Super Mario 64 DS (DS) Retro Review

I've been playing a lot of retro games over the summer, but rest assured, some new stuff has my gaming attention as well. In the meantime, though, let's focus on another retro title, but a much more well-known one than what we've covered previously. The original Super Mario 64 celebrated its 30th anniversary this past June, so since we've reviewed the original game already, let's take a look at the enhanced Nintendo DS port with Super Mario 64 DS!

Will I still need you, will I still indeed enjoy you, when you're not on the Nintendo 64? 

It might not seem like much now, but when Nintendo DS launch title Super Mario 64 DS and the DS itself were originally in my hands, that Christmas of 2004, I was absolutely amazed and astounded. There was something mind-blowing to me about having a console-quality game from the Nintendo 64, retooled into a game that could fit on a device in the palms of my hands. 

I'm sure even at the time there were folks more into tech and the possibilities of handheld tech that weren't too impressed by Nintendo's offering. However, for someone who wasn't too deep into the world of technology and also grew up on playing handheld games that were all 2D and mostly monochrome, the Nintendo DS and especially Super Mario 64 was a revelation. It made me excited at the potential of the DS as a device, and as the years would go on, that novelty of early 3D on a handheld would wane, but the potential, I believe, would be realized.

The Nintendo DS launch itself wasn't too much to boast about for Nintendo. Sure, it featured two handfuls of games, but really, the main selling points were Metroid Prime: First Hunt, a demo that came prepackaged with systems, and of course, Super Mario 64 DS itself. Now, having the latter as just a strict port of the Nintendo 64 game would have been incredible in my eyes, because as previously mentioned, having a handheld that could play a console-quality game was a source of amazement in my young, albeit naive eyes.

Fortunately, for everyone else, Super Mario 64 DS stood as more than just a straight port. In many ways, Super Mario 64 DS is an upgraded remake of the Nintendo 64 original, but it simultaneously takes one step backward for every two steps forward, making it a bit of an enigma.

Super Mario 64 DS starts similarly to the Nintendo 64 original, featuring a note written by Princess Peach which invites Mario to her castle. Mario accepts this invitation, but this time he's joined by Luigi and, for some reason, his rival Wario, as attendees. From there, we see Lakitu waking up Yoshi who rests on the nearby roof and exclaiming that Mario and friends have, too, been kidnapped by Bowser. Thus, Yoshi, our new protagonist, sets off to enter into Peach's castle to do his very best to rescue Mario and pals.

Super Mario 64 DS does a lot of tilting and defying of expectations. Yes, you still have 15 main courses set across the front foyer, basement, and top floors of the castle, but since you're starting and playing as Yoshi, things are understandably and considerably change course here and there.

For instance, Yoshi himself plays differently, of course, to the portly plumber veterans of the N64 game are so used to controlling. Yoshi can do pretty much all of the platforming tricks Mario can muster, save for punching (meaning Yoshi cannot break open blocks like the other characters are able to do), but he can also use his trademark flutter jump, use his tongue to gobble up enemies, and even turn them into eggs that can bounce off foes in a ping-pong-like fashion when thrown. 

A familiar Super Mario 64 stomping ground with an unfamiliar-to-64 playable protagonist! It's Yoshi!

Meanwhile, another decidedly different aspect of Super Mario 64 DS is how there simply other characters to play as. Through finding the portraits that each character is trapped in, beating the brand-new level and boss that guards their respective keys to unlock their respective doors in a revamped section of Peach's castle, new character become available to switch between. 

It's not quite like Donkey Kong 64 in how you switch characters either. There aren't universal points in the courses where you can switch between characters easily at specific spots in the levels themselves. Instead, the main act of switching characters is in the room of locked doors where Princess Peach's Secret Slide is located, within Peach's Castle, the main hub and overworld of Super Mario 64 DS.

As new characters are unlocked, their caps appear at unique points in each level, usually worn by an enemy like a Goomba or simply laying around the level somewhere specifically. When you pick up a cap and wear it, your currently controlled character transforms into that character whose cap they adorn. Or at least, they take on their appearance and abilities. Their voice intentionally stays the same, and this is, I assume, to not confuse the player on which character is the one they originally selected to play as. Plus, upon taking damage, your character transforms back into their standard self. 

Yoshi is unique in that when he enters into a course and prepares to select the Star to go after, players can utilize the second screen on the DS to also select what character's cap he wants to wear to enter into the level, if any. This makes Yoshi a fantastic character to usually choose for convenience and versatility of being able to transform into any character upon level entry.

Mario jumps with intent as he nabs his first Red Coin at Whomp's Fortress.

Each character, of course, plays differently and has their own unique set of abilities to utilize. Luigi is nimble and a back flip causes him to spin perpetually in the air, slowly floating back to the ground, while Wario can punch boulders and ground pound with his hefty weight to break certain obstacles that the other characters can't. The other form of each characters' "unique set of abilities to utilize" comes chiefly in the form of which power-up pops out of red boxes. Mario still has the Wing Cap to fly and soar around levels with, but there also brand-new Flowers that have exclusive uses for each character. 

Certain objectives are brand-new in Super Mario 64 DS, 
while others are slightly altered like this Hazy Maze Cave Power Star.

Mario's flower will puff him up into a balloon where he'll awkwardly float around with player's presses of the jump button to reach new heights. Luigi will turn practically invisible and transparent, able to pass through gates, fences, and other obstacles with ease. Meanwhile, Wario will turn into a metal form that allows him to sink deep down into water, bypass air vents, and otherwise be a big, heavy bastard. Finally, Yoshi earns the ability to breathe and blow out flames with his flower. Each of these abilities are temporary, and thus, as Super Mario 64 veterans can see, the Metal and Vanish Caps that Mario could equip himself with, have now been replaced by the new playable characters' flower abilities. 

Someone give Mario his Maalox moment. Our boy's all bloated!

As you can probably imagine, the playable characters are their abilities make for a different experience in Super Mario 64 DS compared to the original N64 game. That's obviously not all that's new in the adventure, especially since you start the game out as Yoshi, as stated earlier. Yes, the goal of the game is to collect the stolen Power Stars that rest in and out of Peach's Castle's various paintings that contain the game's main courses, but instead of 120 Power Stars total, there are 150 in this version of the game.

