After some initial difficulty pains, Megaman Network Transmission is mostly a fun game and sometimes a good game.
Graphics: While it is no technical stunner, every character model looks like they were taken right out of the anime and given new life... except Lan and Megaman. Both of their characters can't hold out through the game, and start to look ba quickly. Unlike the bosses you encounter with a lively intro scene and distinct attacks, Megaman and Lan are just kind of there graphically. The viruses look pretty good, but that could have to do with the fact that most of them are deleted with 3 seconds of you seeing them. (7.5/10)
Gameplay: The core aspect of the game is hard to grasp at first, but becomes all apparent relatively quickly. In the game Lan is a stationary character, he sits in his room throughout the entire game. It is implied that he does move, but he is never shown leaving his room. This isn't a big deal, but is a massive change from the Battle Network series. On Megaman's side, which is really the only side in this game, you run through a side scrolling internet. You jump, slide and fire charged an d uncharged buster shots, which can be upgraded with the Powerup system of BN1 and 2. The game is kind of throwback to the classic Megaman titles of old, except instead of powers you acquire from defeated bosses, you use chips from the Battle Network series. The chips aren't one time usage though, they stack. Each chip has a limit on how many you can use though. Cannon, for instance, has a maximum carrying capacity of 30, but you don't start with 30 Cannons. You have to grind against viruses to max out these chips. There are elements from the Battle Network series that remain intact. You have a now only 20 chip folder that is on a custom gauge, meaning once you select chips you have to wait a set amount of time to select new ones. You can designate one chip to always show at the beginning of your browsing session. There is an all new Memory gauge that limits how many chips you can spam. The same number that determines whether or not you can favorite a chip also corresponds to how much of your Memory is drained with every chip you use, and once you run out, you can use any chips until it recharges a small amount. There are some annoyance I failed to mention, such as you can only save while you are "controlling" Lan and not Megaman. You also need to learn the function of the Item button from the menu, as it allows you to see what chips you have picked up from enemies, without going into, and resetting your chip folder. You also will spend a lot of time camped out in front of the portal to boss fights, waiting for the right selection of chips to take on the boss. The biggest problem with the game is that 4 of the game's 6 first bosses are the hardest in the game. Fireman, Gutsman, Brightman and Quickman to be exact. (7.0/10)
Story: The plot takes place, literally the moment Battle Network 1 ends and leads right into Battle Network 2. Lan and Megaman have defeated the Life Virus and foiled Dr. Wily's evil plans. As soon as they get home, his friend Mayl emails him that her navi, Roll is in trouble. You see that Fireman has turned the net near Mayl's access point into a sea of fire and you must stop him. After you do, Fireman acts dazed and confused and soon it is realized that he was being controlled with a strange Zero virus. The plot gets crazier from there. It isn't exactly the deepest story ever, but it'll keep some fans interested and has some easter-eggs related to other Megaman games. There are also a large number of secrets if one is willing to deviate from the beaten path. It isn't super long if you stick to the plot, don't go for secrets or do any chip grinding. I'd estimate you could beat the game in 12 hours if you were set on it. It took me just shy of 17 hours though. (7.5/10)
Soundtrack: Fans will agree with me that the game, as all the other Battle Network games is catchy. Unlike the Battle Network games, the game's music is much higher quality than the 16 bit tunes of the GBA games. The voice acting is very good in my opinion, because they kept the Japanese voice acting and didn't allow English VAs to mutilate the very little catch phrases that were said. Perhaps an option to switch between the two might have been nice. (9/10)
As you can tell, this was a game designed with the fan in mind first, and wouldn't be a great entry title into the Megaman or Battle Network series. If you do like Megaman Battle Network, Zero or Classic then this would be well worth your while to look at.