Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner (2003)
Shuyo Murata and Hideo Kojima's High-Velocity Cel-Shaded Mecha Masterpiece on PS2
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner (Anubis: Zone of the Enders in Japan) is a 2003 third-person mecha action game directed by Shuyo Murata, produced by Hideo Kojima, and designed by Yoji Shinkawa at Konami for the PlayStation 2. Pairing custom anime-styled Z.O.E. Shader particle pyrotechnics with 360-degree aerial sword and homing-laser combat, it fulfilled every promise of its 2001 predecessor.
Outgrowing the MGS2 Demo Shadow With Jehuty and Anubis
Although 2001's original Zone of the Enders introduced brisk aerial combat, many buyers remembered it chiefly for packing the coveted Metal Gear Solid 2 demo disc. Promoted to director alongside producer Hideo Kojima, writer Shuyo Murata replaced young hero Leo Stenbuck with grizzled ex-BAHRAM soldier Dingo Egret, who unearths the Orbital Frame Jehuty on Jupiter's icy moon Callisto in 2174. Gunned down by his former commander Nohman—pilot of Jehuty's teleporting twin frame Anubis—Dingo survives only because agent Ken Marinaris wires his shattered lungs and heart directly to Jehuty's cockpit, launching a relentless campaign toward the Mars fortress Aumaan.
Z.O.E. Shader Pyrotechnics, Zero-Shift Speed, and Beyond the Bounds
Built around Yoji Shinkawa's sleek avian Orbital Frame silhouettes, Konami's custom Z.O.E. Shader married crisp cel-shaded linework with blinding trails of Emotion Engine particle smoke and homing-laser ribbons. Combat abandoned plodding Western mech simulation for anime agility: Jehuty grabbed enemy steel girders as improvised clubs, locked onto dozens of drones simultaneously in the Battle of Bigumba, dismantled colossal orbital warships, and eventually unlocked Anubis's 'Zero-Shift' to teleport instantaneously into point-blank blade clashes—all propelled by Maki Kimura's soaring polyrhythmic electronic-choral theme 'Beyond the Bounds.'