Zone of the Enders HD Collection Review

I like cult classics. I like Hideo Kojima. And you know what I really like? Giant robots. Giant robots that beat the crap out of each other and cause a ton of collateral damage to the surrounding area. So obviously, once I heard of it, I needed to pick up the Zone of the Enders HD Collection. This version of the games has gotten a lot of flack from reviewers, but it's not all true. In fact, most of their problems aren't really that major.

The Zone of the Enders HD Collection includes both Zone of the Enders and Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner. An awesome demo of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is also included, but I won't be getting into that. The Zone of the Enders games have always had this style and flair to them that I've loved since the start. The game is just too fun. Keep in mind this review is going to be a bit longer than most because I'm going to cover both the original Zone of the Enders, and the sequel.

The Zone of the Enders games take place in the late 22nd century. Humans have successfully colonized Mars and have space colonies in orbit around Jupiter. This is made possible through two things: The discovery of Metatron, which is a high energy ore, and the creation of the Laborious Extra-Orbital Vehicle, or LEV. The people on Earth, though, are prejudiced against the people who live on Mars and the Jupiter colonies, and were given them the slur "Enders." The people on Earth forced very harsh laws onto them. After years of oppression, the Enders decided to band together to rebel against the Earthlings, the most well-known group of these being BAHRAM. BAHRAM had obtained the Orbital Frame, a mech that pushes the use of Metatron to the limit, whose capabilities far surpass that of the LEV. The Orbital Frames will decide the fate of the earth and its colonies.

Zone of the Enders follows the story of Leo Stenbuck, who accidentally falls upon the Orbital Frame, Jehuty, while his colony is under attack by the forces of BAHRAM. After using Jehuty to survive the attack, he is ordered by Elena Weinberg to bring it to her so it can be sent off to Mars. He has to rescue civilians and fend off BAHRAM's forces along the way. The AI in Jehuty, ADA, is concerned with nothing more than completing the objective of getting Jehuty to Mars. Leo argues with ADA plenty of times about how saving innocent lives is just as, if not more important, than some robot going to another planet. The story isn't too good, and it's really short. If you ignore the bonus missions, you can beat the whole game in less than an afternoon. It's fun, but nothing special.