I'm not sure if I missed something, or if this game was just too ambitious for its own good, but I couldn't help but find this game significantly worse than its predecessor.
Legends 1 is very simple compared to this game, but significantly more original and charming. 2 goes for a more Zelda-like approach with specifically themed dungeons, but ultimately they wind up having obnoxious elements that make them way less fun than the ruins of the first game. I'll fully admit that I was extremely frustrated with most of the dungeons of this game, and while that could be a skill issue on my part, it didn't come off as difficult in a way that was fun. I will never complain about the Water Temple in OoT ever again after playing through this game's water themed dungeon. It's like they looked at every criticism that ever existed for water levels in video games, and tailored made a level to hit every single one of those negative checkmarks. There are optional ruins you can explore that are more like Legends 1's, and I found myself enjoying those way more, despite being more basic.
This game also opts for having multiple towns and an overworld map, presumably to make the game bigger and more epic or whatever, but ironically all it does is make each individual town feel less interesting. You never feel as connected to the characters of a specific town in Legends 2 like you do with the people of Kattelox Island.
This game also goes overboard with missions, which aren't hard or anything, but end up taking up way too much of the game. Legends 1 had these too, like defending city hall or finding and defusing bombs, but they were much more spread out and didn't interfere with the meat of the gameplay too much. There are two towns in this game that are almost entirely just these missions, and it gets annoying fast. You have these big open areas that end up being pointless because of how little they're actually utilized.
The story gets expanded upon here, and while it's still good, it does dump a metric fuckton of lore on you at the last minute. Plus, while it tries to expand upon things like Roll's parents and Mega Man's past, I ended up having more questions than answers and it just ends on a cliffhanger. I do like the additional characters (even if they do kind of just randomly decide to fuck off before the end), and the Bonnes are still great. It still has that fun Saturday morning cartoon feel at least. I just wish it was all paced better.
Legends 2 does feel more refined in the gameplay department. The lock-on is mostly more reliable, even if it does like to randomly decide to target something 300 miles away instead of the enemy 3 inches in front of you. There are more cool special weapons that are balanced better and are more useful. There's more variety in general, which I can appreciate. Bosses are more interesting, although that final boss was a massive pain.
In the end though, I can’t help but feel disappointed. Mega Man Legends 2 is far from bad, but it’s definitely lacking a lot of what made the first game great. I can’t help but feel like there was a lot more planned for this game, but due to either budget or time they left it on the cutting room floor and decided to let Legends 3 pick up the pieces. Of course, we all know what happened with that.
Legends 1 is very simple compared to this game, but significantly more original and charming. 2 goes for a more Zelda-like approach with specifically themed dungeons, but ultimately they wind up having obnoxious elements that make them way less fun than the ruins of the first game. I'll fully admit that I was extremely frustrated with most of the dungeons of this game, and while that could be a skill issue on my part, it didn't come off as difficult in a way that was fun. I will never complain about the Water Temple in OoT ever again after playing through this game's water themed dungeon. It's like they looked at every criticism that ever existed for water levels in video games, and tailored made a level to hit every single one of those negative checkmarks. There are optional ruins you can explore that are more like Legends 1's, and I found myself enjoying those way more, despite being more basic.
This game also opts for having multiple towns and an overworld map, presumably to make the game bigger and more epic or whatever, but ironically all it does is make each individual town feel less interesting. You never feel as connected to the characters of a specific town in Legends 2 like you do with the people of Kattelox Island.
This game also goes overboard with missions, which aren't hard or anything, but end up taking up way too much of the game. Legends 1 had these too, like defending city hall or finding and defusing bombs, but they were much more spread out and didn't interfere with the meat of the gameplay too much. There are two towns in this game that are almost entirely just these missions, and it gets annoying fast. You have these big open areas that end up being pointless because of how little they're actually utilized.
The story gets expanded upon here, and while it's still good, it does dump a metric fuckton of lore on you at the last minute. Plus, while it tries to expand upon things like Roll's parents and Mega Man's past, I ended up having more questions than answers and it just ends on a cliffhanger. I do like the additional characters (even if they do kind of just randomly decide to fuck off before the end), and the Bonnes are still great. It still has that fun Saturday morning cartoon feel at least. I just wish it was all paced better.
Legends 2 does feel more refined in the gameplay department. The lock-on is mostly more reliable, even if it does like to randomly decide to target something 300 miles away instead of the enemy 3 inches in front of you. There are more cool special weapons that are balanced better and are more useful. There's more variety in general, which I can appreciate. Bosses are more interesting, although that final boss was a massive pain.
In the end though, I can’t help but feel disappointed. Mega Man Legends 2 is far from bad, but it’s definitely lacking a lot of what made the first game great. I can’t help but feel like there was a lot more planned for this game, but due to either budget or time they left it on the cutting room floor and decided to let Legends 3 pick up the pieces. Of course, we all know what happened with that.