Reflecting on Mega Man Legends
Introduction:
Mega Man Legends is a very peculiar game even by todays standards. The Mega Man franchise was a decade old when it took its first steps into 3D with Legends. Capcom somehow had the fortitude to not just label the first 3D outing as “Mega Man 8” and change the entire series old-school fans had known for years. I really respect that, as companies today seem to care so little about the identity of their franchises. Oftentimes I see a beloved series take a vastly different direction in terms of design, and it causes a rift in the fanbase, and makes old-school fans feel abandoned. But even if you didn’t care for Mega Man Legends, you could take solace in the fact that it wasn’t replacing the Mega Man you knew and loved. In the late 1990’s, Capcom was still satisfying its wide variety of Mega Man fans. Prefer the classic games? Don’t worry- there’s Mega Man 8. Prefer the X games? Don’t worry, there’s X3 and X4. Want to try something new? There’s Legends. In comparison, I know damn well I will never get a traditional Zelda game again unless its a remake of an older title, and that makes me quite sad to think about.
Even though Mega Man is one of the most famous and recognizable video game characters of all time, when compared to his contemporary peers like Mario and Sonic, his games never sold quite as well. And in 2025, it feels like Mega Man is the most “famous yet niche” series of games out there. I say all this because I’m not sure if it gets much more niche within the Mega Man fandom than the Legends games. And that’s largely thanks to Capcom’s insistence on ignoring the games. They cancelled Legends 3 for the 3DS, and never gave the games the same art book and Legacy Collection treatment as the rest of the sub series.
Nonetheless, these two games are beloved by fans. I had a copy lying around that I purchased many years ago. I tried it out before I became the diehard Mega Man fan I am today. I immediately saw the charm with the music, colors, and characters, but the aged gameplay put me off.
But now, as a certified Mega Man super nerd, I decided to try the Legends series again, and boy am I glad I did.
So Much Heart:
There’s this funny dichotomy with the Mega Man series. These games couldn’t be any less about the story, and yet there are thousands of fans online like me in love with the lore and timeline of the franchise. The story of Mega Man 6 is that Dr. Wily put on some sunglasses and a cape, and tricked the whole world into thinking he was somebody else.
And I love that.
Mega Man Legends opens up with a long text scroll read out loud to us. It explains that the world is largely covered by its oceans. There aren’t too many humans left on the remaining pieces of land, and energy to power their utilities is becoming increasingly rare. They obtain this energy with the use of giant gem-like objects called “Refractors”. These refractors are found deep underground and excavated by adventurers named “Diggers”. Diggers are often guided through these subterranean labyrinths with the help of their “Spotters”. The goal of most Diggers and Spotters is to find the coveted “Mother Lode” which is said to be able to make Refractors obsolete with its limitless power.
Professor Barrell Caskett is a retired Digger who takes care of his granddaughter Roll. One day, Barrell found a small baby. Of course, in the Japanese version, our protagonists name is Rock. But in the English version he still goes by MegaMan (no space in between) Volnutt. I know it’s kind of silly that his name is MegaMan, but I love it. Hey, there aren’t many normal names in this series to begin with. Barrell, Roll, Tron, Tiesel? Yeah…MegaMan isn’t too eye-catching of a name here.
Together, Roll, Barrell, and MegaMan make a very strange yet oddly familiar family. Roll feels like a caring big sister and Barell feels like the wise old man we can count on for advice. In the beginning of the game, we do a very small dig to get familiar with the gameplay. But the trios ship (named the Flutter) has engine issues which causes them to crash land on Kattlelox Island. Thus our story.
…
….Holy crap, did I just write a three paragraph synopsis on a Mega Man storyline? And I barely covered half of the story?…. Wow.
There’s genuinely a lot of heart and thought put into this games story and world. And it seems to proudly embrace the anime aesthetic the games have always had. MegaMan himself sports a spiky hairdo that you can’t cover with a helmet for an hour or so into the game.
The dialogue is silly and lighthearted. It’s got that 90’s anime adventure vibe akin to Studio Ghibli’s Castle in the Sky, the JRPG Grandia, and a touch of Skies of Arcadia. I don’t mean to come off as a nostlagia-crazed person when I say this; but they just don’t make ‘em like this anymore. Anime stopped feeling so innocently fun at a certain point. That’s not to say I don’t care for any anime after the 90’s, that couldn’t be further from the truth. But there’s just something about this vibe that makes me wanna grab some hot cocoa and cuddle up with a blanket.
The Presentation is Timeless:
We’ve seen time and time again that games favoring art design over realism typically age the best. When you look at 1998’s Metal Gear Solid, yes, the chunky polygonal people are cute and endearing. But when you compare it to 1997’s Mega Man Legends, it clear to me which one aged better. Mega Man Legends dives head first into its anime inspirations with big eyes, large hairstyles and overall cartoony character designs. The bright colors everywhere make the game feel like it was constructed out of a box of crayons.
