Mega Man Network Transmission

Virus Busters Beware!

JP release: 6th March 2003
NA release: 17th June 2003
EU release: 27th June 2003
Developer: Arika
Publisher: Capcom
NGC Magazine Score: 59%
Mods Used: Widescreen Code

As someone that still hasn’t played a regular Mega Man game (Legends is the only one I’ve played so far) this is definitely an odd choice for playing. It’s a spin-off from the Battle Network series on the GBA that blends some of the features with that of a classic Mega Man platformer. This is a neat idea in theory, but doesn’t entirely work out.

The biggest issue is Mega Man’s gun. It starts out absolutely useless, taking countless hits to take out a regular enemy. Instead, you have to rely on special abilities which are handed out to you in the form of “chips”. These chips work like cards in a deckbuilder, where you’ll be dealt five to use and can refresh after a certain amount of time has elapsed

You do get a good variety of weapons this way, but having to rely solely on them at the start is brutal, especially as you’ll have to wait for your small MP pool to recharge. Enemies also don’t seem to scale, which means they cause a ton of damage to you early on, making the start of the game rather woeful.

Level up your gun and the game starts to get enjoyable. Not long after, though, stronger enemies will crop up and you’ll have a pea shooter again. Although at least you can use your special attacks more often. It just means that the beginning and end are frustrating, which is more annoying as you start to see the game shining in the middle.

Ignoring the issues with levelling up and enemies, Network Transmission is an enjoyable 2D platformer with some lovely looking stages and great music. It does a lot with very basic movement, although Mega Man does run far too slow, which does limit the enjoyment from this side of things.

It’s a shame that Network Transmission didn’t work out, as it has some nice levels and some lovely ideas for weapons and fighting, there’s just too many unfair difficulty spikes and a slowness to the game for it to be enjoyable, which is annoying as it is so close.

Fine

Unfortunately, although the idea worked very well on the GBA adventures, it’s all fallen rather flat in this GC version. Rather than employing the use of the interesting action/strategy battle grid on GBA, Network Transmission takes the form of a basic 2D platformer – and when we say basic, we mean really basic. The controls are clunky , enemy placement and movement patterns are frustrating, and any semblance of considered strategy soon gives way to you simply using the same battle chips over and over – for nothing more than survival.
Geraint Evans, NGC Magazine

Remake or remaster?

With some balance changed and an increase in speed, this could be a fun game.

Official Ways to get the game

There is no official way to get Mega Man Network Transmission.