Tribes: The Duel of the Continent of Mu

Plot Synopsis
Ra Mu is awakening, and in a desperate act, Bob Copper tries pulling the Sword of Berserk off it's pedestal before Ra Mu can fully revive, but Dark Phantom pulls him away. Harp Note and Cancer Bubble manage to rescue him, and they deal with Yeti Blizzard and Dark Phantom. Rogue pulls away Hollow, while Ra Mu begins absorbing EM-Waves in some sort of energy pool.

Omega-Xis is being caught in the pool and is being pulled in. Geo runs and jumps into the pool to rescue him, and the two of them burst out as MegaMan. Copper yells at MegaMan to get the OOPArt, and Dr. Orihime calls back Hollow to stop him. Before Hollow can attack MegaMan, Copper fires off a shot at Hollow, distracting him. MegaMan yanks out the Sword of Berserk, and the other OOPArts fuse into him. He tribes on, then double tribes, then triple tribes into the Tribe King form. Hollow tries to blast him, but MegaMan is immune to his attacks. MegaMan fires back destroying Hollow.

Copper tries to arrest Dr. Orihime, but she runs into the ruins as they begin to collapse. MegaMan, Harp Note, Cancer Bubble, and Bob Copper jump out of the gate to Mu, but Ra Mu follows behind them. Rogue tries to hold back Ra Mu and orders MegaMan to destroy the game with the OOPArts. MegaMan unleashes one final blast, the Tribe King Link Force Big Bang, and the gate is sealed, and Rogue jumps in along with it. The day is saved, and the next day, all the characters from the show, including Pat Sprigs, the FMians, the other humans, Bob Copper and of course Geo and Omega-Xis, head down to a Sonia Strumm concert, where she performs the opening credits in a very "this is the last episode ever" sort of way.

Critique
As finales go, you really couldn't ask for a better way to end the series. While it sucks that we only saw the other tribe forms for maybe a total of ten seconds, at least everything got wrapped up in a nice little package, along with some great animation, and even a couple of character moments. Bob Copper really kicks ass here, and they even managed to resolve the angle with Luna, as she wishes for Geo's safe return. That's right, not MegaMan, Geo. She knew it all along.

Rating: Thumbs up!

It was obvious they knew this episode was it when XEBEC finished making this show. The concert at the end is a pretty fitting way to go as Star Force's own legacy is still in jeopardy. While I personally love the Star Force series, neither the show, nor the games were particularly popular. Poor review scores and coming off the heels of Battle Network have been hurting this series since day one, and even if Star Force does everything right, it doesn't do anything new.

In America, the show never got a chance, being placed in a ridiculous time slot for a total of one airing, and being broadcast online to a really small audience. It's clear that someone at Time-Warner was afraid of a lack of interest that NT Warrior Axess had, and thus, this great show never got started. Personally, I can't recommend the show enough, and I highly suggest you look for the show, in both the original and dubbed forms.

Star Force is hit hard by a lot of factors that kept it from shining, and it looks like this star has burnt out. Operation Shooting Star was a flop, and there are no plans for a US release. Star Force 4 may be a pipe dream altogether, and even as much as I love Star Force, I'll throw down money for Mega Man 10 first any day of the week, or Mega Man X9, or Mega Man Legends 3, or Mega Man ZX3... but not Battle Network 7...

Still, if the adventures of Geo Stelar are truly over, it was a great ride while it lasted, and I'm satisfied that both the games and cartoon end without a lot of loose ends, the game series much more especially. If you want to see what happens next for Geo, buy Star Force 3, and maybe one day we'll get to see the more "comic book hero type" blue bomber again some day.

Now all I got left to do is the rest of Axess... great...

Tribes: The Lone Soldier, Rogue

Plot Synopsis
Things are quickly going to hell as the continent of Mu is starting to fall to Earth, and is releasing thousands of materialized wave viruses. MegaMan gets sucked up into the damn thing while Hollow chases after him. At the same time, Dr. Orihime convinces Hyde and Rich Dotcom to join her, and the three of them also follow to the Mu continent, with detective Bob Copper latching on to Yeti Blizzard's leg as well.

MegaMan fights with all his might against Hollow, but Geo can barely stand. Omega-Xis tells Geo to break the Wave-Change and escape, fearing that Geo will be killed. Geo refuses but is knocked unconscious by the next shot from Hollow. To save Geo, Omega-Xis breaks the Wave-Change and leads Hollow away from Geo, knowing Hollow will chase him for the last OOPArt.

With Geo unconscious and not responding to Aaron Boreal's calls, Harp Note goes after him into Mu. She saves him just in time from a materialized virus when the two of them stumble upon a hidden lair.

Meanwhile, Hollow finally catches Omega-Xis and extracts the Sword of Berserk! He takes it to Dr. Orhime, and she instructs Yeti Blizzard and Dark Phantom to place the OOPArts to reawaken Ra Mu.

