Mega Man Star Force Preview
Via IGN
It seems that with each platform Megaman makes an appearance on, the story shifts further and further into the future. The Megaman X series were placed after the original series of games, and then the Zero and Battle Network games are supposedly after the X series have finished. Now we have the latest Megaman title, called Ryuusei No Rockman (Megaman Star Force), which happens a while after the events of the last Battle Network game on the GBA.
Instead of starring featuring Lan and his Netnavi, we have a new lead role in Subaru, and this time he's not equipped with a Netnavi at all. Instead, his companion is an FM called Warlock. What's an FM? Basically think of a sentient being that lives in the radio waves. Any way, when Subaru and Warlock merge, they transform into the lovable, cuddly Megaman that everyone knows and loves. Netnavis, FMs, they're pretty much all the same when you look at it, really. Three years after the disappearance of his father, Subaru has turned into quite the anti-socialite, and even his companions from school can't convince him to come out of his shell. One night, while looking at the stars, Subaru decides to use his father's Visualizer, and comes into contact with Warlock for the first time.
The basic foundation of the game has changed greatly compared to Battle Network, however. Similar to BN, Star Force's combat is played out on a grid, only this time it's presented in full 3D from a 3rd person perspective. Additionally, Megaman cannot move back and forth anymore, only from left to right. I don't know why this was done, but perhaps it was to make things easier to manage while in battle. Moving on, instead of the Battlechips that Megaman could use, he now has Battle Cards, which can be selected with the touch screen during each battle. The card system is actually quite easy to figure out; there's a gauge on the right side of the screen that goes up while you're fighting enemies. Once it's full, you can press the L or R buttons to bring up the card menu screen to select more cards. You can choose from six cards at a time initially, but the maximum you can carry at once depends on the type of cards that you choose. Despite the changes, the game plays fairly similar to the Battle Network games. Since you can't move around a lot, attacks are sometimes more difficult to avoid, so you can always use the handy Shield option to weather an assault. The downside is that Shield is only active for a limited time, so you can't turtle in one spot for too long.
Star Force uses a mixture of 2D and 3D graphics; 2D for the overworld and 3D for battles and it does a good job for the most part. Personally, I think the 2D graphics look a hell of a lot better than the visuals during battle. The sprites are just the right size, and the animation is plentiful, so Subaru and the rest of the cast can convey a range of emotions throughout the game. The 3D graphics are average at best, but it seems that there isn't enough detail added to the models to give them a clean look, especially with the enemies. The Little Macs look like rectangles most of the time. Not everything looks bad though; the special abilities you acquire in the game look really good and are wouldn't look out of place in a Final Fantasy game.
The best addition to the game is the Wi-Fi and wireless play, which allows you to trade Brother Band (a cute name for Broadband, I suppose) information between players. Wireless play allows you to trade Battle Cards and actually do battle with each other, but with Wi-Fi you're limited to only trading Brother Band information and sending e-mails. Since the game is aimed towards kids, you can create your very own avatar as well as filter out any information that you don't want seen.
Although the game initially seems very similar to the Battle Network games, there are enough changes to make the gameplay a totally different experience from the GBA games. The 3D graphics aren't going to blow your minds, but the underlying gameplay is solid and really addictive, especially if you were a fan of the Battle Network series. As a bonus, those with the BN games lying around can unlock secret items by booting Star Force with a BN cartridge in the NDS' GBA slot. Look for a more detailed hands-on review soon!...
