If you’re a fan of the legendary “Blue Bomber” of Capcom, you know that Mega Man has had many versions over the years based on the system he’s been on or the timeline he was in. First, there are the classic brutally hard NES/SNES titles, followed by the “X Saga” that filled the PlayStation ranks, there are the Legends games, the StarForce titles, and then, there’s MegaMan.Exe. The main hero that you’ll get to play as in the Mega Man Battle Network Collection! This collection combines the entire 10-game lineup for fans to enjoy with some graphical boosts and gameplay improvements.
We have you covered for those who don’t know the history or lore of the titles. The games occur in an alternate timeline where technology has evolved so that humanity lives in a “Network Society.” The internet not only runs their lives in certain ways, but it’s vital to almost every functioning device on the planet. People even have personal avatars called NetNavis that they can use to help things in the internet space or stop attacks from viruses and malicious programs.
Enter Lan Hikari, a regular young kid who is gifted with a NetNavi called MegaMan.Exe. Together, they’ll save the world and cyberspace by defeating those who want to bring both down.
Unlike many other titles with Mega Man, the Mega Man Battle Network Collection games are less about platforming and more about exploration, puzzle-solving, and fighting on a grid-based system. Mega Man will have nine spaces on a grid he can fight on, and must use his Mega Buster and special “Battle Chips” to help him take on foes. You’ll be able to collect these chips throughout the games and assemble a perfect roster of power-ups to defeat any enemy you come across.
The first two titles are standalone games, whereas the next eight took the route of Pokemon and did the “two versions” path. Even with the changes, both games are still fun to try out. Critics agree that the collection is worth your time. On Metacritic, the collection currently has 13 reviews that put the game at 77. That might not seem too high, but remember, this is a collection of Game Boy Advance titles brought to modern systems with a slight remaster treatment.
The biggest thing is that they’re playable, and they’re exactly that. So if you’ve never had a chance to play this series before, you’ll have your chance on April 14th.
