Once again I find myself checking out a series of games that are entirely new to me, so if you’re someone already familiar with this collection my thoughts may feel awfully green. If, however, you’re like me and just on the lookout for games that are fresh, willing to give new things a chance, I’m happy to try to help. Truth be told, while I can appreciate the OG Mega Man series, and why some people are huge fans, it never really excited me. When I looked into this collection, I was first surprised that there had been a series of Mega Man RPGs at all. Imagine how shocked I was to then discover that these weren’t even the first ones, that the Battle Network series of Mega Man-based RPGs had preceded it. The fact that this all happened on handheld systems helps explain why I’d missed them, aside from having walked away from much of the gaming scene for about 20 years.

Anyway, getting back to the matter at hand, what you have here is ultimately 3 different iterations of the franchise, featuring numerous variants with what are slight differences in the spirit of the success of how Pokemon titles work. Set in the far future, you’ll play as a somewhat typical angsty teen who is bestowed the power to see an alternative reality through a mixture of chance and ties to his father, an astronaut who has gone missing. Precisely what does this have to do with Mega Man? Not a whole lot, though when your character merges himself with an entity from this alternative world by the name of Omega-Xis you do combine into a form that happens to be called Mega Man. Keep in mind, this is an RPG, and not at all in the traditional style of the classic series, but even knowing that it does seem like an odd stretch to make that connection.

While I suppose I applaud the unusual approach this series takes with combat, which feels like a mix of deckbuilding and mildly strategic action, I struggled mightily to find it of much interest. The fact that its roots are in the handheld gaming space certainly help to explain that move, as it allows for some decent visuals without worrying too much about the action bogging things down. You’ll get to hone and develop your deck as you pretty regularly acquire new cards, but now so many years after these titles were originally released, there’s no question that modern deckbuilders have progressed a great deal from these more simple days. All in all this feels like a pretty hard sell for newcomers, at least outside of people who are seeking out more novel game ideas that have a style distinctively their own. That said, I also have no doubt that people who grew up playing these games could absolutely enjoy taking them for a nostalgic spin as I can’t say I’ve encountered any other titles quite like them in the vast Switch library.