Mega Man Network Transmission

"This is worthless trash I tell you!!!"

You know, like another reviewer said, I really tried to like this game. I also will support that phrase for this game. I'm not basing this on the cell-shading graphics, but the overall gameplay. I can't stand this game, and even when I take breaks,(I define breaks by months, to clear my system of the 'trashy, dirty feeling') I still can't get into this game afterwards, but getting out is a different matter, I can jack out faster from this game than MegaMan.EXE could EVER, EVER hope to out of the cyberworld. This game is kind of set after the traditional NES and regular GameBoy versions, but they couldn't even get that right. I liked the NES, but didn't try the GameBoy version(they were modeled after the NES, so I wasn't missing out on much anyhow. But this one, just tried to do too much and the logic didn't make much sense. Well onward to each section.

Graphics: 5/10
I could care less for the cell-shading in this game. It has its uses, and I thought it was for telling facial expressions. The problem is, this may have worked for Link in the Wind Waker, because it was close to people's faces. The problem with this game is the fact that they ALMOST NEVER COME CLOSE UP TO THE CHARACTERS FACES!!! Thus there is no reason for cell-shading. I thought its very existence was for telling features, but when its very purpose does not exist, then neither *should it belong in a the game. Here is a little heads up for you. The option of choosing your stage from the original games are here. On that screen where you pick your stage(Lan's room), it looks like it could have been done by an N64 or maybe taking the SNES to its limits. His room looks like trash, a lot of things, you can't see because it looks so awful. Now the stages Megaman are on look pretty decent, for cell-shading, but the room(stage select) isn't consistent with Megaman himself. I don't think graphics matter in a video game, so this really didn't drag down the total score. So because of the unnecessary reason for the cell-shading and the inconsistentness of Megaman's owner's room equals the score you saw before you.
Story: 8/10
Pretty good, but it sounds like it has been taken from MegaManX3. That whole vaccine placebo starting ruckus with everyone else. It has been done, but it is nice how they changed it alittle to make it fit the new Transmission Storyline. So a vaccine is making things bad in DenCity, so Lan and Megaman decide to go and help out things and I guess everything can turn out okay if and only if you manipulate Lan and thus MegaMan into doing so. There is probably more story, but this is basically a quicky.
Sound: 8/10
Not bad, if I could speak Japanese and understand it, it would be better, but there are phrases that I've heard before so I guess a lot of the whole phrases used were what I like to call 'action'' words. The bgsounds are hum-able, but they get old and fast. The soundeffects are pretty decent. The shots and the stepping sound like they should, and that is always an okay plus. They don't sound annoying. I kind of would have like it if the characters said one that just one phrase each. Plus the 'Ed' from Ed, Edd, and Eddy for Dex is something I miss.
Gameplay: 1/10
Okay let's get this straight, I brought this game the first day it came out and I did it out of gaming passion because the GBA games are AWESOME. Too Bad this isn't. Well for those of you that haven't read anything about this game, know that only the story and the weaponry transferred. Well you start off in Lan's room, I think this kind starts off after the last boss of the GBA game. Well some trouble has started since the word of the Zero Virus has gone about. This is basically the same kind of virus that turned robots ''Maverick'' or insane in the 'X' universe, without the word Maverick, but the meaning. MegaMan runs around in the NES kind of style version of the game. His fastest speed is sliding, which keeps him alive and at the same time kills him. When you are fighting bosses, this, not your skill at shooting is your only real concern. The boss way of thinking is this next statement. Corner MegaMan by shooting him and just walking forward. Your strategy is either slide under them when they jump, or some just let you slide through their legs. So enjoy, at least that is what I had to do the whole time(four boss, haven't finished the game). But sometimes you don't make it and plus the slide works when it wants to work, so you have to work around it. The way you fight in this game, is Lan gives you chip after you enter the stage, five, to be exact. Do with them what you will, but remember this, you can only use them, as many times as the game lets you and when you have the MP for them. Hey MegaMan when did you become magical? I know you are a special computer program, but that special, your creator must be a GOD or deity of some sort. Now I believe that they should have gone with the GBA style, of one time use. But that would make sense, and irrationality is the only style they go for in this game. A lot of the stuff use for this game was just taken and spliced together from the previous games. Think Final Fantasy 9 but more of a horror than that game. Remember those disappearing blocks and Flashman's death beams? There here, but they have been toned down, but not taken away. Like the beams, just give you a lot of damage, so it is almost a death beam. Just like this game is almost as bad as Quest 64 in the awful sense, but it is alittle more playable. Just remember, almost. Some of your moves are locked until you get the chip for them. So the powers are only accessable after you get the chip and if you get them. Cliffs are also here, which doesn't really make sense, hes a program, not a real person. He should go by the same rules as a person does. There should be no gravity in cyberspace. Because you need some 'powers' to get around things sometimes, you have to resort to remembering that annoying little thing was and just hope that Lan gives you the correct chip. I could go on all day about the awful things in this game, but remember the enemies are boring, have little to no strategy and the boss are jokish. I don't want to waste anymore of my time talking about trash given video game life, so I won't. Some of the stuff in this game is like emotions, you can't really describe them. This game is just bad and I did like the NES games, which this mostly copied, and failed.
Controls: 4/10
Forgot about this. Forgotten about it, like this game should be forgotten about so Capcom does not make games of this caliber anymore. Remember the responsive controls from the NES versions? They mysteriously disappeared. Sliding doesn't seem to be exact, it works sometimes, and then sometimes it won't. And since you need to use that to throw off the bosses strategy, it is kind of needed. You REALLY need it, unless you are the master of shooting, which you can't be, and can somehow glitch through the game, since most of the attacks used by bosses can only be slid under. The jumping is kind of the same way. Not always responsive when I need to jump over cliffs and away from spikes. Well something I truly hate is when I am hanging by a wire, don't ask, and I jump up to shoot while holding 'Up' and then when I come back down, I fall to my death while holding 'Up' still. As you probably can guess when just jumping and holding Up without shooting I actually hold on to it. Now you may say, ''Don't shoot stupid when jumping from a wire.'' Well I would say ''Hey moron there are usually enemies abound, so I would rather not die by being target practice, so don't talk about things that you don't know about.'' I have died countless times because of that. Now I say countless times, even though it is inconsistent. So a lot of the times I die and sometimes I survive even though I do the same thing, but the same results do not always occurred. I'm done talking about this.
Replay:
I don't even like this game in the first place. Why would I replay it, is a question I ask you my friend, but good luck answering it. I heard there is something easy to find in this game, but it is an extra.
Rent, Buy, or Other?
The 'other' could stand for asking the video game dealer or manager of the rental store why they burn their money by buying this game in the first place. And if they plan to make another foolhardy decision, can you just have money instead, it would make Someone happy. Just MAYBE rent this game, to see if you can prove me wrong that this is a awful game, which it happens strongly to be.
Well Capcom nice screw up. I will keep buying those GBA MegaMan games until you screw them up the way you did this. Please don't do this again, I like MegaMan.EXE games, but not like this. . . I just hope I can sell this on Ebay or Half.com before too many people read this review and think about it.

Reviewer's Score: 1/10, Originally Posted: 07/11/03, Updated 07/11/03