The Misadventures of Tron Bonne

The Good
Man, what a surprise! As I stated in an earlier review, sometimes spin-offs of big series can fail miserably, but most are able to stand on their own two feet. Take Capcom's legendary Mega Man/Rockman series. First we got one spin-off that became known as the X series. Now the second spin-off, the Legends/Dash series, gets its own spin-off, or to be more accurate, a gaiden or "side-story" game, focusing not on the hero of the Legends series, Rock Vollnut, but instead on the Bonne pirate family, and more importantly, the perky Tron Bonne and her army of dim-witted but simply adorable Servbots.

So what's it all about? It seems that her even more dim-witted brother Tiesel, the head of the Bonne family, borrowed a million zenny from a shady man named Loath (who has to have the nastiest looking fake nose I've EVER seen!), and now Loath sent his personal right-hand man Glyde to capture Tiesel and baby Bon Bonne while they were hunting for a treasure to pay Loath back with. Of course, Tron's not gonna let her brothers stay locked up by Loath forever, so she's gonna get the money back herself. How is she gonna do this, you ask? How indeed. She's a pirate! And what do pirates do best? That's right...steal!! Rob!! Pillage!! Loot!! You'll have Tron and her Servbots stealing anything that isn't nailed down, and then that which is nailed down, and even the nails! And that's where the fun of Tron Bonne lies: the variety of the missions she can partake in to get her brother's loan paid off. In one mission, you can have Tron and the Servbots rob a bank while the police are on their tail. In these stages, Tron pilots her Gustaff while the Servbots follow her closely. While she's at it, anything that's not a house can be grabbed and hurled at whatever you feel like. You can even make the Servbots swipe the tires and siren lights right off the police cars, and then go and swipe the riot shields right out of the hands of the police! Wait! Robbing the police? Why, you ask? Because what you can steal from the police can in turn be used to reduce development costs on new weapons and armor later in the game. So everything you swipe can and will have a purpose later on.

But what if you don't just want all-out action? Is puzzle solving your cup of tea, perhaps? Well, Tron can take a Servbot with her to the harbor, where deliveries are being made. And what can you do there? Of course! Swipe the crates from the harbor and take them to the Gesselschaft, where you can sell their contents for more money! The puzzle solving stages work as follows: Tron is driving the Gustaff Tank, which can only lift a certain number of crates, and can only take them a certain number of steps before she has to drop the crate and lift it again. These stages really test your strategy and planning skills, because you've gotta find the best way of lifting the four green crates (which contain the stuff you're stealing), and perhaps the bonus pink crate, back to your little ship. Some of these stages even start throwing in stuff like forklifts, cranes, and conveyor belts as they progress. Forklifts and cranes can be operated by Servbots, and you'll very much need them in the last couple of stages, where Tron's steps and times she can lift crates gets VERY limited.

But what if you're more of an RPG man? Then try heading for a dig in the mountains, where Tron is searching for three legendary stones called Aurora Stones. In these stages, you have three Servbots of your choosing down in the caves, while Tron communicates with and guides them with her remote-controlled Finkelbot. The Finkelbot can fly, of course, fire Beacon Bombs to command Servbots to search something, and catch the attention of Diggers in the caves. Talking to Diggers usually yields hints or clues, or makes them join the Servbots to lend a helping hand. At the end of each digout is a Boss which the Servbots must fight, but they're not as hard as you think (I mean, if three Servbots can take them down, they MUST be easy, right?).

But it doesn't stop there. There's also the sheer amount of mini-games you can play on the Gesselschaft, including target practice and serving a bunch of hungry Servbots lunch. Speaking of which, it's just absolutely hilarious to play the Lunchtime mini-game. I LOVE the reactions the Servbots give when you mess up their order! You can also sell excess items for money, develop weapons and armor, and even declare your favorite Servbot! (This happens when you get the right item for the job.) And as you play more and more of the game, more rooms in the Gesselschaft open, allowing you access to more Servbots to nurture and snuggle...or TORTURE!! (You'll see....grin) The sheer amount of fun you can have with this game is just amazing!

Now, as for graphics, sounds, and music. Capcom did an excellent job with the graphics. The graphics are a combination of hand-drawn characters, polygonal playfields, and tons of animated facial expressions. I love some of the faces everyone makes when things go wrong, especially when a Servbot is standing there with a sweatdrop on his head as he tells Tron, "Sorryyyyyy..."

Sounds and music? Well, sounds first. The sound effects themselves are great, but only tiny problem is that sometimes the explosions are a teeny bit flat. No biggie, though. This game is also loaded to the breaking point with voices, and for once, Capcom ACTUALLY did an excellent job! Tron sounds exactly like what I imagined her to sound like, and the Servbots all sound cute, adorable, and hilarious at the same time! Tiesel sounds like he needs a little Prozac, though.

As for the music, it's more or less really good, and sounds funny and upbeat at the same time. The Gesselschaft music can be changed between three different pieces (talk to #36 for this), but I prefer the regular Gesselschaft theme the most.

The Bad
The game has to end, unfortunately. I wish it didn't!

The Bottom Line
Anyone who enjoyed Mega Man Legends/Rockman Dash will love this game to pieces. It's cute, funny, fun, and heavy on entertainment, and the ending is hilarious, and the perfect beginning to the first Mega Man Legends game!

To the Gesselschaft! ^_^