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Z.O.E. – Zone Of The Enders - FAQ/Walkthrough (Japanese _demo_ version only!)
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This FAQ is Copyright 2001 Nathan Edwards and Z.O.E. is Copyright 2001 Konami.
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< legal information >
This FAQ is Copyright 2001 Nathan Edwards. [Contact info:
[email protected]]
It is for private (non-commercial) use only. It is available for download
exclusively from www.gamefaqs.com and may not be posted to any other web sites
without my express permission. A single copy of this FAQ may be printed
(provided it is not altered in any way) by an individual for his/her private
use only. I, Nathan Edwards, am the author of this copyrighted work. I retain
all rights to this FAQ and I will vigorously defend them if this FAQ is
misappropriated in any form.
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1. Introduction:
The Z.O.E. (Zone Of The Enders – hereafter referred to as: ZOE) demo comes on
a DVD-ROM for the PS2 and is currently being distributed with a special issue
of Dengeki PlayStation magazine in Japan. This demo will only play on the
Japanese PlayStation 2 (hereafter referred to as: PS2) console unless you know
how to swap games on your US (or other) PS2. I live in Japan and own a
Japanese PS2, thus I won't answer any questions on how the 'swap trick' works.
The demo is almost exclusively in Japanese (both dialog and text) so don't
expect to understand what's being said (much less read the menus) unless
you've studied Japanese for many years. I have not translated the dialog
because it's beyond my current abilities. Nevertheless, I think you'll be able
to enjoy the demo with the instructions I've given you. It looks like Konami
has crafted another masterpiece and Hideo Kojima has done a fine job
overseeing it.
I am a longtime videogame lover and have been living in Japan for over 18
months. I've played games since the Atari 2600 was popular (I'm 26 now) and
I've been playing Japanese games (what most of you call 'imports') for several
years before I came to Japan. I can read basic Japanese (hiragana and
katakana) and I know some kanji. When I can't read something I usually have my
girlfriend read it for me but she's too busy to sit with me and translate
entire games. If there are enough requests, I may make a version of this FAQ
with Japanese text included so you know how to reference what you see on the
screen (the Japanese writing) with what I've told you. If you have comments,
suggestions, requests or complains about this FAQ then feel free to write me:
Nathan Edwards
[email protected]
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2. Obtaining the ZOE demo (and other info about the disc):
The demo version of ZOE is on a Japanese PS2 DVD-ROM included with a special
issue of Dengeki PlayStation Magazine (the Dengeki is written in Japanese so
you probably can't read it). Written on the cover of the magazine are the
words 'PlayStation D' in blue letters and 'Konami FanBook' in red letters.
What you need to ask for is the Dengeki PlayStation Magazine Volume 167 that's
dated 2/23 [2001]. In Japan, you can find this magazine in many bookstores. It
costs 1500 yen (about $14 USD) here, but in the US or elsewhere you can expect
to pay more than the marked price. The cheapest place you'll probably be able
to find it (outside of Japan) is at good Japanese bookstores in big cities. If
they don't have it they may be able to special order it for you. You can also
find this demo through game import shops throughout the US and on the Internet.
This magazine was released in Japan on Friday, January 19th 2001 but the date
written on the magazine is 2/23. Because this is a special issue, it will
probably remain on shelves for a month or more. Included on the PS2 disc is a
very long playable version of Shadow of Memories too. All of the dialog in the
SOM demo is in English and all of the game's text can be changed to English as
well (in the options menu). Finally, there is a long preview movie of Metal
Gear Solid 2. There are some additional movies of Silent Scope, Ring of Red,
World Soccer: Winning Eleven, a horse breeding/racing game and an interview
with the creator of Tokimeki Memorial 3 (but alas, no game footage).
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3. Conventions/Abbreviations used in this guide:
L1 = The button marked 1 on the top left side of your controller
L2 = The button marked 2 on the top left side of your controller
L3 = The left analog stick on your Dual Shock 2 controller
DP = The directional pad
R1 = The button marked 1 on the top of your controller
R2 = The button marked 2 on the top of your controller
R3 = The left analog stick on your Dual Shock 2 controller
T = The Triangle button on your controller
C = The Circle button on your controller
X = The X button on your controller
Q = The Square button on your controller
S = The Start button on your controller
E = The Select button on your controller
F = Move forward using L3
B = Move backward using L3
A = Away using L3 (any direction EXCEPT toward the enemy)
L = Move left using L3
R = Move right using L3
Note: When you are within range of an enemy and you have an enemy targeted, a
set of brackets/highlights/cursors will appear around your enemy. When the
enemy is at a distance, the cursors will be green and you can use long-
distance attacks against it. When the enemy is within striking distance, the
cursors will change to orange and you can use your close range attacks
(slashes, etc.).
