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"Don't you know who I am? ...Fine. You will be dead anyway. Heh heh heh, die! X!"
—Zero Nightmare, Mega Man X6

The Zero Nightmare (ゼロ ナイトメア Zero Naitomea) is an insane, off-colored Nightmare copy of Zero created by Gate using Zero's DNA. When he is defeated by X, Zero is unlocked as a playable character.

Characteristics[]

Zero-Nightmare Busters

Zero's Z-Buster in Mega Man X5 compared to Zero Nightmare's buster.

The Zero Nightmare is a discolored palette swap of Zero's sprites from Mega Man X5. His entire body is purple in color, while the gems on his body are green and his Z-Saber is grey. Additionally, Zero Nightmare's Z-Buster design is based on the sprite from the Mega Man X5 prototype, similarly to X5's Zero battle, rather than the player sprite from the final version. In Mega Man X DiVE, Zero Nightmare is also shown with one sparking purple eye and glitch-like effects surrounding his body.

Zero Nightmare is an agent of chaos, designed specifically to draw attention by wreaking havoc. At times, he would ask X where Zero was, seeking him. Other times he would claim to be Zero himself, and yet other times, he would yell "BLUE... LIGHT... KILL... KILL!" among other incoherent phrases in a mindless rage. No matter what, though, X would deny his claims or snap at the "cheesy fake," and Zero Nightmare would instantly go into a rage bent on killing X, or claim X has gone Maverick and that he will retire him. These conflicting and random exchanges of dialogue suggest that the Zero Nightmare has some of Zero's memories from throughout Zero's life (including the times with his original programming), but without context, he simply acts on his base instincts, which compel him to kill X and any others who stand in his way, eerily similar to the Maverick state Zero was first found in. While some memories and attack patterns seem to have remained from different periods of Zero's life, the clone was incomplete in any respect, and was therefore easy for X to see through as a forgery of his longtime friend.

History[]

Mega Man X6[]

Zero Nightmare was created by Gate using the Nightmare and Zero's DNA. He was used by Isoc as a scapegoat for the Nightmare, describing him as the "ghost of Zero" and enlisting volunteers to join the Nightmare Investigators and stop him. In reality, Isoc was using this fraudulent claim to get as many Reploids as possible corrupted in Nightmare-infested areas. Meanwhile, the Zero Nightmare seemed to retain some of Zero's old memories as it stormed across the world, seeking the original Zero for unknown reasons. The real Zero decided to keep out of sight from the Maverick Hunters, since the Zero Nightmare had tarnished his name. Once X encountered and destroyed Zero Nightmare in one of the eight Another Routes, Zero revealed himself to X to help get to the bottom of the Nightmare.

If the player avoided confronting the Zero Nightmare at all (and by extension, never discovered Zero's survival) up to the defeat of Sigma, the Zero Nightmare is given an indirect reference in the ending. Zero, secretly observing X and Alia's conversation, mentions one last task he needs to take care of (that is, his fake copy) before finally rejoining the Maverick Hunters.

Strategy[]

Zero Nightmare's strategy resembles Zero's own as a boss from Mega Man X5, but with some differences. He gains a new attack, which is a dash towards the player followed by a single, slow saber slash. He also uses a variant of Awakened Zero's Genmu Zero called Genmu Zero Kai, which does not cause instant death. Ironically, Zero Nightmare is weak to the Z-Saber (including Magma Blade), causing him to cry out before teleporting away to retaliate with either Shin Messenkou or Genmu Zero Kai. The stun effect only occurs from a standing Z-Saber slash, as slashes from midair or a wall deal damage instead.

This was changed in the Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 release, where Zero Nightmare can indeed get stunned by aerial and wall slashes although he still cannot be stunned during Shin Messenkou or Genmu Zero Kai.

Zero Nightmare is also weak to Rekkoha, though it's not possible to fight him as Zero without using cheats.[1]

MMX6 ZeroNightmare BusterSaberAttack Buster & Saber Attack (バスター&セイバー攻撃)[2]
Zero Nightmare mimics Zero's Z-Buster and Saber Shot, firing two buster shots followed by a saber shockwave. He may also simply slash once without a shockwave. When below 50% health, Zero Nightmare may fire a wide onslaught of buster shots all at once.
Damage: 3:4:5 (Buster), 7:10:12 (Saber, slash), 12:16:20 (Saber, shockwave)
MMX6 ZeroNightmare ShinMessenkou Shin Messenkou (真滅閃光 "True Destroying Glint")[2]
Zero Nightmare mimics Zero's Shin Messenkou, punching the ground to launch a series of projectiles upwards.
Damage: 6:8:10
MMX6 ZeroNightmare GenmuZeroKai Genmu Zero Kai (幻夢零改 "Phantasm Zero: Revise")[2]
Zero Nightmare mimics Genmu Zero, enlarging his saber and slashing a giant crescent across the arena. Unlike the true Genmu Zero, it does not cause instant death, and only projects two crescents if Zero Nightmare is Lv.02 or higher.
Damage: 7:10:12

Quotes[]

Dialogue[]

In-Battle Quotes[]

Action Japanese Translation Audio
Entrance はーっはっはっはっはっは… (Hahahahaha...) Hahahahaha...
Dashing 逃げるなよ!(Nigeru na yo!) Don't run away!
Shin Messenkou 終わりだ!(Owari da!) It's over!
Genmu Zero Kai 死ね!(Shine!) Die!
After Genmu Zero Kai そこまでだ!(Soko made da!) That's far enough!
Hit by weakness or defeated うーわぁ!(Uuu-waaa!) Arrrgh!

