Finally, we're at the deepest part of the Net, Nebula Area 6. There are two levels here, the top one being a network of pathways while the bottom's a wide open space. By running around the edges we can find two warps leading to the bottom level. One of them leads to an isolated platform that has the Bug Frag Trader, while the other leads to the wide open space. Here there's a hidden BMD containing Life Aura D, as well as a PMD in a corner with what should be the final HP Memory in the game. 1000 HP at last.
Back to the top level of Nebula Area 6. There's another flame door that's blocking off access to a giant stairway in back, while security doors block off six platforms that each contain a blue flame. Each flame is apparently a fragment of a dark soul, and examining one leads into a battle with the DS version of one of our teammates (which one is indicated by the flavor text) so this area is a lot like the boss rush chambers in the Megaman platformers. However, there is one requirement to fight the DS Navis, and that is to S-rank their Omega forms first in order to open the corresponding security doors.
So to that end I need to construct an S-ranking folder, and so I turn to those folder-building maestros at GameFAQs and put together a slightly-modified version of the S-Slasher folder. This folder revolves around the S code, the only one in the game that can successfully utilize Program Advances as is contains Life Sword, Big Noise, and Wild Bird, with Air Hockeys added in for additional damage and Full Synchro. My alterations are merely to throw in a Full Custom and swap out an extra set of swords for Drill Arm 2 S's. With this folder in hand I manage to S-rank Omega Team Colonel and gather up the last of the Mega chips I need, giving me the Mega Complete icon.
After stocking up on Full Energies and returning to Nebula Area 6 it's time to get this show on the road! Interestingly enough, the HP and attack power of the DS bosses in this game are tied to Megaman's max HP. So all of the values listed below are based off of Megaman's HP being at 1000. I could make them stronger if I chucked in a handful of HP + programs.
Colonel DS
HP: 1600
Element: Normal
Attacks:
- Screen Divide – Colonel swings his sword, projecting either a diagonal or <-shaped slash onto Megaman's side of the field for 200 damage.
- Colonel Cannon – Colonel fires a bazooka blast down one row that deals 250 damage. If it does not hit Megaman it will instead explode their back column.
- Colonel Army – A Rock Cube is summoned to the field. It will turn into a soldier upon Megaman stepping either in front of or behind it.
- Long Sword - The soldier will slash with a Long Sword for 150 damage if Megaman moves in front of the cube.
- Machine Gun - The soldier fires a machine gun for 50 damage per hit if Megaman moves behind the cube.
- Blind Rain Shower – Colonel immobilizes Megaman by throwing his cape and then stabs him several times for 280 damage.
As before, Colonel's attacks will tear through you if you're a poor dodger. Blind Rain Shower is a new attack that he starts using at his Beta form, and yeah, it hurts. He didn't use many chip attacks, and the ones he did were rather weak.
Knightman DS
HP: 1600
Element: Normal
Attacks:
- Kingdom Crusher – Knightman shoots his flail down one row for 200 damage.
- Broken Wall – Knightman fires his mace into the air, causing rubble to randomly fall on to Megaman's area for 200 damage per hit.
- Royal Wrecking Ball – Knightman swings his flail in an arc that hits all panels surrounding him for 300 damage.
- Leap – Knightman leaps one panel forward, cracking random panels on the field when he lands.
- Stone Body – When colored gray Knightman blocks all non-breaking attacks.
- Panel Grab – If Knightman has no more room left to move forward, he will steal the panel immediately in front of him.
You'll know when Knightman is about to fire off a chip attack as he'll rapidly move around the field for a few seconds, fire, and then return to his original position. Not that he gets much of a chance to since he's pathetically easy to defeat with my folder.
Shadowman DS
HP: 1500
Element: Normal
Attacks:
- Fire no Jutsu – Shadowman sends a wave of fire down one row for 200 Fire damage. If any copies are on the field they will use the attack simultaneously.
- Kawarimi – Shadowman jumps into the air and throws four shurikens at Megaman for 200 damage each.
- Kage no Bunshin – Shadowman creates two copies of himself. The copies can be destroyed.
- Image Slash – One of Shadowman's clones appears in front of Megaman and slashes him for 200 damage.
- Back Stab – Shadowman appears behind Megaman and slashes him for 200 damage.
Here's something interesting: apparently his clones count as obstacles, since when I hit one with a Pulsar it did its radiating effect, which normally only works on Rock Cubes and the like.
Tomahawkman DS
HP: 1600
Element: Wood
Attacks:
- Tomahawk Air Raid – Tomahawkman throws his tomahawk like a boomerang for 200 damage.
- Tomahawk Swing – Tomahawkman swings his axe in a 2 x 3 range for 250 Wood damage.
- Tomahawk Rolling – Tomahawkman jumps on top of his totem pole, curls into a ball, and slams into one panel, cracking it and unleashing a shockwave that hits the next column for 300 damage.
