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.

This is a gold standard remake. I played the original Sunsoft game a LOT as a kid, and never made too far during my rentals. It had no save feature, no passwords, so you got as far as you could in the two or three hours you could play before you had to turn the NES off.

All this entry really does is add polish. Graphics are better, you have more weapons options and flexibility, but the core game feels the same. The car jumps and lands with weight, Jason moves like a turd, but the outside threats are programmed around those things, which is important (something 2 fails at).

So when you go into a battle or are traversing the world, nothing feels unfair. Creature movements almost always fit around how your character moves. Nothing is faster than Jason without also telegraphing where it's going, nothing is impossible to dodge in the car if you know what you're doing. This does make the game not feel too challenging, but it also never feels unfair.

The story is, well the original was about a guy looking for his frog, so it's a lot better, but it's still nothing to write home about.

Still, I've played this three times in the seven years since its release, so that's something.

I love this game. I've been playing it for 30+ years and it's a great one to go to when I just need good music and a discarmor.

It's a very early Metroid-like, but much smaller and with less backtracking. There is a plot, but it's barely there and has to be pieced together from poorly translated things bald giants tell you, nothing is explained, monster design is solid, and so much is left to the imagination.

It's made up of six areas, with kind of a hub, and you have to find items to access each section but it's over in a few hours if you know what you're doing. It's not quite as tight as Metroid is, and it doesn't encourage speedrunning, which is ideal, because there is a bit of a grind to this thing.

But that opening level's music and sunset have been etched into my head for just about my entire life. I love it.