Played and captured on the GameBoy Advance version using the GameCube GameBoy Player.

0:17 - Preparations
0:51 - Stage
1:20 - Battle

Speedruns not withstanding, the vast majority of footage I've seen uploaded for the Zero series generally showcases hit-and-run gameplay, playing it safe by dodging the boss's attacks and throwing out single-hitting attacks of their own, usually charged attacks.
Now, that's all well and good, if you're Mega Man or X, as that's pretty much been their gameplan since 1987. However, this is *Zero*, who was designed to emulate the speed and flashiness of fighting games - he's capable of so much more than jumping and shooting, and that's what I hope to demonstrate in this video.


--PREPARATIONS--

Weapons
- Main: Z-Saber
- Sub: Buster Shot (not used)

Chips
- Head: Normal
- Body: Light
- Foot: Quick

EX Skills
- Gale Attack (Reppuugeki)
- Saber Smash (Rakusaiga)
- Split Heavens (Tenretsujin)
- Throw Blade (Zaneidan)

Cyber Elves
- Cottus: enables Sonic Boom/Kougenjin by pressing Down during triple slash
- Malthas: enables Rolling Slash/Kuuenzan by pressing Up during jump and dash


--BREAKDOWN--

The combo system in the Zero series started out very rough, but was really fleshed out in Z3, carrying over into Z4. The games have a hit priority system, with each attack assigned a numeric priority value. It is possible to keep damaging a boss after they enter invincibility frames when they take a hit, but additional attacks will only connect if they have a higher priority value than the last one that hit the boss. Below is a breakdown of the priority values of the attacks used in this fight:

1st Standing Slash: 1
2nd Standing Slash: 2
3rd Standing Slash (Normal): 3
3rd Standing Slash (Sonic Boom): 3
Throw Blade (Projectile): 1
Throw Blade (Saber): 3
Gale Attack: 1-3
Split Heavens: 4
Saber Smash: 5
Rolling Slash: 1-6

The first combo in the fight is the longest:
Triple Slash (1,2,3) - Split Heavens (4) - Saber Smash (5) - Rolling Slash (6)

As the each attack in the sequence has a higher priority than the one before, all of them connect, resulting in a 6-hit combo for 29 damage.
Additionally, the specific chip combination used (Normal, Light, Quick) enables Zero to cancel the third saber slash immediately into Split Heavens, much like in a fighting game, making it much faster and safer to use. This also means I cannot rely on Double Jump or Shadow Dash, and therefore have to play the fight clean.

When used at point-blank range, Throw Blade will always hit twice, as the projectile hits first, and the saber slash has a higher priority value.

Gale Attack hits three times and will combo into Split Heavens.

Finally, the Sonic Boom combo is used at the end in place of the normal triple slash, as Phantom flinches when hit during his dash, and is knocked back too far for the normal third slash to connect; meanwhile, the Sonic Boom deals no extra damage, but has extended reach, allowing the final blow to connect and end the fight.

Again, no charge attacks were used as the purpose of this video was to demonstrate what is possible without them. They are slower than all other attacks due to the charge time, even with buffs to charge speed, and deal just 8 damage to bosses without using element chips to exploit weaknesses. To compare:
- Charge Slash: 8 damage
- Throw Blade: 3-8 damage - projectile deals 3 damage, saber deals 5 damage, and the two hits will combo point-blank
- Split Heavens: 7 - due to the chip loadout can cancel straight from triple slash, which deals 12 damage, totaling at 19 damage
- Saber Smash: 8 - can be used immediately after Split Heavens, stacking the damage even higher
- Gale Attack: 6-18 damage - hits 3 times at 6 damage per hit, and can lead straight into Split Heavens, and then into Saber Smash

TL;DR - EX Skills are as good as, if not better than charge attacks. Don't sleep on 'em.

With all of that said, however, Charge Slash and Charge Shot both have a priority of 1 and can therefore be used at the start of any combo to increase your overall damage.

Thanks for watching.

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