Mega Man Star Force 2

Mega Man Star Force 2
File:MMSF2-Box-Dinosaur-Version-(JPN).jpgFile:MMSF2-Box-Shinobi-Version-(JPN).jpg Berserk × Dinosaur and Berserk × Shinobi Japanese box designs
Developer(s)	Capcom
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS
Genre(s)	Action role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer, online multiplayer

Mega Man Star Force 2, known in Japan as Shooting Star Rockman 2 (流星のロックマン2, Ryūsei no Rokkuman Tsū), is the sequel to the Capcom's 2007 Nintendo DS role-playing game, Mega Man Star Force. The game was first confirmed on April 12, 2007 in an issue CoroCoro Comic. The same issue also revealed that a boss design contest would be held exclusively in Japan much like the same contests held for the Battle Network games.

In a similar format to Mega Man Battle Network 5: Double Team DS, each game card contains two versions of the game, available as Zerker × Saurian (Berserk × Dinosaur in Japan) and Zerker × Ninja (Berserk × Shinobi in Japan). Like Megaman Battle Network 5: Double Team DS, the two versions on the game are separate files, and have little to no interactivity with each other.

On April 24, 2008, a teaser site was put up by Capcom revealing a sequel was in the works and is expected to release sometime that year.

Premise

The Mega Man franchise takes place in two separate timelines, one where robotic technology flourished and another where network technology prospered instead. The Battle Network series was placed in the network timeline, causing it to be completely disconnected from every other Mega Man series (Classic, X, Zero, ZX, and Legends). Mega Man Star Force explicitly states that it takes place approximately two-hundred years into the future of Battle Network, thus placing it into the network timeline. As such, Star Force deviates greatly from the standard Mega Man fare because it draws almost exclusively on elements from Battle Network (mostly gameplay elements), making very few references or allusions to the other Mega Man series. However, Capcom has produced Star Force as a stand-alone series, meaning players can fully enjoy the title without being familiar with the Battle Network series.

Set in the fictional year 220X, emphasis on internet technology has lessened, and instead, the world has become networked through use of EM waves. Though cyber worlds and NetNavis still exist in Star Force, human dependency on them has greatly decreased, and people no longer have Navi companions. Three large satellites orbiting the Earth—Pegasus, Leo, and Dragon—power the EM Wave World that exists around the Earth's atmosphere, keeping the world networked. While the EM Wave World is normally invisible to the human eye, a special piece of eye-wear called the Visualizer (possessed by the series' protagonist) allows a human to see this other world. However, like with the cyber worlds of Battle Network, viruses (known as EM Wave Viruses) inhabit the EM Wave World, causing problems in every day life.

In Battle Network, people operated PErsonal Terminals (PETs) to constantly interact with the network. Similar devices called Wave Transers (along with Star Carriers, introduced in this game) are used in the Star Force world. Both devices are compatible with Battle Cards (the Star Force version of the previous Battle Chips), and when swiped through, they provide means to deleting viruses that infect the EM Wave World and other electronic devices. A group of Satellite Police also exists, dedicated to stopping virus attacks and thwarting criminals who manipulate the EM Wave World in order to break the law.

Furthermore, there exist alien planets known as "Planet FM" and "Planet AM", inhabited by extraterrestrial beings called FM-ians and AM-ians, respectively. FM-ians and AM-ians can traverse both worlds and also possess the ability to physically merge with human beings through a process called "Electromagnetic Wave Change" (denpa henkan). In addition to lending a human the wave being's powers, this process also transforms the subject into an "EM Wave Human," allowing him or her to freely operate in the EM Wave World (as well as cyber networks within specific electronic devices). FM and AM-ians are just two varieties of electromagnetic beings. Another sort, known as Unidentified Mysterious Animals, or UMAs, originate on Earth and are physical manifestations of such mythological creatures as the yeti or the thunderbird.

The protagonist of Star Force is Geo Stelar, the son of a famous scientist and astronaut known as Kelvin Stelar. He lives with an AM-ian known as Omega-Xis who originally took residency in Geo's Wave Transer, but now exists in his Star Carrier. When the two go through an Electromagnetic Wave Change they form an entity known as Mega Man.

Whereas a large focus in the Battle Network series were the NetNavis (who are mostly based on Robot Masters from the Classic Mega Man series), Star Force focuses on FM-ians based on many real-life constellations and UMAs based on mythological creatures.