Green cursors = AT A DISTANCE (use your long distance attacks here)
Orange cursors = AT ClOSE RANGE (use your close range attacks here)
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4. Controls:
Note: You're going to learn these controls in-depth in the built-in tutorial
so don't worry about memorizing them now. I've listed them here for reference.
Maneuvering: (L3) To maneuver in 3D space, just move L3.
Camera Movement: (L3 or L3+B) The camera moves with you and around your enemy
when you are locked on to one. Because of the control scheme they came up with,
it's necessary for them to give you only limited camera control. To change
your view slightly, flick L3 back to shift your view about 90 degrees.
Targeting: (R3) To move your targeting cursor around, just move R3.
Flying Up: (T) To fly upwards, just press T.
Flying Down: (X) To fly downwards, press X. Hold X to stay on the ground.
Dash/Burst: (R2+L3 or R2) To dash, hold R2 and move the left analog stick in
any direction to dash in that direction. To use the burst feature, just hold
R2 (doesn't really do anything unless combined with other buttons). To do an
upward somersault, press T and hold R2. To do a downward somersault, press X
and hold R2.
Shot/Slash: (Q) To shoot your enemy, press Q when you are at a distance from
it. If you move close enough for a slashing sword attach, the green cursors
around the enemy will change to orange. Press the square button to slash them
when at close range.
Dash Shot: ([A+R2]+Q) To fire a stream of blue lasers at your enemy, move the
stick left, right or back from your enemy while holding R2 and then press the
square button. Note: you can actually get this attack to work sometimes by
pressing forward too but the attack changes into a Dash Slash if by dashing
forward you get within slashing range (causing the cursor to be orange)
Dash Slash: ([F+R2]+Q) To make a powerful slashing attack
Burst Shot: (R2+Q) If you are at a distance from your enemy (too far to use
your sword), hold R2 while stationary and press the Square button to release
an energy ball and slam it like a volleyball at your opponent.
Burst Slice: (R2+Q) If you are within striking distance of your enemy (with
your sword) hold R2 while stationary and press the Square button to make a 360
degree horizontal slice with your sword.
Guard: (R1) To guard (creates an energy shield around you), use R1 but keep in
mind it won't protect you from some more powerful attacks and you can't dash,
burst or do any kind of attack while you are holding R1.
Grab&Strike: (C) To grab an enemy, get within striking range (icon will change
from green to orange) and hold C. While your enemy is held, you can move it
with L3. To release and strike them, let go of C. This can be done quickly by
pressing and releasing C in one smooth movement.
Lock On/Change Target: (L2) To lock on to an enemy, use L2. Press L2 again to
switch to a different target.
Cancel Targeting: (L1) To cancel the lock on of your current target (so you
can go elsewhere), use L1. This is important because you are often
automatically locked on to the closest enemy and when you're locked on, your
movement is locked into your enemy's movement (you move in a 360 around it
[actually your movement is limited to a sphere around your enemy]).
Escape: (L1+A) To get away from an enemy, cancel your lock on by using L1 and
then just move or dash away from them until the word escape shows on screen.
When the Escape gauge goes down to zero you can't be attacked by that enemy
(until it gets in range again) and you're free to move anywhere you want to go.
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5. Demo Walkthrough:
When the demo disc loads up, press S and at the game select menu (Main Menu),
press R to highlight ZOE and press C. (In Japan, the circle = true and the X =
false so the circle is always used to confirm things and the x is almost
always used to cancel them in Japanese PlayStation games) Press C again at the
next screen to load up the demo. At the Z.O.E. title screen, press S to begin.
Choose NEW GAME and press S again. (There is an options menu but the only
thing you can adjust is vibration (on/off) and sound (stereo/mono) Here we go:
The screen loads up and you're a young boy inside a mech (giant robot). The
mech gets dropped out of it's protective frame and suddenly you see the word
ENCOUNT on the screen (for encounter with an enemy). You're inside an enclosed
warehouse and you can't run away. The escape move mentioned above (L1+A)
doesn't apply here. The enemy is really easy though and if you want to just
watch his attack patterns and fly around for a while, just use R1 and he can't
hurt you. After you've played through the demo a few times and learned the
controls, it can be fun to play around in here. You do have limited energy
however so don't forget to kill the guy eventually. After you do, you will see
a menu (in Japanese) and your mech on the right. This screen lists all of the
VR training missions. The option at the bottom with VR plus some Japanese
means to finish the training. If you want to skip training and get into the
action now, use the DP to scroll down to VR and press C twice. However, I
recommend that you go through the training and here's how:
The top item in the list will be highlighted in green and have the word NEW on
the right of it. At this VR menu screen you can get a close up look at your
mech with the following controls:
L1 zoom out
L2 zoom in
L3 move mech around (from the same perspective)
R3 move camera around the mech (up, down and all around)
Note: In the VR menu you must use DP to move up and down. To start training
press C and a box will pop up with two options. The top option is a demo that
you are supposed to copy afterwards. Hit C to watch it. The demos will stop by
themselves but you can press S to exit early if you want to. After it's
finished, you are brought back to the previous screen and the bottom option is
highlighted. Now it's your turn to do it. Press C to begin the training. These
directions apply for all of the training exercises.
