Spoilers for all Mega Man Zero entries preceding this one, particularly Mega Man Zero 2 are unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
Mega Man Zero 3 is a video game created by Capcom and Inti Creates for the Game Boy Advance in 2004, the third installment in the Mega Man Zero series.
Two months after the previous game, the world is on the lookout for the Dark Elf, who mysteriously disappeared after Elpizo's death. Suddenly, a spaceship emitting energy similar to the Dark Elf crashed in a distant tundra. Both Neo Arcadia and the Resistance set off to investigate, only for them to meet a powerful Reploid, Omega, and its mysterious master, Dr. Weil. Dr. Weil was once a war criminal from a hundred years ago, but he is surprisingly absolved of his crimes by none other than a resurrected Copy X, who resumes command of Neo Arcadia. Copy X, Dr. Weil, and Omega then challenge the Resistance (and Zero specifically) to a race to see who can capture the Dark Elf first.
This game pulls the Zero series even closer to the X series than Mega Man Zero 2 did, streamlining the game further into a Stage Select structure over a Mission structure. It also introduces new Chip upgrades and a new weapon: the tonfa-like Recoil Rod.
This game provides examples of:
- Adaptational Wimp: Omega (sans his final form). Despite Omega canonically being considered the most dangerous Reploid of all time, three of his four boss battles are relatively easy. Somewhat justified due to the limitations of the original Game Boy Advance hardware; Omega's full powers and combat abilities were unable to be shown—the most egregious example of this is his Fusion form. Here, his SWORD ALONE is multiple times bigger than Zero himself, and takes up almost 1/3 of the GBA's screen (and the whole damn thing can't even be shown on screen!!). Despite that, he just floats around.
- American Kirby Is Hardcore: The Japanese box art (page image) consists of Zero standing in front of a scarlet backdrop, coldly staring at the viewer; Omega is behind him, hinting at their connection. The American box art
◊ goes for a different direction: Zero is gritting his teeth in a dynamic pose, while dual-wielding this game's newly-introduced Recoil Rod. - Back from the Dead: Dr. Weil, being an expert in cloning, manages to bring back Copy-X as well as three of the Zero 1 bosses as part of his plans.
- Big Bad: Dr. Weil, who manages to usurp control of Neo Arcadia's government from Harpuia and later, Copy-X.
- Brainwashed and Crazy:
- The Eight Gentle Judges, when turned into Weil's Numbers, lose their benevolent natures and become nothing more than Weil's obedient enforcers, forcing Zero to cut them down.
- Omega, when fused with the Dark Elf, can cause other Reploids to become influenced under Weil's Mind Control, making them turn on humans as well as on Zero and Ciel.
- Co-Dragons: Copy-X Mark II, the Baby Elves, and Omega to Dr. Weil. The first is a figurehead put in place by Dr. Weil who takes command of Neo Arcadia from Harpuia. The second are convinced by Dr. Weil into helping him find their mother (The Dark Elf), and agree by helping him stop Zero. The third is Weil's most powerful minion, and the one capable of pulling off his Evil Plan in the first place.
- Cyberspace: Part of the gameplay, supposedly caused by the arrival of Omega. Entering it will cause some certain Cyber-elves in your possession (marked with "A") to activate at once, making you more powerful; it's Awesome, but Impractical, however, because 1) you can't get Secret Disks in Cyberspace, 2) entering it will cut some precious points off your score, 3) you'll eventually have to exit it before the stage's finish, so don't expect it to be useful on bosses. The sole exception to all of these rules is in the penultimate level, as only by entering Cyberspace can you fight Phantom, who's harder than the actual boss of the level (the Baby Elves) and said difficulty is likely why the mission score doesn't dock points as a result. Speaking of Phantom, he implies that cyberspace is a mix of Magical Database and a place where A.I.s of dead Reploids and cyber-elves go.
- Disc-One Final Boss: Copy-X Mark II is fought at the two-thirds mark of the game, and his death kicks the final stage of Weil's plans into high-gear.
- Dragon-in-Chief: While Weil is undoubtedly the Big Bad by having set the game's events into motion, Omega is the biggest threat that Zero faces, and the one that initiates Weil's Evil Plan. To drive it home, Omega's defeat spells the utter ruin of Weil's Evil Plan for 3.
- Elevator Action Sequence: When you get to the elevator, many mooks will come to get you. Oh, and a miniboss, too.
- Foreshadowing: Omega's first form bears some resemblance to Zero's classic design, most notably the spiky protrusions on the sides of his helmet and a long, flowing strand of hair reminiscent of Zero's ponytail.
- Fusion Dance: Omega absorbs the Dark Elf midway into the game, changing his armor from white to gold and bringing out his full potential.
