Zero (Mega Man)

is a video game character present throughout Capcom's ''Mega Man'' franchise. Debuting in the ''Mega Man X'' series, Zero is an android and an elite Maverick Hunter: an organization dedicated to defending humanity from rogue Reploids (androids that were built from a template based on X), dubbed "Mavericks". Zero also acts as a mentor and longtime friend to X, the main protagonist of the ''X'' series. He continues his role as the titular main protagonist of the ''Mega Man Zero'' series. Zero has also played a supporting role in other series in the franchise such as the ''Mega Man ZX'' series and appeared in crossover video games as a guest character.

First developed by Keiji Inafune when he was attempting to create a new design for the ''X'' series, Zero was instead used as a secondary character. In the ''Zero'' series (developed by Inti Creates), Zero was the protagonist and had a change in his design that was meant to impart a more "human feel" to him. Zero has since also 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 reviewers. His story within the ''Mega Man Zero'' series received similar response, at least partly due to how much darker and mature Zero became compared to previous ''Mega Man'' characters.

Conception and creation

Zero was created by designer Keiji Inafune when he was told to recreate Mega Man for a new series on the Super NES, ''Mega Man X''. He wanted to design a Mega Man different from the original one. However, Inafune realized afterwards that the character he created was too different from Mega Man's old appearance to be viewed positively by fans. Deciding to let another designer work on the character that eventually became X while he developed Zero, Inafune created the character intending him to be "the 'other main character' that would "steal all the good scenes". He 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, adding that given how he had designed the character, "Zero is not such a person--it is not in his profile."

Believing they were too similar in ''Mega Man X3'' (in which Zero could only be played as for part of each level), Capcom wanted Zero to be further distinguished from X for his first appearance as a fully playable character in ''Mega Man X4''. This resulted in the removal of his Z-Buster (his equivalent of X's X-Buster), leaving only his lightsaber-esque Z-Saber. This close-range combat weapon stood in stark contrast to X's projectile weapons. Due to the difficulty of playing as Zero, the vast majority of the developers were against that decision at first during ''Mega Man X4''. As a result, Zero was given special techniques (some of which hailed from the ''Street Fighter'' franchise) by defeating each boss, which resulted in the approval from the developers. In order to make Zero's story to be more engaging, Capcom created Iris, a female Reploid, believing it was a fresh idea not used in previous games in the series.

The concept of Zero starring in his own series was proposed by Inafune. Inafune proposed that Zero star in his own series, and planned to go forward with the idea at the end of ''Mega Man X5''. However, he was unable to after Capcom announced another ''Mega Man'' title without his involvement. 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. Nakayama wanted the public to recognize that this series was different from the ''X'' series. Since Capcom wanted Zero's general structure to be the same, Inti-Creates concentrated on how different they could make him, rather than how similar. 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.

Ever since the series' beginning, Haruki Suetsugu was impressed by the handling of the relationship X and Zero had. From his point of view, X was a character who often makes mistakes in combat yet tries again in order to improve. As a result, the artist felt he could relate with X. X was written to be a "B class" Hunter in contrast to Zero being "Special A" rank. This allowed him the draw more frequently across the series. Nevertheless, he regretted some of his illustrations as X lacked the cool appeal Zero originally had.

Ryōtarō Okiayu is Zero's voice actor in the ''Mega Man X'' series ever since its fourth installment. He was grateful for the role he was given to do mostly in the crossover ''Project X Zone''. Lucas Gilbertson stated that he did not think of Zero as a robot but instead as a swordsman, making his work enjoyable. While finding it challenging, Gilbertson liked yelling during recordings, something that was common in Zero's character. Another aspect the actor enjoyed was the staff member he worked with and thus expected to voice Zero in the future.

Inafune drew inspiration for Zero from the arcade game, '' Strider'', a previous Capcom game. Inafune has stated that he has always liked the "world view" of ''Strider'' and modeled the name of Zero after one of its characters (reportedly, Solo).

Design

Designed to be "harder and wilder" than the original Mega Man, Zero's design ultimately resembled X in several ways due to his initial character concept, Inafune's insistence on drawing the character, and input from other project artists.R20, pp. 205-207 In the ''X'' series, Zero has red and white armor with twin "horns" on his helmet. Zero also has his signature long blonde hair. Starting with ''Mega Man X2'', Zero received a slight redesign. His shoulders were given plating with a "Z" symbol on his left shoulder, his armor was made to be slightly bulkier, and his chest and foot parts got additional gold plating. Zero also started wielding his signature weapon, the Z-Saber, an energy-based sword that introduced melee combat to the ''Mega Man'' games. His original, now secondary weapon is the Z-Buster, a cannon mounted at the end of his right arm, similar to X's X-Buster. 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 older. In ''Mega Man X4'', Zero was going to receive his own enhanced armor in the same way X does, but the development team decided not to finish it.

