I've been waiting to have the time to devote to this properly. Finally, game on!
Also, "who we are" in spite of memories/goals is a philosophical debate, so I'm not touching that.
Well, it is relevant. Besides which...
Take away the focus on X, take away the indifference to Mavericks, and turn his allegiance to a new master. What's left?
You brought it up, man.
I still perceive a power difference between the X4 flashback and MHX
Such difference is intangible. MHX Zero can jump the full length and height of the screen, and make a single dash from one end to the other. He can perform flaming drop kicks and ground pounding energy attacks, and when incensed can even lay out a volley of consecutive charge shots that rivals X6's overdrive. He is also shown to catch Sigma's arm during mid-strike from close range. All he's really incapable of doing is escaping from Sigma's deadly headlock, something he still has trouble with in X8 and we've not shown that flashback Zero can do any better with the move.
which leaves X2 as the only aberration. Zero uses identical moves in X2 whether fighting him or not.
Regardless of X4, it's rather clear that the X2 "awakening" is not the same as the X5 Awakening.
X5 is just as anomalous for being the only instance where Zero is exposed to an entire space colony of virus energy. Zero gets a power boost from virus energy regardless of his personality, as also established in X5, so the vast difference expressed is how much virus energy Zero has ingested. That same kind of virus in an energy body is a rare thing in X2, thus presumably his mode of awakening in that title is more directly related to hardware alteration to his brain, a patch or chip that could be destroyed by X to return him to normal, and leave him without memory of what had occurred and what he knew and believed while he was under that influence. It is also congruent with Wily's actions in MM&B, if at first you don't succeed, turn up the brainwashing level... Or more accurately in Zero's case, turn back to who he was made to be. Therefore in X5, a different method of awakening, and perhaps a better one.
Zero's newly resurrected form in X2 may only have a few core techniques at his disposal, so it doesn't seem strange that they share moves. Things like floating and glowing power auras don't appear in X4's flashback scene, those were also X5 evil Zero firsts too. It would have been interesting to see how a MHX2 would address this.
To establish that world domination goals exist in Zero's programming...
Is as impossible as establishing that hatred for X is hard-coded into him without being expressly told. And that misses the point. If Zero is to be obsessed only with proving himself better than X, he is doomed to repeat Forte's fate of sometimes being at odds with his own creator's plans. If Zero wanted to dominate the world, it would be the same King debacle again, only tenfold. Wily didn't seek for Zero to rule the world, he wanted to rule it himself. Zero is to help him do it by following his orders, and being a brutal wrecker who loves destruction and wouldn't mind at all if the whole world goes to hell. That a virus-like program within him can be tweaked to influence nearly any robot is also a pretty convenient tool. Zero is to be used to whatever ends his creator sees fit. Zero is a tool to be used, and as Inafune expressed, Weil used that tool as well.
...a statement must be made at or following his completion. We have no such statement.
Only when we ignore Sigma. Sigma has been the most vocal proponent of evil Zero since X2. The hints he gives on Zero's true nature, whom he should follow and who is his enemy, Zero's forgotten episode of their shared past, explaining that deep down Zero wants to destroy even his friends like Colonel and Iris, the revelation that the virus purifies him, even that deep down he must know his own father, and finally, the exposition that it could have been, would have been Zero ringing in the death of the old world, into a new age.
And Sigma's testimony in this case should not likely be dismissed easily. The Rockman X8 Kyuukyoku Complete Guide states on page 8:
イレギュラー状態のゼロを捕まえたのは、当時ハンターだったシグマ。ゼロの正体に関しては不明点が多いが、最もその秘密を把握していると思われるのがシグマだ。
The one who captured Zero in his Irregular state was none other than Sigma, who at that time was a Hunter. There are many uncertain questions regarding Zero's true form, but it seems Sigma himself has the greatest understanding of those secrets.
Sigma has a unique perspective on Zero. Sigma has integrated viral code from Zero, and has partnered with Zero's creator (and among all those who have done his bidding, only X2 Zero and X5's shadowy Wily are ever called his partners). Sigma has the most experience with Zero's original self, and has tried as much as anyone to bring it to the forefront. He is a valuable source of insight.
Sigma knows that Zero is the last of the Wily Numbers, and that was a couple centuries ago. That knowledge in and of itself does not reveal an understanding of Zero's true nature. Sigma himself is proof to the point, as despite whatever he knows about Zero's background, things still don't go as he expects.
