I must first say I loved Zone of the Enders. I'll name my first son Jehuty. Not only was playing a little kid not like playing a little kid, but the design of the mechs was brilliant. I purchased Z.O.E for the MGS 2 demo and came away a fan of something I had no idea existed. The dynamic of having this child kill, because he had no choice, was something that didn't really sink in at first. The game opens with the lead character, Leo Stenbuck, in the year 2172 as he and his friends get caught in the middle of the Antilia conflict. Antilia was a space station orbiting Jupiter, whose citizens were known as Enders (AKA-low man on the totem pole). After watching your friends die by a BAHRAM frame (mech), you find refuge in the Orbital Frame, Jehuty. Such a badass mech. Jehuty is actually the purpose of the BAHRAM frames even being on Antilia. And the game begins.



This game is one of my personal all time favorites, but it isn't without its flaws. Let's start with...

LEVEL DESIGN

This game is extremely linear. I liken it to a 3rd person, on rails action shooter. As awesome as elements were, the levels were just all setup the same way. Engaging the enemy, while enjoyable, was also saturated with deja vu. When you're not looking for discs that give Jehuty new abilities or answering SOS calls that unfairly impact the ending the game, you're backtracking to previously played areas to retrieve an item you should have been able to get the first time you were there. For the most part, the game keeps you going, but this area in particular will run you down. It's just a lot of the same thing level to level. Having a better mix of air and ground objectives, as well as clear differences in the objectives would have helped this relatively short (7-8hrs) game.



COMBAT

My only real complaint with combat is the aiming. And the redundancy. And the aiming again. I'd rather arm wrestle Lenny Small than ever have to, and I use this word loosely, aim like that again. Of course in 2001, I could care less. But after recently replaying it, I came away wondering where the time was spent? I don't want my words to be interpreted as saying the combat sucks. It doesn't suck, not at all...in the beginning. But as you progress, as engaging as the story is, as cool as the frames are, it simply wears on you. Tighter controls and more focus on the aerial aspect of the combat would have been so, so welcomed.



As you can see, my list of grievances is rather small. But I feel their impact on the game are substantial enough to warrant a rethink moving forward. This generation of gaming has become a tad more sophisticated in their expectations. It is a testament to the quality of the overall gaming experience that I revere this game as much as I do. You always pick apart what you truly hold dear.