Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker x Ninja

"Walks in Battle Network's shoes... and stumbles."

I was always a fan of the original Megaman Battle Network series, to the point of playing them to death and writing several guides. I knew such a popular format would have to live on, and sure enough, here we are at Megaman Star Force 2. Unfortunately, this title just doesn't have the quality of the original games; numerous missteps along the way end up deliver an experience that is equal parts entertaining and frustrating. While some gameplay problems will probably be overlooked by the younger crowd just getting into Megaman, older gamers who enjoyed Battle Network may do good to stay clear.

Gameplay

As Battle Network/Star Force fans will know well, there are two main facets to the gameplay. The first, the overworld, has remained essentially unchanged since the first game eight years ago, though as an RPG it's more or less an "if it ain't broke don't fix it" situation. Unfortunately, this iteration's overworld gameplay just doesn't feel very inspiring, which is partly the fault of the story, but the story should be a reflection of what needs to happen from a gameplay perspective. If you're not in a situation immediately preceding a boss battle, you're most likely either watching a cutscene that's far too long for its own good, or running back and forth across the same ground over and over, especially when the Sky Wave comes into play.

Additionally, your progress in the overworld can be hindered by the most arbitrary things, such as having to talk to everyone in the immediate vicinity, none of whom give you interesting information, making it an exercise in artificial game-lengthening. If you're in the more puzzle-based sections of the Wave World, however, your tasks can be more interesting and entertaining, especially in the latter half of the game; the final puzzle-based section, before the final boss, tested my memory, wits, and reflexes well while utilizing the DS touch screen, an effort I greatly appreciated. The quality of this section of the game is definitely situational. One problem I noticed in both Star Force games is that the amount of overworld to cover has been chopped right in half, essentially. Without the inclusion of the Net, you're limited to the real world and the Wave World, which is in itself limited by the real world and doesn't feel like a proper substitute. It feels a bit like a missed opportunity, not having another world to explore.

Luckily, the main component of the game, battle, is still relatively intact and fun. Very little has changed from the first Star Force, but that's not much of a problem, as it's still fun and it doesn't look half bad either. There are a bunch of new battle cards, and I got the impression that there was more variety in the battle cards this time around, which made the experience more fun. Other additions include the ability to change tribes, and Star cards which can add power to other cards; there's more strategy here than there was before. The difficulty has also been addressed; while I rarely found myself challenged in Star Force, this game had boss battles that really tested my reflexes and my battle folder.

The main source of frustration for me was the ludicrous encounter rate. In the Wave World, you literally can't walk for five seconds sometimes without running into some enemies, and battles rarely are as short as some of them in Battle Network. Additionally, the "run from battle" function is downright broken. Its purpose is to allow you to skip simple battles that you don't have time for, but you'll find yourself almost never able to run from anybody, even if you're far in the game and hanging out in an "easier" section. This frustrated me to no end, that I had to fight useless battle after useless battle every few steps, and this brings down the enjoyability of the game far more than anything else. It's hard to enjoy a game when you're constantly frustrated by this.

Story

I've never been a big fan of the Star Force story, mainly because the character list has been nicely chopped in half along with the overworld, with the loss of Navis; not only that, but in the first Star Force, I don't think there was a single character who had a very well defined personality, and it felt more like Random Emo Kid teamed up with Rita Repulsa and her lackeys to defeat the Great Generic Evil. While Star Force 2 makes improvements in some areas, it falls in others. It certainly has good concepts, but the execution is flawed in numerous ways.

Characterization is one place Capcom has tried to improve, and it goes a little ways toward succeeding, exploring subplots with various characters and trying to add depth to the cast as a whole. It's a good effort, but it just doesn't go far enough to make the characters really round. In some cases, even, it feels like they go too far, and there are instances where characters don't quite feel like themselves anymore. It's a bit lackluster on the whole.

Besides that, there are the aforementioned arbitrary advancements/hindrances. There were several instances where I had to do something ridiculous like talk to every person for no reason before I could advance in the story. Other things that I experienced were arbitrary walls; for instance, in one part of the game I wanted to explore a large stone structure, but was forced back because Omega told me I had no reason to be there. Is that the best they could come up with?

The main plot itself is a bit more clever than that of the original game, but the pacing isn't quite right and cohesion is almost lost entirely; it feels like a collection of scenarios were drawn out of a hat and used for the game, as opposed to writing a more closed narrative. In addition, the script isn't well done. Several cutscenes go on far too long because characters just don't know when to stop talking, and others just lack emotional impact due to the limitations of the sprite-based, isometric view that Capcom refuses to give up. The game could be seriously spiced up with hand-drawn cutscenes, or even just hand-drawn pictures with mouths moving. Now that we've moved to the next generation of handhelds, I expect more attention to be paid to presentation. Speaking of which...

Graphics/Sound

I don't have much to say about sound, since I didn't listen to much of it, but I did tune in during certain scenes and in parts of levels. The music was well done and fit the sprite-based look rather well, but it feels a bit lacking, like it's not always quite appropriate for the situation.

The graphics themselves look rather clean and crisp, and as far as sprite-based graphics go it's about as good as they can get while keeping a standard appearance. I need to reiterate, though, the need for Capcom to step visuals up a notch during cutscenes, especially given the capabilities of the Nintendo DS. Capcom isn't currently pushing their cartridges to the limit by any means, so it's within the game's capabilities. So overall, there's nothing wrong with the visuals as they're currently done, the only problems are what they didn't do.

Replay Value

This is something the Battle Network series has always been good about, and luckily Star Force 2 continues in the same vein. The main quest took me about 12 hours to complete, not including all my deaths, and as is the norm, once the main quest is complete, there is an additional quest for one to take on, sending you up against stronger enemies and forcing you to go collecting; if you complete everything the game has to offer there's even an alternate ending. In addition, there are a series of small side quests you can undertake in exchange for Link Power or bonuses, and of course, you can head onto Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to interact and battle with other players. If you enjoy this game, you're in luck, because there's a lot for you to enjoy.

Final Judgment

Should you buy this game or not? Judging by my review you'd think I'd say an outright no, but really it all depends. I desperately want to hate this game, because there are just so many things it does wrong, or perhaps just doesn't do right. The core gameplay, however, remains intact and remains a force to be reckoned with throughout the entire adventure. If you can forgive a bunch of design flaws in exchange for entertaining battles, then this title may entertain you through the main quest.

Taken all together, this game really is no worse than the original Star Force, so if you enjoyed Geo's first adventure, then I see no reason for you not to pick this one up, as long as you don't mind battling every thirty seconds. If you're a Battle Network veteran, though, you're probably going to find a lot of deficiencies in this installment just like you probably found in the first. I'll have to declare this one worth a rental, as I can't honestly say you should straight-up purchase the whole thing without knowing what you're getting into.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 09/25/08

Game Release: Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker x Ninja (US, 06/24/08)