Rockman Battle & Fighters review by Adam M. Karonika

Rockman-Battle and Fighters is based on two Arcade Rockman games: Rockman-The Power Battle (which I have had the privilege of playing) and Rockman-The Power Fighters (which I have not played). Since there are nearly no reviews for this gem, I decided to write one.

Graphics
This game truly has some outstanding graphics. All sprites move with fluidity, and all backgrounds have some animation, and are very detailed. The sprites have 1-2 colors; sometimes Rockman, Blues or Forte are albinos, sometimes they have oddly colored skin (orange?!). Still, graphically, I would put this higher than MOTM, because it seems to have more detail. This game, IMO, was made to show off the graphics, and does it with pizzazz.
Score: 10/10

Sound
This game has voice!!! At the very beginning, Rockman screams, "Rockman! Battaru ando Fightarzu!" in glorious Japanenglish. However, there is no more voice. Rockman, in the arcade version, shouts more Japanenglish, such as, "Leaf-zu Shie-ru-do" and "Rock-u-man Crash-ze!" Still, the sound effects remind me of Rockman/Megaman on NES, in a good, nostalgic way. The music, though, could be a little better, and could have more. There are a total of only 10 tracks! The original arcade version had different music for each baddie! Even the menu music is used! Capcom really should have given us more music, or more voices, but they didn't. A shame, as it is hilarious, in my not so humble opinion, to hear Rockman and friends screaming Japanese/Japanenglish all willy-nilly like in Puyo Puyo.
Score:6.5/10 (an extra half-point for the wee bit of voice)

Gameplay
This game, in essence, is not a platformer, but a fighter. You, as Rockman, Blues, Forte, or, in Power Fighters, Duo (who is utterly useless IMO), run around and shoot little energy blasts at your foes. A shoots, B jumps, and Option pauses and lets you select your attack (either M-buster or a boss-acquired attack). Simple. A little trick I learned: Hold up on the joypad and jump to go 1.5 times higher/farther than normal. This game is only fast and furious boss battles; in Power Battle, you stop a spinner to select your foe, but in Power Fighters, you select any baddie via joypad. The gameplay between the two is virtually identical, except in Power Fighters, the bosses drop little power-ups, which restore life and stolen attacks (once you defeat a boss you get their power). The two are equally fun to play, though, and have different bad guys. My only gripe is that there is no 2 player simultaneous mode like in the arcade version.
Score:9.5/10

I was a little disappointed with the sound, and the lack of 2-player was a bummer. Still, if you're a fan of Megaman/Rockman, or want to try something different, this game is for you. It's a GREAT game to pick up and play; it's not too in-depth, so you won't need to take the manual along, except to see that wonderful Capcom art :-). Capcom, if you're reading this, know that a full-fleged Rockman platformer is a sure step in the right direction.

Final: 8.5/10