After I was in seventh grade, I assumed Mega Man Star Force’s themes about friendship and brotherhood had been profound. Its villains had been cartoonishly evil, spouting strains like, “who wants friendship when you could have energy?” I ate all of that up! Taking part in by means of the Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection virtually 20 years later, I now couldn’t assist however wince on the cringy dialogue. That’s not a shock given this Nintendo DS sequence was tailormade for teenagers like me again then, nevertheless it was nonetheless enjoyable to get an opportunity to reexamine these video games on a deeper stage 20 years on. And when taken as a complete, Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection has a still-poignant story arc about gaining confidence by means of camaraderie packed alongside thrilling card battling, newly restored content material, and welcome quality-of-life enhancements.
This assortment incorporates the complete Star Force trilogy, consisting of seven video games if you tally up all their totally different variations. Whereas purists can play them as easy remasters, they’ve additionally been up to date with useful options that may be toggled to reinforce the general expertise, like firming down incoming enemy injury or making Mega Man’s Buster energy stronger. There’s even a rearranged soundtrack, redrawn card artwork, and a gallery stuffed with idea artwork and scrapped concepts to have a good time its historical past. On-line performance like PvP and card buying and selling are supported too. A lot of the suggestions from 2023’s Mega Man Battle Community Legacy Collection is integrated right here, making Star Force Legacy Collection much more of a strong package deal.
The entire Star Force video games observe the adventures of a younger boy named Geo Stelar, who turns into reclusive and anti-social after his father disappears in house. That’s, till an alien named Omega-Xis (Mega) convinces Geo to merge with him to struggle off different aliens which might be coming after him in change for details about his father. Thus Mega Man is born. The primary Star Force makes use of this setup to inform a touching story about how Geo comes out of his shell and learns to make mates due to Mega’s headstrong persona.
The principle solid is robust all through, partly as a result of every of them goes by means of their very own private points. Class president Luna’s commanding persona comes from her strict dad and mom, whereas the idol Sonia offers with the pressures of the music trade. The opposite aliens searching Mega down prey on these adverse emotions and merge with them to create monsters, which Mega Man then has to defeat – all whereas Geo learns that he’s not alone. That “monster of the week” construction works properly within the first Star Force as a result of it provides extra characters a chance to develop alongside Geo. It’s an, ahem, stellar introduction.
The monsters themselves additionally standout. The Mega Man sequence typically borrows bosses from its totally different incarnations, however Star Force’s bosses are primarily based on constellations like Taurus, Most cancers, and Gemini, leading to one thing rather more unique. This provides Star Force its personal identification that differentiates it properly from different Mega Man sequence like Battle Community.
Sadly, Star Force 2’s story takes a little bit of a tumble because it tries to imitate the identical construction as the primary entry. It’s about an evil scientist who needs to convey again an historic civilization, however this time the alien bosses merge with forgettable facet characters as an alternative of the primary solid. Because of this, there’s not practically as a lot emotional funding, and the primary villains don’t stay as much as their full potential both. Mega Man’s rival, aptly named Solo, is his antithesis and rejects all bonds and friendships. He’s essentially the most compelling of the brand new villains, however his backstory isn’t fleshed out sufficient, which is sadly a operating theme in Star Force 2.
Star Force 3’s story, nevertheless, is a terrific rebound. Whereas its bosses are nonetheless principally facet characters, the primary villains surrounding them are rather more fascinating. The bond between orphans Tia and Jack evolves all through the story, giving them correct redemption arcs by the point it ends. Moreover, the “newest developments in know-how” lastly make Mega seen to Geo’s mates, permitting for enjoyable interactions that weren’t within the earlier entries. Though Star Force 3 likes to beat its themes over your head with a hammer, the primary idea facilities round “objective.” Principally, mates who work collectively in the direction of a standard purpose can obtain something, like stopping an enormous meteor from crashing into Earth. Certain, it’s corny, nevertheless it’s a becoming cap to a trilogy that’s all concerning the energy of friendship.
