The morning of the final day dawns without Lan oversleeping, for once. It's not exactly on his own volition though, his friends from ACDC have decided to show up early and wake him with a loud, rousing cheer. Lan's reaction is pretty priceless. Once the initial shock's out of the way they leave Lan to get dressed and whatnot in peace, and later we can find everyone assembled at the plaza outside. The two groups seem to be getting along; Mick and Dex have a Net Battle with each other (apparently it's a draw), Tab knows of Yai's wealthy family and is just as reverent of her as he is of Lan, while Mayl's complementary of Iris's appearance. Predictably, Chaud is a no-show.
After some more introductory banter the group moves to the expo site, which as I mentioned in the very first update is located behind Aster Land, and the barricades have been removed for today. Upon arriving at the grounds they are greeted by a Navi in a Copybot who welcomes everyone and gives a quick explanation of the expo's layout. Each area of Cyber City (or rather each location that we could visit) has contributed an exhibit on the future of Net Society, located in their very own pavilion. As a way to familiarize the group, everyone's given a stamp card and told to collect stamps from the Seaside Town, Green Town, and Sky Town pavilions before meeting up in the main pavilion, the Central Town pavilion. After getting their cards everyone splits up to explore.
Right away we can jack in to a statue in the center of the grounds for a Mega Cannon * and a Regular UP 1. The statue depicts the two mascots of the expo, Copyboy and Copygirl – Copybots wearing a top hat and a hair bow. The flavor text notes that it doesn't seem like there was much thought put into their design. In fact, a lot of the objects on the grounds are described in the same way. Hmm...
The pavilions, on the other hand, do seem to have some effort to put into them. All of them seem to be about environmentalism in some way. Seaside Pavilion is about the need of keeping the oceans clean and pristine (despite that there's a Regular UP 2 item floating in a display...), Green Pavilion's exhibit is about the effects of industrial pollution and deforestation, while Sky Pavilion is about the effects of weather on life, and it even has a replica of Mr. Weather. Each pavilion has a desk at which we can get a stamp, and upon getting all three the group meets up again to head into Central Pavilion, single file.
Once they enter the building the camera pans to show Yuika, Ito, and Vic – Team Mud – watching from atop some concession stands. The Navi from before spots them, and they're forced to make a retreat.
Central Pavilion's really the only one that truly focuses on next-generation Net Society, and its vision involves humans and Navis working together as equals thanks to Copybot technology. This place should immediately sound off alarm bells for the player, because not only is there a small battalion of Copybots assembled, it's also clearly the same room that we've seen Baryl and the other WWW agents conferring in. Lan even notes the creepiness of the lined-up 'bots, while Iris has gone pale. With good reason, as the tour guide (who's now speaking in all caps for some reason) appears on the room's stage and announces that everyone will be able to witness the end of the world from here. He steps to the side, and Dr. Wily finally makes his entrance.
Given the last time Lan saw Wily he was being swallowed up by Alpha his shock is completely justified. Wily welcomes them to the WWW's headquarters, and reveals that the expo was nothing more than a front. Cain was cooking the books, allowing the WWW to fund itself by embezzling Cyber City, basically. As everyone good Big Bad who's cornered the heroes does, Wily reveals that he only needs a few things left to complete his plan. One is obviously Gregar, still inside Megaman, while the other is...Iris. That didn't deserve an exclamation point because really, not like the game's fooling anyone as to what the quiet, enigmatic girl's role in the plot was.
All the Copybots in the room are suddenly taken over by Punk Navis who swiftly cart everyone away except for Lan, who's only able to escape thanks to Chaud putting in a last-second appearance, having found a Copybot of his own to send Protoman into. The two boys beat a quick retreat, and a horde of Punk Navis pour out of the Central Pavilion after them.
The scene cuts to some time later, showing the Punk Navis roaming Central Town, searching for Lan. He and Chaud have holed up inside one of the school's classrooms, trying to come up with a plan as they're definitely not used to dealing with a threat quite like this. Come to think of it, the Copybot Punk Navis are for all intents and purposes robots, so it's like this universe's Wily finally has his robot army. Things have come full circle.
