Despite an immensely packed March, I had the chance to check out the Mega Man: Star Force: Legacy Collection, sampling each of the seven games, as well as some included goodies that will have to wait to talk about for the full review. That said, let's dive into what I've played, how it serves the whole package, and whether these are a great series of ports, or just nostalgia running wild.
Taking place far into the future of the Battle Network series, players take on the role of Geo Stellar, a youth who lost his father during a mysterious event in space that saw the Peace space station suddenly disappear. This caused Geo to admire the stars, to sit each night patiently staring up at the sky, hoping that his father would return. However, while he is visited by someone, it's an alien known as Omega-Xis that partners with Geo to become Mega Man, a mysterious entity that also knew Geo’s father. And, as the planet is invaded by a small force attempting to track down Omega-Xis, the pair team up to stop this invasion.
Now, this first game is excellent, and does a lot to not only build up Geo and Omega-Xis, especially as Geo initially wants nothing to do with being Mega Man, but it is also a compelling story about a boy who has lost his father. There are some pretty emotional beats here that serve both Geo and the story well, even if the supporting cast is a bit too cartoony. Nonetheless, Geo and Omega-Xis’s relationship is strong throughout.
What's been known for years about the series is that each of the three core entries had a somewhat different arrangement of writers, and this is likely the cause for the second entry to feel more like a Saturday morning cartoon instead of the more emotional tone set in the first game. Geo’s story arc, built around his father's disappearance, grounds the first game into something truly emotional, especially once we discover what has transpired.
During my preview with the trilogy, I've played a solid chunk of the first and second games, and am rather far into the third entry, enjoying its more mature tone and the fact that Geo’s supporting cast has a lot more to offer here. It also helps that this entry improves not just the Battle system, but several quality of life features too, making it feel like a more refined experience.
The Battle system isn't too far removed from what Battle Network provided, as you're still moving around on a grid, albeit from a different perspective. Here, Mega Man can move left or right on a 5 x 3 grid, as opposed to the side view that gave Mega Man a bit more freedom. This change does limit some of the movement, but the cards you use in battle more than make up for this, not to mention enemies that can barrel down the lane and force you to move. While you do have a blaster and shield, your cards are where you'll really tinker around with to provide you with defensive and offensive moves to win.
Battles can often take just a few seconds, compared to boss fights that take considerably longer. As you attack, you'll build up a meter that allows you to play your cards. Cards can be chosen based on their types, with duplicates allowing you to use more cards in a single turn. Grey cards are freebies, so you can stack multiple cards to dish out more damage. Cards range from sword slashes, bombs, and ranged attacks to providing a bubble shield or invisibility. And with the ability to gain new cards and restructure your deck, there is a lot of freedom to build certain types of decks.
To boost your deck even further, there are Brother Bands. This system sees you adding friends to your deck, those with whom you have formed a bond. It does sort of suck the wind out of the room that each game narratively resets all your bonds, but given you don't want to start each game with extremely powerful attacks, it makes sense. Each “Brother” you add has various abilities, so it's smart to use this system across each game in the trilogy.
Now, while this is a trilogy, each title has different editions, something that is borrowed from the Pokémon series of games. These differences come down to different transformations and alternative cards and forms that can affect gameplay. While the story is the same, these changes are more cosmetic in certain circumstances, and you never feel like you are playing the wrong edition. That said, I do wish the menu for each game would detail these differences a bit more and provide newcomers with the information needed to make the right choice for them.
If you played through the Battle Network series, you’ll likely know what to expect here from the game’s visuals, the isometric view of moving around the environment, and the way you “hack” into the different realms that coexist in the world.
The Collection also sees improved resolution, and upscaling, as well as providing optional smoothing filters to improve the 3D models and general visuals, or allowing players to keep the pixelated original. This is on top of rebuilt animations and art, with portraits entirely redone.
Since the games were on the DS, the two screen system here is handled on one screen, with the ability to scale the second screen to whatever you want, with a single button press to make it full screen. It works well, and could translate to more DS games making the jump to consoles.
I’ve enjoyed my time with these games so far, with more to talk about when the full review drops soon. It’s safe to say that if you’ve yet to play these or have a deep affinity with them, then you’ll certainly be in for a treat once they release on March 27th. Until then, keep an eye out for our full review coming soon.