I like the second one better.
One of my favorite art styles of this era of video games. Really fun and unique game, I really have to play the second game.
it made me cry
this was one of the first games i ever played, so there is no way i can be objective, but Megaman Legends is a joy. the dungeon crawling gameplay is idiosyncratic and occasionally frustrating, but breezy enough to forgive. the art and cutscenes do an astounding amount with so little. you can say the same about a lot of the game. it focuses on one small island, packed full of characters with stories and problems. the game’s other half, the underground ruins you explore, interconnect too. they give the impression of something older and more sinister than the delightful surface.
visualmente me encanta pero el gampley pensaba que iba a ser mas divertido asi que na pero tampoco tenia mala pinta
I really got into the atmosphere of some of the dungeons in this game. I would really love to see a modern attempt at it. RIP MML3...
Apenas llevo un 25% del juego, pero es genial, asi que supongo que el resto del juego tambien.
BLUE BOY (I wish Canadian Mega Man was every Mega Man (Playing this on a Vita is brutal) )
Legends was absolutely a risk by Capcom,but something I'm all too happy about them making. Legends has far more story and cast of characters than the usual Mega Man game would, and honestly that plays to it's strengths. While the voice acting is a bit over the place at first, the further you dive into this game, the better the acting gets along with everything else.
The game starts out rather mildly, with our cast of characters already in the middle of an adventure, and in doing so helps showcase everything different about Legends and the other styles of Mega Man. From Mega Man talking to Roll, to exploring dungeons akin to the Legend of Zelda, or fighting via a 3rd person shooter prospective, The beginning is glaring in the fact that it's not the same game with Mega Man while still offering exactly the appeal to it. Soon enough you'll find yourself on the main part of the game, focusing solely on one island, and while it does act as a neat hub, it's easy to recognize that their is more depth to it than the adventure digging would let on. From mysteries to mini games to just chatting with towns people, Legends really makes it clear that it wants to set up an atmosphere, and it excels at it.
Its not completely flawless despite my praises though, and largely this has to do with the final boss. While difficulty spikes happen sometimes in games, the amount of spiking is kinda ridiculous when compared to the rest of the game. In a lot of ways, the final boss is roughly 3x harder than it needed to be, and the fact that I had to grind as much as I did just to stand a chance, then proceed to get my ass kicked till I learned about the bosses pattern to take it on is troubling to say the least. While grinding does make the game easier, the fact that my final moments of the game was roughly 1/3 of the time I had on my adventure makes it incredibly dull and weakened the pacing immensely.
When it comes down to it though, I enjoyed my time greatly with Legends, and while the game does have some hang ups in the beginning, you learn to get used to it and things get better the further you go in. While I wish the grinding near the end was paced better, perhaps with another added dungeon, the way Legends is now is still a suitable adventure despite it.
The game starts out rather mildly, with our cast of characters already in the middle of an adventure, and in doing so helps showcase everything different about Legends and the other styles of Mega Man. From Mega Man talking to Roll, to exploring dungeons akin to the Legend of Zelda, or fighting via a 3rd person shooter prospective, The beginning is glaring in the fact that it's not the same game with Mega Man while still offering exactly the appeal to it. Soon enough you'll find yourself on the main part of the game, focusing solely on one island, and while it does act as a neat hub, it's easy to recognize that their is more depth to it than the adventure digging would let on. From mysteries to mini games to just chatting with towns people, Legends really makes it clear that it wants to set up an atmosphere, and it excels at it.
Its not completely flawless despite my praises though, and largely this has to do with the final boss. While difficulty spikes happen sometimes in games, the amount of spiking is kinda ridiculous when compared to the rest of the game. In a lot of ways, the final boss is roughly 3x harder than it needed to be, and the fact that I had to grind as much as I did just to stand a chance, then proceed to get my ass kicked till I learned about the bosses pattern to take it on is troubling to say the least. While grinding does make the game easier, the fact that my final moments of the game was roughly 1/3 of the time I had on my adventure makes it incredibly dull and weakened the pacing immensely.
