Mega Man Legends 2 Explained

Developer:Capcom
Publisher:Capcom
Director:Yoshinori Kawano
Producer:Keiji Inafune
Artist:Hideki Ishikawa
Composer:Makoto Tomozawa
Series:Mega Man Legends
Released:PlayStation Windows
PlayStation Portable
Genre:Action-adventure, third-person shooter
Modes:Single-player
Platforms:PlayStation, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Portable

Mega Man Legends 2 is an action-adventure game released by Capcom in 2000, acting as the sequel to Mega Man Legends. It was released for the PlayStation in 2000 for Japan and North America, and 2001 in Europe.[1] Unchanged Japanese ports of the game were also released for the PC in Japan and parts of Asia in 2003 and for the PlayStation Portable in 2005. The game features Mega Man Volnutt's quest to find four keys hidden in the planet in order to aid in the search of the Mother Lode, a legendary treasure thought to be an infinite energy source.

A demo of the game was originally featured in the spin-off The Misadventures of Tron Bonne, with its purpose being to show an overview of the gameplay of the title despite having an independent story. Critical reception to Mega Man Legends 2 has overall been positive with video game publications praising how the graphics and the gameplay improved over the ones from its prequel. Additionally, the game's story was praised for how complex it is in comparison to the ones from the original series.

Gameplay

The gameplay in Mega Man Legends 2 is very similar to that of its predecessor and has a few changes. The player controls the protagonist Mega Man Volnutt in his explorations through ruins and fights against Reaverbots. The ruins, however, are from various islands in contrast to the prequel in which most ruins belonged to Kattelox Island. The player is able to travel to other islands with Roll's ship, the Flutter, although he can only enter certain islands by completing different missions.[2] Unlike Mega Man Legends in which the player could enter to different ruins by having the approval of Kattelox's mayor, here the player must pass different tests in order to win Digger licenses from a specific level. The license allows Mega Man to enter into ruins which are forbidden to lower-class Diggers. Additionally, when winning a license, the Reaverbots' health is higher, but once they are destroyed, they drop more refractors' shards which are used in shops to buy items. Mega Man's interactions with other characters can also affect the character's state depending whether he is good with other people or makes them angry.[3] Mega Man is also able to grab objects or people which help the player to complete missions.[4] Mega Man can also suffer from special damage when fighting Reaverbots or touching fields that damage him such as lava. If the player equips Mega Man with a specific body part, he will become invulnerable to such states. Another addition is the underwater dungeon, in where the objects' weight is reduced and Mega Man can jump higher.[5] The energy of the special weapons, which are developed by Roll using unusable items, are now shown in two energy bars, one green and one blue. The blue bar indicates how much energy the weapon has, while the green bar shows how much energy is consumed when the weapon is used.[6]

Plot

Setting and characters

Mega Man Legends 2 brings back several characters from its predecessor. This includes the protagonist Mega Man Volnutt (whose original name is Mega Man Trigger), a Digger in charge of exploring ruins to find Refractors,[7] Roll Caskett, his spotter, who is searching for her missing parents,[8] and Data, a mechanical monkey who contains all of Mega Man's original memories.[7] Roll's grandfather, Barrel Caskett, also appears alongside his old friend Werner Von Bluecher in search of the Mother Lode, a legendary treasure supposed to have infinite energy.[8] The pirates "the Bonnes", made up of siblings Teisel, Tron, and Bon, and their Servbot followers, return once again as antagonists of the series but allied with three new members:[9] a blonde-haired man named Glyde previously seen in The Misadventures of Tron Bonne who uses Birdbots as servants,[10] and Bola and Klaymoor, a floating samurai and an enormous man wearing armor, respectively.[11] Other characters include Yuna and Sera, whose purposes remain unknown during the game's start, as well as the Master: a 3000-year-old man who is referred to as the last "true" human.

Story

A news conference is held by Professor Barrel Caskett and his old friend Werner Von Bluecher about the upcoming journey to the Forbidden Island in a large airship called the Sulphur Bottom to search for the Mother Lode.[12] [13] Barrel recognizes a reporter, Yuna, as his lost daughter, Matilda Caskett, who warns them of the catastrophe that could transpire if they pursue their journey.[14] Yuna escapes with her servant, a Reaverbot flying machine-like being named Gatz to break the windows for her escape.[15] Ignoring her warning Bluecher continues to the center of the island.[16] Yuna orders Gatz to give warning shots but due to the hostile retaliation of the Sulphur Bottom, Gatz damages the engine, forcing the airship to descend to the island below.[17] [18] [19]

