The definitive way to experience the most underrated version of the Blue Bomber.
Back in the seventh-grade era, Mega Man Star Force’s themes of friendship and brotherhood registered as profound. Its villains were cartoonishly evil, spouting lines like, “who needs friendship when you have power?” Kids ate that stuff up. Playing through the Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection almost 20 years later, the cringey dialogue becomes impossible to ignore. That is hardly surprising given this Nintendo DS series was engineered specifically for kids of that generation, but there is still real value in revisiting these games through a mature lens two decades down the line. Taken as a complete package, Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection delivers a resonant story arc about building confidence through camaraderie alongside thrilling card battling, newly restored content, and welcome quality-of-life improvements.
This collection houses the entire Star Force trilogy, which totals seven games once every version is accounted for. Purists can play them as straight remasters, but helpful features can also be toggled to enhance the overall experience, like dialing back incoming enemy damage or boosting Mega Man’s Buster power. There is a rearranged soundtrack, redrawn card art, and a gallery packed with concept art and cut ideas to celebrate the series’ history. Online functionality including PvP and card trading is supported. Much of the feedback from 2023’s Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection has been folded in here, making Star Force Legacy Collection an even more robust package.
Every Star Force game centers on a young boy named Geo Stelar, who becomes reclusive and antisocial after his father vanishes in space. That is until an alien named Omega-Xis (Mega) convinces Geo to merge with him to fight off pursuing extraterrestrials in exchange for information about his father. Thus, Mega Man is born. The first Star Force uses this setup to tell a touching tale about how Geo emerges from his shell and learns to trust others thanks to Mega’s headstrong personality.
The main cast remains strong throughout, largely because each character wrestles with personal turmoil. Class president Luna’s commanding attitude stems from her strict parents, while pop idol Sonia grapples with the pressures of the music industry. The other aliens hunting Mega prey on these negative feelings and merge with them to spawn monsters, which Mega Man must defeat while Geo learns he isn’t alone. That “monster of the week” structure works nicely in the first Star Force because it gives side characters room to grow alongside Geo. It is a stellar introduction.
The monsters themselves also stand out. The Mega Man franchise frequently recycles bosses from its various incarnations, but Star Force’s bosses draw from constellations like Taurus, Cancer, and Gemini, producing something considerably more original. This gives Star Force a distinct identity that separates it cleanly from other Mega Man series like Battle Network.
Star Force 2’s story unfortunately takes a tumble as it tries to mirror the same structure as the first entry. It follows an evil scientist trying to resurrect an ancient civilization, but this time the alien bosses merge with forgettable side characters rather than the main cast. The result is significantly less emotional investment, and the main villains fail to reach their full potential. Mega Man’s rival, aptly named Solo, serves as his antithesis and rejects all bonds and friendships. He’s the most compelling of the new antagonists, but his backstory lacks development—a recurring issue across Star Force 2.
Star Force 3’s story mounts a terrific rebound. While its bosses remain mostly side characters, the main villains surrounding them prove considerably more interesting. The bond between orphans Tia and Jack evolves throughout the narrative, granting them proper redemption arcs by the finale. Additionally, technological advancements finally make Mega visible to Geo’s friends, enabling fun interactions absent from previous entries. Although Star Force 3 tends to hammer its themes home with a sledgehammer, the core concept revolves around purpose. Friends working together toward a common goal can achieve anything, like stopping a giant meteor from crashing into Earth. Sure, it is corny, but it serves as a fitting cap on a trilogy built around the power of friendship.
Each game also packs expansive post-game content, adding more lore once the main story wraps. Star Force 3 delivers the most impressive post-game offerings, bringing back characters from previous entries and fleshing them out further. That includes tougher enemies to battle and optional super bosses.
Playing Cards
Mega Man Star Force’s combat blends real-time action with light turn-based card battling. When Mega Man’s Custom Gauge fills, the fight pauses and a screen appears with randomly assorted Battle Cards that can strike enemies, buff his moves, or defend against attacks. After confirming which cards to deploy, Mega Man moves in real-time as he positions himself to strike or dodge incoming assaults. It isn’t far removed from modern deckbuilding games like Slay the Spire 2 or Monster Train 2, but with a twist that keeps it fun and distinctive.
Since Star Force takes place roughly 200 years after the end of the Mega Man Battle Network series, their combat systems share DNA. But Star Force separates itself from its predecessor by restricting Mega Man to left-right movement only, with his back facing the player instead of a top-down grid view. That gives the series a familiar feel for Battle Network veterans, yet this simple perspective shift feels surprisingly refreshing.