When it comes down to it though, I enjoyed my time greatly with Legends, and while the game does have some hang ups in the beginning, you learn to get used to it and things get better the further you go in. While I wish the grinding near the end was paced better, perhaps with another added dungeon, the way Legends is now is still a suitable adventure despite it.
the quintessential 32bit anime game
the funny monkey
Only main gripe with the game is just the camera. It can be really annoying when trying to focus on an enemy while it is moving. Outside of that, I loved everything else. The art style and graphics alone made me want to play this game. I liked all the main cast of characters, especially the Bonnes. I would have loved this game as a kid if I had it. It honestly reminds me of Sonic Adventure and Fossil Fighters, two games that I played a lot as a kid. In a way, this game made me feel like a kid again at times.
This game is awesome. It's amazing how well animated this is. At times I forget it's even a PS1 game. This was a great transition to 3D for the blue bomber. So many cool and interesting characters and a fun little town to explore and mess around in. Lots of customizations and dungeons to conquer. It's a great romp.
Hay algo en la saga Legends que no puede evitar engancharme y darme calidez. Siento que es de ese tipo de mundos hechos para mí. Si bien amo ambos títulos a su manera, este resalta por ser el que mejor sabe transmitir esa sensación adorable y oscura, sin que se sienta desconectado.
¿Un mundo post-apocalíptico donde la humanidad sobrevive en pequeñas islas, y cuyo poder energético viene de artefactos especiales que se encuentran en ruinas subterráneas de civilizaciones lejanas de las que nadie tiene registro, plagadas de robots extraños, y que solo pueden ser recuperados por personas altamente capacitadas? that's my shit.
Lo bonito de esta dualogía, principalmente esta primera entrega, es que no se queda solo en su premisa y se atreve también a ser encantadora. Básicamente la experiencia se divide entre las lindas interacciones que puedes tener con el entorno y la simpatía que generas con los NPC's en la superficie, y lo misteriosa y contrastante que es la experiencia subterránea.
"¿Todas estas instalaciones casi de otro mundo están debajo de una ciudad sumamente colorida y llena de personas cálidas y amables viviendo su día a día?", pensarás cada vez que te toque bajar.
No es perfecto, pero el potencial demostrado por este título y el siguiente era inmenso. Una verdadera lástima que se hayan cancelado los planes para próximas entregas...
¿Un mundo post-apocalíptico donde la humanidad sobrevive en pequeñas islas, y cuyo poder energético viene de artefactos especiales que se encuentran en ruinas subterráneas de civilizaciones lejanas de las que nadie tiene registro, plagadas de robots extraños, y que solo pueden ser recuperados por personas altamente capacitadas? that's my shit.
Lo bonito de esta dualogía, principalmente esta primera entrega, es que no se queda solo en su premisa y se atreve también a ser encantadora. Básicamente la experiencia se divide entre las lindas interacciones que puedes tener con el entorno y la simpatía que generas con los NPC's en la superficie, y lo misteriosa y contrastante que es la experiencia subterránea.
"¿Todas estas instalaciones casi de otro mundo están debajo de una ciudad sumamente colorida y llena de personas cálidas y amables viviendo su día a día?", pensarás cada vez que te toque bajar.
No es perfecto, pero el potencial demostrado por este título y el siguiente era inmenso. Una verdadera lástima que se hayan cancelado los planes para próximas entregas...
I think SuperSpeedRaven likes this game
I quite liked this game as a kid, but I never ended up playing the sequel for whatever reason.
Some of the better-aged 3D graphics from that time period.
Some of the better-aged 3D graphics from that time period.
charming and lots of fun to explore, but starts off really poorly. sit through its first hour or so and it'll get good
the characters, world and gameplay all come together really well to capture the feeling of playing through an OVA. Really great overall, though I wish there were a few more dedicated dungeons.
I played it a little bit on release and only got around to finishing it over a decade later. First off: as someone who enjoyed the mainline series a lot, I was just a little bit disappointed that a series known for its varied stage designs with all manner of gimmicks had you wandering samey-looking corridors with samey-looking designs in this game.
That said, there was so much charm that I can give it a pass for that. It's amazing how much they were able to imbue a previously established character with his own personality and a fresh mythos. The setting, dialogue and rogues gallery were pitch perfect and made me really love playing this game!
That said, there was so much charm that I can give it a pass for that. It's amazing how much they were able to imbue a previously established character with his own personality and a fresh mythos. The setting, dialogue and rogues gallery were pitch perfect and made me really love playing this game!
