The Mega Man Battle Network series has been an interesting go from the start as I knew it eventually did start marketing itself with two different games with slightly different experiences. This encouraged me both to look at which one I should play through and trying to figure out what experienced of what I wanted. It's a small, but an effective strategy that I honestly like in the sense it gives me an excuse to play the game again and give me new experiences. While the Blue version of this game was supposed to be the "easier one" and the main reason why I played it; I really had a rough time with this game that I feel I wouldn't have experienced in it's sister game, White.
Thankfully, all the combat in MMBN3 is still roughly the same as previous entries as the only thing that ever really gets added was additional chips that weren't in the previous game due to the changing Robot Master roster. So a lot of neat experimentation can happen amidst the nerfs and buffs they gave chips between sequels and through neat trade mechanics. While combat didn't change appearance wise, the leveling up system and numbers and styles part did. Not exactly in a way that really made me miss the old version or like this new version of leveling, but it's certainly different. By having to put a lot of upgrades in a Tetris like box you get to feel like you're building your own navi pet, and kinda make this Mega Man more like your own. While I did feel this made me play the game in a less dynamic way from the previous two entries, I can at least admire the spirit of what they were going for.
What I can't say I liked tho is just how grind-y and obtuse the Blue version of this game can be. While both versions, Blue and White, don't different in terms of story, there were a number of changes to get to certain parts that really just ended up making Blue too much to deal with in my opinion. From having to figure out what chip needs to be dropped in order to trade and progress to just having to constantly go back and forth between different routes that really felt less intuitive than the previous MMBN entries. It's kinda amazing how these little changes not only extended gameplay time to an unhealthy degree, but were just outright infuriating to figure out without a guide. This is on top of the fact that the random encounter rates have always been particularly bad in the Battle Network series, so having to wait to progress the story simply because you didn't backtrack to get a chip or aren't fighting the right enemy really just made everything a hassle that came up way too many times to count. Then the game goes ahead at the end to add a weird final boss that takes more damage using a certain style that can be easily ignored in regular play over being able to use your constructed chip deck. Like it's not enough that you have to go through two phases of a boss, but the fact both formes are relatively different set up wise just kinda ruins a lot of fun this game's combat is know for.
Like I really do like the Battle Network series to a degree that someone is just playing thru them for the first time in their adult years, but Mega Man Battle Network 3 Blue would have made me quit if I was younger. The story is relatively fine to go through, but it really didn't hold me like MMBN or MMBN2 did. Heck, even Transmission gave me more interest in the series than 3's story. It's not bad, but it certainly feels more like going through the motions than previous entries. Then you put all that on top of some really annoying moments with a lot of tedious backtracking, and it just doesn't feel like a fun game to play. From my understanding MMBN 3 White wasn't like this, and while I certainly don't like to knock Blue the way I am with it's small changes, sometimes that's all you need when it comes to becoming unlikable and not fun to play.
Thankfully, all the combat in MMBN3 is still roughly the same as previous entries as the only thing that ever really gets added was additional chips that weren't in the previous game due to the changing Robot Master roster. So a lot of neat experimentation can happen amidst the nerfs and buffs they gave chips between sequels and through neat trade mechanics. While combat didn't change appearance wise, the leveling up system and numbers and styles part did. Not exactly in a way that really made me miss the old version or like this new version of leveling, but it's certainly different. By having to put a lot of upgrades in a Tetris like box you get to feel like you're building your own navi pet, and kinda make this Mega Man more like your own. While I did feel this made me play the game in a less dynamic way from the previous two entries, I can at least admire the spirit of what they were going for.
What I can't say I liked tho is just how grind-y and obtuse the Blue version of this game can be. While both versions, Blue and White, don't different in terms of story, there were a number of changes to get to certain parts that really just ended up making Blue too much to deal with in my opinion. From having to figure out what chip needs to be dropped in order to trade and progress to just having to constantly go back and forth between different routes that really felt less intuitive than the previous MMBN entries. It's kinda amazing how these little changes not only extended gameplay time to an unhealthy degree, but were just outright infuriating to figure out without a guide. This is on top of the fact that the random encounter rates have always been particularly bad in the Battle Network series, so having to wait to progress the story simply because you didn't backtrack to get a chip or aren't fighting the right enemy really just made everything a hassle that came up way too many times to count. Then the game goes ahead at the end to add a weird final boss that takes more damage using a certain style that can be easily ignored in regular play over being able to use your constructed chip deck. Like it's not enough that you have to go through two phases of a boss, but the fact both formes are relatively different set up wise just kinda ruins a lot of fun this game's combat is know for.
Like I really do like the Battle Network series to a degree that someone is just playing thru them for the first time in their adult years, but Mega Man Battle Network 3 Blue would have made me quit if I was younger. The story is relatively fine to go through, but it really didn't hold me like MMBN or MMBN2 did. Heck, even Transmission gave me more interest in the series than 3's story. It's not bad, but it certainly feels more like going through the motions than previous entries. Then you put all that on top of some really annoying moments with a lot of tedious backtracking, and it just doesn't feel like a fun game to play. From my understanding MMBN 3 White wasn't like this, and while I certainly don't like to knock Blue the way I am with it's small changes, sometimes that's all you need when it comes to becoming unlikable and not fun to play.