Gameplay

Battle system

Mega Man Star Force 2 is an action RPG much in the same vein as the first game. It is rendered in an isometric style (sprites, views, etc.) during field gameplay, but its battle system is three-dimensional, with the battles being viewed from behind Mega Man, and movement restricted to only left and right. Since enemies have a much larger playing field, battle evasion seems limited, but the player is given a choice of techniques like shielding and homing attacks to keep battles balanced. Mega Man's life is a simple "Hit point" (HP) numerical system. When he takes damage, the number lowers, and when it reaches "zero," the game is over. HP can be recovered in a number of ways, both in and out of battle.

Battle Cards are collected in a number of ways throughout the game, and the player must organize them into a folder to use for battles. Every time the "Custom Gauge" fills during battle, Cards are called up at random and are selected to use against the enemies. Depending on their arrangement on the screen, certain Cards can be selected together to provide combinations, just like Battle Chips from Mega Man Battle Network. There are three different classes of Cards ranked by their power and rarity (Standard, Mega, and Giga), and only a certain number of Cards from each class, or a certain number of a specific Card, can be placed into a folder. Other options allow players to set certain Cards as favorites so that by connecting to other players via Wi-Fi, they can use their favorite Cards in a random draw during battles. This implements an element of strategy into planning battles. In this game, players can only set four Battle Cards as their favorites (as opposed to six in the predecessor).

The player can also use their standard Mega Buster at any time to combat with, and upgrade items for Omega-Xis can be collected throughout the game to increase the Mega Buster's rate, power, and charge speed. The Mega Buster is constantly charging to release a single powerful shot, but the player can hold the button down to fire rapidly. Other battle elements include the "Best Combo" system, allowing the player to chain together attacks, easily dealing damage well up into the thousands—Star Force's version of Battle Network's "Program Advances". At the end of every battle, a player's performance is ranked on a number of factors (like speed and amount of damage taken), and higher scores reward the player with better items (such as large quantities of "Zenny" currency or rare Battle Cards).

Star Force also borrows the same elemental properties that Battle Network uses. The four elements include heat (fire-based), aqua (water and ice-based), elec (electricity-based), and wood (plant and wind-based). Elements are attached to certain attacks and to enemies' (or Mega Man's) defenses. When an element is hit with an element that it is weak to, double-damage is dealt. Heat is weak against aqua but strong against wood, aqua is weak against elec but strong against heat, elec is weak against wood but strong against aqua, and wood is weak against heat but strong against elec.

To put it another way: Heat > Wood > Elec > Aqua > Heat (and so forth)

A screenshot depicting a battle sequence against EM Wave Viruses using the Wood Ninja form.

Three transformations, similar to the "Satellite Administrator" transformations from the 1st Mega Man Star Force game exist in Star Force 2. These transformations consist of "Wood Ninja","Fire Saurian" ,and "Elec Zerker", and are activated by using a technique called "Tribe On" once Geo and Omega-Xis find a special artifact (identified in-game as an "oopart"). This technique is activated by using a special card with the oopart of the relevant game version displayed on it. The player can also use brother cards (although the player can also use the roulette option, which returns from the previous game). Using a technique called "Double Tribe," two of the three transformations can be combined to create one of six possible combinations: "Ninja Saurian", "Ninja Zerker", "Saurian Zerker", "Saurian Ninja", "Zerker Ninja", or "Zerker Saurian". Double Tribe is achieved by using a brother card from a different tribe while in Tribe On mode. If a brother card from the same tribe is used, the aforementioned roulette of the brother's favorites will occur instead. A final transformation - Tribe King - is also possible by activating a third tribe transformation when in a Double Tribe form. This technique is appropriately called "Triple Tribe". However, the Tribe King effect only lasts for three turns (recalling the "Soul Unison" effect from the Battle Network series). In addition, if the player is hit by an attack of the opposite element, the transformation will be lost and return to their original state.(With the Double Tribe state, you take on the element of the second transformation. An example would be Ninja Saurian, if hit with an aqua attack, you will revert back to the original state.). Also, although there are six Double Tribe combinations, only 4 transformations are possible in any version of the game: one Tribe On mode (matching the version of the game regardless of the tribe of the card used), two Double Tribe modes, and Tribe King mode. 3 more (two Tribe On modes, and one Double Tribe mode) are also possible with the use of Wave Command Cards (see next section) for a total of 7. The Tribe King stage offers you the variety of 3 elements for 3 turns. When in this stage your battle cards power is doubled. The Link Force Big Bang Which is accuired by creating a counter deals 600 damage with 3 different elements each causing 200 damage, This power is known as Czar Delta Breaker.

The transformation feature has been implemented differently in the U.S. release. The "oopart cards" have been removed, and as a result, transforming is only possible with brother cards (or automatically with certain abilities mentioned in a later paragraph).

