Nintendo Okie

Bass first appeared as a mini-boss in Mega Man 7 for the Super Nintendo, and was fully playable for the first time in Mega Man & Bass (aka Rockman & Forte) for the Super Famicom in Japan. He’s been one of the more prominent anti-heroes of the Mega Man franchise, fighting to prove he is the most powerful robot ever created, and the best way to do that is to best Mega Man. It was announced a short time ago that Bass would be a playable character in Mega Man 10 and he is the first piece of DLC that is available for the game. A mere 200 Wii points will purchase this new character for the franchise, but the question really is whether or not he’s worth picking up and adding to the title.

This fight is much easier as Bass.

Bass is definitely quite a bit different from Mega Man and Proto Man in a number of ways. Each character has their strengths and weaknesses. Bass, for instance, can fire up to four shots at a time without having to let go of the button. In addition to that he can fire in up to seven different directions. The only direction he can’t shoot is directly below him. He also has a slide move that allows him to cover ground very quickly and the ability to use that slide to jump long distances.

No strengths would be complete without some weaknesses and in an effort to balance the power that it seems Bass has he has some weaknesses as well. Those rapid fire shots he produces are about half the strength of Mega Man’s slower shot. This means that for every four shots from Bass that hits it would only take two from Mega Man. This is of course offset by the fact that Bass can fire very quickly. He also cannot move while he is shooting. He must remain stationary. This can be a bit discomforting if you’ve never played a game starring Bass and can take a bit of getting used to. Once you learn this little hindrance you will quickly see just how he can best be used to traverse levels.

Bass does not have access to the Coil and Jet features that Mega Man and Proto Man have. Rather he has an animal companion known as Treble, who takes the form of a large purple wolf. Treble can convert into a jet pack that will allow Bass to fly in any direction he wants and even hover in place. This is an ability that will come in handy in the levels like Pump Man as it can be used to very easily negate the effects of waterfalls. While Mega Man and Proto Man can do this with the coil they are more limited in that they can’t reach platforms as high as Bass. He can also use Treble’s jet pack to collect items that have fallen onto areas of spikes. Another very cool feature of Bass is he ability to shoot the shields off of enemies that are carrying them. Many times this is accompanied by a silly reaction shot of the character realizing they are no longer protected.

Bass does take some getting used to as his powers vary quite a bit from traditional Mega Man characters. Losing the ability to move and shoot is probably the most jarring aspect of this new character. The only feature that he is missing from previous games is the ability to double jump, but this is somewhat compensated for with the ability to jump long distances, if you can master the technique. His ability to shoot in nearly every direction will make some of the more frustrating areas of the game, just a little bit easier. If you’re looking for an experience that really differs from that of Mega Man and Proto Man you should check out Bass. He doesn’t cost very much and he’s looking for a good home. He’s quickly becoming my character of choice, at least temporarily.