Mega Man & Bass

"Had great potential, but fell short about a mile."

Megaman and Bass has been known to be the last “true” Megaman title (apart from the arcade fighting games). And just for the occasion Capcom threw in a new playable character, Bass. And like most Capcom games, it's poorly translated little effort was put into it.

Gameplay (5/10): When you start the game you get to choose between two different characters; Megaman and Bass. Both characters move with ease but play entirely different. Megaman has all of his trademark moves; like the slide and power shot. They are easy to perform and are vital to master. Bass, however, puts a whole new twist on the game as his moves are significantly different from Megamans. He can dash, double jump, and shoot a machine gun in eight directions. Since each character is so different, this naturally gives each one their ups and downs. Bass is better are getting around quickly with his dash, but can't get as low to the ground as Megaman. The power shot is more useful on bosses while Bass's machine gun is more useful on typical enemies. The machine gun can also shoot in eight directions, but Bass cannot move while shooting unless if he is in the air. The slide can get through narrow passages while the double jump can be useful to reach high ledges. Both characters control nicely and are fun to play as.

Like all Megaman games, there are eight bosses. You beat a boss and get a special weapon. This weapon is useful on other bosses. Yadayadayada. But unlike the other Megaman games, only three bosses opened up initially after the intro stage. After a stage is completed either two-three new bosses show up. Defeat the eight bosses and move onto a brief intermission stage before the final area. Although the bosses are extremely fun to fight, the level design was nothing short of horrible. Some enemies can withstand and immense amount of damage, and like Megaman Legends 2, it soon becomes more tedious than fun. Stages are designed so that one character might have an advantage over the other. Unfortunately, it seemed like there was little or no attempt for the levels to be extremely unique or even fun in design (except the first stage). You'll find that the levels are set up like ones in other Megaman games. There are conveyor belts, water, and things of that sort, but none of them are used nearly as well as they could have.

As you play the game you get machine parts. These parts can be used to buy items in Auto's shop. Each character gets their own unique items, which can be very useful. There are also 100 CD's to collect. They contain some poorly translated information of bosses in previous Megaman titles, they are fun to get and add some replayability.

Graphics (9/10): The graphics are pretty damn sharp. They were originally ported over from the Playstation to the Super Famicon, and then to the Game Boy Advance. There are many bright and vibrant colors, along with detailed animations for each character. Unfortunately there are no amazing graphical effects or extremely cool boss designs.

Music/Sound (7/10): If you played the SNES/Super Famicon version of the game, then you know it has great music quality. True, the songs weren't the greatest, but detail put into them was amazing. The port to the GBA was less than successful, although it still sounds mediocre, Capcom could have done a much better job. The sound effects are exactly what you would expect from Capcom, nothing out of the ordinary.

Challenge (7/10): This is really a game for hardcore Megaman fans and not your typical gamers. If you are just some gamer who has never really played Megaman before, this is going to be difficult. There are many spikes, pits, enemies who do tons of damages, and crazy ass bosses. You are going to need very quick reactions as some of your opponents have lightning fast attacks. The only problem is that people tend to make this game a lot more difficult than it should be. You'll notice that it's really easy to overreact in a boss fight or in the final area. The game is only really difficult the first play through, as it can be mastered with fairly little effort.

Replayability (7/10): With two characters, 100 discs to collect, and tons of items to buy, you'll find plenty to keep you occupied… except for you casual gamers. Like I said earlier, this is a game for the fans.

Story (3/10): Wily's lab and the robot museum has been looted by King the mysterious robot. It's your job as Megaman/Bass to bring him to justice.

Conclusion: Typical gamers will find this a title to avoid, while fans will be pleased with the fact you can play as Bass. I personal think the games fault lies solely on its bad level design, which could have been done a whole lot better. Final rating 5/10, not an average.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 03/28/05