Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker X Ninja

Mega Man, one of Capcom's earliest gaming super heroes, has been around for 21 years, longer than most video game franchises. The newest chapter offered is MEGA MAN STAR FORCE 2: ZERKER X NINJA (reviewed here) and the companion title of Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker X Saurian. Both feature the iconic character as a kid in a futuristic world who turns into Mega Man. Using battle cards a la Yu-Gi-Oh!, you try to stop evil doers like the Dark Phantom and Unidentified Mysterious Animals from capturing humans. This type of role-playing game is known as a dungeon-crawler and it's focus is on battling bad guys in turn-based combat. You'll move around a 3X6 grid from left to right or right to left as you play.

The idea here is similar to the Pokemon series of DS games. There's a ton of strategic gameplay in each game. You can play as the Zerker warriors in each of the two games. But for you to play as the Ninjas or the Saurians, you have to purchase both versions. Buying both gives you access to more powers. (But only long time Mega Man fans will be obsessive enough to get both.)

There's a lot of logic involved in winning here, and that's enhanced by the ability to play the game with a pal via Nintendo's Wi-Fi connection, a real plus. Beyond the local DS connection, you can play via the Internet, but only to exchange cards and powers. The music seems to be the same as in other Mega Man games, and the graphics make you feel as is you're playing a game from years ago. Often, because of the amount of cards and powers, these kinds of games skimp on artwork and beautiful cut scenes. But the look of the game is so poor and the dialog so often inane, it may even put off the most diehard Mega Man fan, even though there are a mammoth 279 battle cards provided in the deck.While Star Force 2 has potential because of its Wi-Fi abilities and many battle cards, something important is lost through abysmal writing and old school graphics.

Available online
Genre: Role Playing
Developer: Capcom
Released on: June 24, 2008
Price: 29.99
ESRB Rating: E for Mild Cartoon Violence