Mega Man Battle Network

"Mega-Original! Mega-Wow!"

You know that grinding sound your computer makes when it's loading something? I used to think it was the hamster wheel inside my machine getting rusty. But now I know, it's actually my NetNavi battling hordes of WWW viruses.

That's the basic premise for Capcom's latest addition to the MegaMan franchise which has already undergone several incarnations (even though all the different MegaMan games seem to connect somehow...but more on that later). In a world not to far from our own, which is totally dependent on the internet and technology to survive, people own ''PETS'' which are basically souped-up cell phones, and each PET has a personality, or NetNavi, in charge of making things operate smoothly. Kind of like if your Anti-virus program could talk to you and wore a bizarre super-hero costume.

Lan Light is a 5th grader whose anti-virus program for his PET just happens to be MEGAMAN.EXE. Whenever there's trouble in the Real World, it's probably because of an internet virus. Lan plugs in his PET and runs MEGAMAN.EXE and we're shot off to Cyber Space to take care of the problem. It's an episodic adventure that works a lot like an afternoon cartoon with different villains and scenarios for each episode. It's all a little silly, but it always keeps things light and never takes itself too seriously which makes it much more palatable.

GRAPHICS - Pretty dang incredible. The real world is packed with tiny details from the little dishes and pots in the kitchen of Lan's home to the Serv-Bot doormat in Dex's house. You really appreciate the level of detail and structure in the Real World because once you execute MEGAMAN.EXE, it's a whole different story. Cyber Space is a maze-like area with psychadelic backdrops and floating catwalks galore. What's really interesting, however, are the scenarios that have you switching back and forth from the Real World to Cyber Space. You kind of have to see it to understand, but in a strange way, it makes the Real World seem MORE real and Cyber Space seem more...well...cyber. Like there's really something going on inside Lan's computer. Characters are highly detailed and every one of them has a face to go with their dialogue box. Lan moves around on a pair of in-line skates which look like so much fun, you almost wish you could make him do tricks a la Tony Hawk. There are cameos from all the series, from Serve-Bot dolls from LEGENDS, to a poster of Vile from the X series, to explosion effects from MegaMan 8 and RockMan and Forte. I particularly liked the tiny GameCube that Dex has in his room. All characters, right down the the Hard Hat viruses, are brightly colored and surprisingly well animated. Of course, the thing that has everyone buzzing are the new character models for the old characters. MegaMan, Roll, ProtoMan, SkullMan, ShadowMan, WoodMan, IceMan, ElecMan, FireMan, GutsMan, BombMan, and others are all here, but they've been completely redesigned and they all look fantastic. The franchise has reinvented itself from the ground up and the result is pretty amazing.

SOUND - The MegaBuster still sounds great and isn't that the main thing? The opening music sounds like something out of the original series. There's danger music when things are tense, and happy music when things are fine. Lan's PET rings like a real cell phone when he gets messages or calls, and the bell in the school sounds like a real bell. No voice samples here, but that's fine in my opinion. If they aren't going to talk the whole time, I'd rather just make up my own character voices anyway. I mean, didn't it bug you in Mega Man Legends when they'd talk about 85% of the time and the other 15% was typed dialogue?

GAMEPLAY - Here's where things get interesting. Puzzles, purchases, and conversations are made in the Real World. When You-Know-Who strikes and Lan launches MEGAMAN.EXE to take care of business, it's battle time. Cyber Space is set up like a labyrinth. With no map, it makes things very, very confusing which, in my opinion, is the one major drawback to the game. You'll spend loads of time wandering back and forth and running into enemies all along the way that it results in some tedium...but not much. The battle sequences happen at random like most RPGs, but unlike most RPGs, the sequences are in real-time, which will make button-mashing MegaMan fans VERY happy. The battle system is so unique and satisfying, I won't even try to describe it. It's new, it's fresh, and it's keeping with the tradition of exciting MegaMan battles. You'll spend half your time just waiting for the perfect chip to come your way for the coup de grace in a particularly close battle. It's encouraging to see Capcom keeping MegaMan from getting stale. It's a little bit old-school, it's a lotta bit new, but it comes together brilliantly.

OVERALL - MegaMan Battle Network is a refreshing addition to the MegaMan series which gets more and more interesting with every incarnation (I'm still convinced that the series can be fit into one cohesive whole with LEGENDS as the prequel, Battle Network as a ''what became of MegaMan at the end of LEGENDS2?'', Original, then X series. Think about it. It makes sense). I can't wait for the sequel. If you are or were ever a MegaMan fan, you owe it to yourself to see what they've done with the Blue Bomber this time. It's nothing short of brilliant.

10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/08/01, Updated 11/08/01