Mega Man: Battle & Chase

Last updated
Mega Man: Battle & Chase
Mmb&ccoverart.jpg
European box art
Developer(s) Capcom
Publisher(s) Capcom
Producer(s) Keiji Inafune
Designer(s) Masahiro Yasuma
Hayato Tsuru
Composer(s) Yoshinori Ono
Series Mega Man
Platform(s) PlayStation
Release
PlayStation Network
  • JP: December 17, 2014
Genre(s) Racing
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Mega Man: Battle & Chase [lower-alpha 1] is a racing video game based on the original Mega Man series from Capcom. The game was released in Japan on March 20, 1997 and in the PAL region on April 3, 1998 for PlayStation. Although it was not released individually in North America, Mega Man: Battle & Chase was featured on the region-exclusive Mega Man X Collection in 2006. Mega Man: Battle & Chase is a traditional racing game with an emphasis on combat. Winning a race allows the player to choose a car part from an enemy competitor as a prize. Reviews for the game have been mixed with many critics drawing comparisons to Nintendo's Mario Kart series.

Contents

Gameplay

Mega Man competes against Roll in the single-player Grand Prix mode. Battle and chase gameplay.jpg
Mega Man competes against Roll in the single-player Grand Prix mode.

Mega Man: Battle & Chase is a 3D racing game in which the players compete against one another or the computer AI in a series of road races. The game consists of three different modes: a single-player "Grand Prix Mode", a "Time Trial Mode", and a multiplayer "Versus Mode". The Grand Prix mode contains a total of eight race tracks, while the Time Trial mode contains twelve tracks. [3] The game has ten playable characters from the original Mega Man series including Mega Man, Roll, Proto Man, Bass, Duo, and Dr. Wily, as well as a few of Wily's Robot Masters. Each of the characters possesses an innate ability that can be used for attacking other drivers during the race. A gauge on the left side of the screen will repeatedly charge and allow for another special power when fired. For example, Mega Man has the ability to shoot small projectiles from his vehicle. When the weapon gauge completely fills, the player can unleash a much larger and more destructive blast.

All the race tracks are littered with hazards and other obstacles that range from street cones to giant, walking Mets. Rather than avoiding them, players are encouraged to make contact with them. [4] Running through or destroying ten of these hazards with a weapon will give the player a special item. These items have various effects such as giving the player a shield or disabling other drivers' weapons. [3] Winning races in the game's Grand Prix mode lets the player select a specific part (engine, wing, tire, or body) from the owner of the track, allowing for the customization of both the performance and appearance of the chosen character's vehicle. [3] [4]

Development

Series artist and producer Keiji Inafune claimed that he had always wanted to "[bring] the unique 'beat your enemies and take their stuff aspect' of Mega Man to a racing cart game". [1] The game's character designs and promotion images were illustrated by Shinsuke Komaki and Hideki Ishikawa. The concept art for Guts Man in his Wild Arms racer was redone for the overseas version due to the original piece containing the character performing an offensive gesture. [1] The musical score for Mega Man: Battle & Chase was composed by Yoshinori Ono and has vocals by Yoshino Aoki and Ryoji Yamamoto. This was one of Aoki's first projects at Capcom. She sang theme for the character Roll, Kaze yo Tsutaete (風よ伝えて, "Wind, Carry My Words"), which was used as both an ending theme and for the game's Japanese television commercial advertisement. [5] The second vocal ending theme A ~ Otoko Ichidai (あ~男一代, lit. "Ah, Man's Life") features Yamamoto as the character Guts Man. [6] A CD soundtrack for the game was released by Victor Entertainment in Japan on June 21, 1997. [7]

Mega Man: Battle & Chase was released in Japan on March 20, 1997. [1] The developer Capcom had planned to release the game in North America the following month. [3] However, despite being advertised in numerous gaming magazines, Mega Man Battle & Chase did not pass approval from Sony Computer Entertainment for an individual release in North America due to an already large presence of mascot-themed racing games in the video game market. [8] [9] [10] In April 1998, Infogrames published an English version of the game. [2] It was one of the few PAL region Capcom titles released at this time that wasn't published by Virgin Interactive. In 2006, Mega Man Battle & Chase was included along with the first six Mega Man X games in the North American Mega Man X Collection for the PlayStation 2 (PS2) and GameCube. [11]

