Which Mega Man Battle Network Games & Versions are Worth Playing? - A Series Overview for Beginners

Get ready for Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection by joining SR for a discussion on his personal recommended ways for new NetBattlers to experience the Mega Man Battle Network series for the first time! Which are the best games and respective versions to try out? Which are worth skipping, if at all? Let's go over the main games included in the Legacy Collection!
Some helpful resources:
Rockman EXE Operate Shooting Star English Patch: forums.therockmanexezone.com/...
Join the N1GP community to find fellow competitive NetBattlers!: discord.n1gp.net
How to use Tango (rollback netcode for online NetBattles): • [Guide] Rollback is he...
The Rockman EXE Zone Wiki: www.therockmanexezone.com/wik...
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
1:12 - Chronlogical Story Order?
1:34 - Mega Man Battle Network 1
6:44 - Mega Man Battle Network 4
8:55 - The definitive order
9:08 - Best Storyline
11:31 - Best Gameplay
15:23 - Which version is right for you?
21:00 - Outro
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[@burncrowsp]

Quite a helpful video, I can't argue much with most of your points. One thing I'd say myself is, if you only want to restrict yourself to the collection, play BN1 with a guide, and just do one run of BN4. We'll see what the collection has to offer, as those unknown details start coming out. 👀

[@ShadowRockZX]

Absolutely, only do one run of BN4 to get the story if you want to save yourself a lot of pain haha.

[@yaboiskinnymalone836]

RIP to those who want to 100% the whole collection let alone just mmbn 4

[@burncrowsp]

@@yaboiskinnymalone836 Yeah, like me HAHAH. Let's see if I can survive.

[@NJ973201]

@@yaboiskinnymalone836 If it involves achievements/trophies, I would hope Capcom don't go too crazy with it's choices. The Zero/ZX collection wasn't as insane with them despite the series having it's rankings for each stage.

[@DeathsAvarice]

I'm one of the people that's totally gonna play them all in order (and replays of the multiple versions) I'll use a guide for 1 most likely...lol but I want to play them all for nostalgia sake. I grew up with these games so.

[@megasoniczxx]

To be honest i'd say they're all worth playing through at least once and in chronological order if nothing else than because it's interesting to go through the series and see all the improvements and changes they made throughout and get to where we are with BN6. I can't speak for everyone but I think it also highlights what some games may do better than others and vice versa.

[@raccoonpeddler6730]

i could never start a series by a sequel unless i had no way of playing them in chronological order

[@Ins4neinthemembran3]

I was typing a similar comment and then i saw yours. Your nailing it. I mean, even as a veteran Megaman player you just want to play the game from start to finish (1 to 6) if you never don’t that before and see all the changes. Maybe MMBN 1 was not the best, but it sure was fun. Even if to experience it to see how they improved almost everything in MMBN 2. I would say: just play from the start and not halfway. Its not logical and you won’t do yourself a favor storywise.

[@zephyrias]

@@raccoonpeddler6730 when i played battle network, i played the 2nd game first then got part 01. Lost 02, then played 01 until i got 2-4

[@SDREHXC]

Normally I’d agree but also wouldn’t be surprised if people quit at BN1 doing this because it is easily the worst in the series. This is one series where starting with 2 might be better.

[@megasoniczxx]

@@SDREHXC Yeah i've been reading a lot of people being frustrated with 1 lately since the Legacy Collection came out so I can see what you mean.

[@leajenkins7957]

Series veteran here, you pretty much nailed it. A series best to worst most of the fanbase could agree on is 6>3>2>5>4>1, and the competitive scenes of 6 and 3 are going to dwarf the rest. The prospect of more people getting into this series is really exciting, I can almost let myself think an IRL N1 Grand Prix is possible.

[@GyroMan5136]

my personal ranking is 2>6>3>4>1>5 but i can definitely agree with the general ranking (2, 3, 6 in the upper tier and 1, 4, 5 in the lower)

[@phillipk4196]

everyone has their own favorites, mine are 6=5>3>4>2>1

[@KMdominicano815]

💯💯 I love them all equally

[@hendriwiguna6708]

Mine is 3>6>2>5>1>4

[@NoeLoFi]

I just can’t wait to get my hands on the collection and play them in whatever order looks the most fun

[@DiegoHIA]

I feel like going 1-6 in order is the best experience personally because for me, I noticed it was harder to go back and replay 1-2 because of lack of qol features and mechanics that are added in later games

[@demifolk8940]

depends on the person, i play game like that too. i start with the earlier games, then move up to the other games. but some people want to play the more “fun” and newer games first because it gives them an appreciation for the series. then they can trudge through the older ones even if lost the qol features this game def seems like the type you should play in order, because all the games are very similar. for bn fans, it’s obviously a big enough difference and people get passionate about it lol but to the average person and new player, those small differences wont matter as much. a game series going backwards is good for is the persons series, as the game has actually gotten easier but more complex. while older games are difficult/frustrating but more simple.

[@BuffPomsky]

I cant play without slip runner now 😂

[@unique_mushroom]

if it makes it harder to go back and play the bad games then just dont play the bad games why force yourself…. theres 100s of other good games waiting to be played so just go straight for the good stuff always its like buying a delicious sandwich that comes with a free dog turd and saying “ah you should eat the dog turd first cause it’ll taste bad after you have the delicious sandwich” bro you could just eat the sandwich and then go find the next sandwich shop but no yr slumped over in the corner gnawing on a turd cause someone told you it’ll make the sandwich taste better

[@theSato]

but you dont have to play the whole series. for me personally I'll be skipping 1&2 because I just want to enjoy the games and get to the good stuff - life's too short to play every mediocre game, after all.

