Expanded well on what the first game did but also rid itself of the overly cumbersome dungeons. My main issue with this iteration was a mixture of the boss gimmicks being annoying (ToadMan, MagnetMan, ThunderMan) and the backtracking at the end of the game. It really expected you to venture all around the net again to find your next task which just made everything at Freezeman to the end game a bit more padded than it should have been.
A strong improvement over the original
They swear in this game, I would be in so much trouble if my mom found me playing this game as a kid.
Oh and the game is good, the first good battle network game in the series barring some late game backtracking.
Oh and the game is good, the first good battle network game in the series barring some late game backtracking.
An unfathomable upgrade to the original. Were it not for the Freezeman scenario, it would be a contender for the best in the series
i don't think there's a single other second mega man game that's as huge of a step up from the first game as this one is. shoutout to the deranged translation btw
The second in the series and man this game is leaps and bounds better than the first one. The music bops the combat is excellent with added features and a hundred extra battle chips added. Megaman can now evolve sort of withe style change feature which gives him a new upgrade and design depending on how you fight. The story is a lot more interesting than the first and pretty dark for a kids game lol there are some scenarios where I was thrown off lol even back then when I first played it. Boss battles are harder than the first and add a great level of challenge. Huge gripe with this game though. You will back track a lot and especially at the end with the infamous freezeman section that made me want to snap my gba in half. Even having played it recently I had to stop on three different occasions because of how tedious and stressful it is… but great end game. When you beat the game you get to go to a bonus area with added story elements and set up’s for the next game as well as bonus bosses and challenges. Overall it’s a good game without the excessive back tracking this game would be a master piece.
More backtracking than in a Resident Evil game
By now, it’s very common knowledge that Battle Network 2 is universally superior to its predecessor in just about every regard. Technically speaking, we’re dealing with all the same qualifications here, but it’s clear Capcom and co. learned a lot from the rough patches of the first game and sought to improve the experience tenfold. The biggest improvements come from the refined UI of the Battle System and the navigability of the net. The often cryptic directions the game gives you can still be an issue, but the distinct renderings of the various areas within the net make surveying it for some kind of objective far less painful. The improved Battle System manifests in the form of many optimized small changes. Notably, the appearance of chip codes on the select menu itself, a permanent “Run” option from battle, a refined “Add” option which maintains the increased chip amount for the remainder of the battle, and small details such as enemy names being displayed at the start of combat now. Additionally, I felt an increased access to a variety of chips with similar codes being made available, making it easier for the player to optimize their folder and build more synchronous strategies to get through their folder faster in battle. I can’t be certain this is truly the case, but regardless, by the end I had a selection of chips I felt I could suit more to differing playstyles than I think anything in the first game ever managed to offer.
Another new feature which distinguishes the personalization of the combat in Battle Network 2 is the introduction of the Style Change function. Early on, Mega Man is given the ability to change his appearance and abilities based on the playstyle the player has prioritized up until that point. Each style comes with a random element attached which effects the performance of Mega Man’s buster attack. You’re able to collect multiple styles throughout the game, swapping around and leveling up which you enjoy best, or is most suited to your current situation. This is a really great new feature which incentivizes and rewards the player for engaging in combat in different ways, ensuring a unique experience tailored to the individual’s particularities and strengths. The only thing from the first game’s Battle System I could even possibly miss is the full healing you’d get after each encounter. It made slogging through that game’s horrendous dungeon designs less punishing at least. Luckily, they didn’t simply take it away and force you to stuff healing chips into your folder for 2. The addition of Sub Chips as an additional resource you can use outside of combat ensures you can always heal up if you ever get low on health, as well as allowing you to dispel enemy encounters for a while or repeat certain encounters if you’re searching for a particular enemy to fight. Both of these features were continued in the next game as well, proving their significance in further refining the Battle Network experience.
