It's not the best in the series, but if you're looking for fun, fast-paced and rewarding gameplay, this game is for you.
Graphically, the game utilizes the GBA's full potential. Especially in the Jack In sequences. The graphics are bright, the sprites are crisp, and Mega Man's world looks as great as ever. There are also a few shadow effects, like walking under a bridge will make Lan and Mega Man's sprite a little darker. Mega Man also got his battle pose changed, which seems to look a bit more dramatic, for better or worse.
This installment in the series felt a bit easier. I was completely maxed out in Zenny throughout most of the game, which allowed me to buy all the HP Powerups and all the powerful chips. Due to this, I made the final boss my slave in a single try, which seemed a bit weird, because the other five installments had pretty challenging final bosses. After I beat the final boss, it was time to go Bass-Hunting. Yes, Bass is in the game. Like he has in every Battle network game since 2. Again, the amount of money I had earned throughout the game was so ridiculously unbalanced that Bass seemed hardly a threat at all.
The story begins as Lan's Dad has been moved to a different city and he has to move away from ACDC town. Almost as soon as he enters the town, he sees a girl being attacked by an infected Robo-Dog. A few fetch quests later, 2 creatures called Cybeasts rise from the Undernet to wreak havoc, a Navi called Circus Man absorbs the Cybeast that isn't on the version you bought. The other cybeast, Mega Man sees no possible way to defeat and installs the cybeast within himself to stop it from causing any more havoc, which is weird, because, again, the Cybeast was ridiculously easy to defeat when it was the final boss.
Some of the game's music was very nice, but some of the music can drone on for a while before it just starts to grate on your ears. I was so tired with hearing the virus battle music every 10 seconds that I muted the game. Granted, some of the game's music is very nice, like when it's sad and brooding, the music is sad and brooding, but after you beat the last boss, the apocalypse music doesn't stop playing when you're in the real world.
Graphics: 9
Story: 9
Controls: 10
Entertainment: 8
Difficulty: 7
Final Score: 8.6
Pros and Cons:
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+Fast-Paced, Rewarding Battles
+Excellent Graphics
+More than 200 Chips to collect
+You can stay in a cross for as long as you want
+Navicust still shines as brightly as ever.
+-Some pretty good music
-Sometimes seems a bit tedious
-I had to look up a walkthrough many times, because some hints don't help.
-Evil Spirit Hunting is just another word for "Liberation Missions."