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Mega Man Legends 2 Review
User Submitted Mega Man Legends 2 Reviews
Date: 2006-08-29
Mega Man at his best
I originally wanted to wait until I completed Mega Man Legends 2 to review it, but seeing as how the game is *really* long I think it would be better to review it now while the game is fresh in my mind.
If you happened to come across my review for the original Mega Man Legends, you'd know exactly what I thought about the move from 2D to 3D- it was a complete success for Mega Man. Simply put, Mega Man Legends was a great game. Sure, there were issues with the way Capcom chose to go about making the control system (not everyone likes using the L1 and R1 buttons to rotate the direction Mega Man is facing, for example) but when it came down to it, people eventually learned how to control the game, and at the end of the day Mega Man fans were satisfied with the way the controls were designed because they *worked*. Maybe there could have been a better way to control Mega Man, maybe not. The controls in this game are the same exact way.
Mega Man Legends 2 was released in 2000, which incidentally was getting *very* close to the end of the original Playstation's life. In 2000, the Playstation 2 was on the market and its popularity was growing rapidly, day by day. With all sorts of impressive graphics and storylines dominating the Playstation 2, the original Playstation was quickly fading away. However, just because the Playstation 2 was the hot new gaming console at the time didn't mean it was automatically "game over" for Sony's previous console. A few interesting games were still waiting to be released for the original Playstation. Such as a sequel to Mega Man Legends.
And impressive it is! The graphics, music and controls have been updated and now Mega Man looks, sounds and plays *much* better. In fact, after playing through this game you might think to yourself that the previous Mega Man Legends game was just a work in progress, leading up to the REAL thing. The real thing being Mega Man Legends 2.
When you arrive to the very first town in Mega Man Legends 2, you will leave the flutter and take a look at the town. Snow is falling, and the town is quiet and beautiful. A perfect winter snowfall. You will notice that the graphics are really something phenomenal. In the previous game the scenery NEVER looked this good. Everything was rather clunky and ugly-looking, like a land of colorful legos. The complete opposite in Mega Man Legends 2. If you want to see a perfect example of what the original Playstation's graphical power was capable of, check out this game. It never got any better, in my opinion. Okay, maybe Silent Hill and Final Fantasy 7 featured better graphics, but Mega Man Legends 2 comes in third, no doubt about it.
In addition to the graphics being a significant improvement over the original, the music is pretty amazing, too. Now the music is more suitable for the environment you're in. In fact, because the storyline in the game has been taken to a much bigger and interesting level, you can almost say the music in Mega Man Legends 2 is borderline RPG music. Seriously, it's not much different from what you'd hear in a Final Fantasy game.
The music in Mega Man Legends 2 gives the game a more majestic and serious feel, which again, isn't at ALL like the previous Mega Man Legends game. In that game the music was very much like typical, frantic (not to mention, sometimes irritating) Mega Man music. This time around, the themes in each place you explore are more relaxing and closer to standard RPG music. On a personal note, I find myself humming more themes in this game than in the other one.
The greatest thing that stands out about Mega Man Legends 2 is all the creativity that went into each of the worlds you explore. A Mega Man game should have a variety of environments, and it's safe to say this game delivers with that. You will explore jungle, snow, ice, underwater and fire worlds. Yes, you actually explore underwater places in this game, and the fire world is simply delightful to watch (not to mention dangerous if you don't have the right armor equipped!) Where was all this creativity in the original Legends? It wasn't there! By the way, just so you know, each of these worlds will take place on a different island.
In the beginning of the game, you have to fight a giant tank that takes place in the middle of a snowstorm. It's more fun than it sounds, believe me. For those of you who grew up with the Playstation 1 (like me) Mega Man Legends 2 will AMAZE you with all the extra work that went into the graphics. Believe me, no graphics THIS good could be found in the original Mega Man Legends.
Oh, I forgot to mention it, but you explore these jungle, water, and fire worlds by way of a map. Don't worry, the map is a piece of cake to use because you only have to explore six or seven islands. Of course, these are six or seven BIG islands, filled with interesting, dangerous enemies! To travel to another island, all you have to do is enter the flutter, talk to Roll, click on the "Move" option, and a map will appear. Simply move the flutter to the island you'd like to explore, and you're there!
Remember in the original Mega Man Legends how each of the Sub-Gate worlds could be completed by simply jumping over the stage enemies, and jet skating to the end boss? Good luck blowing through the stages the same way in THIS game. Because each island has its own unique environment, you will discover enemies that will correctly fit in with each of these environments. For example, the jungle stage will have frogs jumping at you, and robotic fish are waiting for you in the underwater place. MUCH more enemy variety in Mega Man Legends 2. This was sorely needed in the original. In the original, it was like you were walking through one medium-length ice cube factory after another.
Despite what some people may say, Mega Man Legends 2 is MUCH bigger than the previous game. Capcom delivers with a bigger and better storyline, not to mention twice as many cutscenes (which you can choose to skip over if you wish). All your favorite characters from the original return such as Roll, Data the Monkey, Teisel and Tron. You will also discover what Roll thinks about Tron, which is an interesting thing I was curious about after playing through the original a dozen times or so. Can't forget about those pesky yellow pirates, either! They're back and more annoyingly fun than ever!