Sigma's knowing of Zero's Wily Numbers status is significant as a demonstration of his rare knowledge. How he came about it is unknown. At current neither does it appear Cain, nor the Hunters, nor even Zero himself seems aware of this detail. Not even Gate has mentioned it, hard to say whether he knows. Wherever such knowledge has come from, it does not come simply as common knowledge to everyone who works on Zero. As such the reappearance of it in the Zero series demonstrates a greater understanding of Zero's past and perhaps his body than has been known to anyone outside of Wily and Sigma for the known series beforehand.
But while Sigma has knowledge of Zero's inner evil and its purpose, he does not have full understanding of Zero the hero. And for that matter, there is nothing to show that Zero's own creator understands. The two working together in X5 both fail at returning Zero to his intended self. For them, evil is stronger than the weak old justice Zero clings to, and the knowledge of his pure evil self should well overshadow that which he believed in as a Hunter (and in one X5 scenario, it does for a short time). So why does Zero cling so vehemently to the side of good? If they understood, perhaps they wouldn't have tried in the first place.
Power Fighters is only to be expected, it's in-character for Wily at that time. But if he wanted the world, he could have had it, all he had to do was unleash Zero before X was ready. Why wait?
Certainly crushing an opponent who can defend himself proves more than killing someone in their sleep or stabbing them in the back. Of course, Nintendo logic always dictated that the bosses wait in their rooms to engage in open combat.
Even so, that makes it sound as if unleashing Zero before X was ready was a simple task. Wily's own estimation was that Zero's completion was a long way off as of PF. If anything like Light's timetable for X, Wily could well be too old, too weak, or even too dead to rule the world by the time Zero is finished. Old age can be quite a hell, and ruling the planet a difficult task between naps and pill schedules, all while vying for control over one's own bowels. In musing, perhaps his own heart wasn't able to take the strain of his excitement as Zero drew ready, Wily suffering a fatal stroke at his own wicked glee, his finger poised over the ON switch. A sadder idea, maybe Wily dared not chance unveiling Zero while he still lived, for fear his life's greatest masterpiece turned out to be as much of a failure as his other creations. I doubt he'd be so pessimistic about his greatest achievement. Nothing in Wily's shown attitude demonstrates that Wily counted on or considered Zero losing.
Including the suggestion that Wily would make Zero a friendly personality so that X would not destroy him. Better ideas might be to spray one's enemy with an evil virus upon defeat. Better still, kamikaze up and take your enemy down with you (a la Zero against Vile's ride armor). If survival is the focus over winning, simply apologizing and begging for his life would perhaps have been enough, it got Wily through many a tight scrape. To actually make a secondary personality that would take over based on damage taken and subsequently be extremely difficult to re-submerge is so counter productive that maybe only someone truly mad would think it's a good idea. In truth such would be no guarantee anyway, and hinge much better success only if the two were established as friends beforehand. The proper way to pull off such a devious deed, as Double demonstrates in X4, is by introducing the good personality first in order to endear yourself, which is hardly the case when Zero was discovered. But this doesn't even require a true personality swap, only the intent to deceive. Forte did it thus as well. Then switching sides from an order would be infinitely simpler than the ordeal X5 awakening must go through. And for all that, the secondary personality becomes a limiter when actually engaged. If the battle is close and both sides take damage, Zero would wimp out instead of giving the final blow, preventing the ultimate victory he could have otherwise achieved. In this scenario the X5 Awakening outcome is 100% Wily's own fault. Zero recovered faster, but it was the wrong Zero, and thus the day was lost.
Classic series Wily has often had some bone-headed schemes that do imply he has a screw or two loose, and his webs of deceit always fall apart by the end. Even so I give him more credit than to have ever thought this was the way to go, but still bungled it so completely. More likely his plan was for an evil Zero to emerge and conquer without ever becoming a friend of X, but with his work time was simply not on his side. Which incidentally may also address any lack of full optimization in Zero's X1 or flashback forms. Of further interest is whether Wily's robotic rebirth was also on his agenda back then. Perhaps Zero also needed to wait for Wily himself to be ready, as well as for himself and for his opponent to be.
Yet another loophole to add to the ambiguity of the interview, and one more reason why asking the fans to "use their imaginations" is not a concrete answer as it invokes a wide variety of ends depending on who you ask. If we're differentiating between Zero's initial concept and Zero's finalized "Awakened" programming, that's opening up a whole new can of worms.
It is the exact same can of worms. The important feature is the premise itself, not in how the details play out. That is that Weil used portions of the same personality program for Omega that Wily wrote for Zero. The suggested use of imagination exists around demonstrating the truth of that link. There are many many ways it can play out, that the connection can be perceived, and using either a little of the code or a lot, but only one scenario flat-out denies the connection, and that route is not what Inti would lead us to believe.
From a storytelling standpoint I don't buy that as being a viable explanation. If so then Weil outdid Wily's plans.
