Mega Man Network Transmission Game Sample - GameCube
0What is Mega Man Network Transmission? It's the only GameCube Mega Man game based on the "Battle Network" series which originated on the GBA, developed by Arika. Battle Network was a surprisingly fresh, new spin-off of the original Mega Man series when it debuted (which was almost immediately milked to death by Capcom) which featured a boy named Lan Hikari, his MegaMan.exe "NetNavi", and many characters comprised of the "Real World" and "Internet" in which the two interact with. This game's plot takes place after the first GBA game (where the WWW or "World Three" have been defeated) and your mission is to stop the mysterious new "Zero Virus" from spreading and corrupting NetNavis while contending with a mysterious man known as "The Professor". Battle Network shares many similarities with "Mega Man Star Force".
It became popular due to it's new CRPG-Action hybrid gameplay and MegaMan.EXE cameo appearance in "Onimusha Blade Warriors", and moreso in Japan for its cross-licensing status (such as featuring cameos of characters from Konami's "Boktai" series and battle chips based on "Duel Masters") and further utilization of the e-Reader (discontinued overseas). Out of battle, the game is mostly like your standard RPG; you walk around interacting with characters, travelling to different vistas, use money for purchasing goods, and bear witness to various events that move the story along as you progress.
Just as important however, is the new direction the game took in the gameplay department, which is lauded by most fans of the franchise. Bringing forth a creative twist on battling, fights are comprised mainly of strategy, character upgrades and the use of Battle Chips, which combines real-time action with the facets of a collectible card game, where many strategies and styles can be incorporated, where enemies face each other on two sides of a field.
While all that is fine and good, Network Transmission DOES NOT PLAY exactly like the GBA games. Rather, it tried to incorporate the best elements of Battle Network and the original Mega Man series, to mixed results and lukewarm reception. The game eliminates almost the entire navigation aspect of the Battle Network series (reducing Lan to a shell of himself who is mainly confined to his drab room, which sucks to say the least) and took out the encounters and some of the customization aspects of the GBA games as well. In their place, they converted the game into a series of side-scrolling stages that play mostly like old-school Mega Man games and utilized the "Battle Chips" in a different fashion, where you need MP to use them as opposed to one-time use and can be regenerated with chips and various other things you find.
The game still utilizes items and allows you to power Mega Man up, but the game does not possess the charm of Battle Network and lacks the tight play control of classic side-scrolling Mega Man games (he feels unusually stiff and doesn't respond immediately to slides or jumps). The game is also criticized for it's unbalanced difficulty (though you can one-hit kill bosses), camera view where enemies can hit you even before you see them on screen, and incredibly weak Mega Buster (which can actually get stronger).
The game isn't too bad, but it doesn't really capture the greatness of either series and feels like a step back instead of a step forward. The game isn't the best way to celebrate Mega Man's 15th anniversary (play Mega Man Battle Network 3 instead) and could've been a hit if it spent a little more time in development. The game looks pretty good and sounds good (lacks variety in the scores though), and the gameplay does improve if given a chance, but if you missed out on it, don't go around kicking yourself-- it's not that big a deal. This is a video that goes from the intro to the first boss. Enjoy.