So now we have three stars on the title screen, but there are still four more to go. Time to get cracking on them, or at least the one that I can still get.
Now that Bass GS is gone, Heel Navis will appear throughout the Secret Area, and so begins the Serenade Time Trials. Each individual Heel Navi will pit Megaman against a copy of an Alpha-version Navi and give us a time limit to delete them by. But here’s the catch – you have to use one of the preset Extra Folders. Most of the Extra Folders aren’t that good, but there is one that is ideal for these trials, and that’s the Apprentice Folder, given by an Official in ACDC following the episode with the tank. The main strategy for this folder is to use the Prism chip in conjunction with the Heat Spread and Bubble Spread Program Advances, since if used properly the Advances deal double damage in conjunction with the Prism. That’s the folder’s main source of firepower, but it also has Rock Cubes and Air Shot 1’s and Guts Punches available to push them into enemies.
Even with this folder, there’s still some additional preparation to be done. Empty out the Navi Customizer and install the following programs: Custom + 2, both Custom + 1’s, and Fast Gauge. If you use the three Custom + programs along with a Custom Style Megaman will have ten chips to choose from right off the bat, and Fast Gauge will essentially double the amount of times he will be able to access the Custom Screen during battle.
Now that all that’s done, Secret 1 is where we start, and where most of the Navis are. The Navis and times are as follows:
- Flashman Alpha – 10 seconds
- Beastman Alpha – 30 seconds
- Bubbleman Alpha – 40 seconds
- Desertman Alpha – 45 seconds
- Plantman Alpha – 30 seconds
- Flameman Alpha – 30 seconds
- Drillman Alpha – 45 seconds
Out of this set Flashman, Flameman, and Drillman are the difficult ones. Flashman gives you very little time, Flameman has the candles to contend with, and Drillman is pretty hard to hit as-is, and he can easily destroy and planted obstacles like the Prism. For him it all came down to lucky timing for me, and for Flameman my strategy was to snuff both candles and then leave them along if neither had the green invulnerability flame when they reignited.
All that matters is how it takes to delete the boss. It doesn’t matter how many times you get hit as long as they’re beaten. Even if Megaman doesn’t make it or is deleted himself it doesn’t matter, he can retake the trials as many times as needed.
The following Navis are in Secret 2:
- Metalman Alpha – 20 seconds
- Gutsman Alpha – 15 seconds
- Kingman Alpha – 40 seconds
- Bowlman Alpha – 45 seconds
I didn’t really have any problems with these guys.
Finally, in Secret 3:
- Darkman Alpha – 45 seconds
- Japanman Alpha – 40 seconds
- Protoman Alpha – 45 seconds
Japanman gave me the most trouble in this set, since he has a lot of HP to take down. Again, I cannot stress how much of a boon the Fast Gauge program is for these challenges, for they essentially double your time. A lot of the requirements look intimidating, and some still are, but the setup I outlined above combined with battler’s savvy a bit of luck should carry anyone through.
For completing the time trials we are given another Giga chip, Dark Aura A. Dark Aura blocks all attacks that do less than 300 damage. White gets Serenade S, which has Serenade appear on the field and use his Holy Shock attack. Both chips need a dark hole on the field to activate. Finally, a light blue star is added to the title screen.
This is as far as I can go in my game, but I’ll still relate the rest of what the game has. The requirements for the fifth star, the purple one, are simple: collect all eighty-five Mega chips. This includes the Mistman set from White (likewise they will need Bowlman’s set) requiring linked play. So that’s why I can’t go any further. Another thing to note about Navi chips in this game are the V4 chips. These can only be gotten if Megaman S-ranks a Beta Navi in at most twenty seconds while he’s equipped with a Team Style. Roll’s the only Navi without a V4 chip.
Now that the player presumably has five stars in order to get to the last two they have to input a code on the title screen. When “CONTINUE” is highlighted they must hold down left and press R, R, L, R, L, R, L, L. This will cause the stars to compress a bit so that there’s room for two more, and it unlocks the Omega Navis.
Like Omega viruses, the Omega Navis are the cream of the crop. They’re invisible, in preset locations throughout Cyberworld, usually in an area that’s thematically related to them. So, the locations:
- Flashman Omega – Principal’s PC 2
- Beastman Omega – Zoo Computer 3
- Bubbleman Omega – Yoka 2
- Desertman Omega – inside the TV van parked outside of the TV station
- Plantman Omega – Hospital Computer 3
- Flameman Omega – Undernet 3, right where he was fought originally in fact
- Drillman Omega – Undernet 6, right where he was fought originally
- Gutsman Omega – Dex’s homepage
- Metalman Omega – Tamako’s homepage
- Kingman Omega – inside the control panel outside of the editing room at the TV station
- Bowlman Omega – inside the Net Battle machine within the TV station
- Mistman Omega – also inside the Net Battle machine (yeah both of them can be fought like this)
- Darkman Omega – Secret 1
- Japanman Omega – Secret 2
- Protoman Omega – Hades Isle’s network
- Serenade Omega – Secret 3, right where he was fought originally
- Bass Omega – Secret 3, where the Hub Batch program was
Each of these battles is prefaced by a three-round survival battle against Omega viruses. Defeating them earns the player the V5 version of the corresponding Navi’s chip, which is Giga-level. As before Roll does not have a V5 chip, nor do Serenade and Bass – they just give out zenny. It doesn’t matter what the player’s busting level is either. Defeating all of them adds a red star to the title screen.
The seventh and final star, the orange one, is simply gotten by completing all of the Program Advances, and they can only be done now because the Prix Power Advance, as I mentioned way back, requires V5 Navi chips. Once all that’s done the player can take on Alpha Omega, the last challenge that the game has to offer. Alpha Omega has been beefed up to have 3000 HP, and its Devil Hand attack can now affect panels, such as breaking them, turning them into one of the elemental panels like sand or grass, and I’ve even seen it steal them in one Youtube video. Upon beating Alpha Omega when the player reloads the game they will find that the final Giga chip has been added to their pack: Alpha Arm Omega V in Blue and Alpha Arm Sigma V in White. Both of them replicate their namesake chip. There’s no specific reward for collecting all of the Giga chips, oddly enough.
And so it's time to close the door on Megaman Battle Network 3. I have to say that this was the furthest I've ever gotten in the game (I never completed the time trials before, lacking the patience and battle savvy to do so). So that was pretty fun and worthwhile. The game definitely deserved that. Of course, now I have Battle Network 4 to look forward to, so I guess I have no choice but to take my lumps.
Until then.
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