Inside the lair, Geo and Harp Note find Solo sleeping in a capsule. He awakens at the sound of their voice and explains that he is the last human from Mu, and it's his job as Mu's guardian to prevent Ra Mu from ever awakening, that's why he fought MegaMan to get the Sword of Berserk. Solo is still really injured, but has no choice but to try and stop Dr. Orihime. He wave-changes to Rogue and takes off. With Rogue injured, Omega-Xis out of reach, and all three OOPArts in Dr. Orihime's possession, things are not looking good for our heroes!

Critique
Fantastic episode, well animated, and intense. It's a pretty strong episode all around for most of the characters, especially Omega-Xis when he tries to save Geo. Bob Copper even gets some points for his out right insanity in trying to apprehend the villains.

Solo's role was completely rewritten, probably due to the time constraints of the season, but it makes enough sense within the context of the show at least to work well enough. Granted, if the show were to continue, a huge amount of the character would have been lost, and getting Rogue and MegaMan to actually fight each other in the rivalry style that is the games would be really tough, but it doesn't look like they were worried about that since the last episode is up next. I really like what they did with him here with what they had to work with, and it's a damn shame this show wasn't popular enough to continue.

Rating: Thumbs up!

Tribes: The Hollow Empty

Note: Hollow's Japanese name is Empty, so I'm unsure of a localized title for this episode.

Plot Synopsis
MegaMan's attacks against Hollow are not damaging him in the slightest. Aaron Boreal and the Sattella Police arrive at the scene, along with Luna, Bud and Zack. Because the whole area is surrounded by oil tankers, MegaMan figures it will be safer for everyone if he can get Hollow away from that area. In doing so, he finds out that Hollow won't chase after him, because he is connected by some sort of line between him and Dr. Orihime's limo.

It turns out Hollow is actually a human made out of Matter Waves, and his power source is coming from the limo itself. Bob Copper uses a jamming beam attack (from the first episode, yay continuity!) and it stuns Hollow long enough for MegaMan to finally make an attack. Dr. Orihime then imparts her two OOPArts into Hollow, which heals him, and the two OOPArts along with MegaMan's react together, breaking the seal of the continent of Mu, revealing it overhead. Dr. Orihime cackles as no one can stop her now!

Critique
Of course things were going to get worse before they got better, and with only two episodes to go, we're on the edge of our seats to see how this all turns out. They do spend a few minutes spilling out a few scientific nonsense covering Hollow's exsistence, but overall I think the episode is well put together.

Rating: Thumbs up!

Tribes: Orihime's True Colors

Plot Synopsis
Hollow and Dr. Orihime have come to MegaMan's rescue... or have they? Hollow takes out Yeti Blizzard and Dark Phantom with trivial ease and recovers their OOPArts by literally ripping them out. Dr. Orihime laughs and uses the OOPArts to... um... change her clothes to show off her cleavage?

Anyway, she was evil all along and really wants the OOPArts to reawaken Ra Mu and bring a new world order and blah blah blah. MegaMan refuses to surrender to her, and will fight to protect his OOPArt so that he can seal away Ra Mu.

Critique
If the whole setup of Dr. Orihime being evil wasn't given away in the opening credits, this might have been a decent reveal. It's not a bad episode though, well animated, nice and tense, though some of the dialog is a bit cliche for this type of thing. There's only three episodes left, so everything is a bit rushed it feels, but I'm still left satisfied from this episode, and the final shot certainly pumps you up for the next episode.

Rating: Thumbs up!

Tribes: Hyde's Scheme

Plot Synopsis
MegaMan is trying to reach his mother, but Yeti Blizzard is holding him back... literally. To keep Mrs. Stelar there, Hyde offers to paint her. When MegaMan finally does show up, Hyde Wave-Changes and uses Geo's mom as a shield to keep MegaMan from attacking. Even the combined help of Harp Note isn't enough to best Hyde with a hostage in his hand.

Dark Phantom hits MegaMan hard, and he's down. Just before Dark Phantom can claim MegaMan's OOPArt, Yeti Blizzard shows up to take it as well. The two of them charge MegaMan, when a blast comes down saving him. It's Hollow, showing up just in time to rescue him... or is he?

Critique
The first half of this episode is done a bit comically, with MegaMan dragging Yeti Blizzard to Hyde's position, and I wish they had played it straight. However, the rest of the episode is played straight, and I don't think we've ever seen Geo with as much fear as he has in this episode, which really strengthens this episode as a whole. Yeah, even though the beginning was more comical than I would have liked, it did get a chuckle out of me.

I do think Hollow's sudden appearance at the end is a bit contrived, even if they did foreshadow it a tiny amount a few episodes ago, but we're really out of episodes to build on the story at this point, and this probably wouldn't have happened if there were more episodes to expand on. Hollows appearance certainly doesn't ruin this episode at all, and this is one of the better episodes of this season.