Let's begin the first VR mission. In the training, press T to move up, X to
move down and L3 for general moving around. When you start the training, all
of your moves aren't available to you until you've completed that particular
training. This first one is just for movement. After you've finished playing
around, press S to go back.
Now the second VR mission is available to you. The Dash and Boost are shown.
To dash, use L3 and R2 together or R2 and T or X (or a mix). To do somersaults
with your dashes, use T or X with R2. Use S to exit.
The third VR mission is general attacks (Shot and Slash). From a distance, use
Q to shoot. When you fly close enough to your enemy the cursors around it will
become red and your can now slash with Q.
The fourth VR mission teaches you Dash Shot/Slash. Use [R2+L3]+Q from a
distance for the dash shot and [R2+T]+S when close to your enemy for the dash
slash.
The fifth mission teaches you the Burst Shot/Slash. Use R2+S from a distance
(no L3) to make and hurl a huge energy ball at your enemy. Use R2+S at close
range for the Burst Slash (360 slash).
The sixth mission teaches you how to guard. Just hold R1 to do so. You can't
use burst while guarding so it does have it's limitations.
The seventh mission teaches you how to grab and hurl your enemy. At close
range, press C to grab your enemy. Keep holding C until you want to let go.
You can move your enemy around while holding it with L3. Let go of C to hurl
your enemy.
After completing that, it's time for the real game demo so press C twice at
the VR menu to begin.
One quick cutscene to explain about picking up energy boxes (called METATRON)
ensues. Approach the box (use X to stay near the ground) and you'll pick it up.
Next you'll see some 3-D arrows pointing you up and in some direction. Go that
way to get out of the warehouse. Now you're going to be attacked. After you
defeat 2 enemies, 2 more will come. After that, it's a female warrior in an
anatomically correct female robot. There is a quick cutscene here showing her
laughing at you and occasionally when I play the demo the screen goes
completely black here. Just press S to start fighting if this happens to you.
After you do enough damage to her mech, she'll leave and your mech's computer
will talk to you again. Now you need to follow the arrows to a local server.
When you get close enough to it, your mech will interface with it and download
some new programs. Now you'll be back at the VR menu again and you'll have to
scroll down (D-pad again) to the option in the list that has NEW flashing next
to it. Let's try it.
Lock-On VR Training: Press C to begin. To lock on to an enemy (if none is
currently highlighted), press L2. If there are multiple enemies nearby, press
L2 again to switch to the next enemy. To cancel your lock on (to deselect any
enemies), press L1.
Escape VR training: To escape from enemies, deselect any enemies with L1
and then fly away from them until the ESCAPE gauge pops up and then counts
down to zero and disappears. When this happens, you are safe.
Camera VR training: To shift your view about 90 degrees, flick L3 down. To
move the camera more accurately, use R3 to look around and shift where you are
aiming. With R3, up is down and down is up.
After that, it's time to start the game demo again. Highlight the last thing
in the list (VR + some Japanese) and press C twice to begin.
A cutscene follows with a lot of info and you're being attacked again. But now,
when you hit S, instead of a plain PAUSE screen, you've suddenly got the
COMMAND MENU. In the command menu, use the DP to select something and C to
enter that sub-menu. To exit from the menus, press X until you've returned to
the game. The top option in the COMMAND MENU allows you to change the weapons
that you use with C. Remember that C allows you to grab and throw your enemies
when they are at close range. At a distance however, you can press C to use
weapons you pick up from item boxes and enemies. I will describe these weapons
in the next update. Also, I will describe the COMMAND MENU completely in the
next update (including the maps, objectives, etc.)
After defeating a swarm of enemies, (or before then if you're daring enough to
attempt it while being attacked) you must look for another local server to
interface with. It looks like a metal pole sticking out of the ground. When
you approach it, you will download another program from it and you can now
press S to bring up the COMMAND MENU. In the menu, the third or so option
causes you to leave the area and the demo is finished because you've completed
your objective. Now all you've got to do is wait until March the first for the
full version to be released. Hope you had fun!
P.S. You have my apologies that the last bit of this walkthrough is
slightly unclear. I wanted to get this FAQ out as soon as possible so that
other gamers can take advantage of it. I will be updating this FAQ within a
few days (unless something big comes up) and I hope to correct all significant
errors then. In the meantime, I hope this helped you and thanks for reading.
