History Videogame / MegaManZX

** [[InvertedTrope So they're actually pretty usual.]]

*** Albert also qualifies, what with him being the MagnificentBastard.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:[[MagnificentBastard Master Albert]]'s demise comes from his own back-up body Grey and his unaltered descendent Ashe.]]

* TheJimmyHartVersion: ZX Advent's boss theme's guitar line sounds similar to the chiptune line in Music/TheProtomen's Due Vendetta. (ZXA came out in 2007 while the Protomen song in question came out in 2003.)

** [[FridgeBrilliance Fridge Brilliance]]: In mythology, neither Pandora nor Prometheus meant to do any damage. [[spoiler:Guess what characters are revealed to having been coerced into fighting for Albert?]]

** The Enemy Mega Men's names in the second game (as well as Prometheus and Pandora's names) are taken from Saturn's moons.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome: Loaded with this, especially ZX Advent. Here's an [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsVdFQRTZcU example]], and a more [[XtremeKoolLetterz X-TREME]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MctUWQsl33Q example!]] Keep in mind that during gameplay, [[GameplayAndStorySegregation MegaMerging takes less than a second]].

* ReviveKillsZombie: Advent's final boss has some otherwise hard-to-avoid attacks if not for the fact that transforming into Chronoforce makes you immune to two of them, and another can be easily avoided by using Model H and upward-dashing then hovering over the blue lasers.

** [[RedVsBlue So that would make him... a gay robot?]]

** Aeolus, Atlas, Siarnaq, and Thetis for Harpuia, Fefnir, Phantom, and Leviathan are the most obvious ones. [[FridgeBrilliance Their Biometals are even the same letter as the first letter of their counterparts' names!]]

* [[{{ExtraEyes}} Extra Eyes Sensors]]/[[EyesDoNotBelongThere Eye Sensors Do Not Belong There]]: Many of the [[QuirkyMiniBossSquad Pseudoroids]] and [[spoiler: Serpent's [[OneWingedAngel One Winged Angel]] Form]] have extra sets of eyes somewhere on their bodies, Some are rather hard to notice like Vulturon's[[hottip:* : Look at his official artwork and think how he would look without his head.]] and some are rather obvious like Lurerre's, the mechanical nature of them means that it is more cool then creepy though... [[FridgeBrilliance Until]]

* DiscontinuityNod: [[spoiler:Model A]]'s true origins.

* [[ShoutOutVideoGames Shout Out]]:

* CreatorThumbprint: Arguably, but many characters listed in the character sheet (and even most [=NPCs=]) have FingerlessGloves, big anklets and bracers, headphone-like ears, and black latex-like skin-tight suit that covers all of their skin (except for the face). This can be traced back to ''Zero'' series.

* AttackablePickup: Any large powerup can be carved into several smaller powerups of different types using a bladed weapon. So if you didn't need all that health or weapon energy, or you just don't care about 64 more E-Crystals at the moment, get out a saber.

** Vulturon: Zombielike? Check. Uses a guitar? Check. Has a crazy rocker personality? Check. He must've been taking some notes from [[((Darkstalkers}} Lord Raptor]].

* XtremeKoolLetterz: Justified, ''ZX'' stands for Zero]] and X.

** [[FridgeBrilliance Fridge Brilliance]]: In mythology, neither Pandora nor Prometheus meant to do any damage. [[spoiler:Guess what characters are revealed to having been coerced into fighting for Albert?.]]

* [=~Hey, It's That Voice!~=]:
** Grey, Master Albert, Pandora, and Master Mikhail's English [=VAs=] were (respectively) X, Zero, Alia, and Sigma from ''{{Mega Man X}}7''.
** SanaeKobayashi voices [[TalkingToHimself both Vent and Aile]] in ''ZX''. Kobayashi still voices Aile in the sequel, but Vent is now voiced by KenjiNojima.
** Hearing [[TheKingOfFighters Iori Yagami]]'s [[KunihikoYasui voice]] come out of [[CampGay Rospark's]] mouth makes all of those theories about his FoeYay with Kyo seem both [[HilariousInHindsight funnier]] and [[HarsherInHindsight worse]] at the same time.
** Ashe [[AmiKoshimizu is]] [[CodeGeass Kallen]], which ''completely'' justifies her status as an ActionGirl.
** Bifrost in ''ZX Advent'' is voiced by Jeff Manning. If you've ever heard of a little series called ''SuperSmashBros.'', you'll know that he was the voice of the {{Narrator}} and Master Hand in the first game.

* [=~I Am Who?~=]: The protagonists said this word-for-word in the games. The ones who play the trope the straightest is Grey and Ashe, as they don't know who they really are.

