Part 12: Ice Storm
The chase continues as we tackle the next two temples. Leviathan has little interest in what Elpizo’s doing, but once we actually catch up to our former commander, we might find him to be in quite the state now that he’s close to his goal…
Part 13: The Wish Punished
Zero has reached the heart of Neo Arcadia… no, not the one from last time. This time it’s Yggdrasil. The Dark Elf’s power is sealed away at the top of the tower, and the only way there is up through a gaggle of fanatics with familiar faces. Zero can carve his way through these enemies, but just what awaits him him Elpizo succeeds in completing the Dark Elf?
Ah, Dr. Weil. He’s kinda asshole for asshole sake.
Is nominal determinism real, or did Dr. Weil have enough sense to change his name before committing innumerable crimes?
It’s been two months since Zero’s battle with Elpizo. The Dark Elf is still missing, and relations with Neo Arcadia remain tense. Luckily, Ciel has just about finished her new energy system, and if all goes well it could be the key to ending hostilities for good. Which means, of course, a new wrench is about to be thrown in the works. A strange ship has crashed into the planet, and it bears a similar reading to the Dark Elf. What that could mean remains to be seen, but in all likelihood it will lead to more trouble…
We’re halfway done with the Zero games, and if you thought the last game was a change from the first, this one’s even bigger. Weapon levels are out, we’ve got equipable ability chips, and most importantly the Cyber Elves don’t have to die to be used! The base game’s about the same in that you’ll die quickly if you’re not careful, and the ranking system is still a little judgmental if you’re not used to it. But if you’ve been put off by the first two games, this one might be mire your speed. Just, you know, make sure you’re up to date on the plot. You won’t be confused if you don’t, but we will be getting some emotional payoff this time around.
Part 1: Exiled One
A mysterious signal has caught the attention of the Resistance. Zero heads out with Ciel and a few guards to check out the situation, and find a massive ship crash-landed at the source. Whatever is in it seems to have similar readings to the Dark Elf, but what that could mean remains unknown. And of course, Neo Arcadia is already investigating as well. Could this day get any more bizarre? The answer probably won’t surprise you.
Part 2: Dressed to the Schilt
We’ve got our list of missions, and we’re starting by making a dent in Neo Arcadia’s weapon production. Déjà vu, I know, but we’re not fighting Phoenix Magnion again, if that’s what you’re thinking. No, this time we’ve got a bat hanging out in a garbage dump/graveyard. It’s definitely a different vibe.
Part 3: Flizard Warning
There’s a missile base in Neo Arcadian territory, which is definitely bad news in the long run. The Operators need some time to chart a course to that base, and Zero has the perfect distraction: a rampage. Yes, assaulting this volcano base should buy plenty of time, and taking out one of Weil’s Numbers at the end should be a nice bonus.
The drama tracks mentioned in-episode are Weil Numbers and Alouette’s Good Day. The first is a short scene where we get to see a bit of personality of the bosses in this game and see Harpuia’s worsening work situation. The second is a bit of a long one (fourteen and a half minutes) but it’s a fun bunch of scenes where Alouette talks to some of the members of the Resistance Base. I didn’t talk as much about that one, but I do think it’s worth a listen if you want to learn more about some of the recurring characters and witness Zero’s lack of social skills.
Part 4: Inarabitta Trouble
We’ve stifled Neo Arcadia’s weapons production… eeeeexcept for that big missile they’re building. But while we figure out that situation, we need to look for the Dark Elf. She seems to be somewhere in some underwater ruins, which will be difficult to deal with since we don’t have a submarine. And to make things worse, the enemy does have one of those.
You know, in lab, the… IV stand thingy kinda looks like stretched Life Up from MMX1?
Or am I seeing things?
These two? I guess I can kinda see it, given that line in the center of the heart sprite.
Part 5: Mantisk Monday
So rescuing the Dark Elf didn’t go so well in the previous episode, save for taking out another of Weil’s Numbers. But we’ve got Dark Elf readings from some different ruins, and these are way drier than last time! So Zero’s off again to see if we can finally one-up Neo Arcadia.
Part 6: Omega Missile Crisis
Weil and X have located the Dark Elf, and unfortunately it’s in their territory. The good news is, though, that it’s just at a town at the edge, so maybe we have an advantage! Except, no, they’ve decided to use that missile factory we discovered earlier to launch Omega directly to it. So now Zero has to move out to save the Dark Elf and one of Neo Arcadia’s own cities!