Gostaria de ter jogado mais, esteticamente me agrada muito mas não lembro de praticamente nada do que joguei.
This is the best Mega Man series. Only a malfunctioning Servebot could disagree.
Actually a pretty good game. The controls felt really clunky at first and the beginning was a slog, but the game slowly grows on you with its cast (most notably the Bonnes), the music (especially in town and the later dungeons), and the fun dungeon exploration with all sorts of items and treasure to find. Eventually the game peaks with a super cool final boss and some interesting revelations, and I'm surprised that I actually really want to see where it's going. I'm also amazed at how good this game (a 1997 PS1 game) looks, holding up perfectly even to this day.
So much plot in my Mega Man game. Not as action-oriented as I hoped.
Uno de los juegos más diferentes en toda la serie de Mega Man, ahora enfocándose más en la historia y cambiando a su vez el enfoque del gameplay. Si bien, sigue siendo un juego de acción, ahora también está muy centrado con la exploración del mundo y las minas.
Lo primero de lo que hablar es la historia: bastante carismática, con personajes divertidos pero a la vez bastante interesantes, se siente como jugar una caricatura de los 90. No solo eso, sino que el mundo y los gráficos apoyan esta idea, dándole un estilo visual bastante único para la época, creando un mundo lleno de carisma y con un montón de posibilidades de expandirlo (por algo existen varias secuelas).
Probablemente lo más controversial del juego es su forma de jugarlo. Es algo como...controles de tanque, pero no realmente. Personalmente a mi no me molestó ya que me acostumbré fácilmente a ellos gracias a que también tiene un sistema de lock-on muy rudimentario. Con este si tengo problemas, ya que...es muy extraño. No tengo problema con que no te indique qué enemigo estás observando con una retícula, pero si que a veces el buster no funciona al correr en círculos con los enemigos, o siquiera cuando vas corriendo de lado a lado, a veces no funciona, o a veces Megamano se detiene un poco antes de volver a correr. No sé si fue por el control o algo así, pero sin duda es algo extraño.
El gameplay como tal es bastante bueno, disparar a los enemigos se siente bien y la variedad de armas le da esa misma variedad a los combates. Es un poco de hueva que tengas que cambiarlo con Roll, en lugar de los Mega Man clásicos donde puedes cambiar tu arma cuando quieras, pero personalmente eso no me afecta mucho ya que siempre tenía ciertas armas secundarias que usaba la mayor parte del tiempo.
En ciertas ocasiones hasta se siente como una especie de "metroidvania" ya que obtienes mejoras para Mega Man al explorar los diferentes escenarios del juego que te ayudarán a pasar los que vendrán en el futuro.
Lo que si hay que mencionar es que es una especie de RPG, esto en el sentido en el que puedes usar diferentes objetos que cambiarán las características del buster de Mega Man: puedes hacer que haga mucho más daño, que tenga más alcance, poder disparar más rápido o con más consistencia, etc. Sin duda es una forma muy interesante de hacer tu propia "build" por llamarlo de alguna forma, y esto va muy bien con la exploración, ya que estas mejoras las puedes encontrar tanto comprándolas o explorando las minas.
Siento que todo lo que se propuso este juego lo hizo excelentemente, tal vez lo único medio raro son los controles pero otra vez, es fácil acostumbrarse a ellos ya que sin duda la historia te hará seguir jugándolo. De mis juegos favoritos de Mega Man.
Lo primero de lo que hablar es la historia: bastante carismática, con personajes divertidos pero a la vez bastante interesantes, se siente como jugar una caricatura de los 90. No solo eso, sino que el mundo y los gráficos apoyan esta idea, dándole un estilo visual bastante único para la época, creando un mundo lleno de carisma y con un montón de posibilidades de expandirlo (por algo existen varias secuelas).
Probablemente lo más controversial del juego es su forma de jugarlo. Es algo como...controles de tanque, pero no realmente. Personalmente a mi no me molestó ya que me acostumbré fácilmente a ellos gracias a que también tiene un sistema de lock-on muy rudimentario. Con este si tengo problemas, ya que...es muy extraño. No tengo problema con que no te indique qué enemigo estás observando con una retícula, pero si que a veces el buster no funciona al correr en círculos con los enemigos, o siquiera cuando vas corriendo de lado a lado, a veces no funciona, o a veces Megamano se detiene un poco antes de volver a correr. No sé si fue por el control o algo así, pero sin duda es algo extraño.
