply float over to you if you're very far away, and this completely erases most of the difficulty (and tension) in the S.O.S. missions, too. In fairness, the "S' type enemies, who generally just dodge more all around, are pretty vigilant, and it makes them engaging to fight, but they show up too sparsely.
Going back to the enemy types, Raptors also lack good ranged options, preventing them from being the middleman of the group…until higher Level ones show up, that is. This is another element of combat that, again, is conceptually sound: higher-level enemies have more moves, and since the difficulty options directly affect enemy Levels, it directly means that you'll see larger movesets earlier on…again, the key word is "conceptually". The increments are just too far apart for some level values to matter. Furthermore, the higher difficulties still maintain the same range of levels enemies in a given area will have between each other, so even the endgame of Very Hard features enemies that are weaker than what most of the game has already thrown at you.
Jehuty can level up too, which does nothing outside of potentially making enemies die even faster, and making you die slower. Now, you can actually lose EXP, and even de-level on higher difficulties if you destroy buildings, but the entire crux of the ranking system is reliant on you not letting that happen, so it really doesn't end up mattering. If anything, it just throws the difficulty curve out-of-whack even more, especially if you actually feel like trying to grind.
The only reason that's even possible is due to the semi-open-ended structure that the game spends most of its time in…if all of the numerous, numerous complaints about the game's backtracking that have already been made are anything to go by, this idea did not work. Even as someone who knows how to optimally route out playthroughs, the amount of cutscene skips and loading times is pretty obscene. If you want to go even further, the fact that Metatron boxes also respawn alongside enemies in certain areas means that health really doesn't matter. Enemy Squads holding Metatron comes close to a risk-reward system, but you can still always BURST spam, still taking away any potential tension to health management.
For all the negativity I've been giving this game so far, it's not like it's all doom and gloom. Namely, the bosses are mostly pretty nice. Tempest takes far too long for how little it does, but the other large bosses are fairly engaging (if still time-consuming, in some form or another). Fighting Neith, however, and in both of its forms, is the standout moment for the game, mechanically. Just as with Jehuty, its limited number of attacks doesn't mean there isn't engagement to be had, as each one is different enough so as to still draw different responses out of you. Ignoring the (genuinely bold, when a sequel wasn't guaranteed at that time) decision to end the game on an unwinnable cliffhanger fight, Viola gives you the game's final moment of combat, and it does end up being a great note to end on, as you Dash in-and-out, cross blades, recognize when to go in for strikes, even collide BURST shots with each other…still a joy to experience.
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Since it's still fitting here, I'm just going to use the full section from my proper WIP piece on this game to close this out:
"Even though I've only recently started trying to discuss games on this level, I already feel guilty about how cruel it can end up being, but criticism isn't just an exercise in ruthlessness. At the time of writing, this game has been with me for 5 years, and I wouldn't say it's only because I just want to lambast it. Despite everything that I think is completely fair to say about Zone of the Enders, it holds a special place in my heart: I can always come back to it, have fun, and see the gold peeking out…but I can't blame anyone who decided all the digging wasn't worth the time. After all, some of this rubble didn't need to be there in the first place."
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It still remains genuinely impressive that this game's foundation is as smooth as it is. Jehuty has a fluidity to its movement that is simply excellent to play with, no matter what orientation you're in. Combat is simple, but each of your offensive options are still meaningfully distinct: the regular shot applies basic pressure, the Dash attacks work as one-time enemy catchers, the guard-breaking BURST slash is slow but serves as a great combo ender, and the BURST shot is the ultimate long-range destroyer. The Grab and most Subweapons don't really see much use, either due to slow speed, poor damage output, or issues with range, but they do help add some more options (that the Subweapons are directly lifted from the enemies' movesets is also a nice touch, since it can give you a feel for what their strengths and weaknesses are…conceptually).
Unfortunately, said enemies are mostly underwhelming in their designs. Conceptually, it could be a perfect trifecta, with each of them complementing the other, but only Mummyheads remain effectively threatening at enough ranges so as to let their attacks properly shine. Despite being best at close-range, Raptors and Cyclops are still slow enough to get attacked by a spammy player, even with parries involved. In the game's intended flow of "One Squad at a time", there also aren't really going to be times where you need to be aware and react to other enemies closing in on you, not that enemies are still rather passive already.
This extends even further into how strangely easy it is to just spam BURST shots at a far range, as most enemies don't try to dodge it. Combine it with their tendency to simply float over to you if you're very far away, and this completely erases most of the difficulty (and tension) in the S.O.S. missions, too. In fairness, the "S' type enemies, who generally just dodge more all around, are pretty vigilant, and it makes them engaging to fight, but they show up too sparsely.
Going back to the enemy types, Raptors also lack good ranged options, preventing them from being the middleman of the group…until higher Level ones show up, that is. This is another element of combat that, again, is conceptually sound: higher-level enemies have more moves, and since the difficulty options directly affect enemy Levels, it directly means that you'll see larger movesets earlier on…again, the key word is "conceptually". The increments are just too far apart for some level values to matter. Furthermore, the higher difficulties still maintain the same range of levels enemies in a given area will have between each other, so even the endgame of Very Hard features enemies that are weaker than what most of the game has already thrown at you.
Jehuty can level up too, which does nothing outside of potentially making enemies die even faster, and making you die slower. Now, you can actually lose EXP, and even de-level on higher difficulties if you destroy buildings, but the entire crux of the ranking system is reliant on you not letting that happen, so it really doesn't end up mattering. If anything, it just throws the difficulty curve out-of-whack even more, especially if you actually feel like trying to grind.
The only reason that's even possible is due to the semi-open-ended structure that the game spends most of its time in…if all of the numerous, numerous complaints about the game's backtracking that have already been made are anything to go by, this idea did not work. Even as someone who knows how to optimally route out playthroughs, the amount of cutscene skips and loading times is pretty obscene. If you want to go even further, the fact that Metatron boxes also respawn alongside enemies in certain areas means that health really doesn't matter. Enemy Squads holding Metatron comes close to a risk-reward system, but you can still always BURST spam, still taking away any potential tension to health management.
For all the negativity I've been giving this game so far, it's not like it's all doom and gloom. Namely, the bosses are mostly pretty nice. Tempest takes far too long for how little it does, but the other large bosses are fairly engaging (if still time-consuming, in some form or another). Fighting Neith, however, and in both of its forms, is the standout moment for the game, mechanically. Just as with Jehuty, its limited number of attacks doesn't mean there isn't engagement to be had, as each one is different enough so as to still draw different responses out of you. Ignoring the (genuinely bold, when a sequel wasn't guaranteed at that time) decision to end the game on an unwinnable cliffhanger fight, Viola gives you the game's final moment of combat, and it does end up being a great note to end on, as you Dash in-and-out, cross blades, recognize when to go in for strikes, even collide BURST shots with each other…still a joy to experience.
-----
Since it's still fitting here, I'm just going to use the full section from my proper WIP piece on this game to close this out:
"Even though I've only recently started trying to discuss games on this level, I already feel guilty about how cruel it can end up being, but criticism isn't just an exercise in ruthlessness. At the time of writing, this game has been with me for 5 years, and I wouldn't say it's only because I just want to lambast it. Despite everything that I think is completely fair to say about Zone of the Enders, it holds a special place in my heart: I can always come back to it, have fun, and see the gold peeking out…but I can't blame anyone who decided all the digging wasn't worth the time. After all, some of this rubble didn't need to be there in the first place."