Right from entering the first painting of the game to embark into the game's first course: Bob-Omb Battlefield, all seems like the usual Super Mario 64. You have the same task of reaching the summit where King Bob-Omb stands tall. However, since Yoshi can't pick up enemies, his strategy to rout the king of the booms is a bit different. King Bob-Omb throws smaller enemy Bob-Ombs that Yoshi must lick up and spit back out at the boss to deal damage. It's not until a later Power Star that players must bring the rescued Mario into the level to beat King Bob-Omb the standard way in the boss's rematch.

Super Mario 64 originally contained six stars or missions per stage. That doesn't count the bonus star for collecting 100 coins in a given course. In Super Mario 64 DS, there are seven main stars or missions to complete. Many of these introduce new challenges such as collecting and holding onto five Silver Stars that when all have been gathered, brings the Power Star's arrival at a set spot in the stage to nab. Another platforming challenge includes stepping on a star switch that summons the Power Star. It's then a race against time to grab the Power Star before it disappears and the star switch must be stepped on again to start the race anew. 

It's not Wednesday, but it's still time for Wiggler!

Even the courses themselves have altered designs. Whomp's Fortress, the second intended course of Super Mario 64 DS, features an entirely new back section on ground level, containing two flower gardens infested by Piranha Plants, a new location for one of the course's collectible red coins, and serves as the path to a star switch's Power Star. Later stages, too, have changed designs, such as Tick-Tock Clock no longer being a total bottomless pit at its bottom-most level Instead, there's some safety netting in the form of floor there, which makes it more difficult to fall into the abyss below.

Part of me believes that these additions have been made to make for a more inviting and accessible adventure to players. As Super Mario 64 veterans know, the original N64 game could be quite punishing and unwelcoming in some aspects. Super Mario 64 DS alleviates some of the burden with these new level design decisions, but some new burden is added because of the controls and how characters handle, bringing me to the other reason I believe the level and mission design in many levels were changed.

In the N64 original, the analog stick of the Nintendo 64 controller meant Mario could pretty much and practically turn on a dime. This isn't the case with the Nintendo DS and its D-Pad. Mario and friends make noticeably wider turns, which can often result in struggles with staying on platforms and frustrating falls to doom. What this amounts to is a lot of aggravation and movement set to eight directions as opposed to the full range of movement that the Nintendo 64 controller allowed. It feels quite limiting quite fast for someone like myself who grew up on the N64 game. Now, of course, with the advent of the Nintendo DS hardware, touch screen movement is indeed possible, though it's not ideal for my use case. Camera controls are also limited to the touch screen, save for one of the shoulder buttons snapping the camera in the direction your character currently faces. Also, not ideal.

While twirling around Bowser by his tail with the D-Pad isn't completely awful, 
the touch screen is probably the intended control method for this.

Super Mario 64 DS delivers a less colorful, less blocky, and much more pixelated look with its visuals. Texture work is not very wonderful here, and it sort of resembles more of an OG PlayStation game than that of the Nintendo 64, funnily enough. Still, aspects like the draw distance, details on characters and environments, and the mostly smooth frame-rate make for an enjoyable graphical experience overall. Musically and sound-wise, beyond the additions like voice-work for the new playable protagonists and new additional music tracks, namely a remix of Delfino Square for an all-new tropical island mini-level, all is the same and familiar within Super Mario 64 DS's adventure.

That said, there is an aspect of Super Mario 64 DS that I have not delved into, and it's tangentially related to the main adventure: the touch-screen-based mini-games. These are mostly unlocked through capturing rabbits within the halls, floors, and outskirts of Peach's Castle. Playing as each character reveals new rabbits in different locations. Nabbing the rabbits means earning keys that open up chests within Peach's Rec Room.

"Pick a card, any card, paisan!"

These mini-games are arranged in four types, and each characters' keys unlock specific types of mini-games. For example, Yoshi's mini-games are puzzle-based, while something like Luigi's mini-games are more casino and chance-oriented. True to the Mario, his mini-games possess a lot of action, whereas Wario brings up the rear with a little bit of this and that which doesn't necessarily fall into any one specific category. These mini-games are part time-wasters, sure, and part demo to show off the capabilities of the then-new DS hardware and its touch-based functionality. They do a great job, as the touch controls feel good, and the games themselves are fantastic time-stealers, at that. It's no wonder they'd return later on down the road in New Super Mario Bros., also on the Nintendo DS.

Super Mario 64 DS doesn't long jump past the original Nintendo 64 game. It more takes some jumps to the side in improvements as well as complaints. Is Super Mario 64 DS the definitive version of Mario's first full foray and adventure into three-dimensions? That's a difficult question to determine the answer to, because it's totally conditional. From a content point of view, there's no question. From a control perspective, not so much. That's why I surmise that Super Mario 64 DS is more of a side-grade to the original Super Mario 64 than a total upgrade or downgrade. Either way, you'll be jumping for joy and the occasional--but not insurmountable--frustrations, too with this Nintendo DS launch title. 

[SPC Says: B] 

Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure (PS2, GCN, XBX) Retro Review

It's time for another retro review of the extreme sports variety! With Toy Story 5 having been in theaters, something called upon me to try out a game featuring the lovable cast of toy pals. But why stop there? Why not throw in some Lion King and Tarzan, and on skateboards, too!? That's what we have with Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure, a game I had on my backlog for quite some time! Here's the SPC review.

When you skate upon a board, 
doesn't matter how many points you've scored.

The era of the 2000s was a gold mine for extreme sports games. Of course, leading the pack was none other than the Birdman himself, Tony Hawk and his Pro Skater series of games. It's no wonder why Disney wanted a piece of the extreme sports pie and threw its hat--or mouse ears--into the arena with a licensed skateboarding game built off of the Tony Hawk engine. Developed by Toys for Bob for PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox, Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure is the end result. Does it manage to stay on its board till the very end, or does it suffer from a premature bail?

Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure is a skateboarding game featuring characters and levels from Toy Story, Tarzan, and The Lion King. There are 10 levels total, three in each Disney or Disney/Pixar franchise (in the case of Toy Story), and a special Olliewood level that not only serves as a special customizable kid skater's skating grounds--based off of one of two winners of a contest that Disney and Toys for Bob ran to put their likenesses into the game--but also a level that takes on the role of a hub, using it as a portal to the other Disney levels for your kid skater to skate in.

Howdy, pardner! There's a snake in my boots and a board on them, too!