Mega Man Volnutt and Roll Caskett watch the events from television and decide to rescue them.[20] With Roll's help, Mega Man makes his way to the center of the island and in the process releases a girl called Sera and her servant Geetz, both of whom go to the Sulphur Bottom.[21] [22] Geetz tells Bluecher and Barrel that the Mother lode can be accessed by means of four keys.[23] Bluecher and Barrel ask Mega Man if he could retrieve the keys before the Pirates who heard their conversation with Geetz.[24]

Mega Man along with Roll set forth to find the four Keys in the Manda, Nino, Saul Kada and Calinca Ruins, while battling the Pirates, most often the Bonne Family, along the way. When Mega Man returns with the final key to the Sulphur Bottom, Sera orders Geetz to attack the ship and take the keys.[25] Yuna appears in the ship and orders Gatz to fight Geetz. Mega Man stumbles upon Yuna, who then gives some reminder about his former life and explains to him the terrible catastrophe she was trying to prevent: Sera's plans for the execution of the "Carbon Reinitialization Program", meant to kill every human from Terra and revive the original humans.[26] Soon after, Mega Man reaches the deck of the Sulphur Bottom and sees Gatz defeated by Geetz.[27] Mega Man is able to defeat Geetz, who, using his last forces, seriously damages Mega Man.[28]

While recovering, Mega Man starts to explore his past. In his dreams he sees himself and a man known as "Master" going to Terra and giving Mega Man his "Genetic Code" before dying and requesting that Mega Man destroy the system that can start the Carbon Reinitialization Program.[29] [30] Yuna tells Mega Man to choose whether to follow what the System wants him to do or oppose it.[31]

Mega Man then takes a flight in a ship merged with Gatz heading for the planet Elysium with Yuna.[32] In Elysium, Mega Man reaches the room where the Carbon Reinitialization Program is to be executed from. Sera then appears in the form of a robot to Mega Man and states that she did not execute the Carbon Reinitialization Program but has, instead, been waiting for Mega Man's arrival to challenge him in hopes that by defeating him she would prove that their master liked her more.[33] In battle, Gatz tries to aid Mega Man by attacking Sera's logic circuits, but dies in the attempt.[34] As Mega Man defeats Sera, Yuna arrives at the scene reminding Sera that it is not their Master's wish for her to die.[35] Sera awakes in Yuna's real body and decides to help Yuna protect the Carbons from the machines that are being activated in Terra due to an old system Master tried to stop.[36] However, due to Gatz's death, Mega Man, Sera and Yuna are now stranded in Elysium with no means of transporting back to Terra any time soon.[37] The game ends with Roll and other characters working together to build a rocket to rescue Mega Man from Elysium.[38]

Development

In 1999, Capcom announced that the series' spin-off, The Misadventures of Tron Bonne, would include a demo of the game. The demo was meant to show off the game's improved graphics and a larger scale universe.[39] The demo, titled, features an independent story in which Tron has kidnapped Roll and Mega Man sets to rescue her. It was only included in the Japanese version of the game and the PlayStation Portable port of the game.[40] The game was released for the PlayStation in 2000 in Japan, as a regular release and another one under the label of "PlayStation the Best". It was later released in 2000 in North America and in 2001 in Europe.[1] Unchanged Japanese ports of the game were also released for the PC in 2001.[41] In September 2005, Capcom ported the game to the PlayStation Portable but it was only published in Japan.[42] Like the preceding game, the music was composed by Makoto Tomozawa with the ending theme used in the Japanese version being Hara Fumina's . In October 2009, Capcom released, which is composed of a soundtrack including 17 tracks from the game and an artbook. The artbook also shows characters which were not featured in the game with all of them sharing the name of Mega Man like Mega Man Volnutt and Mega Man Juno.[43] Producer Keiji Inafune comments that he was asked by several fans if a sequel to Mega Man Legends 2 would be made. Inafune expressed desire in making, but at first stated that he could not do it.[44]

Reception

The game was generally well received by critics in comparison to its predecessor. GameSpot directly stated that with Legends 2s release, Capcom was able to turn "what began as a mere spin-off into a worthy stand-alone franchise", while Allgame's Jon Thompson stated it "trumps its predecessor in almost every way, and shows that Capcom is certainly learning from its mistakes in the genre". IGN's Adam Cleveland mentioned Mega Man Legends 2 was "the most involving game I've seen with Mega Man, and is one of the best, too". Publications commented that the gameplay was highly improved and that the variations of controls helped the players. Despite being compared with other games such as the ones from the Zelda franchise , the dungeons and missions were praised. Bosses fights were also found to be entertaining although some of the bosses' height are larger than the ones featured in the prequel. Famitsu found that the game's overall sense of action was superior to the first incarnation, considering the ability to be assisted in missions by computer controlled characters as well as its mini-games and events.

