The Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection is a stellar example of how a classic series can and should be remastered for superfans and new players alike. For Battle Network superfans, this game hits the spot in the nostalgia department and gives us North American players access to once-exclusive content we weren't able to access in the early 2000s. For new players, having all of the Battle Network games in one place is great for continuity and opportunity for younger folks to play an incredibly fun set of titles. Even more, offering multiplayer right from the jump gives me hope that the Battle Network series will live on into the next-gen of gaming. Regardless of your familiarity with this series, the Collection's graphical updates and gameplay additions, like the Buster MAX Mode, breathe much needed new life into some of the older titles. I am thrilled to see the Mega Man Battle Network series return with more content than ever, and the Collection makes an incredibly easy recommendation for something to play this Spring: If you're looking to get your hands on a collection of classic titles remastered in all the right ways, look no further than Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection.
The Mega Man Battle Network (MMBN) series is an interesting example of a spinoff series done right, albeit underestimated and woefully underrated for its time. Those of you familiar with the Mega Man series may be familiar with tight platforming as Mega Man, defeating difficult enemies with buster shots and dodging bullet hell patterns, and absorbing bosses’ signature abilities to take down the nefarious Dr. Wily (or for the X series, Sigma). The MMBN series threw that entire gameplay loop aside and went, “What if Mega Man lived within a smartphone owned by a teenage boy? What if Mega Man existed in an RPG-style of game with minor action sequences? What if Mega Man talked with his human counterpart and with other robots rather than being a silent robot assassin?” That is the core essence of the MMBN series. I am pleased to say that all of the MMBN series that were once solely available on the Game Boy Advance are coming to the Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PC in the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection (MMBNLC), and it comes out in two days!
The Mega Man Battle Network series takes place in 20xx when the world experienced a rapid growth of Internet technology and became a Network Society. Citizens carry PETs (“personal terminals”) with a single sentient NetNavi within in order to access the network and reap its rewards. But, with new technological advancements brings new crime, and it’s up to Lan Hikari and Mega Man to rid their world of cybercrime that threatens the stability of their Internet society.
In terms of gameplay loop, the MMBN series plays as an old-school JRPG with some action elements. As Lan, players can explore the Internet-driven world with Mega Man in his pocket, talking with his friends and learning hard lessons about adulthood and saving the world. If Lan finds an object with a port, he can “jack” Mega Man from his PET into the device, letting Mega Man explore the cyber world full of viruses and rogue Navis. Battles generally occur through random battles when exploring the Net, and defeating enemies gives Lan zenny (money) and additional chips to enhance Mega Man’s set of skills beyond his tried-and-true buster shot. For newcomers, some of the MMBN series’ richness comes from obtaining rare chips and crafting a unique but deadly set of abilities for Mega Man to use in battle.
I am going to get this out of the way: This review may read as though I am a superfan of the Mega Man Battle Network series to the point of me looking past quirks and missteps worthy of critique. First, I am indeed a MMBN superfan. Second, I evaluated this collection based on the following criteria: A “good” collection of legacy content gives players the classic games with minor tweaks all in one place. A “great” collection of legacy content gives players the classic games they loved with some graphical updates and gameplay updates. The Mega Man Battle Network Collection is a fantastic collection of legacy content: it has each and every game in the series, it has graphical updates, it has some quality of life updates, it has a wealth of media content, and it lets folks play online right from the start.
Returning to the Battle Network universe was a pleasure, and playing the MMBNLC on my Switch felt like fitting snugly into an older favorite sweater found during Spring Cleaning. I was reminded of the silly yet sometimes tacky dialogue featuring Lan and Mega Man when they were out to save the world. I found myself wandering around ACDC town and the rest of the world spamming the R button to find hidden spots containing ports to jack into and obtain hidden items. I also found myself expressing mild frustration with some of the puzzles and frequency of random encounters. Yes, the BN series has aged quite a bit, but despite the games’ quirkiness, each of them hold up well to this day as RPGs.
Before you ask — yes, there are 10 games in the entire collection, but there are technically six mainline titles. Mega Man Battle Network 3, 4, 5, and 6 each feature two variations with minor differences, thus bringing the total number of titles in the collection up to 10. For those unfamiliar, think of the mainline Pokemon series’ differences between Scarlet and Violet; the games are functionally the same game, but each has an exclusive set of Pokemon and other version-exclusive content. In MMBN4, Red Sun gives players access to some souls and abilities that aren’t available in the Blue Moon version. Regardless of these games’ similarities, I appreciate how each and every Battle Network version was included in this collection just so players could get a taste for each version’s differences and exclusive content.
Some of you may be concerned with each of the games’ length and wanting to play each of the titles in the MMBNLC in quick succession: In my experience, a MMBN title could be completed anywhere between 30-60 hours. This is the typical RPG-level of playtime. This means that players, should they want to play all of the titles at once, should expect at least 300 hours of playtime for the offline mode alone. Some folks might not want to dedicate that much time at once, but at the same time, these games are worth spreading out over multiple weekends and/or returning to after a small break. Personally, including all 10 of the games in this collection and giving players the option of choosing which to play far outweighs critiques and concerns of players’ patience with RPGs.
One of the new and highly promoted gameplay additions CAPCOM added to the MMBNLC is the Buster MAX Mode which can be freely toggled on and off from any of the titles’ main menus. This mode makes it so that Mega Man’s buster shot deals 100 damage per shot when playing offline. For reference, Mega Man’s buster shot initially deals 1 damage per shot without upgrades, so this is a considerable difference. Thankfully, this mode is disabled in online battles, so don’t worry about competitive integrity being thrown to the wayside if you’re intending on playing against friends. During my review period, I bit the bullet and enabled Buster MAX, and I have several mixed feelings about its implementation as well as how it impacts all of the Battle Network titles in the collection.
