31 Reviews:
xva
I wanna break the Series Z 2 is one of my least favorite games ever made, and that is no secret. I have a burning, spiteful and vitriolic hatred for it. the original Z2 is a horrendous, borderline-unplayable, unremarkable, below-mediocre luckfest. I can confidently say it’s one of the worst, most relentlessly miserable games I’ve ever played. it should be a requirement to at least experience the horrors of the original Z2 before playing its remake. I’m not suggesting that you should beat Z2 - that is a horrible idea. I recommend at least reaching stage 4 to see just how atrocious this game’s father of sorts truly is. Z2 Remake improves on absolutely everything to such a high degree, that it’s practically not even the same game. this game accomplishes the impossible: improving on Z2. I didn’t believe my eyes once I saw everything this game contains. it was truly, truly beautiful
Z2R improves on just about absolutely everything from Z2. every single save that sucks is now playable and fun. every single boss attack that sucks or is horrendously luck-based is remade into something actually interesting and… good. I was in shock for every aspect of this game as to just how good it was compared to Z2. it’s odd, uncanny, strange, bewildering - to see something that is usually so insanely bad being actually quite good. Z2R’s only quality I somewhat dislike is the style in which the needle is remade. it’s all the same type of needle that’s clearly made in the same style. even the hades-likes of stage 4 are turned into borderline consistency needle. this sort of ruins the game’s structure and makes all the needle feel homogenous, which isn’t a nice feeling. Z2’s needle also feels same-y at times, but in a much worse sense. not to worry, though - this is my only major-ish complaint about the entire game. the rest of the alterations are completely fine, acceptable and most of all good
Z2R improves upon what is essentially the meat of all medleys: the bosses. if we were speaking in literal terms: if Z2 was meat, it would be rancid, rotten, decomposing meat, to the point where it’s practically indistinguishable and looks like black slop; while Z2R is a well-cooked, well-seasoned, decent-price steak that looks presentable and appetizing. the level to which the bosses are improved is as if their quality between Z2 and Z2R is entirely reciprocal. in Layman terms: they’re as good in Z2R as they are bad in Z2. this is a slight exaggeration from my point of view, but it’s mostly true. the specific changes are rather obvious - bosses 1 and 2 have the luck elements removed and have more unique attacks. boss 3 is overhauled completely and is entirely indistinguishable from its Z2 equivalent. it goes from being the 2nd worst boss to being one of the middle-ranged/decent ones. boss rush is improved the most in the areas it’s the weakest, that being The Note and Blue King Slime. these two are still not great, but are marginally better than their Z2 counterparts. Dotkid Miku is simply more well-made, with the walljump bug being fixed. oh yeah, did you know Z2 is so poorly coded that the dotkid walljump bug is present? yeah, awesome right? boss 4, or Z1 Reminiscence, is the first actual brand new boss addition, being exactly that: a boss sort of like the one from Z3 which features bosses from the previous game in the series. this is one unique thing about Z-series games that isn’t often talked about. either way, it’s just some fun RNG attacks, nothing more. the guest stages are greatly improved - but unfortunately not visually. they’re still a bit of an eyesore to look at. also, the stage 5 stage select room is so cool?? I feel like it isn’t acknowledged enough, I honestly really really like it. either way, Haegoe (the first avoidance area of Stage 5) is much harder for whatever reason. this one’s not changed too much, since it’s already quite good in the original game. moreover it’s like finding an air pocket while drowning in an ocean of flaming diarrhea. Jebal-Ggaera is still the hardest boss in the game, however the competition is a little closer this time with the addition of the final boss. we’ll get to him later, but Jebal-Ggaera area is now less luck-based and feels less like one of those ‘so much shit in a row needs to go right’ avoidances. by this I mean, all the difficult chokepoints are essentially removed. this comes at a cost of about -8.0 points of difficulty, but at a great profit of a whole ton of quality. Hasi area has all the luck removed and is essentially now a fully RNG miku fight with one pattern at the beginning. unfortunately doesn’t utilize the goofy ass pattern layout too much but hey, you take what you can get from a remake of this area. Just area still kinda sucks, it’s a lot harder and is still a bit luck-based. the removal of HP simply doesn’t benefit this avoidance. on top of all this, I really don’t like this avoidance in the first place. it plays very poorly and the song isn’t great. it’s the worst area of Stage 5, even with all the nothingburger needle areas in it. and then, after all this - the bottomless pit of regret (Z2 version). it sounds pretty bad, but it’s actually alright. it’s a few different needle screens with some interesting gimmicks (kind of like in Z3). it’s some of the hardest needle in the game - as I feel it should be. after the needle, you reach PDPlayer area, which is still a bunch of RNG barrage attacks. this time it’s harder and longer and even more fun. I’m aware some people take issue with this area and find it strangely hard and luck-based at times. while I personally don’t see it, even in the original Z2, I can understand where they’re coming from
