The first MegaMan Battle Network is not only an Obvious Beta, but it was still trying to figure out how to hash out the world itself. The Updated Re-release, Operate Shooting Star, removes some of them by incorporating features from later games.
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Combat
- In this game and 2, the Navi Customizer doesn't exist. Upgrading MegaMan instead involves purchasable Powerups that permanently upgrade the MegaBuster.
- Folder building balance is much different than all later games. The only chip types are normal and Navi, you can have up to 10 copies of a single non-Navi chip in your folder, there is no Regular Chip system (and thus no MB values for chips), and there's no * code to act as a wildcard and allow more build flexibility. You can also have duplicate Navi Chips, though you're restricted to 5 copies of a specific one and can only have a total of 10. Battle Network 2 lowers the normal chip limit to 5, while later games would further refine the limit to 4 (and establish the Mega and Giga divisions) until the final entry.
- You are only given one chip folder for the entirety of the game. Battle Network 2 would introduce multiple folders, giving you a maximum of three editable folders. From Battle Network 3 onwards, one folder slot is dedicated to an "extra folder" with a fixed selection of chips.
- Your maximum custom screen capacity is 15. While your opening hand starts at 5, the "Add" function lets you, at the cost of fighting with no chips for a round, temporarily increase capacity by 5 for the next round. Adding a second time in a row pushes to the cap of 15, but it all resets once you stop Adding. The Add function would be reworked into a Card Cycling mechanic with more lasting perks in the second and third games.
- No enemy has more than 1000 HP, which is also MegaMan's maximum HP. Most bosses' HP only increases by 100 for each "upgraded" version, whereas other games feature more drastic HP increases. For example, ElecMan's HP in the first Battle Network goes from 600 (normal) to 700 (V2) to 800 (V3), while ElecMan's HP in Battle Network 6 goes from 900 (normal) to 1400 (EX) to 1800 (SP).
- Enemies (especially enemy Navis) become faster as the series goes on. In the first couple of games, the flinch that enemy Navis perform when they take a heavy hit is exaggerated and they only remain in Mercy Invincibility state for a few seconds (if even that); by 4, their flinching and Mercy Invincibility lasts about as long as MegaMan's.
- You can buy Elemental Armors that halve all damage that isn't from the armor's elemental weakness. No similar equipment system exists in later games.
- Paralysis is handled differently; when hit by an Elec attack, MegaMan will spasm and keep taking damage anytime he moves. Later games would make it so that the status causes the target to be stunned for a few seconds without triggering Mercy Invincibility.
- Escaping battles can only be done with the Escape chip. 2 introduces the L button as an Escape Battle Technique that you can always attempt (with a chance to fail) but retains the chip (which guarantees escape), while the third game onward removes the chip completely.
- There is After-Combat Recovery, where MegaMan will recover all of his HP after every battle. The only exception is the Power Plant, where the lack of recovery is part of the dungeon gimmick.
- Single-virus random encounters are extremely common. The player cannot obtain a Busting Level above 9 in these fights, since S-Ranking random encounters requires multiple viruses to be deleted in a single attack.
- Slot in Sword, WideSword, and LongSword in that order and, instead of creating the signature LifeSword Program Advance, the player gains access to "BetaSword" (B-Sword). Beta and Sigma Program Advances, which let the player activate one of their component chips (chosen at random) 6 and 9 times, only exist in this game.
- PA's in general are much more downplayed than in later games. Only a few NPC's give vague hints about them. They aren't required at all, and most bosses can be beaten fairly easily without them. A player can easily go through the whole game without having any idea they exist.
- RockCube in this game places three random cubes onto the battlefield. RockCube from Battle Network 2 onward takes its behavior from IceCube, a chip exclusive to this game, which places a single cube in front of MegaMan.
- The chips Mine, BubbleWrap, and what would later be known as Tornado are all claimed from viruses in this game and have three versions. Later games give them one version with no virus counterpart.
- The artwork for Guard and its variants usually depict an attack bouncing off of a Mettaur's helmet. Here, it is just a sprite version of the Mettaur's official art, not showing anything about how the chip works. Additionally, the chip merely prevents damage here, unlike later games where hitting a Guard will trigger a shockwave counter-attack.
- The Recov chip series are time-freezing chips in this game, a property that they don't have in other games.
- The MegaBuster has a second, stronger version of the Charge Shot that later games lack.
- Bass's NaviChip was only given away at Japanese events. Instead, Bass drops LifeAura upon being defeated. Battle Network 2 gives Bass a normal 3-chip series, while Battle Network 3 through Battle Network 6 each have two version exclusive GigaChips.
- While still capable of hitting multiple enemies, ProtoMan's Navi Chip only attacks once on the nearest opponent instead of warping in front of every enemy to attack.
- Many chips have slightly different damage values. In particular, ShockWav deals 60 damage and SonicWav deals 80, making them a bit of a Disc-One Nuke; later games bumped their damage down by 20 to put them more in line with other early-game chips.
