Let’s learn about all of the Mega Man Legends

What an age we live in! It took years, but finally all three Mega Man Legends games are immediately and easily available. No need to scour auction websites or conventions in the hopes of finding the original PlayStation versions or that Nintendo 64 port. Someone can head right to the PlayStation Store and get Mega Man Legends, Mega Man Legends 2 and The Misadventures of Tron Bonne for your PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, or PlayStation Vita.

But wait, you might not realize why exactly these three games are so special. They always have been rather rare and, if you missed it, you might not get the importance of instant accessibility. To help you understand and appreciate this development, let’s go over Mega Man Legends as a whole.

What’s the deal with Mega Man Legends anyway?

When people talk about Mega Man Legends, they’re referring to a trio of games from Capcom that are inspired by the traditional Mega Man series. While you’re still controlling an artificial humanoid named Mega Man, there’s no Dr. Wily or Dr. Light. You aren’t fighting renegade robot masters. Instead, Mega Man Volnutt explores the world of Terra with Roll Caskett and her grandfather, Barrell, as they search ruins for Quantum Refractors, the Mother Lode, various treasures and information about Mega Man’s past.

As is fitting with the shift in story and tone, the gameplay is entirely different from the 2D, side-scrolling Mega Man games. It’s a third-person action game with a heavy focus on exploration and open-ended gameplay. Mega Man Volnutt still has Mega Buster, which can be upgraded, as well as a shield. In addition to a main campaign and storyline, there are NPCs offering side-quests in locations. While there are some dire moments and serious situations, it has a decidedly more lighthearted tone than the more traditional games.

What’s fun is that the Japanese name flat out tells you what to expect from this spin-off. Mega Man Legends is known as Rockman DASH overseas, which stands for Digger’s Adventure Stories in the Halcyon Days. Mega Man Volnutt, Roll and Barrell who go searching through Terra’s ruins for treasure. Players get to explore a primary storyline, as well as some brief, secondary scenarios, in a period that’s relatively peaceful. It’s rather brilliant, really.

While there haven’t been additional entries in the series, Capcom has made a few spin-offs that were never released outside of Japan, all of which were only available on phones or mobile devices. Kokkai Kobun, Oshioki Kobun and Kobun ga Tobun were simple and involved creating, punishing or controlling Servbots, antihero Tron Bonne’s servants. There was also Rockman DASH Golf was a golf game starring Mega Man Volnutt, Tron Bonne and a Servbot.

One of the most recent Mega Man Legends spin-offs was Rockman DASH: 5tsu no Shima no Daibouken!, and it’s a shame it’s unavailable outside of Japan. While it wasn’t a true, full entry, it offered the same sort of gameplay as the original entries. Players were able to follow Mega Man Volnutt as he explored five islands, searching for treasure. Unfortunately, people needed to subscribe to i-mode Internet and be in Japan to play this 2008 release.

Mega Man Legends games you can play.

Instead of going through the Mega Man Legends games in the order they were released, we’re going to go through them chronologically.

The Misadventures of Tron Bonne

1999 in Japan, 2000 in North America and Europe, PlayStation (Capcom)

The Misadventures of Tron Bonne follows Tron Bonne, Mega Man Legends’ villain and her own game’s antihero. When Teisel Bonne is kidnapped after borrowing 1,000,000 Zenny from Lex Loath to build the Gesellschaft, the Bonne family’s newest ship. Tron heads off with her Servbots and the Gustaff robot to go through a series of action and puzzle-based missions to pay off the debt and its interest.

People can find The Misadventures of Tron Bonne on the PlayStation Store for $5.99.

Mega Man Legends

1997 in Japan, 1998 in North America and Europe, PlayStation (Capcom)

Mega Man Legends is the game that started it all and appeared on the PlayStation first, then Windows PCs and the Nintendo 64. Mega Man Volnutt, Roll Caskett and Barrell Caskett are scouring ruins around Terra, searching for the legendary Mother Lode. It’s an alleged treasure with enough energy to power the world. However, they’re quickly side-tracked when the group is forced to make an emergency (read: crash) landing on Kattelox Island. While the Mother Lode isn’t there, Kattelox Island has its own treasures, Mega Man and his friends end up aiding the island’s denizens, while also facing off in battles against the Bonne family, a group of air pirates who aren’t always that bad..

People can find Mega Man Legends on the PlayStation Store for $9.99.

Mega Man Legends 2

2000 in Japan and North America, 2001 in Europe, PlayStation (Capcom)

Mega Man Legends 2 is set two years after the previous game and finds Mega Man, Roll and Barrell resuming their search for the Mother Lode. They’re convinced it’s hidden on Forbidden Island and finally have a ship strong enough to get there. The group has other reasons to find a way to get to this foreboding place, as it appears to be the place where Roll’s missing mother, Matilda, can be found and more information about Mega Man’s origins. The group heads out to find four keys to the fabled fortune before air pirates like the Bonnes do. There are plenty of sidequests, twists and turns in the search for the truth. Spoiler alert: I hope you like games with unresolved cliffhangers!

People can find Mega Man Legends 2 on the PlayStation Store for $5.99.

The Mega Man Legends game you can’t play.

There’s one final chapter to this series, but it’s sadly one that will never see the light of day. In 2010, Capcom and Keiji Inafune announced Mega Man Legends 3 for the Nintendo 3DS. A devroom website, with events where fans could help shape elements of the game while it was in development, was opened. Seven of these were held, helping determine the design of things like the heroine Aero, a Bonne mecha, a Reaverbot and a mascot character. A Mega Man Legends 3: Prototype Version demo was even planned, with an original character named Barrett as the hero and 10 playable missions.

Unfortunately, Mega Man Legends 3 was cancelled on July 18, 2011, before the demo could even be released. Keiji Inafune has since disassociated himself with Capcom, and the last Mega Man game released by the company was the Mega Man Legacy Collection in 2015. Red Ash: The Indelible Legend, a Keiji Inafune and Comcept game in development, is said to be a spiritual successor to the series. If all goes well, it should supposedly be available in July 2017.