Narratively, Battle Network 2 expands on the scope of the first entry by spreading the conflict across a greater expanse of locales. The world of Battle Network opens up for the first time here, starting with the second dungeon, which takes you out of the familiar location of ACDC Town and Dencity and into the rural scenery of Okuden Valley. This varying of locations is an essential element of the series building upon the strong impressions of a lived-in world established by the first game. It’s important in helping us invest further in the denizens of this world, as we continue to familiarize ourselves not just with the recurring characters, but the places they inhabit and effect, too. It’s especially important for this entry, which aims to amp up the tension of the latest cyber threat by involving multiple other countries in the sweep of its effect. The increasing grandiosity of Battle Network’s story doesn’t necessarily register in full, especially as its central villain remains completely obscured until the game’s very final moments, dumping some hackneyed backstory after the final fight has concluded in order to drum up some kind of contrived purpose for the antagonistic force to perpetuate to begin with. They kind of did this in the first game as well with Dr. Wily’s backstory dump, but he was at least a constant presence in the game with intermittent cutscenes sprinkled throughout. Gospel is a far more nebulous threat, although the opponent Navis are generally superior in both design and combat to the first game’s cast of villains. The various dungeons, much like the vastly-improved net, are far more enjoyable here, with no particular puzzles proving intolerably frustrating. The final scenario before the endgame sees you going on a ludicrous fetch quest back and forth across the net, which alone tests the player’s remaining patience for the game by this point, but everything preceding it is totally reasonable, leaving this one untenable area mostly forgivable.
If the first Battle Network was a promising new IP that reinvented the philosophy of Mega Man, but suffered from poor design elements that constantly hindered the experience of the gameplay itself, then Battle Network 2 is the first complete realization of those innovative conceptions without insanely detrimental flaws. The expansion of the world in tandem with the refinement of the Battle Systems demonstrate incredible progress in the shaping of what elements made the first game so endearing, while the increased customization provided by the Style Change system and increased chip variety ensure a unique experience for every player, and every playthrough. The back half of the game is tainted slightly by an excruciatingly lengthy and tedious backtracking sequence, as well as an ending that narratively carries little weight. Some obtuse solutions persist throughout the early game as well (the invisible item fetch quest in the second scenario immediately springs to mind), as well as a bizarrely offensive depiction of international travel as instinctively predatory, also stand out as frustrating experiences, but by and large the game expands and improves upon the enticing groundwork of the first game. A robust amount of post-game content compels me to further explore the enthralling gameplay of Battle Network 2 now that the main game has reached its conclusion, which itself is all the indication needed to demonstrate how much of a drastic improvement this sequel is over its progenitor.
Another new feature which distinguishes the personalization of the combat in Battle Network 2 is the introduction of the Style Change function. Early on, Mega Man is given the ability to change his appearance and abilities based on the playstyle the player has prioritized up until that point. Each style comes with a random element attached which effects the performance of Mega Man’s buster attack. You’re able to collect multiple styles throughout the game, swapping around and leveling up which you enjoy best, or is most suited to your current situation. This is a really great new feature which incentivizes and rewards the player for engaging in combat in different ways, ensuring a unique experience tailored to the individual’s particularities and strengths. The only thing from the first game’s Battle System I could even possibly miss is the full healing you’d get after each encounter. It made slogging through that game’s horrendous dungeon designs less punishing at least. Luckily, they didn’t simply take it away and force you to stuff healing chips into your folder for 2. The addition of Sub Chips as an additional resource you can use outside of combat ensures you can always heal up if you ever get low on health, as well as allowing you to dispel enemy encounters for a while or repeat certain encounters if you’re searching for a particular enemy to fight. Both of these features were continued in the next game as well, proving their significance in further refining the Battle Network experience.