Reception

Critical reception for Mega Man: Battle & Chase has been mixed. The gameplay has been almost universally compared to Nintendo's Mario Kart series. [3] [4] [10] [16] [17] GameSpot contributor Jeff Gerstmann was impressed by the Japanese version of the game. Gerstmann noted good graphics and interesting sound design, and concluded that it is "one of the coolest Mega Man games released. Period." [4] The Official UK PlayStation Magazine said that it was "basically just a rip-off".[ citation needed ] Oliver Ehrl of Maniac was positive about the game, stating that while it was boring at lower levels of difficulty due to being targeted at children, it does get more interesting. He also pointed out that the game contains graphical errors on steep curves which include stuttering models. [14]

When reviewing the Mega Man X Collection, Phil Theobald of GameSpy found the graphics for Mega Man Battle & Chase to be dated, but that it was still fun to play and that the ability of the player to steal opponents' parts to use as their own further tied the game to Mega Man franchise. [16] IGN writer Jeremy Dunham similarly asserted, "I was actually surprised at how entertaining this little kart racer really is, and while it's not on par with something like Crash Team Racing or the legendary Mario Kart series, it's a nice change of pace with some cool tracks." [18] In his retrospective of the entire Mega Man game franchise, Jeremy Parrish of 1UP.com denoted the Mega Man Battle & Chase as "a simpleminded racer that is mainly notable for being the first truly shameless Mario Kart clone and for almost being released in the U.S. Though not worth a stand-alone purchase, it's tolerable as a few minutes' diversion as part of the Mega Man X Collection for PS2." [19]

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: ロックマン バトル&チェイス, Hepburn: Rokkuman Battoru Ando Cheisu, lit. 'Rockman: Battle & Chase'

Related Research Articles

<i>Mega Man</i> Video game franchise

Mega Man is a Japanese science fiction video game franchise created by Capcom, starring a series of characters each known by the name or moniker "Mega Man". The original game was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987, and spawned a franchise that expanded to over 50 games on multiple systems. As of July 2023, the series has sold 40 million units worldwide.

<i>Mega Man 2</i> 1988 video game

Mega Man 2 is an action game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in Japan in 1988 and in North America and PAL regions the following years. Mega Man 2 continues Mega Man's battle against the evil Dr. Wily and his rogue robots. It introduced graphical and gameplay changes, many of which became series staples.

<i>Mega Man 4</i> 1991 video game

Mega Man 4 is an action-platform game developed by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the fourth game in the original Mega Man series and was originally released in Japan in 1991. The game was localized in North America the following January, and in Europe in 1993.

<i>Mega Man 5</i> 1992 video game

Mega Man 5 is an action-platform video game developed by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the fifth game in the original Mega Man series and was released in Japan on December 4, 1992. It saw a release during the same month in North America and in 1993 in Europe.

Mega Man Battle Network is a tactical role-playing video game series created by Masahiro Yasuma and developed and published by Capcom as a spin-off of the Mega Man series; it premiered in 2001 on the Game Boy Advance and takes place in an alternate continuity where computers and networking technology was the main focus on scientific advancement, rather than robotics. There are a total of six mainline games, alongside several spin-offs.

<i>Mega Man 8</i> 1996 video game

Mega Man 8 is a platform game developed and released by Capcom in 1996. It was directed by Hayato Kaji and produced by Keiji Inafune, both of whom had previously worked on the series as artists. It is the eighth installment in the original Mega Man series, and was initially released in Japan on the PlayStation in 1996. The following year, Mega Man 8 saw a release on the Sega Saturn and was localized for both consoles in North America and the PlayStation alone in PAL regions. Mega Man 8 is the first game in the series made available on 32-bit consoles. The plot follows series protagonist Mega Man as he is called to investigate an energy reading coming from a recent meteor crash on an island. Mega Man discovers that his nemesis Dr. Wily has run off with the energy source, and sets off to stop Wily's evil plans to use the energy, and to discover the purpose of a mysterious alien robot found at the crash site.

<i>Mega Man</i> (1987 video game) 1987 video game

Mega Man, known as Rockman in Japan, is a platform game developed and published by Capcom in 1987 for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was directed by Akira Kitamura, with Nobuyuki Matsushima as lead programmer, and is the first game of the Mega Man franchise and the original video game series. Mega Man was produced by a small team specifically for the home console market, a first for Capcom, which previously focused on arcade video games.

<i>Mega Man X</i> (video game) 1993 video game

Mega Man X is a platform game developed and published by Capcom for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It was the first Mega Man game for the 16-bit console and the first game in the Mega Man X series, a spin-off to the original Mega Man series that began on the Super NES's predecessor, the Nintendo Entertainment System. Mega Man X was released in Japan on December 17, 1993 and was released in both North America and Europe the following year. Taking place a century after the original Mega Man series, Mega Man X is set in a futuristic world populated by both humans and "Reploids", robots capable of thinking, feeling, and growing like their human creators. Because of these complex attributes, many Reploids are prone to destructive, renegade activity and are thereafter referred to as "Mavericks". The plot of the game follows the protagonist X, an android member of a military task force called the "Maverick Hunters". With the help of his partner Zero, X must thwart the plans of Sigma, a powerful Maverick leader wishing to bring about human extinction.

<i>Mega Man X3</i> 1995 video game

Mega Man X3, known as Rockman X3 (ロックマンX3) in Japan, is a video game released by Capcom for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The game was originally released in Japan on December 1, 1995, and later in North American and PAL regions in 1996. It is the third game in the Mega Man X series and the last to appear on the SNES. Mega Man X3 takes place in a fictional future in which the world is populated by humans and intelligent robots called "Reploids". Like their human creators, some Reploids involve themselves in destructive crime and are labelled as "Mavericks". After twice defeating the Maverick leader Sigma, the heroes X and Zero must battle a Reploid scientist named Dr. Doppler and his utopia of Maverick followers.

<i>Mega Man X7</i> 2003 video game

Mega Man X7, known as Rockman X7 (ロックマンX7) in Japan, is a video game developed by Capcom for the PlayStation 2 console. It is the seventh main game in the Mega Man X series and the first in the series to appear on the sixth generation of gaming consoles. Mega Man X7 was first released in Japan on July 17, 2003, with North American and European releases following in October 2003 and March 2004 respectively. The European version features a redrawn logo also used for future releases in the region. It was also released for Microsoft Windows exclusively in South Korea and Taiwan until the re-release as part of Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 on July 24, 2018 for the worldwide release and July 26, 2018 for Japan, whose Windows version was released internationally via Steam along with PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. It is the first and only Mega Man X game to be a third-person shooter.

<i>Mega Man Battle Network</i> (video game) 2001 video game

Mega Man Battle Network is a role-playing video game developed by Capcom for the Game Boy Advance (GBA) handheld console. It is the first title of the Mega Man Battle Network series of games. It was originally released in Japan as a GBA launch game on March 21, 2001 and was released later that year in North America and Europe. It was also released via the Wii U Virtual Console in Japan on July 9, 2014, in Europe on July 24, 2014, and in North America on July 31, 2014.

<i>Mega Man X Collection</i> 2006 video game

Mega Man X Collection is a compilation of video games developed by Capcom. Released on January 10, 2006, in North America for GameCube and PlayStation 2, Mega Man X Collection contains the first six games in the Mega Man X series, which originated on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and made its way primarily onto various 32-bit consoles. All six games are action platformers in which the player traverses a series of stages and gains the special weapons of defeated bosses.

<i>Mega Man Soccer</i> 1994 sports video game published by Capcom

Mega Man Soccer is a soccer video game for the Super NES. The game is based on the original Mega Man series of action-platform games. Mega Man Soccer was released in Japan on February 17, 1994, and in North America in March of that same year.

<i>Mega Man Zero</i> (video game) 2002 video game

Mega Man Zero is a 2002 action-platform video game developed by Inti Creates and published by Capcom for the Game Boy Advance (GBA) handheld game console. It is the first installment in the Mega Man Zero series, the fifth series in Capcom's Mega Man video game franchise. The game is set 100 years after the events of the Mega Man X series and follows Zero, a Reploid awakened from his sleep to aid a human scientist named Ciel and her resistance force in a fight against the utopia of Neo Arcadia.

<i>Mega Man Powered Up</i> 2006 video game

Mega Man Powered Up is a side-scrolling platform video game developed and published by Capcom. It was released for the PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld game console in March 2006. It is a remake of the original Mega Man game released in 1987 for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Players control the eponymous star Mega Man who must stop Dr. Wily from conquering the world using eight robots called Robot Masters. Unlike the original game, players can control these eight Robot Masters under the right circumstances. Other new features include a level creator mode and a challenge mode.

<i>Rockman Battle & Fighters</i> 2000 fighting video game

Rockman: Battle & Fighters is a Mega Man fighting game developed and published by Capcom for the Neo Geo Pocket Color handheld system in 2000. It is a portable version of the two arcade fighting games Mega Man: The Power Battle, and Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters. The game involves choosing one of four characters and fighting through a series of boss battles. The game was originally only released in Japan, but was localized in 2022 as Mega Man Battle & Fighters for the Nintendo Switch. The game was also re-released as part of Neo Geo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 2 in 2022.

<i>Mega Man 6</i> 1993 video game

Mega Man 6, known in Japan as Rockman 6: The Greatest Battle in History!!, is an action-platform video game developed by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the sixth installment in the original Mega Man series. It was originally released in Japan by Capcom in 1993, and in North America by Nintendo in 1994. It was included in the Mega Man Anniversary Collection released in 2004. Its first release in Europe and PAL region was June 11, 2013, for the 3DS Virtual Console, nearly twenty years after the game's initial release.

<i>Mega Man 10</i> 2010 video game

Mega Man 10 is an action-platform video game developed by Inti Creates and Capcom. It is the tenth main entry of the original Mega Man series. The game was released as a downloadable title for the console gaming services WiiWare, PlayStation Network (PSN), and Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) during March 2010. The game was also given a physical release along with four other Capcom titles from different franchises in the Capcom Essentials Pack for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It was later released again for a physical and digital release as part of Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 alongside Mega Man 7, Mega Man 8 and Mega Man 9 for the PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One, as well as the Nintendo Switch in May 2018.

<i>Mega Man X4</i> 1997 video game

Mega Man X4, originally released in Japan as Rockman X4 (ロックマンX4), is an action-platform game developed by Capcom. It is the fourth game in the Mega Man X series and the second game in the series to be released on the Sega Saturn and PlayStation. The two versions were released simultaneously in Japan in 1997. A North America release followed sometime thereafter, while Europe received only the PlayStation version in 1997. Mega Man X4 allows the player to choose between the two mechanoid "Reploids" protagonists at the beginning of the game: X, who uses traditional, long-range attacks; or Zero, who wields a short-range sword.

<i>Mega Man 7</i> 1995 video game

Mega Man 7 is an action platform video game developed and published by Capcom for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the seventh game in the original Mega Man series. The game was released in Japan on March 24, 1995 and was localized later in the year in North America and Europe.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Mega Man: Official Complete Works. Udon Entertainment. January 6, 2010. pp. 84–8. ISBN   978-1-897376-79-9.
  2. 1 2 Video Games staff (April 1998). "Tests: Mega Man Battle & Chase". Video Games (in German). Markt Anfang: 89.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Electronic Gaming Monthly staff (March 1997). "Previews: Mega Man: Battle & Chase" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 92. Lombard, IL: Ziff Davis. p. 36. ISSN   1058-918X.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Gerstmann, Jeff (April 29, 1997). "Rockman: Battle & Chase Review". GameSpot . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 5, 2010. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
  5. ↑ Greening, Chris (December 2009). "Interview with Yoshino Aoki". Square Enix Music Online. Archived from the original on June 13, 2010. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
  6. ↑ Capcom staff (Spring 1997). "Rockman Battle & Chase". Capcom Friendly Club Style Fan-Book (in Japanese). Capcom. 3: 4.
  7. ↑ Square Enix Music Online staff. "Rockman Battle & Chase :: Album Information". Square Enix Music Online. Archived from the original on January 15, 2010. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
  8. ↑ Oxford, Nadia (May 31, 2010). "Buy Somethin', Will Ya!: Mega Man's Forgotten Battle and Chase Ad". 1UP.com . Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
  9. ↑ IGN Staff (May 13, 1997). "MegaMan Killed?". IGN . Archived from the original on December 5, 2009. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
  10. 1 2 Oxford, Nadia (May 24, 2007). "Mega Manniversary: Isle of Miscast Robots". 1UP.com . Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on October 19, 2007. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
  11. ↑ Torres, Ricardo (December 9, 2005). "Mega Man X Collection Preview". GameSpot . CBS Interactive . Retrieved June 5, 2010.
  12. ↑ Famitsu staff (1997). "クロスレビュー" [Cross Review]. Famitsu (in Japanese). Tokuma Shoten. Archived from the original on March 24, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  13. ↑ Official PlayStation Magazine review, Future Publishing issue 25, October 1997
  14. 1 2 Ehrle, Oliver (2019-04-21). "Mega Man Battle & Chase - im Klassik-Test (PS)". MANIAC.de (in German). Archived from the original on 2019-04-21. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
  15. ↑ "Sporte Total - P.Station: Mega Man Battle and Chase". Super GamePower (in Portuguese). No. 39. Brazil: Nova Cultural. June 1997. p. 42.
  16. 1 2 Theobald, Phil (January 9, 2006). "Mega Man X Collection". GameSpy . IGN. Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
  17. ↑ Major Mike (January 25, 2006). "Mega Man X Collection Review". GamePro . IDG. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
  18. ↑ Dunham, Jeremy (January 5, 2006). "Mega Man X Collection - GameCube Review". IGN . Archived from the original on March 3, 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
  19. ↑ Parish, Jeremy (May 10, 2007). "The Mega Man Series Roundup". 1UP.com . Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.