How Speedrunners Beat MMBN Games In Record Time

MegaMan Battle Network Speedruns are nuts, and some of them are heavily influenced by RNG. Or are they?
Check out my social media:
Twitter: / drswellman
Twitch: / doctorswellman​
--------------------------------------------------------------------
TeamBN Discord
/ discord
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Support the channel on Patreon!
/ doctorswellman
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Footage:
sdfg - / uusdfg
Bag of Magic Food - / @bagofmagicfood
Tterraj42 - / tterraj42
PrismaticBlack - / prismaticblack
TL_Plexa - / tl_plexa
NMarkro - / nmarkro
Dalus_EXE - / dalus_exe
Haniwa - www.nicovideo.jp/user/13036915
teragoomba - / teragoomba
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Music:
‪@WhiteBatAudio‬- / @whitebataudio
MMBN 3 OST
#MegaMan #BattleNetwork #Speedrun

[@RischTV]

Small correction: The current BN3 WR (Jugoomba's 2:53:00) actually does not do any RNG manipulation (no encounter manips, no folder stacking). BN3 manip is a lot more complicated and typically requires a hard reset (as mentioned in the video), which causes it to be significantly slower than just getting lucky in many places. Jugoomba, the WR holder, is insanely good at the games, and was able to handle the random draws well in order to go incredibly fast. There is a lot of ongoing debate about whether or not RNG manip for BN3 is worthwhile, though we are starting to get a better understanding of the timings. For those curious about BN4-6, RNG manipulation is practically impossible except from a fresh cart with no save file, because the RNG values (handled in the same way as BN3) are saved when the player saves the game. This makes all of the RTA viable RNG manip strats practically impossible for these games. However, BN4 has a manip at the start of the game to set the Tournament seeds (so you will always get the same tournament scenarios), and BN5 has a manip at the start of the game to set the GMD contents on the first trip through the internet to give yourself a good start on the zenny and bugfrags needed throughout the run. BN5 is also "broken" in other ways, for those interested I recommend checking out a BN5 Any% run. :) Really great video, love seeing videos about the history of speedrunning and very cool to see more details about the history of BN than I knew about!

[@DoctorSwellman]

Thank you for the correction and the explanation here!

[@RischTV]

@@DoctorSwellman Here, I'll just go get WR with RNG manip to make it correct :)

[@RischTV]

The job has been done :)

[@gunstar420]

@@RischTV lmao the real champ

[@nana-uj2yz]

@@RischTV lol you really did it! Thats crazy. I thought you were just joking around so i checked the boards. Any plans to contest Joogomba's run, or are you content for now?

[@sinoroman]

capcom: we'll release BN7 when you figure out how to rng manip the last three games

[@solidsnakeandgrayfox]

For real

[@DatBoiSerg]

Megaman Chrono X

[@NetBattler]

😂

[@markmessi9020]

​@@DatBoiSerg wut dat is?

[@TheFluff89]

Someone needs to tell Capcom to stop being afraid of money and release a mmbn collection on switch!

[@BangBang-mm4ow]

here you go

[@thinkbetweenthelines8542]

It's finally happening!

[@alinepiroutek8932]

YESSSS

[@GameConnoisseur69]

Let's FUCKING go

[@mrnukes797]

Legends and starforce legacy collection: YES

[@Sylusssss]

Gospel just shutting down a Speedrun just seems fitting Always had a chance of just combo smacking you

[@Thousandpp]

I've been looking for this kind of MBN speedrun explained content, and this video is what led me to your channel. Very nicely done.

[@justataco1776]

Imagine if we got the entire franchise on newer consoles with a collection The absolute *boom* of speedrunning would be awesome

[@KnownAsKenji]

I was just thinking that recently, with the GTA trilogy being so glitched it would probably make for some hilarious speedrun methods.

[@jacobmorris7532]

Just my opinion for a speed run to count it should be done on original hardware

[@zenoblues7787]

@@KnownAsKenji No need to remaster just release emulated roms they've already done it 3 times and it makes money.

