MEGA MAN: BATTLE & CHASE - By -Majin-

System: PSX
Genre: Racing
Release: 1997
Also called : Rockman: Battle & Chase; Megaman Racing
Players: 1-2
Released in: Japan, Europe, USA

Now this is something, a Mega Man racing game, and yes, it kind of plays like Mario Kart on the N64, but there is more to it.

You never knew about this game? Then you live in the US, because the game only came to all the PAL regions and Japan, but if you want a chance of ever playing it, then wait till the Mega Man X collection is in the shops, the game will be with it.

For starters, this game does not rely play like Mario Kart 64, you never face all the rivals in one race, you only face one at a time, and all of them have different tracks, but they get help from other characters. But to beat the race, you not only have to beat your rival, but also all of the drones.(ranging from a normal enemy called “Roader”, Sniper Joes, and Yellow Devils.)

The main selling point of this game is that the player can actually take parts from the enemy, to make his/her cart stronger, and make other tracks easier. After beating the enemy 4 times, it’s also possible to steal the actual body of the cart, so that the attacks can be imitated.

There are also obstacles (like Mets, Super Mets and traffic cones) on the tracks who can be hit (or shot) at to get pick-up items, which can be used to slow down the enemy.

The attacks range from mines to thunder-like drones who slow down enemies.
The games 10 characters (plus one hidden character) also drive differently (apart from Bass, he is a copy of megaman, apart from that he does not drive in a gay pink cart), and do affect the style of driving.

All characters also have one or more special attacks, ranging from normal shots to full power Napalm Bombs.

Now, the game is not without its flaws, one of the games problems is that the game does not support the controller stick, and has to played with the D-pad, not really a big problem, but it can be irritating. the game also has no sharp turn like Mario Kart has (maybe I was spoiled by it?). Also, some of the characters are almost not appearing outside the Japanese version, because they have long interviews with the racers before the race, and it’s all in Japanese (they did not change the voice acting in this game like they did in MM8, thus they did not bother of translating this and just removed it.) Because of that, they did not get a name in the PAL version. Sad, really, because some interviews were really funny, like the one with Bass and Wily.

Some of the background textures have bright colours, like the stage of Shadowman, the background colours are (of all things) Pink, and it’s very bright, so it’s hard to see the upcoming corners because of that.

Also, when the game becomes harder, it REALLY gets hard. It might be me, but I think that finishing the game must be impossible for most, not for those who posses a wild amount of “mad skillz”. I can’t even state how frustrating it is the be ALMOST first over the finish line, only to be beaten by 0.005 of a second by a rival. This happens almost every race on “hard”.

Anyway, Megaman: Battle & Chase is a very good and balanced game that is a welcome change of the well known formula of other Megaman games. when you get the chance, get it with the upcoming Megaman X collection.

Play Control: Playing with the D-pad does not rely feel right, but after some time of getting used to it the problem will be gone. Apart from this, it’s flawless.

Graphics: The graphics are nothing realy spectacular, but at least they use 3D models instead of using sprites like in…Mario Kart (this is the last time I use that name).

Difficulty: The game starts easy, but after getting into “hard” mode with every track, it will REALLY becomes hard.

Replay Value: The game can be played over and over, and because there are unlocked goodies and over 10 characters, the game can be played for months.

PLUS: - Totally different from any other megaman game, with 2 player action.
- Unlike Mario Kart (damn, I said it again) it has more bonuses…

MINUS:- Interviews were removed from the English version.

FINAL SCORE: 90%