Happy 20th Anniversary Mega Man! Hard to believe it's been so long, huh? Yes, you're right, time does fly. Of course I came - there's no way I was gonna miss a party for the Blue Bomber…but I forgot to bring you a gift old buddy. What? You got me a gift? You shouldn't have, Mega. Alright, let's see we have here. Oh. Mega Man Star Force Dragon. Thanks. Oh yeah, I'm sure I'll love it. But, really, you shouldn't have…Yeah, I'm gonna play it first thing, but I think I see Proto Man over there. I need to talk to him. He owes me money.

Okay, sorry for the lame skit, but it's true; there's yet another game touting the familiar Mega Man name, this time on the Nintendo DS. Being the 20th Anniversary of one of gaming's most beloved heroes, I will say that I would've liked to see a more traditional title hearkening back to the glory days of trouncing Dr. Willy and his gang of robot baddies. But instead we get Star Force, which is more or less a tweaked version of the Battle Network series (and there are six of those already).

I can already hear your question of "What's the difference between Star Force and Battle Network, Scott?" loud and clear. And the answer is…not much. The biggest difference would have to be in the battle format. Star Force uses the top screen of the DS to display your encounters, which play out on a 3x5 grid, but whereas Battle Network is in 2D with a side view and equal space for Mega and his enemies to move, Star Force utilizes the DS's 3D capability and has Mega restricted to using only three squares within the grid for movement, while his enemies are granted much more room to maneuver.

The story and characters, though similar to Battle Network, are new. You take control of Geo Stelar (and I thought my name was rough as a kid), a young boy whose father disappeared in space during a lunar expedition. As Geo is prone to a moment of depression looking at the night sky for his dad, he meets Omega-Xis, a blue-flamed, apparition-like werewolf thing and Mega Man imposter extraordinaire. In short, Omega-Xis, is an FM-an, a being from the planet FM who has fled to Earth for a reason unknown to you at this point. Geo and Mega end up bonding, allowing Geo to utilize Mega's powers in something called the Wave World, which amounts to a series of glowing trails that hover above the real world and allow you to access various Comp Spaces. Shortly after you meet Mega, strange occurrences, um, occur, and the only way to stop them from wrecking your world is to Pulse In to the Wave World to combat Viruses. If this all sounds a bit much - it is. The game is chockfull of this type of jargon and can wear on you after a while, especially since this Wave World is a fancy way to say dungeon and Viruses are nothing more than enemies to fight.

Basically, the game can be divided into two parts, the first of which takes place in the real world and consists of reading line after line after line of predictable, mind-numbing dialogue and watching something resembling a cut scene. Supposedly these parts are necessary to progress the game, but progression seems to take more time than you're likely willing to spend. Some of the dialogue exchanges take six to ten minutes if you actually take the time to read them (though thankfully they can be skipped). Part of this can be attributed to the tiny speech box on-screen, which doesn't allow so many words on at once. Just imagine saying… a few sentences… only three words… at a time… just like this… annoying, isn't it? Well, annoying sums up the real world segment of the game very well, which is a shame, because the other half is very strong in comparison.

Like I said, once you get done slugging through a cut scene, you actually get to play (kinda like this review)! Hooray! You enter the Wave World where you'll fight nasty viruses, some of whom should look very familiar to Mega Man fans. At your disposal is the old standby: the mega-buster. Just like in all games from the series, the mega-buster can be shot rapidly or charged up for a mega-shot. You also have a shield that blocks the majority of attacks, but its timing can be a bit tricky to master. What Star Force adds to the mix is everybody's favorite gimmick: battle cards! Yes, you bring into each encounter a deck of cards with special attacks like a very Zero-looking plasma sword, power-ups such as shield barriers and heal/assist cards - and they work well. Once battle commences, the game is paused as six cards from your deck appear on the touch-screen, allowing you to pick either two cards from the same row or two identical ones. After you choose, you're free to blast away using your regular attack or your special cards whenever you like. An on-screen meter builds up as you play, allowing you to select more cards from your deck. Countering, simply attacking an enemy just before they attack you, gives you a random card at no expense to your deck too. It is possible to use all your cards, most likely in boss fights, so sometimes it pays to be wise in your card usage, instead of going card crazy. One last function is the ability to lock onto enemies before using battle cards, which is especially useful for sword attacks, allowing Mega a better chance at hitting the constantly moving enemy.

The combat is nice and fluid. Star Force has what I like to call "bad as I wanna be" gameplay. You can slop through most battles if you want, carelessly firing your blaster, taking hits and waiting for heal cards and what not, or you can be extremely proficient by dodging attacks, achieving a "Double/Triple Delete" (destroying two/three enemies at once) and basically wiping the floor with the enemy. Doing well has its perks, too; you are rewarded by earning a rating for each battle, 1 being the lowest and "S" being the highest after 10 (must be S for 'Special'). If you receive a high enough rating then you receive a new battle card. Though you can buy cards at various shops in the game, gaining them from enemies usually yields more valuable additions. Being nice and quick, the battles rarely become a nuisance, especially if you're in a groove. However, occasionally you'll be thrown into battle with a combination of enemies that'll make you want to hurl your DS at the wall. At times the small 4x3 grid will be littered with enemy attacks, making it hard to even see your own attacks. I did find that keeping track of your HP can be tricky as well. An enemy's HP is displayed directly below them, but Mega's is in the upper left-hand corner and since enemy attacks don't indicate how much damage they do, you have to always keep your eye in the corner. Another snag in the gameplay comes from your cards being randomly generated in battle. The problem is that when you need a healing card, you don't always have it at your disposal. On the other side of the spectrum is the possibility to have all six being healing cards instead. You could argue strategy, but it's more akin to frustration for me. A special card dock or queue for one or two cards would've been a nice, useful feature.

As seems to be a common trend with handheld Mega Man games, Star Force has three versions: Leo, Pegasus and Dragon, the only difference in each having to do with a special card that you eventually get, which correlates to the version you have. The Leo card has the fire element, the Pegasus has ice and Dragon is simply referred to as "Green".

It's been twenty years and Mega Man is still going strong - in a way. Mega Man Star Force Dragon is the proverbial Yin/Yang. The combat - the true essence of Mega Man - is engaging and complex if you want it to be, and can best be described with one word: fun. The battle cards, albeit contrived, add a nice flavor to the game and building your deck to suit your style is quick and easy. But the other side, the story and accompanying cut scenes, have the ability to rip you right out of the game to look for something else to play. For Mega Man Star Force, you simply have to ask yourself if the juice is worth the squeeze.

Reviewed by Scott Schmidt for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).