Mega Man is one of gaming’s most iconic and beloved characters. He has had many variations since he first debuted on the NES in 1987, and the most recent variation of the character came twenty years ago with the release of Mega Man Star Force on the Nintendo DS. Now, twenty years the Star Force games are returning as part of the Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection. This collection combines the three Star Force games as well as their multiple versions, so players will get to experience all seven (three versions of the first game and two versions for the second and third games) when the game releases in just a few short weeks. We’ve gotten to preview the collection, so let’s dive in a look at how these games hold up all these years later.

I first got into the Mega Man games during the Game Boy Advance era with the Battle Network games, and didn’t get a Nintendo DS until after the Star Force games had come and gone. Thus, I had no experience with the games prior to playing the collection, and I had absolutely no idea that these games were basically a spiritual successor to the Battle Network games. These are still Mega Man RPGs that play out similarly to their GBA predecessors. It felt like I was teleported back to being a kid and playing a new version of those games that I never got to experience, and that made me adore these games on a different level I would’ve otherwise.

While the Star Force games still retain the RPG aspects of their predecessors, that’s where the similarities really end. The Star Force games feature a different grid based combat style that is more interactive yet a little less strategic when it comes to how you tackle the plethora of viruses and enemies you encounter. Then, there’s the story. Set 200 years after the Battle Network games, society has long surpassed the internet world of those games, and now focus on EM Waves and Navis are basically a thing of the past. With that comes a new protagonist as the Star Force games follow the young Geo Stellar who meets the EM-Wave alien Omega-Xis (Mega) and they combine together to battle against enemies as the hero Mega Man.

There are numerous updates to the games as part of the collection. Graphically, the games look great and polished to where you really wouldn’t think they debuted so long ago, and the updated character portraits and battle cards are a big reason why. They are much more detailed and colorful looking like anime art and characters are more in line with how the characters appear in their official artwork. However, the games do let you switch back to the original art style when you want. Outside of a graphically update, the collection features a wide ranging difficulty modifiers for you to switch things up and tackle the games how you see fit. You can change things from how much money you earn to how much damage to deal and receive and restoring health after each fight to even lowering the encounter rate of random enemies. Thus, you are able to make these games play as you want rather that be experiencing how they were originally designed or play at an easy, breezy pace to fly through the games.

Outside of the games, the collection also features an art gallery which includes tons of art from the series. Then, the big one is the online battle mode. Much like the online mode in the Battle Network Legacy Collection, players will be able to go online and compete against each other in head-to-head battles. You are even able to register friends in game similarly to how Geo registers his friends as Brother Bands in the games to be able to battle against them at your pleasure.

Eager fans won’t have to wait much longer as the Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection is set to release worldwide, so no delayed international release like the originals had, on all platforms later this month on March 27, 2026. You can watch twenty minutes of gameplay from one of the versions of the first game, Mega Man Star Force: Dragon below: