Mega Man Battle Network

"Battle in the network"

Alright. Mega Man is probably the best Capcom character. He returns in a completely new story. This game really involves the internet and computer systems and stuff like that. This is also some sort of RPG, but more on the action category.

Game-play: 7.5/10

There are two worlds: The real world (where humans are) and the cyber world (the net navis are). Mega Man, in this case, is a navi. Lan is a human and best friend of Mega Man. Mega Man doesn't spend all his time in the cyber world. Instead, he is stored in a device called a PET that Lan carries around.

Whenever you want to go to the cyber world, Lan "Jacks" in Mega Man into certain things like computers, vending machines, control panels, and a bunch of electronic stuff. If you jack into certain stuff, you might be able to get access to the internet. The internet is an endless world as we know it. In this game, it is almost endless.

Before you even do anything, you see yourself (as Lan at first). You can walk around. Then you look for something that looks like you can jack into it. Then jack in Mega Man whenever you feel like it. Then you take control of Mega Man. Again, you see yourself and you can walk around. If you see diamonds, get them to get an item (sometimes it is random). You can just run around with freedom, but this isn't an action game without action. As you walk around as Mega Man, you might encounter an enemy. Or a virus as they call it. The screen flashes and you see a battlefield, split into two. You get the left side while the viruses get the right. Both sides are made of squares of the same size each. On one side, there are 3X3 squares in it. Same with the other.

Now it's time to battle. You start the battle paused. There is a screen to select battl chips. These can assist you in battles. You can choose up to five, but there is a rule. Each chip has a letter code such as A, B, M, O, L, ect. You can choose different battle chips, but they must have the same code. A cannon with the code of A can't be used with a shotgun with the code of S. It must be A or there is either no such thing. It can't be changed either. You can, however, use more than one of the same battle chip, regardless of the code. Two mini bombs can be selected, even when one code is M and the other is O. It's a pretty good battle system.

After you selected some chips, the words "BATTLE START!" appear. You see a bar at the top of the screen and a number on the top-left. The bar shows you when you can select more battle chips. The number is you health. You start off in the middle panel. Enemy attacks depend on who they are. They have a number on top of them showing their health. You start the game with your own stats. You start out with 100 HP and 1/5 of rapid, power, and charge for your standard weapon, the buster. Every Mega Man has one. The buster has unlimited ammo, but it starts out to be really weak. It's still good though. All you have to do is kill the viruses. Once the battle ends, you see a screen come up and it shows your bust level, how fast you beat it, and what your reward is. Your bust level depends on how fast you beat it. Bust levels range from 1-S (the best). Your reward can be another battle chip or money (in Mega Man, money is called "Zenny").

You continue to walk around and when you feel like it, jack out and do something in the real world. The real world is obviously amazing. Even though that this is the future, only computers and technology changed, There are no flying cars or big spaceships yet. The whole story is in a place called ACDC Town. Not everything happens there, but you will find yourself hanging around there a lot. You will find yourself talking to people and helping them out. You might even find somebody to challenge you to a fight between the navis.

Graphics: 6/10

Pretty good to say. The internet really looks cool and different areas have different backgrounds. It may get a little boring after a while and it is really not worth looking forward to. Of course, Mega Man is what they call "The Blue Bomber".

Sound: 10/10

Ignore the sound effects. Listen to the music! This is probably the best series (yes, there is another one) with GBA music!!! It's so good, you will just stay at the title screen listening to the music. Bring head-phones. Now for the sound effects, it's okay. All you will hear will be sounds of explosions and people getting hit by your attacks. It can't beat the music though.

Control: 7/10

Not perfect, but you will get the control flow really quickly. Besides, they give you a tutorial. You will mostly hold B while running, because if you don't hold B while moving, you simply just take a walk.

The good, the bad, and the ugly:

The good:

- The battle chips.
- Upgrading your buster.
- This is a Mega Man game.
- Technology you see in the game.
- The fact that this game has a huge world.
- All the action.
- The music!
- The game still goes on after beating it (yep, that's right!).

The bad:

- It costs money to buy this.

The ugly:

There seems to be nothing ugly about this game.

OVERALL: 8/10 (not perfect, but really good)

If you really like messing around with computers and technology, you should definitely get this. Not much to say anymore but PLAY THIS GAME!!!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/20/04