[@VesDegree]

I have a massive preference for Bue Moon and Team Protoman because it feels weird having a Battle Network game where you can't fight Protoman. Him and Megaman have been rivals since literally Day 1, so it's only right for me to play the games that feature him.

[@hiroran9796]

I am all in for Team Protoman. Their standard Double Souls and Navi Chips objectively have more firepower than their counterparts. For Team Colonel, it is more utility type but their Chaos Unison is a nightmare to deal with. The only thing I know from watching all PvP videos related to it is that once Dark Megaman goes berserk mode, you can only damage him with Anti-Recovery on your side. I wonder how they will deal with Roll Soul chip destruction, 10% healing as well as Dark Soul being immune to all damage except for Anti Recovery (I don't remember if Anti Element works or not) online PvP. I hope we get to know more than just Auto Battle Data only use one type of chip once like the Nintendo DS version. I saw from a tweet from The Rockman EXE Zone and Midnite W that even the Devs who were witnessing the BN5 tournament they in charge of last year kind of regretting that they make Dark Soul too overpowered because most of the competitors, kids and teenagers alike all go dark. They end up putting restrictions about it for future tournaments.

[@jaydenliberty9536]

Hopefully they fix the Blue Moon problem then (literally every version except the original cartridge, including the actual Nintendo E-Shop version, crashes the game at that one Wood guy’s level. Also something about 5 minute long loading screens, something got Janky when moving the files)

[@hendriwiguna6708]

Tbf, I'd say that only applies to BN5 Team ProtoMan. At least in BN4 had Chaud & ProtoMan appears in both versions, with them being too busy investigating Nebula and have him failed to arrest Regal during the finale, which leads better to BN5 Team ProtoMan (because who the hell are Baryl & Colonel again? Suddenly being the one in charge of the Anti-Nebula operation? Where were you all these time? You should've debuted earlier in BN4 goddamn) Fighting ProtoMan is indeed a Blue Moon exclusive, his scenario is also decent, but...that's that, after it's done, it feel like...nothing, just a simple bonus that you didn't get in Red Sun, unless you send him to the Waiting Room via multiplayer links, so you can get his scenario and fight him in Red Sun too, but aren't all tourney scenarios in BN4 just fillers though? As for BN5's case, I agree with you, if you play Team ProtoMan you get to spend your time with Chaud so ofc it feels epic, you also get to see how Colonel steals the spotlight twice with Baryl finally appears during the finale, and as long as you pay enough attention to their dialogues and explanations, it won't leave you lost when you play BN6 Meanwhile, if you play Team Colonel, you get to spend your time with a stranger (but thankfully the majority of your teammates are the ones you've met before during BN1-2), and you'll have to wait near the endgame for ProtoMan to appears to help MegaMan & ToadMan save Dark Colonel, but after that, he's gone for the remainder of the game, Chaud also nowhere to be found in Team Colonel, now THAT feels wrong Sorry for the long ass essay comment btw LMFAO

[@vince5456]

For those who's gonna play the BNLC in chronological order. I wish you have a lot of patience. By a lot of patience, I mean A LOT. I mean it. Also I'm bummed that BN5 Double Team DS didn't made to the collection (which is my opinion is the definitive version if BN5), but otherwise, its still a fun game if you are patient enough.

[@strout899]

Agreed

[@zettovii1367]

It's really a missed opportunity if Capcom doesn't include the Operation Shooting Star version of BN1, since it easily could have been used as a selling point to the probably upcoming Star Force Legacy Collection.

[@RezeedTheDataspirit]

Counterpoint, they could putt OSS on a possible starforce collection as the transition game.

[@yaboiskinnymalone836]

@@RezeedTheDataspirit couteredcounterpoint redesign the starforce legacy collection to the battle network style, I hate the behind the character camera point of view

[@RezeedTheDataspirit]

@@yaboiskinnymalone836 never will be fond of that battle style.

[@Xeno-The-Wanderer]

@@yaboiskinnymalone836 never gonna happen, besides the battles in Starforce are great the way they are, really get the heart pumping

[@adamtaurusragnathebloodedg8407]

I want capcom to add Double Team DS instead of the gba versions of Battle Network 5

[@BladeCrossEXE]

My personal play order: OSS instead of BN1. You were pretty much on point with every remark pertaining to that. BN2, absolutely. BN3 Blue. It's just definitively better than White. BN4 Blue Moon BN5 Colonel for story, Protoman for gameplay, or DS Version for best experience. Either BN6, but to me, Gregar was always more fun. I don't think players should skip BN4 because if they do, they miss out on the most well-designed Navis in the game, as well as the introduction of the best villain, Dr. Regal. I always found Crosses to be annoying compared to Double Souls precisely BECAUSE of the lack of time limit. Double Souls allow you to alternate on the fly, and combo it with Full Synchro in-between Souls, but once you activate a Cross, you're stuck with it until you take a Super Effective hit (which lowers your Busting Level), or use Beast Out and become Tired, which makes it to where you can't use Full Synchro anymore. I really wish they either had a time limit, or just allowed you to deactivate the cross when you don't want to use it anymore.

[@Xeno-The-Wanderer]

couldn't you switch Crosses whenever you wanted but would lose access to the one you just used for the rest of the battle

[@BladeCrossEXE]

That is correct. That is an aspect it shared with Double Souls.

[@MysticForceSWATMode]

@@Xeno-The-Wanderer you can, but the previous cross you use will disappear until the battle ends, same thing applies with the double souls in BN4 and 5

[@ShatteredAngel17]

One thing to add about going with team colonel in Megaman Battle Network 5 is, it has an arguably better storyline with the team members as well. The return of a character from Battle Network 2 was a nice nod for a character growth arc, also during the ship part the reasons for the incident was because the person wanted to get the thing to save his homeland that was in danger, meanwhile the protoman version's character for that part wanted to... make fireworks.

[@shawnbenjamin9636]

Honestly, it's true. I played Battle Network 1 for the first time on my still-working GBA SP last year and after that experience, it's truly, basically, a stepping stone for the franchise with its flaws to be exposed and snuffed out.

[@brandonizaguirre2963]

I just got finished playing MMBN1 on the Switch Legacy Collection and after being stuck on that first dungeon where you have a find out about the accident, I completely gave up. No map, so many frequent random encounters with only some of them giving you the option to leave, getting lost easily, f-ck this game. I'm skipping to the second one.

[@KeziaTv]

​@@brandonizaguirre2963it's a brutally unfun game with no payoff. Just finished it for the first-time in like 15-20 years since the GBA release. I wouldn't even rate it more than a 4/10 tbh. I hope what I remember back then as being good will start being good after 1. Lmao. Just glad to hear #1 is as rough as I'm feeling

[@darkmage907]

I played as my first Red Sun. Then a few months later I got cybeast gregar. Followed by team protoman. I will say out of all the bn games gregar is by far my favorite and can’t wait to replay it after all these years! I’m excited for the whole collection though since I never played the first 3. This is going to be a awesome collection. My brother and I both are looking forward to this!

[@iChristiannn]

Mmbn3 probably has the best story Mmbn6 is the best for pvp

[@LyricMMX]

"Which are worth playing?" If I'm buying a collection with all of them.. I'm gonna make the most out of my Payment by playing them all...

[@1Hol1Tiger]

I even played Mega Man X7 Don't play Mega Man X7

[@mohamedaminekhadhraoui6417]

Doubt even 1% of people who buy it finish all 6 games.

[@TheRealBlazingDiamond]

​@@mohamedaminekhadhraoui6417guess im part of the 1%

[@awami1381]

Lol it's nor a death sentence

[@karlwest49]

Very much appreciate this video! I only played the first game back in the day and I don't think I ever beat it, so I may use a guide to get through it this time!

[@Shadowenclave47]

Nice video. Can't wait for the Legacy collection to release. BN2 was the only one that i haven't played yet (White, Red Sun, Team Protoman and Cybeast Gregar are the versions i played), so i look forward to that (and i also got White for Christmas back then and it was my very first BN game).

[@HellBoundhorrorshow]

Great video! Super excited for this release! I have played all the games, but I never finished the first one. I played 3 and 2 first and then tried to play the 1st, and i just couldn't get into it. Not escaping from battle was so annoying! Keep up the great work!

[@TheStormEmperor]

I’ve played all of them in order twice And I’ve played 5 and 6 a stupid number of times since 5 was the first I fully played (tried 4 after borrowing it from a friend) and 6 after

[@megatroidvania9285]

It's kinda funny, what you described was exactly what happened to me. I tried BN 1 to start off the series, and I didn't like it very much. I thought the rest of the games were like that so I thought it wasn't my cup of tea and never touched another BN game after that. Now that the collection is releasing I thought i'd give it another try knowing now that the series just had a rough start. I'm looking forward to streaming my first time playing them! Thanks for the great video!

[@TheSupernastee]

Great video, this is exactly what I wanted to know. I played 3, 5 and 6 when I was younger and thought they were amazing. Wasn’t sure if I should really play one through six since that would be alot of mega man and I might get burned out. Thank you!

[@Mito383]

I’m playing through BN1 on the collection and I’ve basically resorted to just using the Max Buster for everything that isn’t boss battles. It makes the grind so much less tedious.

[@wolfgangervin2582]

This is EXACTLY what I was looking for as someone who hasn't tried this subseries yet. Thanks.

[@xxnike0629xx]

I never played any of the Battle Network games so I plan on getting the Legacy Collection on PS4 and play them in order.

[@lknight9104]

YES, thank you! I only ever really played all the platformer Mega Man series, and just a little bit of Star Force as a kid, so I wasn't sure what versions of these games to play first, so this is very helpful.

[@svenbtb]

I love these games a lot, I bought and played them every year as they were coming out (including Double Team DS, Chip Challenge and Network Transmission!), and I'm stoked to be revisiting the mainline games soon!

[@rodanyo]

This is very helpful to get an idea. My very first game in the series was Red sun, and i'm considering to give it a second run in the collection. I tried to play the 1st game and totally got lost, but i'll give it another try. for the exclusive version i'm aiming to playBN3 Blue, both BN 5 one after the other, starting from Team Protoman, and for 6 probably for Cybeast Falstad, but 'm not sure about this one yet. And in another moment try the other games

[@caellanmurphy4751]

yeah id reccomend emulating Operate shooting stars fantranslation its mostly the same but has a MAP if you have a pc hell you can RUN from combat in operate shooting star and have coded chips(you arent garunteed to flee from combat but the escape chip does garuntee it so it still has some use)

[@LadyTsunade777]

TBH BN1 is more like the Beta for the series as a whole. Most of its mechanics are kinda similar to the rest of the series, but _every_ game after it are all much more similar to each other than any are to BN1. The battle differences, healing, internet design, etc are all much more consistent through 2-6 and are all much better than 1. Also, for BN5 versions, _technically_ Team Colonel is the canon version because of the events in BN6.

