History:
From the Konami website:
It is the 22nd century. Humanity has expanded its domain into outer space, as people seek new lands free from the chains of gravity. The planet
Mars was terraformed, and the nations of
Earth each established their own colonies. These nations then extended their gaze beyond Mars, to
Jupiter. But while the vast territories and untapped resources of space opened up a new era in human development, they also gave rise to
a new set of problems.
The inhabitants of the 16 counties of Mars and the colonies of Jupiter were subject to the despotic rule of the Earthlings, who referred to them
pejoratively as "Enders". An irreparable rift began to grow between those raised in the binding gravity of Earth and those born in the freedom of space, leading to ever increasing hostility between the Earthling rulers and their Ender subjects.
The Discovery Of Metatron
It was during this heady period of expansion that a previously unknown type of ore, called
Metatron, was discovered. This new material quickly became known throughout the solar system not only as a superior source of energy, but also for its applications in a wide variety of other
fields. But there were those who sought to exploit Metatron's tremendous energy for their own.
Working in secret, anti-Earth elements on Mars used the power of Metatron to develop gigantic humanoid weapons called "Orbital Frames". The overwhelming military power of these frames far outstripped that of the humanoid LEVs employed by Earth. With this newfound strength, the anti-Earth forces of Mars, who could not hope to match Earth in sheer terms of numbers, were finally able to mount a strong resistance against their oppressors.
Jupiter Orbital Colony Antilia
At the same time, the chief architects of the anti-Earth movement on Mars, the Vascilia County-based BAHRAM Army And Nereidum Universal Technology, Ltd.
(NUT), were conducting weapons research on the Jupiter colony of Antilia. This colony, located within the orbit of the Jovian moon Europa, was originally established as a mining outpost to harvest the resources of Jupiter and its (the paragraph ends there. Seriously.)
Here, far from the watchful eye of Earth, BAHRAM and NUT developed two new orbital frames,
Jehuty and
Anubis. But their pilot was discovered by Earth, who dispatched the United Nations Space Force (UNSF) to Antilia. In 2172, the UNSF assumed military control of the colony and confiscated the newly-developed orbital frames. Several months later, BAHRAM sent a battalion of orbital frames in an attempt to recapture the two new orbital frames from the UNSF.
The commander of this battalion was Colonel Nohman, and his second in command was
Lieutentant Viola. The UNSF's LEVs were no match for the power of the orbital frames, and Antilia was easily taken by BAHRAM. During the raid, BAHRAM managed to get their hands on
Anubis, but
Jehuty eluded their grasp.
Meanwhile, Elena Weinberg, second-in-command of the spaceship
Atlantis, and leader of a special UNSF task force charged with the recovery of the two missing frames, enlisted the aid of
Leo Stenbuck, a young Antilian caught up in the chaos of the BAHRAM attack in transporting
Jehuty from the colony's military base to its spaceport.
Under constant attack from Viola and the forces of BAHRAM, Leo nonetheless managed to deliver
Jehuty safely to the
Atlantis at the spaceport, narrowly escaping the devastation of Antilia.
Zone Of The Enders: The Second Runner Introduction
2174 AD. A new army of orbital frames, developed using the basic Anubis design, finally provided
BAHRAM with the overwhelming military power it needed to begin its conquest of Mars and Earth.
UNSF resistance collapsed in the face of a vicious onslaught by the forces of Colonel Nohman, who had assumed the leadership of the Aumaan project.
The
terrible power of Anubis reduced the Martian landscape to ashes, and Aumaan, the impenetrable military fortress that was to become the cornerstone of BAHRAM's reign of terror, was nearing completion. However, in order to complete the Aumaan project, BAHRAM needed to find a way to deal with
Jehuty first.
Once again, Nohman focused his attentions on capturing Jehuty. Meanwhile, the UNSF, having
abandoned its attempts to penetrate the BAHRAM-controlled network of defenses that surrounded Mars, decided to evacuate
Jehuty to Jupiter, hoping to hide it from BAHRAM.
Jehuty's Awakening
It was around this time that
Dingo Egret, an ice harvester on the Jovian moon of Callisto, began to pick up powerful Metatron readings near the site where he was working. Upon investigating, he discovered a lone orbital frame. The orbital frame
Jehuty had awakened. And with it awoke visions of Dingo's past on the field of battle.
Anubis. Jehuty. The Aumaan Project. The final battle for the fate of Mars is about to begin.
Characters:
Dingo Egret: Pilot of the
Jehuty and former member of BAHRAM. He looks to be of the cool, ass-kicking,
Domon Kasshu type of mecha pilot, as opposed to the whiny
Shinji Akari type.
