As before beating the final boss earns us the Megaman Star on the title screen's bottom screen. We're back at the foot of the stairs to the Great Shrine, but before we pulse out there are two more things to check out in Mu now that the game's been beaten. First, we can access that ES in the Room of Genesis now, and it's been hiding a Giga Class + 1 ability from us within a PMW. Secondly, if we go back to the first area of Mu, where we fought Yeti Blizzard EX, we can find Rogue EX's copy standing on one of the wave roads. His card has him use his Rogue Arts move on the nearest aligned enemy, and the final hit, the flipkick, has the breaking attribute. I've actually had his card for a while, since at least Loch Mess, thanks to getting lucky with a YMW (the yellow/gold Mystery Datas return in this game). He's got another secret Mega card that's Wave Command exclusive: Rogue Sword. Same basic deal, just with sword slashes instead of punches and kicks.
Upon pulsing out of the Wave World we immediately get an anonymous email telling us that they've left a “gift” for us at Vega's hideout. This “gift” is the key to unlocking the postgame area, but that's going on the backburner at the moment. Like Star Force 1, new sidequests have opened up, and there was one or two that I missed on my last pass anyway. Even though every generic NPC has been turned into a selfish jackass thanks to Vega's speech they'll still accept help from a complete stranger!
Echo Ridge Job 5: Hope Stelar
Continuing the culinary theme of Hope's sidequests, she's been trying to remember a certain meal she used to prepare that Kelvin used to really like. Since she's forgotten what it is she jokes that maybe the “spirits living in this house” remember what it was. So we have to pulse in and talk to one of the household Hertzes who reveals that the meal in question was carrot gratin. For our help Hope rewards us with a Holy Panel card.
Echo Ridge Job 6: Sonia Strumm
Sonia's request is yet another “choose the correct lyrics to complete the song” job. Not hard if you follow her prompts. Just think vapid and bubbly. Our reward is a Recovery 300, a new wallpaper, and a strengthened Brotherband. Completing each one of our Brothers' sidequests maxes out their bestowed Link Power at one-hundred.
Echo Ridge Job 7: Luna Platz
Luna's trying her hand at cooking too, though to presumably less tasty results than Hope's carrot gratin. She gets very prickly when offered help, but relents and asks Geo to bring two ingredients: bananas, and a coconut. Only, instead of telling us that she needs both items at the same time, she does it one at a time to enforce backtracking. Anyway, the bananas we snag from Whazzap's altar (Harp Note EX is standing right by the teleporter down to the village on the Sky Wave), and the coconuts can be found by examining those palm trees that are right outside the Peak Hotel. Hm, guess they weren't fake. With the ingredients found, Luna dispatches us to find one more thing: a recipe. Uh, speaking as a guy who started learning how to cook within the last year, in my experience you generally decide on a recipe before you go out to get your ingredients. Anyway, we can just ask Hope for a recipe and return to Luna to complete the quest. Of course the reason she was so prickly was because Geo was the one she wanted to cook for. We get some kind of cookie out of the ordeal, and written on it in banana/coconut frosting is the Cipher Code for a Mega Class + 1 ability. And a maxed out Brotherband.
Echo Ridge Job 8: Bud Bison
Bud's been worried because he's been having nightmares involving Taurus taking him over again. If we head over to his house we can see that a remnant of Taurus Fire is lurking around. Time to do some ghostbusting.
Taurus Fire SP
HP: 2500
Element: Fire
Attacks:
- Ox Tackle – Taurus Fire charges down one column for 180 Fire damage.
- Fire Breath – Taurus Fire breathes flame down one column for 150 Fire damage.
- Anger Punch – Taurus Fire appears in front of Geo and punches him for 180 damage.
- Flame Tower – Taurus Fire punches the ground, causing spurts of flame to hit random panels before him for 220 Fire damage per hit.
Big numbers, but he's not very threatening as his attacks are easy to dodge. Flame Tower is the only significant danger here as it really packs a whallop.