El gameplay como tal es bastante bueno, disparar a los enemigos se siente bien y la variedad de armas le da esa misma variedad a los combates. Es un poco de hueva que tengas que cambiarlo con Roll, en lugar de los Mega Man clásicos donde puedes cambiar tu arma cuando quieras, pero personalmente eso no me afecta mucho ya que siempre tenía ciertas armas secundarias que usaba la mayor parte del tiempo.
En ciertas ocasiones hasta se siente como una especie de "metroidvania" ya que obtienes mejoras para Mega Man al explorar los diferentes escenarios del juego que te ayudarán a pasar los que vendrán en el futuro.
Lo que si hay que mencionar es que es una especie de RPG, esto en el sentido en el que puedes usar diferentes objetos que cambiarán las características del buster de Mega Man: puedes hacer que haga mucho más daño, que tenga más alcance, poder disparar más rápido o con más consistencia, etc. Sin duda es una forma muy interesante de hacer tu propia "build" por llamarlo de alguna forma, y esto va muy bien con la exploración, ya que estas mejoras las puedes encontrar tanto comprándolas o explorando las minas.
Siento que todo lo que se propuso este juego lo hizo excelentemente, tal vez lo único medio raro son los controles pero otra vez, es fácil acostumbrarse a ellos ya que sin duda la historia te hará seguir jugándolo. De mis juegos favoritos de Mega Man.
Um megaman muito diferente e divertido.
Low poly dreams
Thriving off the pastiche of early morning 90s anime, somewhere between Astro Boy, Pokémon and One Piece, Mega Man Legends wears the sanguine smile of a lost decade of anime, a face recognizable to only the most jaded of despondent 20-something weebs and old-head otakus. Conceptually light, the game mostly treads the same footing as it’s inspiration: our plucky protagonists crash-land on a distant island, foil bumbling sky pirates, and unearth treasure and secrets aplenty in the name of fortune and getting back home. It’s simple, it’s clean, it’s the foundation for a generation of anime writing, but like the greatest baby anime, the concept isn’t what sells you on Mega Man Legends: It’s simply a gateway to some stellar vibes.
Driven by low-stakes and a peaceful atmosphere, the game brings to mind the feeling of waking up just in time to catch Pokémon before you run off to school, the emotions bound to that half-hour slice, the hominess of the entertainment you grow up with. Like an audio-visual security blanket, Mega Man Legends is nostalgia given form, a work built not for overshadow competition and breaking new ground, but to provide an experience that felt immediately familiar, yet uniquely new.
Even compared to its predecessors, Mega Man Legends sits in sharp contrast; as if in reaction to the lethal edge and melodrama of the Mega Man X series, a story of betrayal, loss, death, and general misery, Legends expounds boundless optimism in the face of adversity, unbreakable bravery in the face of crushing odds, and a bunch of goofy doofuses filling a cast of instantly lovable faces. If anything, the game designed to take advantage of the new technology afforded to the PlayStation feels like a much more genuine reconciliation of the tone of the original Mega Man series, while the game designed to retain the old-school fan base was deeply tinged by the style and aesthetic of gritty, grimy 90s OVAs and anime.
Talking about the mechanics in a game like this feels pointless: You are there, without question, to experience the story, meet the characters, and appreciate the world the game has developed. The gameplay itself exists as a method to feed that experience to you; while deeply dated, and reflective of the past of game design in its philosophy, it stands less as a foundational flaw of the game and more part of the overall story. In an inversion of John Carmack’s infamous quote, the gameplay is expected to be there, but it’s not important.
It’s difficult to speak uncritically about a game with such an established cultural relevance, and it’s equally difficult to find something meaningful to say. For me, Mega Man Legends is the epitome of a bygone era of anime, a touchstone on a generation of anime that inspired artists, writers and directors through the present day. It’s watching Yu-Gi-Oh as you wake up, it’s catching Digimon during a lazy Sunday. It’s emblematic of nostalgia as an idea, and how it relates to the media we approached as children, and how those tastes shape what we love and appreciate now.
