Battle Network Rockman Exe on Game Boy Advance

Rockman, or Megaman as he is known in the West, is making his little blue way onto the Game Boy Advance in Japan on March 21st. This makes Megaman a launch title as it is the same date as the release of the console. Megaman is a lovable little tyke whose history stretches all the way back to the 8-bit era. He has come a long way, constantly evolving and adapting to the new platforms and dimensions offered by said platforms. Megaman was cool because it featured an open-ended game structure; you chose the path and boss that you wanted to start with. If you successfully defeated the boss you were rewarded with power-ups that could be used on later levels. So, theoretically you could make the game harder or easier for yourself depending on what power-ups you possessed.

This new Megaman game will be an action role-playing game that will be set in a computer network. The focus of the game will involve battling computer viruses and taking on organised net crime. This is interesting subject matter as viruses are the worst threat to any computer user, can end up costing millions of pounds worth of damage and critically destroying important data. In the game you will have two identities, one is an ordinary boy in the human world and the other will be Megaman Exe, an alter-ego that is accessed by entering the computer domain. Once you defeat your computer virus enemies, you will be rewarded with a battle chip that will be useful for taking on your next threat. At present it is known that there will be over 150 different enemies to defeat. Because this new Megaman game will be networkable, you will be able to link up with your friends and take them on in the virtual domain.

Everyone’s talking about Nintendo’s new, powerful forthcoming handheld at the moment, and with good reason. It is a 32-bit handheld with graphical power somewhere between the Super Nintendo Entertainment system and the Nintendo 64. All this portable power is not coming at the expense of batteries but rather from new innovations in design and technology. But, any platform is nothing without top quality software, just look at the Jaguar or 3DO. With Nintendo and Capcom, amongst others, supporting the Game Boy Advance, it will be spoiled with great games from the outset. Games like Megaman and Mario Kart will make the Game Boy Advance an essential purchase. It is currently expected that Battle Network Rockman Exe will be a European launch title when the handheld hits the streets this summer. Have a drool over these new screenshots and start saving those pennies.