now, the best worst boss of them all - the final boss. I think something inspired SUDALV to make this final boss the best it can be on purpose, just to counteract how horrible it is in the original game. it goes from being the genuine pinnacle of misery and being the worst boss in the game, to being an absolute banger of a fight with many different attacks, tons of fun RNG, a great theme and fitting music. it truly feels like what it should be - a final and ultimate fight against the creator himself. a fight against some sort of purple supernaturally-powerful being by the name of PDPlayer. this boss is just extremely fun. there isn’t much more to it, it’s just amazing. it’s fair, fun and something very new for Z2. it’s not an easy fight per se, it’s still in the 75-80 range for sure. again, it’s a whole lot more skill-based and well-made than the original, which I am very thankful for time and time again
there’s also some additions in the form of an actual secret 4 in the form of a TAS 2 screen and some new and better hidden cherries. the secrets also actually do something, which is nice. secret 5 would’ve been cool, no matter what the idea would’ve been. just the addition would have been enough, as I would really like more content in this game. imagine if this game was equivalent to K3 in terms or content: EX Stage, hidden bosses, extra boss rush, extra guest areas, etc. I’ve heard there’s something like an EX Stage being worked on but I’m unsure of what the odds of it actually being finished are
overall, just a fantastic game. this is what Z2 should have been; or in other words:
Z2 could have been good.
[1] Like
Z2R improves on just about absolutely everything from Z2. every single save that sucks is now playable and fun. every single boss attack that sucks or is horrendously luck-based is remade into something actually interesting and… good. I was in shock for every aspect of this game as to just how good it was compared to Z2. it’s odd, uncanny, strange, bewildering - to see something that is usually so insanely bad being actually quite good. Z2R’s only quality I somewhat dislike is the style in which the needle is remade. it’s all the same type of needle that’s clearly made in the same style. even the hades-likes of stage 4 are turned into borderline consistency needle. this sort of ruins the game’s structure and makes all the needle feel homogenous, which isn’t a nice feeling. Z2’s needle also feels same-y at times, but in a much worse sense. not to worry, though - this is my only major-ish complaint about the entire game. the rest of the alterations are completely fine, acceptable and most of all good
Z2R improves upon what is essentially the meat of all medleys: the bosses. if we were speaking in literal terms: if Z2 was meat, it would be rancid, rotten, decomposing meat, to the point where it’s practically indistinguishable and looks like black slop; while Z2R is a well-cooked, well-seasoned, decent-price steak that looks presentable and appetizing. the level to which the bosses are improved is as if their quality between Z2 and Z2R is entirely reciprocal. in Layman terms: they’re as good in Z2R as they are bad in Z2. this is a slight exaggeration from my point of view, but it’s mostly true. the specific changes are rather obvious - bosses 1 and 2 have the luck elements removed and have more unique attacks. boss 3 is overhauled completely and is entirely indistinguishable from its Z2 equivalent. it goes from being the 2nd worst boss to being one of the middle-ranged/decent ones. boss rush is improved the most in the areas it’s the weakest, that being The Note and Blue King Slime. these two are still not great, but are marginally better than their Z2 counterparts. Dotkid Miku is simply more well-made, with the walljump bug being fixed. oh yeah, did you know Z2 is so poorly coded that the dotkid walljump bug is present? yeah, awesome right? boss 4, or Z1 Reminiscence, is the first actual brand new boss addition, being exactly that: a boss sort of like the one from Z3 which features bosses from the previous game in the series. this is one unique thing about Z-series games that isn’t often talked about. either way, it’s just some fun RNG attacks, nothing more. the guest stages are greatly improved - but unfortunately not visually. they’re still a bit of an eyesore to look at. also, the stage 5 stage select room is so cool?? I feel like it isn’t acknowledged enough, I honestly really really like it. either way, Haegoe (the first avoidance area of Stage 5) is much harder for whatever reason. this one’s not changed too much, since it’s already quite good in the original game. moreover it’s like finding an air pocket while drowning in an ocean of flaming diarrhea. Jebal-Ggaera