* [=~What Do You Mean, It's Not Awesome?~=]: Loaded with this, especially ZX Advent. Here's an [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsVdFQRTZcU example]], and a more [[XtremeKoolLetterz X-TREME]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MctUWQsl33Q example!]] Keep in mind that during gameplay, [[GameplayAndStorySegregation MegaMerging takes less than a second]].
* [=~What Do You Mean, It's Not Symbolic?~=]:

** The operator in Hunter's Camp in ''Advent'' is named Nana, like the operator from ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX Command Mission]]''.

* [=~Everything's Better With Monkeys~=]: Purprill of ''ZX''.
* [=~Everything's Better With Spinning~=]:

** Hedgeshock of ''ZXA'' also has a rolling dash attack, akin to {{Sonic}}.

** Some of the Pseudoroids have an uncanny resemblence to other characters. Fistleo's resemblence to [[StreetFighter Akuma]] has not gone unnoticed by many fans. Likewise, Hedgeshock/Tesrat looks like the robotic spawn of SonicTheHedgehog and [[{{Pokemon}} Pikachu]].

** FridgeBrilliance: The tagline really explains the ScrewDestiny theme of the series, and the Biometal's power to shape the Biomatch's destiny, as elaborated by Ciel.

* DestroyableItems: A ''good'' variation, where any large powerup can be carved into several smaller powerups of different types using a bladed weapon. So if you didn't need all that health or weapon energy, or you just don't care about 64 more E-Crystals at the moment, get out a saber.

** Before boarding the Ouroboros-bound [[CoolAirship Guardian Base]], one of the Hunters says "What do you think the bounty might be on booty[[hottip:*:the Ouroboros]] that [[BabyGotBack big]]? [[AllMenArePerverts I'm getting excited just thinking about it!]]"

** Spidrill from the Tower of Verdure is potentially the second boss you fight. It does a lot of damage, has hard-to-dodge attacks, and you can die instantly from [[InstantDeathSpikes spikes.]] And you have little health at this point. To make matters worse, it's only a mini-boss.

* AwesomeYetImpractical: Chronoforce's Time Bomb.

* CampGay: Rospark. A rose-based Reploid with a clownish voice who enjoys fighting Grey while acting like Ashe is full of cooties, has a large, pink ''very'' phallic rod at his groin area (but also another one on his head, and both of them are used in combination with the drill on his chest to fire his Mad Charge Beam attack), and ''[[BaraGenre is a rose]]''... Is there any other way to take that?

* The colors of the area icons on Advent's world map correspond with the element of that level's boss.

** The title character him/herself. ''VideoGame/MegaManZX'' is the {{Expy}} of Zero.

** Aeolus. If you [[SocialDarwinist call others "fools"]] and aiming to eliminate them, than you qualify for this position.
** Albert also qualifies, what with him being the MagnificentBastard.

* PowerGivesYouWings: Sort of. During cutscenes, Mega Man ZX's hair will appear as wings first and drop/combine into hair second.
** PowerMakesYourHairGrow: They grow blonde hair when they transformed into Mega Man ZX.

* RedEyesTakeWarning: The Enemy Mega Men and Albert. The latter combines it with BlackEyesOfEvil, interestingly, as shown in Grey's intro cutscene, he had these, before they turned into GreenEyes. As Pandora stated, it's because his [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwashing]] was incomplete, so it's justified.

** Jumping from the above two, there's a "earth vs sky" theme within the good guys and the bad guys. Discounting Serpent, of course.

** Atlas (Mega Man F) from ''Advent'' is actually female.
** Inverted: In Greek Mythology, Tethys and Thetis were both female figures and Siarnaq is named after an Inuit goddess... Clearly, the folks at Capcom were SadlyMythtaken.
** Helios is occasionally referred to as Hyperion, one of Saturn's many moons. Thus, it sticks.

* DiagonalCut[=/=]HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: Blade weapons will result in this to the {{Mooks}} and some bosses if it's used for the final blow. A carryover from the ''Zero'' series.

** Chronoforce looking to "take my sweet time manhandling you" during the BossRush rematch.

** The spider droid from the Tower of Verdure is potentially the second boss you fight. It does a lot of damage, has hard-to-dodge attacks, and you can die instantly from spikes. And you have little health at this point. To make matters worse, it's only a mini-boss.

* [=~Everything's Worse With Bees~=]: Queenbee in ''Advent''. The fact that she loves terror and despair just makes it worse.

** Aeolus, Atlas, Siarnaq, and Thetis for Harpuia, Fefnir, Phantom, and Leviathan are the most obvious ones.

* CampGay: Rospark. A rose-based Reploid with a clownish voice who enjoys fighting Grey while acting like Ashe is full of cooties, has a large, pink ''very'' phallic rod at his groin area, and ''[[BaraGenre is a rose]]''... Is there any other way to take that?

