PS3 PS1

Mega Man Battle & Chase

Racing

Overview

Mega Man: Battle & Chase is a racing video game based on the original Mega Man series from Capcom. The game was released in Japan on March 20, 1997 and in the PAL region on April 3, 1998 for PlayStation. Although it was not released individually in North America, Mega Man: Battle & Chase was featured on the region-exclusive Mega Man X Collection in 2006. Mega Man: Battle & Chase is a traditional racing game with an emphasis on combat. Winning a race allows the player to choose a car part from an enemy competitor as a prize.

Mega Man: Battle & Chase is a 3D racing game in which the players compete against one another or the computer AI in a series of road races. The game consists of three different modes: a single-player "Grand Prix Mode", a "Time Trial Mode", and a multiplayer "Versus Mode". The Grand Prix mode contains a total of eight race tracks, while the Time Trial mode contains twelve tracks. The game has twelve playable characters from the original Mega Man series including Mega Man, Roll, Proto Man, Bass, Duo, and Dr. Wily, as well as the Robot Masters Guts Man, Ice Man, Quick Man, Shadow Man, Napalm Man, and Spring Man. Each of the characters possesses an innate ability that can be used for attacking other drivers during the race.

Series artist and producer Keiji Inafune claimed that he had always wanted to "[bring] the unique 'beat your enemies and take their stuff aspect' of Mega Man to a racing cart game". The game's character designs and promotion images were illustrated by Shinsuke Komaki and Hideki Ishikawa. The concept art for Guts Man in his Wild Arms racer was redone for the overseas version due to the original piece containing the character performing an offensive gesture. The musical score for Mega Man: Battle & Chase was composed by Yoshinori Ono and has vocals by Yoshino Aoki and Ryoji Yamamoto. This was one of Aoki's first projects at Capcom.

Critical reception for Mega Man: Battle & Chase has been mixed. The gameplay has been almost universally compared to Nintendo's Mario Kart series. GameSpot contributor Jeff Gerstmann was impressed by the Japanese version of the game. Gerstmann noted good graphics and interesting sound design, and concluded that it is "one of the coolest Mega Man games released. Period."