When it comes to this franchise, the GBA/handheld games are the way to go.
So you'll be following Lan and Megaman through their new adventures of the future, battling viruses and enemies through the net. A lot of the characters from the GBA games have been brought back. There's already enough to say that this isn't the best way to introduce new players to the series, so a few of you will be left in the dust.
Those who've played the GBA games know that you'll be able to walk around the world RPG like and then when the time comes, you'll get into a random encounter with an enemy and from there you'll go through some action. No. With this game, it strays away from that idea completely. You can't control Lan. You only control Megaman. And instead of random encounters and fighting and all, you're now left with a 2D sidescrolling action-adventure game.
Controlling Megaman, you can shoot your standard cannon that's been known to the series since the beginning. Then every once in a while you can select battle chips which you can use on the go. Battle chips consist of healing items, swords, other projectile attacks, even summoning-like actions. All of this is in real time and it's triggered by the press of a button.
While this concept sounds genius, the only thing is that it's shallow. Simple. Dull. Press the button when you've selected a battle chip and you'll simply use that chip and it's ability. And it'll do the same thing every time. Like that Wide-sword? It'll always do the same attack. Always. Don't expect any cool 5-hit combos or anything. A good single attack that lasts for about half a second is all you'll get out of that one.
You'll be battling "viruses" in each of the stages if they can even be considered that. You'll be doing some platforming to get to various areas and sometimes go to new areas. The adventure aspect of the game is again kept a bit simple. A bit too simple. Sometimes it's hard to say whether you can consider it linear or non-linear, but either way you'll be blasting everything in your way.
Boss battles can get pretty rough, but seem less epic than the boss battles on its GBA predecessors. Having only two directions to move in can make some of the dodging and avoiding a bit difficult and certain bosses can make hitting them a real pain. You thought the boss battles on the GBA games were tough? Play this game and you'll know you spoke too soon.
Though these ideas sound good, something just makes the game a bit dull. Maybe it's because the movement speed is slower than you expect or because Megaman sucks at platforming in this game. Or maybe perhaps it lacks any intensity or satisfying action. You decide.
And on another note, one of the first things you'll notice is that the voices are in Japanese. I'm always up for the original Japanese voices, but even the Japanese voices can get irritating. ...I hope this is Japanese... Thankfully the game is suited with subtitles. The soundtrack doesn't really get things going, either. The opening title is disappointing and almost all of the rest of the music are cheesy and dissapointing. And I loved the music on the GBA ones.
And it looks like if you ever get into the age old debate on good graphics, this game shouldn't be used as an example whatsoever. Some of the effects are gorgeus, but nothing eye-popping.
I stopped before getting halfway done. At least, I think I stopped there. The story was weaker than the GBA ones and there was really nothing that wanted to keep me going. They shrunk a good series in attempt to make it bigger. It's a rental at best, but I can't even recommend this one to the fans. Stick to the ones on GBA and handhelds. Even if they get repetitive with every new installment, it's probably better than one playthrough with Network Transmission.