Better
I don't know if this series is for me. I trucked through Battle Network 1 because I heard that the series had a rough start, and the battles in it were decently fun. I don't know about this though. Most of the bosses have felt kind of awful. I might pick this up and finish it later but I'm so tired of the walking back and forth for story progression. Got to MagnetMan.exe's scenario but I feel like I'm forcing myself to play further.
This is a great example of a sequel improving just about everything about the original. The already fun gameplay has been tweaked just enough to feel markedly better than the first game, the story kept me much more actively engaged, especially towards the finale, where I think the original Battle Network falters, and Navi fights are all around generally better, with higher highs than the first game ever had. Unfortunately I do think the game does have two notable low points involving KnightMan and ESPECIALLY FreezeMan. That being said this is overall a great improvement on an interesting idea for an RPG, and knowing the next game is supposed to be even better has me so excited to see what Battle Network 3 is all about!!
Much improved over the first game. Still has some pretty annoying dungeons and a lot of backtracking, but the internet maps are better to navigate (still very mazelike, though) and more visually interesting, the battles have new mechanics that add some additional depth, and the introduction of the Style system is neat.