You're, of course, not limited to just playing as a kid skater in Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure. Each spotlighted Disney franchise features a handful of playable characters to choose from, many of which need to be unlocked by completing in-level goals. You ARE, however, limited in what characters and skate where. For instance, only Toy Story characters like Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, and Zurg can skate in Toy Story level locations, such as Andy's Room, Pizza Planet, and Zurg's World.

Buzz Lightyear looks particularly proud of himself for this grind.

The levels in Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure are quite sizable, expansive, and pretty wide open as well, featuring plenty of well presented locales from the Disney worlds they're plucked from. From grinding on toy blocks, up cardboard halfpipes, and even discovering the way into the bathroom in Andy's Room from Toy Story, to skating along the hull, grinding along the high wires, and avoiding taking a plunge in Clayton's Ship from Tarzan, the levels are large, fully-featured, and full of housed secrets, great tricking opportunities, and fun skate lines to discover. 

Be careful as to not get seasick on this ultimate level of the Tarzan world of skating stages: Clayton's Ship.

Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure plays a lot like a Disney-themed Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, specifically the fourth entry. While you don't have as many moves and special abilities in a given skater's repertoire, it pretty much plays similarly. And it's not just the gameplay that is familiar--the entire structure of freely skating around open sandbox levels with no timer to worry about, while searching out characters that task you with performing and completing various skateboard-related challenges and goals is present in Disney's skateboarding title.

Chat it up with the locals to obtain different goals to take on.

These goals are relatively simple to perform and achieve, for the most part, but I was amazed by how varied they were. Sure, there are goals as basic as grinding, performing a lip trick, or jumping over a specific spot, but there are also more complex goals to take on, too. These can be traditional finding and collecting the S-K-A-T-E letters in a level before the timer runs out, successfully executing a series of tricks as they're called out to you, flushing a toilet to get Hamm the pig from Toy Story off from the lid's high heights, and so forth. 

Collecting the letters S-K-A-T-E is a customary THPS challenge, and it's of course present in this game, too.

Completing enough goals unlocks new levels within that Disney series of stages. You also unlock new characters, as well, and seeing as each character in the game has their own set of special collectibles to nab, 25 per level--these unlock new content in the form of new tricks and special cosmetics--there's a decent amount of replay value to be found within the game. This is especially so when there's over 150 goals to complete within Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure, multiple characters, levels, cosmetics, tricks, and special movies to unlock, and over 150 gaps to nail, too.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater's controls haven't necessarily been dumbed down compared in their transition into Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure: instead, they've been made more accessible for the younger audience the game was intended for. The default control setup puts players in a more manageable configuration, with the most notable change being how manuals are performed. Rather than flick up and down on the analog stick to initiate a manual, it's as simple as pressing a specific face button. 

That said, if you're craving the controls from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, there actually is a "Pro Controls" feature, that takes the traditional controls of the THPS series and allows players to utilize them. Manuals once more are performed by flicking the stick up and down, grab and flip tricks are assigned to their typical buttons as seen in THPS, and the tricks available to your character greatly increase. Now, you won't have the same amount of unique tricks when compared to the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series, but it's a stark contrast between "basic"--for lack of a better term--controls, and the Pro Controls featured in the game. Not to be misunderstood, you still have access to manuals, reverts, spine transfers, and all the standard moves regardless of which control scheme you choose.

Uh... I'll have to decline that offer, Tarzan.

One issue I do have with Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure that the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series doesn't have is because of the fantastical, oftentimes unconventional dimensions of the character skaters involved. When doing spin tricks, it can be hard to judge where the front or back of the board is, and if you're going to land straight or fumble, stumble, and bail. This is due to the aforementioned unique dimensions of characters like Timon & Pumbaa and young Tarzan. Whereas the skaters in THPS are traditional in appearance, the majority of characters in Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure can block the view of the board or make it unclear if you're going to stick your landing while in the air. It can make for more bailing than I would have liked, but it's hardly a major frustration.

Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure features a lovely and most importantly for this type of game, smooth graphical style. It runs and performs well with seldom if ever a hitch in frame-rate. One of the most impressive aspects for me with the game was seeing just how exponentially expressive the characters in the game animate. Seeing Woody bail on his skateboard, and pick himself up while adjusting his limp toy arm was an absolute delight, and each character comes complete with a wide range of animations and voice clips. 

Olliewood is the largest level within the game, and is your kid skater's stomping (or skating) grounds.

Continuing with the sound aspect of the game, Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure's soundtrack is less Disney fare (you won't hear "Hakuna Matata" on the set list or Phil Collins' Tarzan tracks) and more Radio Disney. This means lots of contemporary artists that you'd hear in the early 2000s as played on Disney's old radio service. Nothing awful and a lot of it is rather catchy and emblematic of the era.

Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure is exactly what you'd expect from the cover--a super competent skateboarding game for the kid and tween market, and also those Disney adults who who can't get enough of Tony Hawk-style skateboarding gameplay. It's not anywhere near as complex as a THPS game--and that's to be expected for the audience it was trying to capture--but Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure manages to make for a marvelous skateboarding gaming experience that lands its tricks much more than it bails on them.

[SPC Says: B] 

Splashdown (PS2, XBX) Retro Review

It's Monday again, and tonight I have a retro review this time to dive into, both figuratively and literally, with Splashdown. Sure, there's a pile of unplayed recently released games on my desk as I type this review, but that's not stopping me from playing some retro fare. After all, some water racing action is rather perfect for the summer months! Here's the SPC retro review of Splashdown.

 I'm feeling up to splashing down!

We're approaching the dog days of summer in Central City, so while I'm scared to death of oceans and deep water in general (not being able to swim will do that to a person), it's with gaming I can do things I wouldn't ordinarily be able to accomplish. In this case, hopping on a Sea-Doo, jumping along the waves, and racing across an abundant number of interesting locales across a plethora of unique environments. Thank goodness for gaming, am I right, folks? Enter Splashdown for the PlayStation 2 and original Xbox. 

Splashdown decidedly takes aim at Wave Race 64 and less so its GameCube successor Blue Storm to become the watercraft racing champion and wear the wave racing crown. Whereas Wave Race 64 utilized Kawasaki watercrafts, Splashdown rides the waters with Sea-Doos. Either way, the goal is pretty much the same: race against your opponents in three-lap spectacles across a variety of wet and wild locations around the world, from the tropical ocean of the Caribbean, to the icy, frigid waters of the Bering Strait.

This Splashdown race is apparently brought to you by Certina Swiss Watches.