Just the fact that so much thought and energy went into the storyline means you have to respect all the work the creators had to do. That's not to say the game is dominated with storyline segments. You also have a LOT of action-packed stages to explore, each one quite lengthy (as mentioned above). Don't be fooled into thinking more time was devoted to storyline and less time devoted to action. That's definitely not the case.
You have TWICE as many boss fights to deal with this time around and some of them are really spectacular-looking and require a certain strategy to defeat effectively. Sometimes you have to fight two or three bosses in a row before another save point arrives. I can't believe how many bosses are LOADED in this game.
I'd say the challenge went up a couple notches as well because, later in the game, not having the right weapon or the right equipment with you is guaranteed to give you trouble. Always buy upgrades at the junk shops whenever you can. By the way, there's now a junk shop on practically every island you explore, unlike the previous game where you had to keep going back to the same shop.
You also have an option in the beginning of the game to learn the controls. It's a place to practice the controls that your female friend Roll will guide you through. She'll help you in every way imaginable. It's a really good idea to play through this practice stage before starting up the actual game (unless you already know the controls well enough from the previous game, then by all means, skip this part).
They added something new to this game- the ability to lift up blocks and throw them. This is important to learn because later in the game you will need to stack blocks to climb to higher places. It's really easy to use them- simply stand next to one and hit the triangle button to lift it, and then triangle again to release it. It's important to learn this because later in the game you have to lift up enemies and throw them at other enemies. Trust me, it's not hard.
My record beating the original Mega Man Legends was under 2 hours and 20 minutes. It will be a miracle if I'm able to complete THIS game in under six hours. It's hard to believe *so much* could be added to a single disc, but it's true. The fact that the final boss in the game requires you to use a LOT more energy canteens than in the original Legends means the challenge is definitely a few notches higher.
With a bigger story, lengthier and more interesting worlds, better graphics and music, you must buy Mega Man Legends 2 if the original was your cup of tea.
Date: 2005-04-28
The Power House
The first Legends game was pretty good, but this one improves on everything, ten-fold! The graphics and animations are smoother, controls have been made more accurate and it's just an overall better game. I like all they actually tried to make sense of the story (something that dosen't happen to much with capcom games) and all the references to past games. To put it simply, this game is great and no Mega Man fan should be without it.
Date: 2004-12-11
EVEN BETTER THAN THE FIRST ONE!!!
I loved the first MegaMan Legends, but this one is a ton better! Better graphics: MegaMan's laser blasts don't look like fake digital-style graphics anymore but look more realistic. Explosions look more realistic too. The characters are still boxy looking, but have improved a little. Better story: This game is even longer than the first and unravels a deeper story that also tells of MegaMan's past. More features: Your lock-on target actually "locks-on" to an enemy. The first game just allowed you to look up and find the enemy. It also looks like a target sensor(that's just looks SO cool!). You can finally use the anolog which improves the game a ton! You can travel to 6 different islands instead of just sitting around on one with your ship nearly destroyed. More characters also gives the story more depth such as Glyde, Klaymore, Bola, Bleucher, Mistress Yuna, Gats, Mistress Sera, Geets, and more. So you start off seeing Verner Von Bleucher's ship, the Sulphur Bottom,(probably worth millions)circle the storm on Forbidden Island. It's filled with reporters, but also pirates. The ship is then attacked by a strange flying Reaverbot and a mysterious woman who warns the people to stay away from the island(the story goes even farther, but I won't ruin for you). If you want to buy this game, I highly recommend you play the first MegaMan Legends because if not, you'll really be confused on the sequel. Buy MegaMan Legends, then get the sequel. You'll love them both. You'll really get into the whole storyline.
Date: 2004-07-28
mega man at his worst
I was surprised to play a Megaman game that sucked that bad! The characters from the original are still cool but man... the newer characters and the newer plot just make the game so weird. It is more difficult, more "beat around the bush," a lot more fighting which gets really annoying after a while, and too many things going on at once. If you like that stuff go ahead and get it. I was thoroughly disappointed when I bought this game... I thought it'd be better than the first. What was I thinking?!?!
Date: 2004-06-29
one of the few sequels better than the original
first there was megaman. and it was good. then there was megaman X. it was really good. then there was megaman legends. it was so unfathomably awesome that if you've never heard of it, you have probably been living in or under a large rock.Then, as if to say "oh, you think THAT'S somethin'..." Capcom released megaman legends 2 and minds burned 'round the world. Megaman legends embodies all that is the megaman series, in all it's 3-D glory MML2 is one of the few games to deliver a good story, good graphics (for it's time, at least) and great control. megaman moves seemlessly, strafes, fires, and jumps. and it all seems natural. you use the control stick/pad to move, and the shoulder buttons to turn. it's a tad tedious at first, but it really works. you'll forget you ever said "that's the craziest control scheme ever!" now I know you're thinking "but Ginzo, i'm a hardcore megaman fan at heart, and seeing the blue bomber in 3-D makes me wanna puke my guts out." Well, even for you, mister hardcore megaman-er, this is a great game. I reccomend this to anyone who likes non-stop 3-D run-and-gun megaman action. All my five are belong to this.
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