Hands on with the Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection PC Version
Mega Man returns with a brand new collection with the launch of Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection, which is coming to PC on March 27th. Take a look at our first impressions from the collection!
By Craig Bishop (Gamesplanet)
Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collectionr Review copy was provided by Capcom for testing purposes, opinions are Gamesplanet's own and not representative of Capcom. Performance stated is in a pre-release build and may not reflect the final game.
The blue helmet hero brings another classic collection to PC with the launch of the Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection on March 27th, bringing 7 classic DS titles packed with updates, new features and much more to experience. Find out what you can expect with our hands on impressions ahead of the release later this week!
Geo Stelar - On the Air!!
The Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection contains: Mega Man Star Force (Pegasus, Leo or Dragon), Mega Man Star Force 2 (Zerker x Ninja or Zerker x Saurian) and Mega Man Star Force 3 (Black Ace or Red Joker). Some titles have been so rare it's actually a breath of fresh air that Capcom are finally launching this collection for fans of Mega Man. While each entry in the Star Force series has multiple entries, the story remains mostly the same, with some changes in encounters, cards and transformations. For example, if you play the Pegasus version of Mega Man Star Force, you may transform into Ice Pegasus, whereas playing Leo would grant you the Fire Leo transformation, and playing Dragon would give the Green Dragon. There's also different giga cards to acquire.
Ultimately though, it doesn't matter too much which version you play and each one provides around 20 hours of story on their own. You play as Geo Stelar, a kid from Echo Ridge who comes across an alien known as Omega-Xis. Together they can use the EM Wave Change to transform into the Star Force version of Mega Man.
Players can explore the RPG world as they fight against EM Viruses that have taken over the world. By using the visualiser from Geo's missing father, they can see a virtual world, and interact with it - which sometimes displays as an overlay for the current world. While exploring the world you may encounter random enemies that you can fight or try to flee from (similar to how Pokémon games are). As they fight against enemies, you'll need to use various card attacks - which can be used in combination with other cards for even more powerful attacks. You can build up a deck from random cards you'll obtain by exploring the world and battling enemies. Some bonus cards will also be extremely powerful and may turn the tide in battles.
Mega Man gets an upgrade
Of course it wouldn't be a retro collection without new bells and whistles, and Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection does what you'd expect - offering Enhanced Graphics, Music, Gameplay Customisation options, Bonus Cards, Gallery and much more.
Being a DS game Capcom have made it easy to see two screens with a simple button press toggling between each one. Should you need it to see certain elements unfolding on screen, or if you need to switch your menu it's very easy to do it and you can customise your borders with artwork so you don't have ugly black bars preventing you from enjoying the game.
There's also an achievements section, or well "trophies" that you obtain by completing various tasks in the games and it's a nice feature. Finally, you have a full multiplayer mode that allows you compete with others around the globe. Sadly, due to having a pre-release version of the game I was unable to test this, but players can battle in Ranked Matches, Casual Matches, or Friend Matches!*
*Note: Cross-platform matches and cross-platform saves are not supported.
Final Impressions
Capcom have done a good job bringing this collection to life, as most collectors are aware it's hard to get copies of the originals with some fetching large sums of money to obtain, this gives you all the Star Force games for under $40. Like with previous Mega Man Collections, you get improved features and higher resolution artwork that's just a joy to behold. While I didn't get to try out the Multiplayer modes and my time was limited, there's no denying it's a fun series and a bit different from the traditional platformer action of most Mega Man games. I can't speak about the story too much, as I have barely scratched the surface of 1, let alone all games. From what I did play I would say it's worthy of a place among classic retro collections and you get your money's worth.
Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection launches March 27th 2026, and for the value you get 7 titles (technically 3 games and different versions) with over 20 hours of gameplay each. Definitely worth it if you're looking for some turn based Mega Man action, or you've played previous collections from the series.
How about Steam Deck?
The collection is Steam Deck Verified, and he majority of my hands on was spent on the Steam Deck Oled, which ran at a stable 60 FPS most of the time - except battles that are locked at 30 (likely due to how they were originally coded). You get incredible battery life as well, for anyone who has played other Mega Man collections you should not worry, my testing was sticking at 8w power draw and that gave me over 5 hours of play. Being ports of DS games they also fit nice on the smaller deck screen, with the UI and higher resolution artwork being a particular standout.
For those looking at games on the go, the Steam Deck is a great option and I would highly recommend playing this way, or if you have another handheld such as the Legion Go/ASUS ROG Ally, both should also run it without issues (though I haven't played on either so can't comment on performance there).