Mega Man Zero is not balanced. Everything about this game works on a fundamental level, except for the fact that this game is not balanced at all.
The level design is messy, unorganised and flat, the bosses can either be actually decent or massive difficulty walls, the rank system for weapons makes the bosses even worse, and the scoring system means basically nothing in this game. Don’t even get me started on the bizarre lives system.
The Cyber-elf system especially is broken and feels unfinished. Due to how low your E-Crystal count will be because there’s so little E-Crystals going around to begin with, you will barley be able to get even a single Cyber-elf upgrade before the end of the game, which adds to how much this game will steamroll you if you don’t grind. This game basically forces you to grind to stand any chance of an easier experience and it is simply not fun.
Skip to Zero 2. You’re better off.