20th anniversary of the release of “ANUBIS ZONE OF THE ENDERS”. Even now, there is no robot game that surpasses this work!Looking back on super masterpieces that make you think so

Speaking of 2003, 20 years ago from now, it was about 3 years after the PlayStation 2 was released. It was around this time that each company was getting used to handling PS2, and various masterpieces were appearing.

For example, “Final Fantasy X-2”, “Shin Megami Tensei III NOCTURNE”, and “Shin Sangoku Musou 3” were released around this time, and some of you may remember that each was a big hit.

“ANUBIS ZONE OF THE ENDERS” (ANUBIS), which made its market debut on February 13, 2003, is a sequel to the previous work “ZONE OF THE ENDERS” (ZOE) released about two years ago. It was produced by Kojima Productions at the time.

As this work celebrates its 20th anniversary today on February 13, I would like to look back on the memories and charm of the work in this article.

At first, I thought, “Isn’t it too heavy to move such a robot smoothly on PS2?” . However, in “ZOE”, the main character’s personality, the story that felt like I was forced to use it from start to finish, and the exhilarating feeling that I wanted to hear again, I felt like I was incompletely burned.

“ANUBIS”, which was released two years after that, far from dispelling the lackluster part of “ZOE”, it appeared with a degree of perfection that was even more than that, and it took my breath away. I still can’t forget the shock and excitement I felt when I played the beta version DVD-ROM for the first time.

The story of this work was as follows.

In the 22nd century, mankind has expanded its field of activity to the Jupiter sphere with the power of a mineral called “Metatron”. However, on Mars, the extremist military organization Bahram rises to power, and it develops into a battle with the United Space Forces centered on the Earth Sphere. Bahram’s side developed the Orbital Frame, a humanoid mobile weapon that uses Metatron. Overwhelming the Allied Space Force’s Mobile Weapon Rev, he was advancing the battle in an advantageous manner. As a revival plan, the Allied Space Force moves to seize the new Orbital Frames Anubis and Jehuty, which are currently under construction in Colony Antilia in the Jupiter sphere. However, they succeeded in securing Jehuty. Then, after several battles, Leo, a civilian who happened to board, escapes from Antilia.

After that, Dingo Egrit, who was doing mining work aboard Rev, accidentally discovered Jehuty, which had been abandoned on Jupiter’s moon Callisto for strategic reasons. However, when he got off Lev and was investigating Jehuty, he was suddenly attacked by the Bahram army. Dingo climbs into Jehuty and fights as a runner (pilot) to protect his comrades. Unaware of the cruel fate that awaits them…

The player manipulates a humanoid mobile weapon Orbital Frame, which looks like a mobile suit on which a dingo rides, and advances the story while fighting enemies that appear.

Main character Dingo. He is shot and loses his cardiopulmonary function and nearly dies, but is resuscitated by power supplied by Jehuty to the heart-lung machine.Jehuty’s Runner

The orbital frame Jehuty, piloted by Dingo.Yoji Shinkawa, who is familiar with the “Metal Gear Solid” series, was in charge of mechanical design for this work.

Nouman, the runner of Anubis.He doesn’t know Dingo, and refuses his invitation early in the game, leading to Dingo being shot and nearly killed.

Orbital Frame Anubis driven by Nouman.Jehuty is a brother machine, and it is also the current strongest machine.

Orbital Frame Arjait Runner Ken Marineris, who appears in the first boss battle.Since then, she and Dingo have been dating for a long time in the form of a couple comedy.

The orbital frame Arjeit, in which Ken is the runner, has a design that exudes a feminine appearance.From now on, we will act together several times

The main character of the previous work, Leo Stenbach.In this work, get off Jehuty and drive a new aircraft, Vic Viper

Vic Viper that Leo gets in. Located between the Orbital Frame and Rev, it can change between flight form and human form.The way it shoots ripple lasers is reminiscent of the Gradius series.

The main feature of this work is that you can control a huge robot called an orbital frame, move smoothly, and get the pleasure of defeating enemies. There were many games in which the movement of the aircraft was not so much, but instead the weapons such as missiles flew at a dizzying pace. However, in “ANUBIS”, the ship moves brilliantly according to the operation, and the opponent is attacked with a variety of prepared attack methods. Players were able to recreate it with their own hands.

In addition to being able to “float like a butterfly and sting like a bee”, it can shoot countless homing lasers from a distance to wipe out small enemies, or store charges to shoot high-powered burst shots. In addition, it was full of robot action romance, such as mowing down obstacles with a large gun battery with high firepower. What’s more, you can experience fighting hundreds of enemies with just one machine, so it’s no surprise that it has captured the hearts of users who love robot anime as well as action games.

Also, at this time, I had the impression that it was natural for this kind of robot game to involve complicated operations. However, with this game, you don’t have to worry about that. If the distance to the enemy is close, just press the □ button to slash with the blade (sword), and if you move away, it will automatically attack with a shot.

