Mega Man Legends (video game)

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Mega Man Legends

Developer(s)	Capcom Production Studio 2
Publisher(s)	Capcom Entertainment, Inc.
Release date(s)	PS1: JP:December 18, 1997, US:September, 1998 N64: JP:November 22, 2000, US:February 1, 2001 PC: July 14, 2001 PSP: August 4, 2005
Genre(s)	Action/Adventure/RPG
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone
Platform(s)	PlayStation, Nintendo 64, PC, PSP
Media	PS1/PC: CD-ROM (1) N64: Cartridge PSP: UMD

Mega Man Legends, known in Japan as Rockman DASH (ロックマンDASH, Rokkuman Dasshu^?), is the first game in the Mega Man Legends sub-series of Mega Man games from Capcom. It was released on the PlayStation in 1997, N64 in 2000 under the title Mega Man 64, PC in 2001, and PlayStation Portable in 2005. It stars a different spiritual incarnation of Megaman (Rockman), with the personal name Rock (in the Japanese version; explained further in the article) and the surname Volnutt. Apparently the series takes place many thousand years after the Zero series, according to the Rockman Perfect Works Sourcebook.

1 Story
2 Gameplay
3 Special Weapons
4 Trivia

[edit] Story

The Legends series take place in a flooded Earth; (which is referred to as Terra in the second game by Yuna) supposedly it is many thousands of years after the Mega Man X (Rockman X) series (or more logically, the Mega Man Zero and Mega Man ZX series). Because of the flooding, only a few sparse islands exist and energy sources are rare. In order to satisfy this increasing demand for energy to power up machinery, refractor shards found in ancient ruins are used. These refractor shards are valuable, they serve as an energy source, and they can also be sold for much money. However, the main goal of every person is to find the Mother Lode, an item of supposed infinite power that can fill the need for the energy in one swoop. Those who try to excavate these ruins are called "Diggers" ("Digouters" in the Japanese version). Those who assist information-wise from an outside location are called "Spotters".

The game begins with Rock Volnutt, a Digger trying to exit a ruin after finding the refractor inside. After dealing with the Reaverbots blocking his way out, he makes his way to the Flutter (the airship which doubles as a "home" for the Caskett family--which includes Roll, his Spotter, Barrel Caskett, their grandfather, and Data, a mysterious monkey that talks in gibberish only Rock himself can understand--and leaves the ruin. However, the Flutter experiences some engine problems and crash lands on Kattelox Island. From there, the Caskett family tries to find a way to repair their ship. They also meet much antagonism from air pirates called the Bonnes, consisting of Teisel Bonne, the leader of the group, and his siblings Tron (who is a mechanical genius and builds most of their robots used in their elegant schemes, also has a secret crush on Rock) and Bon, who can only say one word "Babu"! (but the Bonnes can understand him anyway). They too are seeking refractor crystals- but they steal from others and only want to become rich. What first appears to be a straightforward task of repairing the Flutter becomes much more as these ruins are revealed to be related to the so called "Main Gate", a place feared by the residents of the island because of a legend that a mysterious being lurks within.

The Main Gate is actually revealed to be a stasis chamber for the robot Rockman Juno (MegaMan Juno), a 3rd class aristocratic unit from "Heaven" (Elysium). When he is accidentally awakened from his sleep by Rock, Juno makes many strange revelations, calling Rockman Trigger (MegaMan Trigger) and claiming how the island's population needs to be purged so that it becomes more controllable. He calls the residents of the island carbons, which will not be explored further until the events of the sequel. At one point Juno realizes that Rockman Trigger is suffering from "memory loss" and electrocutes him with in order to "reinitialize" him. The Bonnes help him escape the electrical trap and sends him to confront Juno while rooting for him. When Rock is at the door right before Juno, Data appears mysteriously and recharges his energy, while giving him advice as well (gameplay reason). After a huge struggle between the two, Juno concedes defeat and seemingly dies. This is largely due to him being an "3rd class Aristocrat model (Bureaucratic Model)", in comparison to Rockman Trigger's supposed title "1st class Irregular Hunter (Purifer Model)"

Even with Juno's physical body gone, he transfers his backup data into the systems of Heaven, and the Carbon Purification Process (it was a rectangular object from Space with very strange markings seen in the ruins, like the Reaverbot symbol) was still continuing its preparations...until in a rather unexpected twist, Data gives new commands to the system, effectively stopping the Purification and also deleting Juno's backup data from Heaven. Data then reveals that he contains Rock's previous memories, of when he was Rockman Trigger. Rockman Trigger apparently put his memories into Data as a way to prevent Heaven from ever tampering with it. Data promises that he will restore Rock's memory when the time comes. After much rejoicing, the residents proclaim Rock as a hero and the Caskett family rides the repaired Flutter to new horizons...with the Bonnes trailing not far off in a makeshift boat with a ridiculously huge refractor crystal (from the Main Gate)

[edit] Gameplay

MegaMan Trigger in battle

Mega Man Legends differs greatly from the platforming gameplay of past Mega Man games, the main factor being the three-dimensional worlds, and three-dimensional movement therein. The camera is always behind "MegaMan" (as written onscreen). By default he will move without changing direction, and the L1 and R1 buttons are used to turn (although turning can be reassigned to the left and right keys by pressing SELECT in the submenu). If desired, one can press Circle while MegaMan is running in a certain direction for the camera to immediately face that way. Pressing L2 allows the player to aim while standing still, and R2 allows the player to lock on to an enemy. However, MegaMan cannot move while locked on or aiming. Another primary difference is Rock Volnutt's Buster Gun. It cannot be charged, and even though holding Square does auto-fire, only three shots are fired. Buster Parts can be equipped to upgrade four stats of the Buster Gun; Attack (how strong it is), Rapid (how fast it fires), Range (how far the shots go), and Energy (how many shots can be fired before stopping). Of course, no combination of parts makes all four stats perfect (except for the Buster Max), so it is up to the player to decide what combination of parts suits the situation best.

