A "Mega" Revolution or Just More of the Same?

Up till Square-Enix released the third remakes of Final Fantasy I and II, Mega Man arguably held the title of most-overmilked videogame franchise currently on the market. The Blue Bomber has had it rough since the Mega Man series more or less hit its peak with Mega Man X4 for the original Playstation. Mega Man Star Force for the DS is a spiritual successor to the Mega Man Battle Network games for the Game Boy Advance that attempts to renew gamers' interest in the card-battling spin-off series. Unfortunately, fans looking for anything new or innovative in this RPG-inspired game will be sorely disappointed.

Now that is one unhappy kid.

Once again targeting the Pokemon crowd, Capcom has released three versions of Mega Man Star Force: Pegasus, Leo and Dragon. Other than featuring different transformations for Mega Man, all three versions are virtually identical and contain the same storyline. Even all three transformations can be obtained over the Brother Band network (more on that later).

Taking place hundreds of years after the events of Battle Network, your new pre-pubescent male hero is Geo Stellar, a young schoolboy who's retreated into his shell ever since his astronaut hero father was lost in space. That is, until an oddly-named alien called Omega-Xis lands in Geo's favorite outdoor spot. Omega-Xis is known as an FM-ian, a being composed of electromagnetic waves. Before you can say the word "cliché", boy and alien form a partnership and merge together to form Mega Man.

The first thing you'll notice about Mega Man Star Force is that it looks like a Game Boy Advance game. The six year-old sprites, isometric 2D backgrounds and tinny music are terribly dated. In fact, they're frankly inexcusable on a portable system that's capable of visual/audio splendors like Final Fantasy III and Metroid Prime: Hunters.