Nintendo DS

Mega Man Star Force: Pegasus

Employing the BrotherBand over the Wi-Fi system, you will be able to team up with other enthusiasts around the planet. As I mentioned, you can't play against other players, but you can enhance your abilities by boosting various attributes. You can obtain items such as Mega Buster bonuses and more health. Other interested parties can be emailed. These features are not deal makers, but if you've purchased the game and are looking to share some info and items with other MM freaks, then consider it a darn good bonus to a darn good game.

En changeant de nom, Mega Man marque sa volonté de se renouveler tout en conservant les acquis qui ont fait son succès. Le concept des Battle Network est ainsi remanié de manière à rendre ce Star Force plus original et plus agréable à jouer. Les combats sont une réussite et compensent les lacunes narratives, incitant le joueur à s'investir pleinement dans l'univers particulier du soft pour en saisir tout le potentiel. Certes, Mega Man n'est plus du tout ce qu'il était jadis, mais sa nouvelle formule ne l'empêchera pas de s'attirer les faveurs d'un nouveau public.

Overall, if you liked the MMBN series, but think it’s time for a bit of a change, then pick up Star Force. On the other hand, if you wanted MMSF to be a complete reinvention of the Battle Network engine, well, you’re bound to be disappointed. The same goes for those of you who loved MMBN just the way it was.

Star Force takes the best bits from Battle Network and removes the bad elements, which should be a good formula for success. Unfortunately in doing so it creates several new unforeseen problems that did dampen our enjoyment a little. Still, overall it offers an enjoyable plot combined with a good battle system and interesting characters, making this latest Mega Man game a welcome addition to the saga not just for fans, but also for those wanting their first taste of the Blue Bomber.

While Mega Man may think he's a superhero now, Mega Man Star Force: Pegasus certainly doesn't do anything spectacular. If it had been titled Mega Man Battle Network 7, no one would've been shocked. Previous Battle Network players can move along, since they've already been here and accomplished everything this game has to offer. New players, on the other hand, should at least give the title a rental; it may be flawed, but it's still an enjoyable romp, and the story is wholly unrelated to any Battle Network games, so it's a perfect starting point. Mega Man Star Force may not reinvent the Battle Network formula — or even make any large-scale changes to it — but at least these re-heated leftovers are pretty good.

We have to admit to being a bit disappointed at how similar Star Force is to the Battle Network games. We were hoping that Capcom would take this opportunity to reboot the series into something fresh. Instead, we have more of a sidestep than a step forward. That said, the game itself is still pretty good. It's a simplistic yet enjoyable action-RPG, and even with the slightly gimped battle system, we had fun putting together a powerful deck of cards. If you're sick of the Battle Network series, this game won't cure you, but it would serve as a fine introduction for someone who has yet to experience Mega Man: The RPG.

It's been twenty years and Mega Man is still going strong - in a way. Mega Man Star Force Pegasus is the proverbial Yin/Yang. The combat - the true essence of Mega Man - is engaging and complex if you want it to be, and can best be described with one word: fun. The battle cards, albeit contrived, add a nice flavor to the game and building your deck to suit your style is quick and easy. But the other side, the story and accompanying cut scenes, have the ability to rip you right out of the game to look for something else to play. For Mega Man Star Force, you simply have to ask yourself if the juice is worth the squeeze.

Ultimately, it comes down to how burned out you are from playing previous games in the series. If you're a newcomer and don't mind a drawn-out story or a gajilliondy random battles, you'll probably get a good amount of enjoyment from jumping between the two worlds, building your card decks, and watching your attacks manhandle CPU and human opponents. If you have one or two Mega Man Battle Network games under your belt and still have the itch, you'll appreciate the minor improvements that this new game brings to the table, especially if you plan to set up an active friends list. If you didn't like the previous games, or if the last one you played was enough, then Mega Man Star Force probably isn't for you.

All in all, Star Force is a pretty big letdown. Instead of revamping the tired Battle Network series, Capcom has simply tweaked it to release a barely adequate and tiresome rehash for the DS. Only the most diehard of Battle Network fans should bother checking this out.

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.

Mega Man Star Force is a game that appeals to the extremes. Battle Network loyalists will find what they love here, and gamers ignorant to the style and feel of Battle Network games could also find an RPG worth playing. But everyone else in between is going to be bored with the title. There's not enough of an RPG foundation to keep RPG purists' attention, there's not enough action to appeal to the mainstream gamer, and the linear feel of the game will leave most gamers feeling trapped (though there are sidequests here and there). The lack of innovation and change creates a vacuum which will trap most gamers in its wake. And with such a weak storyline which we’ve attempted not to spoil, there’s little reason to play in the first place, nonetheless keep playing.