In North America, both the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS versions of "Mega Man Battle Network 5" met with fairly tepid critical reception, with Metacritic and GameRankings aggregate scores ranging from 66% to 70% across the different versions. Reviewers criticized the game for its lack of innovation over its predecessors, describing it as an "incremental advancement," "an old, whiffy GBA kids RPG," and "just too darn much like its predecessors." Reviewers often highlighted the reuse of aging art and sound assets from previous games, comparing them unfavorably with contemporary Game Boy Advance games.