Mega Man Legends 2

by Capcom

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00007JQCO
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: February 1, 2003
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #76,625 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars flawed, but good, January 25, 2008

By 

B. E Jackson (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Mega Man Legends 2 (CD-ROM)

Not exactly a perfect sequel, but worth the experience (not necessarily the enormous price tag, though)

The main problem I have with Mega Man Legends 2 are ALL the annoying enemies. They weren't a problem in the first Legends game, because they were usually fun to blast and somewhat easy to defeat. You have stage enemies in Legends 2 that hold up shields and the only way for them to open themselves up for attack is when you quickly press down (to back away) and up again (forward) on the directional pad. They will then lower their shield for a few moments. If you're quick enough, you will then be able to hit their weak point for a few seconds... until they figure out you're shooting at them and will raise the shield again. This means you once *again* have to back away and then walk forward again so you're facing them. You have to be quick or they'll notice something is wrong and will raise the shield again.

I don't like it. Each one of these particular enemies will lower and raise their shields approximately 4 or 5 times, especially in the early parts of the game when you are forced to use a weak X-buster. This means spending a lot of time dealing with them, and trust me, you won't like it.

Now, another way to defeat these guys is to just walk right up to them and press the lift button and throw them directly at another enemy, defeating two enemies will one stone (by pressing the Triangle button). While at first this seems like an ideal strategy, you'll quickly discover this is even *more* annoying because half the time it doesn't work. Many times, in the middle of trying to lift one up, they will lower their shield and attack you with a REALLY annoying blast that not only drains some of your precious life energy, but they also have super-annoying attacks such as either spraying you with a wave of fire or spraying you with this other odd-looking green stuff which will either slowly but surely lower your life energy or OR make it so you won't be able to use your X-buster for about 30 seconds. I really hate when this happens. It's more annoying than it sounds. All you want to do is defeat them so you can go through the doorway, but they're blocking the path so you have no choice but to spend a couple unnecessary minutes dealing with them.

These same enemies were in the original Legends, but they were a LOT more fun there, because they weren't so picky with their shields. All you had to do in the first Legends game was dodge their fireballs and attack. It was more fun doing this.

Also, there's another enemy that's equally annoying. They're these bombs that float in the air ever so quietly until they spot you, and then they explode. It was easier to dodge them in the first Legends game, but in Legends 2 they apparently have a lot more explosive power, because many times -even if you're far away from them when they explode- they *still* find a way to hit you.

You also have to deal with toads on fire. You do NOT want to get hit by one of these guys! Once they touch you, YOU catch on fire, and you will STAY on fire for up to 30 seconds, draining your life energy ever so slightly until it's finally over and you're back to being normal blue Mega Man. The best thing to do is just ignore them completely, but I can think of a couple areas (such as in the jungle stage) where you have no choice but face them. There's one room in particular where you have to deal with 10 bouncing fire toads AND two of those shielded reaverbots I mention above. What a pain that section is!

There's also bouncing frogs as well, which are somewhat annoying because many times they will bounce directly at you before you can even see them. They bounce from somewhere off-screen and by the time you notice them, you've already taken a hit. Not a big problem because they mostly appear in the beginning of the game and don't drain a lot of energy.

Now, let's talk about the biggest problem with the game. The horrible, dreaded, disgustingly overlong WATER stage. Ugh, what a nightmare. Despite the fact you can use an item that will allow Mega Man to roller skate underwater, the place is still way too long, boring and pretty frustrating the way many rooms look *exactly* the same, so it's very easy to get lost.

What's even worse is how you're supposed to find two water keys that will allow Mega Man to open the final door and face the boss at the end, but the final key is WAY up high on a small platform, and the only way to reach the key is to ride on top of this slow-moving, gigantic fish. While riding on top of him, you have to spend a considerable amount of time waiting for him to *slowly* swim towards the high platform you're required to jump on that contains the key. Man, I hate this part a lot.

And that's not it! For some reason, after you defeat the final boss in the stage, Capcom made it so you're required to climb ALL the way back to the beginning of the stage and face the same boss AGAIN (in more or less the same exact fight). Now, facing the boss isn't that much of a problem. He's easy, and has a simple "circle and shoot" pattern. But the fact you're expected to go all the way back to the top is a major inconvenience. At the least the water is drained on your way back (though many elevators and high climbs) but still, it's not ANY fun trying to climb certain platforms on your way back. You're guaranteed to fall off many times while attempting to climb them. On your way back, you have to deal with those annoying floating bombs and many other enemies as well.

Another major problem you will discover very quickly about the game is how much money the various stores and even Roll herself will charge you to buy much-needed upgraded parts and certain weapons (and other important items). It's wrong. Shooting at regular stage enemies will only grant you a little bit of zenny (money) each time. Let's say, about 300 dollars. But the problem is that you need money in the thousands, and quick. Hardly anything in the first 50% of the game will make it any easier, except for this one enemy called the "Golden Bird" which can be found in one of the ruins.

It's a special bird that will constantly reappear and give you thousands of dollars very quickly every single time you kill him, but honestly, it almost feels like cheating having to rely on him. Not to mention it's a bit frustrating having to spend up to 30-60 minutes (and even longer) if you want to upgrade every special weapon you have all the way to the max. This means shooting and killing the golden bird, walking out the door, going back to kill him again, and repeat a thousand times. You will be spending a lot of time killing one enemy over and over until you *finally* have enough money to go back to the store, or Roll, and grab what you need. This problem could have easily been fixed by simply making items and weapons cost a lot less.

You really have to use your map in this game to get through many of the levels. You will get lost very easily because many of the stages are inconveniently overlong, and knowing west, east, north and south is very important. There's a puzzle at the end where you have to know your directions if you want to find the final stage in the game, along with the final boss. The next to last stage, called Elysium, is just as confusing as the horrible water stage.

Also, there's another really long portion of the game devoted to Mega Man walking through a bunch of areas and having to take care of these miniature attacking birds. The idea is to shoot at them until they are no longer able to shoot through the doorways. If they DO manage to get through the doors, it's automatically game over for you. This was fun at first, but you're required to go through up to 8 or 9 different sections basically shooting at the same birds over and over. You have to complete four rooms on one island, go to another island to complete four or five more, and you have to return back to the previous island for one final battle. It's all too much! Granted, Capcom was smart in mixing in other enemies to blast, but those birds are everywhere, and it's definitely expecting a *lot* for us gamers to have to deal with it all.

You've also got these special areas called "License Levels". These are like bonus levels that you can choose to attempt if you want, or just ignore completely. What these levels mean, if you're able to complete them (and one of them is downright hard) enemies will drop more money for the rest of the game. There's a trick to it though. Stage enemies will actually be more difficult to defeat the very second you obtain the license because the game will require you to shoot at them a LOT more until they finally die. What's the point in getting a license if the thing is just going to make progressing through the game a chore? Pointless.

With all that complaining out of the way, you DO have a pretty decent adventure game. You have a variety of colorful stages that can be explored by travelling to different islands, you have plenty of environments that are pretty nice to look at (such as snow, jungle, fire and ice stages) and the storyline is really a major improvement over the original Legends in terms of detail and length, not to mention just more exciting and adventurous this time around. All the familiar characters from the first game return, along with some new faces. It's just a much bigger game. Really well done here.

Also, some of the stage bosses are really spectacular. You have to face a giant frog in the jungle area which is really fun, and a huge dragon-like creature that shoots frosted cheerios at you in the underground fire world. The very last boss named Sera is really spectacular (though maybe a... Read more ›