* FridgeBrilliance[=/=]FridgeHorror: Why does the Pseudoroids have extra eyes? [[spoiler: Likely a property of [[ArtifactOfDoom Model W]], and considering it is very much a EldritchAbomination thematically, and that Humans and Reploids are and consider each other the same now the logical conclusion on exactly [[BodyHorror how this would be seen as by the people inside the setting,]] Add in the dialogs the Pseudoroids have and you realize that at least some (Like Purprill) of them were around at least in some form before gaining the power of whatever model they are infused with, not to mention their absolute devotion and belief to Model W you realize that they are basically mutilated cultists.]]

* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: In the first game, when you talk to the civilians when you're Megamerged, they'll flip out, as you'll be mistaken as a Maverick. You have to transform back into your human form first.
** Played differently in the sequel, as you can talk to the civilians in Model A form, and if you are using another form when you're going to talk to them (or when you're entering cutscenes), [[NoCutsceneInventoryInertia you'll automatically transform into]] [[ShapeshifterDefaultForm the Model A form.]]
*** Somewhat justified in that said civilians are all Hunters and fully aware of Biometal, Pseudoroids and Mega Men, where as the civilians in ''ZX'' are just your average townsfolk.

* AllAccordingToPlan

* AltumVidetur: ''ZX''[='s=] final battle theme is titled "Pallida Mors" (pale death).

** However, it ''will'' save your bacon in the BossRush.

** Mind you, that doesn't stop Aeolus from being one of the most devastatingly effective forms in the game.
* AwesomeYetImpractical: Chronoforce's Time Bomb, which disrupts sensory functions to give off the illusion of [[BulletTime time slowing down tremendously]]. As awesome as this sounds, there are two drawbacks. For one, Chronoforce is ''a sitting duck'' outside of the water, as he lacks mobility. Plus, the ability eats up your [[ManaMeter energy]] [[NeverHeardThatOneBefore like a hot knife slices through butter]]. You'll probably get the most use out of this [[UnderwaterBossBattle in your fight with Thetis]], but that's probably about it.
** Not quite, Chronoforce may be a sitting duck, but the Time Bomb works even if you switch forms. Which makes this AwesomeYetPractical.
** Sorry, I should have clarified. In Normal Mode, Time Bomb is indeed an AwesomeYetPractical ability, provided that you have obtained most (if not all) of the upgrades. However, [[HarderThanHard Expert]] is another story. There, you get practically ''nothing''. ''No'' health upgrades, ''no'' energy upgrades, only ''one'' subtank, and any health-restoring items that you find along the way. ''That's it''. And given that with no extra energy, Time Bomb chews out about two-thirds of your already meager energy meter and you take ''extra'' damage from enemy attacks... you should see where I'm going with this. Of course, slowing down your enemies does provide you a bit of a breather... unless it's Albert as Mega Man Model W, who specifically whips out ''his own'' Time Bomb to negate yours.
** Even without any upgrades, Chronoforce has GameBreaker status. Take it a step further with fighting bosses: Use Chronoforce and Model ZX to win! ''Always!''
** Chronoforce is also completely immune to two of the final boss' annoying to avoid attacks (the lock-on explosions and ''especially'' the two spinning blades).

* BadExportForYou: The European release of ''Advent'' removes the ''english'' voice acting almost entirely.

* BigBad: If the ciphers in ''Advent'' were to be believed, [[spoiler:Model W, a.k.a. ''Dr. Weil'', BackFromTheDead]], was pulling the strings. [[spoiler:''[[HijackedByGanon Again.]]'']]

* BonusBoss: [[VideoGame/MegaManZero Omega]], whose [[PillarOfLight laser shield of invincibility]] now [[HealThyself HEALS HIM]]. Not to mention being more of a {{Berserker}} than before.
** Even worse, he's a lot harder than he was in the previous game, despite having the exact same moves and environment to fight in, mainly due to [[FakeDifficulty how limited your abilities are]] compared to Zero's when he fought Omega.

** Amusingly, Omega is absolutely no match for the default Model X. Possibly a MythologyGag? (For the unaware: Model X is typically unavailable past a certain, early point in the game but remains playable throughout if you've cleared it already.)
*** The primary reason, is that, even though Omega gets almost ALL of his (and by proxy, Zero's) combos and Giga Crush (which heals him now), these were all meant as melee attacks. Model X, on the other hand, starts with the double-charge, full power buster upgrade from ''VideoGame/MegaManX 2'', which gives the player a [[DiscOneNuke massive damage dealing ability early on]] in the game.
*** In terms of damage though, Model ZX and Model OX can beat Omega the fastest due to their ability to [[GameBreaker spin slash and combo]]. In terms of convenience though, Model X far outshines them. But no matter what model you use, if you get cornered on the side of the screen, you're screwed.
** Omega always had massive attack power. While the new healing ability is bad, what really makes him stronger is his increased speed and decreased stun time. In ''Zero'' 3 his stun time was long enough that you could all but stun-lock him with triple slashes (you had to dodge an attack after each combo, but he still went down in nothing flat). Even if you mastered baiting and avoiding his attacks on hard mode that all goes out of the window against his faster, more resilient form.

