Mega Man & Bass

"The Toughest Megaman Ever Gets the GBA Treatment"

Megaman and Bass is a GBA port of the Japan-only game Rockman and Forte, originally released on the Super Famicom (SNES). It came out in 1998, and the SNES was, sad to say, long dead here in the U.S. It's a shame, because the game itself is a real gem...though novice players will be tearing their hair out in frustration. Now, on to the ratings:

Graphics: 10/10. I have no complaints here. Rockman and Forte was legendary for its faux-32-bit graphics on a 16-bit platform. The graphics are ripped straight from Megaman 8, and while there is a certain amount of quality loss, they still look better than almost anything else I've ever seen on the SNES. Wonderful animation, finely-detailed sprites, and instantly recognizable friends and foes, though the graphics seem kind of dark and gloomy compared to Megaman 8 (which is a good thing in my opinion). Since the GBA is a 32-bit system, it has no problem handling the graphics set.

Sound and Music: 6/10. This is what really got to me. Rock and Forte had one of the better soundtracks for the SNES Megaman series I've heard, but it was badly mangled during the porting process to the GBA. This is because the SNES has 8 subtractive-synthesis sampling channels, while the GBA has only 6 (and I think 4 of those are the original GB's Square A and B, PCM, and Noise tracks). As you can tell, I'm a vgmusic.com patron [/site plug]. In all seriousness, I've heard a lot better come out of the GBA from SNES ports (Yoshi's Island, for example). Some of the instrument choices make absolutely no sense at all; if you could let me at the coding that chooses the instruments, I'm sure I could make it sound 100% better. Oddly, a few songs (King's Castle, the Boss battle theme) sound better as FM-synthesized chiptunes for some reason, but overall the quality took a serious hit.

Play Control: 9/10. The only reason this doesn't get a full 10 is that Megaman's slide is a pain in the hindquarters to use effectively. His jump also seems to have been reduced some, though it's enough to get you where you need to go if you're careful. Other than that, the control is tight and responsive, and if you make a false step it's likely your own fault. Platform and hit detection are solid, too.

Replay Value: 8/10. The CDs really don't add much, especially since the translations are so incredibly bad. A lot of them sound very, very wrong if you read them certain ways too (Dynamo Man likes ''pump off'' and dislikes ''social intercourse''...riiiiiight o.0;). The real replay value is in the game itself, because even in the murderously difficult areas, there's a certain atmosphere that makes you keep coming back. I've played through Cold Man's stage several times on end just for the heck of it. The master weapons are a lot of fun to use too, especially the Wave Burner (Fire! FIRE! Meh-hehheh-heh-heh-heh...). Bass's double jump, dash, Gospel Boost, and multi-directional cannon are |_33+-worthy as well. Megaman isn't as fun to play, though he makes the last bosses a lot easier.

Overall: Total score is 33/40 or 82.5% (8/10). Basically, most of my beefs have to do with the GBA hardware, specifically the sound architecture and poor use thereof. My only other complaint is the amount of cheap hits, but really, the game is more challenging than cheap. I'd definitely say buy this one if you're an experienced gamer and Megaman freak, but avoid it if you have low frustration tolerance. And get the Rockman and Forte ROM on an emulator to experience the real thing so you know what it's really like.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/19/03, Updated 05/19/03