The main single-player mode within Splashdown is that of the career mode. Depending on the difficulty chosen (there are three total), the amount of events you play through grows. Easy contains the smallest amount of races to compete in (though still rather sizable) while Normal possesses around 20 events. There's always a requisite threshold of points to acquire from your position in races, and if you don't meet said threshold, your career is kaput. However, on Easy and Normal at the very least, it's not too challenging to reach the required number of points to progress, even if you don't always cross the finish line in contention. 

Each fictional rider in the game has their own personality and own career mode, and completing their career unlocks a special ending movie for them. Every handful of races in the career sees an opportunity to take on another character of your choosing. Win this race against them in a stadium race setting, and they'll join your team of racing riders. 

Cross the finish line before your opponent to have them join your team in these stadium-style races.

Controlling and handling your rider's Sea-Doo is rather easy. While each rider has their own stats, making handling feel different between characters, for the most part, riding one's Sea-Doo along the water feels and handles like one would imagine a watercraft to behave on the waves. Pulling back on the left analog stick is perfect for straightaways to decrease your Sea-Doo's resistance on the water, thus making your ride go faster. Of course, there's the risk of wrecking, especially in tight turns or if you brush up against other opponents or obstacles. 

Whether on a clear, sunny day or in a downpour, the race must go on.

For those who want to splish-splash and take a quick bath, your Sea-Doo can also enter underwater via the submarine technique. Not only is this great for ducking under hazards that hang out on the surface of the water, but you can also quickly dive under the water and come up for air, in more ways than one, to perform a jump. 

There are a multitude of jumping opportunities outside of smart submarine usage. Those come in the form of ramps that offer the chance to unleash some sick tricks in midair. There's a trick gauge that fills as you hold tricks in midair, though of course you'll want to let go of the trick before hitting the water, or else you'll discover yourself bailing and swimming with the fishes. Tricks build up your performance meter, and as this meter fills, your Sea-Doo's abilities noticeably increase. Chiefly, things like handling, acceleration, and max speed go on the rise.

This trick is seriously hurting my spine just looking at it.

Like the Wave Race series, being on the correct side of a buoy directs racers through the tracks and circuits of the game. Unlike Wave Race, however, missing buoys on the wrong side doesn't lead to eventual disqualification. Instead, your performance meter decreases for each buoy passed on the incorrect side. If you have less than an ideal amount of energy in the aforementioned meter, your Sea-Doo temporarily stalls. And like crashing and wiping out, it's not doubt that stalling isn't optimal if you want to win a race as it wastes precious seconds.

The tracks themselves feature plentiful places to go off the beaten path, multiple shortcuts, and routes that diverge and eventually converge from and to one another respectively. Though while Wave Race 64 utilized masterful wave tech for all of its tracks, Splashdown is mostly wild and wet racing along pristine waters. Only certain sections of track feature waves to negotiate instead of the entirety of tracks. That makes for a nicer go of things in navigating tracks, but it also doesn't necessarily make for an easy, breezy time in general. The CPU can be vicious at times, and races in later difficulties on harder tracks make for grueling match-ups on the water.

Ramps like this one provide plenty of trick-indulging potential.

When you're not contending with a given character's career--which unfortunately each play out the same save for their previously mentioned unlockable ending movies--you have some options otherwise for continuing the aquatic carnage. As the name suggests, Free Roam mode offers the ability to freely explore each of the stellar 20+ environments in the game. This has a twofold purpose: to become better acquainted with tracks before taking them on in the career mode, but also it allows you to stumble upon and collect special tokens hidden throughout each track. While some of these can be collected in the career mode, many of them are out of reach in a traditional race setting. These tokens unlock new color variants for your stable of riders in the game, adding some further longevity to Splashdown.

Don't crash too much, or your chances of victory might be in "ruins".

Multiplayer is also offered in Splashdown, though this does not hold much water or extend replay value in a meaningful way. Yes, you can customize races to your liking, setting up the amount of laps to your leisure on any track already unlocked, but it would have been nice to be able to play the career in multiplayer with a buddy. As is, multiplayer is a pretty limited mode, which won't carry you or a friend for that long.

Splashdown graphically is rather impressive. The reflective surface of the water on each track is amazing to look at (and sometimes it resulted in me crashing from being too distracted), especially considering the time of the game's release early in the PlayStation 2 and Xbox's respective lives. Yes, while the water might have your eyes and mouth... well... watering, at how good it looks, other effects can leave something to be desired. It would have been cooler to have some more prominent splashing happening, especially for a game named Splashdown, ironically. Meanwhile, track environments such as in the geometry of the land, weather effects, and particularly the lighting on some tracks do definitely delight. 

Pull up a seat and start surfing! Wheeeeeee!

If you're looking for a sign of the times to tie Splashdown to a specific era, well, look no further than the soundtrack full of licensed tunes. Really, it's as if I stepped back into the early 2000s and entered a teen rom-com of the era with the music going on here in the game. If Smash Mouth's All-Star doesn't tickle your fancy AND if you somehow have an original Xbox with the game, you can enjoy your own roster of songs via the custom soundtrack option. Either way, you'll be hearing more of the soundtrack than the sound effects, as the Sea-Doos' sounds are more whimpers than roars, though you do get a lot of banter between riders as they race.

Splashdown delivers fast and frenetic aquatic racing action, yes, but it also doesn't do much else. The amount of tracks and environments is immensely impressive, and the difficulty is tough but fair. Career mode essentially being the same for each racer means you'll race the same series of tracks against progressively more challenging opponents, which is about as repetitive as it sounds. Still, for a game you pick up on the used market for cheap nowadays, if you possess a PS2 or OG Xbox, Splashdown's small number of issues are a drop in the bucket compared the oceans of fun you can end up having with it.

[SPC Says: B-] 

Mega Man: Battle & Chase (PS1) Retro Review

MEGA MAY races on, quite literally, with our next retro review featuring Capcom's super fighting robot. But this time, he's Capcom's super racing robot with Mega Man: Battle & Chase on the original PlayStation.

Road Rage with the Blue Bomber

I remember back in the days of gaming magazines being the go-to source for news and announcements about games, and growing unbearably excited towards a little preview--it was maybe 1/8th of the page--of a newly unveiled racing game featuring the Blue Bomber. This game was Mega Man: Battle & Chase, and immediately upon seeing it in incredibly brief preview form, I was beyond hyped. I loved Mario Kart and other mascot racing games--still do--and I loved Mega Man--again, still do. It was a perfect storm for a game for a much younger me to be excited about.