** TheChosenMany: Because there are multiple Chosen Ones.

** Dr. Wily's first name is Albert.
*** The entire Sage Trinity is named after the main scientists of the original series: Master Thomas = Dr. Light, Master Albert = Dr. Wily, and Master Mikhail = Dr. Cossack.

* CustomUniform: Prairie's suit is different than the other Guardians. But then again, she's their leader.

* CutscenePowerToTheMax: Serpent in the first game has an ability to summon thunder strikes that could instantly take down the target, but he only does that in the cutscene of his first appearance. Probably justified with the fact that he was outdoor when he did that; he later appears in a cave and then in the [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Slither Inc. HQ.]]

** This is VERY heavily debated online. It should be noted that this falls very much into the category of something that (some) people ''want'' to be written out of canon. Ultimately this statement neither confirms nor denies the continuity in question.
** To be completely unbiased here is both sides of the argument.
*** [[spoiler:First, for Axl not existing, the argument is Model A is Model Albert. Master Albert's speech makes Model A sound like it's a copy of Albert with his memories, and removes any connection to Axl. A-Trans was created by Albert to control Model W, Copy Chips don't exist, and Axl couldn't have existed because A-Trans didn't exist at the time of X.]]
*** [[spoiler:For Axl existing, ''Mega Man Zero 3'' has what appears to be New Gen Reploids from ''X8''. These robots were created by Weil who became Model W and took control of Albert, which is where Albert learned A-Trans. Just because Albert doesn't mention a Copy Chip doesn't mean they don't exist. Model A has many moves from and looks a lot like Axl. He's only called Model Albert because Albert created him and/or because he holds Albert's plan, or Model A really doesn't have any connection to Axl, but Axl still existed, or Model A was based on Axl.]]

* DoubleEntendre: One of Ashe's first lines in ''ZXA'': "Now that your appetites are whet for booty..." (Huh huh... she said "booty"...)
** What of Queenbee and her "special nectar?" Or Chronoforce looking to "take my sweet time manhandling you" during the BossRush rematch?
** Just about ''everything'' Queenbee says could be subjected to this. There's a reason she alone is the only thing in this series to get a mention on the [[FetishFuel/VideoGames Fetish Fuel page]] besides the PowerPerversionPotential of A-Trans.

* DualBoss: Pandora and Prometheus. In the first game they at least have the decency to only attack one at a time, in the second... not so much.

* EarlyBirdBoss: The spider droid from the Tower of Verdure is potentially the second boss you fight. It does a lot of damage, has hard-to-dodge attacks, and you can die instantly from spikes. And you have little health at this point. To make matters worse, it's only a mini-boss.

*** Later on, on the second level, you have to fight the boss while you're still learning how to use Model A you get on this level.

* EmotionEater: Model W feeds on negative emotions (anger, sadness, fear, etc) to grow and be activated. This is probably because Model W is [[spoiler: the essence of Complete Monster Dr. Weil, whose sole enjoyment in life was causing people to suffer]].
** Also justified on a deeper level; if you read the sourcebooks and [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation extrapolate a little]], it's implied that [[spoiler: Dr. Weil]]'s insanity was shaped partially by [[HeWhoFightsMonsters his]] ''[[HeWhoFightsMonsters own]]'' [[HeWhoFightsMonsters fear of Mavericks]].
** Lampshaded/invoked by Serpent:
-->'''Serpent''': "Model W, it's time! The despair and fear of this country are yours!"
*** Nevermind that line; Serpent powers up Model W by ''feeding'' it what is explicitly stated to be ''the souls of people who died while in the grip of fear!''

* [=~Everything's Better With Spinning~=]: Model ZX has a multi-hitting spinning saber attack. Model L also has one as well, and can be done indefinitely by ButtonMashing, and can pass MercyInvincibility. [[UselessUsefulSpell It can only be done underwater, though.]]

* EvilLaugh: Siarnaq, despite [[TheStoic appearing as robotic]], has an [[LaughingMad insane,]] somewhat [[NotSoStoic out of character]] laugh. See [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipBOhaAIULI&feature=related here.]]
** And [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8FeovIMf8o&feature=related Prometheus]] delivers an EPIC one after he and Pandora defeats Grey/Ashe.
*** See also [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDkBncl2PGs&feature=related here]] (spoiler alert) at 4:23 (Prometheus') and 9:45 (Albert's).