[@monkeysk8er33]

Considering how we've gotten Original, X, and Zero collections, it's only a matter of time before we get a BN collection. It's guaranteed within the next 5 years, hopefully sooner.

[@godchi1dvonsteuben770]

Emulation...

[@PrismaticBlack]

I didn’t realize I had that cat layout for so long lol. Yikes. Cool video!

[@ThaRixer]

I think i might have actually been the first person to do a single segment run of battle network 1 in 2013. The only person that probably remembers is PrismaticBlack, and.. maybe terraj. I'm pretty sure Prismatic got into the game from my stream as well, as we kept close contact for a few years but i'm not gonna take the credit too hard haha. Overall though i had a terrible time routing and optimizing the game, since i didn't know it in and out, and the 60 chip wall requirement was so bad without manip. I was usually pretty good with saving footage back then but ZERO footage of me playing this game on the internet exists. Kinda sucks, but i had fun while it lasted. Glad to see players are in full control these days, but it does make for a strict execution test.

[@kyle1282]

PinkReaper1 has some pretty good MMBN gameplay from a few years back when he used to repetitively play the game

[@AccessBypass]

Damn, this video leaves me craving more MegaMan Battle Network content. Consider making a follow up video sometime in the future 🙌🏻

[@GamingBroductions]

Well made video! Learned a lot about RNG manipulation. Loved playing this series back in Jr. High days.

[@mhfsilver_]

A bit of a blast from the past for me

[@oasisabyss]

I love the battle network series so much. Thank you for this very entertaining and informative video (:

[@YukkiEXE]

Man, seeing Prism's cat layout sent me back. Pretty good video, keep it up! You should see some Alpha Omega runs, some manips in those runs are pretty wild

[@DoctorSwellman]

I’ve watched the Alpha Omega TAS actually 👀 I gotta sit down and watch an actual run though, yeah!

[@sagacious03]

Neat analysis video! Thanks for uploading!

[@darienmoncree3980]

Glad the YT algo showed me this, love MBN and this was incredibly well done

[@X1stence]

This was a great watch! I love this

[@danschemen]

The time when manipulation was getting really crazy for MMBN1 was such a fun time.

[@HumanitybeingStupid.]

Iij

[@charlessmith5465]

Recently I wondered about a MMBN-like game for PC, realizing I don't have any systems which can run MMBN (short of roms). The closest I could find was an indie game called _One Step from Eden._ I hope Capcom does more with MMBN games: these were a lot of fun.

[@trigs7127]

There's a couple fan projects including a Touhou crossover named "Shangai.EXE" that one is the only one with its main plot completed. The post game is still under development, but you can get legitimately most chips if not all.

[@charlessmith5465]

@@trigs7127 watching a TeamBN speedrun of that from 2017. Looks great: the Touhou characters blend in very well with this type of game. Makes me wonder how well Megaman et al would do in a Touhou shmup! 🤭

[@IrvinMenezes]

There’s also Chrono X, which I think is still being developed.

[@ReidMcCorkle]

One step from Eden is excellent though, highly recommended

[@IrvinMenezes]

@@FranciscoMartinez-yv4om sure you do

[@BagOfMagicFood]

Oh hey, I'm in this

[@ghettosandbox]

Just wait till they learn about Totally Rad, man.

[@BagOfMagicFood]

​@@ghettosandbox Last December I learned that the European version of Totally Rad leaves out some enemies due to a bug in the scrolling speed! Now I just have to find the time to document it neatly for TCRF...

[@PrismaticBlack]

I'm a longtime fan ;1

[@poohbear01x48]

Love the videos - keep them coming 😁

[@PrismaticBlack]

48th! No but really, I've reconnected with the BN community and decided that this was definitely something worth watching. It's pretty cool to be a "pioneer" of a game, for lack of better word, and it's really neat to see the evolution of these games. Again, thanks for getting us out there. -PrismaticBlack.