Narratively, Battle Network 2 expands on the scope of the first entry by spreading the conflict across a greater expanse of locales. The world of Battle Network opens up for the first time here, starting with the second dungeon, which takes you out of the familiar location of ACDC Town and Dencity and into the rural scenery of Okuden Valley. This varying of locations is an essential element of the series building upon the strong impressions of a lived-in world established by the first game. It’s important in helping us invest further in the denizens of this world, as we continue to familiarize ourselves not just with the recurring characters, but the places they inhabit and effect, too. It’s especially important for this entry, which aims to amp up the tension of the latest cyber threat by involving multiple other countries in the sweep of its effect. The increasing grandiosity of Battle Network’s story doesn’t necessarily register in full, especially as its central villain remains completely obscured until the game’s very final moments, dumping some hackneyed backstory after the final fight has concluded in order to drum up some kind of contrived purpose for the antagonistic force to perpetuate to begin with. They kind of did this in the first game as well with Dr. Wily’s backstory dump, but he was at least a constant presence in the game with intermittent cutscenes sprinkled throughout. Gospel is a far more nebulous threat, although the opponent Navis are generally superior in both design and combat to the first game’s cast of villains. The various dungeons, much like the vastly-improved net, are far more enjoyable here, with no particular puzzles proving intolerably frustrating. The final scenario before the endgame sees you going on a ludicrous fetch quest back and forth across the net, which alone tests the player’s remaining patience for the game by this point, but everything preceding it is totally reasonable, leaving this one untenable area mostly forgivable.
If the first Battle Network was a promising new IP that reinvented the philosophy of Mega Man, but suffered from poor design elements that constantly hindered the experience of the gameplay itself, then Battle Network 2 is the first complete realization of those innovative conceptions without insanely detrimental flaws. The expansion of the world in tandem with the refinement of the Battle Systems demonstrate incredible progress in the shaping of what elements made the first game so endearing, while the increased customization provided by the Style Change system and increased chip variety ensure a unique experience for every player, and every playthrough. The back half of the game is tainted slightly by an excruciatingly lengthy and tedious backtracking sequence, as well as an ending that narratively carries little weight. Some obtuse solutions persist throughout the early game as well (the invisible item fetch quest in the second scenario immediately springs to mind), as well as a bizarrely offensive depiction of international travel as instinctively predatory, also stand out as frustrating experiences, but by and large the game expands and improves upon the enticing groundwork of the first game. A robust amount of post-game content compels me to further explore the enthralling gameplay of Battle Network 2 now that the main game has reached its conclusion, which itself is all the indication needed to demonstrate how much of a drastic improvement this sequel is over its progenitor.
FreezeMan's scenario should be considered a human rights violation
I waited long enough to replay this that I forgot how long the Freezeman scenario goes on for. Still a great time, but I could see that causing new players to drop this. This is pretty much an improvement in all ways over the first game. This run especially made me yearn for more license tests, and I'm pretty sad the other games dropped it. It's a good postgame, but it goes down a lot if you want the final star with the awful grind for the PVP chips.
It's hard to not love this game though, when it brought us this
It's hard to not love this game though, when it brought us this
pody melhora '-
I can’t in good faith give this a score because I actively went through the game with a mindset of “this sucks” but I will admit the villains in this are probably the funniest in the whole series because they are complete goons
É um bom jogo, só zerei ele pela nostalgia, não pretendo continuar a franquia.
better than the first and made me want more
Me sorprende como mejoro en casi todos los aspectos al primero. Tiene algunos fallidos narrativos por ahí, pero no es nada que mate al juego. Sin mencionar que el sistema aquí se lucio bastante con el systema de style change.
I adore how much these games feel like you're playing a saturday morning cartoon
Same as the first except the Freezeman section was extremely tedious and plodding.
The Freezeman.EXE scenario ruins a really great game and just derails it into a mineless backtrack session.
Still good but like bruh
Still good but like bruh
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.
This is the true start of the series IMO, as it's way better than the first game in almost every single way.
The story was also weirdly good. Well, not good per se, not in terms of the wider world of gaming, but off rip we're dealing the Netmafia killing a guy with a bomb and then it escalates to... uh... a bunch of servers giving off radiation and... uhhh... Bugs being spread through the net annnnnnd... other real corny 00s Internet stuff. I fucking love it, it's just fun. It's so goofy, so misguided on how the Internet and data and programs work, but it's my soft spot. Digimon also has a very 20th century outlook on the "net" and both of these series hold a very dear place in my heart.
But that said, it's still not a great game. As a major fan of MMBN, I had fun seeing how the series has progressed. I'm extremely excited to finally get past what I consider the weakest MMBN games by far and finally get to the later titles that excited me as a kid.