* {{Expy}}: Many. Aeolus, Atlas, Siarnaq, and Thetis for Harpuia, Fefnir, Phantom, and Leviathan are the most obvious ones.
** The real most obvious one is the title character him/herself. ''VideoGame/MegaManZX'' is the {{Expy}} of Zero.
*** Actually, while the ZX transformation is an expy of Zero, Vent/Aile are somewhat expies of the original Mega Man, due to their personalities and appearances (most canon sources put Mega Man as having brown hair under his helmet) in the first game at least.
*** And even before that, his/her BigBrotherMentor is an expy of Zero, down to having a similar name, Giro(uette) [[spoiler:and of course, [[HeroicSacrifice Zero's curse befalls him as well]].]]
**** Giro takes the expy thing BeyondTheImpossible. Giro and Zero without his helmet ''look almost exactly the same''. {{Lampshaded}} by Prairie, who claims that Giro reminds her of someone she knew a hundred years ago.

*** Grey and Ashe themselves can be considered split-expies of Axl. Ashe has Axl's cheerfulness, cockiness and recklessness, while Grey is an amnesiac boy who wants to know about his origins, much like Axl.

** EvilGenius: Aeolus. If you [[SocialDarwinist call others "fools"]] and aiming to eliminate them, than you qualify for this position.
*** Albert himself also qualifies, what with him being the MagnificentBastard...

* {{Foreshadowing}}: ''Advent'' includes a minigame based on the NES Mega Man games. And then ''VideoGame/MegaMan 9'' came out, done by the same developer, Inticreates.

* FreudWasRight: Anything Rospark. 'Nuff said.

* GameplayGrading: In the first game, your fight with the Pseudoroids is measured in Level 1-4; Level 4 means that the weak point didn't get hit, and Level 1 means that the weak point was hit a lot. The higher your success level, the longer the Overdrive Gauge the Biometal you acquired has (although if you get a Level 3 or lower, you can either repair the Biometals with a price, or doing a rematch with the same Pseudoroid later).

* [=~Hey, It's That Voice!~=]: Would anyone believe me if I told you that Grey, Master Albert, Pandora, and Master Mikhail's English [=VAs=] were (respectively) X, Zero, Alia, and Sigma from ''{{Mega Man X}}7''?

* AnIcePerson: Model L enables you to control ice. In the second game, Thetis is its Biomatch.
** Also Pandora, though she uses Model W instead.
* IdiotBall: From the first game: "I've located Model W! It's been taken to Slither Inc.'s head office!" ...Really, you needed a big honking computer to tell you that the CorruptCorporateExecutive BigBad has taken the {{MacGuffin}} to his personal office building?
** There was always the chance that said villain wouldn't be holding the VillainBall by taking it to his giant personal office building and instead take it to some well-hidden out-of-the-way Cyber Elf lab...

** Well, not really OX. He's good for normal enemies, but against bosses he's average, as he's essentially Model ZX with a slightly longer blade. And since his Overdrive sacrifices mobility for power, and has only one really decent combo that only works on enemies on the ground....

* InTheBlood: [[spoiler: Serpent says that the blood of the Model W's creator runs in Aile's veins. ZXA reveals that he was referring to Master Albert, who donated his blood to certain survivors of Maverick Raids, thus giving them the key for Megamerging. Those "Chosen Ones" (as seen in Aeolus' cipher) later become the Mega Men.]]

* [[ItIsPronouncedTroPAY It Is Pronounced ZEX]] - Rockman ZX (ロックマンゼクス Rokkuman Zekkusu).

* [[LethalJokeCharacter Lethal Joke Form]]: Chronoforce's form in ''Advent''; it can't move at all on land, but its charge shot, the [[BulletTime Time Bomb]], is [[GameBreaker quite useful.]] You can even change form after it's activated.
** Plus, Chronoforce is immune to attacks from attacks from above. It makes avoiding two of [[spoiler: Albert's]] attacks a lot easier.

* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: Chronoforce's top shell is impervious to spikes and most attacks. [[spoiler: It makes two of the Final Boss' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bohPVPV5Yik#t=01m26s otherwise annoying-to-avoid attacks a trivial matter]].]]

*** And in ''Advent'', after the Quarry mission, she gives this to Grey:

** This one is either this or CallBack:
--->'''Model X''' (in ''ZX''): Do I need a reason to save lives?\\
'''Grey''' (in ''Advent''): I shouldn't need a reason to save lives!

* MegaManning: Model A takes it further by [[DittoFighter transforming into defeated Bosses.]]
** Also, a rather blatant, but nonetheless easily overlooked example in the first game. Why are you able to combine the powers of various biometals? Because X had the Variable Weapons System, allowing for the use of different weapons. It's been adapted into biometal form.

* NoEndorHolocaust: No mention is ever given to [[spoiler:Slither Inc. collapsing all over]] the surrounding city, even though it happens in glorious anime sequence.
** It ''is'' addressed, but it's AllThereInTheManual.

* OddlyNamedSequel: Apparently many fans doesn't know what ''Advent'' stands for.
** Well, Advent means "the second coming", actually fitting for a sequel.

