Getting a chance to review the Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection was quite a treat for me. As I said in my preview of the collection, despite genuinely loving Mega Man Battle Network on the Game Boy Advance, I was genuinely unaware that the series had received something of a spiritual successor. In my defence, this may have been around the time I was rediscovering the original Mega Man on the Wii’s Virtual Console.
Like many of these collection packs, it’s genuinely nice to go back and revisit these classic games—overlooked or otherwise—in a convenient package that faithfully delivers the original experience while offering players a plethora of bonus materials to really celebrate its legacy. Mega Man Star Force Legacy remains two excellent games (as well as their multiple versions) that incorporate the Blue Bomber in a bold mix of genre-bending action.
I won’t get too into the weeds about it, since I did talk about it at some length in my preview. The Mega Man Star Force Legacy is a collection of the three Mega Man Star Force games that were released for the Nintendo DS back in 2007, 2008, and 2009, respectively—at least in North America. Since Mega Man Star Force 1, 2, & 3 were released with several versions—à la the Pokémon series—the collection congregates all of them into a convenient package, no need for multiple purchases required.
If you missed out on them, it follows the adventures of Geo, a young boy who is caught up in an intergalactic quest when a strange digital creature known as Omega-Xis bonds with him to turn him into this game’s version of Mega Man. Together, the two must work together to thwart the machinations of the nefarious FM King. It shares a lot of its predecessors’ DNA in terms of story and worldbuilding, only this time veering away from technological interfaces and the internet and focusing more on EM Waves.
While it’s still certainly as fun as the Mega Man Battle Network series, playing heavily on the idea of an unseen technological world, it does feel like something of a step back. Mega Man Battle Network had a lot of fun ways you could Jack In to the digital world, and it just felt a bit more futuristic and creative. By contrast, Mega Man Star Force’s world feels a little more esoteric and plays a lot looser with its sci-fi elements.
But where the games both stand out from and maintain their predecessors’ quality is in their combat system. If you played Mega Man Battle Network, then you’ll know what to expect—players move along a three-square grid, chipping away at enemies with their Mega Buster and utilizing Battle Cards for big special attacks. It combines the excitement of an action game with the strategy of a card-based RPG, and it is immensely satisfying.
“As I said in my preview, the Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection feels like a true labour of love.”
While the fundamentals remain the same, what was true about both the original and this re-release is the increase in graphical fidelity that makes battles feel bigger and more exciting. Rendering battles in 3D was a big change for the original, and in the Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection, these visuals are cleaned up and made suitable for HD screens.
However, if players want a more authentic experience, they can choose to use the original graphics for the overworld—which is rendered in pixel-art—battles, and even the Battle Card and Character profile art. This goes the same for the Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection’s soundtrack, which includes new, updated arrangements for all the game’s music and updated voice lines for characters.
And like I said in my preview, the sheer suite of additional content included in this collection makes it one that’s truly worth owning. Not only does this include a gallery of concept art, Battle Card art, and Jukebox, but even the way the series’ online features have been broadened and expanded to maintain the original experience, while giving it the QoL updates it needs to resonate in the modern day. It shows a clear adoration for this series and Capcom’s commitment to delivering a quality collection.
As I said in my preview, the Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection feels like a true labour of love. Rather than letting Mega Man’s history get lost to the annals of time, Capcom has been delivering solid collections that celebrate the series’ long and varied history. It is pretty amazing that gamers can now have the entire library of Mega Man games on their Switch, and none of them feel particularly cheap. If you missed it back in the day, these are definitely worth looking at.