The graphics received a mixed to positive reception. The graphic design and style was praised, but still reviewers criticized that the level design was still blocky and primitive. The story and cutscene animation were universally praised, and compared to watching an anime. In comparison to the first game, the story was also found to be darker and deeper. Eurogamer also focused in this, finding the game's story to be a more "rolling narrative rather than a simple 'click the face, beat the boss, save the world' sort of cop-out" comparing it with the original 2D series. Sound effects and music were likewise well-received, with the exception of Mega Man's voice, which was derided as too feminine.[1]

Samuel Bass reviewed the PlayStation version of the game for Next Generation, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "A fun game held back by pig-headed camera design."[45]

GameRankings had an average of 76.60% for the PS version, while Metacritic had 76 favorable reviews out of 100 for it. In a 2007 retrospective of the Mega Man series, Jeremy Parish of 1UP.com ranked Mega Man Legends 2 as "Worth it!", praising its graphical improvements over the first title and commenting that its unresolved ending is "one of gaming's greatest injustices".[46] In a similar feature, GameSpot stated that the game could "fix lot of the flaws in the original and [''Mega Man Legends 2''] is a substantial improvement upon the Legends formula".[47] 1UP.com analyzed Legends 2s ending and found it unfortunate as the plot involving the Elder System mentioned in the game's ending remained unresolved.[48]