Every sport additionally has expansive post-game content material, including extra lore everytime you’re completed taking part in the primary story. Star Force 3 has essentially the most spectacular of all of them, bringing again characters from the earlier video games and fleshing them out much more. And that features providing tougher enemies to struggle and elective tremendous bosses.
Taking part in Playing cards
Mega Man Star Force’s fight is a mix of principally real-time motion with some gentle turn-based card battling. When Mega Man’s Customized Gauge is full, the struggle pauses and brings up a display screen with randomly assorted Battle Playing cards that may hit enemies, bolster his strikes, or guard towards enemy assaults. After confirming which playing cards to make use of, Mega Man strikes in real-time as he positions himself to both strike or dodge incoming assaults. It’s not dissimilar to right this moment’s roguelike card battlers equivalent to Slay the Spire 2 or Monster Prepare 2, however with a twist that makes it enjoyable and thrilling in its personal approach.
Since Star Force takes place roughly 200 years after the tip of the Mega Man Battle Community sequence, their fight programs are comparable. However Star Force separates itself from its progenitor by having Mega Man solely capable of transfer left and proper, together with his again dealing with you rather than having you look down at a grid. That makes the sequence feels very acquainted for those who’ve performed Battle Community, however this straightforward change is surprisingly refreshing.
In battle, Mega Man can solely choose playing cards which might be similar or in the identical column on the choice display screen. This encourages you to strategize and prioritize sure playing cards with a view to create combos. Relying in your efficiency in battle, enemies can drop forex and even new Battle Playing cards to customise your deck, referred to as a Folder right here. There are particular guidelines it’s a must to observe, equivalent to having a most of 30 playing cards per Folder, with as much as 5 Mega-class playing cards and one Giga-class card. The deckbuilding parts in Star Force are engrossing as there’s so many alternative attainable mixtures to select from.
In case you hit an opponent proper as they’re about to unleash their very own assault, you’ll carry out a counterattack and draw an additional card out of your Folder, so that you’re incentivized to play thoughtfully and never simply spam assaults. And for those who’re in considered one of Mega Man’s remodeled states, you’ll even have the possibility to execute a Massive Bang as an alternative, that are final assaults that inflict huge injury. Counterattacks are satisfying, and seeing the Massive Bang rip enemies to shreds is the cherry on high.
The place Star Force and Star Force 2 are mechanically comparable, Star Force 3 takes the additional step so as to add some extra fight options. Right here, Battle Playing cards can typically land behind others on the choice display screen and may’t be picked usually. As a substitute, they’ve another impact, like how electrical elemental playing cards will add paralysis to a different card no matter whether or not they’re in the identical column. It’s an fascinating but polarizing wrinkle that means that you can swap your techniques on the fly in case your present choice isn’t exhibiting a lot promise.
Alternatively, you’ll be able to select to make use of that background card for its regular impact, with the disadvantage being that it’s the one card you should use for that flip. You possibly can all the time simply select to make use of a unique card too and the background card will ultimately come to the foreground, letting you choose it usually for its main impact. That alleviates the randomness of the mechanic if a card you actually wanted finally ends up being behind others first.
Choose and Select
Every sport within the Star Force trilogy has a number of variations, similar to how the mainline Pokemon sequence approaches it. Relying on the model you choose, Mega Man will get totally different transformations and varieties of Giga-class playing cards. Within the first Star Force, the model variations aren’t too drastic. You could have your selection between Pegasus, Leo, and Dragon, every with an unique boss struggle and distinctive Massive Bang assault. Though these transformations are principally aesthetic adjustments, they nonetheless shake up battles a bit whereas offering a stable basis for the next Star Force video games to iterate on.
Fortunately, for those who go surfing and add folks to your in-game good friend record with a unique model than you, you get entry to that model’s transformation. Meaning you gained’t must play all three variations simply to see every part for your self. Sadly, the Legacy Collection doesn’t assist crossplay, so you’ll be able to’t battle towards or commerce playing cards with gamers on different platforms. It’s an enormous missed alternative, and type of ironic given Star Force’s themes about forming connections between folks.