Rating: Thumbs up!

Tribes: An Absurd Strategy?!

Plot Synopsis
MegaMan and Yeti Blizzard and duking it out above the city when tons of EM-Viruses are being released everywhere. The cause is their attraction to the OOPArts, which only MegaMan is trying to seal away.

Meanwhile, Hyde is having his art class in a graveyard, when Geo's mother Hope Stelar asks to sign up for the class, hearing from Luna how fun it was. As the battle between Yeti Blizzard and MegaMan rages on on the other side of the city, Hyde learns that none of the children there are interested in the art, but actually interested in Luna's baked goods.

Just as Hyde is about to leave to steal the OOPArts in despair, he overhears Luna and her friends talking. Luna wants to MegaMan to try one of her treats, so Bud suggests giving them to Geo Stelar since Geo is MegaMan, so Luna blurts out something along the lines of, "I refuse to believe Geo Stelar is MegaMan!"

Hyde suddenly realizes that he has MegaMan's mother within his grasps, and broadcasts a message to the city, that if MegaMan wants his mother back, he'll have to bring the OOPArt to Hyde! Oh shi...

Critique
Most of this episode is action oriented, which is always a good thing, but the setup for the cliffhanger is fantastic! Surprisingly, this show hasn't abused Geo's friends in direct danger too often, and certainly hasn't gone as far as having his mother taken hostage, and now that it has gone there, the shock and added tension is greatly increased. Imagine if this show was as crazy as something like 24 (premiering tonight!) where almost any character could die at any time, although it'd be pretty fucked up to kill off Geo's mom and make him an orphan.

Even though we know his mother will be okay, this is still a fun setup.

Rating: Thumbs up!

Tribes: Three Way OOPArts Struggle

Plot Synopsis
With Hyde, Rich Dotcom and MegaMan all having a single OOPArt, the battle is underway, as all three pieces will be needed to revive or seal Mu. Dr. Orihime tells Geo that he'll have to prepare himself as the his enemies will come after him. As he's leaving, Dr. Orihime remarks to Hollow that while MegaMan, Yeti Blizzard and Dark Phantom are fighting, that's when they'll strike... whaaa? (fake surprise)

Heading home, Geo spots Hyde and Rich destroying the city while they are fighting each other, so he pulses in to try and stop them. Rich and Hyde decide that before they fight, it would be best to team up and take out MegaMan first! Uh-oh! Luckily for MegaMan, Hyde realizes he's lost track of time, and is late for a prior engagement. Hyde leaves, giving MegaMan enough time to escape.

Hyde has become a painting teacher, in hopes that the young children he raises in his studio will grow up to appreciate his work. In reality, everyone is really there to eat Luna's treats she brings, as Luna feels the class is a great way to practice her cooking, no doubt for her beloved MegaMan, and it looks like she's improved quite a bit!

Later in the day, Geo is out and about, and Rich Dotcom's EM-Being, Yeti, senses Omega-Xis and the other OOPArt nearby. Rich accosts Geo, and brings him to a cafe, where he offers Geo several briefcases loaded with cash for Geo's OOPArt. Geo doesn't even flinch. "I won't let you revive Mu!" he says! The episode ends with the two of them preparing for battle in the wave roads.

Critique
This is almost a strategic episode in the way various bits of the plot are being placed around the time frame to build up to the climax. You've got the brief hint that Dr. Orihime is planning something sinister, the double team of Hyde and Rich versus MegaMan, and Geo's unwavering determination to protect the Earth. Even Hyde's art class is setting up some significance, and while it seems dumb that he would potentially give up the OOPArt in order to teach an art class, it does seem to match his character. We only have six episodes left, but everything is moving towards the finale now.

This episode on it's own is pretty decent, although the rich guy offering the hero a truckload of cash that the hero rejects has been done enough times to be cliched, but the imagery is good, and it's some character points for Geo of course. It's an episode that makes you look forward to watching more.

Rating: Thumbs up!

Tribes: OOPArts of the Ninja Mansion

Plot Synopsis
Training is done for the day, and Hyde, Rich Dotcom, and Geo all begin looking for the OOPArt, but the mansion is filled with tricks and traps. Geo pulses in, and finds the OOPArt as MegaMan in a secret passage. Before he can grab it, Rogue shows up and starts a fight with him.

The Ninja Master comes across Hyde and Rich Dotcom sneaking around the mansion, and expels them. So Hyde and Rich Dotcom wave change and attack. Surprisingly, the Ninja Master is able to hold his own for a small amount of time before they finally catch him off guard, and then both Dark Phantom and Yeti Blizzard make their way to the OOPArt.

With all the OOPArts in close proximity, the continent of Mu reveals itself, and Rogue moves towards it. With the distraction going on, Dark Phantom steals the Ninja OOPArt, and once Rogue reaches the continent, it disappears again. Everyone takes off, and the master is disappointed he lost the secret treasure of the tribe, but is enthralled with the new techniques he had seen during the battles, and is excited to continue his training.