For MMBN2, I fired up the Max Buster for most of the adventure sans bosses and blasted through what I could, but goddamn, the lack of map (which continues for a long time, sadly), barely improved Net design, and often pointless L-button "help" had me looking up where to go for a good portion of this game, particularly the final 2 chapters. Absolutely terrible back-and-forth progression that often annoyed me, but thankfully being a GBA cartridge-based game there were zero load times to get in the way.
Seriously, for the older games and the dozens of random battles in between puzzle segments, turn on Max Buster. There's no EXP system in this series, so get the easy battles over with and get to the good stuff. Only play this once you're finished the other games and want to see how the series began and started growing.
The story was also weirdly good. Well, not good per se, not in terms of the wider world of gaming, but off rip we're dealing the Netmafia killing a guy with a bomb and then it escalates to... uh... a bunch of servers giving off radiation and... uhhh... Bugs being spread through the net annnnnnd... other real corny 00s Internet stuff. I fucking love it, it's just fun. It's so goofy, so misguided on how the Internet and data and programs work, but it's my soft spot. Digimon also has a very 20th century outlook on the "net" and both of these series hold a very dear place in my heart.
But that said, it's still not a great game. As a major fan of MMBN, I had fun seeing how the series has progressed. I'm extremely excited to finally get past what I consider the weakest MMBN games by far and finally get to the later titles that excited me as a kid.
For MMBN2, I fired up the Max Buster for most of the adventure sans bosses and blasted through what I could, but goddamn, the lack of map (which continues for a long time, sadly), barely improved Net design, and often pointless L-button "help" had me looking up where to go for a good portion of this game, particularly the final 2 chapters. Absolutely terrible back-and-forth progression that often annoyed me, but thankfully being a GBA cartridge-based game there were zero load times to get in the way.
Seriously, for the older games and the dozens of random battles in between puzzle segments, turn on Max Buster. There's no EXP system in this series, so get the easy battles over with and get to the good stuff. Only play this once you're finished the other games and want to see how the series began and started growing.
This review contains spoilers
Mega Man Battle Network was the start to an exciting adventure. Despite its shortcomings it does a good job establishing characters and the world that they live in. Mega Man Battle Network 2 takes that foundation and builds on it. We get to see the world expand beyond DenCity where we get to learn about other countries outside of our own Electopia. We see improvements to the battle system and one of the most important improvements we see is the redesign of the net.
The story picks up shortly after the events of the first game. Lan and his friends go excitedly into summer break from school only to get wrapped into another net terrorist conspiracy. This time Gospel is behind the scenes creating chaos. With new villains comes new enemy net navis. Each with their own battle patterns and gimmicks. The story generally follows a cause and effect pattern until you reach the last couple of chapters. It starts off pretty lighthearted and then quickly escalates into world ending peril. The part of the story where Lan travels to Netopia and gets robbed multiple times comes off as oddly racist. The characterization of their speech (despite a translation program that would cut out the “broken” english) doesn’t help either. It wouldn’t have been bad if there was a single instance in which Lan loses all of his money and battle chips but having it happen multiple times in a row gives off a bad impression that foreign countries are full of grifters. One part of the story was incredibly frustrating and that’s when you are trying to gain access to Gospel’s network. Finding the key and gaining the tools to clear the ice blocks was entirely too convoluted. Even with a guide it takes a lot of time and effort to do all of the back tracking and the fetch quests that it takes to progress the story. All the while getting vague hints about where to go and what to do. If the segment were condensed to fewer steps it would have been a more forgivable moment. The villain’s aims seem fitting for the setting but by the end feels hyperbolic. The character gives a sad backstory about how they grew up alone and this is their way of getting back at the world as his motivation. Then they give a vague indication that someone was pulling the strings in the background which kind of justifies the character’s actions? Having a plot twist concerning the main villains motives serves as a cliffhanger with another sequel obviously in the works. The issue for me is that it undercuts the current villain’s motives and gives a sense of incompletion to the narrative.