* PlayingWithFire: Model F enables you to control fire. In the second game, Atlas is its Biomatch.
** Also [[MeaningfulName Prometheus]], although he uses Model W instead.

*** PowerDyesYourHair: However, in ZXA, since their actual hair is long already, they just turn blonde.

* PurelyAestheticGender: Vent and Aile are pretty much [[DistaffCounterpart Distaff]][=/=]{{Spear Counterpart}}s of each other. Their stories contain slight differences, but they play exactly the same.

* RedEyesTakeWarning: The Enemy Mega Men and Albert. The latter combines it with BlackEyesOfEvil.
** Interestingly, as shown in Grey's intro cutscene, he had these, before they turned into GreenEyes. As Pandora stated, it's because his [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwashing]] was incomplete, so it's justified.

* RedshirtArmy: The Guardians in ''ZX'', who seems to be an {{expy}} to LaResistance in the ''Zero'' series.

* SchrodingersPlayerCharacter: This extends into both games, as Aile's and Grey's storyline are connected, as are Vent's and Ashe's.
** {{Fanon}} holds that Aile's and Grey's story is [[CuttingOffTheBranches the "canon" one.]] This is because it ties in more to a bigger plot [[spoiler:(Albert's)]], while Vent and Ashe [[FallingIntoTheCockpit just wandered in]], and their stories have a lot more character focus and less greater arc potential.
** There's actually some hints about connections between the two storylines. Both Vent and Aile are shown in one of the ciphers (Aeolus'). Also, in Ashe's storyline, there's a stage that was Grey's intro stage, but is inaccessible.
*** The latter may imply that, if you play as Ashe, Grey dies in the intro stage, and if you play as Grey, Ashe is killed by Prometheus or dies in the Raider's plane crash.
*** There's always the theory that if you chose the Aile/Grey Story, Vent simply was simply working somewhere else (Both Vent and Aile worked with Giro) and it was Grey who got to the train mission first. On the other hand, the Vent/Ashe story has a similar situation except with Aile being benched and Ashe taking the train mission before Grey can get to it. A theory for the optimist who doesn't want any of the player characters to die.

** And in the sequel, after the Quarry mission, Aile/Vent gives Grey/Ashe essentially the same lecture.
*** It's later revealed that this is Prometheus and Pandora's ultimate goal, since [[spoiler: Albert modified them to become permanently Megamerged, and they're destined to fight other Mega Men. They can't escape that destiny (possibly because [[YourDaysAreNumbered Their Days Have Been Numbered]] by Albert), so they exact revenge on Albert by killing him and trying to hasten the [[EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt "destiny of destruction".]]]] Unfortunately, [[spoiler: they become Albert's {{Unwitting Pawn}}s just as they reach their goal...]]

* ShockAndAwe: Model H enables you to control lightning (as well as [[BlowYouAway wind]]). In the second game, Aeolus is its Biomatch.
** Also Pandora, but she instead uses Model W.
* [[ShoutOutVideoGames Shout Out]]: Each cipher in ''ZXA'' uses the starting point of a ''{{Gundam}}'' timeline as its memory address. (Depending on who you ask, one's actually from ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}''.)

** During Vent's megamerge scene in ''Advent'', [[http://fast1.onesite.com/capcom-unity.com/user/wilyweil/4730afb8f31e3b1f914d5d72879256fd.jpg?v=172674 Model ZX's hair]] makes it look like he has [[NeonGenesisEvangelion several glowing wings.]]
*** Before that, his [[http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y82/atomicfuthum/mega-man-zx-20060510013226307_640w.jpg megamerge scene]] in the first game resembles a [[GGundam certain Gundam]].

** Probably unintentional due to the changing of the name Rock to Mega, but Vulturon speaks of how he wants Mega Man Model A to experience a "[[Music/{{Megadeth}} Mega death]]".

** Hell, even the non-spiked ones are an instant kill if you're within the hitbox '''the instant they begin regenerating'''.
** Even more complete with a BottomlessPit below it just to royally screw you. [[spoiler:Oh, and it's '''''right''''' before the FinalBoss door. Have fun.]]

* ThemeNaming: Borderline example with the first 8 Pseudoroids. Their first names [[AlphabeticalThemeNaming share the initials]] to the Biometals they possess ('''H'''ivolt the Raptoroid, '''L'''urerre the Abysroid, etc.).

*** Jumping from the above two, there's a "earth vs sky" theme within the good guys and the bad guys. Discounting Serpent, of course.
*** It's a carry-over from ''Zero''. The Resistance NPC's there all also follow French ThemeNaming based on birds, courtesy of Ciel. [[FridgeBrilliance This makes sense]] when you consider that [[spoiler: the Resistance eventually became the Guardians,]] and that [[spoiler: Allouette]] and [[spoiler: Prairie]] are all-but stated to be the same person, thus following the trends that the Resistance had.

