Hey, look. A GameFAQS review that isn’t recycled video fodder… and it’s on a game for Nintendo 3DS that you can actually still purchase because it’s available as a physical release… not that it matters for some of you folks, but anyhoo.
A Somewhat Ideal Way Of Mega Man On The Go If You Can’t Afford A Switch
Mega Man Legacy Collection is a 2015 compilation release that collects the first six Mega Man games that were originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The games are, for all intents and purposes, emulated versions that retain the gameplay, graphics, sounds, and quirks of the original NES releases and do not feature any of the enhancements that would’ve been featured in prior re-releases such as the Rockman Complete Works series or the early-2000s Mega Man Anniversary Collection. If you’re looking for stuff like Navi Mode or Arranged Soundtracks, you won’t find those here. However, you do have save states… albeit one per game, but it’s something. And you can also use good old-fashioned passwords for skipping to the later bits in five of the six games that has a password system.
The 3DS version is a serviceable conversion that, for the most part, matches the quality of product you’d get on the consoles. In addition to the six games – which can be played in either International Mega Man or original Japanese Rockman flavors – you have a wide collection of gallery items spanning all six games, a sound test to listen to all the music tracks, and perhaps the collection’s other main draw, the wide variety of Challenges for you to tackle.
There are some quibbles with this release. For some reason, Mega Man 5 runs at a choppier framerate compared to the other games in the collection, which run relatively smoothly. This is especially noticeable when playing the various Challenges that combine segments from multiple games. Mega Man 5 on the NES played and functioned about as well as all the other games and didn’t require any special treatment. I even went so far as to purchase the 3DS Virtual Console version of Mega Man 5, which ran as well as I expected it to. So why this game runs comparatively poor is unknown.
(Upon further review, I discovered that Rockman 5 seems to run fine without any of the issues plaguing Mega Man 5. So clearly, someone fell asleep at the wheel when they were testing this thing.)
The 3DS version is also lacking the updated features of its console versions. There’s no Rewind feature or Turbo option that fixes the slowdown inherent with these original releases. And while there are additional challenges exclusive to the Nintendo versions, these can be unlocked with the use of those Amiibo toys that were all the rage and stuff. Still, despite some of these quibbles, Mega Man Legacy Collection is a solidly-built compilation that is certainly cheaper than acquiring the individual Virtual Console releases (which you can’t do because 3DS Virtual Console is a distant memory. But the MMLC physical release is still a thing.
For whatever it’s worth, Mega Man Legacy Collection on 3DS is a mostly solid product and is a good way of experience Mega Man on the go (unless your favorite game is Mega Man 5, in which case… switch to Rockman 5), but not really necessary if you have a version of this on Switch or Steam Deck that’s more fully featured. This version, especially these days, is more of a novelty.
PROS:
– Mostly solid emulation of classic titles with one exception.
– Extensive gallery and sound test
– Fun challenges to tackle with replay function
CONS:
– Lacks the updates of the console versions (Rewind feature, Turbo functionality, etc.)
– Mega Man 5’s emulation is abnormally choppy compared to the other games.
– Extra challenges require Amiibo to unlock
dtm666 