The dungeon and net design has seen phenomenal levels of improvement in this entry. The pathing makes more sense. They keep the labyrinthian idea of exploration while making places memorable to explore. Gone are the days of running around hoping to find things. Accessing parts of the net via a friend’s computer works even better this time. Places have more visual identity and we don’t have ridiculous ice puzzles either (despite having an ice themed boss battle). There is an early game sequence where you go camping with your friends and net terrorists (Gospel) were trying to blow up the damn that didn’t feel great. It wasn’t the worst since they had taught you the mechanic for the area (interacting with things you can’t see on the screen) leading up to that moment. I feel like they could have done better to implement finding the dungeon access points (bomb detonators). It wasn’t as damning of an experience as invisible walkways in the previous game but it didn’t leave me with a good impression of the area. The castle dungeon didn’t feel particularly great either as there were a lot of things to avoid and they weren’t always able to be avoided. The vampires don’t have as defined of a pattern as the thieves or the zombies and I often found myself being cornered by them. It might have softened the blow some had they done less damage but 100 damage is a lot even if you have all of the HP Memory that you can by then. The saving grace is that the pathing is more linear so it gives you a chance to memorize the path, jack out, and then run through with a plan to avoid the enemies. The boss navis in this game I feel are well balanced in this game. I have personal grievances against Quickman but I also recognize that I may not have adjusted my chips and play style to meet that challenge. I found the final boss to be appropriately challenging. I do wish he had a better time window of vulnerability or more health and being completely vulnerable.
The gameplay improvements are both natural, and well implemented. They changed the add system which I was apprehensive about at first but was satisfied with once I understood how the system worked. The replacement of armor with armor based on play style was a great change as well. I played most of the game with WoodGuts armor and dealing 10 damage with the mega buster was awesome. I do wish you could unlock more armor sets faster. The viruses in this game are more fair I would say. Less enemies with vertical elements that make them harder to bust while their attacks do a lot of damage. I found myself in situations where I was forced to take damage a lot less in this one and with MegaMan not healing after every battle like before that was a big positive for me. They introduce a new mechanic in this one where you can select a chip (based on how much regular memory it took and how much your capacity was) and that chip would always be in your starting hand. It made using advanced chips like Lifesword or Zeta cannon more accessible especially with them limiting you to 5 copies of a chip instead of 10. The other thing that I liked was how accessible the power ups were in this game. They were easier to find and you could obtain most (if not all) by the last couple of chapters in the story. I went into the final battles only missing 150 health and two buster upgrades. I don’t know how many regular memory ups I missed but I had a satisfactory amount for what I used it for.
The music was mostly fine in this one. I felt like I heard a lot more repetition in this one. Lots of short looped tracks that were clearly meant for areas that you are in and out of quickly. None of the tracks really stood out to me this time. Often times the tracks fit the locale or the tension of the moment. The music maintains its chippy style from the first game and it still fits the game as it is.
Overall this game is a vast improvement over the original entry and has left me feeling more positive about the series. I look forward to seeing what other improvements are made to the series as I tackle each entry.
The story picks up shortly after the events of the first game. Lan and his friends go excitedly into summer break from school only to get wrapped into another net terrorist conspiracy. This time Gospel is behind the scenes creating chaos. With new villains comes new enemy net navis. Each with their own battle patterns and gimmicks. The story generally follows a cause and effect pattern until you reach the last couple of chapters. It starts off pretty lighthearted and then quickly escalates into world ending peril. The part of the story where Lan travels to Netopia and gets robbed multiple times comes off as oddly racist. The characterization of their speech (despite a translation program that would cut out the “broken” english) doesn’t help either. It wouldn’t have been bad if there was a single instance in which Lan loses all of his money and battle chips but having it happen multiple times in a row gives off a bad impression that foreign countries are full of grifters. One part of the story was incredibly frustrating and that’s when you are trying to gain access to Gospel’s network. Finding the key and gaining the tools to clear the ice blocks was entirely too convoluted. Even with a guide it takes a lot of time and effort to do all of the back tracking and the fetch quests that it takes to progress the story. All the while getting vague hints about where to go and what to do. If the segment were condensed to fewer steps it would have been a more forgivable moment. The villain’s aims seem fitting for the setting but by the end feels hyperbolic. The character gives a sad backstory about how they grew up alone and this is their way of getting back at the world as his motivation. Then they give a vague indication that someone was pulling the strings in the background which kind of justifies the character’s actions? Having a plot twist concerning the main villains motives serves as a cliffhanger with another sequel obviously in the works. The issue for me is that it undercuts the current villain’s motives and gives a sense of incompletion to the narrative.