MegaMan calls up Dr. Orihime to explain the missing OOPArt, and she calls him useless and gets angry. What the hell is her problem?

Critique
Hooray! We never have to hear "de osaru" again! Aside from that grating catchphrase, nothing wrong with this episode. Geo jumps for quite a scare after seeing a skeleton drop from the ceiling though, hilarious! It would have been nice for the battle to be a bit more climatic, but what a cliffhanger the show leaves you on with both of MegaMan's enemies now possessing an OOPArt!

Also, I like the thought of a well trained Ninja like human standing a fighting chance against Wave-Changed humans, ridiculous as the techniques the ninja used though. It was nice to not see him instantly go down.

Rating: Thumbs up!

Tribes: Training de Osaru

De Osaru is something all the characters repeat over and over this episode that is apparently nonsense that means nothing, so I have no idea how it would be localized.

Plot Synopsis
Zack has found a spot for everyone to go on vacation at that has something to do with ancient cultures and invites everyone to go. It's the ancient tribes of the ninja, and Geo doesn't seem to think that he'll find anything related to Mu there, but I guess he figures "what the hell," since he gets to be with his friends.

They all arrive and meet the instructor of the Ninja tribe, Jackie Hanzou. Jackie offers to train them all in the art of the ninja, and as a prize, he'll offer them a spring roll scroll. I haven't a clue if most people would consider this a good prize or not to tell the truth. Everyone signs up, and as part of their training, they must either catch Jackie Hanzou, or hit him with a shruiken. They all chase him through the forest in all kinds of silly ways, and Hanzou uses some pretty ridiculous techniques to evade them. Before the conclusion of the training however, Sonia and Cancer have to leave to meet Sonia's manager.

No one has successfully completed the training at the end of the day, and suddenly Hyde and Rich Dotcom show up. Both of them are interested in the Ninja training, as someone who completes it will be the new owner of the land. Just then, Geo gets a call from Dr. Orihime, telling him she thinks an OOPArt is in the area. The episode ends with Hyde and Rich Dotcom going through the same hell of training Geo and his friends just went through.

Critique
This episode is just a wee bit too silly for my tastes. While I don't mind off the wall humor, this episode feels like it's trying too hard, and everyone saying "de Osaru" at the end of every sentence gets really annoying really fast. I really don't think this episode does anything for Star Force, and I just found the humor to be really bland. Sonia is also getting a bit more insane each episode, as she threatens to decapitate Cancer, in a pretty serious manner.

On the plus side for this episode, it's kind of interesting seeing everyone in Ninja costumes, although none of them look as interesting as MegaMan's Ninja Transformation. I also thought that Geo's ninja name was interesting, at least with his Japanese name, which roughly translates to Shooting Star Subaru. Still, those are tiny pieces of a really mediocre episode, and I'm afraid this is the first episode of Tribes I'm going to have to rate a thumbs down.

Rating: Thumbs down.

Tribes: Terrifying God

Plot Synopsis
Possessed by an EM-Being, the village chieftain begins assaulting the city. MegaMan and Harp Note leap into action to try and stop him. The monster calls himself Terra Condor, a god, and he demands a sacrifice. In the midst of battle, he kidnaps Luna and takes her back to the Mu temple.

He DOES NOT TICKLE HER, but instead demands to sacrifice her heart, which is notably a bit more dangerous. MegaMan shows up again and continues the fight. In the fight, MegaMan blasts up the flowers that were made as an offering the previous year, and this affects the chieftain, allowing him to start reasserting his identity over the EM-Being, stunning it long enough for MegaMan to deliver a final blow to the beast. Interestingly, the Condor EM-Being seems to have a death animation like the NT Warrior delete animation, so MegaMan actually might have scored a kill here.

With the day saved, everyone heads home, and Geo makes it just in time to go out to dinner with his mom, where he has chicken! "No more birds!" cries Geo.

Critique
Star Force 2 has a lot of problems, but if you were to pick out any particular thing about it that would sum up what was bad about it, it would be the Whazzap scenario which featured Terra Condor. It is so horrible, and god am I glad that they pretty much rewrote it entirely for the show.

This episode is almost non-stop fighting and it works well enough. This episode and the last one are pretty much the only ones to feature Luna as well, at least as a central figure in Geo's life, and I think it's important they got something out of that, considering what a key role she plays in the whole story. Also, there's this.

Rating: Thumbs up!

Tribes: Infiltration! Nansca Village

Plot Synopsis
Sonia is reading about the wonders of Mu and is just so bored that she wants to get out and do something, but Cancer tells her to finish her song. Geo is at home with his mom who wants to go out for dinner that night, and she mentions something about Luna traveling around the world to enhance her cooking, which worries Geo right away.

