The Biggest Game Project on this Planet

Rockman EXE 2

Otherwise known as Megaman Battle Network 2.

Now, if you keep in mind that I've said I'm only going to be reviewing games that stand out somehow (in a positive or a negative sense), AND you know that I'm a huge Megaman Fan, you probably know where this is going.

But honestly, even if I weren't a huge Megaman Fan (what a Universe that would be) it is completely obvious that this is a truely fantastic game. Truth be told, my Megaman Fandom doesn't reach much further than the 2D Platform games, and I've shunned most everything else sporting the Blue Bomber's name.
I have no interest in the Legends/Dash series, since 3D Megaman doesn't seem right (unless it PLAYS like 2D), nor do I feel the desire to play RockBoard:



Or Megaman Soccer or Battle & Chase, or anything else they care to crap out and put our little Blue Hero in.

So it was with heavy doubt that I decided to pick up Rockman EXE 1 one day (actually, I downloaded a ROM, but that doesn't sound as dramatic does it?) thinking that anything outside of the regular 2D Megaman's was NEVER going to turn out very good.

How wrong I was.
The Megaman Battle Network series is easily one of the best Action RPG series in existence and they are as brilliant as they are simple and easy to pick up.
Although I'll be the first one to admit the series has gone up and down in quality a lot the past couple of years (3 was still good but had some unnecessary changes, 5 was half decent, and the less said about 4 the better (I'm not even counting 4.5 as a game). 6 is as good as the old ones though), the first two were really good.

The very first Rockman EXE introduced the characters and the concept.
You play as Hikari Netto, a young boy living in Akihara Town, a quiet little town.
In Netto's world, everyone has a so-called P.E.T., or Personal something Terminal, I forget. Inside this PET is a Navi, a small intelligent program, with the ability to think and act on its own, but with infallible loyalty towards its owner.
Not only that, but the World Wide Web, and basically anything electronic now has visible landscapes, meaning you can actually navigate your Navi's around them and talk to other Navi's and Programs.

But a game like that wouldn't be very interesting if there weren't some enemies to destroy, and they come in the shape of Viruses, or Viri if you insist.
Viruses are also visible entities, which have to be deleted on the spot by using your Navi's weapon and a LARGE variety of Battle Chips.

As soon as you run into a Virus, the battle screen will pop up and your Battle folder will open. Your battle folder holds 30 Battle Chips which can be used for a variety of effects. Most are for attacking, but others are for healing, defense, summons, placing objects and many other things.
At the start of the battle 5 chips are randomly selected and you have to choose which you want to use. In principle you can only select one chip at a time, but you can also select more of the same chip if they appear, or you can select chips with the same code.
Every chip has a letter code (from A to Z), and chips with the same code can be chosen at the same time for one battle turn. Once you've chosen your chips, the battle commences, and you will note that the battle arena is made up of 18 panels.
9 on the left for you, and 9 on the right for the enemy. You get to walk around in your own area as much as you want, and you can use your standard Mega Buster as much as you want to, but it's not very strong.
The key to fighting effectively is combining your chips and chosing the right ones for the right circumstances to finish the battle as quickly as possible.
Sometimes, the same kind of chips have different codes in alphabetical order. When you choose these in the right order (for instance: Cannon A, B & C) you will get a so-called Program Advance, a special combo attack which has a variety of effects.
In this case you get Zeta Canno, which allows you to shoot unlimited cannons for 5 seconds, whilst being invincible. But there are also combinations of different chips with the same code that form very powerful group attacks or singular ones.

In fact, if you've played Baten Kaitos, you should have a decent idea of how this works, only, this system is EVEN better than Baten Kaitos, because:
A) You get to move around freely
B) There are no Battle Turns, it's all active combat
C) The Combo's actually make sense and are easy to find out.

Thus, battles are a tremendous amount of fun, they're active, fast-paced and intuitive, and they actually require some thinking as well.
The amount of different kinds of Battle Chips differs per game, but there's usually somewhere between 200 and 300. You get a Data Library that shows which chips you've found already, making collecting very enjoyable.

But how do you get chips?
Well, of course you can buy them in shops, you can trade with NPC's, there are Chip Trading Machines that give you a random chip in exchange for a bunch of your own, and you can even exchange with human players through the Link-Up cable.

But the first and foremost way of gathering chips is: fighting.
And this is where the true brilliance of the series comes in.
EVERY single virus you meet, from the smallest insignificant little Mettaur to the Largest Kick-Ass Navi (most of them are restyled versions of bosses from the old Megaman Games) has AT LEAST 1 unique Battle Chip, that can only be acquired from that Virus and that Virus alone.
The key to getting these chips is to fight as skilfully as possible.
At the end of each battle, you get a Grade, from 1 to 10, and finally S if you're really good. The higher your score, the bigger the chance of getting that elusive chip.
The decisive factors in getting a grade are as follows:
A) Your movement. The more you move, the lower your score. 1 point is deducted for the first step, 2 if you make 2 or more.
B) Your dodging skills. The more you get hit, the lower your score.
C) Your Speed. The faster you finish the battle, the higher your score.
D) Your SKILLZ. The more virusises you delete with one blow, the higher your score.

In effect, this makes battles EXTREMELY exciting. This is one of the very few games I know that VERY effectively reward skill and accomplishment, instead of the many many games out there that merely punish your mistakes. Rewards is what this game is all about. The better you get, the more you will get out of the game.
If you only bother with the main story, there will not be much trouble.
It's not too hard, save some boss battles and event battles every now and then, but it's perfectly playable until the last boss. Finding secret items and stuff is a lot harder, but it will in effect make the game easier, the further you get.
The more your try, the better the game gets.

There's a wealth of extra bosses and extra events and areas AFTER you finish the game, making this one of the most replayable games EVER. If you are into collecting and getting the most out of a game, this series is almost ENDLESS fun.
Finishing the game is easy and fun enough, getting all chips and defeating extra bosses is a challenge unlike anything else. It's as hard as you want it to be, and you are completely free in your decisions.
There's SO much stuff to do here it'll make your head spin, and there are no words to describe the nice warm and fuzzy feeling you'll experience when obtaining a particularly hard to get chip. You'll know you got it because you did GOOD.

The first game is still rather basic, but the second, and the one up for review here, perfects the formula. The Internet is easier to navigate, you get a Regular Memory to set 1 chip as a regular, meaning it will turn up EVERY time a battle starts, there are subitems to heal, avoid battles, and search for particular enemies, and EVEN MORE chips.
Also there is even more of a strategic factor to battles with the introduction of different panels and different elements. Ice panels are slippery but double Lightning damage, Grass Panels heal Wood-based creatures but double fire damage, Lava Panels are safe for Fire creatures, but damage everything else, Magnetic Panels draw in enemies, Holy Panels halve damage, etc. etc.
There is a HUGE variety of battle environments, which all encourage different fighting styles and different strategies, the possibilities are almost endless.

It's incredible how much fun this game gets and how rewarding it is.
Even regardless of what you think of Megaman, this game is truely fantastic.
It deserves a nice 9.6.

There's no continuity in the series, so you don't have to play them in order.
Try this one, and if you like it, try 1, 3 and 6 as well.
If you don't, well, then you can just die. Seriously.

posted by Ingen! @ 1:19 PM