The PlayStation version of Mega Man Legends 2 was the 139th best-selling video game in Japan in 2000 at 88,131 units sold.[49] The PSP version of the game barely made it into the Famitsu top 500 best-sellers list in Japan for 2005 at a mere 15,309 units sold by the end of the year.[50]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Gamespot: Mega Man Legends 2 (Version Releases). GameSpot. April 18, 2009.
  2. Capcom (2000), p. 16
  3. Capcom (2000), p. 23
  4. Capcom (2000), p. 7
  5. Capcom (2000), p. 13
  6. Capcom (2000), p. 11
  7. Capcom (2000), p. 18
  8. Capcom (2000), p. 19
  9. Capcom (2000), p. 20
  10. Capcom (2000), p. 21
  11. Capcom (2000), p. 22
  12. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Bluecher: As I'm sure all of you are aware, no one has succeeded in landing on the island beyond this tumulus cloud and lived to tell the tale. No one, that is, except Professor Barrell, and myself. Thirty years ago, Professor Barrell and I journeyed to that island, and returned. Over the years, we have been asked numerous times what we saw there. We have kept that knowledge to ourselves. But now, I intend, to give to you, the opportunity to see it for yourselves!.
  13. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Bluecher: Professor Barrell and myself are confident that the Mother Lode, which has been sought after by all mankind for numerous generations, does lie buried somewhere on this island..
  14. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Yuna: And you, Professor, tell me, what do you think?/ Barrell: Hmmm? Well, I think...Huh? Matilda! You...you're alive!?.
  15. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Yuna: What happens to you is no concern of mine. Still, I'll give you this warning! What you call the Mother Lode is not what you think it might be! No, it's not a treasure at all--it's a catastrophe waiting to happen! Gatts!.
  16. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Bluecher: Set course for the center of the island! Engage! / Yuna: Looks like they're intent on ignoring my warning! / Gatts: Weapons activated! / Yuna: Remember, I don't want them hurt!.
  17. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Master: For 3000 years, I have been free from hardship and pain. A life of luxury and ease obeying my heart's desires. Seeing these people, grateful for the simple joys of life, I wonder, was I truly happy?.
  18. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Sera: Do not forget, the Master is the only true human remaining. The System exists only to protect and serve the Master. We exist for this and only this purpose..
  19. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Guard: Emergency escape pod launch mechanism damaged! / Bluecher: What!? No.../ Yuna: Now you've really done it! /Gatts: Apologies, Mistress Yuna! We should retreat... /Yuna: They'll probably won't crash for at least...I hoped to stop them before they got this far....
  20. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Mega Man: Roll! The Sulphur-Bottom is being sucked into that storm! /Roll: gasp! Gramps!/ Mega Man: What should we do!? / Roll: We can't take the Flutter in there...And we're almost out of fuel! We'll have to set down on a nearby island--we can figure out what to do then!.
  21. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Sera: Very well! Hmmm...One of the Carbon's ships! We must first recover the Keys to the Library! We can acquire and deal with the Master's Genetic Code Sample afterward! / Geetz: Understood..
  22. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Yuna: Well, that's done it. They woke her up. / Gatts: The Carbons have decided their own fate. This is because, they've activated Mistress Sera. You've done enough for them, Mistress Yuna. You are required to relinquish the Keys to her..
  23. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Bluecher: So what you're saying is, if you have possession of these four Keys, we can unlock the Mother Lode and save Mistress Sera? Is that it? / Geetz: Correct. We are from the past, your ancestors. We are in a world we never made. We mean no harm. We simply desire to live out the rest of our lives, as best we can..
  24. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Bluecher: Ah, yes, well...Um...You see, Mega Man, I'd like to ask you to find and recover the Keys to the Mother Lode. I'm sorry to drag you into all this, MegaMan. But if we don't hurry, the pirates are liable to find the Keys before we do. Will you help us?.
  25. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Sera: Your primary mission is to recover and secure the Keys, then with luck, we will be able to salvage the Master's Genetic Code from Trigger's shell! /Geetz: Understood. Initiating Assimilization Program. /Barrell: What's happening!? /Bluecher: We've got to get outta here!.
  26. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Geetz: Mistress Sera, here are the Keys! You must return to Elysium--this unit will follow after recovering the Master's Genetic Sample. / Yuna: Excuse me, I'm talking with Sera! / Sera: Geetz, go!/ Mega Man: The Keys! /Yuna: Now this is a problem. She plans on executing the Carbon Reinitialization Program! / Mega Man: Carbon Reinitialization Program? / Yuna: Basically, every human alive will be deleted, wiped out, and the Ancients will be restored! / Mega Man: What!? /Geetz: Please do not complicate matters further, Mistress Yuna! There are several preparations to be made. Please remove yourself from this ship at once. /Yuna: I don't know if I can do that! /Geetz: Comply, or this Unit will use deadly force. Your answer? /Yuna: No! Gatts, you know what to do! /Gatts: Are you sure, Mistress Yuna? /Geetz: Gatts, what are you doing!?.
  27. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Geetz: Mistress Yuna is also in error, abandoning her shell for a carbon's! That is no longer Mistress Yuna! It's an abomination and a threat to us all! If you insist on following her I shall be forced to terminate you--both of you!/ Gatts: Waaah! Master Trigger! I'm sorry! I have failed! You are our only hope!.
  28. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Geetz: This is all your doing! If it weren't for you, this would not have happened! This Unit...cannot allow Mistress Sera to be harmed! Mieeeeeyaaaaa!!.
  29. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Mega Man: Take you there? What? Wait! I-I know him...he's the Master! I-I remember now...I came here! I came here to Terra with the Master! And then...then...uh....uh...oh....
  30. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Master: This is, a good luck charm. As long as you have it, no one can stop or harm you. Return to Elysium. Delete all data from the Library, you understand? Please, Mega Man..