- Hellevator: The Giant Elevator. You take a massive elevator deep into the Earth to fight a boss who's based off Cerberus.
- Legacy Boss Battle: Taking a secret detour in the second fortress stage will take you to a teleporter. Go inside, and you'll meet Phantom from the first game, or rather his "ghost" since he sacrificed himself. Defeat him and you'll get the Infinity Plus One Foot Chip.
- Locked Out of the Fight: The Guardians only show up to aid Zero after he defeats all three of the Final Boss' forms.
- Morally Superior Copy: The Zero that is the Player Character inhabits a copy body. Zero, having learned that he was the original viral Maverick, chose to go into suspended animation after the Maverick Wars, allowing the best Reploid scientists and programmers to study his mind and body; from that, the Mother Elf program was created to finally end the Maverick Virus threat. Dr. Weil, however, felt that Reploid-kind was getting off easy, so under the guise of his "Project Elpizo" he acquired Zero's body, upgraded it, renaming it Omega. Alongside corrupting the Mother Elf into the Dark Elf, this starts the Elf Wars which killed 60% of humanity and 90% of Reploids. Original Zero had a copy body quickly made so that he could fight alongside X to seal Omega away. Afterwards, Zero went back into hibernation, feeling the whole situation was his fault to begin with.
- Pet the Dog: During the intro level, Harpuia has his forces spare Zero's search party under the excuse that he has more pressing matters to attend to.
- Puppet King: Copy-X Mark II to Dr. Weil, something pretty much everyone but Copy-X can see until X told him to his face that Weil and Omega left him to die fighting Zero.
- Riding the Bomb: The latter half of a mission, including the level's Boss Battle, takes place inside a missile as it was launched towards an unsuspecting target.
- Recurring Boss: Both Omega and the Baby Elves are fought in two battles. The former is the Warm-Up Boss and Final Boss, while the latter are fought at the first third mark and the penultimate boss.
- Rule of Symbolism: The low-orbit spaceship that Omega was sealed away in is shaped like a sword. It's a literal Sword of Damocles hanging over Neo Arcadia.
- Series Fauxnale: This was meant to be the final game.
- Star Scraper: The Neo Arcadia Tower used to be a space elevator connecting Earth and the Moon. It doesn't go quite that far any more, thanks to the Maverick Wars, but its top floor is still high enough for the curvature of the Earth to be visible.
- Socialization Bonus: Connecting this game with either version of Mega Man Battle Network 4 allows a special chip trading that gives access to the Z-Saber in Battle Network and the Cyberspace in this game to host some of Battle Network's viruses as enemies instead of the regular ones.
- Tomato in the Mirror: Near the end of the game, Weil finally reveals what's been hinted at for most of the game: that this series' Zero is Zero's mind inhabiting a newer, inferior version of his body, and that his original (insanely powerful and powerfully insane) body is being piloted by Omega; a puppet mind under Weil's control. For anyone else, having to essentially fight yourself would give you at least a moment of pause, right? Zero does not give a single robotic crap, and even with his inferior body, he annihilates Omega—and his old body—with complete conviction. (Wait, didn't Cerveau state in the previous game that Zero's current body had more potential than his original body?)
- Wham Line: The Reveal before the final boss reveals his true form.Dr. Weil: Hehehehehe! Excellent, Zero! Your power is extraordinary, for a fake.
- The Worf Effect: Omega displays this a few times throughout the game, the first being right before the opening boss battle where he is shown dish-ragging two of the remaining members of The Four Guardians, considered the most powerful Reploids that Neo Arcadia had to offer. They couldn't do squat to him. After the boss battle, Harpuia shows up and does manage to temporarily hurt him, though Omega regenerates. Later on, during the halfway point, Omega merges with the Dark Elf after a populated city was destroyed due to a missile he was aboard. Harpuia tries to attack Omega again. It doesn't work. Harpuia is taken out of commission for at least 1/3 of the second half of the game.
- You Can't Thwart Stage One:
- Zero has to stop a missile from hitting a populated residential area. When you arrive, the missile is launched, and then you ride onto it, trying to destroy the inactive Omega inside. Unfortunately, the Baby Elves hold you in the middle, long enough for the missile to reach its destination and claim thousands of lives. Ergo, Zero is prevented from saving any innocent lives other than Sage Harpuia.
- Later, Zero tries to stop Copy X Mk. II, and then it's revealed that Weil is just using them as his Unwitting Pawns to become the ruler of Neo Arcadia.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Ultimately, Copy-X Mark II is nothing more than a figurehead for Dr. Weil who is disposed of once he's no longer of use to the latter and already facing defeat at the hands of Zero. In a rage, Copy-X tries to go One-Winged Angel to get his revenge on both Zero and Weil, only to put the final nail in his own coffin by triggering the self-destruct Weil put inside his body.