Of course, my excitement would eventually turn into disappointment when Mega Man: Battle & Chase never released on the original PlayStation--at least here in North America. It had a final build--final PREVIEW build for magazines, at that--but it never saw a release here, instead releasing only in Europe and Japan. North Americans would finally get the chance to get behind the driver's seat as the Blue Bomber only when the Mega Man X Collection launched, with Battle & Chase as a bonus game included. 

You can bet your last Energy Tank that I jumped on that collection quickly, as a Mega Man X fan and as someone who waited YEARS to finally play Mega Man: Battle & Chase. Was my wait worth it? Well, yes! But, how is the game today? Is it still worth tracking down and playing? Mega May continues with my look at Mega Man: Battle & Chase.

Grand Prix is the main mode of Mega Man: Battle & Chase, and it's a series of races that can--apart from the final two races--be chosen in any order. It starts off with selecting between one of ten characters to race as. Each character, whether they be Mega Man, Proto Man, Roll, Bass, or one of several Robot Masters throughout the series, has their own reason for entering the Grand Prix and going after the multi-million Zenny prize. It's worth playing through the Grand Prix as different characters, at least once thru, just to see the epilogue for a given character. 

Mega Man leads the pack in his Rush Roadster.

Each character possesses their own vehicle, and in typical Mega Man-inspired fashion, beating other racers allows you to take one part of four from their vehicle: either a wing, an engine, a set of tires, and after all three previous parts are eventually taken through racing and winning against an opponent multiple times, the body of their vehicle entirely.

Oh, Quick Man, always so dramatic and not slow with the theatrics.

The body of each characters' vehicles is where their specific power lies. When racing against opponents like Ice Man, you'll contend with him dropping chunks of ice on the track and potentially blasting you with a freezing shot of energy, temporarily stopping your ability to steer. Through taking the body of Ice Man's vehicle upon racing and winning against him a fourth and final time, you can equip the vehicle's body part to use Ice Man's exclusive ability for yourself. 

Each character in Mega Man: Battle & Chase has two unique abilities. One is used normally, while the second needs the energy meter at the top of the screen to fully charge to use. Whereas Mega Man can pelt enemies and obstructions with normal shots of his Mega Buster, when the energy meter is fully charged, he can let loose and launch a charged shot, able to spin out opponents with a direct hit. Meanwhile, Proto Man can toggle where his famous shield rests, either on the front or rear of his vehicle to deflect attacks, while his Proto Strike can be used as a semi-homing shot on nearby racers ahead of him. 

Take your newly won parts and mix and match them as needed to give an edge on different tracks.

The other parts of vehicles apart from the body: wings, engines, and tires, are just as important, as they give different abilities as well, albeit passive ones. From Guts Man's Press Tires that prohibit slowing down over dirt and other off-road ground, to Quick Man's Dash Engine that gives great acceleration for a trade-off of average max speed, each part has its own pros and cons. Combining these parts into a chimera-like vehicle might look silly in aesthetics, but they're generally majorly helpful put into practice and use. 

Each opponent you face has their own home track with different obstacles and hazards to contend with. Roll's Streets track is the simplest with gentle corners and little in the way of obstacles, Quick Man's Ridge track is full of twists, turns, canyons, and water to race over, and Napalm Man's Arms Factory track is home to plenty of de-acceleration zones that slow you down upon riding over them as well as conveyor belts pushing your vehicle left, right, forwards, and backwards. Shortcuts aren't generally an option in these tracks, save for a select few of the 12+ tracks available. Either way, most are short and sweet, and that's good as these are all five-lap races.   

Time to drop some Bass on our opponents and drop the pretense--we've got a race to win!

Each time you beat the initial set of racers, Dr. Wily rears his bald head in. Two final races are unlocked, one after the other. If those are successfully beaten and the credits roll, you're tasked with playing through Grand Prix mode again as the same character, taking on the initial set of racers over again to unlock the Wily races. If you want all of the parts in Mega Man: Battle & Chase, you'll need to finish Grand Prix mode and do this process as a given character no less than four times. The aspect that stinks about this is that parts don't carry over between playthroughs with different characters, so if you want to start a new save file as say, Spring Man, after playing a file as say, Shadow Man, then you have to start all over. 

As for the gameplay itself, I initially found myself not really jiving with the steering or controls. My intuition with racing games, especially kart or mascot racers like Battle & Chase, is to drift around turns. Battle & Chase pretty much lacks a conventional drift option, so my intuition then told me to brake around corners to take them more sharply. This proved not the answer nor helpful either. Instead, it turned out that simply taking most corners at full speed was smarter than slowing down. The only time this was not the go-to solution was when going too fast would result in me slipping or sliding straight off the course, like on Ice Man's track and those dastardly chasms that litter parts of the track. By my second or third race, I started getting into a better groove, coming to terms with the controls and steering, and doing better in races. 

Some vehicle parts do better and worse on certain road--whether uphill, downhill, dirt, water, etc.

Another aspect of a lot of kart and mascot racing games is that of items. Mega Man: Battle & Chase goes a different route with these much like it does with driving and drifting. Items are not handled by racing over panels or through item boxes like other mascot racing games. Instead, there's a bit of a creative touch to items. By defeating Mega Man enemies like well-known Mega Man minions like Metools, sprinkled and scattered along the track, a counter ticks down. Once it hits zero, your racer of choice gets an item through a roulette. Now, this counter generally starts at 10, but certain items used on yourself for a positive outcome or items used on you by your opponents for a negative outcome, can make the counter to get an item shorter or longer respectively. It's a clever and innovative approach to items, and it works rather well in theory and practice.

Quick, Quick Man! Cross that finish line, as Guts Man's breathing down your neck.

At any rate, the items range in offensive and defensive capabilities. Some affect your opponents while others assist you. From helpful invincibility that speeds you up a la Mario Kart star power, to items that temporarily stop your opponent from attacking or strikes them all with a halting bolt of lightning, the items are quite useful. 

And there's some strategy in item usage, too. While you might want to hold on to a particular item, you can only hold onto one item at a time, and if you do so, any enemies you defeat won't tick down the counter. It's wasted effort there. So, there's indeed strategy in when to use an item and when to hold onto it. 

Outside of the Grand Prix mode and the 48 parts available to mix and match your ride with, there is a Versus Mode as well, available for two players to race each other and any CPU opponents you might like as well. Tracks not seen in the Grand Prix mode are available here, as are characters like Dr. Wily and the super-difficult-to-unlock Duo of Mega Man 8 fame. These two are unplayable within the Grand Prix mode.