[@hendriwiguna6708]

I've seen many comments and boy, do I saw this one coming, people always recommend Team Colonel over Team ProtoMan for BN5, even though ShadowRockZX already said this in the video "while Team Colonel treated more because of the extended ending, Team ProtoMan had an extra dialogue that Team Colonel doesn't had so basically Capcom wants us to play both versions" Also, genuinely why in the hell were so many players didn't paid enough attention to the cameo character that literally steals the spotlight in BN5 Team ProtoMan *twice* ? Never forget that Team of Blues was released first in Japan, with Team of Colonel coming out 2 months later. That being said, Team ProtoMan is the original version, whereas Team Colonel is a bonus version, a bonus for the players who wants to know more about the cameo character from the original version. Doesn't make only one of them is canon, both pretty much are, as long as you pay attention during certain events where Colonel & Baryl finally shows up in TP. This *Team Colonel is canon* bs was purely just fan assumptions that deceives the fanbase for many years, Capcom never officially stated such thing but fans always act like they're correct forever because they failed to see the bigger picture of BN5 as the whole game. Why am I so sure about this? Wait until the BNLC come out, and play any versions of BN6, they said they'll bring back the Japanese exclusive stuffs that got removed in the overseas versions. Beat the game once, and go to Graveyard Area 1 via Undernet 3 warp hole, and hopefully you'll get to see GyroMan's & Meddy's, along with ToadMan's gravestone there. This is something that the western players never get to witness before so no wonder they keep believing that only Team Colonel is canon.

[@ColdEmperor]

@@hendriwiguna6708 De Ja Vu.

[@Zmeeed01]

@@hendriwiguna6708 or you can just give up on trying to make sense of the Battle Network lore. I replayed the series recently after a 8-10 year old break and the lore has so much nonsense and lack of proper continuity between the games that I cannot take it seriously anymore. I am convinced that one can play the universe in any order and the only time they'll be in a "who is this guy?" situation is if they play BN6 before playing BN5 Team Colonel, and solely because BN6 story makes Baryl & Colonel.EXE such a big deal.

[@hendriwiguna6708]

@@Zmeeed01 5 months too late, but I was only sorting things out to people that it doesn't matter if you play ProtoMan or Colonel before BN6 because the main lore of the game itself basically split into two (and you just simply have to play both to get the whole picture, that's it), much like what ShadowRock said in the video, yet people keep ignoring it and saying "Team Colonel is canon" because all that matters to them is spending time together with Baryl & Colonel during the events of BN5, solely for the sake of the easier and/or lazier set-up for BN6 I just don't see what's the point of releasing the game in 2 versions if one of them is more valid than the other. And lastly, if you keep saying "who is this guy" because you played ProtoMan and not Colonel, that sounds like a "you" problem.

[@georgecortes197]

Started with BN3 and to this day it’s my go to mmbn game. I haven’t tried 1 or 2 yet so it’s crazy that I get to play all of them soon

[@inktendo]

Never played the first three games. Looking forwarding to play these and then the ones I grew up with!

[@SilverHunterN]

I like 5 the most, because you get to play as more than just Megaman, and the 2 versions of BN5 has different characters to play as. BN1 to 4 didn't have other playable characters (before BN1 remake). I'm surprised StarForce 1 to 3 didn't have more than 1 playable character. By the way, "blue version" BN3 has a really broken gigachip called "folderback" which basically gives you unlimited chips for the entire fight. Unless Capcom has downgraded it on steam, folderback is the most broken thing I've seen in megaman games. You basically have unlimited of any attack or healing chip with folderback.

[@retropulse03]

3 minutes in this is super interesting. MMBN #1 was the ONLY game I played on the GBA, and I ADORED it. Really exciting to hear the other games get so much better.

[@ApalloTheHedgehog]

My honest opinion for the newbies for the BN Series, is this: If you want to play in Chronological order, then for BN1, watch a Let's Play by someone well inversed with the series, same for BN2 if that isnt your cup of tea either, but it does have some improvements over BN1 that make it a solid game. BN4, Play it Once if you really want to know the story, but i suggest watching KNIJohn's coverage of it if a LP isnt for your strong suit. (Same for BN1 and 2), as for the Good Games in the series. Play BN3 White for starters. Then for 5 onwards, Team Colonel and then Cybeast Falzar (Refer to KNI's Retrospective for reason but tl:dw: Continunity)

[@megarock_yt]

I say go in order to have that experience of how the game improved and see the changes of each game

[@copyMSM]

Omg i remember playing battle network 3 and the ending and the tugging at your heart part really stuck with me, i was so young back then too!! 😭 i cannot wait for this collection! WOWWW 🤩

[@icebergthegamer]

My intro to the series was with BN3. Game was so good. Excited about this collection.

[@loveandpeace3345]

In my opinion, I like going in release order since I get to appreciate all the improvements each title brings as well as seeing the series’s growth

[@ignorethis214]

Whaaaat! I had no idea the ds version of 5 would let you 'transport' to make the best possible team! That's what I wanted but when I looked into it, didn't see anything like it! I'm so dissapointed I missed out on that!

[@hendriwiguna6708]

That's why Double Team DS is basically the definitive version of BN5, minus some of the OSTs

[@Darkslayer289]

Probably gonna start with the first one this time. I've played through most of them except the first one, parts of Red Sun and Blue Moon, and Gregar. Can't wait to play them in a few months!

[@JoeZanDeathKiller]

Great series and I can't wait

[@jjwhy321y3]

Battle Network 1's not bad. I'm probably 1/3rd though game. It's fun. Biggest complaint a little confusing at times, figuring out questline and some maps do look very similar. Combats not too difficult if you look around/explore for upgrades.

[@KASA852]

just bought the collection - great video man!