While they're busy getting nowhere a few Punk Navis stumble upon them and call for reinforcements. Things are looking even grimmer for our protagonists, but they're savior comes in the form of Mr. Mach, here to protect his students by beating the crap out of the Navis. Ha ha, I really like this guy's approach. Evil Navis-cum-robots roaming around town? Punch them in the face! He tells Lan and Chaud that he'll try luring the other Navis away, and reveals that there's a secret passage between Cain's office and the expo site. He urges Lan to stop Baryl and heads off.
So from this point on WWW Punk Navis are everywhere in the overworld, including both the real world and Cyberworld. Talking to them will initiate a battle against SP viruses, and while these make sense on line, they don't quite do the same in the real world. I suppose Lan can somehow jack Megaman in to the Copybot despite it already being in use or something. After each battle in the real world the Copybot will be left, broken and empty. When I first played this game I thought that there would be some sort of reward for beating all of them, like a chip, or getting access to a security door in the postgame area or something, but apparently not. It's just something for completionists I guess.
When they reach the lobby Lan for some reason suggests climbing the facade that the monitor is on to reach the upper level where Cain's office was. When Chaud deadpans that they should take a more normal route they're spotted again, and this time Chaud goes off to divert their pursuers as they lack the strength to punch out evil Navis, leaving Lan alone. We can get to Cain's office without any further incident now. Since I never got a chance to explore it before, it turns out that you can jack in to the computer on the desk for an HP + 400 and HP Memory, and there's a Regular UP 1 on a coffee table. The trigger for the secret passage isn't hard to find as it's a conspicuously-colored book on the bookshelf behind the desk. Upon hitting the switch a trophy case slides away from the wall revealing said passage.
Lan comes out in Seaside Pavilion, on a ledge where there's a giant octopus painted on the wall, the mouth serving as the secret passage's exit. It seems that our Terrible Trio has beaten him here, as Yuika and Vic are waiting at another exit while Ito fiddles around with a control console. Once they leave the pathway towards the exit, which is made up of animal-shaped decorations suspended in air, move out of alignment, necessitating sending Megaman into the console.
The Pavilion Computer will serve as our final dungeon of the game. Each pavilion has its own area, and each puzzle is a reprisal of a past dungeon. Since we're in the Seaside Pavilion, Pavilion Computer 1's puzzle is the same as the Aquarium Computer's, sharks and all. I imagine that this was meant to bookend the series, since the WWW network in the very first game did the same thing. The music here is pretty great, I must say. Since the puzzle is a retread there's not much to say about it (other than that one of the Programs turns into the aquarium manager when put into its tank, oddly enough). Once all tanks are filled we can access the control panel. Breaking from tradition, there's no boss fight here; presumably we would've fought Diveman had Blackbeard not been arrested. With the pathway restored, Lan is able to move on.
The exhibit level of the Green Pavilion is next. Seeing that Lan's caught up to them again, Ito (who's wondering why he's the one doing all the work) sends Judgeman into a globe display to make a tree branch lower itself over the exit. In we go to Pavilion Computer 2, which revisits the Judge Tree Computer, and just like that stage it's rather easy. This time Judgeman's at the back, guarding the control panel.
Judgeman EX
HP: 1100
Element: Normal
Attacks:
- Bind Chain – Judgeman lashes a chain down a three-panel range that deals 50 Elec damage and paralyzes Megaman.
- Arrest Book – Judgeman summons two fanged books that slowly chomp their way towards Megaman like slow-moving rattons for 50 damage.
- Strange Shield – A giant book is summoned to Judgeman's front column. Depending on which page the book is open to it can produce the following attacks:
- Fire Burner – A three-panel-long stream of flame comes out for 100 Fire damage.
- Bubble Star – A stream of three bubbles comes out, trapping Megaman and dealing 50 Aqua damage.
- Golem Hit – A giant rock fist slams Megaman's column for 100 Break damage and cracks the panel he's on.
As always, Slash Cross does him in.
Onward to Sky Pavilion, where Ito gets a case of the sniffles upon realizing that his Navi's been deleted. This time Vic's messing around with the Mr. Weather replica to knock the cloud path out of alignment and then uses a smoke bomb to teleport back up to his cronies. After flying around on clouds and washing away typhoons with rainbows again, it's on to Elementman.
Elementman EX
HP: 1300
Element: Normal
Attacks:
- Down Burst – Elementman generates a tornado that spins around the perimeter of the field for 100 damage.
- Meteorite – Meteors hit random panels of Megaman's side of the field for 90 Fire damage.
