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Let's Play Megaman Battle Network 3
I'm pretty sure I've said it before, but for this one and the next one, my knowledge is going to be limited. I also think I managed to miss the anime storyline that covered this one, so I'm also useless there.

I'll chime in where I can, but I doubt I'll pull off as many comments as the first two games until we get to BN 5.
Hunter1
On the changing PE Ts, I know they switched to a IR wireless-equipped model for BN 5 (which I seem to recall Lan using in the Dark Chip storyline in the anime), and it wouldn't surprise me if BN 4 and 6 also used different models. Seriously, they went through PET models like Usagi goes through brooches.
Hunter1
Ah yes, Shoulderman. I didn't expect him to show up this quickly.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the chip type split mean that you can't spam high level Program Advances like you could in the first two game?
Hunter1
No, you still can. The restriction wasn't implemented until the fifth game.
ComicX6
Okay, that betting minigame sounds like it would be annoying to do on actual hardware, but perfect for savestate scumming.

...They don't do the "save before showing the results" thing Chip Traders do with that minigame, do they? And how deterministic is it, anyways?
Hunter1
I think it's just 50-50. It's all at once too, no saving allowed. I suppose savestates could be used on an emulator, but since I'm playing the actual GBA cart that's not an option for me. There are more versions later in the game with more money and more panels to choose from.
ComicX6
...Like I said, annoying on actual hardware but a perfect target for savestate abuse. Especially if what you're saying is true, and it's determined when you start but before you make choices.

So, you can use what is basically the "manually save before you start and retry if you fail" trick you could with the Chip Traders in the first game, although more tedious, right?
Hunter1
No, you have to do it all in one go. There's no pause in between rounds. You either press on or end the game.
ComicX6
I kinda figured that. Sorta like an extended version of the switch puzzle in Lt. Surge's Gym in the Gen 1/3/4 Pokemon games, except you lose money if you lose (and I don't think the "solution" of the puzzle is preserved across saving and loading).

Which is where the saving would come in handy; it would likely still take forever to do, you just lose less money.
Hunter1
Ah yes, the Customizer. I had a lot of fun with that in 5, especially when I used the "shrink program" codes...
Hunter1
The Navi Customizer was probably at it's deepest in this game what with Mod Tools, compression codes, and Style-specific programs and colors.
ComicX6
...60 correct button presses in 60 seconds? All for 1 Bug Frag? Although screwing with the game speed in an emulator would make it easier, I'm not sure I could justify spending somewhere between 2 to 4 minutes for just one Bug Frag.

...Okay, if I just needed one Bug Frag, I could easily justify it, but I would likely find it annoying as hell...
Hunter1
...Honestly, although useful, I kinda found the Style Change system annoying in BN 2, and it seems even worse in 3. The heavy tite-in to the Customizer seems annoying, too...
Hunter1
...Why do I get the feeling that Q works for WWW?
Hunter1
Ironically enough, BN 4 would reuse the tournament plotline and also reuse the "there's more to the tournament than meets the eye" twist... unless I've misread the summery?

Oh, and let's not forget Battle Chip Challenge, which... also does the same thing. Were the MMBN writers lazy or something?
Hunter1 (edited by: Hunter1)
The tournaments in Battle Network 4 were barely built into the story, they were really just a vehicle for boss fights. The final one did have a touch of plot relevance but only in a last-second sort of way. Believe me, I'll have a lot to say about that game when I get to it.
ComicX6
And another example of a minigame that an emulator would make easy (save states FTW). Unless they got nasty and only picked which is the correct choice once you'd made your choice...
Hunter1
"corny jokes and whatnot"... Something tells me that they just recycled the jokes for the later games...

And yes, Match is not suspicious at all.
Hunter1
They're actually new, believe it or not. By the sixth game they start to poke fun at the conventions of the series.
ComicX6
Ironically, if I remember my JCA episodes correctly, after Finn made that comment, he found out that immortality just means he'll always survive, but he won't actually be healed of the injuries sustained.

Of course, in video games (like this one), the two often are redundant.

