Darker Toned

I think it would be best for the game to have a good balance of comedic and dramatic themes. I'd go for about 65% comedic, 35% dramatic if I were writing it, taking into account the Legends series' history and the vast amount of dark, edgy, and photorealistic games out there on the market today.

The risk you'd run with taking the series in a noticeably darker direction is that it could turn out like Harry Potter. The first four books were great, but from five onward things just got more and more and more depressing until I stopped liking the series as much because it was too dark.

I wouldn't mind main/secondary character death at this point, as long as the devs keep it to an absolute minimum and don't pull a JK Rowling and massacre the entire cast. One would be enough to throw off the audience's perception that the whole cast isn't totally immortal without making the entire game totally depressing. Even if someone were to get seriously injured over the course of the game would be enough to even the ratio out enough without going completely into the realm of the depressing. That "Crap, I just killed the Bonnes" scare after the Fokkerwolf exploded, not to mention Teisel's allegedly-dislocated arm shortly beforehand, did this pretty nicely and provided that much-needed balance to the first game. The situation was presented well enough to show that the characters weren't totally immortal and infinitely maimable like Team Rocket, and yes, they do run the risk of dying. It made the final battle with Juno all that much more effective. Mega Man Legends 2 seemed to lack that real sense of risk, even though at the end the entire world was in danger of being destroyed.

What Legends really just needs is to keep the lighthearted tone, since it's a nice contrast to the brunt of the gaming market these days, but also revisit the notion that this world doesn't have Looney Tunes physics, and yes, it is possible to get hurt or killed. I mean, they could even do that by addressing why half of Gramps's head is made of metal. That could give it the added dash of drama it'd need for a more balanced and believable experience, no pun intended, without going totally over the top with mature themes and desaturated colors.

That's not even remotely true. I can't count the number of games there are on the market that are dark to the point of being repugnantly shallow. If you want depth, the best way to get it is by having a wide array of tones. That's what depth is. That's why Legends is so interesting. It's cheery and funny one moment, and dark the next.

What I think is more important is that they avoid modern influences and keep it retro (read some of the OST liner notes). It needs to retain its 70s anime vibe.

Really, I don't see Data living past this game, If they are intending it to be the finale, he served his purpose by its end, and would make an easy sad moment.

That said, MML3 can't pretend MML2's drama isn't happening, they've established the world is at stake, and it's hard to be prancing around all sunshine and lollipops under that and pretend Mega Man no longer knows who he is, but at the same time, you can't just be emo and serious about it either.

It seems like they are going the one island approach, which is odd since the problem the end of MML2 proposes would seem to involve trouble everywhere. So I guess they are just going to say that the Master System's core is on the island somewhere, and link that with a great treasure, and go from there.

It'll be interesting to see how it all works out.

Legends in itself had a darker tone for me. But only after meeting Juno.

MML1 was surprisingly lighthearted and warm, for a Megaman game, yes the threat of death was there, and yes the dungeons were dark and totally creepy...for that matter Clozer still gives me nightmares. But it was still very warm and very lighthearted.

MML2 I havent fully played yet but I've read up on the story and wow, dark and mysterious. MML2 is about the Master System vs the Elder system and yet it doesn't detail out exactly what the Elder System or Master System did in mass detail, which to me, resonates a darker feel.

MML3 seems to be the great "open-end-closer" and as such I hope it deviates a bit and carries a warm tone of "we can make it".

(Anyone who would comment on what I've mentioned please mind I did say "to me".)

Oh I'm well aware of the lighthearted side, but yet there is still that hugely ominous feel to it...
Like i said thats just what it was for me. Others may say what they wish, that is what forums are for after all.

Back on subject though...
I think MML3 with be of a light-geryhearted tone. "Light-greyhearted" meaning it seems Lighthearted but like MML1, has the dark creepy undertone of death and mystery. But with Yuna and Sera now cast members, who knows for sure?

What? Data's like, iconic. If it weren't for the Servbots' popularity he'd be something of a mascot for the series. I wholeheartedly disagree. Even if you hate him, he's a character you can love to hate, like Appo and Dah.

Where are you guys getting all this death talk from? They're certainly not gonna stoop to soap opera level standards and wack a character just for the sake of having a death.

I also believe that DASH 3 should be kept within the tone of the first games; though the imminent danger of anything tragic is always there, it doesn't actually happen. Kind of like action-packed children's cartoons from long ago.

I will not like it if they force the game to be too dark or depressing either. Unless justified (which it cannot be in this case), it would be some horrible mood whiplash.

I'm serious. The idea of, let's say, Rock being hunted down by an endless onslaught of Reavers at night as he wanders the planet alone seeking revenge for his foster family is not my idea of a DASH game.












Which is why you guys can be rest assured; I did not write a horribly grimdark plot.

Edit: And yes, I am very aware of the irony, but would still like to keep it that way.