A player who does not take advantage of the "Brother Band" system can take on forms based on Solo, the rival character in this game. Each tribe has a Solo transformation, which is similar in advantages and drawbacks to the DarkChips of Mega Man Battle Network 4 and 5. There are two ways to utilize Rogue Form. The first, and normally legitimate way is to equip the 6 Indie Proofs on your brotherband. Once the proofs are equipped the player gets a card which allows them to transform into the player's tribe, specific to the version (Zerker players will get Rogue Zerker). In this stage the player can not use any mega cards (though Giga cards are still allowed), but they would gain skills such as a barrier that generates every turn. The rogue from also has no element, meaning it cannot be lost due to element advantages. Normal elemental boosts are also lost (+20 Elec and Wood, +30 Heat), instead, cards that deal 'sword' damage get a +50 Boost. The second way to use Rogue form is to use a special "Wave Command". The advantages that this version has over the original version is that it also gets certain bonuses, such as a large HP boost (850), Max Buster stats, Giga+1, and the Auto-ability waves First Barrier, Float Shoes, and Undershirt. You also get to keep your brotherbands. However, their power-ups are disabled as if you are in Rogue form, but turning off the ability gives them back. The disadvantage is that you instantly start the battle in Rogue Form, meaning that you cannot use your Mega cards at all. Indie Frag Rogue form can still use them before transforming. Either way, the main disadvantage to either Rogue form is that Brother bands are disabled (You have no slots for them in Indie Frag, and they're disabled in Wave Command), meaning that you have, at most 400 LP to work with, over the absolute maximum of 1300 LP that a player can use without Rogue form.

New to this game are abilities, which is similar in concept to the Navi Customizer from the Battle Network series, and Link Power which is obtained by forming a Brother Band with both the four in-game brothers and with the player's real life friends, as well as an "auto-brother" which is named by the player. Abilities are equipped using Link Power, and the player can only equip as many abilities as there is link power. If an ability requires more Link Power than the player has, the player will not be able to equip it. Link Power also has other uses in the game, such as acquiring new items. Certain amounts of Link Power are also required to take on some side-quests. In addition, if a certain ability is equipped, Mega Man can automatically start a battle in his "Tribe On" state. Link Power is given in game by Geo's Friends, which max at 100 each, giving him a natural max of 400 LP. By brotherbanding with other players, he can gain a maximum of 1300 LP, as Brotherbanding with players gives a max of 150 LP. This is calculated by how far the player is in the game. While still in the storyline, you give 10-90LP. Beating the game allows you to give 100LP, and every achievement star the player gets after that (an additional 5) adds another 10LP, for a maximum of 150. The achievements are Collecting Standard, Mega, and Giga class cards, defeating Le Mu xa, defeating Appolo Flame, etc.The player also gets an Autobrother, which is the only way for the character to Tribe on, other than the ability wave with out any other brothers. This Autobrother increases his LP given as you progress through the game, giving 75 when you beat it. He or she will give 100LP once the player has completed the entire storyline, including the Rogue SX Hidden scenario in the game.

Wave Command Cards

The game also makes use of 279 Wave Command Cards, actual physical cards with numbered holes on them that players can lay on the touch screen of the DS. By touching the numbers in order on certain in-game screens, the cards unlock special items, combos, bosses and cards in the game. These cards were only released in Japan but Capcom licensed Prima Publishing to print the Wave Command Card Perfect File as the "Wave Command Card Kit" in the US. This book shows all the cards and the numbers on them so US players can use all the cards. However, the instructions in the book suffer from poor translation and as a result, either make no sense at all or are simply wrong. There are three cards (specifically three of the "Mega Man Data Cards": Zerker, Ninja, and Saurian) that were misprinted with no numbers on them making them impossible to use. Addtionally, while explanations of these cards are listed in the Table of Contents as being on page 9, the explanations do not appear at all. It was unknown whether or not this was intentional (i.e., in order to get the players to figure them out for themselves), or if the book had simply gone through a rushed print. Prima has recently released an update fixing the missing number issue, indicating the latter.

One special thing to note is that if the player takes all 3 Auto Tribe cards (Zerker, Ninja and Saurian), and layers them on top of each other, 6 slots will be left. If they press them in order from left to right, then top to bottom, The character will activate Auto-Tribe King, which will allow the player to use Tribe King for the next battles. All Auto-tribes will last until the game is reset or turned off.

The Wave command cards are actually not necessary to activate them. Simply pressing the corresponding spots in order activates them, thus removing the necessity of buying the cards if the player knows where to look.

