Mega Man Battle Network 3 White

"Mega Man returns...for the better."

I suppose Capcom saw the great power of their MegaMan Battle Network games, and they decided to make not ONE, but TWO versions of their latest game. But oh well - on to the review.

Graphics - 9/10
You know, I've always loved the graphics for Mega Man games. Even in NES days, Mega Man had great graphics. And this new GBA game is no exception. Battle Chips are excellently rendered, as are the fluid movements of Mega Man and the other characters. Of course, there ARE tiny flaws, but they are few are usually ignored.

Music and Sound – 8/10
Mega Man Battle Network has excellent music. The NET's ''sites'' usually have different music, and you can tell the emotion of the characters just by the music (usually). However, the music seems a bit different - maybe it's a little more techno, or maybe it's just the problematic things that GBAs have - weird music/sound quality. Maybe with the release of the GBA SP, this won't matter.

Game play – 9/10
Capcom’s Mega Man Battle Network series has always been close to my heart since the day the first one came out, and the reason is simple : its awesome playing style. In the original Mega Man, it was a platform game with lots and lots of Metool-blasting action. It’s still the same now – just not really platform, and it’s now RPG-esque. Battles take place on an Ogre-Battle like battlefield – a 6 by 3 grid (if I remember correctly) and you can use “Battle Chips” to boost Mega Man’s power, give Mega Man items, etc. etc. In Mega Man Battle Network III, Capcom newly introduces the Navi Customizer that allows you to customize Mega Man’s features. However, you must know what you’re doing…or else you’ll end up making things worse (or better by accident).

Replay value - 8/10
Yes, well, once the game’s over, you can’t really do anything more besides the usual – collect all BattleChips, beat all Navis, beat all new quests, etc. etc. Yet the game still proves to be fun, as the more quests you unlock, the more things you can do (evidently – I haven’t around to beating Blue star yet).

Overall – 9/10
Ahhh, Capcom releases two more MMBNs into the wild. Since the games have yet to be translated to North America (where I live), I don’t know what will happen to it…another sleeper hit? Possibly. But what I know for sure is this: Mega Man Battle Network will live forever.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/12/03, Updated 05/12/03