With Megaman Battle Network Legacy Collection download and my Steam Deck in one hand and a Type C to USB cable in the other, I can finally relive my favourite pastime. Whenever Lan is going to jack-in Megaman into any appliance or machine and copying him by doing the same action while shouting the phrase, “Jack in, Megaman! POWER UP!” Does anyone else do that….no…just me?
Jack-In, Memories! POWER UP!
The Megaman Battle Network Legacy Collection or MMBNLC for short, is a two volume collection that hosts all 10 of the games under this title. And Oh Boy! Not only a trip down nostalgia lane, but I was reminded of the length and amount of time needed to go through almost all these games. I would say that when I got to volume two of the legacy collection, most people would play the game they didn’t play when they were a kid, but not me.
I’ve actually played both editions of each series of the game back then and I’ve done it again now. The fact that I practically have almost all the battle chip combinations to make Giga chips out of them and the codes needed to acquire more battle chips from the shop for each version both delighted me and frightened me. Looking at what Capcom added to Megaman Battle Network Legacy Collection was very pleasing for a veteran fan of this series.
Not only have they given us an art gallery to look at not only character concept art, but fun images that were used in magazines and promotions they held here in Japan and online. A music player with all the music that appeared in both separated collections. Now the addition of Trophies I feel is great for people who are playing on the Nintendo Switch and don’t have things like an achievement system to help guide people to fully experience the game.
The last addition I’d like to point out is the Max Buster option whenever you choose which game you want to play. During normal gameplay, you’d have to save up a lot of zenni and collect the proper items to level up Megaman’s buster strength, but to have it at max level and being about to one-shot most if not all the viruses and boss NetNavis I came across. This not only helped me go through the game at a faster pace to get this review going, but it also helped accomplish a few secret routes that each game had for those dedicated enough to hunt for them and fight for them as well.
P.E.T. Perfectly Entertaining Teenagers?
The story is a wild one in Megaman Battle Network Legacy Collection, but let’s stick to the one from the beginning of this whole series. It’s the year 20XX and if my roman numbers are correct, it reads as 2020…wait where are our net navis, Capcom?! Sorry. It’s the year 20XX, the entire planet is connected to a system called the Net. A system that is used for everything, from phones to buses, ovens to satellites, to even bank and classified government information.
Why did I include that last part? Well, because even villains and dark organizations have access to the Net and commit crimes. Where you can have a NetNavis in there PET or PErsonal information Terminal device. You play as Lan Hikari and his NetNavi Megaman in the town known as and I kid you not, ACDC. You explore and get involved in a lot of dark activities and try to stop them from not only hurting the Net, but his friends and family as well.
Throughout the run of the series, you go from working on your own to working with a government organization to help prevent the collapse of the world and for a small spoiler, thanks to a special code that is embedded into Megaman, he’s the only one who can save everyone from what lies ahead.
Slide to the Left, Slide to the Right, Cross Slash!
Remembering the ways the battles work and how evil you can be to these viruses when you build the chip deck. The battle system falls under the Real-time tactical RPG category and boy do you need to make sure you focus on the battles and know your enemies well. The game has you traversing not only the overworld as Lan on his “always on skate mode” shoes, but you’ll travel through the multiple different landscapes and themes that each device has.
You can even visit your friends’ homepages to talk to their NetNavis or fight them again to earn their personal battle chips to use in battle. Battle chips are basically cards that Megaman can use during fights that can make or break the tide of battle. You can choose to use the battle chips in battle or trust your ol’ reliable buster cannon to kill your enemies. But, there will be times if you don’t use your chips correctly, you won’t have access to them until the next fight.
You’ll have different arrays of options when it comes to battle chips in Megaman Battle Network Legacy Collection. From cannons and spread shots, to healing chips, to taking your enemies space and setting traps for them to fall into it and have them suffer even more because of you taking away all their colored spaces and leaving them only 3 red space or 1 red space if you’re going to torture them. Just like any RPG, you’ll need to complete certain tasks and requests from NPCs to advance in the story or get sidetracked because you know there is a specific request that will lead to getting a powerful battle chip that you know is broken beyond all machinations.
Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Terminate!
I want to give Capcom much respect and due credit for not only keeping the same codes and commands from the previous Gameboy Advance and DS version of the games, but to have it work no matter which console you’re playing them off. There are even the secrets in each game that to this day, I recommend to this day that anyone with this collection should look for them and witness the beauty of the hunt I had to do when this game first came out.
I remember watching the anime on Kids WB and learning the combinations needed to make Giga chips actually translate to the game and working was another brilliant thing I feel that Capcom did fantastically. As of writing this review, the Megaman NT Warrior and Axess anime is now available to be watched to its entirety for free on the Capcom USA youtube channel. Completely dubbed in English for those that just want to play it in the background while also playing the game like I have.
Hopefully with the attention garnered through fans like me getting and playing this collection, we might get the Megaman Star Force released in a collection as well since it’s another one of my all time favorite series that involves Megaman. Please….please Capcom. Please do a Megaman Star Force collection!
Grab your copy of Megaman Battle Network Legacy Collection here https://store.steampowered.com/app/1798010/Mega_Man_Battle_Network_Legacy_Collection_Vol_1/
Written by Ruddy Celestial
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