So before they turned tail and ran, one of the three Heel Navis suggested hiding in ACDC Area. Now that the bubbles have apparently turned yellow in the real world, it’s time to really pick up the pace. The three can be found at the wide open area in ACDC 2, and one virus battle later Megaman begins to change form. This is the point in the game where Megaman obtains his first Style Change. The Style Change system from Battle Network 2 is back, and it’s been revamped a bit to take advantage of the Navi Customizer. Whenever a Style is leveled up now, instead of the charge shot being powered up the player will receive a program. Most Styles have three levels total, though a few have more or less. Battle Network 3 has all of the Styles that 2 had (minus Hub Style) plus two extra, one of which is different depending on what version is being played.
- Obtained via buster-oriented gameplay.
- The buster’s attack power is doubled.
- By mashing B, Megaman can briefly fire his buster like a machine gun.
- Megaman can equip red programs.
- Upon leveling up the following programs are obtained:
- Super Armor – Megaman will not recoil when hit by enemy attacks
- Break Charge – Megaman’s charge shot will be able to penetrate guards
- Break Buster – Megaman’s buster shots will be able to penetrate guards
- Obtained via chip-oriented gameplay.
- Megaman starts battle with access to six chips in the Custom Screen rather than five.
- If Megaman S-ranks certain viruses in ten seconds or less he will obtain a special chip.
- Megaman can equip blue programs.
- Upon leveling up the following programs are obtained:
- Custom + 1 (x2) – The amount of chips available on the Custom Screen increases by one.
- Custom + 2 – The amount of chips available on the Custom Screen increases by two.
- Obtained via defensive gameplay (heavy use of Recovery and defensive chips)
- Megaman starts battle protected by a 10 HP barrier.
- A defensive chip such as Guard or a program with the same function may recover Megaman’s HP instead.
- Megaman can equip blue programs.
- Upon leveling up the following programs are obtained:
- Block – By pressing B and Left on the D-pad Megaman takes half damage from attacks.
- Shield – By pressing B and Left on the D-pad Megaman erects a shield to block non-breaking attacks.
- Reflect – By pressing B and Left on the D-pad Megaman erects a shield which will block and reflect non-breaking attacks.
- Obtained via Navi chip-oriented gameplay.
- An additional Mega-chip can be placed in the folder.
- If Megaman S-ranks a Beta Navi in twenty seconds or less he will obtain the V4 version of their Navi chip.
- Megaman can equip green programs.
- Upon leveling up the following programs are obtained:
- Mega Folder + 1 (x2) – An additional Mega chip can be put into the folder.
- Mega Folder + 2 – Two additional Mega chips can be put into the folder.
- Obtained when Megaman is infected with a bug.
- Bugs will be generated at the start of battle. Most of them are advantageous, such as invincibility or a maxed-out buster, but a few can be harmful.
- Megaman can equip gray programs.
- Upon leveling up the following programs are obtained:
- Bug Stop – If installed correctly Megaman will be unaffected by bugs.
- Dark License – Megaman can freely use certain chips that need Hole as a prerequisite.
- Exclusive to Blue.
- Obtained through heavy use of Invisibility chips.
- Megaman’s charge shot will very briefly turn him invisible.
- Megaman can equip red programs.
- Upon leveling up the following programs are obtained:
- Shadow Shoes – Megaman does not break cracked panels.
- Float Shoes – Megaman does not suffer from negative panel effects.
- Anti-Damage – By pressing B and Left on the D-pad, Megaman will take no damage from an attack and instead retaliate by hurling a shuriken at his attacker.
I got Heat Guts Style, which isn’t bad normally except for the fact that I’m going to go into battle with an Aqua Navi. Well, I’ll cross that bridge when it comes. Also, in this game Megaman can only have one Style in his memory at a time instead of two. Frightened by Megaman’s transformation, the Bubble Brigade beats a quick retreat, this time aiming for SciLab Area.
