## 2025-05-21 I am embarassed because I skipped out on **Mega Man Star Force** as a kid. I’m not fully sure why – maybe it’s because there were so many [[Nintendo DS]] games for me to catch up on, or maybe it’s because my dumb kid brain was annoyed it wasn’t more **Battle Network**. Probably a bit of both. Either way, damn is it embarrassing, because these games are awesome. Specifically I played a DX romhack of **Star Force 1** and **Star Force 3: Black Ace**.[^1] These games aren’t as strategically in-depth as **Battle Network**, but they make up for it by having easier gameplay in general, as well as a fantastic narrative. To be clear it’s no **East of Eden** but it tells an endearing tale about opening up to the people around you and how the connections we make with people is what keeps the world going. It is all played entirely sincerely which I appreciate in the irony-poisoned world we live in nowadays. It also reminded me a lot of **The World Ends With You**, which is certainly never a negative point of comparison. The third game adds a lot more as far as mechanics go, with better chip customization and a very engaging post-game. I just had a ton of fun with these games! They won’t blow your mind, but they’re perfect to pick up and play, and it was fun seeing the refinements between releases. And just like with **Battle Network**, I adored the idealistic vision of the internet and technology that I wish we ended up getting instead of whatever the fuck we’re dealing with right now. Give them a look if you haven’t. [^1]: You can safely skip the 2nd game, it adds nothing