After having a spin-off on the SNES, it wasn't long before they figured that the Megaman series needed another spin-off for a hand held console. So far, all the spin-offs were good, so I'm told (never played Megaman X    =P  Hear it's good with a new twist of deeper story). It was interesting to see what they would add to the game play, but still see if it had that Megaman feel with a unique game play. And behold! The Network series was born. It offered fast paced action served with puzzles and RPG on the side plate with a dressing of strategy. The series was just as multi-featured as the first game series. It also offered a good story, just like Megaman X. These were the first Megaman games I played, but this one was the forth I played in the series. So lets jack-in and see what makes this game what it is.

The story is basic, but it's the finer details that make it so great. You have to stop an evil terrorist called WWW (World Three) from destroying the network society.....Oh yeah, the year is 20XX, in which everything is connected by computing. Nearly everyone has a PET (which stands for PErsonal Terminal), which has a character called a Navi *blue light ball with wings appears out of no-where and starts talking*
"HEY!!! HEY!!!!!!! LIS-" *I punch Navi away* No, not that kind of Navi, thank God. It's like your buddy you take everywhere. People become great friends with their Navi. Half the time, they fight each other to test their skills. They use Battle Chips to help them in battle. The main character in this game is Lan (possibly a joke to the internet system LAN? It means "Local Area Network" in case you didn't know already) and his Navi Megaman. They get into some riff-raff about WWW trying to destroy the world with a very deadly virus, in which needs four programs to create.

As you can see, it's an over head view at an angel. So if you want to go directly left, you need to press up and left at the same time. A little confusing at first, but it'll be second nature after half an hour. You can Jack-in to and out of the internet with the R button. Sometimes there are secret areas you can jack-in to. Don't be afraid to manically press the R button and run around everywhere, it might be worth it. When your on the internet, you can randomly come across a virus battle. You'll need to use your battle chips wisely to defeat them. At first, you have a poor selection with low damage, a weak mega buster, and bad chip codes (chip codes decide weather you can pick more than one chip at a time, i.e a with a, not b with c), but later on, you get to use more powerful chips, a faster and more powerful mega buster, and gain more resistance to damage as you get stronger.

You can buy armour. There are different types of armour, such as wood armour and aqua armour. Each is expensive, and each one that follows is even stronger than the last, but they are a nightmare to find. The big flaw with this game, and they fixed it in future games for sure, is that everywhere on the internet looks the same!
"HEY!!! HEYY!!!!!!! LISTEN!!!! *punches Navi again* As I was saying. You have no idea were you are apart from the little bit of text in the menu area that tells you were the hell you are on the internet or real world. You have to memorize the entire path by pure memory. It's annoying as hell!

One thing I really like about this game is that it brought new art to the characters of Megaman. Ever wanted to see what Flame man looked like? Well in the NES games, the only likeness was a 8-bit sprite, and the cover of the game on the cart. In this game, you can see him clearly out and inside of battle. The design for each character is awesome. My favorite being Bass (pronounced as the Bass cliff in music score, not bass the fish. Funnily enough, his robot dog is called Treble, the same sort in the music score. So they make a Treble and Bass combo. Who would have thought such awesome and dark characters would have such musical names?). Megamans art is also pretty cool. The overall graphics are pretty detailed for a GBA game, but I am left annoyed that they didn't detail the internet much (where I'm I?!?).

The music is just plain epic. When a normal fight occurs, the music just gets you into the mood of getting those viruses dealt with. But in a boss battle, that's different. You feel that you have to defeat this boss, the mood is entirely different. Your life is at stake if you don't win. There is music for the sad moments as well. The story and the music match the mood that your meant to feel at this stage of the game. The game has a lot to offer, even after the game has been beaten. But the way forward is locked unless those who have done so can pass. Then there's another for a different reason entirely. This makes you want to collect every chip type.

Overall, I give this game a 8.1/10     The graphics and music create something entirely new, yet oh-so similar in the world of Megaman. The game play is different, yet very fast-paced. The story, although simple, can create emotion with the finer detail and sub-stories. Altogether, this creates something that really fits into the Megaman series. It feels like it should be there. A part of Megaman history that has been discovered and has, in my option, become a classic in it's own right.....And I wonder what Navi was trying to tell me....something I already know, no doubt.
"HEY!!! LISTEN!!!! You're writing a review!"
....

I've never played the first BN, but I have three of them and all are awesome games. I agree with all of the points in this review. Nice job. I always thought it was cool how the story could evoke a little emotion out of you just through music and text.

I've heard of this, I've watched it on youtube, but I have never played it myself. Battle Network looks like a decent game, I might play it when I have some time.

MMBN is one of my favorite series

I have nothing more to say than the fact I absolutely love these games, so much that I actually took the time to write a decent review of it myself. I was going to do the others in the series, but I don't have the spare time I used to.

So instead I'll keep my memories to myself and reccommend the whole series.

I was not at all good in this game.  It was a little difficult for me, but I might give it a second chance at it.  Very good review and cool layout.