also known as Anubis - Zone of the Enders - Special Edition
PlayStation 2
🇬🇧
Reviewed in 2003
88
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✪ Reviewed on July 4, 2024
82
Spectacular mecha action from Hideo Kojima, sequel to Zone of the Enders. The high-speed aerial combat and impressive visual presentation remain striking. The sci-fi story is engaging and the game perfectly embodies the joy of piloting a mecha.
Your verdict
Category
Action1 player16+
Description
A Konami and Hideo Kojima action game released in 2003, the direct Western Zone of the Enders - The 2nd Runner sequel. Pilot Dingo Egret takes control of Jehuty to fight BAHRAM forces led by Nohman in an interplanetary war. Considerably refined third-person 3D combat compared to the first entry, spectacular boss mechanics, mature narrative signed Hideo Kojima. Absolute franchise peak, masterpiece.
Zone of the Enders - The 2nd Runner review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
4/5
Story
★★★★★
"Captivating"
Slender mechs in razor-sharp cel-shading by Yoji Shinkawa, dazzling battles and brilliant lighting effects: the anime aesthetic comes alive in real time. The fluidity of the clashes and the elegance of the design stand apart from everything else. This visual identity, sleek and futuristic, keeps an intact modernity.
Blending nervy electro, orchestra and ethereal singing, Maki Kirioka's music propels the mecha battles into a futuristic sonic trance. The tense, drifting themes embrace the speed and grace of the clashes with a stylish energy. This sleek electronic identity makes the whole singularity of this action peak.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Piloting a mecha that knifes through the air at full speed, locks onto swarms of enemies and slashes with a laser blade delivers aerial combat of rare fluidity and intensity. The clarity amid the chaos and the sheer sense of power stay exhilarating with a controller in hand. Short but utterly masterful, this frantic mechanical ballet has lost none of its brilliance or its snap.
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
At the controls of an overpowered mecha, you slice through the air at breakneck speed, dodging swarms of projectiles before swooping on the enemy in a deluge of effects: the action hits peaks of fluidity and spectacle. Mastering aerial combat delivers a rare rush. Snappy, sumptuous and exhilarating, a peak of mecha action on the console.
An acclaimed sequel from Kojima Productions, Zone of the Enders The 2nd Runner pushes mecha action toward aerial combat of a still-cult intensity and flair. Still present on the American market yet durably in demand, its interest lies in this status as a peak of the mecha genre on PS2 rather than strong scarcity. A prime piece for fans of brisk robot action.
Memorable bosses
Taken to a white heat, this second wind multiplies mecha set-pieces: hoisting a colossus to hurl it, surfing a swarm of missiles, or facing the rival Anubis in a ballet of laser blades. Each guardian pushes velocity and excess further than anything before. The virtuosity of its staging has made it an unmatched peak of robotic action.
An underrated gem
Everything the first entry sketched out, this sequel perfects: mecha clashes of insane intensity, carving through swarms of enemies in a ballet of speed and light. Modest sales and a short length kept it in semi-obscurity. For fans of spectacular, snappy action, it's a peak of the genre, controller in hand.
Is Zone of the Enders - The 2nd Runner still worth playing in 2026?
Released in 2003 on PS2 in Japan as Anubis Zone of the Enders and in the West as Zone of the Enders The 2nd Runner, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan's project signed by Hideo Kojima offers an aerial mecha action of remarkable graphic elegance. Jehuty's handling, the readability of three dimensional combat and the cel shaded staging install a real identity. Norihiko Hibino's music accompanies brilliantly. The Special Edition adds video content. Recommended today for mecha devotees, for Kojima fans curious about an off branch peak and for PS2 collectors on Sony's second home console hardware globally.