After beating them up again in SciLab 1 they retreat back to the indestructible bubble in Yoka 1. One more defeat later, and they finally give up and hand over the needle, allowing us to continue forward until we reach Bubbleman, finally. Despite his plan to have the Bubble Brigade wear Megaman down, he’s still confident enough that he can win. Time to prove him wrong.
Bubbleman
HP: 500
Elemant: Aqua
Attacks:
- Bubble Parade – Bubbles constantly issue from the empty panel in the center of Bubbleman’s field. They’ll drift into Megaman’s field and deal 30 Aqua damage upon contact.
- Fish Missile – Several of the Bubble Parade bubbles will have fish inside of them. Upon being popped the fish will rocket down its row for 30 Aqua damage.
- Mine – Occasionally a pink, sturdier bubble with a mine inside of it will be emitted from the empty panel. Once it gets up close to Megaman it’ll begin flashing before exploding in a plus shape for 30 damage.
- Sea Crab – Bubbleman lobs a crab into Megaman’s field which will behave exactly like a ratton projectile, dealing 30 Aqua damage.
- Aqua Shot – Bubbleman fires a volley of spears from his harpoon gun down one row for 50 Aqua damage.
- Bubble Wrap – Bubbleman encases himself in a reforming bubble to protect himself from attacks.
Bubbleman is yet another back-column boss. There’s even a boulder blocking one of the panels and the empty panel in the middle of his field shuts down anything that needs to travel along the ground. And of course the bubbles constantly issuing from that empty panel can block attacks. And during the final phase of the battle Bubbleman starts employing Bubble Wrap. Yeah, he can be a major pain the ass. However, I find that the Prelim Folder works rather well in taking him down, between the Rattons, Lance, and Hyper Burst. The Flashman series can also be very helpful. In fact, if you hit him with an Elec chip while he’s got Bubble Wrap up he’ll take quadruple damage. Persevere through his gimmicks!
Winning gives us 2000z.
Upon losing Bubbleman prostrates himself at Megaman’s feet, begging him not to delete him. Higsby chimes in over the phone to declare that the bubbles have turned red and are now flashing, and Megaman demands that he undoes them. Bubbleman tries to escape without doing so, only to have Protoman come out of nowhere and cut him down. He and Chaud dogpile on Lan and Megaman again over being soft and wishy-washy, saying that their hesitation endangered dozens of peoples’ lives. They finish by saying that Lan should just hang it up if they can’t finish off WWW lowlifes like Bubbleman.
Back downstairs at Mayl’s house the bubbles have dissolved and everyone’s fine, though Ms. Mari says that she doesn’t think she’ll buy a Bubble Wash anytime soon. As Lan starts to leave, Megaman asks if he’s worried about what Chaud said, and Lan admits that this time he did have a point, but at the same time he can’t be coldhearted. Megaman has the final say on the matter, that “Chaud is Chaud and we’re us. There’s no need to be someone we’re not.” That perks Lan up a bit, and he determines that it’s time to turn in.
However, before we do Higsby has finally started selling chips again.
- Recovery 80 * - 5000z
- Red Wave J – 7500z
- Stand Out * - 6000z
- Waterline * - 6000z
- Lightning * - 6000z
- Gaia Sword * - 6000z
- Mine R – 10000z
- Anubis A – 80000z
A lot of Mega chips for sale. Stand Out, Waterline, Lightning, and Gaia Sword all have stronger versions that can be gotten from the Number Trader (Salamander, Fountain, Bolt, and Gaia Blade) that combine to form the Master Style Program Advance, one of the strongest ones in the game.
After Lan goes to bed we see a scene of Chaud standing by the ocean somewhere. He’s approached by a severe-looking man who asks him what he wants. Uncharacteristically reverent, Chaud tells his father, Shuuseki
◊, that he’ll win the N1. Shuuseki calls him an idiot for wasting his time and starts to leave as Chaud begs him to come out and watch. Shuuseki says that he should be training instead and leaves his son standing in silence.
Comments
