Mega Man Star Force: Leo, Mega Man Star Force: Dragon, and Mega Man Star Force: Pegasus are action role-playing games created and sold by Capcom for the Nintendo DS handheld console in 2006. Together, they form the first game in the Mega Man Star Force series, which is part of the larger Mega Man franchise and follows the Mega Man Battle Network series. The story takes place in the year 220X, when technology has advanced to the point where the world is connected through EM waves. The game follows Geo Stelar, an 11-year-old fifth-grader in Echo Ridge, who merges with an alien named Omega-Xis after grieving the supposed death of his father, Kelvin Stelar.
The Mega Man Battle Network series ended with its sixth game in 2005. Developers said the new Nintendo DS hardware influenced their decision to conclude the series. Mega Man Star Force continues some gameplay and story ideas from Battle Network. Battles occur on a 3-by-5 grid where Mega Man moves left to right in one row and attacks using Battle Cards. Players can challenge each other, trade Battle Cards, and form a Brother Band with another player using the DS’ wireless features. Before the game was released, Capcom also created anime and manga adaptations to help promote it.
Mega Man Star Force received mixed reviews from critics when it was released. Many said it was too similar to Battle Network because of reused ideas, art styles, and gameplay. However, the game was a commercial success, selling nearly 600,000 copies in Japan by the end of 2007. It led to two direct sequels for the same system and a crossover version of the first Battle Network game, titled Rockman.EXE: Operate Shooting Star (2009), which was released only in Japan.
Gameplay
Mega Man Star Force is an action role-playing game similar to Battle Network. Outside of battles, the game uses a 2D view that shows the world from a corner angle. Players explore the real world and find places to perform an EM Wave Change, which leads to the EM Wave World or to computers. In the EM Wave World, players face viruses. During these battles, the game switches to a 3D view from Mega Man’s back, and movement is limited to left and right. In battles, HP shows how much life Mega Man has. When he is hit, HP decreases. If HP reaches "zero," Mega Man is deleted, and the game ends. Players must restart from their last saved point. HP can be restored in many ways, both during and outside of battles.
Battle Cards are collected throughout the game and must be organized into a folder to use in battles. During battles, a "Custom Gauge" fills up, and cards are randomly selected to fight enemies. Cards arranged in certain ways can combine to create special effects, similar to Battle Chips in Battle Network. Cards are divided into three classes based on power and rarity: Standard, Mega, and Giga. Only a limited number of cards from each class or specific cards can be placed in a folder. Some cards can have elements added, such as Heat cards, which are effective against Wood enemies. Players can mark cards as favorites. When connected to other players via Wi-Fi, these favorite cards can be used in random draws during battles. This adds a strategic part to planning battles.
The game supports Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and wireless play. Through wireless play, players can trade Battle Cards and battle each other’s Mega Men. The Brother Band network allows players to share favorite cards, Star Force transformations, or status upgrades and send emails. Characters from Lunar Knights (Bokura no Taiyou DS: Django and Sabata) appear in a side quest and can become Brothers through "Cross Brother Band." However, this feature is not available in non-Japanese versions of the game.
Plot
Mega Man Star Force is set in the fictional year 220X, two hundred years after the end of the Mega Man Battle Network series. In this time, people no longer rely as much on internet technology. Instead, the world is connected through a system called EM Waves. While cyber worlds and NetNavis still exist in Star Force, humans depend on them less and instead use devices called Transers. Three large satellites—Pegasus, Leo, and Dragon—orbit Earth. These satellites power the EM Wave World, which surrounds Earth's atmosphere and keeps the world connected. Normally, the EM Wave World is invisible to humans, but a special pair of glasses called the Visualizer allows people to see it. Like the cyber worlds in Battle Network, the EM Wave World is also home to EM Wave Viruses, which cause problems in daily life.
An alien planet called "FM" exists in the story. This planet is home to beings called FM-ians, who can move between the real world and the EM Wave World. FM-ians can also merge with humans through a process called EM Wave Change. This process gives humans special abilities and allows them to move freely in the EM Wave World and within electronic devices. Many FM-ians are named after constellations, such as Taurus, and they often join with humans who are facing difficult situations.
The main character of Star Force is Geo Stelar (though players can rename him). He is an 11-year-old fifth-grader living in Echo Ridge. Geo has been alone since the supposed death of his father, Kelvin Stelar, years ago after a space station called Peace exploded. Geo is soon joined by a rogue FM-ian named Omega-Xis, who lives inside Geo's Transer. Together, they undergo EM Wave Change to become Mega Man (also called Star Force Mega Man) and travel between the real world and the EM Wave World.
