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The Mega Man Battle Network series was a radical departure from any Mega Man game of the past. Series producer Keiji Inafune wanted to get a fresh start on the brand new Game Boy Advance handheld, and a reinvention of the franchise was just the trick. Mega Man Battle Network is set in an entirely alternate universe from the other series. We visit an internet-driven 21st century (not unlike real life, it seems). People can traverse the internet using internet navigators, or NetNavis, programmed with their own personalities and such. Our protagonist, the youthful Lan Hikari, has MegaMan.EXE as his NetNavi! Here, they must investigate a string of criminal activity on the Net caused by the WWW (World Three). With the help of his friends and even a soon-to-be rival, Chaud, and his Navi, ProtoMan.EXE, he must infiltrate the WWW headquarters for a showdown with its leader, Dr. Wily (huh...), before their overtake the Net entirely! Although exploration is very important here, the battle system is what turned more than a few heads. Brawling takes place in the cyberworld against viruses. Both MegaMan.EXE and the enemy gets a 3x3 set of squares to move around on, and MegaMan must defeat the enemy either via his buster or by using a randomized selection from his inventory of Battle Chips, special offensive, defensive, or healing moves only achieved by Lan sending him these chips. You'll spend much of your time searching for the best ones! Mega Man Battle Network was the start of another successful Mega Man series that led to numerous sequels.
Check out our Mega Man Battle Network review for a more in-depth look!
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If you loved the first Battle Network game, then Mega Man Battle Network 2 will be right up your alley. The game starts right after the WWW had been defeated and peace had finally returned. But, as we all know if the history of video game sequels has taught us anything, problems don't suddenly end. The online mafia, known as Gospel, has appeared to do what WWW and Dr. Wily couldn't. The rate of NetCrime has increased rapidly, and now Lan Hikari and his NetNavi, MegaMan.EXE, must figure out how to take down Gospel. As well, Lan also must work to become a City NetBattler in order to gain official standing as a battler on the Net. The gameplay is basically the same, with a few minor tweaks here and there to ameliorate the experience. MegaMan.EXE can now execute Style Changes, which alter his appearance and abilities to reflect different elements. You can now use SubChips, a new type of chip usable outside of battle, and you can also set certain Battle Chips of choice to memory, ensuring it always appears during battle. Other than this, Mega Man Battle Network 2 is very similar to its predecessor.
Check out our Mega Man Battle Network 2 review for a more in-depth look!
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You can't keep Dr. Wily down, as we've learned with the classic series. He has returned to the world of criminal activity with the revived WWW. He intends to release a prototype build of the Internet called Alpha that is, apparently, an evil doppelganger of the cyberworld with which everyone already is familar. Lan and MegaMan.EXE must now deal with that problem! With the third iteration of the series, Capcom pulled a gimmick similar to what Nintendo did with the Pokemon series: split it into two versions. Or, at least that's what they did in North America and Europe. The version you buy will determine certain things in the game. At the N1 Grand Prix, the contest for NetBattlers to strut their stuff, you get a different Navi to battle depending on which version you have. As well, a Navi called Punk (one of the "Mega Man Killers", perhaps?) will challenge you from time to time in the Blue version, but he is entirely absent from the White version. In Japan, Capcom initially only developed one version of Mega Man Battle Network 3, but a few months later, they released a Black version as well, which fixes a few bugs, as well as adds some additional content. Mega Man Battle Network 3 also offers multiplayer support for the first time; players can connect their Game Boy Advance units and Net Battle!
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