I'm playing: MEGA MAN LEGENDS 2 Overview: Mega Man Legends 2 was released exclusively for the PS1 in 2000 and is sequel to 1997's
Mega Man Legends (98 in US). For those who aren't familiar with the series, it's completely different to the classic Mega Man games you might be used to. It's a story-focused 3D action game with most of the gameplay taking place underground in ruins, dungeons left behind by a mysterious civilization and crawling with enemies called Reaverbots. Though the primary gameplay focus is to explore dungeons and collect the special quest item, there are plenty of enemies and bosses to challenge you before you can move forward with the story. Beating enemies yields money (colored gems called Zenny) to collect and the player can spend their Zenny to buy upgrades for your character and parts that can later be assembled into new items and weapons. There's a large world to explore with plenty of towns to interact with and dungeons to blast your way through. With all the varied locations it's not surprising that there's quite a bit of content to go through with
HowLongtoBeat clocking the game at around 7 hours for just the story and about 15 hours including all side quests and other objectives. It's often considered a classic and there's been quite a fandom built up over the years so it's one of the better-known games released for the PS1.
How Is It? Well, I usually only play for a couple of hours before posting impressions, but so far it's incredibly fun. Truth be told, this is actually the first time I've put some serious time into the game so I'm really enjoying the sequel since it about improves on everything from the original game. The story starts off immediately with a long exposition explaining the central plot points and providing you with the game's big mystery to unravel. Without spoiling it, the story features Roll (the same one from the 2D games) and Mega Man (now a boy with amnesia about his past) exploring the world trying to discover the mystery behind the disappearance of Roll's parents and to located the Mother Lode, a mysterious treasure with unlimited energy. The player controls Mega Man throughout the entire adventure but is always accompanied by Roll and Data, Mega Man's dancing robotic monkey (and save point).
Although the game starts off slowly the player is given plenty of time to acclimate to the controls with small tasks and is given the freedom to explore a small town before jumping headfirst into the game's first dungeon. Speaking of controls, they've been improved can easily be played like a modern third person shooter with all relevant controls placed on the four shoulder buttons and the two sticks handling movement, turning, and strafing reasonably well. Although I'm not too far into the game, I had a lot of fun running around the first few dungeons and the story did a decent enough job to keep me intrigued as to what happens next. Combat is relatively simple but there are quite a few enemies that can catch you by surprise and quickly overwhelm you if you aren't paying attention. Although the dungeons aren't randomly generated the layouts are simplistic and typically follow the hallway -> room system with little vertical variation so the gameplay can feel pretty repetitive early on. Fortunately, unlike the first MML, there are varied locations the player can explore so dungeons aren't your usual metal hallways and empty rooms.
The upgrade system returns from the first game but features plenty of more options making the game feel more like full-fledged action adventure game with plenty of options to customize your character. These upgrades include the typical items such as Armor, Helmet, and Shoe upgrades but there are also Buster Parts which improve the main weapon's statistics. Adding Buster Parts (up to three) can be best compared to slotting gems on a weapon in your typical RPG. Each Buster Part improves certain stats (such as range, power, etc.) and finding the right combination that suits your play style is the key to combating enemies effectively. In addition the player can buy/find the more expensive Special Items that provide permanent benefits such as protection from electrical damage or improving the size of the player's life bar. Lastly there are also a lot of different junk items to find in the world which can be taken to Roll to be turned into useful items. Examples include finding the old hover jets and rollerboard in order to make Jet Skates, an equipable item that allows Mega Man to quickly dash around the environment by holding O. There are
plenty of items and parts to find in the game and trying them all out is fun in of itself.
To wrap things up, I'm really enjoying playing the game and I think I'll stick with it. Although the story, gameplay, and mechanics really aren't that special on their own but when combined it helps turn MML2 into feeling like a complete package with a lot of depth. The game overall is really simple to get into and the challenge is light to moderate so it's an easy recommendation for most people. Surprisingly I found the game to hold up really well but I think that's mainly due to not many other titles released since then have tackled incorporating the same mechanics without delving too deep into the realm of complexity or wrapping the gameplay in a convoluted plot. Mega Man Legends 2 is a fun yet simple experience that incorporates fun action reminiscent of classic Mega Man titles with an added layer of character that's not typically found in the franchise. If you can find it and love action adventure games then I strongly recommend giving it a shot.
How Can I Play It? Sadly, the game was never ported to any platform besides the PS1 in the US and due to unknown issues;
Capcom has had trouble releasing it for PSN. The only way to legitimately play it is to pick up a used copy off ebay or elsewhere and play it on the PS1, PS2, or PS3. Prices vary for the game but you can often find it as cheap as $20 for only the disc or even as high as $80 for a complete version (manual, back art, and case). If you want to pick it up new then be prepared to spend anywhere in the range of $400. It's not a rare game but due to the fandom it can fetch quite a bit these days.
Additional Impressions: VIDEO VIDEO BORE REQUEST: If anyone has the original Mega Man Legends for the PS1 or Mega Man 64 for the N64 and is feeling generous please let me know!