I don't agree with "outdid." More like Weil fulfilled Wily's dream to some extent. To control the world, using Zero and the virus. If Weil couldn't create a better perfect evil soldier personality program than what Wily had made centuries ago, that is a huge compliment to Wily. No stand-alone program Weil could create could utilize Zero's body and power as efficiently as Zero's own original skillful mind. Some alterations to adjust for a few centuries of advancement and an increase in general destructive power, and the ultimate big bad robot is ready to take down the future establishment. Wily tried to do the same thing within the X series.
Besides being improbable for another evil-doer to outperform Wily with his own creation, I also find the power scale to favor AZ over Omega.
Once again, so very arguable. Canonically, Omega is a demon of unmeasurable power. A final strike from X and Zero didn't kill him. His re-emergence on the Earth opens tears in the fabric of cyberspace. Despite not using his unarmored form in who knows how long, Omega rockets out of his shell, battle ready. His sprite even has a shiny pixelated aura of power. He has the largest array of techniques that any CPU-controlled Zero has ever brought to the table. The Rockman Zero 3 Kouryakubon asserts that the third form is an even stronger enemy than the previous two, despite the armors and the Dark Elf imbued powers, and that difference in strength is explained when realizing that Zero himself bested those forms. Zero's battle skill is at the heart of this beast. Thanks to a dash of retconning, even his explosion is beautiful, taking out the remaining Shitennou with him, just by dying . Even then his power still haunts the world some 200 years after his demise. Omega in no way shames the evil Zero's legacy.
AZ has the Genmurei, Shin Messenko, Shin Getsurin. Omega lacks such enhancements, your own attack translations actually confirming his use of the inferior Messenko.
Omega's move that's labeled Messenko isn't much like the one from X5 (though Model OX's is). The move may have been adapted over time to suit Zero's own needs, power levels, and finesse, perhaps similar to how Hunter Zero and Awakened Zero of X5 and Zero Nightmare of X6 have adapted Messenko into Shin Messenko. Over such an expanse, there may not really be any need to differentiate the move he currently uses with a special prefix or suffix for the sake of long winded-ness. Unlike X5-era, where the change is noticeable and new... For who knows how long, that move has been dubbed simply Messenko by he.
I can't help but smile at Messenko being labeled inferior, though. The normal 9-blast Messenko of X5 would have been much harder to dodge than the CPU Zeros' 8-blast Shin Messenko. Despite its name it really is a nerfed version that allows the player a more sporting chance. Of course Omega's moves are realistically nerfed too, and that doesn't mean that they aren't canonically more powerful than gameplay makes them appear. It is a fuzzy transition from story to gameplay.
Awakened Zero's Genmurei is a cool ass move, but Zero Nightmare's Genmurei-kai version makes me think that the move itself is probably not meant to be as canonically powerful as gameplay made it appear in X5. Adding "Kai" under normal circumstances would imply that the revision is an improvement upon the former, but this seems to be the opposite if evaluated simply from gameplay. I conjecture that its canonical form lies somewhere less than invincible instant kill move, but was utilized in gameplay to give added challenge by adding a time limit to the battle. The lesson is hardly that evil is stronger than good, or that Awakened Zero is invincible. Omega, merged with the Dark Elf, would have even more right to be invincible, but unwinnable situations don't really make for fun games. Genmurei is X5 Awakened Zero's most powerful attack, but it may not necessarily be Zero's best or favorite for all time. It's possible it wouldn't be useful in some situations or against some enemies. He might also wait to use the move because he doesn't like using it, and practices it only out of desperation to end the battle. Perhaps it would have left him drained and tired afterwards, a sitting duck if he missed too much. Gameplay doesn't let him miss (except with Ultimate Armor, but it won't let X win in any event, as we aren't meant to see what occurs when evil succeeds, it is always a dead end).
That Omega doesn't use it might be a bit disappointing, but not seeing him using Genmurei or Shingetsurin doesn't necessarily mean he can't use it. Just like CPU Ultimate X in X5 not using Nova Strike or many of his other X4 or even X5 special moves doesn't necessarily mean he can't. Dealing with characters who have such vast arsenals, not everything will get used. Additionally, Omega's first and second forms too are shown with much greater attack potential than their battle CPUs make use of. What enters into gameplay is but one aspect of such a character.
