This being the first generation with high definition capable consoles, it also marks the beginning of a new trend in re-releasing old games; the HD Collection. Because they ran at much lower resolutions than modern games, rendering games from the PS2, Xbox, Gamecube era in high definition makes them look instantly better at a much cheaper development cost than doing a full remake. Sony has been leading the charge with HD Collections, but other publishers have gotten in on the action too, like Capcom, Namco Bandai, Ubisoft, and Konami. The results can be hit or miss, with some games playing and looking better than ever in HD, while others serve as a harsh reminder of the changing standards and design philosophies. The Zone of the Enders HD Collection, which includes both Zone of the Enders games, manages to simultaneously be both a hit and a miss, making it a great example of how smart improvements and changes can turn a good idea with flawed execution into a great sequel.
Just a note, I never played these games in their original form on the Playstation 2, so I am judging them primarily on their merits as games released in 2012, and to a lesser extent their quality as HD re-releases.
Now, having only a limited knowledge of the series prior to playing these updated versions, I had high hopes for the story. Any game with the name Kojima on it comes with certain expectations regarding the story and presentation, but both Zone of the Enders and Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner come up short in this respect. In the first game, you play as Leo, a preteen boy who stumbles upon “Jehuty”, a cutting edge orbital frame (basically a giant flying mech with guns and a sword), and tries to escape the city sized space station where he lives as it is attacked by an enemy force. The story has the type of cinematic presentation you would expect from a Kojima game, but there are key aspects of the storytelling that really hold it back.
For one, the localization is very poor. Dialogue comes off as very stiff and unnatural sounding, which is done no favors by the terrible voice acting. I was really surprised by the bad voice work, given how good the voice performances are in the Metal Gear Solid games. I found myself frequently laughing at loud at the awful line readings, which is really a problem in a game that keeps a serious tone throughout. The sub-par voice performances combined with poor localization make the story very hard to get invested in, despite a few interesting plot elements. Even if you could get into some of the overall plot development, the annoying main character and lack of any real resolution make it less fulfilling than what you’d expect out a Kojima story.
In The 2nd Runner, you play as a new character, Dingo, who becomes Jehuty’s new pilot. The plot of the second game focuses more on the large scale conflict and universe building than the first game, making it instantly better from a story standpoint. Unfortunately, the same localization and voice acting issues of the first game plague the sequel as well. In fact, The 2nd Runner puts more emphasis on story than the original, so while the plot and characters are better, the unnatural dialogue and poor delivery become more prevalent. However, the story is still much better than the first, with a much clearer plot progression and a definite ending with a satisfying resolution. As a package, the story elements are really disappointing. Even more disappointing is the fact that with this re-release they had the opportunity to improve the localization and re-cast the voice actors, but decided that what was already there was good enough. For the story aspects of these games to be acceptable in 2012, they really should have gone the extra mile and improved the parts of it that they could.
While the story aspects of these two games are pretty much equally disappointing, almost every other aspect is much better in The 2nd Runner than the original game. The biggest failing of the first game is the level design. The whole game takes place on a domed city that orbits Jupiter, which results in almost no level variety. The game only has a handful of levels, which are almost all simply square shaped urban environments. The levels aren’t linear, instead being more like big arenas with the goal simply being to kill every enemy and then move to the next level. Some levels have objectives that require you find an object to proceed, but the objects you must find are usually on an unspecified previous level. This means you have to pick a level at random and then kill all the enemies, hoping you picked the right one. So, what the game boils down to are a handful of levels that you wind up playing 2 or more times each over the course of the game. The end result is a 5 hour game that is sorely lacking in content with far too much backtracking and padding.
Luckily, the level design was vastly improved for the second game. The 2nd Runner completely removes the ability to go back to previous levels, meaning the game is always moving forward; no more backtracking, no more padding and no more square arenas. The levels are much bigger, but the biggest improvement is the overall design of the levels and the more linear progression. Instead of square areas with a set number of enemies to kill, each level feels different, and there are even some big set pieces such as chasing a speeding train through a tunnel and a giant airship battle high in the sky. The second game also has a great deal more content than the first, clocking in at 7-9 hours. Basically, from a design standpoint, the original game is fraught with issues while the sequel is much better executed, still holding up well by today’s standards.
