Mega man is back, and holds his ground as both a sequel and an action RPG!

Intro - This will be an unbiased review for those worried about that kind of thing. This is my first Star Force game, in addition to not having played any of the Battle Network games. But that aside, this game stands very well on its own as an action RPG. In fact, it is one of the better RPG’s I have played on the DS. The combat shines immensely, and the story isn’t half bad! The music is entertaining, and the characters can actually bring some decent humor through the text. Overall, this is a great game for the DS library, and based off others opinions, seems to be a great addition to the MMSF series.

Story 7/10 - Mega man Starforce 3 is an RPG, and with all RPG’s a good story is generally required. Luckily, this game delivers. It is by no means an epic tale that will envelope players like some big name RPG’s, but the story is good for what you might expect from this kind of game. The plot revolves around our hero, Geo Stelar, his wizard Omega-xis, and all their friends. Geo, for the third time, gets involved with a calamity befalling his planet, and steps up to the plate to challenge the forces of an organization that calls themselves Dealer. Dealer utilizes the new wave technology to stir up noise and attack their targets. Many characters show themselves from past Star Force games, either helping or challenging Geo. For those who have played the entire series, a feeling of nostalgia from the characters will definitely add to the story. The dialogue, at times, can be very humorous. I have actually laughed out loud at times. Most of it is generic “I can do it!” or “I’m counting on you, you are the only one who can do it!” lines found in Japanese games, but the developers added something wonderful to counter it. A skip button. Yep, second play through? Impatient and just want to fight? Just press start during cut scenes, and press L to see what you have to do at the time. Some may call it lazy, I say it is genius.

Music/Graphics 8/10 - The music in this game is very appropriate for the environments. Never have I once listened to what’s going on and thought it sounded odd or out of place. The boss battle music is also great, it really differentiates regular virus battles from the boss you are fighting at the time. The music is not a well thought out score made to raise the bar for DS games, but it does its job. And a very good job at that. The graphics do same thing for the game that the music does. It makes sense. Out of battle, colorful sprites fill the screen. In battle, mega man becomes a 3D fighter, with very flashy attacks and explosions. One thing that may turn off players is that some areas are often rehashed. Noise waves (hidden areas with items inside) and Cyber cores (basically the same thing, but more story driven) both of those areas are very unoriginal, as most of them wont have unique pathways. This doesn’t lower the “fun factor” at all though, because the fighting keeps everything fresh. Compared to other DS games, the graphics could be better, but they aren’t bad.

Gameplay 10/10 - Ah, where to begin? The best part of the game by far. For the veterans of the BN and SF series, the gameplay is as great as everyone seems to say it was in the past. For those new to it like me, it is a great take on the action RPG genre. The player enters a battle, and can move between three panels on the left and right of the avatar. On the bottom screen players chose between six battle cards that have individual effects. There are combat cards that do damage to enemies in hundreds of different ways depending on the card. Then there are support cards that can heal oneself, change the battlefield, add barriers, ect. As you open gems (essentially treasure chests) players can get cards, money, or HP upgrades. Monsters also give both cards and money, so players always have the opportunity to change up their battle folders for new cards in battle. After a certain point in the game, the player will game the ability to see how much “noise” they acquire in battle. Depending on your percentage, the player can earn “illegal data” which is essentially cards that shouldn’t be available at that point in the game. This doesn’t sound like much, but it is easy to spend hours just gaining new and better cards from using the “noise” system. Later in the game, players will gain a new “noise form” which is both beneficial and looks really cool. Each form has an elemental affinity, which add bonus attack to cards of that type, but take more damage from the opposing element. This adds a HUGE element to online play. Oh yeah, online play! The meat and potatoes for the competitive people out there. Players can gain “brothers” which give players an extra card in their folders which give them the option to combine noise forms, or have a roulette of certain cards from their brothers folder. This adds even more depth to the competitive field, because now they have to strategize against potentially two elemental forms as opposed to one. The other thing players can do online, of course, is battle others. There is option for friend codes for those who want to keep battle mates, and there is also a random battle option. Everything about the gameplay truly is gold, and really does not bore the player at all.

Playtime/Replayability 7/10 - Mega man Starforce 3 shares a similar trait with the Pokemon games; once you start a file, you won’t want to erase it for a very long time. Luckily there are two file slots incase the player has a younger sibling. But the work that goes into beating the game, collecting all the cards, doing all the side missions, beating all the bosses (3-4 versions of each one) and getting a good record on wi-fi play, it really raises you hour count. The online play really makes it impossible to truly beat the game, so most competitive players will have an enormous amount of time on their total play time. Playtime is truly a 9/10, but the replayability lowers the score a bit because there isn’t all that much appeal to starting the game over.

Final Score 9/10 - This game, whether you are a veteran to the series or a newcomer, is a must for ones DS collection. It can appeal to people of all ages, and of all gaming preferences. The story is simple but enjoyable, humorous, and skippable! The music is fitting and engaging, and the graphics perfect the image of the game. Any other art style probably wouldn’t fit very well. The gameplay is, to put it simply, amazing. There are so many things for the player to try out, different strategies, card types, fighting styles that will keep everyone happy. I honestly cannot say anything bad about the gameplay. The playtime possible in this game is endless. There are a ton of bosses to fight and cards to collect. The replayability is really there, but why ruin your record from online play anyway? The wi-fi will be incentive enough not to erase your file. This game is great, and well worth your money if you are any type of gamer.