In Star Force 2, there are additionally three totally different transformations for Mega Man: The lightning sword-wielding Zerker, the wooden Ninja, and the flaming dinosaur-head Saurian, all of that are a step up. You possibly can mix two of them to realize the advantages of every, making the transformations rather more interactive and fascinating in comparison with the primary sport. You may as well mix all three to change into the highly effective Tribe King, which has all the superb powers of every, however solely lasts for 3 turns. It’s onerous to tug off, however extremely gratifying if you do. Plus, its super Massive Bang assault can utterly flip the tables throughout boss battles, making the trouble value it.
Star Force 3 is essentially the most much like conventional Battle Community video games, but concurrently essentially the most modern, making it the most effective of the trilogy. It introduces “Noise,” the place Mega Man can mutate into totally different kinds primarily based on enemies from earlier video games, giving him distinctive talents. It’s paying homage to the Fashion system from Battle Community 2 and three in that these kinds are everlasting however could be switched at any time when a brand new one is unlocked. And like Star Force 2, you may also mix two of them. There are 10 totally different Noise kinds between each variations, leading to a staggering 100 attainable mixtures. It was enjoyable to experiment and see which one match my playstyle essentially the most.
There’s additionally a Noise share gauge that builds up throughout battle by utilizing sturdy playing cards to overkill enemies. The larger the cardboard’s assault energy and the opponent’s HP, the upper the Noise stage rises. Noise additionally steadily drops over time, so Mega Man has to stay on the offensive, in addition to keep away from incoming assaults. Taking part in properly and ending battles with that gauge over 100% grants you sure rewards like Unlawful Battle Playing cards. They’re rather more highly effective variants of their regular counterparts, and are properly value attending to strengthen your Folder’s firepower.
Upon reaching 200%, Mega Man can rework into his Finalized Noise kind, both the hulking Purple Joker or the speedy Black Ace (relying in your model) much like Mega Man Battle Community 6’s Gregar and Falzar transformations. Just like the Tribe King, he’s granted immeasurable energy. I used to be solely ever capable of obtain this transformation throughout boss fights, which hammers the purpose residence that it’s Mega Man’s trump card. As all the time, the Finalized Noise kind’s Massive Bang assault is totally devastating and feels rewarding to execute, particularly contemplating its slim three-turn restrict. Plus, it seems to be completely badass.
Retrofitting for the Future
As a remastered assortment of Nintendo DS video games, issues that had been initially displayed on the underside contact display screen of the hand held have now been relegated to a smaller display screen off to the facet, and you may swap between these two screens freely. It’s a chic resolution that works more often than not. There are a couple of awkward situations the place sure minigames require utterly totally different display screen formatting, and contact controls have been changed with cursors. Nevertheless, these adjustments don’t have a adverse influence within the grand scheme of issues and the transition between totally different screens is dealt with easily.
Some very useful high quality of life options have been added as properly, equivalent to a a lot wanted auto-save. It’s a characteristic that we take without any consideration in 2026. Within the unique DS video games, if Mega Man acquired deleted in battle, you’d have to begin out of your final guide save – so for those who forgot to avoid wasting for an extended time frame, properly… you’re out of luck! There’s additionally a slider for random enemy encounters, fixing Star Force 2’s atrociously excessive charge that contributed to the unique’s sluggish pacing and obnoxious backtracking.
Mega Man’s operating pace on the sphere may also be elevated, which additional alleviates backpedalling, and you may modify totally different problem parameters equivalent to growing the sum of money earned after battle, absolutely restoring HP after battle, and guaranteeing escape from battle. This helps make the sequence extra approachable than ever. Minimize content material from the unique English variations has been restored on this assortment, too. That features the Boktai crossover occasion in Star Force, Wave Command Playing cards in Star Force 2, and Noise Playing cards in Star Force 3. Even for those who’ve already performed the originals, these reinstated options are greater than sufficient to attract you again in, giving Mega Man much more methods to customise his Folders and skills.
On high of all of those additions, bonus Battle Playing cards all through all three entries that had been solely accessible by means of particular in-person occasions or real-life toys and peripherals can now merely be downloaded into your Folder from the get-go. Many of those are hilariously overpowered, particularly for those who redeem them initially of a playthrough, however their inclusion is a becoming bow that ties the complete assortment collectively.