Well, it'a been a while since I did one of my (in?)famous posts talking about something I really like, so here's one for a series that I have been outright spamming my Tumblr blog with for the entire month now:
https://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=32336675
Yup, Mega Man Star Force, I figured it would be appropriate too, since the series will have it's 10th anniversary in Europe in November, thing is the 30th anniversary of the franchise at large is only a month later, so I'll take some time to talk about Star Force now.
The EXE timeline of Mega Man is something that I'd actually wouldn't get into until 2015, when I finally gave the Battle Network series a shot, via the Wii U Virtual Console and I'll make sure to say more about that series another time, I will say that I enjoyed it quite a bit, motivating me even more to give Star Force a shot.
I actually found the first game (Dragon Version) at complete random at a Game Stop, while I was still in the middle of the BN series, I picked it up and not gonna lie, I wasn't sure what to expect, with Battle Network I at least had seen a decent amount of NT Warriors beforehand and the whole reimagined classic series approach also helped, but Star Force was almost completely uncharted territory for me.
Nedless to say, the surprise I had was all the more pleasent, gameplaywise I really got a kick out of the more reflex based battle mechanics, which while not as deep as BN's battle system, really give the battles a flair on it's own, the music is fantastic and the world futuristic, while still relatable.
The thing that I loved the most though were the story and characters, I can't think of a single character that didn't stick with me in some way, Omega has a very intruiging character arc, many good lines and a great dynamic with Geo, Pat is incredibly interesting with his depressing background and Rey and I even ended up really liking Luna, despite me usually being a bit meh on the tsundere archtype.
The characters that stuck out for me the most are Sonia and Geo, both individually and in their relationship, which I gotta say, in combination with the general theme of the series (bonds and relationships) hit very close to home for me, in terms of personal experiences, sure there are some slight ''powah of friendship'' vibes here and there, but the game really does manage to be surprisingly smart in how it handles the theme and dilemmas of the characters in away that's relatable and understandable.
Geo in particular I have to say is very notable, we already had a Mega Man that was reluctand to fight in the form of X, but X is also a warrior who is married to his job, Geo on the other hand is just a boy who had his father taken away from him, causing him to spiral into a depressed and reclusive state, that he needs to dig himself out of. His fears, insecurities and general feeling of just wanting to be left alone in the beginning are very human and natural, which is exactly what makes it so wonderful when he finally finds someone he feels he can open up towards, in the form of Sonia or when he eventually does away with his reluctance and becomes a willing fighter. He is just a kid that you really want to see succeed and it's always satisfying when he does.
I know that the second game is considered medicore by most, but I liked it more then most. I agree that the writing was a step down from the first game, with some odd wackyness that doesn't gel that well with the first game's atmosphere, not to mention the obnoxiously ramped up encounter rate and some questionable gimmicks, especially in the final area with those horrendously laggy touch controls, but I still got plenty of enjoyment from it, despite my problems with it.
With that said, despite me thinking that the second game was alright, I also thought that the third game was a much bigger step up, characters are handled better again (though the mains weren't too bad in two), especially Hyde and Solo who I didn't mind in the their debut in the second game, but felt that the third and the anime did a better job with, plus some very cool new characters, like Ace. The story has more relevance to the main plot again and I love the additions to the battle system in the form of support cards, noise forms and the return of Program Advance, they really added a new layer of freedom of what type of fighting style you want to go for. Overall a great finale to the series.
I already said my piece about the anime beforehand, I think it's fun.
In the end all I can say is that Star Force is a series that I'm very happy to have experieced, it may not be the biggest or most popular of Mega Man sub series, but it's one that I have a very special soft spot for, that can't be replaced.
With that I'll leave you with a gorgeous remix of the series' main theme: