Mega Man Battle Network 3 Blue and White

Mega Man is celebrating fifteen years since his first inception. While Mega Man has seen life in some thirty titles with sales over 20 million units in the U.S. alone, he's never seen so many titles coming out the same year. Four of the six Mega Man titles coming in 2003 are headed to Game Boy Advance. The first two arrive this spring in the form of Mega Man Battle Network 3 Blue and White.

Features

• Two separate versions offer different battle chips and enemies
• Swap battle chips with your friends -- the only way to get everything is by trading between Blue and White
• New Navi Customizer lets you customize Mega Man's abilities to your liking
• Link Cable lets you play against a buddy
• Only on Game Boy Advance

The third in the popular Mega Man Battle Network series sees everyone's favorite cyber-hero split into two separate games, White and Blue. Each version features unique enemies, bosses, battle chips, and surprises. While the White version will be distributed to all retailers in the U.S., the Blue version will only be available exclusively at one retail chain, which has not been announced.

Following closely with previous Battle Network titles, you play as young boy Lan. Once again Lan and friends play your typical kids by day and hop on the 'net after school to battle cyber crime. Lan's alter-ego, of course, is Mega Man. While these things carry over from Battle Network 2, you'll now have the opportunity to customize Mega Man's abilities while swapping battle chips from the two different versions with other players.

The main improvement is the Navi customization, which allows you to fully customize Mega Man's abilities. As you progress through the game, you collect battle chips, which can be mixed and matched to give Mega Man unique abilities. Each pat has a picture and a letter. You've got to match two like pictures or letters for a successful combination, or use a Joker part, that can match with anything. Mis-match and Mega Man will lose some power.

Fighting is turn-based and takes place on two connecting nine-square grids. Battles are a bit slow, but you can switch out battle chips quickly, which keeps things interesting. There are also some minor RPG elements thrown in for good measure, but the majority of Battle Network 3 seems focused on fights in cyberspace.

We'll have more on Mega Man Battle Network 3 Blue and White in the coming weeks, so keep your eyes glued to IGN Pocket for more.

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