Even with the roughest edges smoothed out, Battle Network 1 is still the earliest attempt they made for this style of RPG, and it shows.

The internet (world map) design is so labyrinthine and same-y that without the bottom screen maps in the DS version I'd probably have spent several hours more wandering aimlessly than I already did.

Each dungeon having a unique gimmick is fun, but because this is their first attempt, weird things like diagonal movement ice sliding and invisible multi-layered paths make dungeons much more of a pain than they needed to be (but the fixing of several elements in the ElecMan dungeon is a huge help, and makes me feel for all the kids in 2001 playing the most ridiculous version of it.)

While the DS version has spruced up some parts of the combat, even looking back at the GBA version they’ve set up a great base to build from, all the basics that make the combat so fun are here. Each new chip type is fun to try and incorporate, and building MegaMan up with each upgrade is satisfying too. The addition of playable MM Starforce really makes the endgame easy and fun, the lockon+teleport move truly is 200 years in the future tech :p

Story and music are quite barebones in this one, but fine for what they are, and while the Starforce side story is very short and shoehorned in, it does lead to some cute banter between the boys, and I was charmed by it.

Overall glad to check this one off my list! I’d been curious about BN 1 since I was a kid, but I can’t say it’s particularly worth going back to, especially with how much of an improvement even BN 2 is.


Standout track: Fire Field