I guess you could consider Star Force to the Battle Network games like the X series was to the original MegaMan games. The universe is the same, but the time frame’s completely different. The year is 220X, and the internet is a thing of the past. Instead, most networking is done through electromagnetic waves, and while Navis and Viruses still exist, it’s in a far less visible form. Players take on the role of Subaru Hoshikawa Geo Stelar, a fifth-grade student living in the small town of Echo Ridge. Don’t let the similarities fool you: Geo’s completely different from Lan Hikari. While Lan was brash and forgetful, Geo’s more quiet and reserved. Of course, who could blame him? His father was lost in space several years ago, while aboard the destroyed space station Peace.

Turns out that “Mega” is a rogue FM-ian, from the Planet FM, who stole a powerful item known as the Andromeda Key and apparently, he also knew Geo’s father. Geo demands an explanation, but Mega quickly changes the subject, as some viruses from Planet FM have taken over an old train (...yeah. I don’t get it either). He proposes the two merge together, as he isn’t at full strength on Earth, and requires a human host to tap into his full potential. Through a process called Electromagnetic Wave Change, Geo and Mega fuse into MegaMan, allowing Geo to use Mega’s powers as his own and turning him into an “EM Wave Human”, which allows him to travel through the various EM Waves, which make up an internet-like setting (dubbed the “Wave Road”). Unfortunately, this is only the beginning of Geo’s troubles, as the king of Planet FM sends down numerous agents to Earth in order to retrieve the Andromeda Key from Omega-Xis. Fusing with other lonely humans and promising to turn their lives around, they take over their bodies and use them to attack Geo and Rock. Will their newfound friendship be enough to overcome such overwhelming odds?

For the most part, the game’s overworld system is pretty much the same as in the BN games. There are two different planes to switch between: the real world (where Geo and various other humans exist) and the Wave Road (Star Force’s internet). There are numerous areas in both, such as Geo’s hometown of Echo Ridge or AMAKEN, Aaron Boreal’s laboratory and much like its predecessors, there’s a special vehicle used to travel between these areas, a bus in MMSF’s case. Then again, since these areas and their Wave Road equivalents take up the same space, players can use Geo’s Visualizer (by hitting the Y button) to see the areas overlap (well, at least when in the real world). There’s also the fact that Geo can only Jack In (or in this case, get “On The Air”) in certain areas, marked with giant whirlpools made of energy (which can only be seen with the Visualizer). There are also those scenarios which force players to complete certain tasks (be it navigating through a stage and/or solving puzzles) to move on in scenarios. Also, like the MMBN games, Star Force’s action is episodic. There are a few differences though - for starters, since Geo and Mega merge to form MegaMan in this game, there is no more real world/Internet-style puzzles, the ones where players would switch between Lan and MM.EXE in certain situations.