Also, Dark Aura? As in... Huh.
Hunter1
I'm not sure how many players are aware that the "dark power" from Battle Networks 4 and 5 had its genesis in this game. Dark Aura itself can be obtained in Giga chip form.
ComicX6
Huh, Beat and Tango, it's been some time since I've heard those names in the context of the Mega man series...

And another early hint at the Dark Chips and the power behind them.

Also, what do the Prix Power PA and Set Metal program(?) do?
Hunter1
The Set Metal program makes it so that all panels on the field are changed to metal panels at the start of the battle. There are similar programs like that such as Set Ice and Set Lava but the only way to get them that I know of off the top of my head is via Ground Style which is exclusive to White. I may be mistaken, though.

FYI, Beat apparently lets one steal an opponent's Mega and Giga chips in a linked battle, while Tango recovers some of Megaman's HP when it gets into the red.

Prix Power involves Bowlman (a Navi we will be seeing in the next update) randomly firing copies of Mistman (who takes Bowlman's place in White) at the enemy, after which Kingman attacks just like he does with his chip. It's made by combining Team 1, Team 2, and the V5 version of either Bowlman's, Mistman's, or Kingman's chips. I unfortunately won't be able to meet the requirements to get the V5 Navi chips.
ComicX6
And something I forgot to mention about Holes. If you have the Dark License program installed Megaman doesn't need to have a portal open to use the chips that normally require it. The Dark License program can only be gotten by maxing out Bug Style, but I didn't go that far since I was finding it to be a bit unreliable for my playing style (plus Elec Styles' charge attack sucks).
ComicX6
Buster MAX... If my memory of 5 serves, it's the Customizer equivalent of sinking 5 Power Ups into the Buster damage stat... Or is my memory off, and it's actually like sinking 5 Power Ups into each of the three Buster stats?

(Not that Power Ups appear in the games after 2, but well... I think I've made it obvious several times now that I mostly played the first 2...)
Hunter1
It maxes out all three buster stats at five.
ComicX6
There are also similar programs for each individual like Attack MAX etc.
ComicX6
All three stats? That certainly explains why I seem to remember using it in Double Team; I've always been buster-focused in the BN games, and this is the kind of thing that just screams USE ME to me.
Hunter1
"Get Ability Program"... Likely the closest thing the Battle Network series has to the Variable Weapon System installed on Mega Man and Bass in the Classic games (with Proto Man and Duo having in some appearances), and X in the X games.

Both Rock and Roll were equipped with the similar Variable Tool System, but it's logical to assume that Rock's was turned into the VWS when he was converted into Mega Man.

(And yes, the VWS is the story reason for the whole "beat the enemy to use their weapon" thing. Interesting to note that in the Classic timeline, no player character later than X used this classic mechanic, huh? Also the VTS is used as a combat system, but only by Roll whenever she ends up fighting.)
Hunter1
Well, knowing what happens at this point in the anime, and having played a later game in the series, I think I know the identity of Lan's "new" Navi...
Hunter1
You know, the one thing I always hated about the Pokemon game was the requirement to either cheat, have a friend with the other version, or have a second system with the other version if you wanted to get everything. GTS made it easier, but some of the annoyance is still there.

Battle Network 3 and later have that same issue. Double Team DS managed to almost totally bypass it, but you needed to play through the game twice and a couple really nice things require either a Boktai game or finished BN games in the GBA slot.
Hunter1
At least in later games it wasn't mandatory to do so to get all of the stars/emblems.
ComicX6
Good point.
Hunter1
Hmm, is what's left another early hint at the Dark Chip plot of BN 4 and 5?
Hunter1
No, I'm pretty much done with the plot now. But it does involve another "darkness"-based chip as a prize.
ComicX6
Yeah, I've heard that BN 4's plot had some "issues". I think this is one where the equivalent anime story arc is more interesting, especially given the limitations that Cross Fusion imposes (namely, that you have to select and prepare a few battle chips beforehand, so you need to actually think about what's ahead).
Hunter1
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