Mega Man Star Force 3

MegaMan Star Force 3, known as Shooting Star Rockman 3 (流星のロックマン3) in Japan, is a game from the MegaMan Star Force series released in two versions: Black Ace (ブラックエース) and Red Joker (レッドジョーカー).

A major feature in the game is 'Noise', which is a substance that corrupts Wizards (the new FM and UMA) and causes mutations. Mega Man, under excessive exposure to noise, will gain an ability, Noise Change, to change his form.

Using the Hunter VG, (which replaces Transers and Star Carriers), some characters are capable of EM Wave Changing, though only through a Trans Code provided by the Satellite Server. The creator, A.C. Eos has his own Wizard, Acid (together they are known as Acid Ace). Also the Hunter VG changes Geo Stelar's form as Mega Man.

Prologue
{Direct from Instruction Booklet}

EM Wave Viruses wreak havoc...

Systems go crazy due to increased Noise Levels...

And...Meteor G draws ever closer...

The whole world is in danger!

In this world, EM Wave technology has reached incredible new heights. EM Waves with physical bodies can now do more than their creators ever dreamed.

But along with this amazing progress, EM Wave Viruses grow ever more destructive and systems across the world are running amok in response to increases in Noise Levels.

As if that isn't enough, the EM World is now starting to feel the effects of the Noise, thanks to Meteor G, a mysterious giant meteor that suddenly appeared and is quickly approaching Earth. Will Geo and his friends be able to stop this enormous meteor in time?

Story
More trouble appears for Mega Man and his friends, when he realizes that a program, Meteor Grave (Meteor G, for short), is going to collide into the Earth. Fortunately, new technology rises, as Geo Stelar teams up with A.C. Eos, the creator of the modern cellphones, the Hunter VG. Little does Mega Man know that he would be affect by the Noise, little particles that mutate Wizards (which now replaces NetNavis and NaviCards). Other wizards will be affected, and now the new Mega Man must save the world again.

Noise Gauge

 * Main article: Ace Program/Joker Program

After gaining the Ace Program/Joker Program (Depends on version) from A.C. Eos, Mega Man now goes through battles with a Noise Gauge. Starting at 0%, the gauge increases by 1% for every excess point of damage done by a non-dimming non-elemental card when Mega Man overkills a virus (e.g. deleting a Mettenna with a Sword will gain 40% noise). For bosses, it increases by half the damage done by a non-dimming non-elemental card.

If noise exceeds 50%, it will gradually decrease until it reaches 50%, where it will stay. Going over 100% noise (200% in PvP) will also cause all of Mega Man's attacks to pierce Invisible. This is reflected in PvP mode when the opponent's HP count turns red. If Mega Man finishes the battle with over 100% noise, the card data will change, often yielding powerful secret cards (some from previous games). Mega Man will also start his next battle at 50% noise. S-Ranking a battle with even higher noise levels (~200% or higher) may also yield more than one piece of card data.

Noise Change
After a certain plot point, whenever Mega Man completes a battle with Giant viruses, he stands a chance of gaining a Noise Change. These forms work similar to Styles from the Battle Network games, with Mega Man only being able to keep one at a time, with the exception of Black Ace and Red Joker, which you can not keep.

Noise Kaizou Gear
Similar to Wave Command Codes from the previous game, Noise Kaizou Gear allows for the player to input codes, granting him or her special boosts and changing his or her set of White Cards. It was locked in non-Japanese localization. Though it can be accessed with codes.

Secret Servers
The player has the option to unlock special Satellite/Meteor Server cards, which will appear as Brother cards in his folder. These are unlocked and leveled up by inputting a code, although the cards cannot be leveled up unless a certain card from the possible card selections is used. Once the card is used, at the end of the battle, A.C. Eos will contact the player that the next level is unlocked, and informs him of the code needed. The cards do not follow a linear route whilst leveling them up, and it is up to the player to decide which path he should take whilst leveling up the cards.

When a secret server card is used, the player is prompted to choose A, B, or C. Choosing one will present the player with a fresh screen of 6 cards from the server's possible card selections. The cards presented will depend on the server card's position when selected, and whether the player chose A, B, or C. The Secret Server seems to be locked in localization.

Satella Police

 * Acid Ace (A.C. Eos and Acid)
 * Rogue (Solo and Laplace for his weapon)
 * Mega Man (Geo Stelar and Omega-Xis)
 * Lyra Note (Sonia Strumm and Lyra)
 * Taurus Fire (Bud Bison and Taurus)
 * Wolf Woods (Damian Wolfe and Wolf)
 * Cygnus Wing (Tom Dubius and Cygnus)

Dealers

 * Mr. King
 * Heartless
 * Joker (Dread Joker)
 * A.C. Eos (former member)
 * Queen Tia and Virgo (Queen Virgo)
 * Jack and Corvus (Jack Corvus)

Other Wizards

 * Pedia
 * Vogue
 * Magnes
 * Ice
 * Strong

Other characters

 * Dark Phantom
 * Moon Destroyer
 * Apollo Flame
 * Sirius

Trivia

 * The game skips to a MegaMan Battle Network 5 like theme, with the formation of a "Liberation Squad" in Battle Network terms, and Noise Cards taking the place of Dark Chips. The gameplay mirrors MegaMan Battle Network 2 with the Noise Changes resembling Style Changes, with the card copy limit being raised to 5 and introduction of the Regular System.


 * Program Advances return in this game (e.g. :3 Mini Grenades form a Big Grenade, hitting a 3x3 area 3 times for 60 damage per hit).


 * The final boss Fight comes in two parts - one is done as normal, while the second is fixed such that you can neither win nor lose until you execute a certain attack.


 * This is the only MegaMan Star Force game that has a demo downloadable on the Wii.


 * Like MegaMan.EXE having an unused sprite in MegaMan Starforce 2 this one also has a sprite of Lan.


 * Despite the Noise Changes of numerous characters, most characters from the first MegaMan game are not in this game such as Libra, Ophiuca, Gemini, Pat, Cancer, Claud, Crown and Jeanne.


 * This the first game in the StarForce series to feature voice acting outside Japan.