** More accurately, Aile is like Vent and all the other Livemetal users with the exception of Ashe and Grey: That is to say [[spoiler: she was implanted with Albert's DNA. Serpent's words were in reference to this and not an actual hereditary relation, since otherwise that would mean that Serpent himself was a descendant of Master Albert.]].
* TomboyishName: Atlas (Mega Man F) from ''Advent'' is actually female. Who would have guessed?
** A lot of fans would notice if they looked at her manual art, showing that she has large breasts. Atlas' chest is larger than every other female character's, besides maybe (adult) Aile's.
** Inverted: In Greek Mythology, Tethys and Thetis were both female figures. and Siarnaq is named after an Inuit goddess.. Clearly, the folks at Capcom were SadlyMythtaken.
*** This is actually some esoteric ThemeNaming - the four Biomatches from ''ZXA'' are named after moons of Saturn. Except, for some reason, Helios/Aeolus.
*** Helios is occasionally referred to as Hyperion, one of Saturn's many moons. Thus, it sticks.

* [=~What Do You Mean, It's Not Symbolic?~=]: This seems to be what happened with the names of all the Biometal Users in ZXA. While Atlas, Helios/Aeolus, Siarnaq, Tethys/Thetis, Prometheus and Pandora were all supposed to be Saturnian moons, when you look at them in the context of Greek Mythology, they appear to be a random collection of Titans and other mythological figures with no other real meanings behind their names.

** Prometheus and Pandora indeed seem somewhat random, but note that the two characters in Greek mythology are connected with one another. Also, Prometheus uses fire.
*** Prometheus was the Titan who stole the secret of fire from the gods. The character in question here is self-explanatory in that regard.
*** Pandora's Box was a legendary artefact that reputedly brought mass ruin upon the land in which it was opened. Pandora here turns out to be suppressing her true persona and agenda. She is outwardly calm and emotionless, but reveals herself to have an insane, vengeful side when the player gives her that extra push.
*** In mythology, Pandora, the first female human created by the Gods, married Epimetheus, which made Prometheus her brother-in-law. In the series, Pandora was the first female Mega Man that could use biometal and Prometheus is her brother. [[EpilepticTrees Epimetheus may or may not appear in the near future.]]
*** [[FridgeBrilliance Fridge Brilliance]]: In mythology, neither Pandora nor Prometheus meant to do any damage. [[spoiler:Guess what characters are revealed to having been coerced into fighting for Albert?.]]

''Mega Man ZX'' is another entry in Capcom's flagship ''MegaMan'' series, set about two centuries after the events of ''MegaManZero''. The wars between Human and Reploid have finally been ended through the process of modifying both races until they're completely indistinguishable from one another. Even so, the threat of Maverick attacks still remains, although the cause of these outbreaks are entirely different.

* ArtifactOfDoom: The original Biometal, Model V/W, fits this like a glove. Granted, [[spoiler:it holds the ''essence'' of the Complete Monster of the [[MegaManZero previous series]]...]]

* BonusBoss: [[MegaManZero Omega]], whose [[PillarOfLight laser shield of invincibility]] now [[HealThyself HEALS HIM]]. Not to mention being more of a {{Berserker}} than before.

*** The primary reason, is that, even though Omega gets almost ALL of his (and by proxy, Zero's) combos and Giga Crush (which heals him now), these were all meant as melee attacks. Model X, on the other hand, starts with the double-charge, full power buster upgrade from ''[[MegaManX X2]]'', which gives the player a [[DiscOneNuke massive damage dealing ability early on]] in the game.

* ContinuityNod: The series has several references to the [[Game/MegaMan Classic]], ''[[MegaManX X]]'', and ''[[MegaManZero Zero]]'' series.
** In fact, [[NostalgiaLevel one whole level is essentially a remake of the intro level]] in the original ''MegaManX''. To really rub the point home the only model available at the time is Model X.
** Prairie's room has some ''MegaManZero'' memorabilia, adding fuel to the EpilepticTree that [[spoiler:she was previously Alouette, Ciel's KidSidekick]].
** The final level of ''Advent'', Ouroboros, has a striking resemblance to Ragnarok from ''{{Mega Man Zero}}4''. This is because [[spoiler:Ouroboros was made from hundreds of Model W, which were spawned from Ragnarok]]. Also, [[spoiler:Model Z disappears inside, much like how Zero "disappears" in the destruction of Ragnarok]].
** Two of the cars from ''Game/MegaMan Battle and Chase'' appear, and the [[EmergencyEnergyTank E-Tank]] makes a triumphant return.
** The operator in Hunter's Camp in ''Advent'' is named Nana, like the operator from ''[[MegaManX Command Mission]]''.
** One of the missions you undertake at the Floating Ruins in ''ZX Advent'' have you searching the ruins for [[Game/MegaMan outdated artifacts]]; these include the L Tank from ''Mega Man 4'', the ever-recurring Energy Balancer, the Yashichi recovery item from ''Mega Man'' and ''Mega Man 8'' (called "Pinwheel" in-game), and the Lightbulb which served as life energy back in the original ''Mega Man''. All four of these items are given explainations for their antiquity by the time of ''ZX'' (i.e. the L Tank was never mass-produced, etc.).