Part 7: Bad Necromance
Diplomacy has failed, and now Neo Arcadia plans on crushing the Resistance in one to three fell swoops. Today, we’re taking on the first army they’ve sent, which is apparently pretty close. Zero will have to cross a desert, but we’ve got plenty of experience with that by now. The only big issue is a certain jackal who’s back from the dead… again.
Part 8: Chill the Monkey
We’ve got two more zombies to fight and plenty of time to do it! Hanumachine and Blizzack Staggroff are leading their respective armies, and we’ll be removing them at our earliest convenience. That does mean half of our time will be spent within jungle ruins, but thankfully there’s no Chain Rod to make that level type annoying anymore.
Part 9: X-ecuted
We’ve taken out Neo Arcadia’s attack forces and we’ve tracked their forward base. Now all that’s left to do is go there and beat up Copy X again. We’ve already fought him once and there isn’t even a boss rush in the way of this one! Wow, it’s nice to have a straightforward mission for once!
Part 10: Dunk Cactank
Weil’s in full control of Neo Arcadia, and we need to figure out what his deal is if we want any chance of stopping him. So, our first order of business is to comb the snowfield for anything that may have fallen from Weil’s ship. Did he have anything we could use? Is it all just rations? Maybe a crate filled with plushies? It doesn’t exactly matter what he had when today’s boss is feeling particularly judgemental.
Oh, and speaking of judgemental, today’s drama track is Decision: Eight Gentle Judges. If you wanted to know what the game’s Mutos Reploids were like before Weil got to them, now you’ll know!
Part 11: Biblio Tech
If we want to know more about Dr. Weil, then what better thing to do than to go visit the archives and get as much data from them as possible? Unfortunately, while that is a good plan, there is the matter of the only accessible library being a little submerged. But water stages haven’t stopped us before, so it’s time to hit the books… or data disks, in this case.
And as it turns out, someone else came to this library and might be the reason someone sank it in the first place. You can learn more about that in Clockwork Apple and Irregular Passion.
Part 12: Star Foxtar
There’s an abandoned power plant in Neo Arcadia’s territory that seems to be operating in secret. Naturally, if they’re being so discreet about it, it’s probably not just being used to keep people’s lights on. Zero moves out to investigate, because we don’t have a lot of leads and we really need to nab as many victories against Weil as we can get.
Part 13: Hasta la Tretista
We’ve got one mission left, then we’re outta leads. So while the operators work on fixing the data we got earlier, it’s up to Zero to inspect an elevator!
… It’s a really big elevator, you see. Suspiciously big. Can’t let that go without some investigation.
Part 14: Phantom Circuit
We’ve got the data repaired and compiled, which means we can finally learn a bit more about the Elf Wars! They were a disaster! Yes, Dr. Weil is not only a guy who seems like he’d do war crimes, he’s probably the worst war criminal we’ve seen in the series. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he’s finished his preparations with Omega so he can take over the world. Because some people can’t take being told they were wrong.
Also, here are what I consider to be the most important drama tracks for this game: Light and Shadow, Stand and Fight and With Our Justice. If you’ve missed the Guardians, these are definitely the audios you won’t want to miss!
Part 15: Cannon Ball
We missed Weil the first time, but surely he can’t move locations twice in a row. Plus, Zero’s heading out to a stage with boss refights, so this pretty much has to be the final area. But the final battle against Omega won’t be easy. Mainly because we don’t even know what his deal is, other than the fact that he was a force to be reckoned with during the Elf War. Weil certainly thinks he’s unbeatable, but can anyone really expect to defeat Zero?
And now that we’re done with the game, it’s a good time to listen to the last drama tracks from Telos. The first is Retrospect 1: Elf War, which is actually the first listed drama track. But it’s a little spoiler-y, and I think it works as an echo for when the game’s done so I didn’t mention it until now. The other is Retrospect 2: Dreams Never End. It’s one last short message that caps off the game pretty well, but for some reason I couldn’t find a translated version of it on Youtube, so you’ll have to look this one up separately.
Bonus Part: Zero & Friends’ Minigame Corner
And with the other stuff out of the way, here’s the bonus episode. This one gives me a little more time to talk about ending topics since I didn’t have time during the credits. But it also has the final stage boss taunts, the last secret disks, and some minigames you may or may not have bothered with.