RR Week: Megaman: Battle Network 4 Redux

[Double]

SURPRISED?! DK64 got a 33 and a third, BN4 got a 33.5, we naturally can't let that stand now can we? This game wasn't part of my childhood, but because of the above reason and as it was Double's first review ever, and this is the 100th post of this account, I felt that I should revisit the abomination. This time with further clarification behind the scores and in do so in a slightly more professional manner, yes I'm aware the DK64 review reads like a tirade, deal with it. I am also aware I am a horrible liar.

Introduction: MegaMan Battle Network 4 was the fourth installment of the series, after the rather closed end of Battle Network 3, the fact that they even made a fourth shows that Capcom was indeed milking the series at this point if not beating a dead horse.

Gameplay: Battle Network 4 has the same basic battle mechanics the last 3 games have, 3 by 3 grid, folder with 30 chips, Navi Customizer, etc. However the game did away with the style system of Battle Network 2 and 3, and instead replaced it with a Soul System. By sacrificing a certain chip type, MegaMan can temporarily gain the powers of his foes. While this sounds cool, it's pretty limited, it only lasts 3 turns and you can't sacrifice a default chip to use it. There is also quite a balance problem, for example Fire Soul only increases fire damage, has a fire charge shot and heals on lava squares. Wind Soul lets MegaMan blow enemies to the front row and use a very quick charge move to fling them back again, lather rinse and repeat. Also Wind Soul doesn't break cracked panels. Also battles in this game, seem pretty boring and tedious, you'll end up wanting to run away more than actually fight. The games other new battle mechanic is the usage of dark chips. If you suck too much, you can use a dark chip which is basically an instant win BUT, it screws you over if you don't win AND it reduces your HP by one, FOR-EV-ER.

Whereas the previous game used a flow that could be best described as this:
-Do some menial shit for your friends or something.
-OH SHIT IT'S THE WWW/GOSPEL GO THROUGH AN AREA WITH PUZZLES AND FIGHT A BOSS.
-Start at the first step, occasionally have an evil Navi somewhere on the internet blocking something important that you have to quest for.
Battle Network 4 uses a Tournament system. In any given tournament you will fight one of two navis you can get souls from, one of two you can't and two generic navis. But before you're even allowed to fight them you must do a side quest for them. This includes:
-Finding the combatants brother.
-Find a password to fix your folder after your opponent puts a lock on it and gives you a horrible one.
-Going through a series of NPC searches to find a guy to FIX your opponent.
-Going through several areas on the internet with reversed controls.
-Running around and fighting Kendo dummies on the internet.
-Going to stop your opponent from causing global cooling with a series of satellites... WHAT?!
-Playing soccer.
Needless to say, this is far less engaging then taking down a mafia, even if the mafia is a retarded idea, this is still boring as fuck. Ironically, many of these in the second tournament ALL end in the same area of Park Area 2, which makes an already silly concept outright laughable.

In between tournaments, you engage in sidequests for the next tournament, and fight ShadeMan. You don't ever get to fight ShadeMan the normal way in the game. He's invincible when you first fight him, and the second time you're forced to use a dark chip to kill him. The sidequests are pretty bad. For example to get to the second tournament, you need "50 points". Where do you get these 50 points? Anywhere. Seriously, you have to examine random things throughout the game to get the points so you can enter the next damn tournament. What. The. Fuck.

New Game +, is a "feature" in this game. I say "feature" as it is required. In your first play through you will only get half of the souls, in your next you will get a third, and only in the third do you get the final one. Yes, the game forces you to play through it three times for the full content.  Further, the games hidden areas require you to do this... so at the end this just seems like a cheap way of lengthening the game, and it is.

Double gave this section an eight originally... I don't know personally I think that's a bit high. As 8/20 is 40 %, and I honestly do not think the game deserves that much. How about 5 % instead?
1 out of 20

Music: The music is pretty bad, Double made a point of mentioning a specific track "Densan Dome", as being pretty atrocious... I failed to find this music on youtube though I kept finding these videos of anime characters doing a stupid dance. HOWEVER he also mentioned the final boss music was pretty bad... but I said I wouldn't post that anymore this week, so yeah just take my word, it is bad.
5 out of 15

Translation: I really don't need to say anything here, everyone knows that Battle Network 4's translation is laughably bad:


Double for some reason originally gave this section half a pity point, it doesn't even deserve that. Hell I'd give it negative points if I could, that's how bad it is.
0  out of 10

Length: Well in order to get 100 % you must play the game thrice, so that's fairly long I guess. However, you will end up doing many of the same things multiple times, and even then an individual play through, is pretty damn short.
6 out of 15.

Rehash: The game has new mug shots and over world graphics, but uses the same material as the last 3 games for the battle stuff, the sprites sounds, etc. I could also argue with the forced re-play, the game rehashes from itself, but that would be silly, so I won't.
7 out of 15

Plot: So there is this giant asteroid coming to slam into the planet and destroy it (if this doesn't make the final boss obvious... you haven't been playing enough MegaMan), so the world's best scientists*, including a totally not evil guy named Regal who dresses like a goth and is from a military dictatorship, convene and decide to blow up the asteroid with a laser beam.

Meanwhile, you as Lan and MegaMan, do absolutely nothing about it. Instead you decide to enter in tournaments as described in the Gameplay section. Eventually you find out there's a new evil organization in town called Nebula, and well... they're evil. MUCH later you find out you were in the tournaments to help them use their laser and Regal is in control of Nebula and the Asteroid is Duo, who wants to blow up Earth on account of mankind sucking. Duo leaves, Regal tells us he's Wily's son, and falls off a building only to return a game later sporting a wicked goatee, which makes me believe he is also related to Geese Howard.

The game's plot is quite bad, for A) being silly, and B) being one the protagonist doesn't really interact with until the end. Sure you run into ShadeMan a few times but that's just filler for the tournaments.
0 points out of 10

*Ok, so why is a guy who develops computers and the internet on a project to destroy an asteroid? Anyone? Anyone at all?

Difficulty: One would think that with increasing the difficulty each time the game would do well here, even Double made that claim, but it doesn't. You keep your folder from the last play through and the enemy increase isn't enough at the start of the game to make a difference, and by the time it would have made a difference you have now upgraded your folder with the chips from these stronger enemies. The only "difficult" parts are more accurately called "annoying", such as the Video Man section and a few of the tournament side quests.
9 out of 15.

Total: 26 out of 100 = 26 %

So yeah, DK64, be happy I re-adjusted the standards so you weren't on the same level. For the record, Battle Chip Challenge still has the lowest score.

Positive: HAY WHEN IS FYRE MAN VURSION THRI COMING OUT?

Negative: Its existence proves that there cannot be a merciful all-loving god.