Geo has not attended school for three years after his father's disappearance during the Peace explosion. His classmates often encourage him to return to school, but he refuses. One day, Geo returns home to find Aaron Boreal, Kelvin's coworker at the AMAKEN Space Agency, speaking with Geo's mother, Hope. Aaron gives Geo the Visualizer. Geo wears it on an observation deck and sees Omega-Xis, who recognizes him as Kelvin's son. Omega-Xis then performs an EM Wave Change with Geo, transforming him into the Star Force version of Mega Man.
Omega-Xis is considered a traitor by the FM King because he stole a mysterious item called the Andromeda Key. He also knows about Kelvin's disappearance. Geo agrees to help Omega-Xis protect the key, and Omega-Xis lives inside Geo's Transer. With the help of the three satellites, Geo and Omega-Xis travel to the space station Peace, which has been taken over by the FM King. Omega-Xis reveals that he knew Kelvin before coming to Earth and helped him escape the king's control. Together, they defeat the Andromeda Key's threat but spare the king, following Kelvin's dream of peace. The king, whose name is Cepheus, eventually agrees to work with Geo, believing they share a common goal to improve their worlds.
After their mission, Geo and Omega-Xis are stranded in space when the station begins to collapse. They are forced to escape in a damaged spacecraft. For days, they drift through space until Geo's father's spirit appears in a dream. His father tells Geo to hold onto the people he loves, as long as he believes in them, Kelvin will always watch over him. At the same time, Geo's friends—Luna, Bud, Zack, Sonia, and Pat—gather at his favorite spot to call him home. Their combined strength causes their Brother Bands to create a beam that saves Geo. As the game ends, Geo returns to Earth, forever changed by his journey.
Development and release
The decision to end the Mega Man Battle Network series after the sixth game was made during development because the creators wanted to use new technology. Capcom producer Takeshi Horinouchi said that the Mega Man Star Force games were among the hardest to make in the franchise because they followed the Battle Network series, which raised fan expectations. Masahiro Yasuma explained that the battle system in Star Force became simpler because the system in Battle Network 6 was too complex, so they redesigned it to make it easier for younger players. The change in perspective allowed for new gameplay while keeping the Battle Network style.
To introduce the new game, Capcom asked ShoPro and Xebec to create an anime series, which started airing on October 7, 2006. A manga version by Masaya Itagaki was also published in CoroCoro Comics. Japanese pre-orders included a replica of Geo's pendant, but these were later removed due to safety issues.
The game's music was composed by Yoshino Aoki and Mitsuhiko Takano. It was released as the first disc of the Shooting Star Rockman 1 & 2 Original Soundtrack compilation.
A fourth game, Mega Man Star Force 4, was being developed between 2009 and 2010 but was canceled because sales of Star Force 3 and Rockman EXE Operate Shooting Star were low.
Reception and legacy
According to the weekly Japanese sales report for the first week of release for Mega Man Star Force, none of the three versions reached the top 10. However, Media Create's sales data shows that the three versions sold a total of 219,171 units in Japan by the end of 2006, ranking it as the 59th best-selling video game of that year in the region. An additional 374,504 units were sold in 2007, making it the 37th best-selling game of that year and totaling 593,675 units sold in Japan alone.
Mega Man Star Force received "mixed or average reviews" on Metacritic, a website that collects reviews. The versions Pegasus, Leo, and Dragon scored 60, 58, and 60 out of 100, respectively.
Reviewers often expressed disappointment about the lack of changes from the Battle Network series, especially in gameplay and visual style. Colin Moriarty of IGN wrote, "It is more likely to leave the gamer confused, feeling they have played this before many times." GameSpy agreed, stating, "We hoped Capcom would use this chance to restart the series with something new. Instead, we got only small changes." However, they noted the game might still be enjoyable for players who had not played previous Battle Network games.
The game received some praise for small improvements. Reviewers often highlighted the BrotherBand system, though GameSpot wished it allowed more than six friends per game. The longer game length was also praised, though many felt the story took too long to begin and required too much backtracking to progress.
Because of high sales, Capcom created two sequels for the same system. They also released Rockman.EXE: Operate Shooting Star (2009), an updated version of the first Battle Network game with a new crossover story involving Star Force. A collection of all three Star Force games, Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection, was released in 2026.