Yeah that's a pretty weak reward. I still remember that cool mode where you could use fighting game inputs for charged attacks.
These games are fucking unplayable without save states or infinite lives cheat
Brandon Evans
Julian Hall
Levi Barnes
If you're going to cheese the Zero series, it's better to play the Easy Scenario of the DS Collection than to just spam Elves. Instead of heading to a menu to make things easier, you're just handed fully-upgraded health and weapons from the start. You still have to earn rankings and EX Skills by playing well, but you aren't fucking with the flow of the game (outside of changing weapons/Sub-Tanks which is the same as any Megaman game). Plus that mode transitions really smoothly from game to game; even if you're good at them it's a good way to marathon the series.