If Omega did use Genmurei, it would either be nerfed so as to allow for the game to be winnable, or would force another time-limit related system. Z4 shows Inti is not opposed to this, but their countdowns always involve a timer in the corner, and without a plot context for the timer it probably wouldn't make sense to be there. It could also be pretty frustrating for players who already had to work through 2 forms of final boss to get where they are. Omega's not using it sidesteps the question of how to implement it properly. Still, if Omega had used it, would that really prove the case he is Zero's evil persona? Copy X can Nova Strike, and Zero Nightmare has a Genmurei version. These are techniques, like Ryuuenjin or Messenko. How honestly can a technique Zero hasn't used before X5 be directly related to his original personality which was programmed before Zero even acquires the weapon which he would use to perform it?
An alternate theory of Genmurei is that it is an adapted version of Sougenmu, Zero's Soul Body counterpart from the thorny rose man, applied and channeled into his weapon. An adapted technique, like Shin Messenko. Under this hypothesis Denjinrei is adapted from Denjin, and Shingetsurin from Mikazukizan (or Danchien some have argued, though Grizzly's move is more accepted). These moves then would be a reflection of Zero's Learning ability, powered up and unleashed. Not something forgotten and remembered, but something new and dynamic. Zero Nightmare's Genmurei version and spiral shot/wide shot preference over Shingetsurin may show that such ability evolutions can take different directions. Perhaps Omega (and Inti clearly) developed his repertoire with a fair number of long range attacks, but with a far more up close and personal style in mind. Which is more in line with how we saw the original Zero behave in the X4 flashback.
However, as I said above, I consider it probable that Wily caught on to that, which would explain oddities in Zero's personality, both why it emerged in the first place and why it was never eliminated by his creator. Domination puts Zero on the wrong side of the fence, but a rivalry, as is Wily's self-stated focus in X4, does not lend itself to either good or evil. And an honorable rivalry can be a great source of power, hence Zero challenging X openly (EXE manga touches on this same concept with Bass Cross MegaMan). But only to one's self, not to the rest of the world.
Rivalry as an inspiration can be positive or negative. Wily's rivalry with Light took him to very dark places. His selfish and evil actions throughout classic, including theft, kidnapping, destruction and mayhem at times put the entire world at risk. And for all that, he never won in the end. Same with Forte, whose serious rivalry with Rock at times brings him to fighting on the side of good and the side of evil, but whose determination to keep trying to glorify himself refuses to waiver. All his rivalry never gave him the strength to beat Rockman. Challenging Rockman to open combat never gave him any edge. His intent, like Wily's, is selfish. It is the ones who fight selflessly for the good of others, like Rock and X, who have the ethical advantage.
Bass Cross Megaman (manga) does not use rivalry as a source of power, rather it is the foundation of their ability to converge, but ONLY in the presence of a mutual enemy which threatens Bass' ultimate bout with his preferred nemesis. Bass and Megaman were both already navis with immense power and potential, and BxM's power is fueled by the fusion of these strong navis. By nature of their teamwork, by nature of their mutual struggle against fully destructive entities, BxM's power is not dark. Bass himself is evil, but his rivalry with Megaman, which began with a passing interest and grew into determination to defeat Megaman personally and conquer the challenge he represents, then yielded for him the unexpected result of intense feeling of connection to another being, giving Bass a new dream, a stake in the world, and a person whom he must fight to protect. This rivalry is what eventually redeems him when he himself is required to sacrifice to save the Earth. A strong rivalry can inspire good acts from evil men, or conversely deplorable amoralities in good men. However, it does not trump one's fighting power in and of itself, or the good vs evil moral nature that prevails in the series' heroes.
In applying this to Zero, I am at a loss to make sense of what you suggest. Setting out to kill X in X5 is an evil act. Regardless of whether Awakened Zero is setting out to do so because he personally harbors the deep desire to destroy X and X alone (though he himself never suggests this as a reason) or whether he is simply following the given order of his creator, attacking X who is pacifistic by nature but defends others when necessary... is a pure aggressor stance. Standing in support of another itself is a wrongful act if the one you are supporting is evil, which was what all that extra worrying and brainpower in X was meant to recognize. Being ignorant or apathetic to one's evil deed, either by naivety or done willfully, does not change the nature of the act itself as evil, or the force of the one opposing such atrocities as good.
A positive rivalry is the kind which X and Hunter Zero share, one in which feelings of faith and respect mutually inspires two people to become better, become stronger, become more than they currently are and deal with difficult situations with courage. This exists without animosity or malice towards one another, no intention to harm or kill the other to prove their own superiority. A bond not immediate, but grown over time and experience.
I don't understand the suggested mixture of this with Wily's intentions. A noble spirit with an evil deed forced upon it has a better chance of resisting its duty, i.e. creating hesitation and doubt which results in the fialure of said task, or alternately, outright rejecting the task itself on its amoral vice. To take on the task fully, the noble spirit must tolerate darkness into its heart, in which case the noble heart is weakened of its virtue, or even lost altogether in darkness, righteous no longer.