What’s more, just by repeatedly hitting the □ button, there is also a brilliant technique that allows you to parry the opponent’s blade attack with your own blade, so you don’t have to rush to guard. It was also wonderful that the uneasiness of robot action games, which had been thought to be difficult until then, was completely dispelled.

By simply hitting the button four times, you can damage your opponent with a crisp four-consecutive combo.

12.png 13.png 14.png The motion was cool, and I felt like I was the main character of a robot anime.Enemy attacks can also be parried with a blade just by pressing the □ button.

Burst Shot, a charging attack

Take some distance from the enemy and press and hold the □ button while pressing the R2 button to enter a charge motion, and release to fire. The longer you store it, the more powerful it becomes, but you can also miss it.High risk, high return is a weapon

In scenes where many unmanned fighters are attacking, you can shoot homing lasers from a distance to defeat them, or you can plunge into the enemy’s dense area and slash with your blade.Either way, you can beat it comfortably

In addition to the main blade attack, you can also grab the opponent by aiming at the ski, swing it around or throw it at the wall, peel off the bar-shaped stage outer wall material and throw it like a spear, etc. You can do most of what you would do in .

You can grab an enemy by approaching them and pressing the ○ button.

There are many variations from here, and you can not only throw it as it is, but also swing it around and hit a wall, or hold it and use it as a shield to prevent enemy attacks. It was amazing to be able to almost do what I thought, “I want to do that if I get on a robot!”

The orbital frame Jehuty that the player drives can also be equipped with a sub weapon. All of them work wonderfully, but one that deserves special mention is the “Vector Cannon.” This is a large cannon that can only be used when Jehuty’s legs are installed, but it takes about 15 seconds from the time it prepares to fire to the time it shoots, but the production is excellent anyway. Jehuty is equipped with an independent combat support unit “ADA (Ada)”. is exactly what the brain juice pops out.

Moving into Vector Cannon Mode gradually opens up a variety of options around Jehuty

At the same time, the gauge fills up with Ada’s narration, “Inside the chamber, normal pressurization”.

When you let go of the button with the final “I can shoot” signal, a high-output laser is emitted. You can get the same catharsis as the Wave Cannon in “Space Battleship Yamato”

In addition, another type of sub-weapon “Zero Shift” is also hot. You can only get it at the end of the game, but when you use it, the screen will be distorted for a moment, and then you’ll instantly go around behind the opponent you’ve locked on to.

Of course, the enemies that are surrounded are defenseless, so you can boil or bake them as you like. If you can use this from the beginning, you’ll end up being unrivaled from the beginning, just like in modern light novels, but you can actually get it near the end, so there’s no need to worry about that. In terms of RPG, it can be expressed as a character who has worked hard to obtain the final secret spell and carry the final battle to an advantage. In addition, the final enemy, Anubis, will be a battle of zero shift vs zero shift, so an even hotter development awaits.

Zero Shift is a cheat-like technique that allows you to go behind your opponent just by pressing a button. And yet there is nothing to consume, so it can be said that it is exactly a balance breaker. You can get it at the end of the game, but if it’s the second lap after clearing it, you can also operate Jehuty, who can use Zero Shift from the beginning.If you start with a so-called “strong and new game”, you can be matchless against the enemy Orbital Frame.

The story development is also very well thought out, so it was so well done that there was no part that didn’t get excited from the beginning to the middle and the end. In the first place, Dingo had his Lev destroyed by the Bahram army, so he happened to get into the Jehuty in front of him. However, as various human relationships intersect, he is shot by Nouman and nearly dies.

After that, Ken’s hands resuscitate him with the power of a heart-lung machine supplied by Jehuty, but he is declared dead if he gets off Jehuty. How will the hero in such a state fight in the future, and what will happen in the end?

This is a series of scenes where Dingo is shot by Nouman. These scenes were made with animation, not CG.Gonzo, who is familiar with late-night anime and blockbuster anime movies, was in charge of the production.

The BGM in the previous work “ZONE OF THE ENDERS” didn’t leave a lasting impression, but in “ANUBIS” it was reborn as a song that remains firmly in the heart. Especially when I saw the opening for the first time, the matching with the song “Beyond the Bounds.” The music on stage was also different from the previous work, with intense ones, and on the other hand, ethnic-style songs, all of which fit perfectly with my tastes.

It’s rare that an action game’s BGM touched the heartstrings so far, so in that sense, it was engraved in my heart as a more impressive work. Now, although it is not the PS2 version, the official has uploaded the opening part to YouTube, so please check it out.

Now, the remastered work “ANUBIS ZONE OF THE ENDERS: M∀RS” of this work has been released on PS4 / Steam, so it seems that the threshold for playing is not so high.

The latest console machine features a story that allows you to fully enjoy the feeling of a robot anime hero, parts that allow you to experience battles with a high degree of freedom with easy controls, high-quality BGM that matches the scene, and animation that excites the story. Even in today’s world when the game is on the market, even the original PS2 version can be said to be as complete as any game.

Even now, I hear that there are endless requests for a sequel, and it makes sense. It seems that there are many users who are waiting, so I can’t help but hope that good news will jump in on this occasion.