The game itself has a layout similar to most action-adventure games, particularly the Legend of Zelda series. The player travels through a large world, with various dungeons that are explored in a certain order, as well as a town with NPCs to talk to. As such, the plot is revealed through cutscenes, many of which have voice acting to accompany the text. Unlike most adventure game/RPG heroes, Rock Volnutt is able to speak.

As would be expected in an action-adventure game, MML employs a money system. In the MML universe, large gems called Refractors are used as a power source. Small shards of them can be exchanged for money, and in the game, enemies that are destroyed will often drop these Refractor Shards. When shards are picked up, the equivalent amount of Zenny (the game's basic unit of currency) is added instantly.

[edit] Special Weapons

Special weapons are not obtained from bosses. Instead, Roll Caskett (Rock's for all intents and purposes adopted sister, and who, according to the English translation had him named after her "favorite video game character") is able to make weapons for the player, using specific combinations of parts that can be found in dungeons, or bought in shops. Many of these weapons supplement the Buster Gun quite nicely, such as the Active Buster (a homing missile launcher), Machine Buster (a fast-firing machine gun), Blade Arm (an energy sword), and Splash Mine (a simple proximity mine). Special weapons have limited ammo (with a couple exceptions involving upgrades). The only way to refill them in the field is an item that can be bought, but only one can be carried. Another problem is that only one special weapon can be equipped at a time, and the only way to switch is to talk to Roll. Special weapons can be upgraded, and have five stats; Attack, Rapid, Range, Energy (now referring to the maximum ammo), and Special (an upgrade specific to each weapon). However, not every weapons can be upgraded in all five categories.

The Special Weapons in the game (and the parts used to make them) are:

Normal Arm (just Mega Man's arm without a weapon attached to it. It's counted as a special weapon.)
Machine Buster = Blumebear Parts
Drill Arm = Blunted Drill
Spread Buster = Ancient Book + Old Launcher + Arm Supporter
Active Buster = Guidance Unit
Grand Grenade (a more accurate translation would be "Ground Grenade") = Bomb Schematic
Shield Arm = Mystic Orb + Marlwolf Shell
Powered Buster = Cannon Kit
Grenade Arm = Grenade Kit
Vacuum Arm = Broken Motor + Broken Cleaner + Broken Propeller
Blade Arm = Zetsabre + Pen Light
Splash Mine = Mine Parts Kit
Shining Laser = Weapon Plans + X-Buster + Prism Crystal

[edit] Trivia

The theme for the Japanese version of the game (Rockman DASH) is "Another Sun" by Reika Morishita and the ending theme is Anata no Kaze ga Fuku kara, also by the same person.

Interestingly enough, Purifier Units in the Japanese versions are called Irregular Hunters (Maverick Hunter). However the fact that the Irregular Hunters in the DASH, formally (but not necessary) the Zero series and the X games are the same thing is speculation for now. Also the world of Terra is called Earth in original Japanese version. (This was carried from Megaman V for the Game Boy, where a Stardroid (Robot Master-like being from space) named Terra was originally called Earth in the Japanese Rockman World 5.) This would cause a contradiction in story as in the X series, the game calls the world "Earth".

Rockman Juno, although a "Rockman" type- figure, ironically plays the villain of the story and even pulls a "Sigma" as well as a "Dr. Wily" (being completely revived and revealing a much stronger form when one is assumed defeated) after he is defeated in battle. Even Juno's introduction in his second form (his head joining a much greater body hidden behind a wall) is identical to Sigma's final form in the first Megaman X game.

The music for the battle with Rockman Juno is listed on the soundtrack as "Last battle physique" and credited to J. S. Bach. It is in fact Johann Sebastian Bach's Little Fugue in G Minor (BWV 578).

Zero's and X's weapons make a cameo appearance as the Z-Sabre (incorrectly rendered as "Zetsabre" in the English version) and the X-Buster. (Both are items used for special weapon development.)

The main character is called "Rock Volnutt" in the Japanese version. In the English version, all occurrences of "Rock" are replaced by "MegaMan". This has resulted in a translation error, causing such abnomalies as "MegaMan Volnutt", and "MegaMan Buster" (although his primary weapon is still called the "Mega Buster" in one of the sub-menus).

Throughout the whole series, the Bonne Family not only uses various different German terms as names for their machines, in fact many (or maybe even all) of them are based after German military vehicles, such as the Gesellschaft (society), Gustaff (common name), Maulwurf (mole) to name only a few.