Anyway, Geo gets a call from Dr. Orihime to investigate another set of Mu ruins in the village of Whaz... no fuck that, I don't wanna be one of them fagots that gets upset over a few small localization changes, but seriously, Whazzap is one of the god damned stupidest things I've ever had to experience in any video game ever, let alone some of the retarded shit from the Mega Man series. So I'm going to pretend it was never localized. Geo is heading to Nansca, alright? Nansca.

Sonia calls up Geo to find out what he's up to and jumps at the opportunity to go off on an adventure. They head down to Nansca and meet the chieftain at the village ruins. He lets them into the temple, but Omega-Xis and Lyra don't sense any EM-activity. He shows them around a bit and talks about the traditions of the village. They used to sacrifice people to their gods on this day, but now they have a chosen person make an offering of an important treasure to that person. The chieftain then invites them all to a festival they are holding in their god's honor.

While in the village, Geo and Sonia run into Luna, who is there looking for those cooking ingredients, presumably for her beloved MegaMan. This is the first time Luna meets Sonia as well, and does she turn into a screaming fan all of a sudden. The cheiftan begins the ceremony for god to choose who should make the offering, by sending a bird through a crowd of people. Whoever the bird lands on has been chosen, and it just so happens to land on Luna. Luna gets excited that she gets to make the offering.

Sometime later, Cancer Bubble is tracking down Sonia and comes to the Mu ruins looking for her. Just as he walks in, he sees the village cheiftan get possessed by an EM-Being! The Cheiftan, with a glow in his eyes, declares himself god, and that Luna shall be his sacrifice!

Critique
They pretty much spend the episode building up the backstory of the village so they can bring about the conflict next episode. This is the first episode, probably of the season, to not have an action sequence in it at all. Instead we get some character interaction, and Sonia's starting to come off as much as a control freak as Luna. It is good they managed to fit Luna into this episode though, as she really gets shafted as far as her character goes most of this season, but poor Geo now has to deal with both of these crazy dames!

The only thing I don't like is that Condor (the EM-Being) just comes out of nowhere right at the end, without any real forethought or provocation. It's one thing if the villains induce him, like in the game, but it just seems lame that he arises out of nowhere, even after Omega-Xis explicitly says he doesn't sense anything in the temple. We're assuming Mu existed even before Battle Network started right? As did these EM-Beings, but they were hidden for thousands of years and lost until the FMian King showed up right? I'm just wondering why all of a sudden Condor appears out of nowhere is all.

All well, at least the chieftain is going to kill Luna instead of tickle her...

Rating: Thumbs up!

Tribes: Plesio's Wish

Plot Synopsis
Geo and Sonia finally meet Plesio Surf face to face, and find out that he just wants the whole Loch to be quiet again. They ask him about the OOPArt, and Plesio Surf tells them that some ancient stone is hidden in a temple in the lake that gives off a lot of energy.

Meanwhile, Rich Dotcom is causing a lot of noise with construction to purposely rile up Plesio Surf. He gets his attention, and Plesio Surf starts attacking the village. MegaMan and Harp Note quickly jump to the towns rescue and fight Plesio Surf.

While they're distracted, Rich Dotcom heads to the OOPArt and steals it. The OOPArt is the Saurian artifact, and upon taking it, a giant dinosaur shaped energy field encompasses Rich's helicopter in the sky. The village people mistake this for being Messie, and assume the he is leaving the loch. With the people no longer causing a fuss, Plesio Surf releases Gerry Romero and returns to his quiet life at the sea, but unfortunately for MegaMan, one of his enemies now has a powerful weapon, but at least he now knows Blizzard Yeti's identity.

Critique
This episode kind of resolves itself a little bit too fast, but sets up more conflicts on the horizon. MegaMan and Plesio Surf just sort of stop fighting after a while for no real reason, other than Rich Dotcom getting away. Otherwise this episode is pretty run of the mill, but decent enough, and I'm glad they didn't take the time to throw in a half assed environmental message along the way. The episode at least catches your interest for where it's going next.

Rating: Thumbs up!

Tribes: The Truth About Messie

Plot Synopsis
In the town of Loch Mess in Netopia, a creature has been sighted and named Messie. It's gaining media attention everywhere, and the owner of the land, Rich Dotcom is taking advantage of the publicity to make a lot of cash. Rich also thinks the creature could hold ties to Mu and decides to search there for the OOPArt. Geo and Omega-Xis reach the same conclusion after Zack brings Messie to their attention. With nothing to lose, they head out to Loch Mess.

The town is overrun by tourists and local shops trying to cash in on the phenomenon, but one international documentary maker, Gerry Romero, thinks the whole thing is a hoax, and sets out to prove it. When he takes his crew out over the loch however, they're ambushed by none other than Messie himself, who turns out to be a left over Mu EM-Being! Messie possesses Romero and Wave Changes into the giant monster, Plesio Surf!