Driven by low-stakes and a peaceful atmosphere, the game brings to mind the feeling of waking up just in time to catch Pokémon before you run off to school, the emotions bound to that half-hour slice, the hominess of the entertainment you grow up with. Like an audio-visual security blanket, Mega Man Legends is nostalgia given form, a work built not for overshadow competition and breaking new ground, but to provide an experience that felt immediately familiar, yet uniquely new.
Even compared to its predecessors, Mega Man Legends sits in sharp contrast; as if in reaction to the lethal edge and melodrama of the Mega Man X series, a story of betrayal, loss, death, and general misery, Legends expounds boundless optimism in the face of adversity, unbreakable bravery in the face of crushing odds, and a bunch of goofy doofuses filling a cast of instantly lovable faces. If anything, the game designed to take advantage of the new technology afforded to the PlayStation feels like a much more genuine reconciliation of the tone of the original Mega Man series, while the game designed to retain the old-school fan base was deeply tinged by the style and aesthetic of gritty, grimy 90s OVAs and anime.
Talking about the mechanics in a game like this feels pointless: You are there, without question, to experience the story, meet the characters, and appreciate the world the game has developed. The gameplay itself exists as a method to feed that experience to you; while deeply dated, and reflective of the past of game design in its philosophy, it stands less as a foundational flaw of the game and more part of the overall story. In an inversion of John Carmack’s infamous quote, the gameplay is expected to be there, but it’s not important.
It’s difficult to speak uncritically about a game with such an established cultural relevance, and it’s equally difficult to find something meaningful to say. For me, Mega Man Legends is the epitome of a bygone era of anime, a touchstone on a generation of anime that inspired artists, writers and directors through the present day. It’s watching Yu-Gi-Oh as you wake up, it’s catching Digimon during a lazy Sunday. It’s emblematic of nostalgia as an idea, and how it relates to the media we approached as children, and how those tastes shape what we love and appreciate now.
god this game ages so well, minus 'yass hills'
was worried this wouldn't hold up due to the lack of analog controls, but it actually does. in fact, i don't think the game would work if it was updated with modern controls. i liked the setting and the characters, and the story gets interesting by the end (setting up a bonkers story in MML2). the exploration and combat were fine, just lacking some pizazz or any mechanic to make them very memorable. would be very interested if capcom were to ever revisit this series in the future.
The Megaman Legends Retrospective - Part 1
I adore Megaman Legends. I played this game for the first time in 2021, and despite many aged aspects of the title, I ended up really, really enjoying it. For this review I’ll highlight a couple things I both liked and disliked.
The Good
I. Presentation
This is one of the best looking 3D PS1 games by far. The anime art style, with very angular and sharp character designs blend in perfectly with the polygonal 32-bit hardware. Some areas do look really big and blocky sometimes, but all of the characters transitioned perfectly from the page to the screen. As a friend of mine stated, the visual style “oozes nostalgia” and I couldn’t agree more.
The English dub of this game is surprisingly actually really good. Coming from a 90’s Capcom game, I was expecting more of “wow what a mansion” or “w-megaman” quality voice ““acting””, but the dub had actual effort and competent voice direction. Sometimes I feel characters need to speak up, they’ll sound like they are mumbling and can be hard to hear, but mostly it’s passable. Reminds me of a charming English dub for an old OVA or something.
I honestly couldn’t remember very much of this game’s soundtrack. Not to say that it’s bad, I did like a couple tunes (Apple Market, Roll’s Car, The Flutter), but it’s definitely very different from what you’d expect of a “Rock”man game (although basically everything about Legends is what you wouldn’t expect of this series).
II. Characters
I absolutely adore this game’s cast of characters. Volnutt is one of my favorite iterations of the Blue Bomber, and Roll Caskett is just plain adorable. However, the Bonnes absolutely steal the show. They’re so cartoonishly evil (specifically Teisel) and kinda give off Jesse/James/Meowth vibes, being the comic relief bad guys but still being an active threat. I mean seriously, if you don’t like Tron Bonne you’re probably soulless. Most of the NPCs in Kattelox island are also charming, I really liked doing the sidequests to help them (i.e curing the girl who lost her ability to walk by donating to the hospital), it made me feel good.