Other appearances[]

  • Zero Nightmare is a playable Hunter Program in Mega Man X DiVE. His design is slightly upgraded, featuring a sparking eye and a glitchy aura. His Active Skills are his low-health Buster Attack and his Genmu Zero Kai.
  • When Zero has the Black Zero skin in TEPPEN, the colors of Zero's evil side from the skill Fight Against Inner Demons resembles Zero Nightmare.
  • Zero's fourth color in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite has Zero Nightmare colors.
  • During the X Challenge, Zero Nightmare is slightly altered in Normal and Hard difficulties. (1) He always has the Buster Attack available regardless of his health. (2) He will use the level 4 variation of Genmu Zero Kai slashes which he shoots 4 slashes instead of 3. (3) He has additional laugh voice clips (recycled from intro laugh voice) during ground dash. (4) He can be stunned by jump saber slashes in his initial/dash stance while he can only be stunned by ground slash in the original game.
    • Damage output of several attacks including Sigma's electric spheres, Zero Nightmare's dash contact/Saber slash is modified to be abnormally high (one direct hit of saber slash removes about 1/6 of X's health bar in Hard) - presumably a development oversight.

Gallery[]

Videos[]

Trivia[]

  • Zero Nightmare's battle theme is "X vs. Zero", the same song that plays when X and Zero/Awakened Zero fight in Mega Man X5.
  • If a battle between the real Zero and the Zero Nightmare is triggered through the use of a cheating device, the Zero Nightmare will use the quotes of High Max, presumably because the dialogue was never programmed for an exchange between Zero and the Zero Nightmare, resulting in the game loading the next available dialogue in its programming: that of High Max. The only place this does not happen is in Commander Yammark's stage, where it will reveal an unused dialogue rather than using High Max's. The dialogue is a variant to X's encounter with the Zero Nightmare. The reason for Zero's name changing to X in his second line is likely due to an oversight, hinting that it would've been possible for Zero to encounter the Zero Nightmare at one point:
    • Zero: Who are you!
    • Zero Nightmare: It's me. Don't you recognize me?
    • Zero: (Name switches to X) ...You are pitiful. What do you want?
    • Zero Nightmare: I've been looking for my hunters... To wipe out! Time to die now!
  • One very notable line that Zero Nightmare says is: "WHERE IS ZERO? WHERE IS HE HIDING? A BLUE ROBOT. ENEMY OF ZERO...KILL YOU!" It is interesting in that while searching for Zero, he identifies X as Zero's enemy. It is possible that along with some memories from Zero, he may possibly have inherited some of Zero's memory of his mission to destroy X from the Maverick Virus. This is also supported by his imperfect usage of Genmu Zero, an attack used only by Awakened Zero in X5. The conflict of memories could be the cause for his mental instability.
    • On the other hand, with that aforementioned quote, Zero Nightmare's dialogue may not in fact be referencing X at all, as the stated quote could be a reference to yet another one of Zero's forgotten memories: his original purpose of destroying Mega Man, as programmed by Dr. Wily. Considering the insane nature that Zero Nightmare exhibits, it is highly plausible to suggest that Zero Nightmare has confused X as Mega Man. This is also supported by Zero's terminology, describing X as "A BLUE ROBOT." To call X a "robot" is rather peculiar because this term has been replaced with "Reploid" long ago by the time of X6, giving merit to the belief that Zero Nightmare did in fact reference Mega Man by mistake.
  • In the Japanese version of the game, Zero Nightmare strangely refers to himself as "washi" (ワシ) instead of the usual "ore" (オレ) when saying "WHERE IS MY ZERO!?" (ワシノ ゼロハ ドコダ?). "Washi" is the Japanese pronoun typically used by people of old age and the personal pronoun used by Dr. Wily. This implies that Zero Nightmare is somehow confusing Dr. Wily's memories with Zero's.
    • Also in the Japanese version, his reference to "LIGHT" was written as "ライト" rather than "ヒカリ", implying that Nightmare Zero was referring to Wily's nemesis, Doctor Thomas Light, rather than a literal blue light.
  • Due to a programming oversight, Zero Nightmare is impossible to fight at level 4, since bosses will only be at level 4 when the PA rank is achieved, which requires 5000 Nightmare Souls, and one way to unlock the endgame is to collect 3000 Nightmare Souls, meaning that fighting Zero Nightmare and High Max will no longer be possible. The only way to achieve this is through cheating devices such as GameShark. (The NTSC version of the code to fight Zero Nightmare and other bosses at level 4 is 300CCF5F 0003)
    • If Zero Nightmare is defeated when it is at level 4, players are rewarded with the Black Zero enhancement without the use of codes. It is worth noting that there is no special text or notification if the player achieves the enhancement through this method.[3]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 As shown via Gameshark cheats.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Boss File: Zero Nightmare, Rockman X6. Compendium of Rockman X. pg. 98.
  3. Mega Man X6 on The Cutting Room Floor


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