Despite the name and a few tweaks here and there, Mega Man Star Force is by all intents and purposes the seventh Battle Network title.
Like the previous Mega Man Battle Network games, the emphasis with this is all about roleplay gaming, not the classic Mega Man action we’ve loved for ages. So if you see the new title sitting at the store and think that it may be a return to classic Mega Man, I’m sorry to say you’re wrong.
That’s not to say the game doesn’t have its appeal, though. Longtime fans of the Battle Network series will find themselves pleased with the tweaks Capcom’s put in. If you got sick of the game a while back, give it a chance; you may find it entertaining again.
The story of the game is pretty lame, but hey, when have these games been about epic storytelling? You control a young kid; he’s upset and having trouble in school because his father just died in some space-related accident.
Of course, like most cliché tales of this nature one day he meets an alien named Omega-Xis (Mega for short — get it?). Mega makes a deal with you: in exchange for him being able to use your body (he’s running from some fellow aliens from the planet FM) he’ll help you solve the mystery of your father’s death.
By putting on your goggles, you fuse with Mega and become Mega Man. This gives you the opportunity to explore the electromagnetic world and fight the FM-ians. (Basically, it’s the same as jacking into the network in the Battle Network games.)
When you’re in the electromagnetic world, you’ll constantly be faced with random battles. If you hate RPGs with a high level of random battles, stay away from this one. Once you’re engaged with an enemy, you’ll notice one of the few things that’s been tweaked: the combat grid.
This time, you view the fight from behind Mega Man, and are limited to only the back row. This greatly limits your movement in battles, but it does add an element of skill in terms of being able to time dodges correctly.
Battles are still lost and won by your choice of cards, and for the most part everything is familiar territory. There are a few minor changes (such as drawing six cards instead of five), but anyone with any time spent in the BN games will understand what they’re doing right when the first battle starts up.
The best feature of Star Force is easily the brother band. Basically, you’re able to link up with friends and use their favorite cards and transformations. Since the transformations are the unique features in each of the three versions (Leo, Pegasus, and GameStop-exclusive Dragon) this is a nice addition and gives you no reason to go out and buy the versions you didn’t pick up. Sadly, you’re very limited to the number of bros you can have on your list at any time, so you’ll have to delete and re-add people very frequently.
So is Star Force worth buying? If you’re a big fan of the Battle Network series and weren’t burned out by the fifth or sixth game, I see no reason why you wouldn’t. If you’re like me, though, and dislike games with poor stories, lots of back-and-forth travel, and an insane amount of random battles, you’re better off borrowing this from a friend first.
