Review 8: Mega Man and Bass (SNES, GBA)

This title is a little interesting. While the same could be said for the Fire Emblem series, something I covered in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate review, Mega Man and Bass is one of those titles that we got generations later than its initial release. Originally for the Super Famicom in Japan, WE in the states never saw it until it's re-release on the Game Boy Advance overseas, localized for the US the following year. It's a spin-off of the classic Mega Man series, Given a few of the bosses involved, combined with design, this game took place after the events of Mega Man 8, which was for the Sony PlayStation instead. With the arrival onto GBA, the controls were reduced from the Super Famicom, but essentially it was the same game, sans some changes in the bgm score.

In this game, Mega Man learns of a new threat going on in the robot museum, and the news doesn't sit in well either with Wily's hot headed creation and Mega Man's rival, Bass. A new robotic menace, King, pillaged both the museum as well as the lab of Dr. Wily to steal blueprints for robots new and old, in order to create an army that would spearhead his vision for a robot-only utopia. Proto Man, the elder brother of Mega Man, tries to stop King first, but ends up getting severed in half. While not together, Mega Man and Bass has a common enemy to pursue, and neither can allow King's ambitions to take form.

Similar to Mega Man X4, the player selects their character at the start, and is stuck with their choice the entire playthrough, Another shared trait is that, aside from minimal changes to the story, the two differ from another in game play:

Mega Man has access to his Mega Buster and sliding  properties. Basically a coy-and-paste of his appearance in Mega Man 8, and therefore the basic playstyle.

Bass, on the other hand, has a few things that set him apart. His Bass Buster cannot be charged up, instead it gives him multi-directional rapid fire properties, but without certain upgrades, you cant penetrate walls, and he is stationary as he shoots, leaving him open to attack. Another change is that Bass can dash as opposed to sliding, and he can perform a second jump, combining the to helps the player cover a great distance. Both the second jump and the dash are found as recurring features of the Mega Man X series as well.

It still follows the 8-boss format it was known so well for, with every boss having a weakness to another weapon from a defeated boss. This time, however, the boss selection is a bit more linear than before. Following the initial stage, only 3 possible choices are open to your player, with 1-2 unlocked only after you lay waste to the preceding robot master. Including King himself, most of the antagonists are original creations that debut here, majority of which gaining an EXE counterpart in the Battle Network series, minus Pirate Man. Astro Man and Tengu Man from Mega Man 8 return
here, but with attacks and patterns bot seen in that game. The bolt shop system also returns, with unique products for both characters, among which the Rush Jet and Treble Boost for Mega Man and Bass respectively. Like in Mega Man 8, they can be found scattered throughout the stages, or as occasional drops from destroyed enemies. While the music differs, the terrain are obvious assets carried over from Mega Man 8, down to the Met enemies. It's nitpicking on my part, but since this was a Super Famicom title, you don't get the same quality as the main game, Mega Man 8. For one thing, the lifebar retains its "line unit" counter seen in majority of the classic titles. Being on a 16-bit platform, while not impossible, the game was designed without vocal dialogue in mind. This was all carried over to the Game Boy Advance re-release, as well as the localized debut.

Bass on Ground Man's stage.

A few things to note.While it took a reduction in usable buttons, the GBA port made cosmetic changes to the visuals and music, having rose from the 16-bit period it came out in. While not the first to make him playable overall, it would mark as the first Mega Man side scroller to let you play as Bass instead of opposing him. Being a Super Famicom-turned-Gameboy Advance title, it doesn't share the music and cutscene features that Mega Man 8 did. In fact, the music isn't as distinctive between the versions of Mega Man & Bass compared to MM8's different ports. There was a sequel that, loosely translated, goes by Mega Man & Bass: Challenger from the Future. Much like this game initially, this was only released in Japan on the Wonderswan handheld, with no official translation of the game whatsoever in the United States. What's funny is that despite being a spinoff, certain events, as well as King's existence, was referenced in the "Worlds Collide" arc of the Sonic The Hedgehog comics done by Archie Comics, to which Sonic and the Freedom Fighters crossover and works with the heroes of the Mega Man universe. As this is a spin-off, this would be one of the games not included in the recent Mega Man Legacy Collection title. Only one report happened, and that was to the Virtual Console on the Wii U, from which they emulated the official GBA Version. Like majority of Mega Man titles overall, this was a single-player adventure.

While not amazing, Mega Man & Bass, despite its stats as a spin-off, seem to line with the classic canon, as the median title between Mega Man 8 and later Mega Man 9. Quality wise on its own, I give it a 7 of 10. Not as amazing as most titles in the franchise, but I'll give it props for being unique... in terms of the classic series games, anyway. The inclusion of Bass as a playable character is a good nod to Mega Man X4's Zero, as they are the only two Mega Man titles to allow you to stick with a character of your choice from beginning to end, not leaving you to the series' main as the only option. Pity that the followup only remained a Japanese-only title, but who knows.... maybe one day we get to see that in action on a better port.... translated, hopefully.