Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection: Remastered Classic DS Adventures

Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection is Capcom’s latest remaster pack of the Blue Bomber’s franchise. The collection brings back the multiple versions of the three Star Force games, which are a spiritual successor to the Battle Network line, with a plethora of adjustments for current gen systems.

A Boy and His Alien

The Star Force games follow Geo Stellar, a boy whose father has gone missing in a space mission gone wrong. Ever since that event, he has closed himself to the world, becoming a recluse in his bedroom and only leaving the house for stargazing. That is until he meets an alien creature called Omega-Xis, who claims to know his dad and demands his help in a rather forceful way.

As the Earth is invaded by other alien lifeforms akin to Omega-Xis, it’s up to the duo to find a way to subdue the threat. With each game following up the first one, new enemies show up and the world also changes to reflect technological progress. By the third game, Mega Man is a hero people recognize and Geo’s alien partner is now fully integrated into his Hunter-VG device.

A big part of the series’ appeal is the unique sci-fi setting that reimagines waves and tech devices as a whole other world for the player to explore. As such, players get to see and use futuristic gadgets of various sorts, like the Matter Wave that can summon a ski or a vacuum cleaner for specific moments in Mega Man Star Force 2.

As the series advances, the way the physical world and the wave world connect changes significantly. The first game introduces wave worlds as an area above ground and keeps Mega Man’s exploration pretty much separate from Geo’s, but the subsequent titles mix them up more closely.

Enter the Battle Grid from a New Angle

When it comes to gameplay, the Star Force series takes the structure of Battle Network and proposes a major perspective twist. Now, battles are 3D and seen from behind Mega Man’s shoulders, which makes it feel much closer to the action. As such, instead of having nine panels of movement, the player only has one horizontal line to dodge attacks, gaining a shield for extra protection.

Enemies have a lot of variety in their patterns, demanding that players pay attention to them if they’d like to have the advantage. Each battle may feature various creatures with different weaknesses and advantages, or big bosses with more complex moves.

To deal with the challenges, players have to make a deck with various battle cards that can be obtained by battling enemies, buying from the games’ shops or activating special codes in the menu. Compared to Battle Network, the rules are simplified, as cards don’t have any codes restricting use, so only the position they’re drawn and which cards are the same define whether they can be picked together in the three games. Many staples of BN are also not implemented here due to how different the grids are.

On the other hand, the game features a brand-new lock-on system, which is very helpful to make melee cards more immediately useful. The idea is that the player will automatically move closer to the targeted enemy to use the sword when the button is pressed. Timing is key as enemies are often moving around and the attack may not play out as expected. The shield and lock-on functions help streamline combat, while good design that properly takes into account both keeps enemies challenging.

Each game brings some unique balance changes, adding new cards and mechanics as well as bringing new transformations to the table. It’s interesting to check out one of each and see these changes as they go on. For instance, Mega Man Star Force 3’s Noise system favors overkilling enemies with powerful cards as long as they don’t have a “dimming” visual effect like the Mega and Giga cards. Countering attacks is also a great way to avoid taking damage, but demands precise timing.

Reworking a DS Series

Combat isn’t the only challenge of the game, however, as there are many puzzles to solve to progress through the story. Besides getting the necessary items, sometimes it’ll be necessary to deal with specific minigames, like quick-time quizzes or sliding down a snow slope. These are just some of the methods that the game challenges the player and keeps each area unique.

In this aspect, Capcom did a major rework for minigames that originally demanded the use of the DS’s touchscreen. Though the PC and Switch could have managed to keep those in some fashion, the adjustments were clever and generally well-made.

Star Force 3 originally had a big reliance on the touchscreen, with a keyword system and menu interactions done through it to unlock areas or activate elevators. To keep the experience closer to the original, the game uses a system of focus change, letting players alternate between the upper and lower screens while still using the same action button.

Players can use thematic wallpapers and choose how to position the screens, making them bigger or smaller, putting the second one on the sides or even making it so both fit the screen to play with the screen on the vertical. The game has a default filter that smooths out the pixels, but it’s possible to just turn it off to enjoy the original look. The same can be done with character icons and battle cards, but the updated look based on the original drawings is a high-quality pick.

Capcom did a major rework for minigames that originally demanded the use of the DS’s touchscreen.

In the audio department, the games now feature extra voices for Mega Man to be more expressive in battle, and it’s possible to use Japanese or English dub with the text in a different language. Background music has multiple versions to pick, including the original tracks, new arrangements and Battle Network tracks.

The Legacy Collection also adds back content that was originally only available in Japanese to the games and lets players access the Battle Network slot-2 extras with a simple menu toggle. Areas revolving around unlocking items now have a list option, so players can use them instead of having to look up codes that oftentimes were distributed via Japanese magazines and other obscure methods. Code input is still valid for those who prefer to do it traditionally, however.

Other novelties include a speed boost function and the possibility of reducing or increasing encounters. The collection’s settings menu also lets players use “cheats” to adjust power balance and reduce difficulty. It’s also possible to turn on an EX/V2 Boss Locator, which makes the games’ hidden super bosses visible.

With all these additions, it’s now much easier to explore everything the game has to offer without having to rely on guides. The pack also features a Network mode, so players can use their data from any of the included games for trades and matches, keeping the multiplayer aspect of the original games still alive. The artwork and music made for the games is also included in a hefty gallery that any fan will enjoy having a look at.

Closing Comments:

Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection is a great example of how a remaster should be, making three unique DS titles accessible once again on modern devices. Although Star Force comes as one possible evolution to what the Battle Network series proposed, the titles are still unlike anything else on the market in its combination of deckbuilding and action. The new collection is a complete pack that anyone interested in exploring the games for the first time or coming back to them should get.