Above left, the only known piece of art of Zero's scrapped Ultimate Armor. The Japanese text reads:
"The truth is, Zero was going to have a Mega Armor, too. For various circumstances, we wound up with just X this time. You want to know what his Mega Armor would have been like? Well, it has to do with Zero’s connection to W… actually, I’m not allowed to say any more than that. But, at least I can show you the rough design. I hope that sometime it will see the light of day. That’s all for now! Enjoy Rockman X4!"
#20's analysis/observations:
"This armor sported a face guard and a central fin on the top of the head, along with a claw-like beam blade emitted from each arm and an overall spikier design. And are those wings in the back? The note pointing to them reads “these parts connect to his hair portion (the hair transforms)”. Transforming hair? Interesting! Could this have been what fans were so often craving, an armor bestowed upon Zero by his father, Dr. Wily? Not that black Zero isn’t awesome, but it’s a little sad to think we could have had this in X4, and instead got a recolor that played exactly the same. It’s a blast to compare this design with Command Mission‘s Absolute Zero."
To say this was a loss is an understatement. Transforming hair? Uh, awesome! I guess all we can do from here is merely imagine the possibilities this guise would have held... that and think of the merchandise and model kits it could have warranted. This is all too much for me... what a pity.
Full report on Zero's armor and a little history behind X's own available at The Reploid Research Lavatory. Thanks, Andrew!
It does certainly look more Wily-ish.
ReplyDeleteLooks like Zero almost did the transforming hair thing long before Bayonetta.
ReplyDeleteIt looks a bit... too overdone, to be honest.
ReplyDeleteLike way too much stuff going on at once, kinda like how Tribe King was. Too many clashing features and over-sized parts of armor.
Eh, don't like the design all that much. With that huge antenna and huge talon feet. Looks a little overdone all-round.
ReplyDeleteI do like the mouth guard though. Guess that's something he eventually got in Zero.EXE :D
@Ash Paulsen Hah. My mind totally went to Bayonetta too.
ReplyDeleteIf you look at it in individual parts, you could see certain elements used in earlier and later games: for example, the chest, shoulder, and feet remind me of Sigma's X2 look; while some of X's other armors, such as the Blade, Shadow, and Falcon, have elements coming from here: heck, you could even see stuff from MMZ Zero & Zero.exe influences in this.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, this ISN'T the imposter posting: This is the Real Rock-X here.
I'm actually pretty glad they had the sense to abort this monstrosity when they had the chance. It's just too much of, well, everything. I think it's absence says enough about how great an idea it was. I agree with Zero's comment on the subject: "I don't need any upgrades."
ReplyDeleteHm.. I feel it's kinda like Harpuia.
ReplyDeleteReminds me a ton of the Shadow Armor.
ReplyDeleteThe transforming hair would definitely explain why Wily would even give a robot long hair in the first place.
Long hair in combat is a dangerous liability. Grab it, throw the person around, etc. Makes sense, then, that it's a converting storage unit for a flight adapter. Very much looks like an adapted Treble Boost, although very strange-looking. Head horn? Hand blades? Face mask?
...what...did Wily think the Shredder was the ultimate fighting setup?
Suddenly, I picture Irregular Zero going bat@#*& in this armor. He's a walking Ginsu machine!! Definitely looks unlike anything I've ever seen before, too. (The closest match I can figure is, of all robots, Cyber Peacock.)
ReplyDeleteThose wings and twin blades kinda remind me of Harpuia's abilities. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteWell, now we know Zero's a hermaphrodite.
ReplyDeleteNot only does he have boob lights.
He now has a crotch slug.
... It's fugly.
ReplyDelete