  31. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Yuna: He'll be all right. Though his memory is still fragmented, he can still download whatever he needs from your little monkey friend. Now, Gatts and I will get a pod ready that will take you back to Elysium. You can find both of us where you initially came to Terra. The choice is yours--the Master's final wish or, follow the path the System has chosen! Find us when you make up your mind. See you!.
  32. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Yuna: How are we doing, Gatz? / Gatz: Engines are online! / Yuna: I had Gatz merge with the Shuttle Pod to repair it. / Gatz: Master Trigger, hurry! Mistress Sera will execute the Carbon Reinitialization Program shortly! / Yuna: What are you waiting for? Get in! / Mega Man: Yes, ma'am!.
  33. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. OS Voice: Execution of Carbon Reinitialization Program has been paused, awaiting order to continue from Mother Unit. Execution of Carbon Reinitialization Program has been paused, awaiting order to continue from Mother Unit.../ Mega Man: (Paused? Why?) / Sera: I have been waiting for you, Mega Man Trigger. I could've executed the Carbon Reinitialization Program at any time, but I chose not to. Do you know why? Unlike you, I cannot act against the System, I can only act within the parameters it defines for me. Indeed, I cannot think of anything beyond the System's limits. That is why I cannot comprehend what could have motivated the Master to attempt to destroy the System. I am jealous of you. You were close to the Master, you understood his thoughts in a way I will never be able to. Yuna chose to remove herself from the System, even though she is like myself a Mother Unit. I cannot do that! I've waited for you from the Master's Home. Perhaps by defeating you, who was so sympathetic to the Master's desires, I can purge myself of these, troublesome emotions! Come then, Mega Man Trigger!Show me what a First Class Purifier is capable of!.
  34. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Sera: Gatz is, attempting to assist you, by invading my, internal systems! I do not understand, a Servitor Unit such as Gatts should be unable to disobey the System's commands! Still, a Mother Unit, like myself, is superior to a Servitor Unit! His sabotage attempts are, a distraction, nothing more! When last we struggled, Yuna imprisoned me beyond Terra! Perhaps this time, it will be you who is imprisoned!.
  35. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Yuna: Don't think you're going to get off that easily, Sera! You were always too stubborn for your own good! If you had a shell, you could transfer your primary programs over, right? Gatts is dead, he died because of your gamble! If you die as well, who will be left to keep me company? You can't fool me, I know you can hear me! Still going to ignore me, then let me tell you something! Now that Elysium is no longer functioning, the old System the Master's people shut down has started to reactivate. It was your responsibility to monitor it. If you die, and it takes over, the Master's work was for nothing! Do you want that?.
  36. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Yuna: There are remnants of that System buried all over Terra in what the carbons call ruins. There's so many even I don't know if how many there are. I doubt they've be fully active soon, but eventually they will. If we don't do anything, just imagine what will happen to Terra and all its people. If the Elders and their machines activate, what will your sacrifice here have been for? What do you say, Sera? Are you up for living with the people the Master left behind? Could be a little wild, but interesting! / Sera: Perhaps it might be worthwhile..
  37. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Sera: I'll think about it, once we figure out a way, to return to Terra! / Yuna: hee hee hee...That's a very good point, Sera! hee hee... / Yuna: So what are we going to do, Mega Man? If we can't get back to Terra, then I can't give Roll her mother back! / Sera: Is that the only thing you're worried about? / Mega Man: Ha ha ha! Don't worry, Yuna! /Yuna: Why? / Mega Man: I know Roll! She'll come looking for us, no matter what happens!.
  38. Mega Man Legends 2. Capcom. Capcom. 2000. Sony PlayStation. Data: Sorry, Mega Man, but it looks like you might be stuck up there for a little while more! / Servbot: Looks like we both got our work cut out for us! / Tron: ...How dare you!? Anyway, I wonder how Mega Man's doing? sigh... / Roll: We have to get this thing working so we can go get him....
  39. Web site: June 2, 1999. Rockman Dash 2 Demo Confirmed. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20070313011447/http://psx.ign.com/articles/068/068302p1.html. March 13, 2007. April 17, 2010. IGN.
  40. Web site: ロックマンDASH2 . Japanese. Capcom. 19 September 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100209070813/http://www.capcom.co.jp/newproducts/consumer/dash/news/dash2_00.html . 9 February 2010.
  41. Web site: GameSpy: Megeman Legends 2 (PC). 18 April 2009.
  42. Web site: RockMan DASH 2: Episode 2 Ooinaru Isan. GameSpot. April 19, 2010.
  43. Web site: CAPCOM SPECIAL SELECTION ロックマンDASH2. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150101035035/http://www.e-capcom.com/ec/cmDispRcmndProduct/doProductLink/1/1/A10001957/10/10/cmDispRcmndProductDisp/1. January 1, 2015. April 17, 2010. Capcom. Japanese.
  44. Web site: TGS '07: Mega Man celebrates 20th anniversary. GameSpot. April 12, 2010. Niizumi, Hirohiko. 2007 .
  45. Bass. Samuel. Finals. Next Generation. 4. 1. Imagine Media. January 2001. 107.
  46. Web site: Parish, Jeremy . May 10, 2007 . The Mega Man Series Roundup . https://web.archive.org/web/20110629030836/http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=0&cId=3159344 . dead . June 29, 2011 . . April 10, 2010 .
  47. Web site: Nutt, Christian . Speer, Justin . amp . The History of Mega Man . . April 19, 2010.
  48. Web site: Parish, Jeremy . May 17, 2007 . Mega Man's Messy Story . . April 10, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121013091645/http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=2&cId=3159550 . October 13, 2012 .
  49. Web site: 2000年テレビゲームソフト売り上げTOP300 . Geimin.net . Japanese . 2010-06-23.
  50. Web site: 2005年テレビゲームソフト売り上げTOP500 . Geimin.net . Japanese . 2010-06-23 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150627192550/http://geimin.net/da/db/2005_ne_fa/index.php . 2015-06-27 .

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