Nerd Mentality

REVIEW: Mega Man Star Force 3: Red Joker

Posted July 30th 2009 by Adrian DeHerrera.

Although I used to consider myself a big fan of the Blue Bomber, there was a point somewhere after Mega Man X4 where I thought I just couldn't take it anymore. I was tired of the same formulaic sidescrolling/shooting/text-reading fare that had come to define the franchise. To my delight in 1997, Capcom released Mega Man Legends, a 3D adventure that was enjoyable, if not graphically disappointing. Regardless of how blocky everything looked, by tossing our hero into a 3D world with role-playing elements, the developers had at least made an attempt to breathe some life into the franchise. Yet it wasn't until Mega Man Battle Network for the GBA in 2001 that our young hero really turned a corner.

In Battle Network, instead of having Mega Man blast his way to the right of the screen toward a mini-boss, the game took a different approach. It put you in the shoes of Lan, a reckless elementary school student who befriended MegaMan.exe, a sentient computer program who could hack into networks and scrap with enemies in the cyber world. The battlefield became a 3 by 8 grid where you and your opponent each occupied a space in real time, utilizing "Battle Chips" to deal out damage. The game took on a more RPG-like feel with level gains and a more in-depth storyline, rocketing players into a more modern and exciting world to explore.

Fast forward to 2009 and you may be surprised to find that in Mega Man Star Force 3: Red Joker, not a whole lot has changed. The Star Force series is itself a spinoff of the Battle Force saga and, in that, you'll find that many technological themes, gameplay mechanics and lighthearted storylines have survived – with a few tweaks.

Geo, the hero of the game, is part of a clique of schoolchildren that consists of an emasculated geek, a domineering blonde narcissist, an unbelievably down-to-earth singing superstar and a grossly obese food addict. You and your band of psychological timebombs are searching for the insidious villain responsible for turning Wizards (robot-like cyber assistants) into bloodthirsty killing machines. To do that, Geo and his friends form a "Brother Band", which is a lot like a cult without the creepy chanting, but with all the joys of following blindly and killing things.

As the game progresses, you and your "Brothers" pop in and out of the cyber world, battling viruses and minibosses as the long-winded and weird tale unfolds. Expect heaps of torturous text to cycle through (hint: press START to skip through all the talking and then the left shoulder button to get your Wizard to tell you what you should be doing next). By the end of the game, I honestly was tempted to just skip through every scene I could just to maintain my sanity.

Sure, I am being really hard on a story that is obviously targeted toward 12-year-olds with way too much time on their hands, but after two previous iterations, you'd think something new and exciting in the storytelling process might have emerged. Surely, there must be some sort of innovation in the gameplay, right?

Not so much. In fact, you might be shocked at how little has changed since the first Battle Network. The grid arena has survived, but this time it's a 3 by 5 three-dimensional grid that puts the camera directly behind Mega Man as he takes on his enemies. The viruses attack you in all sorts of ways from projectiles to samurai slashes to elemental assaults, but you can learn to adeptly counter and dodge while returning fire with your Mega Buster. Also at your disposal are randomly-chosen battle cards which allow you stronger attacks like sword slashes, missiles and deadly spinning penguins. You moreover have defense cards (shields, invisibility, etc.) and energy boosters that can raise your attack or HP during a fight.

At first, battles can seem complex and overwhelming, but after a while, you begin to get the hang of slapping down the right cards at the right times. The developers have honed the gameplay into a fun experience by taking advantage of the DS' touchscreen as you quickly tap your chosen cards with your thumb and are thrown back into the melee in the top screen.

Because you never know which cards are going to spring up during battle, every round can have a different outcome, and it takes a fair amount of skill to dodge, block, attack and replenish so that you aren't permanently deleted. The fights themselves are usually satisfying and I had a lot of fun experimenting with new cards and weapons in defeating end-level bosses.

The RPG-elements, though, are hit and miss in terms of satisfactory gameplay. Whereas I liked the deep level of card customization and building powerful decks, random battles really sunk my enthusiasm during maze levels where a wrong turn could mean another 15 minutes you'll never get back. Also, the long, drawn out cutscenes really take the wind out of your Mega-sails as your disturbing classmates have endless discussions about the meaning of friendship, why girls are weird or how important the loyalty to your cult's purpose is.

Graphically, Red Joker is fine, but nothing spectacular. In fact, although the battles run smoothly, not much can be said about an upgrade in quality compared to previous Star Force iterations – or for that matter, much of an upgrade from its Mega Man GBA counterparts. The designs of the characters are pretty standard fare: bright, cutesy, anime-inspired kids you've seen a thousand times before. The Wave World has an interesting futuristic feel to it, but the bland, maze-like construction inevitably falls flat. The soundtrack is similarly mediocre with standard uptempo synth beats during combat, but most of the time it seems the composer was just going through the motions.

What it boils down to is this: Mega Man Starforce 3: Red Joker is a fun, if not weird title that won't overly excite gamers who have played the first two titles. Capcom seems satisfied in milking the franchise for a while by providing an amusing, if not standard adventure for gamers willing to shell out 30 bucks for a Mega Man battle RPG. New players, on the other hand, might be impressed by the enjoyable card-based gameplay – IF they can wade through the overly heavy jargon and painfully long dialogues. Overall the game proves adequate, but Mega Man fans like me are definitely ready for a spectacular upgrade to the life of our cool blue hero.

Tags: megaman, mega man, Capcom, red joker, red, joker, RPG

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