This contradiction doesn't create power, it creates inner conflict. It's a weakness, and an added hurdle towards the evil deed that desired to be done. In that it could certainly explain good Zero's triumph over evil Zero, but not why good Zero is there to begin with, that is, why Wily would ever find such a situation to be desirable as to have Zero's own heart work against itself and his purpose.
Many MegaMan series emphasize the power of the heart, and it's on those grounds which Bass, Zero's predecessor, is most frequently criticized.
Those critiques from Rock and Blues are actually appeals to Forte's intelligence and sense of justice, to abandon selfish pursuits and fruitless aggressions and stop working with Wily altogether. They are never things that Wily himself identifies as a problem with Forte. Wily's problems with Forte, seen in PB, PF and R&F, have always been primarily his failure to defeat Rockman (not strong enough) and his pompous disobedient attitude (doesn't listen to orders). Wily is not seeking further betrayals, thus a robot with a just and righteous heart is counterproductive to Wily's desires. The unfortunate scenario for him is that the smarter he makes his robots, the more thoughtful, independent and unreliable for his purposes they tend to become. From this, the need for an empirically evil but obedient robot comes into play.
There is also no indication that Wily himself believes good to be more powerful than evil in the first place, lest he may have truly realized the error of his ways and surrendered his evil ambitions ever after.
But the final line from Forte's ending in Rockman 2 The Power Fighters is:
せいぎがあるかぎり、
ワイリーのやぼうはつづく！
As long as there is justice, Wily's evil ambition continues!
That does not foreshadow Wily's dark intentions to change any time soon. Nor does Rockman Perfect Memories on page 60, regarding Zero.
はたして、誰と戦うために彼は造られたのか？決して正義のためとは思えないのだが......。
Really, with whom was he created to fight? It seems certain that it was by no means for the sake of justice, but...
...but Zero's a become good guy. Not by Wily's intentions. As Sigma mentioned in X5,
おまえにことにやたらくわしいろうじんがいてな... いまのゼロは、ほんもののゼロではない...そんなオモシロイことをいうのだよ...
"There is an old man who knows a great deal about you... The present Zero, is not the real Zero... That's the sort of interesting subject he spoke about."
Wily does not consider the current Zero to be the true Zero, and his heroic actions are those of a confused damaged persona which Wily is actually trying to heal back to his dark self. Wily did not intend to create a hero any more than he acts as one himself.
By Wily's behavior in the X series, evil is still a huge part of his countenance. We meet Serges in X2, who is hard at work churning out robots with evil chips installed, very much the same m.o. as he worked in the entire classic series. He's plotting the downfall of the work of Dr. Light, and he's also head of an evil trio that actively carries out the assassinations of skilled Hunters. He's aligned himself with the greatest robot warlord to yet exist, who also happens to be exposed to a variant virus-like program of Wily's very own handiwork, and now his very body is such a product as well.
In X5, Wily seems to be about the most evil he has ever been. A co-conspirator in the plan to cause cataclysmic events in both global spreading of the virus and crashing a giant space colony into the Earth. The level of destruction and extinction brought on here is unparalleled to anything Wily has ever had a hand in before. Only Super Adventure Rockman really compares, but there Wily firmly believed he was in control of the electromagnetic waves and would not have let all life on Earth run to extinction, where here once set into motion the chain reaction takes on a life of its own, and all fate is relinquished to the actions of the Hunters. And not only is he fine with it, but it seems to have been his idea at the very start.
Sigma continues in X5
そのろうじんのすすめで...ウィルスを地球とコロニーに、ばらまいて...
"On that old man's recommendation... I scattered the virus over the Earth and the Colony..."
The X series brings out Wily's evil in full swing. Zero's fragmented memories and dreams well give the impression of a man who still seeks destruction, who still seeks vengeance, who still lusted after bringing the globe to its knees. Wily changing heart in his later life is well out of sync with his actions before and after. Even the shaky ground of Three Keys agrees with that much, Wily set out to build a purely evil destructive robot.
Inafune weighed in, Sigma and Zero are victims of circumstance in the changing of allegiances. They demonstrate the annulment of absolutes, there is good in Zero and there is evil in Sigma, and the right circumstances can completely turn the tables and topple even the best laid plans.
In all that is left, the most compelling reason I can think of to say that Wily had a change of heart is the story of Quint's future. And yet the very nature of time travel as it applies to the series in Mega World and R&F WS, tell that both the past and the future can be changed through the actions of time travelers. Thus the future timeline of Quint is likely undone by his own return to the past. Because Wily reformed there does not mean he will in this new timeline, where current hints point that he did not.