Mega Man: Battle & Chase presents a simple graphical package. The visuals are suitably colorful, crisp, and character and vehicle models are well done, all said. Meanwhile, the tracks--the playground upon you race on--are less of an appealing part of the package. They're really low-resolution and multiple parts of tracks see routine clipping as an issue. Nothing game-breaking or fun-destroying, but prominent all the same. 

It is, however, especially cool that the game is split up between three views. The map of the track sits in the bottom-right corner, while the main racing takes place on the upper half. The lower-left corner generally shows your rival as well as any special action in the race. This is especially nifty when you drop a bomb on the track, and when your rival approaches it, you can see it detonate and send your rival flying into the air.  

Here, we get a secondary view of Ice Man, who is obviously stunned Shadow Man is beating him so badly.

The audio got a downgrade when compared to the Japanese original version. Now, don't get me wrong--the music and sound effects are fantastic. Heck, Roll's theme here will be familiar to anyone who played Marvel vs. Capcom. The downgrade comes from a lack of commentary that plays during races in the Japanese version that simply isn't present in the English release. No doubt the budget and cost would have risen from translating all the spoken dialogue and voicing it, but it can still be disappointing, if even slightly.

Mega Man: Battle & Chase is without a doubt one of the more overlooked entries in the Blue Bomber's storied series of games. Of course, not releasing in a major part of the world would do such a thing, and that is unfortunate, too. Battle & Chase is brimming with charm, is a unique and more importantly, fun take on the mascot racing game, and I'm sure if more people got to play it, they'd find a lot to like about the game, too.

[SPC Says: B-] 

Mega Man X5 (PS1) Retro Review

We continue this month of Mega Man--MEGA MAY--with the fifth entry of the X sub-series. Mega Man X5 was meant to be the end of the X sub-series, but as we know, that did not come to pass. Was that good thing or a bad thing that X5 wasn't the final note from the franchise? Let's find out with the SuperPhillip Central review!

To X or not to X; that is the question.

It's decidedly a difficult challenge to review games in a vacuum, particularly games within a franchise's own series. When you've reached the fifth installment of a series, or in Mega Man X's case, sub-series, you have certain expectations you have to live up to. Mega Man X5 was originally planned as the finale of the X sub-series. For better or worse, the games continued after X5. With that and with reviewing games in a vacuum in mind, Mega Man X5 delivers a stellar and steady amount of action that one would want from the X sub-series, but it also stumbles as a sequel to even its most recent at the time predecessor. 

An encounter with Sigma after the intro level of the game sets the stage and events that transpire in Mega Man X5. The Eurasia space colony is headed towards Earth, which would result in the spread of the Sigma Virus at best, and the annihilation of the planet's population at worst. With little in the way of recourse and options, the Maverick Hunters hedge their bets on two plans: 1) a lunar cannon to destroy the colony before it can make contact with the Earth, and 2) having someone pilot a shuttle to crash into the colony, again before it destroys Earth. Either way, both plans require Mega Man X and Zero to enter into one of eight stages to secure the necessary materials for either operation to get off the ground, both figuratively and literally. 

Better Eurasia than Uranus heading towards us! (...I'm SO sorry.)

Mega Man X5 indeed takes a different approach to its formula. Yes, you still have eight stages at first to choose from, but the game highly encourages you to play the Maverick stages containing the necessary equipment to be used for the Lunar Cannon first. There's also a time limit, too. Every time you beat a stage or get a game over and switch stages, an hour ticks down until the colony is set to crash into Earth. The time limit given isn't too taxing or much of a concern, as you really have to try to have the countdown hit zero (the number, that is, not the Maverick Hunter). 

It's hard not to be reminded of Mega Man X4 when a starting select-able armor for X is
the Fourth Armor, directly from, you guessed it, Mega Man X4!

Even still, upon collecting the first four supplies needed to launch the Lunar Cannon, there's no guarantee it will work. In fact, most of the time you'll find the Lunar Cannon plan fails, thus it goes to plan B which is the manned shuttle option. The latter plan requires X and Zero to, of course, enter the other four Maverick stages. Generally, the shuttle will work, but there still is a chance of failure, however slight. 

Mega Man X5 is an interesting game, for sure, with its structure and story, but it's also a game that when coming off the superb, excellent Mega Man X4--one of my favorite entries featuring the Blue Bomber, period--it feels like an immense downgrade. Taken by itself without X4 in the equation, it's a quality entry to the franchise. However, most of Mega Man X5's players probably won't jump directly into this entry, thus X4's baggage will always be there.

X marks the spot for action, and you get plenty of that in Mega Man X5.

Essentially, Mega Man X5 is a case of "what if we took Mega Man X4... and made it worse?" Because that's what Mega Man X5 feels like. Level gimmicks and mechanics from Mega Man X4 such as Dark Necrobat's gravity flipping was seen in X4's Cyber Peacock stage, and it was done better there. The bike segment seen at the start of Volt Kraken's stage was done already in X4's Jet Stingray stage, and yes, it, too, was done better there. In fact, with the latter example, you can actually die in Volt Kraken's stage before the word "Ready" disappears! Whoever decided to have a bottomless pit that players have to manually jump over to start a stage before you're actually asked by the game if you're "ready", needs a lesson in acceptable game design. 

Other stages incorporate their own unique and exclusive to X5 mechanics and gimmicks. Burn Dinorex's stage, for instance, takes place in a volcano, where players start descending down into its depths. Eventually they stumble upon intermittent eruptions in the form of walls of instant-death flames. The only salvation here is to hide behind clearly marked sections of wall to avoid them. It's a clever mechanic and one that is quite exciting to contend with.

Other mechanics don't fare so well. Take Tidal Whale's stage. No, seriously, please take it, as it's not good. It's a tedious auto-scrolling stage where you're at the mercy of the auto-scroll and the sunken battleship either pursuing you or you giving chase to. Either way, it's a slow, plodding pace, and that'd be okay if it was a one and done deal. Instead, if you want to collect everything in the level, you have to play through the majority of this stage no short of three separate times! One to beat the stage normally, another to reach Dr. Light's capsule, which of course requires the special weapon you earn from this stage's boss, and a last run-through to climb the spikes housing where the stage's Heart Tank rests. 

Tidal Whale's stage plays a remix of Mega Man X2's Bubble Crab's level music... 
Unfortunately for Mega Man X5, it's another reminder of a better X game.

