In the future, a young net-battler named Lan, boots his 'personal exploration terminal' (PET) and prepares to hack into the network to battle net crime. Lan's PET is no ordinary network navigator. It's Mega Man.EXE, the cyber-identity, which infiltrates the crime-ridden network to battle destructive computer viruses. Defeat viruses in real time and collect Battle Chips program data, containing valuable weapons data and critical system info. Collect over 175 Battle Chips to help Land and Mega Man.EXE restore peace and order to the network.
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Even in an alternate timeline, Capcom refuses to give us Light/Wily yaoi
What am I fighting for?
What am I fighting for?
Bland and repetitive, with way too many random encounters.
Unique concept, but playing it is a chore
very few redeeming stuff, terrible map design and enemies appear every two steps. Certainly doesn't want make you want to play the next ones.
Mega Man Battle Network 1 overall is a great start to the series! You can definitely tell it's aged with how cryptic some quest can be and the enemy encounters being too common, but this is honestly a solid start to the new RPG Megaman games. Can't wait to get to 2!
One of the standout elements of Mega Man Battle Network is its interesting setting. The game offers a breath of fresh air by combining the real world with a virtual cyberspace that has some kind of early 2000s internet charme.
Character design is a bright spot, with the majority of EXE-Characters looking pretty good. Except IceMan.EXE. IceMan.EXE looks just boring.
Unfortunately, Mega Man Battle Network fails to live up to its potential in its first entry. The game feels like an early Game Boy Advance title, because it is. Most of the stuff feels played a bit to safe in order to not push the hardware to any limits and have a playable game on the technical level.
This can be particularly noticeable in the repetitive nature of the encounters, which become tiresome over time.
This can be particularly noticeable in the repetitive nature of the encounters, which become tiresome over time.
Furthermore, the storytelling in the game lacks depth and fails to engage players. Maybe I would have been more into as a kid.
The plot revolves around the ever-repeating formula of WWW, the evil terrorist organisation in this game, attacking some sort of infrastructure and Lan defeating their operator. This lack of narrative development can make the overall experience feel monotonous and uninteresting.
This repetitive pattern continues until the final confrontation with the boss of the WWW. The boss has some sort of bigger plan than just attacking the infrastructure, but the overall execution is ... not good. I wouldn't even say disappointing since the build up was not well made aswell.
The plot revolves around the ever-repeating formula of WWW, the evil terrorist organisation in this game, attacking some sort of infrastructure and Lan defeating their operator. This lack of narrative development can make the overall experience feel monotonous and uninteresting.
This repetitive pattern continues until the final confrontation with the boss of the WWW. The boss has some sort of bigger plan than just attacking the infrastructure, but the overall execution is ... not good. I wouldn't even say disappointing since the build up was not well made aswell.
Another aspect that hinders the gameplay is the dungeon design. Exploring these areas often feels like a chore due to their lack of visual variety or their challenges are rubbish (looking at you, ElecMan.EXE!). Additionally, the need for pixel-perfect movement here and there to progress can be frustrating and takes away from the enjoyment of the game.
Moreover, the "questlog" is sometimes pretty precise and sometimes vague and confusing. For example at one point we have to find a kidnapped kid, but all the "questlog" says is something like: "We need to find Froid." I think it at least should push the player in some direction, maybe with something like: "The kidnappers used a car. Maybe it is still around."
Mega Man Battle Network presents an intriguing setting and visually appealing character designs, offering a refreshing take on the franchise. However, its shortcomings hindered the overall enjoyment of the game for me. From here, I think the Battle Network series can only become better.