The dungeon and net design has seen phenomenal levels of improvement in this entry. The pathing makes more sense. They keep the labyrinthian idea of exploration while making places memorable to explore. Gone are the days of running around hoping to find things. Accessing parts of the net via a friend’s computer works even better this time. Places have more visual identity and we don’t have ridiculous ice puzzles either (despite having an ice themed boss battle). There is an early game sequence where you go camping with your friends and net terrorists (Gospel) were trying to blow up the damn that didn’t feel great. It wasn’t the worst since they had taught you the mechanic for the area (interacting with things you can’t see on the screen) leading up to that moment. I feel like they could have done better to implement finding the dungeon access points (bomb detonators). It wasn’t as damning of an experience as invisible walkways in the previous game but it didn’t leave me with a good impression of the area. The castle dungeon didn’t feel particularly great either as there were a lot of things to avoid and they weren’t always able to be avoided. The vampires don’t have as defined of a pattern as the thieves or the zombies and I often found myself being cornered by them. It might have softened the blow some had they done less damage but 100 damage is a lot even if you have all of the HP Memory that you can by then. The saving grace is that the pathing is more linear so it gives you a chance to memorize the path, jack out, and then run through with a plan to avoid the enemies. The boss navis in this game I feel are well balanced in this game. I have personal grievances against Quickman but I also recognize that I may not have adjusted my chips and play style to meet that challenge. I found the final boss to be appropriately challenging. I do wish he had a better time window of vulnerability or more health and being completely vulnerable.
The gameplay improvements are both natural, and well implemented. They changed the add system which I was apprehensive about at first but was satisfied with once I understood how the system worked. The replacement of armor with armor based on play style was a great change as well. I played most of the game with WoodGuts armor and dealing 10 damage with the mega buster was awesome. I do wish you could unlock more armor sets faster. The viruses in this game are more fair I would say. Less enemies with vertical elements that make them harder to bust while their attacks do a lot of damage. I found myself in situations where I was forced to take damage a lot less in this one and with MegaMan not healing after every battle like before that was a big positive for me. They introduce a new mechanic in this one where you can select a chip (based on how much regular memory it took and how much your capacity was) and that chip would always be in your starting hand. It made using advanced chips like Lifesword or Zeta cannon more accessible especially with them limiting you to 5 copies of a chip instead of 10. The other thing that I liked was how accessible the power ups were in this game. They were easier to find and you could obtain most (if not all) by the last couple of chapters in the story. I went into the final battles only missing 150 health and two buster upgrades. I don’t know how many regular memory ups I missed but I had a satisfactory amount for what I used it for.
The music was mostly fine in this one. I felt like I heard a lot more repetition in this one. Lots of short looped tracks that were clearly meant for areas that you are in and out of quickly. None of the tracks really stood out to me this time. Often times the tracks fit the locale or the tension of the moment. The music maintains its chippy style from the first game and it still fits the game as it is.
Overall this game is a vast improvement over the original entry and has left me feeling more positive about the series. I look forward to seeing what other improvements are made to the series as I tackle each entry.
It's pretty good. However, FreezeMan and his stupid-ass scenario should be deleted off the face of the net.
Also I think I'm playing these games wrong. I ended up finding one advance from a total of 30 and missing over half of the chips (how is that even possible?) I have no idea how to actually 100% these games and I never will.
Also I think I'm playing these games wrong. I ended up finding one advance from a total of 30 and missing over half of the chips (how is that even possible?) I have no idea how to actually 100% these games and I never will.
mmbn2 sands edges that were sharp in its predecessor and adds some flavor with the style change system and an elemental weakness system. i got 3 different versions of the stupid fuckin shield style with different elements so it definitely needed tweaking on how it assigns it to you and the fact that you can only hold 2 is silly but i enjoyed stunning enemies with electric and speed deleting navi's with weaknesses so it wasn't all bad. i was almost under the belief that this is where these games got good and then the tedious ass fetch quests of the second half of the game popped in and ruined that. really it's a coinflip which one you'll prefer between 1 and 2 but i personally think 1 being short and sweet overpowers the cons of it being mechanically shallow in this comparison.
