For a game that didn’t get much hype, Mega Man Legends sure takes the cake for being a great update to a much loved franchise. Anytime a game goes from 2D to 3D, we all should have fear in our hearts, because when the transfer is bad, it’s really bad. Luckily, Capcom did a great job, and if you never saw Mega Man in 2D, this is as good an introduction to the little blue guy as any of the older games.

Resisting the mediocrity of so many 3D platformer or action games, Mega Man Legends looks and plays like the town scenes from Xenogears or Grandia, but more up-close and personal. Not only are the environments big and colorful, they’re interactive to the point that you can kick cans around, chase birds or butterflies, and even beat up on helpless soda machines. Sure, there are some seams in them thar’ polygons, but nothing too distracting. Since the game involves a lot of exploring, there were times I wished for a little more diversity in the levels. But monsters and bosses change enough to always make exploration worth it. Bosses are a real highlight, not only active and very animated but usually multi-stage, so it’s always fun to see what they’ll do next.

Music and background sounds are done well, if falling somewhat into repetition. One nice touch in this department is a record store in the Downtown area where you can sample different CDs in a variety of styles. Kind of a passive mini-game for the ears...

For the sheer fun of getting from the opening screen to the final credits, Mega Man Legends is hard to beat. The story is set in a future time and place, after most of society abandoned the land to live on floating islands. Past history lies buried in ruins scattered all over the world, and our hero Mega Man is one of the brave souls traveling in search of rare treasure and valuables hidden away in these ruins. The game starts off midway into a mission, and although Mega Man gets out alive, the ship he shares with his compadres is badly damaged and in need of repairs. A crash landing takes them out of harms way, but opens up a huge new adventure that will take Mega Man through dangerous dungeons, into battle with the Bonnes (a clan of nasty pirates), and even inside a women’s clothing store.

The adventure part of Mega Man Legends plays out as a mix of quests, sub-quests, and boss battles, spinning out a story of hidden treasure, forbidden love, and forgotten history. The style of the game varies between RPG and action. When in the town (a huge level), Mega Man talks with all kinds of NPCs; some lead him on quests or offer vital information, and some are just around for fun. In true RPG fashion, for killing monsters (robots, really), Mega Man earns money to buy upgrades and special equipment. Also, you’ll be aided in the game by two strange characters. One is a sister figure named Roll, who can use junk Mega Man finds in the dungeons to fashion new weapons. The other partner is a weird stuffed monkey named Data who you can use to replenish energy and save games, but who also has some unique gifts.

Along with the main storyline, Mega Man finds time to go on special missions, and even appears on the local TV station’s game shows in some whacky mini-games. And if that isn’t enough, there are lots of hidden goodies and side missions which aren’t necessary to win, but are wicked fun to discover.

Capcom knows how to design a challenging game, but Mega Man Legends is surprisingly easy, especially in the early stages. It turns out that by beating the game, you open up both a harder and easier difficulty setting, but there’s not any mention of this in the manual. As the game progresses, bosses get much harder, but clearing any particular level isn’t ever really tough. If you spend money wisely and always get the best equipment, you won’t be struggling to beat this game.

Mega Man Legends uses a fairly barebones control setup, with no analog or Dual Shock support to be found. Moving Mega Man is handled by using the control pad to strafe side-to-side or run forward and backward. Meanwhile, the shoulder buttons are used to swivel, and in the standard configuration, R2 enables a “lock-on” feature that can make lining up shots much easier than aiming manually. One unique element to Mega Man’s fighting abilities is that he can pack a special weapon on his left hand, making it possible to customize for certain bosses or obstacles in dungeons. The add-on weapon can only be put on by Roll, and she can also upgrade the weapons. Mega Man’s main weapon is his laser-blast ability, and you can modify it by purchasing special upgrade parts or by finding them in dungeons. Each weapon is ranked according to Attack, Energy, Range, or Rapid and can be very useful or very worthless in a boss fight depending on which attribute you decide to augment. None of the changes are permanent, and I spent much time fooling around to get what I thought was the best setup.

Moving through the game, you progress RPG-style by talking to townspeople and winning keys or passes to access new areas of the island. Once you descend to the ruins, Mega Man Legends becomes a very playable 3D action game. Monsters come at you with a variety of attacks, and even though the controls take some time to get used to, the lock-on features ensures that even the most clumsy-thumbed goober will have a good time.

Although Mega Man Legends carries the “cute” look to a point that may turn a few people away, there’s no denying its excellent gameplay and inventive concepts. There are a solid 10+ hours of gameplay here for even the hardcore gamers, and anyone looking for a little Pokémon with their Tomb Raider will find Mega Man Legends to be more than up to the challenge. Blue Boy is full-on 3D and lookin’ good!