When I think of Mega Man it brings me to the days on the NES playing Mega Man 2 and writing down long passwords so I could it back up again if I had to leave. Then I remember the SNES Mega Man series: Mega Man X, this series was set at a faster pace then the other one, and the difficulty was ramped, as well as meeting other robots such as the infamous Zero. Since the games were so popular, there was even a cartoon made out of it.

Now there is a new Mega Man series, instead of tying to take down Dr. Wiley and his crazy robot companions, players now have a new enemy to face. Mega Man Network Transmission first appeared on the GameBoy Advance around launch time. So far it has spawned three games, and even a new cartoon series. Capcom has decided to bring this new Mega Man franchise to the Nintendo GameCube. This is the 15th year anniversary for the Mega Man franchise, and does this new series have what it takes to be up with the greatness that was on the previous Nintendo Systems? Read on to find out!

The whole basis for this Mega Man series is a lot different from the previous ones. The time frame is in the 21st century and the Internet has exploded creating a new era called the “network era.” Since people can access the net from anywhere, everyone carries personal handle terminals known as PETs. To put it simply PETS are a modernized cell phone, except people use it for email, telephone calls, and even read books and newspapers. Before long, there were major advancements in technology and now people have created article beings for the PETs, called NET NAVI’s. With them people can explore the Internet as well as other things.

As everyone knows, once there is something useful, people will find a way to destroy it and make life miserable for others. For the network era is people who create powerful viruses to harm all of the NET NAVI’s and attempt to destroy the Internet. To get around this people must equip their NAVI’s with armor and weapons, with something called “battle chips.” Lan and his NAVI Mega Man foiled the evil plans of a crime group called WWW. The bad thing about this group is they didn’t destroy the net, but went after the NAVI’s trying to eliminate them. Since they destroyed that organization their life has been getting dull, but as everyone is well aware of, peace cannot last long.

Mega Man Network Transmission is a mix of an RPG and an action game. Unlike previous Mega Man games, Mega Man will actually grow and learn new and more powerful moves. Also another major difference is that most of his weapons are gained from chips, which have a limited use, so players will have to be strategic not to use their most powerful weapons early on in each level. Another restraint is players can only have five chips at any given time, so they will have to be extremely resourceful when using them.

Most of the game is taken place in cyberspace, as this is where the tried and true Mega Man formula comes in to play. Players have a few actions they can perform, just like the older games, Mega Man can jump, walk, fire your regular gun, and then fire any special chip players have with them. Throughout the game, Mega Man will collect some upgrades that will make him extremely powerful.

The graphics in Mega Man Network Transmission are nice, crisp, and colorful. Mega Man and all of the enemies are done in cel-shading, which really gives the game a nostalgic feel. All environments are really simplistic, but you have to take it for what it is, as every Mega Man game in existence has had simple backgrounds. The plus side to this is that I never encountered any slowdown at all in this game, which is something that everyone will be happy to hear. A neat thing about this game is when the story needs to be progressed, the game switches to some Anime-inspired cut screens that look extremely nice.

When you think of Mega Man you really don’t think of astounding soundtrack that accompanies the game, and this is the case here. The music is all run-of-the-mill sounds and music that you might have heard before; there is nothing special about it at all.

What is a huge puzzlement is the lack of Game Boy Advance connectivity. It was assumed since this game was born on the GBA, it was a shoe-in for some form of connectivity. Sadly this is not the case; maybe if there is a sequel we will see this implemented.

Mega Man Network Transmission is rated E for Everyone and contains violence. It will take up to 6 Blocks of memory for game saves.

Gameplay: 8.5
Mega Man Network Transmission plays like the 2-D games of old, which is great news to any Mega Man fan!

Graphics: 7.9
Everything is really simple looking. This game does not take advantage of the GameCube’s hardware in any sense.

Sound: 7.0
You will not hear anything that will blow your socks off here.

Difficulty: Easy
The game is hard in the beginning for a few reasons, Mega Man has nothing in terms of power he is extremely weak. Once players start collecting chips and defeating various bosses and other enemies, they will find that the game is really easy.

Concept: 7.6
Been-there done-that feeling with this game, but that is what makes the Mega Man series so popular. Even though the controls felt the same, it was the experience, new bosses, and updated graphics that make this series a keeper.

Overall: 8.0
Even though Mega Man Network Transmission did not live up to my expectations, this is not a bad game by any means. If you have kids, or love anything Mega Man, try this game out and see for yourself. If nothing else this game is a good weekend rental.