Though I've played this game about 10 or 20 times since I bought it, I felt I needed to say something on its behalf. However, though I am a die-hard MegaMan fan, there a still a *few* things I'll reconsider...
GRAPHICS: Not a lot going on here, really, though it is the first 3D MegaMan game. The character motions are above par, for the PS1, that is. The motions are actually fluid and realistic. The character model faces also have real expressions, which is something else you normally don't see in PS1 games, since most games on it have blocky character models with wooden face models, along with the aid of "frozen" motion capture movements.
SOUND: I'm not poking fun at it, but *some* of the music does sound a little drab. However, some of the music does the job due to the atmosphere of the situation at hand. Some of the music sounds so much like they should have been in SNES games, though. The voice acting is well-done, too. Not bad for a first entry in a separate series.
GAMEPLAY: Classic MegaMan run-and-gun, but I'm not talking about Robot Masters as bosses (besides, that's another universe). Join MM as he runs, jumps, shoots, and saves the day from bad guys. There are a few extra toys for him to utilize outside of his Buster, but you have to find or "dig" for parts in ruins to turn them into weapons. There is a diverse array of weapons to find in the game, but you probably won't be finding all of them on your first few play thoughts. In my recent game, I only found the necessary parts to make the Powered Buster (a weapon that fires a large fireball), the Active Buster (a homing missile launcher), the Splash Mine (self-detonating land mines that you will be receiving eventually), and the Drill Arm, which is a power drill, useful for destroying false walls. There are MANY other weapons, such as a Machine Buster and a Vacuum Arm, but I didn't find all those parts. This brings on the RPG element, you know...collecting money (or zenny, in this case) from battles or finding them scattered about, and using them to enhance yourself or upgrade weapons (which is costly, by the way).
STORY: MegaMan and company (Roll and Barrel) are cruising through the sky in their Flutter airship, up until the engines on the ship give away, and they settle on Kattelox Island for repairs. However, what isn't known is that the story gets more involved as you go through. What starts off as a small engagement with the air pirates (the Bonnes, which have become my all-time favorite villain troupe), turns into a fight for the future. MegaMan stops the Bonnes from attacking the city and the ruins on every attempt (thus bringing up the Team Rocket clause...the villains keep coming, knowing MegaMan will flush them out anyway), but apparently at the end of the game, the Bonnes aren't the real problem. MegaMan stepped into a lot more mess than he anticipated. After involving himself in a lot of dangerous situations that really weren't his business to begin with, he discovers something about himself once he faces off with MegaMan Juno (the final boss). Once he saves the island from the disaster set up by Juno, he finds out there's a greater significance to his life...he actually has a deeper purpose. Unfortunately, we're not going to figure all that out until "MegaMan Legends 2," so until then, the gamer will be left shrouded in wonder. "MegaMan has an alternative purpose? What could that be?" Ironically, none of this was ever meant to happen. They landed on Kattlox because of their busted up airship, but like I said, once MegaMan went off exploring the ruins further, he started moving in over his head.
BOTTOM LINE: This is a likable treat for all MegaMan fans, but if you don't like MegaMan, you probably won't accept this too much. Being the MegaMan fan I am, I'll give this a 8.25/10.
GRAPHICS: Not a lot going on here, really, though it is the first 3D MegaMan game. The character motions are above par, for the PS1, that is. The motions are actually fluid and realistic. The character model faces also have real expressions, which is something else you normally don't see in PS1 games, since most games on it have blocky character models with wooden face models, along with the aid of "frozen" motion capture movements.
SOUND: I'm not poking fun at it, but *some* of the music does sound a little drab. However, some of the music does the job due to the atmosphere of the situation at hand. Some of the music sounds so much like they should have been in SNES games, though. The voice acting is well-done, too. Not bad for a first entry in a separate series.
GAMEPLAY: Classic MegaMan run-and-gun, but I'm not talking about Robot Masters as bosses (besides, that's another universe). Join MM as he runs, jumps, shoots, and saves the day from bad guys. There are a few extra toys for him to utilize outside of his Buster, but you have to find or "dig" for parts in ruins to turn them into weapons. There is a diverse array of weapons to find in the game, but you probably won't be finding all of them on your first few play thoughts. In my recent game, I only found the necessary parts to make the Powered Buster (a weapon that fires a large fireball), the Active Buster (a homing missile launcher), the Splash Mine (self-detonating land mines that you will be receiving eventually), and the Drill Arm, which is a power drill, useful for destroying false walls. There are MANY other weapons, such as a Machine Buster and a Vacuum Arm, but I didn't find all those parts. This brings on the RPG element, you know...collecting money (or zenny, in this case) from battles or finding them scattered about, and using them to enhance yourself or upgrade weapons (which is costly, by the way).
STORY: MegaMan and company (Roll and Barrel) are cruising through the sky in their Flutter airship, up until the engines on the ship give away, and they settle on Kattelox Island for repairs. However, what isn't known is that the story gets more involved as you go through. What starts off as a small engagement with the air pirates (the Bonnes, which have become my all-time favorite villain troupe), turns into a fight for the future. MegaMan stops the Bonnes from attacking the city and the ruins on every attempt (thus bringing up the Team Rocket clause...the villains keep coming, knowing MegaMan will flush them out anyway), but apparently at the end of the game, the Bonnes aren't the real problem. MegaMan stepped into a lot more mess than he anticipated. After involving himself in a lot of dangerous situations that really weren't his business to begin with, he discovers something about himself once he faces off with MegaMan Juno (the final boss). Once he saves the island from the disaster set up by Juno, he finds out there's a greater significance to his life...he actually has a deeper purpose. Unfortunately, we're not going to figure all that out until "MegaMan Legends 2," so until then, the gamer will be left shrouded in wonder. "MegaMan has an alternative purpose? What could that be?" Ironically, none of this was ever meant to happen. They landed on Kattlox because of their busted up airship, but like I said, once MegaMan went off exploring the ruins further, he started moving in over his head.
BOTTOM LINE: This is a likable treat for all MegaMan fans, but if you don't like MegaMan, you probably won't accept this too much. Being the MegaMan fan I am, I'll give this a 8.25/10.