Five things Legends 3 must have

Mega Man Legends 3 fever is buzzing, folks. More and more you hear people asking about the title, and with last year’s release of Mega Man 9, support for the revival of Legends is beginning to boil over. I don’t see how Capcom can go on as the cries of hungry wolves grow louder.
Needless to say, however, I am preparing myself for Mega Man Legends 3 to not be everything I’m expecting. Fan anticipation is setting the bar pretty high, and there are bound to be some disappointments. A lot of fans, for example, would be greatly put off if Legends 3 got a handheld release, although I personally believe there’s a good likelihood of this. These are ideas we’re just going to have to get used to if we want our prayers answered.

There are some things, though, that I think go without saying need to be in the next Legends (but I’m going to say them anyway). They’re pretty simple things, too, and I’d be very disappointed if they were somehow left behind. Following are the top five things I believe Mega Man Legends 3 has to have.

1: The Data Dance
When Mega Man Legends originally came out, a childhood friend and I played it non-stop. Since then, whenever the game comes up in discussion, he always brings up Data’s conga-esque dance. It’s pretty unlikely that Capcom would fore go Data as a save spot in Legends 3, but with updated graphics and such they might feel the need to overdo it. This isn’t Dancing with the Stars here, Data just simply needs to go on doing his little hand bobbing with the occasional juts to the right and left. On that fateful day when I boot up Mega Man Legends 3, regardless of what system it’s on, seeing Data do his little jig will immediately make me feel at home with the new entry in the series. Also he’s the key to all the mysterious surrounding the series’ back story and whatever, but that issue comes second at best. Dance, monkey! Dance!

2: Rob Smith
No, not the guy from The Cure. I’m talking about the man who provides the voice of Tiesel Bonne. Mega Man Legends is a series known for its voice work. Granted it follows Mega Man 8 and Mega Man X4, so just about anything would be considered better. Playing through Legends again, it’s not the greatest dubbing ever – a lot of times a character’s tone of voice doesn’t match their expression (go see how Mega Man reacts to nearly being crushed by the Feldynaut). Regardless, the voice acting is pretty good and the voices typically suit the characters well. And no voice stands out better than that of Tiesel Bonne. Tiesel’s confidence and manic enthusiasm, which can quickly turn to screaming and whimpering, easily makes him the most memorable characters in the series. It also helps that he’s well written, and his personality, aside from being a villain and all, is so likable. I can understand that it’d be hard to find all the original actors given how much time has passed. But hear me out, Capcom, if there’s one guy you have to track down and beg for, it’s Rob Smith.

3: Naughty Mischief
My favorite recurring moment in both Legends titles is when (through implication) you get to catch Roll changing or otherwise not dressed, and it’s not just because I’m a pervert. Ok, maybe it is just because I’m a pervert. But seriously, the series is sprinkled with this kind of spicy humor. While the occasional adult magazine gets changed to a comic book during localization, but he has still glimpsed both Roll and Tron in the buff (and Sera if you use a Game Shark cheat – image may not be safe for work, or brain). With the Hot Coffee debacle and all that noise, I gather Capcom might be more uptight about this sort of thing. But you have to remember these elements have nothing to do with sexuality. These are characters just hitting puberty, and it’s the humor drawn from the awkwardness of the situation that we all went through growing up. I’m not asking it to be tasteless, just be sure to have another funny event of Mega Man walking in on Roll. And make sure Mega Man does the fist pump afterward. Or maybe an air guitar solo.

4: The Classics
While I do know of a lot of fans, I still think the music in Mega Man Legends is underrated. Not a lot of it is memorable, but on there other hand there IS a lot of hit, and all of it does the job of matching the settings they’re used in well. The original Mega Man Legends was a little more orchestral in all its MIDI-like glory, whereas Mega Man Legends 2 was more synth and video game-ish, as it contained more diverse environments to explore, but both are fantastic. And one thing in common is they contain a fair amount of music from classical composers, including Bach, Vivaldi and Chopin. Yeah, I bet you thought some of that music was familiar. Maybe you’d heard it in a movie or a commercial for financial investments. Nope, it’s the true classics, and I really hope Capcom intends to keep using them, even if sparsely. I’m pretty partial to Mozart’s 40th symphony.

5: Zero
Last but not-hey, don’t go away! Get back here! Ok, ok, I admit that the Legends series doesn’t NEED Zero. But c’mon, the guy has appeared in some form in nearly every Mega Man series and spin-off, and he’s one of Keiji Inafune’s nearest and dearest characters. He could fit into the Legends world, especially if they did him right. Like, say, making him a pirate. And not simply another competitor like the Bonnes or the Loathes, but closer to a real deal pirate: manly, tough, fearless, and a bit crazy. Even other air pirates fear his name, but, perhaps they’d be forced to work with him? Well, that all depends on where the story goes. On top of that, Legends versions of Iris and Ciel could be his salty wenches and sidekicks. He’d be Mega Man’s toughest rival pirate yet, but he’d still have his own humorous flaws. I can’t think of a more fitting way to include Zero into the series. For a better idea, here’s something my friend Andy drew a while ago:

TMMN Staff