Mega Man & Bass

"Would've made Ghandi swear if he'd have played it."

Ah, Mega Man (past here called MM) and Bass (Here on out called to as MM & B) a game like no other, Namely due to the 90 degree learning curve. However besides this, Game play, and story, MM & B is average to great, but MM & B is by FAR the most difficult and frustrating game I have ever played. This, and one other large flaw, and minor small ones, are what plagues an otherwise good game. Let me show you.

Graphics:10/10 flawless

Yeah, they're that good. MM & B has some of the finest graphics I've seen on the Game Boy Advance. There are a wide range of colors, animations, and activity to MM and Bass. Backgrounds, textures, and movement are done very nice. I haven't found a thing to knock points back on....here any ways.

Sound:8/10 Great

Music is also done well, and along with graphics, carry most of the score. The scores fit each area, and blend nicely, but do get a bit grating since they loop frequently. As for sound effects, they're rather basic, but do their job well, and sound like what they are meant to be,a blast from your gun sounds like a little laser shot. Bass' machine gun like cannon, sounds like a rapid fire blaster, enemies explode nicely, Etc.

Game play:3/10 Bad

This is really where MM & B fall apart. After seeing the grand graphics and sound, one would expect a bit more from this department.

Wrong.

After the first level, you're tricked into thinking that the game will be quite easy with either character,but you're horribly wrong.

You see the main problem with game play, is this game's big selling point,not the retro MM, ''Kill bosses,steal their powers,use them to kill more bosses'' but rather the dual character game play. As you may have guessed, you play as either MM, or the seemingly better Bass. (Pronounced like the musical term,not the fish).

Both characters have pros and cons, and aren't just cosmetic changes to one another. MM lacks jumping skill, and rapid fire techniques,but he has a charge ability, and can slide under small spaces,allowing him into places Bass can't touch. Bass on the other hand, can jump twice, fire with a rapid cannon, and dash, giving him speed,and further increasing his jump skills. He lacks any sort of charge to his cannon, however, and his bullets are weak. Also unlike MM he can shoot in 7 directions, Which is apparently something the blue bomber got taken from him.

That brings me to the biggest flaw next to difficulty.You'll soon notice that it feels like you are playing half a character. How? Well those pros and cons stated above, it seems Capcom decided to split MM's powers in half, and give one set to MM, and the other to Bass. This sucks on many levels. If airborne enemies attack poor MM, you and kiss that life goodbye, because since he can only shoot in 2 directions, He can't hit them. And since his jump power is so sad, he won't get the height to waste them.Also, since he lacks rapid fire, he'll be torn to scrap if more than about 2 enemies attack him. His slide is nothing special in most cases,like when it gets you a CD (more on that later), but when it nets you healing supplies,you'll thank God for it.

On the other side of the coin is Bass. Bass' biggest pitfall is also his greatest strength,his gun. Bass can shoot rapidly but lacks any charge feature which feels unnatural in a MM game. He also is stationary when firing, making boss battles a living hell. He is highly moveable when not shooting, but the designers decided to negate his advantage with twisting levels and ceiling mounted spikes to keep the speed and height demon in check,and to give MM a chance to charge his ,otherwise weak, blaster, I suppose.

So there you have it, you get to attempt to make your way through legions of brutal machines with exactly 1/2 a character in terms of skills. Older versions of MM could shoot, charge, and make their way through a level faster than this incarnation can.

As for levels and such, they wind about, and few are straight and forward. Most levels take you up and around, preventing any quick movement with Bass, and make things for MM go even slower.

Game play otherwise is standard MM fair. Shoot your way through to a boss, hit him with his weakness,steal his power,rinse and repeat. It is great,addicting, and easily stands the test of time, but it's quite ancient, and you can clearly see they're running out of boss robot designs,you'll take notice when you first meet ''Pirate Man''.

In addition to basic levels, you can pad your advantages (what little there is to be had), with items you get with screws,which are dropped by enemies,you should have no problems affording them with the amount of times you'll be replaying levels,but some are just stupid. Case in point is the radio that allows you to talk to Roll. She's horribly useless when it comes to anything. She won't even tell you weaknesses of bosses! Another Gem of an item is the escape unit,which allows you to exit out of any stage you've beaten before. That defeats the entire purpose of it don't you think?

Also, and by far the best reason to drudge through MM & B again, there are are CD's. There are 100 through the levels, and each contains a picture of a former boss of the original MM past (No Mavericks here,X fans), a little info on them,and their likes and dislikes. It was almost painful to see the sad quotes, likes, dislikes, and absurd names for some bosses. just collect a few and you'll see little time was put into them besides the pictures

Controls:8/10 Great
I never had any problems here. B is shoot. A is jump. control pad moves, start pauses,Etc. Basic but works.

Difficulty:10/10 Insanity

It's perfectly literal to say MM & B has a vertical line for a learning curve.In fact you're just thrust into the game, unless you read the instruction book, you won't have a clue as to what what does, one you get it down,you can cruise on through the first level, But every boss afterwards will utterly crush, and shame you. Hell,the only easy boss, Cold Man, gives you the terrible Ice wall. it's effective against Burner Man, who will tear you to ribbons before you can land 3 hits.

You may be thinking, ''Hey,you could just search for an energy tank!'' well, not likely. Capcom decided to further insult me by taking out the very thing that has saved me in previous games.

While I'm at it, I'll take this time to inform you of a boss that nearly made me break my Game Boy on several occasions. His name is Dynamo Man, Master of the cheap shot. Despite your lack of Good shots as MM, or power shots as Bass, Dynamo will put you into a homicidal rage when he busts out his healing move. You have no Energy tanks, and yet Capcom saw it fair to allow a boss healing powers.That is VERY wrong.

Words can't describe the frustration you'll get from the bosses, the uselessness of either characters pros, when put against their huge disadvantages, or the laughable items you'll be tricked into buying.

Story:2/10 Sad

If you buy MM games for the story, you need help. MM & B's story is just as sad as other MM games. This time around A robot named King took over Dr. Wily's base, stole CD's containing Robot Data, Damn near killed Proto Man, and fled. I'm comparing this to other games of it's own genre, and it still ranks low. Compared to other MM games, it's a daring innovation....


Buy/Rent:Rent if you must, followed by a risky buy if you enjoyed it.....

Closing Statement

MM & B is like that big,pretty Christmas present, that, when unwrapped is just batteries for another present somewhere. MM& B leaves you empty handed with being forced against insurmountable difficulty with the equivalent of 1/2 a MM

Sad,Sad,Sad.....

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 04/07/03, Updated 04/07/03