Mega Man Battle Network Official Complete Works Artbook (Hardcover) Review

-Written by: Andrew

Mega Man Battle Network originally came out in 2001 on the Game Boy Advance and eventually made its way to the Nintendo DS. The Mega Man Battle Network Official Complete Works Artbook contains sketches, character designs, and much more from this loved series. It contains four chapters: artwork, characters, design work, and extras.

Most of the non-concept artwork in this book is so clean and finished that I could see it on the games cover or as a poster. The crazy amount of colors in each of the pieces make the work pop while staying appealing to the eye. Out of all the artbooks I have had the pleasure of looking through, this one has the most full art pages that I can remember. Each piece of art has a small description from the designer talking about what it was used for. There are even a few pages that show the original pitch for the game for any true blue fans.

Megaman, Protoman, and Lan Hikari are shown in great detail with longer descriptions and more designs. All the other characters and enemies are also given their own spotlights, each one with a description and a few designs. Each of Mega Man’s style changes are also displayed with some descriptions.

My favorite part of this book has to be the design work chapter. It shows each of the characters, enemies, and NPC’s finished designs alongside sketches and concepts. I love seeing concept work just because it shows what they could have been like, sometimes it’s minor changes and other times it’s a complete rework. This part also shows off many items, weapons, and style changes. The Extras part of this book is filled with miscellaneous things that couldn’t find its way into the main sections. Everything from battle chips, to Tie-ins, to merchandise. There is a bit too much randomness in this section to list here but all the more reason to pick this book up!

Overall, this is a great artbook with amazing insight into the universe of Mega Man Battle Network. I highly recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Mega Man but this is also a nice book for anyone who isn’t even familiar with the franchise.