Once again, players take control of the Reploid known as Zero, and lead him through various levels in the battle against the forces of Neo Arcadia.

[4] In February 2020, the game was released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam as part of the Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection.

The three surviving members of the Four Guardians have assumed command of Neo Arcadia, with Harpuia as the leader.

The Resistance is now being led by a Reploid named Elpizo, while Ciel continues her work on a new form of energy that will hopefully eliminate the need for war.

Wishing to see Zero die in battle rather than perish from exhaustion, Harpuia rescues Zero and covertly delivers him to a location near the Resistance base, where he is found and repaired.

Driven mad, he declares his desire to harness the power of the legendary Dark Elf to destroy Neo Arcadia (and wipe out the humans), which had brought about the Elf Wars a century ago that left the Earth in a disastrous state.

Using the powers granted by partially unsealing the Dark Elf, he invades Neo Arcadia and breaks into the temple where the body of the real X is kept.

After a fierce battle, Zero puts an end to Elpizo's plans, who reverts to his normal self and apologizes as he dies.

In a post credits scene, an unknown man notes the Dark Elf has been released, and tells an entity known as "Omega" that it is time to take action.

The controls are identical to that in the previous game, with players given the option to assign functions to the buttons they are most comfortable using.

Forms are unlocked by completing various tasks during a mission, such as destroying a set number of enemies with the Buster Shot.

For example, the Buster Shot can be modified to fire a long-piercing beam instead of its normal charged blast, while the Z-Saber gains additional moves such as a powerful rising slash.

In Hard Mode, Zero starts with the "Proto Form", which doubles his attack strength but halves his defense and locks his weapons at their basic level.

It increases all of Zero's stats and also allows him to use full-charge attacks instantly by means of simplistic button combos.

[23] A common remark is that the game has not changed much in its formula since its predecessor, though they do acknowledge that improvements have been made to the stage select menus.