Ace and Joker Programs



Found in Mega Man Star Force 3, the Ace Program (received in the Black Ace version) or Joker Program (received in the Red Joker version) is a program that allows an EM being harmonize with noise, allowing the player to use the power of noise without harmful effects. Finalization, a transformation by using the power of Meteor G, is the ultimate noise transformation. A.C. Eos gives Geo this program in a certain point in the game.

Noise Gauge
While the program is equipped (no Link Power is required for this), a Noise Gauge shows the amount of noise under Mega Man's control. Mega Man will also enter battle in his current chosen Noise Change. The Gauge rises under different conditions in battle.

When Virus Busting, the noise level increases by 1% for each excess point of damage dealt when Mega Man deletes a virus with a non-dimming elementless Battle Card. (for example, deleting a virus with 20 HP left using a card that deals 100 damage per hit will increase the gauge by 80%) In boss battles, the level increases by half of the damage done by a non-dimming elementless card. When fighting other players, any locked-on non-dimming Battle Cards will increase the gauge by half the damage dealt. Mega and Giga Class cards will also increase the gauge by 20% and 30% respectively.

Once the gauge exceeds 50%, the equipped Noise Change will enter Vibrant Noise Form and gain all its abilities. The gauge will also decrease steadily down to 50%, unless the Vibrant Noise is hit with an element it is weak to, which will revert it to its base form at 0% noise.

In single player, exceeding 100% noise will generate several effects. All attacks will pierce invisible, and some panels may seem to disappear or "glitch". In PvP, this only happens upon exceeding 200% noise, along with the player's HP count turning red to signal this to the opponent.

Finishing the battle with over 100% noise will also yield Illegal Card data, which is randomly chosen, often not related to the enemies fought and somewhat based on difficulty of the fought enemies. These cards include otherwise-unobtainable Battle Cards, or even cards available only in previous games. Additionally, Mega Man will also enter his next battle in Vibrant Noise form, at 50% noise level. S-ranking a battle at over 200% or 300% noise will also yield more than one Illegal Card data at the same time. The Zenny Finder and Collector Wizard Equips will override this, however.

Entering the Custom Screen once the gauge has exceeded 200% will also present the player the option to Finalize. Doing so will change Mega Man into his Finalized Noise (based on version), while also accessing a "Meteor Server" folder which defies many folder-building rules and card selection rules, allowing the player to use several powerful cards in one turn. The strength of the folder depends on the noise level when the player chooses to Finalize, and Finalizing will reset the gauge to 0%.