[@xander0901]

I'm so hyped for this collection. I've played BN3 White, BN5 Team Colonel, and BN6 Falzar on launch while dabbling with the others as roms later on. I'll likely do 3, 5, and 6 in the legacy collection first, then pick and choose which other games to play afterwards. Getting into PVP was HARD back in the day (Link Cable? WTF?). I remember doing battles with some school friends in BN3, but then ended up playing with my brother for BN5 and BN6. BN6 was definitely my favorite from a gameplay standpoint, so I'll likely be trying PVP on that version. For series newcomers, I recommend 3, 5, and 6 in that order as the bare-bones BN experience. You can pick whichever version "speaks" to you, if you want to mimic the experience of going into the game store and simply picking one based on which looked cooler to you. These games were released long before the era of data-mines, demos, or credible leaks. You only knew what to expect based on limited TV ads or maybe someone translated a Japanese article (way harder to find then). While I appreciate knowing what goes into a product before you buy it, I somewhat miss the days when you literally had no idea what sort of gaming experience you were getting into when you loaded up a game. As mentioned in the video, BN6 is the definitive edition for pure gameplay. The battle system is very well polished, the chip selection is amazing, and the crosses feel balanced across versions. Also, BN6 has the best boss battle theme of the entire series, in my opinion. BN5's liberation missions are the most unique single-player experience in the series and I definitely recommend doing all the missions if you are looking for a tactical challenge. Last and most important point is to take time to enjoy the experience. Even though these were GBA games, there is a lot of content in each title. The postgame for each title has been incredibly challenging. Anyone looking to 100% all titles (and versions) is easily in for a several hundred hour experience.

[@jaredrazack1396]

Great video! I think all are fairly short that a single play, maybe with a guide, is easy and worth doing considering everyone will only be playing 6.

[@BilliamCharby]

Great vid! Superior knowledge of the series!

[@tylerlear1233]

Playing these games as they came out in my teen years I think your assessment is spot on

[@danielleaf2171]

This'll be my first ever experience playing MegaMan Battle Network - so, I'm hyped for this!

[@SpamTown]

Good info.. Gonna go 2,3,5,6.. Thanks for the vid!

[@WooferPoof]

Can't wait for the collection. Maybe it will inspire me to get back to work on Zero Crisis xD

[@purpleomlet]

I have been replaying bn1 again just to quench a little of my thirst for this collection to finally come out and I think it might be better than a lot of people suggest. I haven't gotten to either the horrible elecman scenario or the colorman scenario, but I'm having a good time with the game. My biggest complaint is that it seems to Speedrun it's early scenarios. Within the first hour I have beaten fireman, numberman, and stoneman. I just know I am in for long drawn out scenarios to come, so I just wish the game had a more consistent pacing.

[@scarfpirates]

These games were my childhood. Really excited for the legacy collection. I never finished most of the games but I played almost all of them

[@kirito_4kirigaya944]

I love all of them and am personally going to play all of them in order. I'm already at 5 but am getting all the chips and secret ending bosses all done. Finally when I'm done I am going to play multi-player, I just hope there is people still playing if any. I have found a youtuber who has a discord for fans to fight each other and he has events and tournaments as well!

[@phatle8912]

Tbh, I haven't tried MMBN Blue and MMNB 6 Flazar before, so this í a great chance for me to get into those games. Thanks for your tips, man.

[@GREATGAIWAIN]

Honestly so happy to see your channel is still active. I missed your poll but honestly, as a vet: BN3 = BN6 BN2 BN5 BN1 = BN4

[@TheJooomers]

4 is the worst imo, hate the new game +++ mechanics, 5 is too grindy for some people and its quite challenging for the liberation mission, 6 gotta be the best one competitively dan gameplay … 3 should be have the best story for me…

[@DonaldMurf]

I started with 3 back in the day then played 4, and 5. I’m going in order. 1 has some rough moments. The power plant is what made me just watch a walk through. And I open up maps to avoid walking around aimlessly on the net. I can’t remember what’s going on after 2 back to back battles when trying to navigate the map. Your review sounds right on the money from my point of view.

[@CodyMerritt]

As a kid I only ever had the first one, so I played it start to finish 6 or 7 times haha I LOVED it so much so I'm looking forward to seeing what the rest of the series has to offer since it's probably the community's least favorite of the series.

[@IceMaverick13]

As somebody whose first experience with the games and eventually the entire series, starting with BN2 as a completely blind player is perfectly fine. You miss out is the characters talking about the villain group as a familiar, established entity in the opening act that you don't know about, but it becomes pretty clear during the first arc that "Oh, so that's what the bad-guys call themselves. Cool." The only reference that I kind of scratched my head at in BN2 is that some of the villain characters from BN1 makes a re-appearance (but they've been reformed from crime now) and your character greets them in a way that implies this and makes you wonder "I guess we know him from somewhere?" Outside of that, I never felt that BN2 was confusing or had a plot that couldn't stand without the support of BN1. It's a perfectly fine entry to the series and - much like the original Megaman games for the NES - I feel like the 2nd entry was when they found their identity and hit their stride with what will define the series: cutting out features from BN1 that didn't work well and adding in new ones that would become iconic throughout.

[@alfredmanzano680]

AppreciTe the video! I played all of them when they got released. Now that the legacy collection is coming I wanted to look into which ones were worth playing for the pvp aspect. So 6 is the only one ppl battle in?

[@model40248]

Thanks for this video dude. I eas just struggling to force myself to play BN1 but now I'll definitely be skipping straight to 2

[@RocketsBlastoise]

I started the series with BN2 and became a fan for life. This time I'm going to start with BN1 and work my way through the series again. So hype

[@Vilehand]

Are all the games in the cart this time? No downloadables? As per the capcom site: the packaged version will have volume 1 and volume 2 on a single game card, but I'm not entirely sure what that entails.