Nohman: Pilot of
Anubis, leader of the BAHRAM army and the Auumann Project. Anubis itself was developed at the same time as
Jehuty, and is considered the strongest frame in existence.
The Auuman is also known as the "Invincible Fortress".
Ken Marinaris: Pilot of
Ardjet, one of the new characters, and
female (despite the name). She works for the BAHRAM army, currently ordered to search for Jehuty.
The Ardjet can protect itself using a large shell, ala the Mummy weapon in the first game, minus the healing.
Leo Stenbuck: Main character of first game. In Z.O.E.: The Second Runner, he pilots
Vic Viper. His experiences on Antilia have inevitably drawn him back to the battle.
Viola A.I.: An A.I. created using the battle data of Viola, Leo's rival in the first game. She was a BAHRAM officer, and was killed when her frame was incapacitated and drifted into Jupiter's core. The
Nephtis contains the Viola A.I.
Lloyd: Pilots the
Inhert. Lloyd is a BAHRAM R&D tech who is the only man who knows how to close the performance gap between the
Anubis and the
Jehuty.
Taper: The token blowhard of the characters. The
Phantoma is not an orbital frame, but a military LEV, and Taper isn't really as hugely powerful as he makes himself out to be. The
Phantoma is used mainly for work outside of planetary orbit.
Volkoyo: Leader of the four man team that pilots the
Zakat. The
Zakat is so large, it requires a team of pilots for it to function. Its specialty is the eradication of enemy bases, and is a key part of BAHRAM's forces.
Combat System:
The combat has been greatly improved over the previous game. A new multi-lock on system has been added, allowing for attacks in several directions at once. The
combo attacks, the
Dash Blade, and the
Burst Blade now all hit multiple enemies. The fourth attack in the combos can now be changed to a throw, usually at another enemy or the ground/ceiling.
The
Burst Shot now deals damage variable on how long it is charged. The
Dash Laser, in combination with the multi-lock system, can hit multiple enemies. It is claimed that it can hit up to one hundred enemies in one shot.
The subweapons have also been improved, adding such things as a
Homing Missile and a
Spread Shot.
The grab system now has more options; with another enemy locked on, one enemy can be thrown at another. Grabbed enemies can be used to block attacks or even used as a weapon to hit other enemies. Chunks of wall and building material can be used as melee weapons or thrown.
Staff:
Producer: Hideo Kojima- Producer of the original and known for his
movie-style flair in his games (Metal Gear (all of them, including Solid & Sons Of Liberty, Zone Of The Enders). He is currently Vice President of Konami Computer Entertainment Japan, Inc. (
KCEJ)
Mechanical Design: Yoji Shinkawa- Joined Konami in 1994 and immediately assigned to
Policenauts Private Collection. He was in charge of the character and mechanical design in Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid: Sons Of Liberty. He was also the art director for MGS: SOL. He has released two books: The Art Of Metal Gear Solid 1 & 2, released by
Konami in 1999 and 2002, respectively.
Character Design, 2D Animation Supervisor: Nobuyoshi Nishimura- After joining Studio Dove in 1983, he worked as animator and then became graphic supervisor and character designer. He has worked on several anime, including
Mobile New Century Gundam X (Kidou Shin-seiki Gundam X),
New Mobile Chronicle Gundam W (Shin Kidou Senki Gundam W), Zettai Muteki Raijin-oh, Mobile Police
Patlabor, and others. He is most well known for his
Mecha anime series. He did work in Zone Of The Enders as character designer and demo part director.
Original Character Design: Tsubasa Masao- Joined KCEJ in 1997 and worked on the animation for the console title Keyboard Mania and
Guitar Freaks. He was design leader of the phone version of Beatmania as well. He is working on the characters and
costumes for Z.O.E.: The Second Runner.
Game Design/Scenario/Director: Shuyo Murata- Joined KCEJ in 1995 and has done work on game projects since 1999. He did work on Metal Gear Solid as supervisor and scenario director, Z.O.E. as assistant scenario director and rendering demo supervisor, and Metal Gear Solid: The Sons Of Liberty as the author of
"The Shocking Conspiracy Of Shadow Moses," a short story that details the Shadow Moses incident. His other projects include writing the "bonus drama scenario" of Metal Gear Ghost Babel (Game Boy Color), Idea Spy 2.5, and over 50 drama CD projects, including "Click & Dead Netway Sweepers". Z.O.E.: The Second Runner is his first job as director.