For as bleak as this series can get, there's just as much hope and happiness.
Mega Man Zero
- Notice how things change as you complete missions. When you start out, the entire Resistance lives in a derelict hole with very little security in what is implied to be the remnants of a city. Everyone is generally gloomy, but they welcome and try to befriend Zero to the best of their ability, especially Alouette, who treats Ciel like her big sister and constantly roots for you. Your first mission post-saving Ciel in the intro is to save a few Reploids from 'retirement.' These Reploids aren't just random guys who completely disappear after first being mentioned - they appear in the Resistance base and one of them even thanks you for saving his life. This sets the tone for the entire game as the Resistance continues to grow as you rescue more men and women from retirement, until the shoddy place is packed to the gills with friendly faces who react to the situation around them and spur you to keep going. It just goes to show how every little act Zero performs really makes him a Hope Bringer for all.
- Andrew's backstory. He's a Reploid in the Resistance who looks like an old man, despite that fact that Reploids don't physically age like humans do. It turns out he did originally look younger, but then he fell in love with and married a human girl. As she grew older, he would periodically alter his appearance to look the same age she did. When she finally passed away, he kept his elderly appearance as a way to always remember her.
- Crossing into awesome territory, but the ending. The mysterious Cyber Elf who's been helping you turns out to be the ghost of X himself, and though Zero's lost a lot of his memories, he instantly agrees to help X bear the weight of the world when asked. It doesn't matter if their bodies aren't the same, and it won't matter two hundred years from now, either - the duo that is X and Zero are inseparable.
Mega Man Zero 2
- At the beginning, a lot of La Résistance soldiers are overjoyed to see Zero back with them once more, especially Ciel. They can all be seen running straight for the infirmary, calling out his name.
- The ending. The Dark Elf briefly transforms into the Mother Elf again specifically to give Elpizo a second chance. Elpizo, for his part, averts the common cliche of Mega Man villains angrily ranting about their ideals to the very end, and admits that he was wrong. For a Mega Man villain, that takes a lot of self-reflection. His reward is to become a Cyber Elf, just like X, and he wishes Zero the best before flying off. Despite all the crap her release has caused for the Resistance and Neo Arcadia, Zero and X both allow the Mother Elf to leave to enjoy her freedom for the first time in at least a century.
Mega Man Zero 3
- A subtle one takes place over the series involving Ciel. At the start of the series, she acts as your save point, and always says she'll 'save your data.' Then, starting at the first intermission stage in 3 she starts saying she'll save 'our' data. After all Ciel and Zero have been through together, this small, almost insignificant change in wording demonstrates how the two have become True Companions.
- The ending after Zero's Tomato in the Mirror moment: "I am Zero."
- Not only that, but the entire Resistance, Cerveau and Ciel especially, reaffirm their faith and trust in Zero, different body or no. It really was the heart that mattered in the end, and despite Zero's claims to the contrary, he has spent the past few centuries being a true hero. After everything he has done for the Resistance and Reploid rights in general, they weren't about to let a different body distract them from acknowledging Zero as the legendary hero.
Mega Man Zero 4
- After defeating Craft for the second time, Zero finally showing where his true loyalties lie. And this was before his immortal speech.
- Zero keeping his promise to X up to the very end.
- As mentioned in the Awesome page, Zero's final act in general serves to put a very nice bow over the character that originated all the way back in the original Mega Man X. By slaying Weil, Zero has wordlessly explained what he's always been fighting for, finally giving Iris's death meaning. By saving Area Zero, Zero was able to live up to Wily's original dreams of being a hero. And by defending Neige, Zero created the link between human and Reploid that Ciel had been trying to achieve for so long. Dr. Light's dream is no longer hopeless idealism, and will in fact shape the politics of the next two centuries, creating the peace X himself had always wanted.
General Examples
- The Cyber Elves are masses of sentient data willing to sacrifice their lives to aid the people they put their trust in...and in turn, a significantly skilled player can spare every last one of them. In fact, Ciel's research revolves around the Cyber Elves, and a mere two months after 2, she's perfected an Elf that no longer has to die to give its powers.
