Mega Man Battle Network 4 Blue Moon

"Rockman.exe has left me waiting and wanting more!"

This is the fourth installment in the Battle Network series, and boy, will you enjoy it. You will get to fight evil once again as Rockman.exe and Netto. Save your world, and save yourself, this game is one for the ages.

I will not provide background information on this series, because this is not what a review is for. I will however describe the current situation in Rockman.exe Battle Network 4 Blue Moon.
You start off in your bed (as in every MMBN story) listening to the sound of your PET (Personal Terminal) beeping. It's time to get up and start your day. You walk down the stairs and realize that the oven has some viruses have taken over. This is where you get your first lesson in net battling.
I won't go into much more detail, but this story is one that will have you captured from your first virus busting.

Gameplay: 10/10

The gameplay here is GREAT. You still have the battle chip system just like MMBN 1/2/3, where you have a folder of 30 chips of your choosing. 5 chips are selected at random at the start of a battle and you proceed to fight with them. One change avid MMBN fans will notice is the ''Soul Unison'' system. Basically, what the ''Soul Unison'' system does is allow you to 'capture' the souls of friendly Navis from defeating them. Once you have the soul, you can select a chip corresponding to the Navi's element. Click the ''Soul Unison'' button, and you will fuse with that Navi for 3 turns, giving you super abilities. This is by far a huge advantage in the MMBN series.

Story: 6.5/10

I will state this here. This is a game that you play for the gameplay, not the story. It probably didn't help that I played this game in Japanese, but from what I grasped, I didn't grasp anything. You have a sort of clouded vision in terms of the story line, but you can follow it enough to play. I would've given it a higher mark if I could fully understand Japanese.

Graphics: 10/10

The graphics are great in this game. They are very similar to the previous MMBN game except more sharper and refined. The colour is bright and makes you notice the surrounding areas. The cyber world looks better than ever in this. More design and more colour.

Sound: 10/10

What can I say. The sound is great. Fits each area nicely and is different enough to keep you from turning down the volume.

Replay Value: 10/10

There are 4 areas in which this game can be ''replayed''

1) The main story. You can play it 3 times through for variety. (Normal, Hard, Super Hard)
2) Folder Making - This game will have you playing around with your folder FOREVER.
3) Chip Collection - You will want to play this thing 3 time through to collect Forte's Chip as well as a few others.
4) Soul Collection - You will NEED to play this through all 3 times to collect all six souls.

Buy or Rent

Definite buy. You cannot compete the 4 above reply areas in a few days. This is will take months to complete. Renting it would be foolish, so BUY IT!!!

Overall: 9.3/10 rounded down to 9/10

Not much more can you expect from this game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/02/04