is still the hardest boss in the game, however the competition is a little closer this time with the addition of the final boss. we’ll get to him later, but Jebal-Ggaera area is now less luck-based and feels less like one of those ‘so much shit in a row needs to go right’ avoidances. by this I mean, all the difficult chokepoints are essentially removed. this comes at a cost of about -8.0 points of difficulty, but at a great profit of a whole ton of quality. Hasi area has all the luck removed and is essentially now a fully RNG miku fight with one pattern at the beginning. unfortunately doesn’t utilize the goofy ass pattern layout too much but hey, you take what you can get from a remake of this area. Just area still kinda sucks, it’s a lot harder and is still a bit luck-based. the removal of HP simply doesn’t benefit this avoidance. on top of all this, I really don’t like this avoidance in the first place. it plays very poorly and the song isn’t great. it’s the worst area of Stage 5, even with all the nothingburger needle areas in it. and then, after all this - the bottomless pit of regret (Z2 version). it sounds pretty bad, but it’s actually alright. it’s a few different needle screens with some interesting gimmicks (kind of like in Z3). it’s some of the hardest needle in the game - as I feel it should be. after the needle, you reach PDPlayer area, which is still a bunch of RNG barrage attacks. this time it’s harder and longer and even more fun. I’m aware some people take issue with this area and find it strangely hard and luck-based at times. while I personally don’t see it, even in the original Z2, I can understand where they’re coming from
now, the best worst boss of them all - the final boss. I think something inspired SUDALV to make this final boss the best it can be on purpose, just to counteract how horrible it is in the original game. it goes from being the genuine pinnacle of misery and being the worst boss in the game, to being an absolute banger of a fight with many different attacks, tons of fun RNG, a great theme and fitting music. it truly feels like what it should be - a final and ultimate fight against the creator himself. a fight against some sort of purple supernaturally-powerful being by the name of PDPlayer. this boss is just extremely fun. there isn’t much more to it, it’s just amazing. it’s fair, fun and something very new for Z2. it’s not an easy fight per se, it’s still in the 75-80 range for sure. again, it’s a whole lot more skill-based and well-made than the original, which I am very thankful for time and time again
there’s also some additions in the form of an actual secret 4 in the form of a TAS 2 screen and some new and better hidden cherries. the secrets also actually do something, which is nice. secret 5 would’ve been cool, no matter what the idea would’ve been. just the addition would have been enough, as I would really like more content in this game. imagine if this game was equivalent to K3 in terms or content: EX Stage, hidden bosses, extra boss rush, extra guest areas, etc. I’ve heard there’s something like an EX Stage being worked on but I’m unsure of what the odds of it actually being finished are
overall, just a fantastic game. this is what Z2 should have been; or in other words:
Z2 could have been good.
Rating: 9.3 93
Difficulty: 83 83
Mar 31, 2025
Chrisay
Z2 original is a fucking nightmare so it says a lot that the remake team managed to overhaul so much of the game to make a much better experience. Basically all screens past stage 2 are changed dramatically and the general needle is a lot less named jumps spam and more kinda interesting corridor needle with the occasional gimmick thrown in.
The remake has a huge amount of quality of life improvements from the fact it's made with Game Maker Studio to the new options menu that allow you to change a lot of things. One of my favorite features is the second secret item that allows you to warp around to any stage-screen you want with a very convenient menu system. It is very appreciated.
The first four stages are decently fun with some occasional very annoying save thrown in that's much harder than anything else. A lot of the needle has been overhauled in many of the screens which shows how much the remake team cared about this.
The first three bosses have all been updated to remove the more annoying parts. Second boss has a new cool addition to it that's not too obnoxious and kinda fun to learn and do. These bosses while being way better than the original versions, are still kinda boring and not that fun to fight.
Boss rush is still kinda bad, cause all the picks are not that interesting. Catastrophe is a particarly bad one cause of the drawn out nature of the fight with reused attacks for like half of its duration. Gelize is a much more fair and better boss now and ended up becoming my favorite one of the bunch.
There's also a stage 4 boss now and as with basically all remake-exclusive content, it's of much higher quality than everything else and this boss is no exception. By far my favorite boss before stage 5. It used to be very unbalanced and kinda bad in earlier versions but it was completely redone and is now a very fun experience.