When MegaMan finally arrives, Plesio Surf starts attacking the village and Rich Dotcom. Surf is sick of all the noise from all the construction nearby, and wants to drive everyone away from the lake. MegaMan tries to ask him about the OOPArts, but Plesio Surf isn't in the talking mood. After blasting MegaMan with a tidal wave, Plesio Surf returns to the sea, figuring he's made a warning to the humans.

Geo decides to have a look around the town while he thinks of how to handle the situation, and he suddenly runs into Sonia, who is a little pissed that Geo didn't even bother to call her to come out to Loch Mess with him, so she makes him buy her lunch. As the episode comes to a close, Rich Dotcom comes up with another plan to use MegaMan for his own gains.

Critique
Plesio Surf's character got a pretty decent rewrite as well, and I suppose it makes sense not to have him as a recurring character. He's pretty much limited to fighting in the sea, and how many episodes do they really have time to work around themes like that? Romero is different too, being more of a genuine reporter than a glory hogging ratings monger. Neither of these changes particularly affect the quality of the show though.

There's more character interaction in this episode than straight up action, although it isn't particularly bad though. One of the strengths of this season is Sonia's character development, which was mostly sidelined last season, and you can see her developing an attachment to Geo, albeit passive-aggressively. She gets jealous and upset at things that she expects Geo to pick up on and the like, and you'd swear they were dating already. Just like Luna, Sonia is hiding her feelings through aggression. Geo is too popular for his own damn good.

Although there aren't any major developments in the characters, the tiny amount they squeeze in to the shows fast paced nature is nice to see.

Rating: Thumbs up!

Tribes: Sword of Trials

Plot Synopsis
The sword is out of control, and Geo and Omega-Xis have no choice but to break the EM-Wave Change and retreat out of the pyramid. Omega-Xis finally admits to Geo that he's having a harder time dealing with the Sword than he previously let on, and it's causing him a lot of strain. As if things weren't bad enough, just then, Rogue shows up! Oh boy!

Rogue has a new trick up his sleeve as well, and he starts using battle cards against MegaMan. Geo is knocked unconscious, and Omega-Xis tries to drag him out of Rogue's line of fire.

Then the episode gets a little weird, as we enter Geo's subconscious. There, he is confronted by the sword itself, which Geo pulls from the ground with some strain. This pulls Geo out of his unconsciousness and gives him complete control of the sword. Rogue takes a shot at MegaMan, and MegaMan takes the blast directly without even flinching. MegaMan then chops Rogue's sword in half, and blasts Rogue away, forcing him to retreat.

Meanwhile, Hyde hasn't found the OOPArt and figures it isn't in the pyramid either. Everyone heads home, and Omega-Xis's strains with the sword are finally gone.

Critique
I think there was a missed opportunity to expand on Geo's friendships in pulling him out of the swords grasp, like the way the game plays the scenario, but I do think that's caused by the time restraints. What we have is a satisfactory replacement though, and the imagery of Omega-Xis dragging Geo's limp body out of harms way is really good, and pretty powerful for a kids show.

The smugness on Geo's face when he knows that Rogue can't do shit to him anymore is priceless too, and Hyde doesn't even try to fight him. Good episode.

Rating: Thumbs up!

Tribes: Hyde and Phantom

Plot Synopsis
People must think MegaMan's real name is RepairMan because he runs off to fix a virus infested soda machine. Unfortunately, his Thunder Zerker form keeps going off against his will, and he doesn't seemingly have any control over it. Geo then gets a call from Dr. Orihime telling him to look in the pyramids for the next OOPArt.

Someone else is already there looking though, as Hyde and his EM-Being Phantom reminisce about how they met. Hyde was a struggling painter, whose "genius" had yet to be recognized by the world, and he is searching for enternal life through the OOPArts, so that he may enjoy the luxuries of being a renowned artists before he dies. Phantom enjoys Hyde's dark and twisted paintings, so he joins up with him.

The two of them are already well underway exploring the pyramids when MegaMan finally arrives, and we find out Geo is not so keen on exploring potentially cursed mummy tombs. When Phantom disguises himself as a ghostly snake, Geo flips the fuck out and runs away screaming! Omega-Xis gets Geo back under control, and they realize they were tricked. MegaMan goes and meets Dark Phantom in the pyramid and they begin fighting. MegaMan's Thunder Zerker form goes off again, but he can't control it at all, and his body and the sword move out of control as the episode comes to a close!

Critique
There's a new running gag lately that Mega Man is afraid of ghosts. It started in NT Warrior, and even though it didn't carry into the Battle Network games, it was briefly touched upon in Star Force 2. Personally, I find it hysterical in both NT Warrior and this episode of Star Force, even though it might be just a tad out of character. Although if you want to see some real hilarious stuff, try to find the episode of Rockman.exe Beast, where MegaMan is watching a horror movie, fantastic episode.