EDITED FOR POSTGAME CONTENT: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/661011958396485632/1103000107684724816/Aw_Hell_Yeah_Whats_My_4th_Style_Gonna_Be.png
EDITED FOR POSTGAME CONTENT: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/661011958396485632/1103000107684724816/Aw_Hell_Yeah_Whats_My_4th_Style_Gonna_Be.png
Almost everything about this game is worse than the first. A dumb as fuck plot, backtracking through the same disgusting vomit colored areas, not being healed between battles, insane difficulty spikes, a whatever OST, BARELY ANY HIGSBY, and genuinely horribly designed enemies. Only things that made me genuinely think "Oh I like this" was MagnetMan's Dungeon, The fact that you can combine chips based off type not just letter now, the fact that Bass had a bigger role, and some of the side bosses. BIIIIIG fuck you to whoever thought up the FreezeMan Section. Such a large downgrade and dissapointment.
finally got around to finishing my second 100% run on a different cartridge to unlock hard mode. will probably start hard mode in the coming weeks, but, for now, i'm taking a breather.
i do feel like a lot of this game gets slept on with people oversimplifying it to "lol gater!" because yeah, gater does break the game, but a. it's entirely optional to use b. the vast majority of players are going to even find out about it without using some type of guide or reference material c. half if not moreso of the fun of MMBN games is finding out what combos you can use to break the game. i've always felt people overlook fullcustom in this game when talking about the most broken chips in the series. sure, folderback gives you back your entire folder + itself and starts your turn immediately, but you can put 5 fullcustoms in your folder and it has a very low memory requirement to register. in many ways, i've always considered this to be what breaks the game in half and then subsequently into fourths because most of my lategame gameplay is just shuffling out hands with fullcustoms until i get either the chip or PA i was looking for. so, in that way, i'm kind of looking forward to seeing how hard mode will challenge me, knowing that my dominant strategies will likely have to be reworked.
in general, this game always comes extremely close to being my favorite in the series because of what a joy it is to play. the internet areas are a giant step up from 1 and feel characterized and vibrant, scenarios are paced better and it feels like there's a lot more downtime between them, and the styles themselves add such a needed degree of depth to gameplay. that said, it'd be an improvement if a style's element could be influenced at all (i ended up with the joy of having a file seed where aqua was the last element in rotation), and overall the system could do with a smidge more transparency both wrt what style you're going to acquire soon + how many battles until either a style upgrade or a new one.
still, this game is absolute bliss to play and even in it's drudgery like the freezeman scenario is still entertaining. the base gameplay formula of deckbuilding meeting simplistic grid-based combat works extremely well and capcom knew exactly how to build on it. there's a reason you could browse r/battlenetwork on any given week and find someone say "hey guys here's my alpha build of my indie game that's going to be using the mmbn grid combat!". appeal to popularity or whatever, sure, but it has staying power. this is really where the series begins imo, and that's not necessarily to throw shade at MMBN1, but more to acknowledge that this is where the formula finally clicks into place and becomes addictive. 40 hours to 100% this game again and i'm already thinking about how i'm going to go about my next playthrough. the staying power of MMBN is not to be underestimated or taken lightly. these games will always have a grip on the neurons in my brain that release dopamine.
i do feel like a lot of this game gets slept on with people oversimplifying it to "lol gater!" because yeah, gater does break the game, but a. it's entirely optional to use b. the vast majority of players are going to even find out about it without using some type of guide or reference material c. half if not moreso of the fun of MMBN games is finding out what combos you can use to break the game. i've always felt people overlook fullcustom in this game when talking about the most broken chips in the series. sure, folderback gives you back your entire folder + itself and starts your turn immediately, but you can put 5 fullcustoms in your folder and it has a very low memory requirement to register. in many ways, i've always considered this to be what breaks the game in half and then subsequently into fourths because most of my lategame gameplay is just shuffling out hands with fullcustoms until i get either the chip or PA i was looking for. so, in that way, i'm kind of looking forward to seeing how hard mode will challenge me, knowing that my dominant strategies will likely have to be reworked.