[@harleymumbulo69]

You sir earned my Sub. Thank you for still being awesome! 🤘🏽😎

[@Frilleon]

That matrix reference was funny “what if I told you” 😂

[@PlatinumHaro]

With the legacy collection announced I wonder how many manips will still be valid

[@danielcarrero8873]

I was blessed by the algorithm to see this. Great vid

[@DrewPicklesTheDark]

When I was a kid I figured out the folder stacking and encounter manipulation on my own _sort-of_ I knew if I saved in a certain spot and held run and move when resetting, I would get the same virus encounter, same thing with the chips drawn so I tried editing the folder and put the chips I wanted in the places of the ones I got with success. I used this to encounter rare viruses and make the set-up to S rank them (like the drop down chip encounter), so I found the method, but had no understanding how it worked, except that it did. I never could have imagined you could incorporate it _while_ playing though since as a kid I had to do a lot of set up.

[@alissonaxl]

Damn, those people unite to make a doctorate thesis on each game. This is science.

[@buttsmear45]

2:25 "Poops Per Fart"

[@DrewPicklesTheDark]

AS a kid I remember using the folder trick.

[@FelipeWalker2]

Eagerly expecting a side-episode one of these days on BN 4.5. Imagine RNG manipping that! Hahahaha

[@greggman007114]

dude this was awesome

[@IsoYear]

super fun games. loved the first one

[@waterlogga]

Finial fantasy legend 2 has something like this! Now I can only find this on the original gameboy version it’s different with color or higher! At the beginning of the game the battles are preset as long as you stay in the same area and if you found the correct sequence of attacks you can improve 1 or more characters stats. After fighting the first 4 battles I couldn’t find the correct sequence so I saved, turned off my gameboy (can’t Manuel reset or will continue the previous games set) then started the game back up for a rinse and repeat that got all my stats to 99!

[@zeroranger]

I miss Prism 😢😢😢😢

[@vietviet504]

10 years ago my grandma from the US gave me my first GBA with megaman bnw 3 blue. Back then I didnt have access to the Internet so it took me a month to find the “Wind *” on my own.. Time was hard back then lol

[@hugon6717]

I had a similar story but with BN4. I had to find the 2 gold bugs to enter the first tournament. I can't remember how long it took me, just that I gave up for awhile. After awhile I had the idea to go on the internet and that's where I found GameFAQs. Ended up beating the game multiple times after that.

[@TonyJ93]

Cool channel, subbed:)

[@metaljay77]

Pretty sure all my searches for the release date of the remasters put this in my reccomendeds

[@thomasdr08]

To this day, I have never found a full rom of the first game. Unfortunately, I never got a chance to finish it 😞

[@harejutsu]

MMBN collection finally coming!

[@Corncake1337]

Great vid.

[@Banana-cc5rx]

My head already hurt just by watching this video lol

[@SigmaLance3375]

Speed running Explained?! You hit a sub

[@pagannova3621]

2:50 so that's why diagonal movement felt so weird..

[@godchi1dvonsteuben770]

I've been playing BN for years... Couldn't follow a word of that.

[@Lan96]

Battle Network series is one of my all time favorite game series, and not because my name is Lan lol

[@kamm3021]

Who's ready for MegaMan Battle Network Collection on Switch ???

[@eyeseemint556]

Wow I was always quite intrigued by halo speedrunning but never knew the that MMBN had a speedrunning scene let alone this much skill/depth into it Awesome video explaining it though, I just happened on your post on reddit and never expected to get this hooked into it

[@DoctorSwellman]

Thank you, I appreciate it a lot!

[@gpressutto5]

"We all know about the problematic Wind * chip quest in BN3" I don't 😔

[@amusedhermit4672]

battle network was my favorite game boy game. Loved all the themes for the bosses and the undernet had such a cool vibe

[@StepBaum]

Good video :)

[@HaldamirElensar]

Great reference to Poo poo Fart hahaha

[@BlueserStream]

tl_plexa? the same tl_plexa that speedruns commander keen and who doesn't like bluese6Howdy?

[@aftermoon639]

iirc the GBA speedrunners all sort of remind each other that hard reset makes the rng predictable to a degree, which lead to rng manip setups

[@gestaltblitz8296]

Did these ever get a switch port I miss them

[@Strangeaffiliations]

How do I avoid random encounters in battle network 3?

