Mega Man Network Transmission
Mega Man Network Transmission | |
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platform, role-playing | |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Mega Man Network Transmission
Taking place one month after the events of the first
The development team's intent was to meld these attributes into a home console title that would appeal to the young gamer audience that they found with the GBA series. Critical reception for Network Transmission has been mostly average reviews. Although it received some positive remarks for its Battle Chip gameplay, many critics have complained that the game features a high or unbalanced
Plot
The storyline of Mega Man Network Transmission takes place during the first decade of the 21st century ("200X"), one month after the original
Confirming this with Lan's father,
Gameplay
Mega Man Network Transmission incorporates aspects of
Special abilities called "Battle Chips" are provided through a "Custom Bar" that slowly fills at the top of the screen. When the bar is full, the player can select up to five Battle Chips, which are provided from a folder of player-selected chips.[4] Ten random chips are available when the bar is full; a total of twenty can be used for each level excursion.[10][11][12][13] Battle Chips are used for dealing large amounts of damage to enemies, protecting and restoring the player's health, summoning other Navi's to MegaMan's aid, and for some platforming abilities. Certain chips can even be combined to be more effective.[10] Although Battle Chips are limited in quantity, they can be picked up from deleted enemies or can be purchased at shops when not exploring the internet. As in previous Battle Network games, items that upgrade MegaMan's maximum health, firing power, and other attributes can also be accessed.[4][13]
Development
Mega Man Network Transmission was developed by Arika, who had previously worked on the Street Fighter EX series, a 3D polygon rendition of publisher Capcom's traditionally 2D fighting series.[2][14][15] Producer Keiji Inafune revealed in an interview with Dengeki that after a string of PlayStation releases, the team chose to focus their development efforts of the Mega Man franchise for Nintendo consoles with the Battle Network series.[16] They felt that children who played the GBA handheld were beginning to show interest in the GameCube, and that the character was more suitable to a console related to the Nintendo Family Computer, where the franchise originated. Inafune stated that the developer wanted to "preserve the core of Rockman" by transcending the traditional action elements (i.e. running and jumping) for the current gaming hardware from the perspective of the role-playing series.[16]
Network Transmission uses a
Network Transmission was announced and on display for the first time at the
Mega Man Network Transmission is the only Arika game released for the GameCube as the company did not develop further games for that console.
Reception
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
GameRankings | 66.12%[22] |
Metacritic | 65/100[23] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
Electronic Gaming Monthly | 6/10[24] |
Eurogamer | 6/10[12] |
Famitsu | 28/40[25] |
G4 | [26] |
GamePro | [27] |
GameSpot | 6.7/10[10] |
GameSpy | [13] |
IGN | 6.7/10[11] |
Nintendo Power | 7.2/10[28] |
Mega Man Network Transmission has been met with mixed critical reception. The game currently holds scores of 67% on
Opinions on the visuals and audio in Network Transmission have been decidedly split. Turner found the music perfectly fitting, but stated, "You may also be disappointed that the graphics don't quite push the GameCube. They're generally okay, and even pretty a few times, but overall the visuals are a bit spartan."[13] Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot described the backgrounds and animation as appropriate, that the Japanese voice acting matched the characters, and that the music was upbeat. However, he found the art style lacking in personality, the weapon effects and summons "understated", and the sound effects "underdeveloped".[10] IGN's Matt Casamassina was conversely impressed by the art style, backgrounds, and frame rate, but disliked the graphics as a whole, proclaiming, "It's a brand new product, but it looks like it could have been released on PlayStation 1, or perhaps even on Super Nintendo."[11] Miller found the game's use of cel-shading useless and the titular protagonist "the weakest link of all, looking undefined, vague, and more than a little awkward".[26]
The game's integration of Battle Chips into the side-scroller genre was admired by some reviewers. Casamassina was entertained by discovering and capitalizing on which chips are useful against which enemies.[11] Turner was impressed by the random shuffling of chips in one's inventory and the instances of forced improvisation on the player's part.[13] Tom Bramwell of Eurogamer expressed satisfaction with having the needed chips at the right times, but admitted frustration with having to disarm oneself to organize them. He asserted, "Even glancing at what you might move to the top of the list involves sending the blue bomber's current chips back to the 'Folder', leaving you with a choice between edging forward with the paltry chargeable beam weapon and standing around waiting for your Custom bar to fill up again."[12]
Notes
References
- ^ GameZone staff (June 17, 2003). "Capcom Releases Mega Man Network Transmission on GameCube". GameZone. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ a b Arika staff. "Release Dates". Arika. Archived from the original on April 2, 2010. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ Kosmina, Ben (July 1, 2003). "GameCube Australian Release Dates". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g Capcom, ed. (June 27, 2003). Mega Man Network Transmission Instruction Booklet. Capcom Entertainment, Inc. DOL-GREE-USA.