[@beckener]

Great video ! I don't know about everyone else, but I still own all my Battle network games, and I'm pretty much just getting the collection to just play the other versions of 3 4 5 and 6.. even though I still prefer the version I already own. Also I love battle network 4 even though its not great, but I'm a fool for tournament arcs XD

[@Tchado1000]

Max buster mode made playing for the story alot easier , I used it in the first 2 games since I never played them as a child (started from 3) , now its time to truly re live the series as I remember it ! no max buster from 3 onwards !

[@ananmaulina3541]

Ahhh I knew it that some people will still recommend Team Colonel over Team ProtoMan for BN5 because they still believe in such fan theory but hey, let me tell you some advice from a random wise guy's comment that I copied from a certain Reddit post that asks if it's true that Team Colonel is the canon one, or both could work just fine, due to the MMKB BN5 page has been altered months ago, so here we go: While Colonel does appears in both versions of Battle Network 5 - either as the Team Leader in Team Colonel, or the one who shows up with Meddy to help save ProtoMan and during the finale after the final battle against Nebula Gray - most fans will argue that Team Colonel is the canon version solely due to his stronger appearance. You also have things like Dingo showing up in BN6 Falzar and being someone Lan recognizes, which lends some more dubious credence to the idea that Team Colonel is canon. However, what the wiki editor says isn't without merit. Both versions of BN5 can lead you into the events of BN6. Battle Network has always sort of flown by the seat of its pants with version exclusive story differences. In BN3, the only major difference is Punk in Blue, MistMan/BowlMan, and Ground/Shadow style. The story flows the exact same regardless of the version played. In BN4, you can compare libraries and get the scenarios of one version of the game in another version. That means fighting ProtoMan and MetalMan can be canon things that happen in Red Sun. With the game encouraging you to play it multiple times, this means either all the matches are canon as part of three larger meta-tournaments or none of them are. In BN5 DS, you get transport chips which allow you to put the alternate Team's Navis into your version's liberation missions. I imagine this implies some sort of connection to the team at large for all these Navis. Again, the answer to what's canon could arguably be "both." And naturally, because all crosses aside the first are optional, the events of BN6 only differ by which Cybeast is absorbed and which previous character is reintegrated. In fact, Shuko's presence in Falzar lends credence to the idea that both versions of BN4 are canon since the player needs to approach her with knowledge of only one other version of the game if any version is to be considered the Canon one. Red Sun players will have no idea who she is otherwise. The one trackable truth in BN games is that post-game never seems to be canon. Other than that, you can generally run with the assumption that everything that happens in both games is canon with the stipulation that generalizations need to be made where the story would otherwise conflict. Every tournament matches in BN4 happens, all the Navis in BN5 are members of your team working to stop Nebula, Lan reunites with an old acquaintence in the form of either Mr. Match or Shuko and MegaMan absorbs the power of one of the Cybeasts - it doesn't really matter which. That's how I see it at least.

[@LuminousArc92]

about BN5 I would say Colonel version is the canon version since Baryl and Colonel come back in 6, especially 6Falzar since Tamahawkman also returns as a cross navi in that version from being on team Colonel also only having played team Colonel not Protoman I think Colonel is the easier of the two. Knightman shields all allies by just standing beside them in liberation missions while Magnetman has to use order points to put up a barrier on a single ally, Tamahawkman clearing 3x2 panels makes it easier to get an advantage in liberation missions compared to Napalman making a "t" liberation which would likely put you at a disadvantage surround battle, Tamahawksoul and Tamahawkchaos creating all grass panels for constant healing, Shadowsoul gives airshoes (chargeshot longsword w/ built in airshoes is how I beat the final boss with his constant breaking of panels). You do have to deal with Numberman though so maybe it balances out :p

[@RasenRendanX]

Battle network 5 was my entry to Megaman in general so this is what im starting with

[@pokepicker1833]

As battle network being my favorite game ever, how did I not find your channel years ago???? Subscribed 😬

[@gankzgaming4919]

Leg's Go! I can't wait to start with 4 then 5 then 3 then 6 then 2 then 1, such a great serries.

[@MasterofLaziness]

I agree on a lot of points, but I do have something to say for BN3 White. It's the only version of the two to get the giga chip associated with a certain superboss, whereas Blue gets the giga chip seen at a certain story beat for the same achievement instead. In a game where the only differences between versions are the giga chips and a specific navi fight, each difference counts for a lot when deciding (except the final giga chip, as that's a trophy at best). And to avoid spoilers as best as possible, where Blue's giga chips are about stall and making your opponent waste chips, White's are all about power and forcing your opponent to take damage by any means necessary. For Blue Moon vs Red Sun, Proto soul is great, but playing the game for a single double soul is a horrible roulette, as you can only get 3 of the 6 souls at random in a first playthrough, with one per tournament. I played Blue Moon back in the day, but reading up on Red Sun's souls...yeah, those are way better overall.

[@zephyrias]

Reallly itwas random? Dang I mustve gotten lucky then. In my run of i forget which one. I had Roll Soul. It was really funny to fight Mayl

[@consolewarbot9107]

Very nice video and as someone who has beaten each game at least 4 times I can agree playing in chronological order is not super important. Seriously anyone who is starting this series fresh do NOT be afraid to skip 1. You will appreciate/tolerate its flaws better after playing a few of the games and 2 is an excellent starting point

[@ultimapower6950]

Or alternatively get rockman.EXE OSS

[@cheehee808_]

Mmbn 3 is my fave of the series, 4 and 5 were good too. Never played 6 but 3 I grinded tf out of as a kid

[@markr7083]

Im going 6 for pvp bc i just did an entire story run on my GBA last year

[@Jociaoftrades]

I might just start with BN3 Blue. That is the one of the two games I played back then and it was fun. And long. And I got enough back story to understand most of what was going on. Then I got BN6F, which I love. It was just so much added to it and was a much better game at that point. Also using a GameShark or so to use the other versions crosses was awesome. Just couldn’t use it with the other beast as there are sprites for them. I was wanting to use Proto Soul so was going to get Blue Moon, but you did convince me to go with Red Sun. Also wish the 1st game was going to be the Star Force version. Would definitely play it first.

