| System: Game Boy Advance | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Capcom | Sound: |
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| Year: 2001 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Tactical role-playing game | Rating: |
8/10 |
A group of cyber-terrorists known as the WWW, led by a certain Dr Wily, is behind a string of incidents. They’ve taken control of electronic devices using their viruses. Enter Lan and Mega Man to save the day…
The game unfolds in two stages. In the real world, you control Lan. He can dialogue with people and “jack in” via his PET to any device with an appropriate socket. In this way, he hands over to MegaMan.EXE, who evolves in the virtual world, where all the battles take place.
The adventure side is fairly basic. The characters aren’t particularly interesting, nor are the “puzzles”. That said, one quickly gets carried away by the game, as it is so accessible and without dead moments.
The combat system might seem overly simplistic at first glance, but it becomes far more engaging after collecting a few chips.
Battle chips determine your actions. These are small programmes (generally weapons) that Lan integrates into his PET to help Mega Man. Each time a virus is encountered, five chips are randomly chosen from the 30 previously registered. Some can be combined, which can produce surprising effects. The combinations are countless, and you’ll constantly be led to collect new battle chips, which considerably extends the game’s lifespan. Note that battles occur in real time, involving both your reflexes and strategic sense.
The music is pleasant (even more so when it stops), but the sound effects lack a bit of punch for my taste.
Finally, even though most navis are inspired by the classic series, there are no references to earlier episodes.
