Product Info

Platform

Switch

Publisher

SNK

Developer

Capcom

Series

Mega Man

Genre

Action

Players

1

File Size (Minimum)

109 MB

Release Date (NA)

Aug 3, 2022

Purchase From

eShop

Mega Man Battle & Fighters is a compilation title that features two arcade fighting games based on Mega Man 1-7: Mega Man: The Power Battle and Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters. It was first released on the NEOGEO Pocket Color in 2000 and has now been brought to the Nintendo Switch. However, this title feels more like a simple boss-rush game than an actual fighter.

Slimmed Down Fighter

Battle & Fighters was and still is set up for only one player to play. This means your friend sitting next to you on the couch can’t play alongside you. Furthermore, you can only choose between four fighters: Mega Man, Proto Man, Bass, and Duo. To play as the giant robot, Duo, you’ll have to play Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters. Otherwise, the other three characters are available in their 8-bit looks. It’s unfortunate, since fans may want to play as one of the robot masters, such as Air Man, but that’s not possible here.

There’s no significant difference between the two games in terms of gameplay. Use your character’s attacks to take down your opponent and slide to avoid attacks. You can also charge up your fighter’s attacks to deplete the enemy’s life gauge faster. After defeating an enemy, you’ll have access to use their power in upcoming battles, much like the classic Mega Man games. You will have to pause the game and swap weapons to do this like in those titles, though. You can use these special weapons until their power depletes in the ammo gauge. Once it’s gone, you’ll automatically switch to your default buster weapon.

The game’s 8-bit style makes it feel like you’re playing the original Mega Man games. Controlling your fighter feels balanced most of the time and maneuvering around enemy attacks is enjoyable. You’ll attack and dodge, and they’ll attack. Sometimes, though, it’ll look like they hit you, but they’ll miss your character’s hit area, almost like a glitch. It’s weird, but it’s to your benefit. Anyway, each character’s movements do have some differences. For example, Bass’s dash is a jump forward, whereas Mega Man slides across the ground. Otherwise, they play the same.

If defeated during battle, the game offers the chance to continue where you left off and won’t force you to restart the fight from the beginning. Additionally, you can choose a fighter before reentering battle. This makes fighting tougher enemies such as the Yellow Devil and Dr. Wily easier for newcomers. Those looking for a challenge will find the mid-battle continues to be annoying and too easy.

You can go through and beat the entire package relatively quickly within a handful of hours. Outside of that, it’s a good pick-up-and-play game if you don’t want to fight through those tough levels from Mega Man 1-7 to battle each robot master.

Missing Scores

Once you beat the game, you’ll have a quick 8-bit cutscene and dialogue. Unfortunately, the game is still in Japanese. You’ll need to either do a Google translation to help you get through the scenes or use the digital manual, which is provided in the game’s main menu options.

The music borrows the scores of the original Mega Man games, and it’s great to hear them again. Despite so many memorable Mega Man tracks, Battle & Fighters reuses many of the same ones and leaves out fan-favorites such as Dr. Wily’s Stage 1 from Mega Man 2. It’s a curious decision.

Extra Pocket Options

The Nintendo Switch version offers plenty of modifications to enhance the game. The view screen consists of a background graphic of the old NEOGEO Pocket Color system, while the game screen is placed in the center. Players can change the graphic to different versions of the system, toggle the game screen’s filter, and zoom in or out.

Additionally, the game offers a digital instruction manual that can be flipped through, giving players a better understanding of how to play. Control mapping is accessible and rewinding the game is available as well, but only for a short timeframe. The latter is a great option for those who happen to make a mistake while fighting and want a quick redo.

It’s too bad that there isn’t any additional content or in-game translations added. As a result, this 8-bit fighter feels like a straight port rather than an upgrade like Capcom Fighting Collection. Perhaps omitting “Power” from the title wasn’t a mistake, after all.

The Final Fight

Mega Man Battle & Fighters is a fun port for Mega Man fanatics to play since most have never had the chance to try The Power Battle and The Power Fighters. Unfortunately, the game’s single-player-only mode and lack of additional content prevent it from being greater. It’s more Decent Man than Mega Man.