[@SleepyReapy32]

4 is definitely worth playing and I'd even say a great starting point, due to BN1-3s very non beginner friendly things, whereas 4 Game 1 is a pretty easy experience with a fun chip library and a very compact, easy to navigate Net. My biggest issues with the game is the lack of dungeons, 2 at the Start, 1 at the end. I know they were cut back to lean more into the "RNG" scenarios but dungeons are damn fun. BN4s new mechanics spread across to 5 and 6 so you can play 4-6 pretty comfortably. My biggest issues with the game are EX viruses, Chip Drop rates, and a handful of scenarios. Most scenarios I find to be pretty fun and even have some of the best characterization of basic characters that don't get as much of a focus in the other series due to the overarching plot taking priority, such as Roll and Mayl, Dex and Chisao, even Lan and Hub with the ghost girl scenario and how she reminds Lan of a younger Hub. The main plot isn't really hidden away either as the meteor is brought up pretty consistently in the start and after each tournament is over. Not to mention Nebula is hiding away and appears every so often to show off dark chips with Shade, dark soul with Laser, Haruka getting attacked so Lan goes to give the Dark Chip to a Heel navi, and the other Heel navi in the end game made to kill Hub before his friends save him. This game is difficult to get chips in, I will admit. You need really good busting ranks and even when you do you sometimes STILL get zenny that it almost feels like it's REQUIRED to get the Collect NCP (especially for 100%), otherwise I still think it isn't TOO bad to build a decent folder for the game. EX viruses are a cool concept but locking away harder viruses to the Undernet and then game 2 and 3 REALLY locks out what chips you can get. This especially feels bad in the next game because you must BEAT THE GAME and UNLOCK a POST GAME AREA to let V2 viruses wonder the Net, and then find another area to let V3s out... EX viruses being harder versions of viruses with new faster AI and different HP is cool for like.. battles with other viruses to make them harder but just not getting better chips throughout the game severely hurts. I like most scenarios as I said, the only ones I really dislike doing is Water God and Cold Man. Water God is a shitty lengthy maze and Cold Man is..fine? I just don't like doing it nearly every time I play the game. Game 2 and Game 3, although not what I'd call "post" game, I still think should be left for another playthrough as it's just replaying the game with harder viruses and getting more HP mems, RegUPs, NaviCust Parts, etc. You beat the final boss you should move on, I never recommend these post games to people until AFTER they've done all the games. I could go on more about why I think 4 is a great starting point and not nearly a horrible game or even a skippable one, but I will leave this here for now as it's gone on long enough lol.

[@PurpleRupees]

As someone who will be replaying it for the first time since the game came out, do you happen to know if you can get everything on playthrough 3? Or if I miss things on playthroughs 1-2 will it become impossible to 100%?

[@SleepyReapy32]

@@PurpleRupees There's a tab on The Rockman EXE Zone that shows Missable content for each game, luckily none of those missable things are unobtainable afterwards in BN4 other than some random Zenny, as the rest are usually a different code of a chip you can get elsewhere that can only be gotten in a chip trader. Every BMD (Blue Mystery Data) in BN4 goes off of how many times you PICK IT UP. Not which game you are on. So on Game 2 if you missed something in Game 1, you're still getting the Game 1 reward from that BMD, and getting the Game 2 reward from Game 3. This does unfortunately make it a bit cumbersome as you'll have to do a Game 4 or more if you happened to miss a lot, luckily the game is short, but Game 4+ is just Game 3 again. Tedious as it may be, you'll never be locked out of anything. The Rockman EXE Zone also recently uploaded Battle Chip Locations which is all you'll really need (it shows codes as well for PAs) for 100%. Good luck, and have fun

[@Octav2000]

Thanks I was gonna ask a friend but this works!

[@djt08031996]

As someone who played (some of) the originals, is there an order you'd recommend I tackle the legacy pack?

[@WilderGuitar05]

Do y’all think there will be a decent player base on steam? Im real interested in the pvp. If it comes down to it BN will be my reason to grab the switch.

[@raccoonpeddler6730]

the only game i played back in the day was bn4 red sun and i absolutely loved it so after seeing you say its skippable i think i might just love this whole collection

[@ericsoler4676]

while BN4 was my entry to the series despite being one of the iffy games, i do wanna try BN1 and 2 since those were the games i never got to play, i did played BN3, 4, 5 and 6

[@SpacedogD]

I stopped after 4 because it was so bad. I didn't feel like playing 5 and 6 back in the days. Now I am going to enjoy 5 and 6 that i missed in the past.

