Mega Man Legends

"Eat Buster, buster."

Mega Man Legends is one of the first true memorable Playstation titles I owned. I must have been around the age of 11 when I first played it and to date it is still one of the most fun games I've experienced. After a 9 year period without the game, I finally found and picked it up. Probably the best part about that was that I had some memories of what happened in the game, while at the same time it was like playing it again for the first time. A shy away from the traditional Mega Man game, I found this experiment to be a better representation of what Mega Man games should be like… action packed, adventurous, and comically lighthearted. Overlooked, underrated, and to the average gamer unheard of, this is a game everyone should play at least once in their lifetime.

Gameplay

At heart the game is made to deliver on a few key elements. It was made for fast paced action, designed with dungeons for your typical adventurer's exploration, a bit of RPG with the integration of a customization system, and more light hearted to target an audience on average of 10-12, the formula was successful. By no means is this game easy though. It can be beaten by just about any one who knows the layout of the Playstation controller, however it has it's tough moments. The game's final boss and a variety of different mini games come to mind the most here. As for the actual in game play, Mega Man is quite the hero, and by the end of the game the label Robot God seems unworthy of his attention. Customization of weapons give way to powers that make Mega Man nearly indestructible. The variety of weapons are wide in selection as well. New ways to attack aren't the only upgrades he receives, he also can acquire some defensive as well as bonus accessories to make him stronger and faster. The game's enemies are mostly a variety of ancient robot technology known as Reaverbots, these machines protect the ruins in which Mega Man explores. As for boss fights the game delivers. They are grandeur and exciting and not always a positive outcome. Playing it safe ensures victory, not a game you can be careless in. As I mentioned earlier the game includes some mini-games such as shooting events and racing. Some can be frustrating, but in a good way. Overall decent especially considering the time in which it came out.

9/10

Story

The story follows Mega Man and his crew (Barrel, Roll, and Data) as they search the world over for the legendary Motherload. A wondrous treasure said to fulfill the finder's dreams. They are a team of diggers that explore ancient ruins for treasure as well as other goodies and enjoy the knowledge they learn from each experience. At the very beginning of the game the crew runs into some misfortune and have to work with a small town of nice civilized people to help get them on the move again. Along the way they meet a gang of pirates who are more goofy than life threatening and with some hilarious moments and embarrassing outcomes the story pulls together to be quite a show. A darker presence makes itself known during the game showing that it's not such a kid's game and is actually deeper than it appears to be. With that it's up to Mega Man to get to the bottom of this mystery.

8/10

Graphics and Sound

Being from the Sony Playstation 1 the game is obviously full of blocky polygons, but I'd put the game on par with Final Fantasy 7. It looks nice for its time, it just happens to be cartoon-like instead of realistic. The environments look much better than the character models, creating bright and beautiful or dark and spooky scenery. As for the audio portion of the game it comes equipped with character voices. I love when games have voice actors, but even more so when the voices fit the character. The casting here was perfect and I doubt anyone would disagree. Sound FX are flawless here as well, really a perfect category.

9/10

Playtime/Re-Playability

Unfortunately for a game I dearly love, it is incredibly short. On an average play through a gamer should be able to complete the game with a 7-9 hour time span, that's giving some leeway based on whether or not they complete the mini-games. Although fully upgrading every weapon in the game could add on quite a bit of hours. After all money in this game can be hard to obtain and power-ups are expensive. The replay value is moderate. The game has different difficulties to tackle and is short so anyone looking for a quick fun game to beat will play through this more than twice.

7/10

Final Verdict

I purchased the game at Game Factor by my house for 10 bucks used. I doubt you will find a whole lot of copies anywhere, and this game is about 10 years old. So with that in mind if you do decide to get this, pick it up at first glance, it's moving away from being a rarity and straight into extinction.

9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/18/06