III. Overall Story
Short but sweet is the best way to describe it. Aside from the pre-final boss stuff (believe me I’ll get to that), It’s a fun and enjoyable plot that’s simple to follow. The structure also allows for Legends to feel almost like… a children’s/teen’s anime from that era. I actually cared for these characters and how they would be involved in the story.
The Stinky Bits
There are a couple bits about this game I’d like to address, nothing game ruining but they did miff me off to a certain degree.
I. Vehicle Defending
Both of the vehicle defense bits in this game absolutely suck. The boat one isn’t too bad once you retreat the first time so you can appropriately face the boss, but the aerial battles are really bad, since you gotta do THREE whole parts with only one life bar on your ship. To make matters worse, if you’re super underpowered, you could borderline sotflock your entire playthrough because of how the progression works during that bit. It’s a very punishing and unfair difficulty spike, especially when everything else about the game is fairly balanced. Luckily it’s only these two segments and you’ll never have to deal with them ever again.
II. Grinding
Although somewhat expected of a game with RPG-like elements, grinding to upgrade your arsenal in this game kinda blows. I was planning on upgrading my active buster subweapon all the way, but the amount of time I’d have to spend grinding was absurd, so I settled on only leveling it up halfway and just tanking the final boss. Really the only valid strategy for grinding is to constantly clear out the sub-cities and respawn the enemies each time, even so it’s just unfun and time consuming. I can only imagine how long it would take to max level out the Shining Laser (a super overpowered weapon in the game which is basically a completion reward), and it would most likely not be fun.
III. The “Central” Antagonist (Endgame Spoilers)
This game has one of the weirdest tone shifts I’ve ever seen. You go from the “charming and sometimes atmospheric” feel of the story to “oh ok everyone’s about to die” extremely quick once Juno shows his face. It feels unearned as there’s no buildup or payoff as Juno just goes “I am going to kill everyone I just activated the thing immediately.” Like you can give a motivation to the player to make them want to conquer the villain, but this just feels cheap. Juno himself just isn’t even an intriguing or nuanced villain, let alone even having character. He just pops in at the very end to kick Volnutt in the robo-nuts before final boss time.
IV. Sequel Baiting (Ending Spoilers)
The one element that has fricked this subseries into oblivion is the tendency to sequel bait the audience. I should say that this is NEVER a good idea especially if you have no idea if your product will even succeed to begin with. After beating Juno the game dumps a bunch of plot twist exposition on us, giving us more questions with this ending rather than answers. It makes the ending feel almost hollow and undercooked. However, like I said, basically everything else about this story is pretty good.
Conclusion
And those are my overall thoughts on Megaman Legends 1. In my opinion, it’s very good, a little rough around the edges in some areas, but great regardless. If you want to play this game, I’d recommend buying it off of the United States PSN store (it’s only 10 bucks) before the shop is inevitably shut down because funni Sony hating stinky old games for whatever reason. However you’ll really only be able to play it on PS3/Vita because of the PSP not having enough buttons.
If you couldn’t tell, I really really like this game lol. I might not revisit this one often, but I had a spectacular experience with only a few things I actually disliked. I will look forward to playing through Misadventures of Tron Bonne and Legends 2 when the time comes, I hope they hold up just as well.
9/10
I adore Megaman Legends. I played this game for the first time in 2021, and despite many aged aspects of the title, I ended up really, really enjoying it. For this review I’ll highlight a couple things I both liked and disliked.
The Good
I. Presentation
This is one of the best looking 3D PS1 games by far. The anime art style, with very angular and sharp character designs blend in perfectly with the polygonal 32-bit hardware. Some areas do look really big and blocky sometimes, but all of the characters transitioned perfectly from the page to the screen. As a friend of mine stated, the visual style “oozes nostalgia” and I couldn’t agree more.
The English dub of this game is surprisingly actually really good. Coming from a 90’s Capcom game, I was expecting more of “wow what a mansion” or “w-megaman” quality voice ““acting””, but the dub had actual effort and competent voice direction. Sometimes I feel characters need to speak up, they’ll sound like they are mumbling and can be hard to hear, but mostly it’s passable. Reminds me of a charming English dub for an old OVA or something.
