On almost a yearly basis, Capcom has released a new version of their popular Mega Man Battle Network games. Now we are up to part 4, and it lives up to what we have witnessed in the past. I will dwelve more into specifics later.

Since Battle Network 4 comes in two varieties, I will keep to broad generalizations since the two are very similar. The only differences are in the plot, bosses, and different items that are available. Essentially they are the same game, but changed slightly to encourage a purchase from consumers. Also if you own both versions of the game, don’t expect to be able to trade those special Giga chips that are only in Red Sun or Blue Moon, because you can’t.

For anyone unfamiliar with the series here is a quick rundown. Everything is on the net and communicating, not just people, but your entire household. You can log on with anything, even a dog house. The term the game uses is ‘Jack In’. Mostly everyone has a P.E.T. (personal information terminal).

Our story centers around a 6th grader named Lan, and his PET is none other than Mega Man. The game is thus split into two distinct parts. You control Lan in the real world, and Mega Man in the cyber world.


Flying fish!

With such progress in technology, there is a downside. Viruses are everywhere and since this is an RPG at heart, these are your typical monsters. This also drives the plot -- when you have a microwave acting up -- the logical conclusion is that a virus is involved. So Lan sends Mega Man to destroy those evil viruses, and try to keep the net clean.

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The story is very much akin to the duo's previous adventures. Problems arise, and both Lan, and Mega Man must solve their own parts of a much bigger puzzle to progress. What has changed is the story emphasis on tournaments. There are still villains to vanquish, but it seems that part 4 centers around a competition basis to push most of the plot.

The battle system is the most compelling aspect of this series of games. You and your enemy fight on a six by three grid. The play field is split in half, with Mega Man on one side, and his opponent on the other. You can only initially move onto your own nine squares. Mega Man uses his trusty blaster to fight, but the main emphasis is on using battle chips. You start the game with a selection of battle chips and as you progress you collect more, but you are limited to how many you can keep in your chip folder. These battle chips can be simply categorized into two types; offensive and defensive. When each battle begins, you start off with a choice of five battle chips, taken randomly from your chip folder. These chips can be linked together to form devastating combos. The way this works is you can link these chips by type, or by their chip code, such as if two chips have a chip code of an ‘A’ they can both be linked for a turn. You can link as many as five chips per turn.


The map

There are far more intricate aspects to the battle system, and chips. For one, Mega Man can counter attacks by timing his attack perfectly with his opponents. Certain chips also carry an advantage with certain enemies. If the chip has the same category as the enemy, the attack does double damage, like using a water-based attack on a water-based enemy.