[@theinktician]

Megaman was released on my birthday???

[@KnownAsKenji]

Also worth noting people just don't care about 4-6 as much. Popularity hasn't stopped speedrunners in the past but its bound to be an obstacle.

[@bestaround3323]

Eh 6 has the most popular pvp scene, so it balances out.

[@petejones2884]

Nobody will believe me i didnt know this but i figured out that first hack at 11 yrs old if you move diagonally less fights pop up if you move straight more fights pop up the year was 2002

[@venorant-2322]

Nice vid. Good editing.

[@no.1cattorney]

This is the only Mega Man that matters imo

[@DarthAlphaTheGreat]

I only count 10 games in mmbn main. R1, R2, R3 x2, R4x2, R5x2, R6x2

[@grimmfortelight1983]

Really loved this series as a kid, played every one of them, battle network and star force. But recently as an adult tried to replay the star force series and just couldn't get back into it, growing old sure does suck donkey balls.

[@WackoMcGoose]

...Encounters happen if you're running on randomly chosen frames? Huh... I assumed that it worked the way Undertale encounters do, that a random number of steps (distance moved on current map) was chosen each time you entered an area, finished a battle or event, etc, and when you moved that exact amount of distance without leaving the map or triggering an event, a virus battle would occur with 100% certainty (so loading a save state, you'd get a virus battle after a constant amount of further distance moved, whether you moved in one go or paused midway). ...I swear it felt that way when I played BN3...

[@crosis2]

Did a run myself back in the day and could avoid so many random encounters because I just noticed that I got 9/10 times no encounter within the first 7 steps taken after loading my save

[@blazen123]

"Meggy man"

[@FlameUser64]

yooo Plexa. holy crap.

[@waynemidnight7454]

I'm just waiting for MBN Legacy collection. We have classic, X, and Legends. BN should be happening soon, right? Hopefully? Please?

[@crosis2]

I think it's a bit harder for those games, most likely just because of the 2 versions for 3-6. Would be nice if they can fit those into one version each. BN3 is quite easy, just let player decide if he wants to battle Mistman or Bowlman in the story and afterwards they will stand both in the area for you to battle, shadow and groundstyle can just be enabled and Gigachips also not that much gamebreaking to give access to both sets. Maybe just an option to load save as Blue or as White and gigas will change accordingly. For BN4 it's all in the game already. You can get the tournament seeds already with the trade/battle option for that free tournament, so real difference are the souls but not gamebreaking to let the player just collect all the souls. BN5 may be hard because of the team missions. Crossovers of the teams would make them way easier, maybe just an option with which team you want to do the mission but also in the story they share the spots, not as easy as BN4 to do. BN6 would be about the same as BN5 I guess. Would be more fitting to do something like Pokemon Emerald for that.

[@waynemidnight7454]

I just came back to this like, a month and a half after the MBN Legacy Collection was announced. Sadly, both versions of 3, 4, 5, and 6 aren't together but I think all games are on the same cartridge, with digital download would have 1, 2, and both versions of 3, while a second one will have both versions of 4, 5, and 6.

[@Mastermind4life]

i like baby summoning salt lol.

[@kieren33]

Megaman is in DBZ comfirmed with Zeni

[@miraclePoints]

My favorite thing about MMBN speedrunning is how japanese players joke that Megaman was trained by Master Norton (because he never finds any viruses)

[@Celticers]

i like cottage cheese, apparently.

[@adamholt5395]

I love MMBN, but speedrunning is just not for me. It appreciate the dedication and the love for speedrunning, but I just can't get into it.

[@Earthboundmike]

RNG manip is pain

[@xnamkcor]

Kids these days don't know what asterisks are.

[@eckitronix]

Funny how just in the intro you're pulling up Matrix memes for a Battle Network video. This whole video is really fascinating, and I kinda wonder how hard this would be to speedrun; everyone's like "this game is super easy to run" but then they take a collective of postgame corrupted data outta their full pocket and one-shot the final boss after skipping 2/3 of the final zone or whatever.