Characters

Main article: List of Mega Man Star Force characters

Plot

Introduction

The game starts a fifth-grade student named Geo Stelar, and his AM-ian partner, Omega-Xis. Set approximately two months after the events occurring in Mega Man Star Force, Geo has adjusted to life with Omega-Xis, and has made many new friends. It first shows Geo eager to the fact that his new transer has came in, something known as a Star Carrier, which he has waited for 2 months for.

One day, Geo and his friends decide to travel to the technological hub of Wilshire Hills in IFL City, where they witness a new device known as the Star Carrier at work. The Star Carrier is able to take radio waves and transform them into material objects, known as Material Waves. While watching a movie, Geo and his friends witness an attack by a mysterious man named Hyde, who partners with an Unidentified Mysterious Animal, or UMA, named Phantom in order to wreak havoc. After fusing with Phantom, Hyde becomes Dark Phantom. When Dark Phantom is defeated by Mega Man, he flees, and from that point forward becomes one of the game's main antagonists.

Dark Phantom is later revealed to work for Dr. Vega (whom her servant Hollow refers to as "Lady Vega"), a scientist who is obsessed with reviving the lost continent of Mu. She has allied herself with Solo (who can wave change into his alter ego Rogue), the last survivor of Mu, and the UMAs to achieve this goal.

The game is from this point forward presented episodically, following a basic formula: Dark Phantom and his UMA allies target humans that are unsatisfied with their lives, promising them power and influence. However, unlike the merge between Geo and Omega-Xis, these humans merge somewhat involuntarily and lose control of their bodies during the conversion. Mega Man has to defeat them in order to rescue the human from the enemy UMA's control.

After a few days, Geo goes on a date with Sonia Strumm to the museum. There, Solo appears and tries to steal the OOPart, a device of incredible power which Dr. Vega seeks. After Omega-Xis accidently eats the OOPart, Geo and Mega start to have weird dreams where the OOPart is trying to take over their body. When Dark Phantom kidnaps Luna, Mega Man has to use the OOPart's power. Before he was eaten away by the OOPart, Luna's voice gives him the power to take control of the OOPart. Afterwords the power of the OOPart is his to use.

Many events later, the OOPart is taken from Mega Man and its power is used to revive Mu. The OOPart has left some of its power inside Omega-Xis so he is still able to tribe on. Megaman finds Mu in the Bermuda Maze, and defeats the enemies inside (with some help from Rogue) and finds Dr. Vega. After Mega Man defeats Le Mu, Vega reveals her true motive. When her lover Altair (the only person she ever formed a BrotherBand with) died after being sent to war, she became bitter, and began to blame the world for taking Altair from her. To this end, she became a scientist, with her research leading to the invention of matter waves (and by extension, the Star Carrier). Using this technology, she was able to recreate a holographic image of Altair. However, he did not have Altair's memories; he was merely a hollow shell who nonetheless served Vega faithfully (hence the name "Hollow"). After learning about the lost continent of Mu, she began to make plans to revive it in the hopes that Mu's "advanced technology" would be able to revive Altair, leading to the events of the game. She asks Le Mu to use the last of his powers to drop Mu from the sky and crush the Earth below. Just then, Le Mu lets off an explosion that blows Mega Man and Dr. Vega away. Hollow saves Dr. Vega in the process, but dies. His prayers reach Altair who tells Vega to not seek revenge on the world and instead lead a happy life. Mega Man goes up to Le Mu and destroys him with the support of the voices of his friends. Just then, he collapses from exhaustion as Mu falls into the ocean. Geo wakes up to find out that Solo had saved him. However, he insists he didn't do it out of charity, saying "Your body got in my way, so I carried it here". Solo wishes to challenge Geo again one day and leaves as Geo reunites with his friends.

Side-quests

There are five optional bosses that have sometimes have no placement in the game's storyline. Geo can encounter these characters and challenge them to battle, three of which can only be battled after the game's story has been completed.

Furthermore, any of the previously battled bosses can be fought again as "ghost data" found throughout the EM Wave World. These bosses are plainly visible and will automatically challenge Mega Man when he speaks to their ghost in a specific area. The ghost versions of these bosses are powered up (indicated by the suffix "EX"). Upon defeating the EX form, an even stronger form (identified as "SP") will randomly challenge Mega Man (like normal virus battles) in that area.

A secret area existing in a parallel universe is available to the player after completing the game's main story. This secret area offers more difficult enemies, as well as rare items and Battle Cards to collect. However, the secret area cannot be finished without completing other tasks in the game, including collecting at least one of every Battle Card. The secret area also offers a battle against the ruler of the universe and his second-in-command, Apollo Flame and General Auriga, respectively.