- When dealing damage with screen-dimming chips, the HP values don't change to reflect damage taken until after the attack is done.
Exploration
- The main internet area looks very different than it did in later games — it's a mostly-incomprehensible maze with few chip salesmen scattered all over and no real pattern to distinguish areas, whereas later games are much more orderly with the layouts and differentiate the regions better. Indeed, because the first game has the same background for all parts of the Internet, it's impossible at a glance to tell the difference between the "regular" Internet and the Undernet. To make matters worse, the PET interface doesn't even tell the player which area they are in, something that is added in Battle Network 2.
- Chip Traders are vulnerable to Save Scumming. Later games implement an autosave whenever you use one specifically to prevent this.
- Most of the Mystery Data you find in the net draw randomly from their possible reward pool, regardless of color. You can even save-scum those rewards without needing to jack out and in again. Only a few instances are once-only rewards with fixed locations and yield. The second game onwards standardizes the behavior of each color of mystery data. Additionally, locked Mystery Data does not exist yet.
- There are no Sub Chips. While the After-Combat Recovery means that there is no use for out-of-combat healing, other Sub Chips like SneakRun (which lower enemy encounters) and LocEnemy (which attempts to force the last encounter to repeat) have no equivalents here.
- Opening up Internet areas starts off a little complex. There are two key items that are required to unlock gated parts of the Internet areas; the "/" items are keys that simply open up Internet area entrances (normally given through story progression or defeating the owner in a boss fight), while the "@" items (obtained from the owner's respective PCs) link those PCs with the Internet areas, but they can only be activated by entering from a different PC and then unlock the portals from there. Later games just gate new areas and shortcuts simply through story progression and mandatory fetch quests.
Other
- There is a general willingness to be more sexually explicit in the early games. In the first game, you can walk in on Mayl changing clothes or discover Dex has a Porn Stash.
- There are some notable characterization differences. Lan is much snarkier than his later Idiot Hero self, being not at all thrilled to have Mayl drag him to school so she can chat about the plot. He also mocks Dex's boasts about taking on WWW viruses. Yai is more helpful, occasionally giving hints to Lan and has the ability to show gratitude instead of bragging about her superiority.
- Dex refers to GutsMan as a commercial model, implying that he's not the only owner of GutsMan out there.
- Viruses are not named during battles, and Ms. Mari calls the Mettaurs "Mettools", as in the Classic series. Viruses that never appear again in later installments have their names only mentioned in the artbook.
- The dungeons have unique panel designs that match the theme of the dungeon. With the introduction of various panel types from 2 onwards, the basic panel design is standardized across the entire cyberworld. Broken panels were also depicted as completely empty, while later games made a distinction between broken panels and blank panels (mainly that the latter is unrepairable and unaffected by panel-stealing chips).
- If MegaMan is deleted in battle, he explodes into energy orbs just like his Classic counterpart. In later games, he flinches, turns completely white, then pixelates out of existence.
- Lan's catchphrase prior to sending MegaMan into Cyberworld is "Jack-in!! MegaMan.EXE, transmit!" Every other game shortens it to "Jack-in!! MegaMan, Execute!".
- In Japan, this is the only mainline game whose jack-in animation isn't a representation of the Navi flying through cyberspace, instead featuring an abstract animation of data rings surrounding a blue crystal. Outside of Japan, space issues forced Battle Network 2 to use a similarly-abstract animation while Battle Network 3's is cut entirely, meaning that the international games didn't see a "traditional" jack-in animation until Battle Network 4.
- There is no Boss Rush against the villain Navis towards the end of the story. The final dungeon recycles the puzzles from the previous dungeons (something that isn't done again until Battle Network 6) and each part of the computer ends with allied Navis using their abilities to help the heroes to proceed.
- The final boss doesn't even have an overworld sprite, instead being represented by a purple electric ball.
- While other NPCs are no stranger to using random objects with jack-in ports which act as their homepage entry points like Miyu's handheld mirror, Lan's friends outside of Dex who has his own PC also use non-computer shaped objects such as Mayl's piano and Yai's framed portrait. The later games have them switch to using computers instead so it's more clear what to jack-in to.
- The ruthlessness and intensity of the WWW operators and their schemes is much more extreme than their Lighter and Softer appearances in the anime and later games informed by it, which can be a jarring experience for anyone who discovered them through the cartoon.
- Unlike other evil NetNavis, StoneMan.EXE from 1 does not have a full scenario and instead serves as a Mini-Boss.
- In the first game, some plot-important NPCs, like Dr. Froid's son, use generic sprites. From the second game onward, human NPCs connected to the plot always have unique sprites.
- Postgame bosses in general are more discreet than their later incarnations, as they don't even have cutscenes dedicated to them. PharaohMan and ShadowMan appear like a V2 navi ghost, but only after MegaMan collects enough Powerups and HP Memories. Bass straight up appeared as a random encounter once his requirements are fulfilled.