[@hallowmerc1997]

I'm going chronological order mostly because I missed out on playing 2,4, and 6. I loved playing 3 and I remember beating the first one on my GBA SP. I came looking for content because I remember having different forms in 3. I'm looking forward to discovering bass

[@bayzul7405]

BN5's lib missions each have a pool of 3-4 chips. One chip chosen whenever you want to replay whenever, get 3-4 and start a new one. Lil tedious, but helps folder building and especially branching out in the early-mid game Sweet spot for BN5 DS starting BN series after SF1. Out of order, each title as assessible minus BN1-BN4's own issues

[@roosterace223]

I played BN 4 blue moon on my advance and I gotta say I loved it. Like you said alot of sword chips was in that version. I just got the BN collection vol 2 since I like different playstyles I was gonna go for story. But vol 2 has alot more variety of playstyles. After watching your video I'm glad I got vol 2. Also 20:42 we almost have the same list for the BN games except instead of white I go with blue for BN 3.😅

[@minimamba824]

Dude I’m actually super excited for this to drop and I’m going to play in chronological order. I started with MMBN1 and I played through 5 (white, blue moon, Colonel), so I’m hyped to play 6. I’m also going to play both versions of 4, 5, and 6, simply because I want to be able to use all the souls, especially the ones I didn’t get to use in 4 and 5, and figure out which one I like more. MMBN and Pokémon were pretty much my main games growing up so I am happy with Violet/Scarlet and this coming out. Also, the hate for MMBN4 is astounding to me. I actually didn’t mind playing the game 3x through, the only annoying part to have to play multiple times was the amusement park (The Django storyline), but yeah.

[@PurpleRupees]

I think it comes from people who consider story most important.

[@tigerx36]

Here's what I'm feeling. BN2, BN3 Blue, looking at the souls abilities in BN5 and it's hard to choose a game, maybe BN6 Gregar since it's the green version, then either BN4 and ending on BN1. I'm not great with PvP

[@yost112ty]

I love BN1 it was my first game in the series, but you’re absolutely right about it!

[@SECONDQUEST]

Pretty excited

[@doopness785]

I’m really curious to know if this collection with have the multiplayer features from the original games

[@Zerodarkwolf01]

I have two question 1 so using the free tournament feature in bn red sun can I obtain blue moon’s soul list and 2 are bass and sol cross available?

[@MinishDude]

Yeah, playing back in the day I went 1 -> 3W -> 5C -> 4B -> 6... I was confused when I got to 5 (having skipped 4) since I didn't have context to the main villain (but the characters were all familiar with him). I think I might go 1 through 6, but use Buster MAX mode for 1 and 4 to just get through them.

[@ptherochannel-main]

If asking my own opinion here: BN1 BN2 BN3: Blue - more complete version than White BN4: Red Sun BN5: Team Colonel - storywise/timeline-wise BN6: Cybeast Gregar

[@MysticForceSWATMode]

Ah, another "Team Colonel is canon" fan assumption victim, I see

[@santiagosandoval4902]

I played BN4 red sun and blue moon. Had no idea these were filler, just really enjoyed it as a kid.

[@deathspade42]

Highest value to lowest STORY 3-2-1-5/6-4 BATTLES 5/6-4-3-2-1 (wow who knew) CASUAL PLAYTHROUGH 3/6-2/5-4-1 (5 might be your favorite or least favorite lmao) REPLAY VALUE 5/6-2/3-4-1 SPEEDRUNS 1/2/3/4/5/6 (whichever your favorite is tbh, but 4 is the shortest) PACING 5-3-6-2-1-4 yeah just don't play 1 or 4 if you gotta skip anything, 3 is the best overall, 2 is really good but I rank it low because imo it's a bit worse than 3 at everything 3 does well, 5/6 are the most different experiences from both each other and the rest of the series, they have worse storytelling but better gameplay than 2/3. SO: Try 3, if you love it for gameplay, go back and play 2 first then finish 3. If you're loving 3 for the story, scratch everything and start with 1 then 2 then 3. Think about getting to 6! It's an extremely good game with only a poorly written story. Try 5 as well, especially play Team Colonel before playing 6 if you want to care about the story and characters, don't be ashamed to drop 5 but it might be your favorite. Skip 1 and 4 if you want more time in your life, but they are still worth playing.

[@blacksonic125]

Your goated for using Starforce 2s theme

[@koromau3854]

Could you make a video explaning Free Tournament and the thing about transferring navis in BN4? I had BN4 but I never got to try any of that and haven't got a clue how it even works.

[@DRGN-TYPE]

I'll going though all. I need ALL the chips. I'm really hoping this causes a resurgence and a bigger competitive community.

[@mr.genatix-hardstyleandtra800]

Can’t freaking wait and gonna get this game on the Switch😛 Perfect for portable gaming! I only played BN5, so almost all the games are new for me

[@rob19ny]

Clown

[@Dyscordy]

3:07 that happened to me, I started with BN1 and loved it at first, but the further I got I was needing to use a guide and eventually just gave up

[@mikoswhackgameandstuffvids480]

I'm getting Vol2 because in my opinion 4-6 are great for me. When playing BN-3 it felt slow for me, Capcom was probably working on getting better mechanics for battles. And that's 4-6. The BN games I've tried were on emulator, I've played them for the first time some years ago. Probably around 2012 because I have StarForce pegasus and I've played that game long ago.

[@kamarrroxs4176]

Honestly all of them are incredible. My faves were 3 and 4 and 6 that were my faves. I loved 5 double team but unfortunately were not getting that so no Bass soul and django soul for us.

[@rogue1248]

We might get them, trust.

[@Progress2000]

@@rogue1248 We get Bass Soul through Modcard

[@gabrieltejada1697]

Actually we are getting everything in BN5 in this collection except for solcross so hallelujah 🎉

[@Progress2000]

@@gabrieltejada1697 Not exactly, the DS version actually have many other extra features.

[@viruschris3160]

I plan on playing all the games in chronological order. I originally owned the GBA versions of MMBN1 and 2. I played the DS Double Team pack of MMBN5 of the DS. Never played 3, 4, and 6 sadly. Hoping to fix that. Though I do wish there's some QoL for the Collection. And I wished the GameCube title, Mega Man Network Transmission, was in the Collection too. Just to fight Zero again.

[@Setsuna1216]

Haven't played the games in years, whish double team was part of it but I can't wait to play the games 1 thru 6 finally 😭