After the battle Omega says that the ghost will calm down now and should fade away. Delivering the good news to Bud maxes out his Brotherband and gives us the HP + 500 ability.
Echo Ridge Job 9: Zack Temple
Zack's job is a rehash of the one from the first game. We have to visit an ES coming out of the sunken ship in the loch (apparently it's generated by the spirits of dead people) and fight a ten-round survival battle against G viruses. It's still pretty hard. Return to Zack for the maxed Brotherband and a second Giga Class + 1 ability.
Wilshire Hills Job 12: Gredy Miser
The producer's task for the day is to investigate something that's odd about the Saurian exhibit. Just examining it reveals nothing out of the ordinary, but putting on the Visualizer shows that a Merchant Hertz and two Large Capacity Hertzes next to it uh, pretending to be exhibits themselves, apparently. Talking to them gets them to knock off their joke, and we get a Wood Search as thanks.
Wilshire Hills Job 13: Bob Copper
The detective's back to investigating Z-waves it seems, and he thinks some ghosts may be the source. There's a Boodach virus on the overworld of IFL Tower's first set of wave roads to delete. Afterward return to Copper who out of the blue gives an Aqua Search to Geo. That's because there's a tracking device on it, but Omega quickly takes care of that.
While up on IFL Tower Dark Phantom EX is found right where he was originally fought. His card isn't particularly remarkable, just him using Phantom Claw, so I'm not quite sure why the player isn't allowed to get it until now.
Wilshire Hills Job 14: Aaron Boreal
Geo's interested in a Star Carrier upgrade that Boreal's offering, but there's still an item he needs before he can get to work: a heart that's willing to protect others. To the ends of, uh, showing our heart Boreal tests us with a quiz that I'm not going to bother transcribing because it's silly(er) (“how many vendors are there in Mess Village” and the like).
What follows is a major translation-gaffe-induced mess. Boreal says “You can have this Recovery 150!” and notes that the upgrade is complete. However, not only is there absolutely no change, but we didn't get a Recovery 150, which at least makes Geo's response of “Um, thanks.” amusing. No, Boreal's actually asking for a Recovery 150 and the only indication that something's wrong (other than not getting a reward) is that Boreal's personal page remains red. Giving him the card (he still talks as if he's giving it to you...) has him exclaim that he messed up the upgrade, but he salvages an HP Memory 20 and a Blank Card out of it. Yeesh. Hope you have better luck in the next game, Boreal.
Grizzly Peak Job 11: Rich Dotcom
Wasn't this guy arrested, what's he doing free? Okay, he probably bought his way out, but still. Luckily for the sake of my sanity, we're not actually going to help him during this sidequest. His Star Carrier message reveals that he's engaged in some insider trading, and being the upstanding sort Geo's going to report him...but first we have to “distract” Rich by striking up conversation and complementing his suit. The corporate raider sufficiently distracted, we have to haul ourselves over to Wilshire Hills to tip off Copper. Having done that, you'd probably want to head over to Grizzly Peak to see the conclusion of the job with Rich being arrested...but he's gone! No, the game wants you to exit the IFL Tower area after speaking with Copper and then return to see that Rich is magically over here now, being lead away in handcuffs by the detective. Our reward is 6000z and Rich Dotcom's undying hatred.
Grizzly Peak Job 12: Mr. Gelande
Nope, he never gets a first name. He's looking for something truly unique to add to Foodtopia. To that end we have to look at the Star Carrier of the little girl nearby who fancies herself a gourmand, and her thoughts are to included...spring water? Well, whatever works. We get a Search Eye out of it.
Loch Mess Job 5: Shudder Bugz
The TV station's cameraman is looking for a snow scene to film, and since we still have the Projecto Snoot Matter Wave it's on our shoulders to go find one. Grizzly Peak's the obvious place to go, but where in Grizzly Peak do we film? Out the window of the suite. Of course. Geo makes a terrible cameraman, but this is enough to award us with another Search Eye.