This episode also introduces the rewrite for Hyde. In the games, Hyde considers himself an artist of the films, and constantly talks about scripts and screenplays and actors and junk. In this show, he's a painter. I guess they just felt it was easier to work with in their scripts or something. I also like the way Phantom speaks in this show, in kind of a low, subdued, but really creepy voice.

If there was anything I think this show lost by halving the season length, it would have to be the struggles between MegaMan and the OOPArt. In the game, the struggle goes back and forth for a good chunk of the game, as Geo tries to fight being consumed by the ancients trying to take his body. In this show, the conflict is introduced this episode, and resolved in the next one. It's too bad they didn't have time to work more of it in, but at least they got something down.

As far as this episode goes, it's pretty funny, and worth a watch.

Rating: Thumbs up!

Tribes: The Mu Ruins of the Himanalas

Plot Synopsis
The chieftain of the village decides to tell Geo about the legend of the tribe. A long time ago, the ancient civilization of Mu had some underground monuments or something like that buried away, and they had some sort of Wave Road to get there. Geo goes and checks it out as MegaMan, with Yeti Blizzard following behind him.

Cancer Bubble arrives at Sonia's TV interview backstage, and uses Cygnus Wing's device to create a replica of her, while she goes to meet MegaMan. When she arrives, she spots Rich Dotcom's limo, and for the hell of it, kicks it off the mountain. Hey Sonia, just because you're a celebrity doesn't mean you shouldn't respect other peoples property!

Inside the mountains, MegaMan finds the ruins, and him, Yeti Blizzard, and Harp Note eventually meet up. They race to find the OOPArt, but when they arrive at the location, they discover it's not there. Yeti Blizzard gets mad and figures he'll just take MegaMan's OOPArt instead. Bad move.

With Yeti Blizzard blown the fuck up, and the Mu shrine lying in complete ruins, Geo reports back to Dr. Orihime that the OOPArt isn't there, and him and Sonia head home.

Critique
Well it ain't Indiana Jones, but I think the scenery of the temple looks nice, with the help of the lighting they have for backgrounds. Sonia has some good bits here and when MegaMan just runs past her and says, "take care of Yeti Blizzard for me," I couldn't help but laugh. This episode didn't blow me away or anything, but I found it entertaining.

Rating: Thumbs up!

Tribes: The Yeti of the Himanalas

Plot Synopsis
Rich Dotcom, a wealthy, but shady, entrepreneur is trying to buy a small village in the Himanalas mountains. After the chief refuses to sell the place, Rich schemes to come up with another way to remove them.

Geo gets a call from Dr. Orihime to investigate the same area for the OOPArts, and when he gets there, he meets the village chieftain and his daughter who show Geo some hospitality. Some of their shrines recently have come under attack from Yeti Blizzard, and Geo goes to investigate. When he arrives, Yeti Blizzard strikes again, so Geo pulses in and takes the fight right back to him. Yeti Blizzard retreats, and since he's been around here, MegaMan figures that the OOPArt must be somewhere nearby.

Back in his limo, Rich Dotcom, more or less now officially revealed to be Yeti Blizzard, schemes with his EM-Counterpart, Yeti, on what to do about MegaMan.

Critique
There hasn't been a single episode yet without some kind of combat to it, and it's good to see the show keep up the action. This season is particularly better about Sonia's character development this time around too, and she seems to be developing some affection for Geo. Some jealousy too, as when Geo calls her, Sonia initially doesn't want to go meet him until she sees he's with the chieftain's daughter, then suddenly she can't wait to get down there!

This episode squeezes in just about everything it can. Little bit of action, little bit of character development, and a little bit of story. It's all balanced out enough though, so you won't feel cheated out of any particular aspect, although admittedly in this episode the fight scene is pretty tame compared to the Rogue/MegaMan battles. Still, good episodes maintaining a good pace for the series.

Side note, in the game, the Yeti Blizzard scenario took place at a ski resort called Grizzly's Peak, and in the Japanese version, it's named Yaeba Resort. Geo doesn't go there, or meet any of the characters from that area, so there was no need to localize the title or location Geo went to. I do what I can to keep it all consistent though, so I don't have to jump between calling Geo Stelar Subaru Hoshikawa, and Rockman and all that. I just felt it necessary to point out that Himanalas is not Grizzly Peak.

Rating: Thumbs up!

Tribes: Activate, Sword of Berserk

Plot Synopsis
Aaron Boreal can't figure out a way to remove the Sword of Berserk by force, without hurting Omega-Xis, but has come to the conclusion that it won't hurt Geo to Wave Change with him. I guess they are just going to wait for Omega-Xis to "pass" the Sword of Berserk the more natural way, so Geo heads off to meet Sonia to talk about finding the OOPArts.

