Zero's character was met with positive critical response by publications for video games. Game Revolution called him "mysterious, androgynous" and compared him to Proto Man "with a ponytail". Jeese Scheeden from IGN named him one of his ten favorite sword-wielding characters in the video games, describing him as an answer to the question of how Mega Man would fight if armed with a sword, and noted his fighting style as popular with gamers. GameZone writer Michael Knutson praised the inclusion of Zero in the "Mega Man X" series, citing his playability as popular amongst series fan as it expanded the gameplay. Jeremy Parish from 1UP.com stated that his appearance as a playable character with his own story in "Mega Man X4" by itself made it the best game in the "X" series. GameSpot noted the contrast in his gameplay to that of Mega Man X in "Mega Man X4" increased the difficulty of using him in the title. Additionally, Brett Elston from GamesRadar credited Zero as one of the reasons the "X" series became so popular and that his own popularity within gamers earned him his own video game series. In regards to Zero's powers, "Game Informer" claimed Zero had the best weaponry "X6" based on the multiple extra abilities he had before defeating any boss character. GameSpot editors Christian Nutt and Justin Speer "X3" benefited from the addition of Zero as a limited playable character as previous games from the franchise only used both Mega Man and X.