- Totem Pole – Different effects will manifest depending on which face is shown:
- If the red face is visible meteors will randomly fall on Colonel's area for 200 Fire damage per hit.
- If the yellow face is visible Tomahawkman will regenerate HP.
- If the green face is visible Tomahawkman will be invulnerable.
Like Knightman DS he doesn't last very long with the folder I'm packing.
Numberman DS
HP: 1500
Element: Normal
Attacks:
- Number Ball - Numberman creates three balls on each panel in the column in front of him, and sends them down the field. These balls can be destroyed, and each one has a number on it indicating its HP. They deal 200 damage.
- Dice Bomb – Numberman throws a destructible die three panels ahead that explodes a 3 x 3 area. Damage is fifty times the number the die lands on.
- Number Trap – Numberman sets a hidden switch in Megaman's area that produces the following effects when stepped on:
- Area Grab – Numberman steals the rightmost column of Megaman's area.
- Time Bomb 1 – A three-second time bomb is placed on Megaman's side of the field that explodes his area for 80 damage.
- Number Eraser – A giant eraser falls on a 2 x 2 area for 250 damage.
Next.
Toadman DS
HP: 1600
Element: Aqua
Attacks:
- Shocking Song – Toadman croaks out a music note that will home in on Megaman, dealing 200 Elec damage and paralyzing him.
- Croaking Frog – Toadman throws a frog-shaped projectile that bounces around the field, dealing 250 Aqua damage and leaving behind sea panels.
- Frog Smack – Toadman surfaces out of a sea panel and slaps Megaman for 300 Aqua damage.
His moving between his lily pads is as annoying as ever, but he does get off of them when he uses a chip attack, so that's a good time to nail him.
After beating each boss the flame will disappear before warning Megaman that it'll “burn bright again when you depart the Cyberworld” which is shorthand for “we'll respawn when you jack out.” So these guys can be fought over and over. Once they're all defeated we can get past the flame door in front of the staircase.
At the top is another gigantic portal like the kind that Nebula Gray was hanging out of, and Megaman helpfully informs us that this is where all the dark power in the area is coming from. A voice rings out (presumably a very loud, deep one as the text is in all caps) saying that it is the Chaos Lord. As hinted by Cosmoman, we never see exactly what the Chaos Lord looks like – he takes on various guises. He manifests as Nebula Gray, and declares that there will be no mercy for the pure of heart. Sure, bro.
Nebula Gray Alpha
HP: 2500
Element: Normal
Attacks:
- Black Prominence – A small stream of flame will leap from one panel to another for 100 damage.
- Grave Fire – Nebula Gray shoots a small fireball on to Megaman's side of the field, upon which fire will temporarily follow him around, dealing 200 damage on contact.
- Dark Sword – Megaman DS appears and swings a 2 x 3 sword for 200 damage.
- Dark Thunder – Megaman DS appears and fires a large ball of electricity that homes in on Megaman, paralyzing him and dealing 100 Elec damage on contact.
- Dark Meteor – Megaman DS appears and meteors randomly fall on the field for 150 Fire damage per hit.
- Dark Lance – Megaman DS appears and sharpened shoots of bamboo stab Megaman's back column for 200 Wood damage.
- Hellfire Serpent – Nebula Gray turns into a dragonlike form and smashes into Megaman's area, damaging a 3 x 3 area for 200 damage and cracking the affected panels.
- Thousand Hand Death – A volley of hands fire out of the portal, draining away 180 HP and healing Nebula Gray by the same amount.
A souped-up Nebula Gray. I'm back to my in-game alphabet soup folder now, because it's basically the same one I used to beat his base form but with the upgraded versions of its chips. So, basically the same strategy I used before works fine on him now. My only handicap is that I'm going into this without Air Shoes, so when the panels are broken I'm highly susceptible to Dark Thunder and Dark Lance.
The Chaos Lord gives the “I shall endure!” spiel and then explodes. The disembodied voice from the start of the area speaks up again, saying that a gigantic evil has faded, but that we must still fight until evil is vanquished. It then drops off the fifth Giga chip, Meteor Knuckle M, which has Duo's fists randomly slam into the enemy's side of the field, damaging panels to boot. Team Protoman gets Big Hook G, which has his two fists swipe the field. Thanks Duo. Megaman is not blessed with the player's hindsight and wonders who the voice is, but Lan tells him that it's just “one of those things” and not to sweat it. They have a lot of work ahead of them.
And he's right, for that was only our first battle with the Chaos Lord. After jacking out and returning to Nebula Area 6 we'll see that the blue flames have indeed respawned. We have to beat them all again in order to get at the portal where the Chaos Lord awaits again. He will take on a variety of forms now, and which one he takes depends on how fast you beat all of the DS bosses. If you're maximum time is around three minutes, ie slow, you'll be pitted against Nebula Gray Beta when approaching the portal, so I won't cover that again.
