Mega Man & Bass

An old Mega Man adventure for the Super NES gets its first stateside release on the GBA?and this old timer?s got a lesson for the new kids.

Even though this GBA release of Mega Man & Bass represents the first American incarnation of the Japanese SNES game Roman & Forte, it wasn?t quality that kept the game away from these shores. This older entry in the series is actually better than any of the other Mega Man GBA titles.

The game has a fairly polished presentation. The 16-bitty 2D graphics in Mega Man & Bass hold up well, but slowdown is apparent when several enemies are on the screen. The sound effects and music haven?t really changed all that much since Mega Man was born (would you have it any other way?), but aside from a few rather overly happy and out-of-place melodies, the music is pretty rockin?.

The game?s longevity is enhanced by the addition of a second playable character; Bass?s moves don?t differ too drastically from Mega Man?s, but using him allows access to a surprising number of new paths and different collectible CDs (virtual trading cards of Mega Man characters) for the completist.

But the real reason Mega Man & Bass works is simple: It represents Mega Man doing what he does best?beating bosses with cool themes, collecting their weapons, and overcoming well-designed levels that are difficult?but not stupidly-super-frustratingly difficult. The game isn?t diluted by the weird chip-swapping power-ups introduced in the Battle Network series, or the weapon-element upgrade system from Mega Man Zero?these methods simply can?t hold a candle to the old-fashioned rock-paper-scissors-fireball-dinosaur-broccoli way of doing things. Dumb traditions need to die; good ones (like this) should be kept alive.

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