Loch Mess Job 6: Tayle Spinn
The hapless airplane pilot has been grounded by his airline. With a lot of time on his hands, he's wondering if his partner from his training days still remembers him. There's only one other guy in the game world who goes on about aeronautics, and that's Echo Ridge's RC guy. Going into his Star Carrier reveals that he's wondering what his old friend is currently up to. Reporting this to the pilot earns us some Trader Tickets for the Card Traders.
Whazzap Job 4: Wherzat
This old woman thinks she can live a thousand years by eating fish from Loch Mess. Talking to a fisherman there shows that he's had no luck because there's a Hertz who's scaring them all away. Getting him to knock it off earns us our fish, and then an HP Memory 20 from the woman back in Whazzap.
Whazzap Job 5: Lennycia
This woman's never seen snow before and wants to see something called a snow bunny. There are some we can retrieve on Grizzly Peak's ski slopes (they're little rabbits made out of snow and grass). These things seem to be resistant to melting, because it lasts long enough for us to book it back over to Whazzap and get an HP Memory 10 out of the client.
Whazzap Job 6: The Shaman
He doesn't get a name either (though I remember reading somewhere that it's supposed to be Osa Agame). He wants to learn more about the outside world so that Whazzap can keep up, so we have to steal an encyclopedia from Zack's house and give it to him. The reward is an Atomic Mine 3 *1.
There's one more job in Whazzap and another one in Loch Mess but I can't start them because they require 500 Link Power and the Auto-Brother's holding out on me. But there's still at least one thing left to do here in Whazzap. If we head on over into the first area of the ruins we'll find a familiar face: Patrick Sprigs
◊. Pat's surprised to see Geo, but quickly explains what he's doing here. After the events of the first game he decided that he had to face himself and suppress his evil split personality Rey, and the reason he's here is to have an empty, wide-open space so that if Rey takes over he can go crazy without beating people up. Not sure how psychologically healthy that is, but it's probably a better way of dealing with your split personality than shooting yourself in the mouth.
Geo's eager to help his friend out, so Pat suggests he help in the Rey suppression effort by fighting him. Not a normal fight though, but in a Wave Battle (I guess he can freely Wave Change with his former FM-ian's residual data, unlike the others). So we pulse in and trek over to the ruins' second area, where we can find Gemini Spark waiting for us.
Gemini Spark
◊
HP: 1000 each
Element: Elec
Attacks:
- Rocket Knuckle – Gemini Spark fires one of their oversized arms down one column for 100 Elec damage. If Spark Black is the only one remaining his fist will generate a three-panel-wide explosion if it hits the back row.
- Elec Sword – One of the Sparks slashes the panel in front of them with a sword that deals 100 Elec damage and paralyzes. If Spark White is the only one remaining his slash will expand to three panels wide.
- Gemini Thunder – Both Sparks leap onto the field's center panel and fire a massive blast of electricity into Geo's row that deals 150 Elec damage.
Despite the fact that their moveset remains the same this is a different battle from last game. Aside from both of the twins having HP, their AI has been given some notable tweaks. They move and attack more quickly, strike strategically, and even attack in tandem. Their favorite strategy seems to be to use Elec Sword to set up on you for either the other twin's Rocket Knuckle or Gemini Thunder. Elec Sword is probably the attack to look out for, and it's tricky to avoid since not only is it very fast (the damage seems to kick in before the animation is even half-over) but trying to sidestep will likely put you into the path of the other twin's attack. Once one twin is down the other's not difficult to take down, even with its new berserk mode.
Gemini Spark's my favorite battle in the game. It's very fun.
Winning gives us the Gemini Spark card. First Spark White fires his fist down one row, then Spark Black attacks the nearest enemy with a paralyzing sword slash.
After the battle Spark White (Pat) thanks us for the help and expresses the desire that he and Geo can one day truly be Brothers. He doesn't appear at all in Star Force 3, so sadly as far as we're concerned that never happens. He does give us Indie Frag 2 though, figuring that it'll be safe in our hands.