[@DoctorSwellman]

If you like this one, you’re gonna freak out about the next one

[@sirpolskaloot6091]

crazy

[@OwGash]

This game is my youth, even tho it also gave me carpal for 1.5 years cuz i didtn know how to optimize chips, so i just MASHED the fire button 24/7. (despite just stacking cheap high damage 1 hit chips=way better). This was before the time that you could look up hundreds of video guides online. Mostly just gamefaqs. (wish there were hints ingame how to combine chips) Not really a fan of speedruns like this tho, constant reset/pausing qq.

[@crosis2]

There were hints in game for the P.A.s and even for some good other combos. You need to speak to people at different times in the story, as part of the sidequest reward or look at the BBS etc. Not for all of them though.

[@trigs7127]

Man I wish I could understand all this manipulation talk. All I know is how there was recently a Last boss skip discovered in BN1 where rather than fight the boss, you walk back from the final area and the credits are triggered.

[@lastfirst9976]

love this game. speedrun history is always fancsinating to get into. wish i can see my favourite game of all time Aria of Sorrow speedrunning archive someday.

[@DexTag]

Oh my god, I loved this game so much as child and completely forgot it's name

[@booyah344]

NOW WISH LEGENDS 3 INTO EXISTENCE

[@aquaviii]

BN3 is God Tier

[@KubesVoxel]

"He's been running the game for over a year." Me: "Turn that poor console off; This is torture."

[@DrakodanSRL]

First try gamble manip or reset.

[@celestialkitsune]

0:35 as someone who never played the games... what's the deal with this wind * quest? Love the content on this channel, obviously, but not versed in every game it covers.

[@DoctorSwellman]

In order to progress the story during the Bubbleman(?) scenario, you have to get Higsby a Wind [*] chip. Typically this is done through encounters in the Yoko area and it's very annoying to have drop. I remember spending a loooooong time as a kid trying to get past this part

[@goldenlatias152]

I never knew you could soft reset the battle network series this isn't pokemon I wonder what other games can be soft reset

[@crosis2]

About every game on GBA at least. Have played a variety on it and cannot recall any game that couldn't be soft resetted.

[@nedcurfman3486]

It would be amazingly ironic if ACE gets discovered.

[@RunstarHomer]

I have to say it made me laugh that a video about Battle Network speedrunning starts with "In 1987, Capcom released Rockman."

[@FumblsTheSniper]

Me, who took over a year to beat BN3:White : :o

[@ArtsieFrog]

Ooh my god man!! The title of the video is talking about speed runners!! Not the history of megaman and capcom.

[@jmc2830]

rock man is known as "megaman" everywhere but japan.

[@alinepiroutek8932]

wtf

[@MrGambitttt]

These are the type of videos kids will be studying in class in 15 years.

[@MrGambitttt]

This is history haha for real though

[@TheParagade]

"We all know about ..." Incorrect.

[@Raylightsen]

Is hard for you to make a brief video???

[@Gettenhart]

Ñ

[@andr0sra-0h52]

First

[@IDESTROYER236]

Go home KZbin, you are drunk. This isn't SpeedRunners.

[@RippahRooJizah]

This is me being pedantic and you can ignore this but I just can't consider the Battle Network series an "RPG" series due to the lack of real RPG mechanics beyond the existence of random battles. It's a deck building action game. I'm not saying RPGs need to fit in very specific categories. I enjoyed Resonance of Fate, Terranigma, and Valkyrie Profile 2. Battle Network just doesn't feel like an RPG. Also I didn't see the whole video at this point but as far as just the GBA is concerned, there were 13 games, not 11, although Battle Chip Challenge and Real Operation are spin-offs. Not to mention Network Transmission and that one Wonderswan game.

[@MrStone125]

Get a sub for knowing ppf

[@John-xs7wl]

Starts video by explaining in detail what "megaman" is "And of course, we all know of this one quest in the sequel to the sequel of the gameboy rpg spinoff series" Maybe google the term "intended audience" next time.

[@chaikagaz]

I h8 speed runners as they use exploits and cheats

[@cashnelson2306]

you do not play this single player game with honor 😢