I honestly couldn’t remember very much of this game’s soundtrack. Not to say that it’s bad, I did like a couple tunes (Apple Market, Roll’s Car, The Flutter), but it’s definitely very different from what you’d expect of a “Rock”man game (although basically everything about Legends is what you wouldn’t expect of this series).
II. Characters
I absolutely adore this game’s cast of characters. Volnutt is one of my favorite iterations of the Blue Bomber, and Roll Caskett is just plain adorable. However, the Bonnes absolutely steal the show. They’re so cartoonishly evil (specifically Teisel) and kinda give off Jesse/James/Meowth vibes, being the comic relief bad guys but still being an active threat. I mean seriously, if you don’t like Tron Bonne you’re probably soulless. Most of the NPCs in Kattelox island are also charming, I really liked doing the sidequests to help them (i.e curing the girl who lost her ability to walk by donating to the hospital), it made me feel good.
III. Overall Story
Short but sweet is the best way to describe it. Aside from the pre-final boss stuff (believe me I’ll get to that), It’s a fun and enjoyable plot that’s simple to follow. The structure also allows for Legends to feel almost like… a children’s/teen’s anime from that era. I actually cared for these characters and how they would be involved in the story.
The Stinky Bits
There are a couple bits about this game I’d like to address, nothing game ruining but they did miff me off to a certain degree.
I. Vehicle Defending
Both of the vehicle defense bits in this game absolutely suck. The boat one isn’t too bad once you retreat the first time so you can appropriately face the boss, but the aerial battles are really bad, since you gotta do THREE whole parts with only one life bar on your ship. To make matters worse, if you’re super underpowered, you could borderline sotflock your entire playthrough because of how the progression works during that bit. It’s a very punishing and unfair difficulty spike, especially when everything else about the game is fairly balanced. Luckily it’s only these two segments and you’ll never have to deal with them ever again.
II. Grinding
Although somewhat expected of a game with RPG-like elements, grinding to upgrade your arsenal in this game kinda blows. I was planning on upgrading my active buster subweapon all the way, but the amount of time I’d have to spend grinding was absurd, so I settled on only leveling it up halfway and just tanking the final boss. Really the only valid strategy for grinding is to constantly clear out the sub-cities and respawn the enemies each time, even so it’s just unfun and time consuming. I can only imagine how long it would take to max level out the Shining Laser (a super overpowered weapon in the game which is basically a completion reward), and it would most likely not be fun.
III. The “Central” Antagonist (Endgame Spoilers)
This game has one of the weirdest tone shifts I’ve ever seen. You go from the “charming and sometimes atmospheric” feel of the story to “oh ok everyone’s about to die” extremely quick once Juno shows his face. It feels unearned as there’s no buildup or payoff as Juno just goes “I am going to kill everyone I just activated the thing immediately.” Like you can give a motivation to the player to make them want to conquer the villain, but this just feels cheap. Juno himself just isn’t even an intriguing or nuanced villain, let alone even having character. He just pops in at the very end to kick Volnutt in the robo-nuts before final boss time.
IV. Sequel Baiting (Ending Spoilers)
The one element that has fricked this subseries into oblivion is the tendency to sequel bait the audience. I should say that this is NEVER a good idea especially if you have no idea if your product will even succeed to begin with. After beating Juno the game dumps a bunch of plot twist exposition on us, giving us more questions with this ending rather than answers. It makes the ending feel almost hollow and undercooked. However, like I said, basically everything else about this story is pretty good.
Conclusion
And those are my overall thoughts on Megaman Legends 1. In my opinion, it’s very good, a little rough around the edges in some areas, but great regardless. If you want to play this game, I’d recommend buying it off of the United States PSN store (it’s only 10 bucks) before the shop is inevitably shut down because funni Sony hating stinky old games for whatever reason. However you’ll really only be able to play it on PS3/Vita because of the PSP not having enough buttons.
If you couldn’t tell, I really really like this game lol. I might not revisit this one often, but I had a spectacular experience with only a few things I actually disliked. I will look forward to playing through Misadventures of Tron Bonne and Legends 2 when the time comes, I hope they hold up just as well.
9/10