In battle, Mega Man can only select cards that are identical or share the same column on the selection screen. This encourages strategic thinking and prioritizing certain cards to build combos. Depending on battle performance, enemies can drop currency or fresh Battle Cards to customize your deck, called a Folder here. Certain rules apply, such as a maximum of 30 cards per Folder, with up to five Mega-class cards and one Giga-class card. The deckbuilding elements in Star Force prove genuinely engrossing given the sheer volume of combinations to explore.
Striking an opponent right as they unleash an attack triggers a counterattack and draws an extra card from your Folder, so playing thoughtfully rather than button-mashing pays off. When Mega Man is in a transformed state, counterattacks can even execute a Big Bang—ultimate attacks that deliver massive damage. Counterattacks feel immensely satisfying, and watching a Big Bang tear enemies apart is the cherry on top.
Where Star Force and Star Force 2 remain mechanically similar, Star Force 3 takes the extra step to introduce deeper combat mechanics. Here, Battle Cards can sometimes land behind others on the selection screen and cannot be selected normally. Instead, they carry an alternative effect, like how electric elemental cards will add paralysis to another card regardless of whether they share the same column. It is an interesting but polarizing wrinkle that enables tactical shifts on the fly when the current selection isn’t promising.
Alternatively, that background card can be used for its normal effect, with the trade-off being that it is the only card usable that turn. Choosing a different card is always an option too, and the background card will eventually move to the foreground, allowing normal selection later. That mitigates the randomness when a critically needed card ends up buried initially.
Pick and Choose
Every game in the Star Force trilogy has multiple versions, mirroring how the mainline Pokémon series operates. Depending on the version chosen, Mega Man gets different transformations and types of Giga-class cards. In the first Star Force, the version differences aren’t especially dramatic. Players choose between Pegasus, Leo, and Dragon, each carrying an exclusive boss fight and unique Big Bang attack. Although these transformations are largely aesthetic swaps, they still shake up battles while laying a solid foundation for subsequent entries to build on.
Adding players to your in-game friend list who own a different version grants access to that version’s transformation. That means owning all three versions isn’t required to see everything. Unfortunately, the Legacy Collection lacks crossplay support, so battling or trading cards with players on other platforms isn’t possible. It is a huge missed opportunity, and somewhat ironic given Star Force’s core themes about building connections.
In Star Force 2, three distinct transformations are available: the lightning sword-wielding Zerker, the wood Ninja, and the flaming dinosaur-head Saurian, all of which mark a step up. Two can be combined to gain the benefits of each, making transformations far more interactive and engaging compared to the first game. All three can even be fused to become the powerful Tribe King, which packs all the glorious powers of each for three turns. It is tough to pull off, but gratifying when it lands. Plus, its tremendous Big Bang attack can completely turn the tables during boss battles, making the effort worthwhile.
Star Force 3 is the closest to traditional Battle Network games yet simultaneously the most innovative, making it the strongest entry in the trilogy. It introduces “Noise,” where Mega Man mutates into different forms based on enemies from previous games to gain unique abilities. It echoes the Style system from Battle Network 2 and 3 in that these forms are permanent but swap out whenever a new one is unlocked. Like Star Force 2, two forms can be combined. There are 10 different Noise forms between both versions, producing a staggering 100 possible combinations. Experimenting to find which one clicked with a specific playstyle was a real highlight.
There is also a Noise percentage gauge that builds during battle by using strong cards to overkill enemies. The bigger the card’s attack power and the opponent’s HP, the higher the Noise level climbs. Noise gradually drops over time, so Mega Man must stay on the offensive while dodging incoming attacks. Playing well and ending battles with that gauge over 100% yields rewards like Illegal Battle Cards. These are far more powerful variants of their normal counterparts, and well worth acquiring to boost your Folder’s firepower.
Upon hitting 200%, Mega Man can transform into his Finalized Noise form—either the hulking Red Joker or the speedy Black Ace depending on the version—similar to Mega Man Battle Network 6’s Gregar and Falzar transformations. Like Tribe King, he receives immeasurable power. Reaching this transformation typically happens during boss fights, underscoring that it is Mega Man’s trump card. As always, the Finalized Noise form’s Big Bang attack is utterly devastating and feels rewarding to pull off within its narrow three-turn window. Plus, it looks awesome.
Retrofitting for the Future
As a remastered collection of Nintendo DS games, elements originally displayed on the handheld’s bottom touch screen have been shifted to a smaller screen off to the side, and players can swap between these displays freely. It is an elegant solution that works most of the time. There are a few awkward moments where certain minigames require different screen formatting, and touch controls have been replaced with cursors. However, these changes don’t drag down the overall experience, and transitions between screens are handled smoothly.
Some genuinely useful quality-of-life features have also been added, including a much-needed auto-save. In the original DS games, if Mega Man got deleted in battle, resuming meant loading from the last manual save, so forgetting to save for a long stretch brought severe consequences. There is also a slider for random
arrticle by paleshadowgaming