So before we get started on the postgame area there's one more sidequest to take care of, and that is the one triggered by putting one of the Battle Network games into the GBA slot. Doing so triggers an email from Copper, issuing a warning on behalf of the Satella Police regarding reports of corrupt, antiquated text data. The sidequest entails retrieving these bits of data, and they're scattered throughout a number of ES's. First we head back on home to Echo Ridge and access the mail box ES, where inside we find a box lying on the floor.
What's in the box? After dealing with a G virus battle we discover that it's text data of a diary, dated January XXth, and while the author isn't explicitly stated until after all the entries are read, it's very obviously Lan Hikari. Better not think too much on what the entries are doing lying around the ES's. Anyway, the first entry is pretty simple, recapping the futures of he and his friends following the timeskip at the end of Battle Network 6 using a class reunion as a framing device.
The next entry, dated March XXth, is found in the binoculars outside of IFL Tower. This one's about Chaud coming back to Electopia to receive an award for his services as an International Official. Lan describes him as still being aloof, as Chaud's attitude towards the thing being a Miles Edgeworth-esque blaiseness about the whole thing.
The July entry is next, within the Foodtopia ice sculpture ES. In this one ACDC Elementary is going to be completely renovated, and Lan's says he'll be said to see the old building get demolished. He also notes that Higsby's is also closing down. Higsby has moved on up and expanded his little battle chip shop, and is now moving to a much larger location that will be called “Higsby's Chip Emporium.”
September's entry is in the ship sunken in the loch. This one is about Lan's son, Patch, nagging him for a PET of his own. He named his Navi, which Lan made by combining programming elements of Megaman and Mayl's Roll, “Megaman Junior” and declared that he was going to be the greatest Net Battler in the world. Lan ends the entry by saying that seeing what his son becomes in the future is the greatest thing he has to look forward to as a father.
The final entry, November's, is inside of Whazzap's ammonite ES. Here Lan relates a theory he put forth at SciLab involving the power that he an Megaman tapped into during their many life-risking battles. His belief is that this power was a result of their bond, and that if people could use that power they could one day, even if it isn't in his lifetime, create a brighter future for everyone. So there you have it, the one who was ultimately behind the Brotherband and Link Power was none other than Lan Hikari!
After reading that entry we receive an email with the subject “The Future.” Here, Lan directly addresses the recipient of his diary and thanks them for reading it. He wonders if the future did turn out the way he and the rest of the Battle Network cast envisioned, and then provides an attached Mega Weapon, the BN Blaster. It's kinda useless at this point in the game, but the gesture is appreciated.
Now let's pick up that gift. To get to Vega's hideout we have to go back to the deepest part of the Bermuda Maze to where we originally fought Hollow and Rogue (there's a Guide Hertz who'll teleport us most of the way, thankfully). There we can see that there's a new teleporter, and stepping in to it brings us straight to that room inside Vega's satellite. The gift is a strange globe object called Alternate Future, and examining the wall monitors and Vega's booth yields Indie Frag 4 and the Charge Poison ability. Right back outside in the Bermuda Maze is Hollow EX, and his card attack is a variant of Magic Thunder that leaves behind paralyze panels.
Upon returning to Echo Ridge the globe suddenly starts glowing and a new teleporter appears in one of the town's far corners. A mysterious voice speaks up, chuckling to themselves that everything is going according to script. A portal has opened to “the parallel world.” That's a familiar speech pattern... Omega says he senses a strong presence on the other side of the teleporter, so in we go...
...and Geo comes out in a monochrome version of Echo Ridge. This ain't no 50s TV sitcom world, as a Hertz immediately rushes up to our hero, pleading for help. It says it's being chased by Taurus Fire, who soon catches up. Taurus Fire's more cognizant than before, seeing Geo as a tastier morsel than the Hertz. He doesn't recognize Bud's name, nor does Omega detect his wave signature. Though the boy's appetite seems to be in there, as the bull announces that he's going to eat us.