Mega Man X5 changes up how Dr. Light's capsules function, the first time in the X sub-series, as well, and also how future entries would handle them. Instead of getting a part for a new piece of armor and being able to use it immediately, you have to collect all four parts of the armor first before being able to assemble and use it as needed. There are two armor sets in Mega Man X5, and the first, the Falcon Armor which gives X the ability to temporarily fly over short distances, is required to get a fair number of pieces of the second armor, the Gaea Armor. This Gaea Armor can climb and touch spikes without the instant death that any other character would succumb to by touching a spike, but X also cannot use special weapons when equipped with the armor. Needless to say, there are plenty of places that require the Gaea Armor and require backtracking to previously completed stages to reach otherwise inaccessible goodies and items.

Instead of supplying X with a usable armor part immediately, Dr Light requires all 
four pieces of a given armor set to be obtained before using it.

Outside of capsules, there are the standard eight Heart Tanks (these bolster the amount of your maximum health) to optionally obtain in Mega Man X5, one hidden in each Maverick stage, and usually each require a special weapon or armor to reach. There are also two Sub-Tanks, which serve as health-restoring items that must be manually used within the menu, one Weapon Tank (weapon energy-restoring tanks), and some other collectibles that can add to the replay value as well of the game. Not only do they serve that purpose, but they also come in clutch for making this difficult game less so. Or, rather, they at least give the more novice or inexperienced players more of a fighting chance.

One of the eight Mavericks to battle, Burn Dinorex (I refuse to use the absurd North American names) heats up!

Let me interrupt my griping by saying that I know I'm giving a lot of crap to Mega Man X5, and that is purely because it's coming off such a phenomenal entry in the franchise, X4. Trust me when I say that X5 is still a highly competent and capable entry... even as I now continue to bash it some more. 

Coming off of Mega Man X4, you can't help but see how much the budget took a hit with Mega Man X5 as well. Long gone are the beautiful, cheesy-voiced anime cutscenes that were quite impressive for the time--heck, still are. Instead, what you get are slideshow cutscenes, with next to nothing in the way of animation. There's limited voice work, which further disappoints. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of interruptions to the gameplay as well. Alia is a character that serves as an operator of sorts to X and Zero while they're on the field, and she is sort of a quasi-Navi (a la The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time) in how she interrupts you from figuring out things for yourself. But instead of a "hey, listen" and optionally see what Navi has to say, Mega Man X5 just stops you dead in your tracks to have slow text boxes of mostly obvious information pop up. 

What's a guy-a gotta do to get-a this Gaea armor? Well, find all four Dr. Light capsules, of course!

That said, with all of those gripes (and yes, there were many), Mega Man X5 is indeed a worthwhile entry. It did introduce some good things to the sub-series, such as the ability to crouch, for one, which makes dodging and avoiding enemies and their attacks much easier. There are also wires of both the vertical and horizontal variety that X and Zero can cling to in order to cross otherwise impossible chasms and reach higher heights. Awesome stuff, truly! These two added abilities put together with the tried and true run, gun, jump, and dash gameplay of previous Mega Man X games makes X5 almost play better than ever. X and Zero have far more utility available to them.

X and Zero can cling to similar ropes/wires like these to move up and down them for some added mobility.

This doesn't make the game any easier than past installments, though. Mega Man X5 is still very much a challenging game even on one's best day. But things like collecting Heart Tanks, Sub-Tanks, the lone Weapon Tank, and Dr. Light's generous armor upgrades, make for some things that definitely level the playing field, so to speak, in X and Zero's favor. 

On its own, Mega Man X5 is another X-cellent entry in the series, and the last entry in the series until X8 that was of a high quality, in this fan of the Blue Bomber's opinion. Of course, it's difficult to ignore X5's predecessors and review the game in a vacuum. With the sub-series' past as a point of context, Mega Man X5 did let me down back when and somewhat does now. As time has gone by and gone on, I've come to appreciate Mega Man X5 more, flaws and all. It may be a bit of a step down from past entries, but it also can stand on its own two feet as an enjoyable game all the same. 

[SPC Says: C+] 

Mega Man Legends (PS1) Retro Review

We're beaming down into a planned month of Mega Man retro reviews here at SuperPhillip Central. It's Mega May, and first we're exploring Kattelox Island with Mega Man's very first full 3D outing: Mega Man Legends. A PC port and a Nintendo 64 version called Mega Man 64 would later release, but this particular retro review covers the PS1 original. Let's get to it and kick this month of Mega Man off right!

Dig into a legendary mega-sized adventure

It's no secret that Sony wanted to distinguish itself from the competition upon entering the console market with its original PlayStation. It's also no secret that 2D games, such as the ones that Mega Man proudly was prominent in, weren't exactly welcomed with the most open arms on Sony's highly capable 3D gaming machine. Instead, Sony and PlayStation greatly encouraged and pushed for developers and publishers to enter the realm of 3D games. 

A year prior to Mega Man Legends, we saw Mario super successfully make the literal and figurative jump to 3D with Super Mario 64. Just under a year later, Capcom's Mega Man would attempt to do the same. No doubt making the leap to 3D for a lot of gaming franchises saw plenty of growing pains. I'm looking your direction, Sonic, but others did so with amazing gusto. 

1997's Mega Man Legends saw the Blue Bomber dive into full three-dimensions for the first time, and it's one of those games that stands somewhat at the middle of the road successes in properly transitioning from 2D to 3D. That said, it's certainly more of a success than a failure.

After a mission to pick up a rare Refractor Shard goes swimmingly, Mega Man Volnutt, Roll, and the rest of the small but loyal crew of the Flutter airship find themselves crash landing on Kattelox Island. Seems the lack of maintenance and TLC on the Flutter finally caught up with the little ship that could. In order for the Flutter to take to the skies again, another Refractor Shard is necessary, but in the meantime, Mega Man and friends have to contend with a group of pirates known as the Bonne Family, as well as deal with a hidden danger underneath Kattelox Island itself.

One such Refractor Shard that Mega Man and the Flutter crew of Diggers search for high and low.

Right away I was incredibly impressed by how well the story was put together. The voice acting in cutscenes and interspersed here and there is superb, though the sound balance can make some voice quieter comparatively to everything else going on. The lack of subtitles here is a downside, for sure. On the music end, Mega Man Legends contains a lot of catchy themes, with Apple Market, Uptown, the Support Car, Main Gate, and the Ending Credits' themes being my personal favorites of a lovely soundtrack in general. Conversely, the ambient soundtrack for the underground sections of the game do a fantastic job of making you as Mega Man feel intensely isolated.