If Wily is interested in the aspirations of the likes of Gate and Sigma, will he not betray them eventually if they are no longer needed? If so then the fact that we didn't observe such a betrayal in unsuccessful scenarios is moot. World domination only leaves room for one at the top. But Gate and Sigma have alterior motives to simply ruling. Sigma, to exterminate humanity for the future of Reploids. Gate, to achieve recognition for his work and vengeance for crimes against him. How long do you think Wily would fly with that?
We may ask what it is that Wily finds appealing about ruling the world in the first place. Does he truly wish to rule and govern, to become a political figure and statesman, sit in on cabinet meetings and economic trade committees drafting laws and reforms, weighing legal cases in courts and proceedings in everything from civic planning to propaganda... or is his ambition more of a power trip? The global recognition of his genius and submission to his whims, the privileged status, the idea that he can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, these are likely what he is after. Making robots is what he loves, and using those robots to tear down the establishment of fools who don't recognize his genius and enforce his own will is his ideal kingship. When it comes down to the daily bureaucratic grind, enforcing the law and running the ordinary show for the entire world, he's going to have to delegate some responsibilities either to robots or humans who suck up enough to be trusted.
Sigma recognizes Wily's genius. Wily is a scientist who can advance the state of reploids as Sigma wishes. If Sigma gives Wily the right props and keeps him supplied with whatever resources Wily desires, if he is open to ideas Wily has about how the world should be run better, would Wily then be satisfied?
And, would Wily be bothered if the human race were exterminated? He has always seemed to prefer the company of robots over people. Since he himself has shed his human form for a robot's, has he also shed his sympathy for humanity? The humans whose history has chosen Light's work to be revered over his own? Judging from the X5 incident where he is willing to put all life on Earth in harm's way for his joint venture with Sigma, what little conscience he may have had in the matter is now dwarfed by his ambition.
Gate, a fellow scorned inventor, Wily may even look upon as a successor in some ways. He has inherited and made "improvements" to the Zero DNA code with Isoc's own aid, and perhaps can be viewed as Wily's protege. Wily has never had a "son" that wasn't a fighting robot, but a scientist to follow in his own footsteps... The world these two could create together as a joint legacy of older and younger generation mad scientists can still well be a world Wily takes pride in. In a large way, using the Zero DNA code to rule the world proves Wily's boast a century ago in PF's Forte ending, that his invention had the power to humble and reign in the world itself. Even if it needed a little tune-up after 100 years or so.
Thus the idea that Wily legitimately joins forces with both these characters is not at all unbelievable. The idea that he did not make a legitimate effort to aid them, or the idea that he would have betrayed them following the success of the joint plans to rule alone, while both within range of possibility, are not supported by Wily's observed words or actions.
Not entirely. They preserved the fact that the Z-Buster allows X to charge special weapons. That's technology that Zero doesn't utilize, and although chargeable special weapons are something of a standard in buster upgrades, forgoing it is not unheard of (X5, Falcon Armor). So the fact that MHX didn't raises an eyebrow.
Outside of mentioning how lame the buster upgrade would be if the only perk for waiting the entire game through to get it was the slow but powerful charge shot... We understand Zero is never shown to actually charge or even use any special weapons with this buster. Perhaps he could have, as special weapon technology has been available to Wily previously already, and thus there is not too much reason to think that Wily couldn't come up with the way to charge them just as Light eventually does. Still, Zero's version is toted as the later-displayed learning system rather than the special weapon system. An improvement on the same concept in a different way. It might only be the joining of X's buster parts with Zero's that makes charging special weapons possible then, and not one of Zero's buster's abilities in itself. That doesn't at all mean that Zero's buster parts were designed to be merged with X's. Only that there is a way they can be combined to enable such a power increase within X. How exactly the buster parts merger went down is something that is never really shown, although it might be comparable to the method of taking special weapons from a defeated enemy. Zero's special weapon so to speak is his buster, and special weapons in X's hands often tend to develop in some unique ways which are different than what the previous owners initially used.
Which reminds me, Awakened Zero as we see him in X5 is still incomplete. Can't ignore that, either, although I do wonder if the use of Genmurei isn't supposed to mark the completion of his transformation, as victory is impossible at that point.
Sigma in the Japanese version of X5 reflects that Awakened Zero was indeed complete, in personality anyway.
しんのすがたにもどれたのに...ゼロよ。ごくろうだったよ。
"Even though your true form had returned... Zero. Thank you for all your effort."
It's possible that Zero was able to increase his power during the course of the battle, but the evil persona was in place since the Shuttle Mission failure. Hence "Awakened" Zero, not "Awakening" or "almost Awakened."