Taurus Fire IF
HP: 3200
Element: Fire
Attacks:
- Ox Tackle – Taurus Fire charges down one column for 200 Fire damage.
- Fire Breath – Taurus Fire breathes flame down one column for 180 Fire damage.
- Anger Punch – Taurus Fire appears in front of Geo and punches him for 200 damage.
- Flame Tower – Taurus Fire punches the ground, causing spurts of flame to hit random panels before him for 250 Fire damage per hit.
Welcome to the gimmick of the Star Force 2 and 3's postgame areas: boss rematches. In his IF form, which is even stronger than SP, Taurus Fire can actually be pretty threatening. Not only do every one of his attacks possess high damage-dealing capacity, but he'll start using them strategically. You do not want him under any circumstances use Fire Breath on the center column, for he'll corner you into an unavoidable Ox Tackle or Anger Punch. His HP total is gargantuan coming off of Le Mu and Gemini Spark, and we still don't have access to all of the best cards yet. Therefore you have to make every hit count and counter whenever the opportunity presents itself. I wish I had more good Aqua cards in my folder other than Avalanche. It does a lot of damage, but it still leaves 2400 HP to eat through.
Taurus Fire blows up, apologizing to someone called Apollo Flame. After he's gone Geo sees something in the sky (dunno what, since it looks perfectly normal, if a little overcast) that makes him exclaim that this can't be Echo Ridge. The Hertz corrects him by saying that it is indeed Echo Ridge, it just got recently destroyed by Apollo Flame and Mu. Recalling the strange voice, Geo theorizes that this is a parallel world where the Precursor of Ruin led to the world's destruction. The Hertz explains that Apollo Flame is an EM being that was born from Mu, and as he's currently recharging his energy Geo and Omega figure that this is there chance to defeat him before he crosses over into their world. The Hertz tells us that there's a link between this Echo Ridge and Apollo Flame's realm, and off we go.
So here we are, in Alternate Future's Alternate Echo Ridge. Despite supposedly being destroyed everything's pretty intact aside from being monochrome and not allowing us into buildings. I'm not really sure what the story with the IF bosses is supposed to be. None of them seem to recognize Megaman and none of them seem to be the same entities as the ones in the prime world. Like, did the EM beings all go evil and permanently take over the human side of the fusion, or is there no human side at all and they Wave Changed with Murian Warriors instead? I dunno, it's just never addressed beyond “alternate world!” Anyway, there is indeed another teleporter on the opposite side of the map, but first there's an ES we can access that's coming out of the bus stop for an HP Memory 10, and examining the doghouse in front of Bud's nets us the final Indie Frag. With that we get an email from a Guide Hertz explaining what they do.
What the six Indie Frags are for is unlocking a new Tribe Form variant called Rogue Form. By deleting all your real Brothers and equipping the six Indie Frags the Indie Proof is automatically added to the folder. Like the Star Force, selecting it in battle transforms you into your original Tribe's Rogue Form. Aside from a Rogue-themed paint job, Rogue Form exchanges the Tribe's elemental card boost for a boost to sword cards, gives you a recolored Big Bang, the ability to nullify an opponent's Mega Attack ability in linked play, and the Mu Rejection barrier, which blocks one attack and regenerates after you move around a bit. In exchange you lose the ability to use Brother cards and Mega cards (I guess those count as summoning friends?). Not something I plan on using.
With that out of the way, after some card collecting from the stronger viruses (they can hit pretty hard, actually), it's to the teleporter where we will pick up next time in Apollo Flame's realm.
Virus Listing
- Bom
- Bom viruses harmlessly move from side to side for a while before spazzing out and dashing down a row. Upon hitting the front of the field they generate a 3 x 2 explosion so you want to bait them to the side when they attack. Fire attacks instantly delete them.
- Air Squiggle
- Air Squiggles shoot tornadoes down one column, with added effects depending on the terrain (shoots additional ice shards on ice panels, heals other viruses on grass, etc.).
Soundtrack
- Requiem of Ruin
- The BGM of the future.
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