CAPCOM's trek through the Mega Man franchise continues with Mega Man Star Force! Originally released on the Nintendo DS, the Star Force games serve as a continuation of the setting from Mega Man Battle Network. And if you're too young to have enjoyed the games the first time around or simply missed your chance back in the day, there's never been a better place to start—especially with the modern support systems included.

The first thing you'll note is a much more somber tone in the games; at the outset, protagonist Geo Stelar is a shut-in misfit still mourning the disappearance of his beloved father. The extraterrestrial FMian Omega-Xis ("Mega" for short) serves not just to pull him out of his funk but also to push him into reconnecting with his peers. Indeed, the world of Star Force is all about connections between people. With Star Force having launched in the days when social media had just hit the mainstream, the games fully explore the idea of networking with your peers and socializing online—not only does Geo mature the more he develops "Brother Bonds" with his classmates, but players also gain further advantages by forming "Brother Bonds" with other players. It's this last notion that makes the Legacy Collection so important: with the Nintendo DS WiFi servers having long shut down, it's impossible to play the original DS copies of the Star Force trilogy in their original context, to their fullest extent.

For better or worse, the games are simply a newer and hipper version of Battle Network; Geo travels around Netopia, interacting with NPCs and progressing a story while occasionally battling Viruses. There's an "augmented reality" component where he can see the EM world through his Visualizer goggles, or merge with Omega-Xis to enter the Wave Road and engage with the EM world directly. All this is just a pretense for simplifying the "Battle Network" into maps overlayed upon the "real world." Later games in the Star Force trilogy do a better job of depicting or gamifying the act of "transing in," but you're still hopping into internet-compatible devices to bust viruses that are making them go rampant. Similarly, battles run on the same basic conceit: you form decks of 30 cards that represent actions, like shooting cannons, lobbing bombs, summoning a friendly FMian, or the like. There are some Star Force-exclusive twists, like limitations on how cards can be selected or an emphasis on landing Critical Hits to earn freebie cards and keep your assault going, but you'll be quite at home if you spent any amount of time with Battle Network.

The big advancements are all of your various power-up forms for Mega Man. Each game has its own unique systems, from Star Force 1's forms to Star Force 2's Tribes to Star Force 3's Noise Changes. Players are able to expand their repertoire of possible forms by forming Brother Bonds with players of opposing game versions (for example, Star Force Leo players bonding with a Star Force Pegasus player). This also grants you special bonus cards in-game that let you randomly borrow a single card from your Brother's deck. Legacy Collection makes acquiring these Bonds and forms easier than ever, courtesy of its great Networking options; the only downside is that there's no crossplay, so you're locked to whichever player base is on your console. This does, however, mean that managing your Brother Bonds is easier than ever.

The basic games themselves are also as good as they've ever been, but they're otherwise unchanged—and this isn't always for the best. Star Force 1 comes off the worst, given its comparatively low-rent visuals and simple battle system. Later games add greater flair to the world of Star Force and its systems, like hostage Hertzes that need to be rescued during random battles. Star Force 1 also has the most cumbersome system for side-quests out of the trilogy, requiring you to Trans In to people's profiles while on the Wave Road to see their quest, then meeting them in the physical world--and you can only take one side-quest at a time.

The Star Force games inherit Battle Network's fun diversions, from boss-themed puzzles for their lairs, like having to ride a mechanical bull to reach Taurus Fire, to a fun skiing mini-game to reach Yeti Blizzard. The charming writing has also made the jump; sure, names like Rich Dotcom or Tom Dubius are a bit on-the-nose, but they're still chuckle-worthy. And Geo Stelar's group of friends aren't completely copied from the Battle Network supporting cast because the love interest is the rich tsundere class president instead of the girl-next-door. On the flipside, moving the battles into the behind-the-back 3D perspective and giving Mega Man only one row to move on does make for some difficulty; there's a new "Mega Attack" that can be used to facilitate using close-range attacks on distant enemies, but there's a trick to them considering enemies or their projectiles might move into the tile you'll step into. Some mechanics, like Star Force 3's Support Cards, can also interfere with your strategies (especially if it overwrites a particularly necessary card).

As with the rest of the Legacy Collections, Star Force has been compiled with all available promotional artwork and music from the games. In Star Force's case, this also includes all of the illustrations for Battle Cards and Bonus Cards earned after battle. A cute "v-tuber" of Mega Man and Omega-Xis is available on the main menu, complete with cameos from their friends. There is new in-game battle banter between Geo and Omega. Network play also allows you to choose your various save files between versions for each game, so you can choose between your Zerker x Ninja saves if you want to play other folks in Star Force 2. It also pleasantly gives you the option of trying pre-made decks for each version of the game, plus a Practice mode accessible while you wait for opponents to log in. There's also an Awards sub-menu that tracks Achievement-like goals. There are, however, a few minor spelling errors that can be found here and there throughout the Legacy Collection, like in the menus or even in-game.

The entire Mega Man franchise lives in the shadow of the 600 lb. elephant in the room that is the Legends series, and whether or not it'll get its own Legacy Collection. But even at their worst, Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection deserves better than to be thought of as just a road bump on the way to Legends. This is the best these three games have ever been, and the features included ensure that these games remain enjoyable as intended for years to come. Whether new to the Wave Road or a long-time veteran Virus Buster, this is your time to log in.