A massive upgrade and step up from the first Battle Network in genuinely every single conceivable way. Everything that makes Mega Man (and especially Battle Network) so great is just better here from the narrative which is better written and more gripping right from the start and also pretty damn dark at times for a kid's game, I mean we literally fight the netmafia and eco-terrorists who are much more willing to kill innocents, there's still that 'monster of the week' formula, but with more emphasis on over-arching storytelling now too and the boss fights being more fun and having more than two attacks, to the chips and builds having even more variety and the combat getting extra added depth due to style changes and of course huge shoutout to whoever decided to add sub-chips especially the SneakRun repel-like item so now the encounter rate (Which is already much more balanced than in the first game) is nowhere near as annoying, the fact you can actually run from fights without having to use the escape chip is also nice. Finally even the level design is much less labyrinthine as well, however that doesn't stop the FreezeMan scenario from still sucking hardcore due to how cryptic it is and the absurd amount of backtracking. Overall still a very solid game which was vastly more enjoyable than the first and a good prelude before the perfection that is Battle Network 3.