Buster Shot

The Buster Shot (バスターショット) is Zero's long-range weapon in the Mega Man Zero series. It was originally an old model of a handheld gun used by the late Milan. Early concept art and the illustration to the left show that the Z Saber can be loaded into the Buster Shot as a power cell, granting the weapon the ability to be charged this way.

The Buster Shot is mounted onto Zero's back when not used.

Mega Man Zero
When Zero awoke in Mega Man Zero, he grabbed Milan's weapon in order to defend Ciel and himself against the attacking Neo Arcadian troops. Once acquired, the Buster Shot's bullets directly changed from regular ammunition to energy shots, and once the Z Saber is obtained, the Buster Shot can be charged with its help. In this game, Zero must use his Buster extensively to earn skill points and have access to his most powerful abilities.

In addition to his normal shots, the Buster Shot can be equipped with Element Chips, and allow Zero to improve his abilities with it. They replace the normal Lv. 2 Shot.

Mega Man Zero 2
In Mega Man Zero 2, Zero still has to earn skill points to level up his Buster, but there are only three skill levels, with the four bullets upgrade being removed. Zero can still fire four bullets at a time by using the X Form. The Element Chips from the previous game return, but the required EX Skill must be obtained first to use them.

Mega Man Zero 3
In Mega Man Zero 3 and 4, Zero no longer needs to earn skill points to level up his Buster, as he starts off with all his normal abilities. This is also the last game where the Element Chips are used. In Mega Man Zero 3, Zero can fire four bullets by using the Hacker Cyber-elf Shuthas.

Mega Man Zero 4
With the Element Chips removed, Zero only needs to earn the EX Skills from the game's bosses.

Trivia

 * The Buster Shot was mistranslated as Z Buster in the first Mega Man Zero game. The error was fixed in Mega Man Zero Collection.