Rockman 4 - Burst Chaser X Air Sliding Review by: Boxia - 9.1/10
No, Mega Man, that's not the ground!Every game has gimmicks. It may be just one core gimmick the game revolves around, many small gimmicks, or both. Hacks are not exempt from this. There are so many hacks out there that a cool gimmick is absolutely necessary to get yours any recognition. However, a developer named Bamboo decided that the three gimmick "varieties" listed prior were too mainstream, so he decided to do something very interesting - combine TWO core gimmicks. That's how we got Rockman 4 Burst Chaser X Air Sliding. The game mixes the ability to slide mid-air with extreme speed. When I say "extreme", oh boy do I mean EXTREME. Ready your arm cannon and slide on your armour, we're racing towards Wily's castle!
A Depressingly Low-Octane Story for a VERY High-Octane Game.
Mega Man has triumphed over Dr. Wily for the third time. The latter has been presumed dead after getting crushed by falling debris and it seems harmony has been restored. However, Mega Mans creator, Dr. Light, receives a message from a Russian scientist named Dr. Cossack. In the message, Cossack proclaims himself to be the greatest robot designer in the world, and sends his eight most powerful robots masters to destroy the Blue Bomber. Mega Man destroys the robot masters, infiltrates Cossacks Citadel, and defeats the Russkie in battle. However, it is revealed that Cossack was blackmailed by Wily (who had survived getting crushed) using his daughter, Kalinka. Now Mega Man must infiltrate the right fortress this time and defeat Dr. Wily.
Did you notice something about the story? Namely that it was copied from Mega Man 4, no changes made? It's a crying shame; too, seeing as how much energy the rest of the game has, some of that energy could have gone into making a new story or at least some new aspects
.
Faster, Mega Man, Faster!If you're wondering how this game plays, think of it like this: Mega Man 4 thrown into a blender with the other classic titles and seasoned with steroids. You have all of the mechanics of vanilla Mega Man 4, like sliding, jumping, shooting (including charged shots), E.T.C., but with a few new features. For example, you can now slide mid-air, and it will carry you for quite a distance. This mechanic is needed quite frequently in almost all of the stages. However, an even more important new feature is the speed of the game. Everything goes at least twice as quickly now, including you, the enemies, and even the weaponry. The fact that these new features are utilised almost ceaselessly throughout the stages helps keep the game feel fresh all the time. Speaking of stages.....
Serving as a jungle gym to all of these Speedy Gonzales's are the brand-spanking new stages. Every single stage has received a total overhaul, with new motifs, more plat forming challenges, more enemies, and more fun to be had. The motifs, as always, help give the stages unique flavours. For example, Bright Man's stage looks and feels even more energized than before. As a matter of fact, just about every stage has had its appearance enhanced in some way so as to make it look better. It definitely helps build atmosphere and is one of this games many highlights. Complementing the looks are the challenges. Brutally unfair at times, but highly rewarding, the platforming and enemy aspects of the stages simply shine. You have everything from moving platforms to hyper-long bottomless pits, usually adorned with countless foes of many sizes and shapes. For example, you have huge jumping enemies that pack a huge punch, small, quick mooks that usually deal damage by jumping into you, and flying goons that will prove to be the bane of your existence. Again, you'll need air-sliding and extra speed to get through many challenges. Even when they're not needed, those mechanics are always good for expediency. Remember, everything moves ultra-quickly so you'll need to be quick on your feet to survive. All of the stages are reasonably fun and utilise the "tools" wisely......except for one. There is one fortress stage that goes WAY overboard on the speed mechanic. You have to fly through droves of foes, dodging walls of spikes, and all while trying not to waste your equipment. This wouldn't be so bad, except that everything is going at 8,000 miles per hour, so acting quickly is very difficult and you'll very likely get overwhelmed. That stage is a nasty blemish on what is otherwise a very well done part of the game. Finally, there's the matter of bosses. The bosses follow the same patterns as the vanilla bosses, but with three major differences. Firstly, they reside in rooms with different terrain. Secondly, they move much faster. Finally, the weakness chain's been altered (for example, Drill Man is now weak to Skull Wheel instead of Dive Missile). These three differences result in a massively altered boss experience. If that's for better or for worse depends on the boss. For example, Toad Man, once a royal pushover, is now a royal PAIN. He's jumping everywhere, making hitting him difficult, and the bumpy terrain makes avoiding him even harder. At the end of the day, the alterations help make for much more engaging battles that are always sure to entertain you, regardless of their difficulty.
To help you out with the challenges, you have an arsenal of weaponry at your disposal. Like all Mega Man games, these weapons are recovered from defeated robot masters. The weapons now move faster, and their new sprites look cooler, sleeker, and generally more "jacked" with their sharp colours and extreme polish. It's a shame Bamboo didn't alter the weapons in any other way, but aesthetics will defiantly suffice in this case.
Are there any collectibles in this game? Unless you count ubiquitous 1-ups and E-tanks strewn throughout the sixteen stages, no. It's a shame, really. The layout of the stages allows for many different places where a new item may just be hidden, but that opportunity was not taken.
Energy Driven Graphics and Soundtracks Galore!
A quick glance at this game will show you just how much work went into the graphics and how much it paid off. Just take a look at the backgrounds for any stage. There's always something moving amongst the impressive displays of flashy, yet cool backdrops. They always appeal to the eyes and certainly add to ambiance. That's not the only case, just about anything WITH a texture looks cool, energy driven, pretty, powerful, and generally awesome. I have yet to find any glitches or errors in any texture: everything renders so smoothly that I thought I as playing a different game. In short, I have never seen such amazing graphics from any NES game/hack/whatever. It truly is beautiful.
As if the graphics weren't awesome enough, the music is even awesome. Like everything else in the game, the music is infused with an insane amount of energy that it's impossible to resist bobbing your head to. Dust Mans tune? Loads of energy. Toad Mans stage? Insane amounts of energy. Bright Mans stage? My god, there's enough energy here to destroy galaxies! If you weren't into electronic music before, guess what? Listen to this soundtrack and you'll be hooked for life. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but this track is just completely and utterly epic. Better still, I've yet to find any audio-related glitches anywhere. It's seriously one of those very special kinds of tracks, one that can pump you up all the time, one that can convey emotion with ease, one that really just succeeds in being awesome. OK, I'm done with my raving, I promise.
Overall.The only real weaknesses with Rockman 4 Burst Chaser X Air Chaser are the story and the lack of collectibles. Besides that, it's a model of how every Mega Man hack should act and look. The graphics and tunes are stellar, the stages are engaging, the new mechanics are utilised well, and the challenges are, in general, fairly balanced and fun. If you haven't played this game yet, do so immediately.
Final Score: 9.1/10 Graphics
10 Sound
10 Addictive
9 Depth
3 Difficulty
6
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