Review #3
Megaman Legends for the PS1 (also available for N64 as Megaman 64 and PSP but only in Japan/known as Rockman DASH! in Japan)
In the mid to late 90's. Most popular video game characters and established franchises were making the jump from 2D to 3D graphics. And for the most part, many transitions were big hits. Mario 64 established many of the standards for 3D platforming, Zelda with Ocarina of time set standards that are still looked at to this day, Final Fantasy brought new levels of depth to it's stories and even long forgotten series like Metal Gear saw a strong revival in 3D. But what about Megaman? Well you're looking at the once great Capcoms answer to all these 3D reincarnations of past successful series, Megaman Legends. In actuality, this game almost never existed, Keiji Inafune (the brain behind all things Megaman) was content to continue the standard style of Megaman games at the time, which was 2D action platforming. Which would have been just fine since he had two seires to work with (Megaman, and Megaman X) but the higher ups at Capcom requested that he and a team work to make a 3D Megaman, and thus Megaman Legends was born. While it's probably the most diverse and unique of all the Megaman variations, it's probably one of the most beloved and has one of the biggest followings to this day despite having only 3 games to it's name (in contrast to other Megaman variations having at least 4-10 games). Here's why this game still stands tall among fans:
Well, the whole concept and story of this game is actually a pretty big deal, mainly because there actually is a story to follow. In the past with classic Megaman, the story was very minimal and usually just revolved around "Dr. Wily is back, destroy the robot masters and stop his evil plans", but story was never the main focus of the classic series, tight solid gameplay was the focus. Same with the X series, while Megaman X did add a bit of narrative and character development, in the end the games (which are some of the best Megaman platformers) boiled down to beating bad robot bosses and taking their powers to smash the final big boss. Megaman Legends however takes the story in a completely different direction and runs with it. This incarnation of Megaman is known as Megaman Volnutt. He, along with his childhood friend Roll, her Grandpa and an energetic little monkey named Data are diggers who go deep in to mines on the world they live in to find refractor shards, a very powerful energy source in their strange yet semi realistic world. While hunting refractors, their ship, the Flutter, ends up crash landing on Kattelox Island and this is where the game takes place. It's up to Megaman to explore the ruins of the island and get enough parts and refractors to repair their ship. Along the way they meet a very unique cast of characters including a group of pirates named "The Bonnes" who end up being rivals to Megaman and his crew. Their group consists of Teisel Bonne (the leader) Bon Bonne (a very huge yet baby like fighter) Tron Bonne (probably the most famous or them seeing as she is referenced in even Marvel vs Capcom) and Trons army of little Lego men known as Servebots (they make cameos in many Capcom games after this one). While their intentions are typically bad they end up being bad guys you come to love, not to spoil to much. So while scouring the island and it's ruins and clashing with the Bonne's, Megaman and his team learn many secrets about the origins of the island and eventually even the origins of Megaman Volnutt himself, but that's for you to find out. The story is probably one of the strongest points of this game. It's a lot more involving then past Megaman games of the time but really draws you in with a likeable cast of characters and a great presentation.
Speaking of presentation, this is probably the most unique of all the Megaman, aside form Battle Network. Instead of being in a futuristic robot world as in most standard Megaman titles, it has more of a realistic yet isolated feel to it. The art style of the game is much like that of an anime and while the graphics are a tad dated today. The game is still a joy to look at and won't disappoint. The music and sound of this game is very well done too. Most Megaman games of the past have a very rock n roll inspired soundtrack. Legends on the other hand has a soundtrack that fits the mood of each area. The town and city areas have nice peaceful tunes that go in the background, the dungeons/ruins have very eerie background music that plays and boss fights have a very energetic feel. Over all the presentation of this game is very memorable and definitely stands out from the other Megaman variations.
The gameplay in this game is probably what varied most from traditional Megaman games of the time. Instead of being a 2D platformer, it ended up being a mix of 3D platforming and action gameplay. Megaman still has his trusty buster gun on his arm which you can upgrade but instead of stealing parts from robot masters, you find various old parts in the ruins you explore and these parts are used to make your special weapons which you can upgrade as well. While upgrading some of the weapons to their max potential is a tad time consuming, it still gives you a lot to do in the game. The only faults I can give the gameplay really have to do with controlling the camera. Since this was released when the PS1 hadn't yet adopted dual analog controllers for everything yet, you have to tap the shoulder buttons to move the camera and while there is a lock on feature similar to Zelda games, it still involves you turning the camera and strafing and firing your weapons for many bosses. Aside from that, the gameplay still holds up pretty well
Overall this is probably one of if not my favorite variation of Megaman. I could go on and on about it but I'm not going to spoil such a great game for anyone. I remember playing this at a friends house and this was the game that made me want to get a Playstation if that's any indication about how highly I regard this game. There's a sequel (Legends 2, only on PS1, has a Japanese PSP port as well) that improves on many things from the first and even a side game (The Misadventure of Tron Bonne) which I have played but sadly do not own, and that game involves you playing as Tron doing more mission based activities but still retaining the same gameplay style. There's was even a final 3rd Legends game announced in 2010...but was cancelled in 2011 along with Keiji Inafune leaving Capcom. I won't get in to my feelings about that here but lets just leave it at the fact that I haven't bought a single new game from Capcom since.
Anyways, if you own any Playstation system or an N64, do yourself a favor and find this game. The PS1 and N64 versions don't run too pricey. The second and Tron Bonne game are a different story but if you like Megaman and 3D action adventure games then don't second guess trying to find a copy of this games. It's one of my personal favorites and a game that anyone should play.
Enjoy!