If you're time is pretty fast, less than two minutes according to the Megaman wiki, when he gets to the portal Megaman will remark that he feels a terrible (or “cruddy” as he so eloquently puts it) sensation within his soul, and the figure that comes out of the portal will be himself. Rather, his tainted self from earlier in the game.
Dark Megaman
HP: 2000
Element: Normal
Attacks:
- Mega Buster – Megaman fires a buster shot that deals 4 points of damage.
- Dark Sword – Megaman charges up before swinging a 2 x 3 sword for 400 damage.
Basically the Megaman DS battle from Battle Network 4, only much more faster and vicious. This can be pretty fun, and the closest one can probably get to a player vs. player Net Battle these days.
After beating Megaman's evil self again we get an aesop from Lan about how you can be your own worst enemy.
However, if you manage to strike the right balance between not too fast and not too slow in beating the DS bosses, when reaching the portal Megaman will feel a crushing presence, and how will the Chaos Lord show up as to play but in the guise of Bass.EXE.
Bass
◊
HP: 3000
Element: Normal
Attacks:
- Buster Rake – Bass shoots an extended, rapid-fire volley of shots that hit random panels on Megaman's area for 200 damage per hit.
- Hell's Rolling – Bass sends two wheels of energy down the field towards Megaman for 300 damage.
- Dark Arm Blade – Bass appears either in front of or behind Megaman and slashes him several times with dark energy for 200 damage per hit. If he appears in front of Megaman he'll attack with a Long Sword-ranged slash and if he appears behind him it'll be a Wide Sword-ranged attack.
- Darkness Overload – Bass moves into Megaman's area and fires a massive blast of energy that hits and cracks the back two columns for 500 damage.
- Chaos Nightmare – Bass rises into the air and generates a massive ball of energy that he will throw down at Megaman, exploding and breaking a 3 x 3 area for 500 damage.
Bass (or at least this simulacrum of him) is stronger than he was in Battle Network 4, if that's even possible. But luckily my folder is a lot better equipped to deal with him, and it's still not too difficult to counter him. Still, Buster Rake can cut through your HP twice as fast now, so you need to go heavy on the Invisibles. Darkness Overload and Chaos Nightmare can halve my HP in a single hit, but since they do so much damage at once Megaman will automatically become angry so it's a good, if risky, tradeoff.
Winning gives us Bass Anly F. Our sixth and final Giga chip has Bass attack with four Hell's Rolling wheels. Team Protoman gets Bass F, which has him attack with Buster Rake instead. Also the Giga Complete icon is added to the title screen.
This is when you'd normally fight Bass for the first time, but if you have Bass Cross activated you can actually fight slightly weaker versions of Bass at Oran Area 3 and Nebula Area 4. So the battle I just went through was technically his Beta form. After beating him, Bass Omega becomes a random encounter in Nebula Area 6. You don't get any chips for beating him, but Bass's Navi emblem is added to the title screen.
Omega is normally the peak of a Navi's power but Bass, being who he is, actually has a form that goes one step beyond that, a form that wasn't accessible in the GBA version but can be fought in Double Team if both files have beaten Bass Omega. This form replaces Bass Omega and is called Bass XX – the single strongest enemy in the game, and possibly the entire Battle Network series. Bass XX has a new purple color palette, 4000 HP, tremendous damage-dealing ability, and has a protective barrier, similar to his old Life Aura. This barrier can absorb 300 damage before breaking, but it'll eventually regenerate, and it's only vulnerable to attack while Bass himself is attacking. The key to getting rid of it permanently is to use North Wind, so putting that as the regular chip is pretty much mandatory.
I actually decided to check where my Team Protoman file was at as I haven't touched it in years, and was surprised to see that it was actually at Nebula Area 6. So I technically could press on in it to unlock Bass XX, but you don't get anything from beating him and completing my Mega chip,Giga chip, and Program Advance library there will take awhile. Maybe I will some time in the future, though, but not now. On my own time.
Anyway, we're done in the postgame area. All that's left to accomplish is to go back to Nebula HQ and defeat Nebula Gray Omega. Doing so signifies that we've fully beaten the game, and gives us a special “congratulations” screen of Megaman and his teammates.
And there it is, Megaman Battle Network 5. Like with 4 and technically 3 this was the first time I managed to 100% the game (won't be able to say that with 6), so it's always nice to explore a game to its fullest, and it was also quite satisfying to watch the completion icons pile up.
Looks like I'm down to the final game in the series. I've fast-tracked Battle Network 6 a little bit since I want to get a good start on it before Pokemon comes out in the next week-and-a-half, so that blog will be up and running pretty soon, time permitting. Until then.
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