* CreatorThumbprint: Arguably, but many characters listed in the character sheet (and even most [=NPCs=]) have FingerlessGloves, big anklets and bracers, headphone-like ears, and black latex-like skin-tight suit that covers all of their skin (except for the face). This can be traced back to ''MegaManZero'' series.

* DiagonalCut[=/=]HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: Blade weapons will result in this to the {{Mooks}} and some bosses if it's used for the final blow. A carryover from the ''[[MegaManZero Zero]]'' series.
** HitStop: When you kill the bosses. Also a carryover from the ''[[MegaManZero Zero]]'' series.

** The real most obvious one is the title character him/herself. ''MegaManZX'' is the {{Expy}} of [[MegaManZero Zero]].

* FireIceLightning: A carryover from ''[[MegaManZero Zero]]'' series.
** ElementalRockPaperScissors: Fire -> Ice -> Lightning -> Fire. Also a carryover from ''[[MegaManZero Zero]]'' series.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: ''Advent'' includes a minigame based on the NES Mega Man games. And then ''Game/MegaMan 9'' came out, done by the same developer, Inticreates.

* JokeCharacter: Model a (lowercase) in Advent, which plays like the original ''Game/MegaMan''. Although it does have a small advantage in being [[HitboxDissonance short and harder to hit]]. Also, easier to overlook on this as there are not really times when it would completely alter an area, the shots will go through walls that don't have the ability to reflect bullets.

* LegacyCharacter: The Biometals, to [[MegaManX X]], [[MegaManZero Zero, 4 Guardians, Omega and Weil]]. Arguable case with Model A, as it's revealed that [[spoiler: the "A" stands for "Albert", not "Axl", even though the biometal is clearly based on the latter.]]

* LighterAndSofter: Compared to ''[[MegaManZero Zero]]''.

* PreExplosionGlow: All Pseudoroids (as well as [[spoiler:Albert]]) die this way. A carryover from ''[[MegaManZero Zero]]'' series.

* RedshirtArmy: The Guardians in ''ZX'', who seems to be an {{expy}} to LaResistance in the ''[[MegaManZero Zero]]'' series.
** The Hunters in ''Advent'' (who are arguably {{expy}}s of the Caravaners, also from the ''[[MegaManZero Zero]]'' series) notably averts this. In fact, they get a CrowningMomentOfAwesome at the beginning of the game for surviving against the resident PsychoForHire, and ''even stole a Biometal out from under his nose.''

** '''ZX''' is one thing, but then they added '''A'''dvent. [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything Remind you of anyone?]] A certain PowerTrio, [[MegaManX perhaps?]]

** The Sage Trinity are all named after the doctors from [[Game/MegaMan the classic series]] (Albert Wily, Thomas Light, Mikhail Cossack), though whether they have any actual relation to the characters is unknown. Interestingly [[spoiler:while Wily's expy is traitorous and evil, [[SubvertedTrope so is Light's]], as revealed in ZXA's [[TheStinger secret ending.]]]]

*** It's a carry-over from MegamanZero. The Resistance NPC's there all also follow French ThemeNaming based on birds, courtesy of Ciel. [[FridgeBrilliance This makes sense]] when you consider that [[spoiler: the Resistance eventually became the Guardians,]] and that [[spoiler: Allouette]] and [[spoiler: Prairie]] are all-but stated to be the same person, thus following the trends that the Resistance had.

'''Aile''': Hahaha! Maybe [[LovingAShadow Giro]] [[{{Expy}} resembles]] [[MegaManZero someone you cared about]]. Every time you talk about him, you look so happy. Don't worry, I won't hold it against you if you did like him. It's thanks to all of you that I'm finally able to fight for what's important.\\

* WhiteAndGreyMorality: You can see that all of the villains (well, except [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Prometheus and Pandora]], who [[TheStarscream just want revenge against their master,]] [[BigBad Albert]]) in the series [[WellIntentionedExtremist have good intentions.]] It's just that they're corrupted by [[ArtifactOfDoom Model W]].[[hottip:*:RousseauWasRight occurs as well, since they might be the good guys if not for Model W.]] Possibly a carryover theme from the ''[[MegaManZero Zero]]'' series.
* XtremeKoolLetterz: Justified, ''ZX'' stands for [[MegaManZero Zero]] and [[MegaManX X.]]