- ^ Arika (June 17, 2003). Mega Man Network Transmission (GameCube). Capcom.
MailNews: "More virus damage": Damage by the new type of virus known as the 'Zero Virus' is spreading. The Zero Virus infects Navis instead of electronic devices, and adversely affects their functions. No effective vaccine is available yet, so the only possible response to an infection is to turn off your PET.
- ^ Arika (June 17, 2003). Mega Man Network Transmission (GameCube). Capcom.
MegaMan: Ah! That's right! Lan, it was in today's Mail News! The Zero Virus vaccine is still missing! Lan: Huh? Oh yeah! So that vaccine Match used was a bad vaccine!
- ^ Arika (June 17, 2003). Mega Man Network Transmission (GameCube). Capcom.
Zero: All the Zero Viruses spread throughout the Cyberworlds are my eyes and ears, transmitting info. At first, all I did was spy and gather info. Somehow... I don't know exactly when, but... I gained a... soul...
- ^ Arika (June 17, 2003). Mega Man Network Transmission (GameCube). Capcom.
???: Hehehhe, I am the one they used to call 'Professor,' of the WWW leadership! I took over after Wily to revive the Life Virus! Chaud: The Life Virus!? You're insane...! MegaMan: What the... That means...! Professor: That's right! I called Zero forth, after Wily froze him, and made StarMan distribute a fake vaccine to hack all NetNavis!
- ^ Arika (June 17, 2003). Mega Man Network Transmission (GameCube). Capcom.
Dark: Yes, it's a net crime organization that has been growing lately. They call themselves... 'Gospel.' The job is... ShadowMan: ... ... As you command, sir! Narration: To be continued... In "Mega Man Battle Network 2"
- ^ CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f Casamassina, Matt (June 16, 2003). "Mega Man Network Transmission - GameCube Review". IGN. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e Bramwell, Tom (July 28, 2003). "Mega Man Network Transmission GameCube Review". Eurogamer. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f Turner, Benjamin (June 16, 2003). "Mega Man Network Transmission". GameSpy. IGN. Retrieved June 19, 2010.
- ^ a b IGN Staff (September 21, 2002). "TGS 2002: Rockman EXE Transmission". IGN. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
- ^ a b Williams, Bryn (June 1, 2003). "Mega Man Network Transmission". GameSpy. IGN. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
- ^ a b c Yoshinoya, Bakudan (October 11, 2002). "Mega Man EXE Transmission Interview". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
- ISBN 978-1-926778-12-9.
- ^ Greening, Chris (January 2010). "Interview with Shinji Hosoe". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
- ^ Famitsu staff (December 15, 2002). 『ロックマン』の生誕15周年を幕張メッセでお祝い! ["Rockman" The 15th Anniversary Celebration at Makuhari Messe]. Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
- ^ Game Watch staff (January 19, 2003). "次世代ワールドホビーフェア開幕。やはり見所は任天堂の「F-ZERO GC」" [Next Generation World Hobby Fair Season Raising the Curtain for Nintendo's "F-Zero GC", Sega's "VF4 EVO"] (in Japanese). Game Watch. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
- ^ IGN Staff (January 16, 2003). "CGD 03: Mega Man Network Transmission". IGN. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
- ^ CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
- ^ CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 1, 2012.
- ISSN 1058-918X.
- ^ Kontul, Christian (February 26, 2003). "News - New Famitsu Reviews!". GamesAreFun. Archived from the original on 2011-06-11. Retrieved June 19, 2010.
- ^ G4. Retrieved June 19, 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Star Dingo (June 16, 2003). "Mega Man: Network Transmission Review". GamePro. IDG. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
- ISSN 1041-9551.
- ^ Fennec Fox (March 14, 2003). "Top 30 Japanese Video Games 03/09/03". GamePro. IDG. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
- ^ Fennec Fox (March 21, 2003). "Top 30 Japanese Video Games 03/16/03". GamePro. IDG. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
- ^ Fennec Fox (March 28, 2003). "Top 30 Japanese Video Games 03/23/03". GamePro. IDG. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
- ^ Fennec Fox (April 11, 2003). "Top 30 Japanese Video Games 04/06/03". GamePro. IDG. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
- ^ "2003年テレビゲームソフト売り上げTOP300" [2003 Weekly Famitsu Top 300] (in Japanese). Geimin.net. Archived from the original on June 27, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
- ^ Famitsu staff. "ロックマン エグゼ トランスミッション (Best Price!)" [Rockman EXE Transmission (Best Price!)]. Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
- ^ Jones, Ashley (July 22, 2003). "News: U.S.A. Sales For Consoles". N-Europe. Archived from the original on 2006-12-09. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
External links
- Official Rockman EXE website (in Japanese)