Mega Man Battle Network 4 Red Sun

"It's a good game, but not a great one."

This seems to me, to be a downgrade from the previous MMBN games. Had they not existed, this game would have easily nabbed a 9/10, however, the expectations I had after completing MMBN3 were not met. They have some new features, such as soul unison and darkchips, however that doesn't make up for some of the downgrade mention earlier. Many things have changed, and not all were for the batter.

Gameplay- A highpoint of the game. It keeps its old style of having the chip selection screen, choosing the chips desired and then using them in battle to attack. The chips are basically the same, but they seem to be holding back on some of the better chips later in the game. Soul unison is used to replace the old style of class change in Megaman, rather than choosing what version of Megaman you want before battles, you sacrifice a chip to become a different type Navi during the battle. The downside: it only last 3 turns. The upside: you can use differint soul unisons in the same battle. i.e.: I use soul unison once ot turn into Megaman V. 2, then later in the battle for Megaman V. 3. The concept of the battles are easy: destroy all the viruses. They controls are easy, but mastering a style of battle can be challenging. They added something to twist the battle as well: Darkchips. They are very power full, but come at a high price: permanant health loss.
Overall: It's good, with some minor flaws. 9/10

Story- Not a strongpoint of the game. The previous MMBN games have much better plots than this. The plot isn't that bad, but it's basically the cliche of a madman doing whatever he rule the world. How original. The plot does have one major twist, but it's predictable from the beginning of the game. Overall, if you're looking for a great plot, you won't find it here.
Overall: Not that good. The basic cliche of a plot. 4/10

Graphics- Some people say it has been downgraded from MMBN3, and that may be the case depending on what you're looking for. The graphics have become less flashy in a sense, but they have become much more crisp. The graphics are par with most of the GBA games, nothing exceptional, but nothing really bad.
Overall: Nice and crisp, but not that flashy. 6/10

Sound- Again, nothing too flashy, but it's crisp. They keep some of the classic tunes from MMBN2+3, and and soem new effects. They have a high tendency to repeat the same background music though.
<Overall: Pretty good, but not up to expectation. 5/10

Lasting Appeal- Playing through once will give you a nice 25-35 hours, but doing the extra like making a good chip folder, playing hard and super hard modes could stretch it out much longer than that. How much gametime you have is totally up to how much you want from the game.
Overall: It will last you a good while if you're into it. 8/10

Final recommendation- If you plan only on beating the game once and than forgetting about it, then you should just rent/barrow it. If you plan on making a great netbattling folder, or going through the different modes, I recommend that you buy it. If you haven't played any other BN game before, buy MMBN2 and MMBN3 before buying this. If you have, and you liked them all, go ahead and buy this.

OVERALL SCORE (Not an average)
7/10- The gameplay is great, but the plot pales, the graphics aren't that great, and the sound is overdone. Will last you a long time if you're into it, however.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 07/10/04