Mega Man Battle Network
Wrong! I absolutely flew through this game and couldn't get enough, starting the second game immediately after rolling credits. While I admit I would never play this specific game if I hadn't loved it as a kid, I think it still holds up in a lot of ways. These are a branch off of the old school megaman platformers, which I haven't really played, but in this one you play as both Lan in the real world, who owns Megaman as some physical embodiment of some AI person (Navi) that helps navigate the Internet for you. The idea is actually super modern and aged quite well considering this game was invented at pretty much the dawn of the Internet. But in this game, there is an evil organization using their Navis to commit evil deeds and try to take over the world. In typical JRPG fashion, you are a regular guy to start, and then by the end you are fighting god. It has a somewhat open world that's fun to explore, and most of this game involves story beats in between extended puzzles that lead to boss fights.
I have plenty to complain about in this game. I actually didn't play this one as a kid, but did play when I was in college on an emulator. It's pretty rough. As the first in the series, it's definitely the prototype. It also has added JRPG jank like random encounters you can't run from, incomprehensible maps with no navigation, silly quests to pad out the run time, and writing that is horrendous. But on that last point, the dialogue is for kids, and is sparse enough to not kill the game, and for the record I loved the stories when I was young.
But forget what it got wrong, it got tons right! The battle system is unique and compelling every single time. I have never seen a battle system like this before or after, and it combines action and strategy beautifully. This game is not hard, but you have to actually try, and there are some very tough side challenges that are fun to strive for and always rewarding. The random encounters were maddening when trying to complete puzzles, but otherwise I didn't mind too much because I always enjoyed every fight against viruses. There are also like twenty unique boss fights just in this game, and you need to learn their movement and attack patterns just like a souls game. It's crazy how ingrained those patterns were all these years later.
Beyond that, I think the art direction is excellent. The future is envisioned as kinda a utopia, but there are tons of unique maps both online and offline. The music is classic and brought me right back, a cool technopop that is perfect for this setting. I even think the tone of the writing has always been pleasant, even though this game specifically is so silly. The bad guys are what? Trying to delete the Internet? For what reason?? And yet the relationships with the friends are fun, even though I'm probably just projecting my years and years having hung out with them. I should also mention that the level design and puzzles are great even if not overly complex.
So do I recommend this game? Honestly, no. Much of my thrill playing this game is the nostalgia, especially as this one incorporates the art from the anime that I also loved. But the future games in this series are legitimately amazing creative endeavors and I'm playing any chance I get right now.
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