Black Zero

The Zero Armor, nicknamed the Black Zero, Sigma's Zero or False Zero, is an upgrade for Zero that appears in most of the Mega Man X series. It is similar to the Ultimate Armor in that it is usually accessible by a secret code, save for Command Mission where it is used as his Hyper Mode. The armor is a reference to Mega Man X2, where if all three Zero Parts are collected, a fake Zero appears in Sigma's Fortress with black-hued armor. This armor is never actually named in-game, and cannot be unequipped once received (except for X8, where the player can choose the armor before each mission).

The effects of the Zero Armor are not consistent throughout the games it appears in. In its first appearance in X4, it appears to be just a facelift. In X5 and X6, it enhances Zero's defense and saber power. In X8, it upgrades Zero's dash and doubles his saber power, but halves his defense. This armor is Zero's only armor, and considerably increases his already great power. For Command Mission, it doubles his attack power, increases his speed by 1.5, bumps up his WE gain per turn by 25% and cuts his fire damage to 75%, but has an extremely short number of usable turns without using Build Hypers.

In Mega Man X5, there is a way to receive the Zero Armor without using a code. In the third station of Sigma's Fortress, there is a vertical shaft that leads to a capsule. Enter the capsule as Zero to gain the Zero Armor (alternately, X can enter a similar capsule in the same area to obtain his Ultimate Armor). According to the conversation that Zero has with Dr. Light, he (Light) designed the armor for him, and Zero is welcome to either take it or leave it. The Zero Armor's enhanced saber can destroy energy shots (even Ultimate X's Plasma Shot).

Refer to the table below for codes used to gain use of the Zero Armor. The codes are listed with the button pressed and the number of times pressed next to it. In Mega Man X4 and X5, highlight Zero on the Character Select screen and enter the codes. In Mega Man X6 and X8, highlight Game Start, complete the sequence of buttons, and press Start.