Guest stages vary a lot in difficulty and quality. PD Sushi is slightly less forgettable, but still not interesting or that fun to play.
Haegoe was a good avoidance in the original and is still good in the remake with a few attacks changed to remove stand still strats and just make it a generally more interesting fight.
L Kid is also very forgettable needle with pretty bad block layouts and design that the remake team couldn't completely save. It's not too hard though.
Jebal Ggaera is a huge difficulty spike and basically the hardest avoidance in the game only really being comparable to final boss. It's a four minute long avoidance with some pretty tricky attacks coming late into the fight. There is now a new attack added where there was nothing in the original and this attack is not trivial either so this version might actually be harder than the original despite the few changes to previously bs attacks. I wish this avoidance had gotten more attention cause I feel like it could have been made a better avoidance if the remake team had put more effort into redoing more of the attacks. It took me 15 hours to clear which is 10 hours more than any other boss in the game.
Bj Eareaf is a very weird area. It fluctuates a lot in difficulty between saves with some of them being laughuably easy. Though a huge improvement over the original with a much better flow and just better design in general, it's still not great. I had some fun with it though after I got past screen 1.
Hasi is still bad.
[1] Like
The remake has a huge amount of quality of life improvements from the fact it's made with Game Maker Studio to the new options menu that allow you to change a lot of things. One of my favorite features is the second secret item that allows you to warp around to any stage-screen you want with a very convenient menu system. It is very appreciated.
The first four stages are decently fun with some occasional very annoying save thrown in that's much harder than anything else. A lot of the needle has been overhauled in many of the screens which shows how much the remake team cared about this.
The first three bosses have all been updated to remove the more annoying parts. Second boss has a new cool addition to it that's not too obnoxious and kinda fun to learn and do. These bosses while being way better than the original versions, are still kinda boring and not that fun to fight.
Boss rush is still kinda bad, cause all the picks are not that interesting. Catastrophe is a particarly bad one cause of the drawn out nature of the fight with reused attacks for like half of its duration. Gelize is a much more fair and better boss now and ended up becoming my favorite one of the bunch.
There's also a stage 4 boss now and as with basically all remake-exclusive content, it's of much higher quality than everything else and this boss is no exception. By far my favorite boss before stage 5. It used to be very unbalanced and kinda bad in earlier versions but it was completely redone and is now a very fun experience.
Guest stages vary a lot in difficulty and quality. PD Sushi is slightly less forgettable, but still not interesting or that fun to play.
Haegoe was a good avoidance in the original and is still good in the remake with a few attacks changed to remove stand still strats and just make it a generally more interesting fight.
L Kid is also very forgettable needle with pretty bad block layouts and design that the remake team couldn't completely save. It's not too hard though.
Jebal Ggaera is a huge difficulty spike and basically the hardest avoidance in the game only really being comparable to final boss. It's a four minute long avoidance with some pretty tricky attacks coming late into the fight. There is now a new attack added where there was nothing in the original and this attack is not trivial either so this version might actually be harder than the original despite the few changes to previously bs attacks. I wish this avoidance had gotten more attention cause I feel like it could have been made a better avoidance if the remake team had put more effort into redoing more of the attacks. It took me 15 hours to clear which is 10 hours more than any other boss in the game.
Bj Eareaf is a very weird area. It fluctuates a lot in difficulty between saves with some of them being laughuably easy. Though a huge improvement over the original with a much better flow and just better design in general, it's still not great. I had some fun with it though after I got past screen 1.
Hasi is still bad.
Rating: 8.5 85
Difficulty: 80 80
Oct 13, 2019
MegaKid
It still Z2 but this is a remake ver
something new i really like in remake ver:
1. New secret : Portal room ( you can view all screen to collect all secret , secret 2 )
2. There are some new effect on some screen
3. Remake boss and stage much more easier than original ver
[1] Like
something new i really like in remake ver:
1. New secret : Portal room ( you can view all screen to collect all secret , secret 2 )
2. There are some new effect on some screen
3. Remake boss and stage much more easier than original ver
Rating: 9.0 90
Difficulty: N/A
Sep 5, 2019
VanyaB
Good content before the boss rush, after that you can quit the game.
[0] Likes
Rating: 4.0 40
Difficulty: 76 76
Jun 23, 2026
Delicious Fruit
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