As in the first Star Force, the insertion of any Megaman Battle Network game will result in a special side-quest. This time, there will be boxes hidden in certain places. These boxes contain text data from Lan Hikari's diary, which act as an "update" of sorts to the story of the time period of the Battle Network series. In order to get these documents, you must first battle a virus. When all the pieces of text data are collected, you will receive an e-mail from Lan with the same Mega Weapon as last time, The BN Blaster. It has the same stats as the first Star Force.

Finally, Geo can perform errands for NPCs by accessing their Star Carriers from the EM Wave World. These errands usually include retrieving or delivering items or messages to other NPCs, or by battling groups of viruses, and the rewards vary from minuscule (such as scant Zenny amounts) to extraordinary (such as rare Battle Cards or Omega-Xis items), usually depending on their degree of difficulty. However, as mentioned previously, some side-quests require certain amounts of Link Power in order to be accessed.

Development

About two months following the CoroCoro Comic announcement, the Shooting Star Rockman Ultimate Navigation Legend Guidebook was released in Japan. Inside of it, the first details about the game were revealed through an interview with series director Masahiro Yasuma. Along with the interview was a silhouette of a new sword-themed transformation set to appear in the sequel (later revealed to be the Thunder Berserk form). Many elements from the original game remain intact including the roles of Geo Stelar (Subaru Hoshikawa in Japan) and Omega-Xis (Warrock) as the protagonists and the prominence of the Brother Band System. However, the interview made mention of more advanced transformations, freer movement in battle, a strong rival character for Geo (revealed to be Rogue, a wave human who gets his strength from loneliness, the alter ego of Solo, his human form), and online battles using the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

The interview also noted that the game's production was roughly 30% complete at the time and was expected to be released winter 2007 in Japan.

Audio

In the Japanese version, voice acting is featured in this title similarly to the DS version of Mega Man Battle Network 5, with Fuyuka Oura--the seiyū for Geo in the Japanese anime--reprising her role in the game. Unlike the US/PAL version of Mega Man Battle Network 5: Double Team DS, there is no voice acting in the US/PAL version.

Music

The game's music was composed by Yoshino Aoki and Mitsuhiko Takano and released as the second disc of the Shooting Star Rockman 1 & 2 Original Soundtrack (流星のロックマン１＆２オリジナル・サウンドトラック, Ryūsei no Rokkuman wan ando tsū orijinaru saundotorakku) compilation.

Track listing

"Shooting Star (Ver. RR2)" "Hometown" (ホームタウン, Hōmutaun) "Wilshire Hills" (ロッポンドーヒルズ, Roppondō Hiruzu) "Grizzly Peak Resort" (ヤエバリゾート, Yaeba Rizōto) "Loch Mess" (ドンブラー湖, Donburā-ko) "Whazzup Village" (ナンスカ村, Nansuka-mura) "Wave Square" "Wave World" "Sky Wave" (スカイウェーブ, Sukai wēbu) "Warning Bell!!" "Ghosts' Rhapsody" (オバケ狂想曲, Obake kyōsōkyoku) "Snowstorm" "Investigation of the Lakebottom" (湖底探査, Kotei tansa) "Ruined Picture on the Ground" (荒ぶる地上絵, Araburu chijō-e) "Bermuda Maze" (バミューダラビリンス, Bamyūda rabirinsu) "The Continent of Mu" (ムー大陸, Mū-tairiku) "Destruction's Requiem" (滅びのレクイエム, Horobi no rekuiemu) "Vega's Theme" (オリヒメのテーマ, Orihime no tēma) "Aloof Melody" (孤高の旋律, Kokō no senritsu) "Occurrence of an Incident!!" (事件発生！！, Jiken hassei!!) "Turbulent Atmosphere" (不穏な空気, Fuon na kūki) "My Friends" "Sentimental" (センチメンタル, Senchimentaru) "Electromagnetic Wave Change!!" (電波変換！！, Denpa henkan!!) "Prelude to Battle" (戦いの序曲, Tatakai no jokyoku) "Ride On" "Wave Battle" "Confrontation with a God" (神との対峙, Kami to no taiji) "Network" (ネットワーク, Nettowāku) "Road To Victory" "Skyhigh Colosseum" (スカイハイコロシアム, Sukaihai Koroshiamu) "Winner Of Skyhigh" "Engraved Memories" (刻まれた記憶たち, Kizamareta kioku-tachi)

Sales

As of the end of the second quarter of 2008 in Japan, Mega Man Star Force 2 has sold 291,963 copies.

External links

• Capcom of Japan's Shooting Star Rockman 2 game page Template:Ja icon