In the ''Zero'' series, Zero sported a much more humanized and sleeker redesign. His mecha-inspired armor was eschewed for a red uniform consisting of a vest, gloves, and boots, while his arms and legs were more anatomically detailed. His Z-buster was no longer fused inside his hand, instead it was a handgun, Buster Shot, that fired energy bullets. The Z-Saber also became a triangular holographic blade, rather than a lightsaber-like weapon. Early concept art featured Zero with solid-black, pupil-less eyes, though this changed to a normal set of eyes as development progressed.

Appearances

In ''Mega Man'' video game series

Zero made his debut appearance in ''Mega Man X'' in 1993, and a cameo appearance in '' Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters''. In the latter, Zero was revealed to have been originally created by Dr. Wily sometime during 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. Despite some media referring to Zero as a Reploid, this is actually inaccurate, as Zero was not created from X's design. The two, later accompanied by Axl, fight Sigma, Vile, and other enemies throughout the series. While in the first two titles he only assists X during gameplay, he becomes an playable character in ''X3'', but is limited in gameplay. Zero debuts as a fully playable character in ''Mega Man X4'' making him one of the two playable characters along with X. In his scenario, Zero is haunted by nightmares of a shadowy figure (implied to be Wily) awakening him and giving him orders to destroy an unknown individual, and visions of ensuing carnage. Additionally, during his scenario, Sigma reminds him of the time that he led the Maverick Hunters, and the encounter between the two that led to a vicious battle that led to Sigma punching out the crystal on Zero's helmet, leading to Sigma later becoming infected with the Maverick Virus. Depending on the story development, Zero can be fought as a boss character in ''Mega Man X5''. In ''Mega Man X6'', Zero is not initially present in the game since he was presumed dead at the end of ''Mega Man X5'' during a fight against Sigma, but he becomes an optional character depending on how the story develops throughout the game. Zero is one of the two initially playable characters in ''Mega Man X7'', along with Axl, and Zero also appears in ''Mega Man X8'' as a playable character along with X and Axl. 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 video game '' Mega Man X: Command Mission''.

The ''Mega Man Zero'' series features Zero as the title character. Set around 100 years after the ''X'' series, Zero helps a scientist named Ciel fight the human city of Neo Arcadia, during which he destroys Omega - his original body, Dr. Weil, and Copy X, leader of Neo Arcadia, twice.Mega Man Zero Works, pp. 20-21 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 aids Mega Man against the true villain, The "Professor".

Zero also reprises his role from the first game in three mangas by Iwamoto Yoshihiro, and the prequel ''Irregular Maverick Hunter X'' by Ikehara Shigeto.

Other appearances

The ''Mega Man Zero'' version of Zero's character appears as a sub-boss in SNK's crossover fighting game '' SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos'' and as a hidden character in ''Onimusha Blade Warriors''. The ''Mega Man X'' version of Zero appears as a hidden character in '' Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars'' and as a playable character in '' Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds'', ''Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3'', '' Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite'', and ''Teppen''. and as a pair unit with X in ''Project X Zone'' and its sequel ''Project X Zone 2''. In the ''Marvel vs. Capcom 3'' titles, Zero was chosen to represent the "Mega Man" franchise over Mega Man himself, as director Ryota Niitsuma thought he had more variation in his moves. Zero also appears as a collectable trophy in ''Super Smash Bros. for Wii U'', and as an Assist Trophy in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate''. Both games feature a Mii Fighter costume based on Zero as downloadable content.

Zero's appearances in the two manga series based on the ''Mega Man X'' series resemble his video game portrayal. However, in the ''Mega Man Zero'' manga, Zero is depicted as a Reploid having two personalities depending on his usage of a helmet: without his helmet he is portrayed as cowardly, whereas the other one resembles his video game counterpart. Zero also makes guest appearances in the ''Mega Man'' comic series by Archie Comics, appearing in stories set shortly before the events of ''Mega Man X'' and as part of the "Worlds Unite" crossover event.

Reception

Zero's character was met with positive critical response by publications for video games. Game Revolution called him "mysterious, androgynous" and compared him to Proto Man

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