IMG - Rockman Corner
I played the game on my CRT and felt transported back to the 90’s. It felt like any second my mom or dad would open my bedroom door and tell me school had been cancelled because of a snow day. I know some people may not be as gracious as I am, but I truly think the graphics here are stunning. It’s probably my favorite graphical style to exist on the original PlayStation. I feel like every time I see a “PS1 inspired” indie game on Steam, they’re trying to look like at least somewhat like Mega Man Legends.
Another key aspect of the presentation is the voice acting. 90’s gaming voice acting has had its fair share of memes and scathing critics. I do think some games have truly awful voice acting like Mega Man 8 and Mega Man X4. But I also think some games from that era just had awkward voice direction (who knows if they even had any direction). I recently showed my friend the famous clip of “What is a man?” from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and it honestly wasn’t as bad as I remembered. Even my friend (who is a non-retro gamer) said it wasn’t that bad. It was simply the empty space in between lines and overall directing that felt a bit lacking. But the voices and attempts at a performance weren’t too bad. I feel similarly to the voice acting in Mega Man Legends, but I actually feel a bit warmer on it here.
Corey Sevier as MegaMan Volnutt has a raspy yet endearing voice (new voice actor in the sequel also does a good job). George Masswohl perfectly portrays a caring and eccentric grandfather in Barell Caskett. But to me, the highlight was Tracey Ryan as Roll Caskett. I don’t know what it is about Ryan’s performance, but she completely aces the loving big sister energy of Roll. Whenever I started up my game, I looked forward to hearing her say “Good Luck!” when I selected my save file. I always love going back to see who voiced 90’s gaming characters because a lot of them sadly left the industry. I really wish we got to see what Tracey Ryan would’ve added to the gaming industry, but her two performances as Roll Caskett in both Mega Man Legends games were all she did in games.
Legends seemingly ditches the boss-oriented style of Mega Man. We don’t have any robot masters or mavericks to hunt. Acting as villains, we get the Bonne family. At first I was disappointed because I love the robot masters in the original series, but the Bonne’s quickly grew on me. And I think that’s mostly for two reasons:
Once again, the voice acting is quite good for these characters.
They remind me of Team Rocket from the Pokémon anime.
The Bonnes are a bunch of halfwit sky pirates who want to steal the treasure found in Kattelox Island’s ruins. They’re not really villains, just some goofballs with bad intentions.
The Elephant in the Room…:
Okay so I’ve had nothing but praise for this game. What about the gameplay? Well…uh…
Honestly, after about an hour and a half I got completely used to it. The biggest hurdle here is that MegaMan can only truly walk in four directions. You can move in a diagonal direction, but his animation is still moving vertically. And if you move the camera while switching from his vertical or horizontal movement animation, the camera stutters for half a second. You really want to utilize the lock-on system, and much like in Ocarina of Time, you want to keep using the camera-centering button. If you can get used to that and the R1/L1 camera controls, it’s really not so bad.
You have to give some leniency for developers still trying to figure out 3D game design. Especially for series that had long existed in 2D beforehand. In 1996, gamers were given Super Mario 64, Crash Bandicoot, and Nights into Dreams. Those three are all technically three-dimensional video games, but they achieved three-dimensions in three vastly different ways. Crash Bandicoot went for a hallway-style of level design. Nights into Dreams was on-rails. And Super Mario 64 of course became a blueprint for what 3D games would later become.
And Mega Man Legends released one year before arguably the greatest example of a 2D to 3D transition- Ocarina of Time. I will never take away anything Nintendo achieved in that era, but it must be a bit different when the same company making the games also made the hardware those games were exclusively running on.
For a very first attempt at Mega Man 3D design, I applaud Capcoms efforts. Again, it would’ve been easy for them to just make eight distinct levels with a boss at the end and call it "Mega Man 8”. But they didn’t do that. They not only went for 3D, but they also went for an entirely different style of game. Legends gives us action-RPG and light dungeon crawling elements; something the series had never seen prior. You can customize your Mega Buster, armor, and abilities. It is so incredibly satisfying to upgrade your jump height or find the Jet Skates so you can skate around town super fast. And being able to make your own specific style Buster is fun. Maybe you want to specialize in attack power and speed. Or maybe you want the farthest range possibly so you can hit enemies before they even see you. And of course, being an RPG, I can only image the challenges a player can tack-on for replay value like never increasing your armor durability. I’m a big RPG guy in general, so having these options feels very welcome to me.
I Love Mega Man Legends:
There was this moment in the middle of my playthrough where Roll was giving me tips while exploring a ruin. She then said “MegaMan, are you hungry? I made some apricot pie. I saved you a slice.”
It made me smile so much.
It’s so satisfying to get a Mega Man game with strong characters and an awesome world. Fans have long praised Kattelox Island for being cozy and homey. It reminded me quite a bit of Clock Town in Majora’s Mask (the only place that felt cozy in that game). And while I don’t want to spoil anything, the last hour of this game left me seriously intrigued. Capcom did the now common “this takes place thousands of years later” soft-reboot narrative. I’m sure if we ever got the aforementioned Legends 3, we might’ve finally sees some serious connections to the classic or X games. But I’m more than okay with what we got here.
If there ever was a remake or remaster for this game, all I could ever want changed is the camera controls and some looser movement.
Everything else in Mega Man Legends is immortal.