in general, this game always comes extremely close to being my favorite in the series because of what a joy it is to play. the internet areas are a giant step up from 1 and feel characterized and vibrant, scenarios are paced better and it feels like there's a lot more downtime between them, and the styles themselves add such a needed degree of depth to gameplay. that said, it'd be an improvement if a style's element could be influenced at all (i ended up with the joy of having a file seed where aqua was the last element in rotation), and overall the system could do with a smidge more transparency both wrt what style you're going to acquire soon + how many battles until either a style upgrade or a new one.
still, this game is absolute bliss to play and even in it's drudgery like the freezeman scenario is still entertaining. the base gameplay formula of deckbuilding meeting simplistic grid-based combat works extremely well and capcom knew exactly how to build on it. there's a reason you could browse r/battlenetwork on any given week and find someone say "hey guys here's my alpha build of my indie game that's going to be using the mmbn grid combat!". appeal to popularity or whatever, sure, but it has staying power. this is really where the series begins imo, and that's not necessarily to throw shade at MMBN1, but more to acknowledge that this is where the formula finally clicks into place and becomes addictive. 40 hours to 100% this game again and i'm already thinking about how i'm going to go about my next playthrough. the staying power of MMBN is not to be underestimated or taken lightly. these games will always have a grip on the neurons in my brain that release dopamine.
"Give me 200 mil or your kid gets gassed"
"Looks like your 180 IQ couldn't save you this time"
"GOD BLESS GOSPEL!"
"Ah ah ah... I haven't been stimulated in so long"
"Looks like your 180 IQ couldn't save you this time"
"GOD BLESS GOSPEL!"
"Ah ah ah... I haven't been stimulated in so long"
A rock-solid upgrade from the first game. It addresses many of the issues I had with it, and is overall a more polished game. Such are the comparisons I have:
- Battle encounter rate is friendlier
- Asterisk-type chips addresses some of the chip flexibility issues
- Styles system that build up on the player's own way of fighting
- Story is still very simple, but the side-characters finally participate more in it
- World map is MUCH better to navigate
And did I mention the endgame? What I thought that would be just a few extra hours ended up summing up to 10 hours of extra content. It is VERY difficult though, and a bit too grindy sometimes, but overall I like it.
The game has a few things I really don't like, like a boring questline near the end, or a long stretch without saving, or grindy/annoying post-game sections (which is kinda ok to be fair, it is post-game). But overall it's a well-made and fun game! Just like Mega Man 2 improved a lot upon 1 and established the franchise, I think the same goes for BN 2. Although I'd say I prefer Mega Man 1 over Battle Network 1, haha.
- Battle encounter rate is friendlier
- Asterisk-type chips addresses some of the chip flexibility issues
- Styles system that build up on the player's own way of fighting
- Story is still very simple, but the side-characters finally participate more in it
- World map is MUCH better to navigate
And did I mention the endgame? What I thought that would be just a few extra hours ended up summing up to 10 hours of extra content. It is VERY difficult though, and a bit too grindy sometimes, but overall I like it.
The game has a few things I really don't like, like a boring questline near the end, or a long stretch without saving, or grindy/annoying post-game sections (which is kinda ok to be fair, it is post-game). But overall it's a well-made and fun game! Just like Mega Man 2 improved a lot upon 1 and established the franchise, I think the same goes for BN 2. Although I'd say I prefer Mega Man 1 over Battle Network 1, haha.
Battle Network 2 simply resumed their saga with minor QoL upgrades and zero inspiration. Like before, the two pillars of the series (combat and customization) are flanked by an incredible amount of padding, while gameplay additions such as items, persistent damage, classes and joker-type chips amounted to very little. Their dungeons frequently recycle old techniques from JRPG history, and - once again, the most creative examples are also the most frustrating.
improvement
Huge improvement over 1, chips are more varied and weird, the style system is awesome though a bit flawed. Real cool game.