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This article is about the character. For the series, see Mega Man Zero.
Zero (ゼロ) is a video game character present throughout the Mega Man franchise. First appearing in the 1993 game Mega Man X for the Super NES, Zero has since been the star of the Mega Man Zero series and has played a supporting role in other game series such as the Mega Man ZX series. First developed by Keiji Inafune when he was attempting to create a new design for Mega Man for the X series, Zero was instead used as a deuteragonist. In the Zero series, which was developed by Inti-Creates, Zero is the protagonist and had a change in his design, which was meant to create a more "human feel" to him. Zero has since played a minor role in the ZX series as Model Z. His inclusion in the Mega Man X series has generally received positive critical response from video games reviewers.
[edit] Conception and creationZero was created by designer Keiji Inafune when he was told to recreate Mega Man for a new series on the Super Nintendo, Mega Man X. In a 2004 interview with Play, Inafune commented, "I wanted a totally different Mega Man. I'm a designer, a creator; I wanted something new. I didn't want to use the same old Mega Man".[1] The first protagonist character Inafune was allowed to design completely by himself, Zero was originally intended to be a redesigned Mega Man.[2] However, he realized the character he had created was too different from Mega Man's old appearance be viewed positively by fans.[1] Deciding to let another designer work on the character that eventually became Mega Man X while he developed Zero, he created the character intending him to be "the 'other main character' that would steal all the good scenes".[2] Inafune further described Zero as representing the idea that "nothing is absolute", and circumstances can change anything. When asked if Zero had killed the cast of the original Mega Man titles, suspected due to their absence in the X series, he replied no, stating "According to the way I created him, Zero is not such a person--it is not in his profile."[3] The concept of Zero starring in his own series was proposed by Inafune,[4] who had himself planned to go forward with the idea at the end of Mega Man X5 but was unable to after Capcom announced another Mega Man title without his involvement.[1] Designed by Toru Nakayama of Inti-Creates, Zero was meant to have a more "human feel" rather than the complete "mechanical feel" of the X series. In an interview, Nakayama also commented that they wanted the public to recognize that this series was different from the X series, though since Capcom wanted Zero's general structure to be the same, they "concentrated on how different we could make him, rather than how similar we could make him"[5] Zero's depiction in the series was intended to be morally ambiguous and depend on the perspective, appearing as a hero from one point of view, and a terrorist from another.[6] [edit] DesignDesigned to be "harder and wilder" than the original Mega Man, Zero's design ultimately resembled Mega Man X in several ways due to his initial character concept, Inafune's insistence on drawing the character and input from other project artists.[7] In the X series, Zero has red and white armor with twin "horns" on his helmet. Zero also has his signature long blonde hair. His main weapon is the Z-saber, an energy-based sword which introduced melee combat to the Mega Man games for the first time. His secondary weapon is the Z-buster, a cannon mounted at the end of his right arm, similar to Mega Man X's primary weapon.[8] A tertiary weapon that would orbit around Zero was also considered, but left uncompleted. Unlike the original Mega Man, who had a full head of hair under his helmet, Zero has a smooth secondary helmet, intended to imply the characters were "no longer children".[7] In the Zero series, Zero still possesses his blonde hair and general structure, though it has much less of a "cartoon" feel and more of a "realistic" feel. Instead of having red and white armor, Zero has a navy blue suit with a red vest, gloves, and boots. His helmet has horns, though they are much more smoothly designed. The Z-saber was also redesigned in Zero 2, and had a more triangular shape compared to the original Z-saber, which is similar to a katana. The Z-buster was removed from Zero's arm and changed into a pistol-like weapon.[9] Early concept art featured Zero with solid-black, pupil-less eyes, though this changed to a normal set of eyes as development progressed.[10] [edit] AppearancesZero made his debut appearance in Mega Man X in 1993. Zero was originally created by Dr. Wily sometime in the Mega Man series. Zero works as a Maverick Hunter, a soldier in charge of defeating Mavericks, robots who turned against humanity. He plays the role as X's comrade and best friend in the X series. The two, later accompanied by Axl fight Sigma, Vile, and other enemies throughout the series. While in first three titles he only assists X during gameplay, he becomes an optional character in X4. Depending on the story development, Zero can be fought as a boss character in Mega Man X5.[11] In Mega Man X6, Zero is not present through most of the game since he went missing in the end of Mega Man X5 during a fight against Sigma.[12] In the spin-off title Mega Man Xtreme, he is an assistant character but becomes playable in the sequel, Mega Man Xtreme 2. He is also playable during the prologue and the last chapters from the role-playing game Mega Man X: Command Mission. The Mega Man Zero series features Zero as the title character and protagonist. Set around 100 years after the X series[13], Zero helps a scientist named Ciel fight the human city of Neo Arcadia, during which he destroys Omega, Dr. Weil, and Copy X, leader of Neo Arcadia, twice.[14] Zero makes an appearance in the ZX series as Model Z, who plays a minor supporting role in the plot in the first ZX game. In ZX Advent, Zero plays an even smaller role, only having a few lines throughout the game. Zero's Mega Man Battle Network counterpart, Zero.EXE makes an appearance in Mega Man Network Transmission as the antagonist of the first half of the game. He later aides Mega Man against the true villain, Lord Wily. Mega Man Zero's version of Zero's character appears as a sub-boss in Playmore's crossover fighting game SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos and as a hidden character in Onimusha Blade Warriors, while the X one is set to appear in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars.[15] [edit] ReceptionZero's appearances in the Mega Man X series have generally had positive crticial response. GameZone praised the inclusion of Zero in the Mega Man X series, citing his playability as popular amongst series fan as it expanded the gameplay.[16] Game Revolution called him "mysterious, androgynous" and compared him to "Proto-Man with a ponytail".[17] 1UP.com stated that his appearance as a playable character with his own story in Mega Man X4 by itself made the it the best game in the X series.[18] GameSpot noted the contrast in his gameplay to that of Mega Man X in Mega Man X4 increased the difficulty of using him in the title.[19] IGN named him one of their ten favorite sword wielding characters in the video games, describing him as an answer to the question "what if Mega Man has a sword?" and noted his "hands-on approach" as popular with gamers.[20] They repeated the sentiments in their list of characters they wished to see appear in a future Marvel vs. Capcom title, describing him as "arguably cooler than Mega Man, regardless of the time period".[21] PSM praised the character as well, stating "[he] might wear some funky shoes, but that doesn't stop him from kicking some robot butt".[22] While reviewing Mega Man X: Command Mission 1UP.com criticized that during parts from the game players are unable to use Zero and at the same that his English voice acting makes him "sound like a surfer".[23] [edit] Footnotes
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