I'll grant that it's possible, but I find it unlikely as it strikes me as entirely too convenient. Especially X5 which is presenting us a worst-case scenario. The mere existence of the hunter persona is in itself an oddity, are we to honestly believe Zero is left as a blank slate without the virus?
Not a wholly blank slate. The same intelligence, and with many of the same qualities, but without the strong evil mindset and the knowledge secures him into who he was before. His remaining reason and personality allow him to adapt and recast the "master" and mission roles. He is now loyal to Dr. Cain and the Maverick Hunters, and to what they represent. His given mission he is to follow is now the cause of justice. His desire to destroy is channeled into the more socially positive act of destroying mavericks, to whom his hate is now directed and focused. He handles every mission with cool focus and great physical skill, which he has also retained. Here he is the same man, but less evil, and no memories of who he is and what he was supposed to be. From this starting block he begins upon a much different path than the one previously laid out before him, and thus evolves into the heroic Zero who later stands adverse to his own inner demon, so much so that he becomes his own man in spite of his creator's programming.
That happens every time, including X4 in which the hunter persona to our knowledge never previously surfaced (albeit we do not know the details of what went on in the repair center, but given Zero sharing the same mysterious design nature as X, I have a hard time accepting that it was anything too radical, such as the "Cain-programmed" speculation of many fans).
Cain did something to repair Zero after the fight, and though it seems clear he doesn't understand Zero's complexity that only makes whatever internal tinkering he may have done all the more likely to have had consequences to add to Zero's change of heart, whether Cain intended to do so or not. But like I said above, I don't believe Cain can wholly take credit for that, and Zero still has many of the same personality qualities, only turned on their ear.
The X5 scenario doesn't stand out from any other in that fashion.
The X5 Awakened Zero scenario is uniquely important not only because of the circumstances surrounding it, but also because when it is over, he has not forgotten any of it.
Like Zero's X4 ending foreshadowed and Awakened Zero's death demonstrated, Awakening for Zero here is actually a choice. The virus restores Zero's memories and boosts his power, but it can not control him. Zero in X5 chooses to pursue his past despite X's pleas he return. Or in the Awakening case, Zero with knowledge of both sides of himself chooses to indulge his own darkest desires and fulfill that which he was created to do.
With the Colony virus infection his lost memories and damaged program is restored. He is now able to remember who he was before his Hunter life, but he has not forgotten who currently is, and all the experiences he's had since. His initial response to this knowledge and increased power, this awakened urge to fight freely, to fulfill one's destiny set forth by his father's orders, is to indulge himself. He immerses in his role, casting off his former friendships and allegiances and seeks to do that which his real father once again commands of him.
The Rockman Perfect Memories book, page 53 talks about what's going on with Zero and X in X5...
Σウイルスに感染すればするほど、逆に戦闘力を上げていくゼロ......。これは失われたゼロの記憶と関係があることなのか？ 封じられた過去がよみがえるとき、エックスはゼロと戦う決意をする。過去に引ずられるゼロを止めるために......。
To what degree Zero is infected with Sigma Virus, conversely his combat power actually increases...... This must have something to do with Zero's lost memories and ties? When this sealed past reemerges, X makes the decision to fight with Zero. In order to stop Zero who is seduced by the past......
Awakened Zero battles X to a standstill, but all the while X doesn't give up in his idea that the real Zero is the heroic persona within, and his heartfelt faith touches Zero and transforms him after their stalemate with the reminder of what is truly important to him. Zero rises and renounces the evil, but he has not forgotten anything he learned form his Awakening. In spite of his understanding of who he is and what he was made to do, Zero decides his friendship is the most important thing that defines him. Even in this worst-case scenario, Zero conquers the immense temptation towards darkness within himself, and proves himself a hero. Not because Wily programmed him with supreme wishy-washy tendency, but because he chooses his own destiny for himself, and that is what he chooses.
Now, to nip a counter-point in the bud, yes, X talks about sensing evil within Zero, I'm aware of that. Would X consider apathy to the extent necessary in AZ to be evil? Probably. But more likely, I think X is sensing the virus and exercising his pre-conceived notions of it (not at all unreasonable, given what the virus does to anyone who is not X, Zero, or Copy Chip equipped). He likens it to Sigma, but to an even greater extent than Sigma himself. If this were connected with personality and not to the virus, it ought to reassure him against Lumine's ramblings in X8. Such is not the case. Moreover, X even specifically likens his senses to what Zero taught him of things that cannot be analyzed correctly, that is, the Sigma Virus.
