History VideoGame / ZoneOfTheEnders

->''Message of the blowing wind''\\
''Erasing memories''\\
''Stars are the witnesses of our existence''\\
''Change is what the world awaits''\\
''Could that be peace or war?''\\
''The answer no one knows''\\
''Trusting the break of dawn''\\
''The blue bird flies away''

This game was accompanied by a sort of franchise-building initiative with several tie-in products. ''Zone of the Enders: 2167 IDOLO'', a prequel [[AnimeOfTheGame anime]] [[OriginalVideoAnimation OVA]] starring Viola Gyune (TheDragon of the game) and Radium Lavans, was released just before the game's launch. The protagonists join a resistance movement against the Earth using Idolo, the first Orbital Frame. This was followed by a full TV Series, ''Zone of the Enders: Dolores, i'', where a space trucker named James Links receives the Orbital Frame Dolores from his estranged wife Rachel, one of Idolo's designers and a casualty of the OVA's events. The frame curiously thinks of the trucker as her uncle, spurring James to seek out and reconcile with his children. Both the OVA and TV series received DVD releases, and later in 2012 (in Japan), re-released on Blu-ray.

The original, eponymous game (more distinctly titled ''Zone of the Enders: Z.O.E.'' in Japan) was a high-speed [[MechaGame mecha]] combat game released in 2001 for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2. Leo Stenbuck, a kid living in a space colony orbiting Jupiter, [[FallingIntoTheCockpit falls into the cockpit]] of a SuperPrototype Orbital Frame named Jehuty when the colony is attacked by the Martian rebel group, BAHRAM. Leo quickly discovers that BAHRAM has come to the colony for Jehuty, but realizes that their reign of terror won't end if he hands over the machine. With the help of Jehuty's [[ArtificialIntelligence AI]] program, ADA, Leo sets out to break through BAHRAM's forces, save his fellow colonists, and deliver Jehuty to the [[TheFederation UNSF]] on the other side of the colony. ''Zone of the Enders'' for [=PlayStation=] 2 had brisk initial sales, mostly attributed to the fact that [[PreviewPiggybacking the game was packaged with a demo for]] ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty Metal Gear Solid 2]]''. For many players, the first ''Zone of the Enders'' was "the free game" that came with their demo. Nonetheless, the game sold well enough to gain a cult following of its own.

In 2002, a TurnBasedStrategy SpinOff game, ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEndersTheFistOfMars'' (''Z.O.E. 2173 Testament'' in Japan), was released for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance. A boy named Cage Midwell finds a strangely powerful LEV hidden on a cruise liner. He climbs aboard along with a mysterious girl just before the ship is destroyed. The duo falls in with the rebel group BIS, which seeks to free Mars from UNSF oppression. ''The Fist of Mars'' plays similar to the ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' series, but changes the formula with a crosshair-aligning gameplay system that determines whether attacks hit or miss. Although stats determine how difficult this is, any unit can hit any enemy and dodge any attack if the player plays skillfully.

A sequel, ''Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner'' (''ANUBIS: Zone of the Enders'' in Japan), was released on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 in 2003. Ice miner and former BAHRAM soldier Dingo Egret finds Jehuty hidden on Callisto. Hostile BAHRAM soldiers arrive and Dingo is forced to fight his way to their command ship, where he meets his old colleague and BAHRAM's leader, Nohman. Dingo refuses an offer to rejoin the group, so Nohman [[CombatPragmatist shoots him]]. Dingo wakes up hardwired to Jehuty's life-support systems, unable to leave the cockpit. Ken Marinaris, a soldier Dingo fought on Callisto, explains that she's a UNSF spy and requests his assistance in exchange for having saved his life. Dingo escapes to Mars, battles BAHRAM forces, and clashes with Leo Stenbuck in the [[VideoGame/{{Gradius}} Vic Viper]]. He steels himself to settle the score with Nohman and finish the destined battle between Jehuty and its EvilCounterpart, Anubis.

Despite middling sales, ''Zone of the Enders'' continues to be a cult favorite and was a bit of a pet project for Kojima. A [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2012-05-25/kojima-unveils-zone-of-enders-sequel-project sequel]] was announced in 2012, showing off DarkerAndEdgier looks for Jehuty and Anubis and promising more fantasy elements. An [[UpdatedRerelease HD]] [[CompilationRerelease Collection]] of the first two console games was released in October 2012 for UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 and UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}} ([[MythologyGag and came with a demo for]] ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance''). Unfortunately, the ports were poorly remastered and ended up running at worse frame rates than the [=PlayStation=] 2 versions. In response, Kojima Productions and Hexa Drive (the same folks behind the HD re-releases of ''VideoGame/{{Rez}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'') created a patch to fix the errors introduced by the original porting team, Creator/HighVoltageSoftware. The patch was released in July 2013, rectifying the [=PlayStation 3=] version of ''The 2nd Runner'' while the Xbox 360 version and both versions of the original game were left untouched. The UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita version of the HD Collection and [[http://www.siliconera.com/2013/05/02/we-might-have-to-wait-a-little-longer-for-a-zone-of-the-enders-sequel/ the would-be-sequel]] were QuietlyCanceled.

Another remaster of ''The 2nd Runner'', titled "''Zone of The Enders: The 2nd Runner M∀RS''" was announced at Sony's TGS 2017 Press Conference. Developed by Konami in conjunction with Creator/{{Cygames}}, this new remaster includes enhanced 4K graphics, remastered sound design for 5.1 surround sound presentation, and the ability to play through the entire game in VR from the perspective of the inside of Jehuty's cockpit (hence why the A in "''M∀RS''" is upside down in the logo). It was released on UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and [[UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows PC]] via UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} on September 4, 2018.

* EvilKnockoff: The mass-produced Ifrits are this to the Orbital Frame "Testament" that Cage pilots.