Sonia tells Geo to do it and she'll help out, when suddenly Solo shows up. He Wave-Changes in front of them into Rogue, without an EM-Life Form, much to the shock of everyone else. A battle ensues, and even the combined might of MegaMan and Harp Note is no match for Rogue. Down and almost out, MegaMan is at Rogue's mercy when Omega-Xis begins to pulse. Suddenly, a transformation covers MegaMan's body, and almost without any control, MegaMan unleashes a huge shockwave blast towards Rogue. Rogue holds back the brunt of the damage, but needs to retreat.

The next day, Geo decides to help out Dr. Orihime.

Critique
Fantastic episode, the animation during the Rogue/MegaMan fight is top notch, and watching MegaMan quickly switch between Battle Cards really fast, from sword to cannons to missiles, really heightens the excitement level. Rogue is just unstoppable too, and there's a great scene with him early on where in human form, he just beats the hell out of some dude. I really like that they didn't waste any time to get another fight off the ground between these two, and MegaMan went straight from helpless to even footing with an unstable power on Rogue. I generally like Tribes because it's paced quite well, and this is an episode that doesn't hold back.

Rating: Thumbs up!

Tribes: Rogue's Attack

Plot Synopsis
Rogue has absolutely no problems fighting MegaMan, and tosses him around like he's nothing. Completely silent, menacing and powerful, Omega-Xis senses something is wrong with him. Dr. Orihime identifies Rogue as a resident of Mu from his crest, and blasts him with an EM-Jamming device that saves MegaMan. Rogue retreats with a grin.

Dr. Orihime takes Geo home and asks him to think about helping her. Geo and Omega-Xis mull it over and decide to talk to Aaron Boreal about it the next day. Aaron tells Geo that Dr. Orihime is a respected EM scientist and inventor, and that her discoveries are troubling and what not. Aaron decides to look at Omega-Xis to see if they can get the Sword of Berserk out of him, while Tom Dubius has Geo and his friends test out the Star Carrier's Wave Matter function some more.

A shot of Rogue is shown, ominously looking over the city, and after Aaron examines Omega-Xis, he makes a startling discovery! What is it? Tune in next week kids!

Critique
Rogue is how you properly build up a villain, not with talking, but with action. He completely dominates MegaMan the entire fight, and if it wasn't for Dr. Orihime, Rogue would have defeated MegaMan. That puts a real challenge up ahead, and builds up the upcoming clash between the two. Although it isn't ever explicitly said, we also have to remember that MegaMan doesn't have his Star Force powers anymore after the AM Admins sacrificed themselves attacking Andromeda, so MegaMan is effectively weaker as well.

The last two minutes of this episode try to squeeze in what little time they have for character interaction in the show, with Geo and his friends playing with the Wave Matter. This is one, of maybe half a dozen at best, segments of this whole season. They jump right back to the main plot right away. Decent episode.

Rating: Thumbs up!

Tribes: The Seal of Mu

Plot Synopsis
Geo is walking home with Omega-Xis, worried about the Sword of Berserk Omega-Xis swallowed. When they arrive home, Sonia is there, with her new assistant Cancer, to greet him. They briefly talk about the OOPArt (Out Of Place Artifact) before Sonia gets called back by her agent.

On the way to AMAKEN to have Omega-Xis examined, Bob Copper stops Geo and takes him to DenTech University (Echo Ridge is DenTech way in the future). There, Geo is greeted by a mysterious huge, um, thing, and is taken to see Dr. Orihime, a researcher on ancient civilizations. She knows Geo's identity as MegaMan (in this series, Geo sucks at keeping his identity secret), and wants to recruit him to recover all the OOPArts, because if they don't, they'll be used to awaken the ancient civilization's EM-Wave God, Le Mu, and he'll wreck havoc on the Earth or some shit. They really talk for like six minutes straight, I'm condensing the hell out of this. If you really want the full gist, play the game.

Anyway, the two Wave-Beings that attacked MegaMan are revealed to be Yeti Blizzard and Dark Phantom, two humans looking to awaken Le Mu for their own gains. Just before we're all about to fall asleep from boredom, an explosion happens! Another mysterious Wave-Human (Rogue) shows up and starts attacking MegaMan for the Sword of Berserk! He's a tough son of a bitch, and even breaks through MegaMan's barrier card. The episode comes to a close as MegaMan and Rogue get ready to fight.

Critique
Timing is everything, and this episode is just barely saved from the depths of exposition hell the second Rogue shows up. The first few minutes of the episode are pretty decent and light-hearted, and now Cancer is taking a bumbling side kick approach to his character. After Dr. Orihime shows up, the episode gets dreadfully boring. It takes the entire plot of Star Force 2, and condenses it into six minutes, and that can be a lot to swallow. Not to mention I'm watching from subtitles, making it even more of a strain on me.

Rogue's appearance is timed just perfectly though, right before I was about to give up on this episode. Sure, there is barely a moment or two of action, but it worked well enough in catching me off guard. The exposition in this episode is probably necessary too, but it can get real grating. Thumbs up, but with a caution on the whole middle of the episode.

Rating: Thumbs up!