Right from the jump, I loved Buster MAX Mode, especially in the early game of each of the titles where I was forced to learn and relearn the mechanics of using chips, swapping modes, and countering enemies (in the later titles). Enabling it from the start made so much of the boring beginning an absolute breeze. As I was switching between games, Buster MAX Mode was a godsend in getting me into the “fun” parts of the game lickity split. Enemies were easily wiped with a single shot, whittling down random encounters on the NET to mere seconds at a time. Of course, this came at a cost, as I found myself forgetting to curate my folder of chips and using them in battle. It got to a point where I had stopped using chip abilities altogether in battles because it was faster to shoot enemies with the buster.
I can see a world where some may criticize the use of the Buster MAX Mode because of its GameShark-y (read: gamebreaking) power in warping the gameplay loop away from thoughtfully compiling and utilizing chips and instead toward a few single button presses. You need not see this mode as that kind of easy way out. The toggleable setting from any menu gives me enough agency as to when to enable the mode to speed through boring things, such as tutorials and/or grinding for rare chips. Don’t get me wrong, the ease of using the mode is tempting, but those who commit to the Battle Network gameplay loop will find other value in utilizing the mode to enhance their net battling and get the chips they want.
The MMBNLC has been graphically updated, too. Like other collections and remasters, MMBNLC gives players the option of using a higher-resolution filter or the original resolution of each title. In the older titles, like MMBN1 and MMBN2, the filter was such an improvement, I noted the age of these titles’ original graphics impacting some of the finer details that were present thanks to the filter’s smoothness. I appreciate a collection that gives players the option of reliving a title’s glory (or jagged visuals) or testing out an older title with a graphical refresh, and the MMBNLC implements those graphical options well.
The MMBNLC has bundled in a massive amount of once-exclusive event content that was region locked to Japan. In each of the titles, I had the option of loading ChipData, patch cards (MMBN 4-6), and other once-limited content that let Mega Man grow stronger and utilize special abilities. Admittedly, I was overwhelmed with how many cards were available to load right from the start, but I quickly became interested in testing everything out. I am so excited to now use all of the event content I originally missed out on, and I think other fans will be excited to use these patch cards, too.
Diehard Mega Man fans will be pleased with how much legacy media content is included in the collection. I was surprised to see the main menu of the MMBNLC emulate the PET (“personal terminal”) of each game. Seeing a 3D Mega Man chatting away was jarring at first since I never imagined how Mega Man would talk and react to stimuli. Being able to listen to remastered and original music in the gallery menu was a nice touch, too, since there are so many songs I had forgotten about. There’s apparently more than 1000 pieces of art in the gallery; I didn’t keep count, but there’s so much media packed into the gallery that I can see folks like me spending a good amount of time seeing artwork originally used for promotional content back in the early 2000s. I felt so much nostalgia playing the MMBNLC, and I’m loving it.
The MMBNLC also has several online features, letting players battle each other, trade cards to build their collections, and compare libraries. During my playthrough, I was not able to successfully start an online match given that very few players were playing the collection at the time. We cannot comment on the stability and netcode of the online battles at this time, but we appreciate the inclusion of every title having online play available right from the start. Hopefully this breathes new life into the Battle Network community and future of the franchise, as I never really had the opportunity to play against other folks when I had Blue Moon on my Game Boy Advance.
Switch owners may be familiar with how their console lacks achievement tracking unlike the PlayStation’s trophy system and XBOX’s point/achievement system. In MMBNLC, I was surprised to see in-game notifications alerting me when I had completed a side quest or uncovered a secret in-game. It even tracks achievements with Buster MAX Mode, too! As a completionist, having the ability to see my progress and track my achievements, even if they don’t amount to anything in my Nintendo profile, is refreshing to see as a Switch owner. I hope that other cross-platform games take note of this and do something similar.
I am also happy to report that the MMBNLC flies on the Nintendo Switch. No crashes. No graphical quirks. No lagginess in offline mode. No long loading screens. Some of you may be thinking, “Well sure, the games better run well on the Switch. Some of the games are 20 years old!” Rest assured, the experience is as seamless as though you were playing on the original GBA. If anything, the collection is perfectly fit for the Switch in handheld mode given their original release on the Game Boy Advance.
As a collection of classic titles, the MMBNLC has just about everything a fan like me could want in a set of remastered games. I appreciate how Capcom added SO MUCH CONTENT to this collection while also polishing the graphics to look better nearly two decades later. My only complaint/nitpick is the lack of additional QoL features, such as in-game maps and an option to temporarily decrease random battles. In the older titles, such as MMBN1 and MMBN2, I began to wish for a map of the Net so I wouldn’t go off the beaten path in the opposite direction of where I was supposed to go. But, I’ll take what I can get from this collection: It has so, so much good content packed into one game.
The Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection is a stellar example of how a classic series can and should be remastered for superfans and new players alike. For Battle Network superfans, this game hits the spot in the nostalgia department and gives us North American players access to once-exclusive content we weren’t able to access in the early 2000s. For new players, having all of the Battle Network games in one place is great for continuity and opportunity for younger folks to play an incredibly fun set of titles. Even more, offering multiplayer right from the jump gives me hope that the Battle Network series will live on into the next-gen of gaming. Regardless of your familiarity with this series, the Collection‘s graphical updates and gameplay additions, like the Buster MAX Mode, breathe much needed new life into some of the older titles. I am thrilled to see the Mega Man Battle Network series return with more content than ever, and the Collection makes an incredibly easy recommendation for something to play this Spring: If you’re looking to get your hands on a collection of classic titles remastered in all the right ways, look no further than the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection.
A copy of the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