X said in that scenario that there are things which cannot be observed, he did not say specifically Sigma Virus there, although the virus presence cannot be denied. X mentions being able to feel Sigma nearby in the opening stage where you pick Zero as your playable character, without Zero saying anything about sensing the virus as evil. Sensing evil by feel may have been taught by Zero, but it was probably at some time before X5, and X's intro stage then is a reminder of it for the player's benefit. X is capable of sensing quite a few things, actually. Like the freed souls in Xtreme 2's ending, and Zero's presence after survival after the Shuttle Mission is a success... his extra-sensory perception isn't all virus-based. It may also be enhanced from the fact that he has a close bond with Zero, and also in another way a close tie with Sigma, whom he has faced repeatedly in deadly combat.
Of course, as a part of Zero's natural state, virus code in his DNA is certainly present, but in fact has always been present and yet not felt. The problem arising towards the end of X5 is that Zero has succumbed to the vision of evil. X can also recognize the growing of that evil within Zero as part of the reason they fight even when Zero is not Awakened. X feels that growing doubt and curiosity regarding the dark desires within his friend, and has to try and stop it from blossoming somehow. His best friend's soul is at risk.
Lumine, if what he said were actually true, would make all X fought for pointless. If an entire generation of robots more advanced than X himself, who could see all sides of the issue and weigh it accordingly, truly did not want to coexist with humanity... Then Light's dream is truly dead, for no peace could ever come from forcing all robots against their will to coexist with man. But as X eventually concludes with the help of Zero and Axl, that was not the case. Regardless of if he got an evil feeling from Lumine, the doubt itself is justifiable. But if he did not feel it, it suggests he doesn't have the same kind of empathic connection to Lumine in that moment which he's had with other acquaintences. Lumine could be something of a reploid occlumens, if he can keep Sigma deceived enough to enact his own plot. Or perhaps, New Gens always give off a strange feeling that is hard to identify. Despite being everywhere we go in X8, the Hunters don't seem to have much contact with or understanding of them outside of Axl. Maybe because they're supposed to be trouble free.
He was already gloating with implications that Zero shares no relation to his "original" self, something which X later rebuts. Weil's mindgames do not allow his dialogue at that point to be taken at face value.
The best mindfucks hold a light of truth to them. From the perspective of being the "true" Zero as villains like Wily, Weil and Sigma see things, Copy Zero is not. He's the embodiment of everything that went wrong with Zero, a cosmic joke, a faker. Inafune concurred, the Copy Zero's mind is different, a derivative as much as the body is.
"Dr. Wily and Weil are not the same person. It is ironic though, because Dr. Wily created Zero, and Dr. Weil used Zero, but ultimately it was a copy of Zero's original body with a different mind that defeated him."
In this context, it certainly sounds like Omega is the Zero Wily created and Weil used. The Copy Zero possesses a different mind from that evil creation, one that has forged its own path. And when considered that the virus is what was intended to be removed from Zero in that X6 sealing, this Zero's good mind being removed, and the evil persona's code remaining with the virus... and subsequently taking over with Weil's guidance... all puzzle pieces align.
Said story writers explicitly stated that Weil programmed Omega at least in part. Again, they merely refused to make the statement that he did it without aid from Zero's previous programming. No matter how concrete you take that it still means Weil had a hand and isn't just appeasing the god of destruction, contrary to what his response indicates.
Ciel manufactured the Live Metals, explicitly she programmed them. But she used the souls of the heroes in doing so. Does Ciel's hand in their creation make them less geniune as the personalities of the heroes?
The subtext and symbolism of Omega, as referred to in the Telos drama track retrospective, is far more powerful if taken literally. Another of Zero's own self by Zero's personal recognition, Omega embodies his nightmare... Not simply the fear of his body being used for evil by some madman, but the literal manifestation of his dark forgotten self, nagging at subconscious, baiting him, tempting him, threatening to ensnare him. The Omega who is X's destiny to fight, the evil destiny set in motion by Wily hundreds of years ago, not simply of body, but the very entity which was set forth against him. Omega who Sigma wished to use, whom Weil did manage to use, who Zero himself quite nearly could have been, if not for a very lucky set of circumstances and a very special friendship. In a timeline where Zero's inner evil seemingly never gets brought to the forefront completely, this battle is the long awaited resolution. X's fated fight, and Zero's reconciliation of his past and who he was made to be with his future and who he wants to be, are all accomplished in the culmination of the Elf Wars, and their defeat of this demon. It's a very alluring prospect, that Inti staff, including Yoshihisa Tsuda who worked on X2 back when the Zero-Wily connection was first formed, seem to be proponents of, and Inafune's comments add weight to it as well. When it comes to this premise, it's a very definite "maybe."