- Diamond Dust – Elementman freezes a column, dealing 80 Aqua damage, turning the panels to ice, and freezing Megaman.
- Lightning Drive – Lightning bolts strike random panels for 100 Elec damage.
- Tallest Tree – Elementman sends a stream of wooden spears towards Megaman that deal 50 Wood damage and turn panels into grass panels.
- Element Chip – Elementman changes his element.
Slash Cross > all
Finally, we're able to reach the area behind the stage of Central Pavilion. There's a good ol' electro-barrier barring the way here, while Vic and Ito are struggling to unlock the door-of-no-return past it. When Yuika complains that they're taking too long the men retort that only Baryl and Wily himself are supposed to be able to open it. And besides, Falzar's behind there, so of course it'll be difficult. The way forward here is to jack in to the machine generating the barrier, and it's computer brings back the Robot Control Computer, but with a twist.
Since Circusman's the Navi here instead of Blastman, we have to deal with more evil spirits. They'll come flying at Megaman much more quickly than the fireballs did, and in order to extinguish the flame blocking the way to Circusman we have to hunt down three spirits who're on the ground and destroy them. Since we don't have any Soul Weapons this time, this is accomplished through a virus battle. Once they're gone, we can finally pay the clown back for all the grief he's put us through.
Circusman EX
HP: 1200
Element: Normal
Attack:
- Happy Clap – Two giant hands come together on one column for 50 damage.
- Fear Whip – Circusman cracks a whip and a robotic lion flies down one row for 50 damage.
- Gloom Cage – Circusman appears above Megaman and tries to ensnare him in his curtains. If Megaman is caught he will be pummeled for 150 damage and paralyzed.
I'm not able to hit him with Slash Cross...so how about Slash Beast instead?
With Circusman destroyed at last the final barrier is open. Lan rushes forth...only for the villains, in one of the final cutscenes of the final game in the series, to finally take note of the whole “we can just punch this twelve year-old's lights out” thing that's been ignored the whole series. What's more, it seems like that conspicuous tour guide Navi and a bunch of Punk Navis have finally caught up with us. Things look bad, but then, another savior arrives!
Or three. It seems that the others managed to escape, for Gutsman, Roll, and Glyde all show up in Copybots and destroy the army of generics. Mayl, Yai, and Dex are on a ledge further up the wall and Dex tells Lan that Wily took Iris away somewhere. Mick and Tab, however, have also escaped and are sure to be kicking evil Navi butt.
“Or not.” he adds when it's shown that Mick and Tab's Navis are surrounded on the floor below. Not surprising, for Mick's Navi is just a cosmetically-altered Normal Navi and Tab seems to just have your bog-standard Normal Navi. Fortunately for them though Protoman bails them out. I wonder why Chaud didn't just keep Protoman in that Copybot the entire time.
The odds are much better now, as the group corners Team Mud and Chaud pronounces them under arrest. Yuika tries to lie her way out of it, but as Chaud's not a moron this doesn't get her anywhere. So to escape she...throws herself off of the edge of the platform and into the abyss that's apparently there just off to the side, and the others follow suit. Um, uh, okay then. At least we're rid of them, finally.
With them gone, it's time to turn our attention to the final battle. Despite the others' objections, Lan says that he and Megaman will be the only ones who'll go through. Instead he wants the others to spread the word to evacuate Central Town, because he doesn't know what will happen when the two Cybeasts come into contact with each other. Chaud's the first to agree with him, and the others slowly follow suit. Well, it's not like they really helped out all that much in the previous five final battles. One by one they wish Lan good luck and depart.
But that still leaves the problem of getting the door open. Megaman says that they've got to find Baryl somewhere, but a voice says that there's no need. Lan turns to see the man staggering towards him, still in bad shape from the beating he took earlier. At first Lan thinks that he's here to fight, but the game's hero theme starts up as Baryl proclaims “Dr. Wily is mine.” and heads through the door.
As always, here is where I'll stop. The final battle with Wily awaits!
Soundtrack
- Secret Headquarters
- Once we get to the point where this plays, the expo site is the only location left in the real world that plays a track other than "Incident Occurrence!" (even ACDC, which isn't affected by Wily's not-robot army).
- Two of Braves
- Really, if there's one track in this entire game to hear, it's this one. The Pavilion Computer ends the series tradition of the final dungeons having amazing music on a very high note.
Comments