The character models are relatively simple, but boy, does Mega Man Legends do a lot with so little!

For a game released in 1997, before The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time set a new standard for 3D action-adventure games, Mega Man Legends is darn impressive for what it does with what little it has. For instance, even though the game utilizes a limited amount of polygons, it does so in a way that characters are surprisingly well detailed, and moreover, they're exceptionally expressive. The way characters express emotions and have different looks on their faces is just amazing. Draw distance is equally impressive, with environmental objects and geometry in the distance using a mist-like cover that goes away the closer Mega Man approaches.  

From a gameplay point of view, this was before Ocarina of Time's Z-targeting, and while Mega Man Legends has its own form of locking on to enemies, it must be done while Mega Man stands in place. Further, the lock-on targeting in Mega Man Legends will automatically lock on to the closest enemy, so if you're targeting a faraway foe, and another one enters closer into your range, Mega Man will target that one. Frustrating, for sure, especially depending on the scenario and situation. That said, this feature can be turned off and on within the options menu at the player's leisure.

Run and gun, Mega Man! Run and gun like your life depends upon it.

Additionally, the lack of a second analog stick for camera control and aiming makes things feel clunky, even at the time of release. Instead, the left and right front shoulder buttons are used for moving Mega Man's focus left and right respectively. Pressing the Circle button will quickly turn the camera to where Mega Man currently faces, which is paramount in certain contexts. 

Mega Man Legends follows a different approach to its structure compared to pretty much every non-RPG Mega Man game. There are no levels that can be chosen in any order, there's no ability to copy or learn defeated enemies' powers--it's an action-adventure game at its heart instead. It starts as somewhat linear, but opens up soon enough, allowing players to access more parts and portions of Kattelox Island, including the interconnected underground, the most dangerous part of the island itself.

The underground connects to the surface of the island in multiple ways. It's a network of labyrinthine rooms and passages full of mechanical enemies known as Reaverbots, as well as plenty of treasure to seek out. After all, that's what treasure hunters known as Diggers do, and that's what Mega Man Volnutt is! As players progress through the story, new parts and pieces of the underground open up, either because of access to new surface level areas or new equipment for Mega Man is earned.

Under Kattelox Island rests a maze of rooms, halls, enemies, traps, and treasures. Dig carefully.

Mega Man gets plenty of help from his crew throughout his adventure. Data the Monkey serves as a talking save point and recovery spot, as well as a hint-giver if players get confused on where to go next in the game. Meanwhile, Roll helps out by outfitting a busted van into a support car, able to fast travel to already unlocked locations around Kattelox Island. She also can turn discovered items and combine them into new weapons and gadgets for Mega Man.

This latter aspect of Roll's abilities is absurdly awesome. There are just over a dozen different weapons and pieces of equipment Roll can create with her whiz kid know-how, from rocket launchers and grenades to boots that allow Mega Man to jump higher or an adapter that grants Mega Man the ability to equip more custom parts that can increase his attack, energy, range of attack, and firing speed as long as the parts are equipped to him. The weapons can also be upgraded in various ways like attack power, energy, and special abilities, though this of course costs Zenny, the currency of Mega Man Legends (and a lot of Capcom games at the time, for that matter) to perform.

Even though Mega Man's got some serious explosive firepower courtesy of Roll,
sometimes it's best to retreat and fight another day.

Mega Man will need these new weapons, equipment, and upgrades as well, as he'll contend with all kinds of enemies and bosses in his adventure. Between giant inventions from the Bonne Family pirate group, the main villains for most of Mega Man Legends, to massive Reaverbots within the underground and at points that guard Refractor Shards, Mega Man and furthermore players will need to be properly outfitted for the battles that lay ahead.

This boss is all "bombs away" while Mega Man is all "I'm going away" from all those explosives!

Going back to the camera and auto-targeting, it can be quite difficult to jump and move around to avoid attacks while setting up spots to engage in Mega Man's own style of offense, all the while attempting to position the camera by holding the L1 or R1 shoulder buttons to spin the angle around just right. Really, it's like rubbing your tummy while patting your head... while juggling! It's rather clunky, completely convoluted, and can get mighty frustrating as well. This isn't a Mega Man game where you can just pelt foes with Mega Buster fire as you stand around. You have to be delicate, you have to get the right angles, and you absolutely cannot be greedy. It will cost you and by extension Mega Man otherwise.

Bad doggies! Don't you dare bite Mega Man's shiny new helmet!

Outside of following along with the story, reaching specific plot points, and battling bosses, Mega Man Legends features ample amounts of side activities to optionally take in and accomplish for some nice rewards. Various shops, especially the parts shop, house wonderful parts for Mega Man's Mega Buster, as well as jackets to increase his defensive capabilities (though these can be prohibitively expensive Zenny-wise) and items that can increase his maximum health. Side quests open up as the story progresses, such as saving downtown from a bomb threat, helping a trio of kids build up a makeshift hideout, and assisting a museum curator with museum donations. All of these and then some reward players with Zenny, new parts, items that Roll can used to build new weapons and gadgets, and more.

Mega Man Legends isn't too lengthy of an adventure, lasting about 6-10 hours depending on how much you try to complete, whether that be side quests or earning Zenny to purchase the more expensive items and upgrades within the game. Upon rolling credits, you have the option to play through the game in Hard Mode, boosting the amount of hits and damage enemies take and give respectively. If you manage to beat that mode in under six hours, an "Easy Mode" unlocks where Mega Man gets many of his upgrades immediately and all Zenny earned is massively multiplied. Thus, if the idea of beating the game twice to unlock an omnipotent Mega Man sounds enjoyable to you, that option for some added replay value is there. Otherwise, the standard game is more than fun and interesting enough as is.

Despite its growing pains, especially when it concerns the camera, targeting, and somewhat stiff movement, Mega Man Legends serves and served as a successful first 3D outing for the Blue Bomber. The amount of charm within the cast of characters, Kattelox Island and its inhabitants, and game in general is off the charts. I'm still amazed by how emotive characters were for a game released in 1997. If you can deal with some occasional jank, some periodic clunkiness, and some frustrations every now and then, you'll get great and charming action-adventure game featuring Capcom's famous super fighting robot.

[SPC Says: B-]