Even with its myriad design issues, I still found myself enjoying the first game, mostly because of the engaging combat. Jehuty is a very capable mech, with both long range and melee options as well as additional “sub weapons” that you gain as you progress through the game. When in combat, you automatically lock onto enemies, allowing you to strafe around and easily target them with ranged attacks. The lock on is helpful, but all too often the camera doesn’t want to cooperate. Switching to the specific enemy you want can be difficult and the camera often gives you bad angles and gets caught up on the environment. Despite the camera issues, both long range and melee combat are immediately satisfying, though not perfect. The main issue is the extreme lack of difficulty (on the normal setting). You can get through the entire game by simply dashing at and killing pretty much every enemy with your sword. The lack of challenge can make the game feel repetitive, especially because there isn’t really much variety in the encounter types. There are occasional boss fights, but they mostly just involve firing until the health bar hits zero, without much need for strategy.
The combat in The 2nd Runner is mostly unchanged from the first game, but there are some key improvements. The biggest improvement is the added element of challenge. AI behaviors are much more complex, making for a much more difficult overall experience, even on the normal setting. You can no longer simply rush every enemy, and knowing the specific tendencies and weaknesses of the various enemy types is key to moving forward. The game demands that you make skillful use of both melee and ranged combat, as well as knowing how to properly use your arsenal of sub weapons and having a solid grasp on the concepts of blocking and dashing. Bosses are also a big improvement in the second game. There are many more boss encounters, and each is unique and challenging. Pattern recognition and quick reflexes are key to defeating the bosses, and you will find yourself trying and failing with different techniques before you stumble upon the bosses weakness. The second game definitely has better combat, but all the camera issues from the first game are still present. Despite some issues, both games are vary enjoyable from a gameplay perspective, but once again The 2nd Runner is the clear winner in this respect.
As one would guess, the biggest area of improvement for most HD Collections is the presentation, specifically the visuals, and this is also the case with the Zone of the Enders HD Collection. In both games, Jehuty and the other mechs look great rendered in HD, but some other elements of the presentation don’t convert quite as well, particularly in the first game. In the first game, the particle effects (fire in particular) look really dated, and the skyboxes look low res. While also just more technically impressive, the sequel really benefits from slightly more stylized visuals. I always find that stylized graphics tend to hold up better over time than those with a more a realistic style, and The 2nd Runner is a perfect example. The graphics have a bit of cell shaded look to them, which makes the environments and effects look much better in comparison to the first game.
Both games utilize pre-rendered cinematics as well as in engine cutscenes, and once again The 2nd Runner is the better of the two. The first game uses CGI cutscenes, and they do not hold up very well. Unlike the in engine cutscenes, the CG cinematics don’t benefit from the HD conversion, which doesn’t do any favors to the already dated looking early 2000s CGI. The 2nd Runner ditched the CG in favor of anime cutscenes, which holds up much better than the CGI. The animated cutscenes aren’t HD either, but obviously anime is a more timeless form of animation than the ever improving nature of CGI. Performance wise, the game runs quite well. I’ve heard the PS3 version has some performance issues, but I can’t personally speak to that. I played the 360 version and the frame rate was almost always smooth during gameplay, though the in-engine cutscenes didn’t run as well for some reason.
Audio wise, both games are a mixed bag. I’ve already detailed the bad voice acting, which is equally bad in both games, but the other elements of the audio presentation fare much better. The music is a perfect fit for these games. They feature a lot electronic music with thumping bass and a fast tempo. The second game features some more low key tracks to accompany the cutscenes, but still has plenty of up tempo battle music. I liked most of the music, and it almost always fit the tone of the situation, which what a good game soundtrack should do.
If you’re a fan of the Zone of the Enders series, you’re likely to enjoy this HD re-release. At least on Xbox 360, this is a competently made update to two classic games. If you’ve never played the games before, I would absolutely recommend this collection if only for Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner. The first game has it’s fair share of issues, but the sequel is absolutely worth playing. It’s unfortunate more wasn’t done to fix some of the problems with these games, but as is you’re getting one flawed but interesting game and one excellent game that everyone should play.
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How do these ratings work? Click here for descriptions!
Pros:
- Both games have engaging combat
- Music in both games fits well
- Visuals look great in HD, particularly those of The 2nd Runner
- The 2nd Runner adds a welcome level of challenge
- The 2nd Runner is a fun 7-9 hour experience
Cons:
- Both games have bad voice acting
- Both games have sub-par localization
- Original game is rife with design issues
- Original game is too easy
