The Mega(man) Battle Network LP!

Hallelujah.




Good luck harnessing nature's kindness and channeling her ferocity with Wood Soul!

Required Chip Element: Wood
Charge Shot: Twister Shot (10 Damage, eight hits)
Features: HP regeneration on Grass panels and Status Guard (immunity to paralysis and confusion). Also, all Grass chips gain the effect of BN3's Gaia Sword/Blade Mega chips, though they can only absorb damage from Null chips.

Wood Soul is a solid meh. It's charge shot is as situational as ever, and its two passive abilities (HP Regen on Grass and Status Guard) aren't really that useful in-game.

Probably the biggest problem with Wood Soul is that its main showstopper, Gaia, has been so significantly nerfed since BN3 that it's pretty much worthless. See, in BN3 there were a bunch of super powerful chips that required specific positioning to be used, such as Slasher, No Beam, and Mine. Gaia Sword/Blade ignored the requirements of those chips and just took their attack power. In BN4, however, Wood Soul's Gaia is restricted to Null chips only, and the only Null chips that come close to the power of BN3's situational chips are Mega and Giga chips.

So how should you use this Soul?

Well, you want strong Wood chips and a lot of Null chips. I honestly can't think of a folder code off the top of my head that applies to this, but I'm sure there's something.

Final Thoughts

Wood Soul is probably a lot more useful in player versus player matches, as there you'll actually run the risk of being paralyzed. With that said though, in-game it's just a mediocre Soul.



Healing and strategy coexist harmoniously in Roll Soul.

Required Chip Element: Recovery
Charge Shot: Roll Arrow (30 damage, breaks any chips target is carrying)
Features: 10% HP heal when any chip is used.

First off, I'd like to establish that Roll Soul is not a combat soul. It is utterly worthless for that usage, as its only offensive ability is a piece of crap. However, Roll Soul's other ability more than makes up for that, and explains a lot about why Roll Soul only gets two things to do.

There's something you have to understand about the 10% heal: it goes off every time a chip is used. It doesn't matter if the chip doesn't hit and it doesn't matter if the chip doesn't work, as long as the A button was pressed, Megaman will heal. With a good folder, Megaman can heal large chunks of HP every turn, which both saves money (Full Energies are pretty expensive), space in your folder (besides Roll Soul and recovery chips, the only way to heal in battle is by standing on special panels with certain Souls), and time (survival battles are a joke with Roll Soul).

To put it another way, while Roll Soul sucks at deleting things, it aboslutely excels at keeping Megaman alive. This is a good thing in BN4, where multiple round battles and random Omega navi encounters are a fact of life.

So how should you use this Soul?

All you need to use Roll Soul is one Recovery chip, and a lot of them come in * code. Just toss one in your folder and call it a day.

Final Thoughts

Roll Soul is pretty damn great, and is always worth a space in your folder for.

Still, Megaman looks ridiculous.

Wood Soul looks ridiculous compared to the other souls so far. It looks like Megaman is in a robot tree stump. I like Roll Souls outfit but the four antenna on the helmet look dumb.

Wood Soul reminds me of Marco from Radiant Historia and therefore I cannot possibly hate it.

Wood Soul is supposed to be the union of Woodman and Megaman's souls.

And, well, look at Woodman. Honestly, Megaman should just be thankful he still has a head.

I think RollSoul was handled well, actually; It looks more feminine than Megaman and gives him Roll's defining feature, the antennae.

Mayl's scenario in general could've been handled a lot better. If they wanted to show us that Roll wants to be able to protect both herself and Megaman, and not rely on him, why not subvert things a little? Instead of Roll getting kidnapped, Glide and Roll could be attacked. Glide runs away, but as we reach Park3, Roll would still be fighting. The scenario would then proceed with Lan getting the key from, I dunnow, the Yakuza member who wanted to kidnap Roll, and then both Megaman and Roll fighting together - as equals.
It just seems to me that having Roll kidnapped, and then having her "prove" her power by playing tag, is really stupid. What, did they force them to throw in a minigame for every scenario?

Another thing I forgot to mention in my update about DarkChips, which I'm pretty sure Blitz hasn't mentioned: You cannot use normal navi chips in Dark mode. They vanish on use, like trying to use an Atk+10 alone. Here's another point in favour of high-karma, then!

Eh, it's not like Roll has ever been that competent. It's just consistent characterization. Roll's scenario's main flaw, if you ask me, is Roll's random decision to go play tag with Megaman. While Mayl is worried sick about her. And right before a tournament match.

Yeah, way to go Roll.

Adding to the list of Low Karma restrictions, I've read they actually can't use Gun Del Sol chips. Or Barrier chips, but who uses those?

EDIT: List of problems with Roll's scenario:

1. Dialogue at the beginning implies that the battle should happen on the very first round (Mayl notes she sped through the prelims), yet it can happen on any round. Topman's scenario had the same problem.

2. Roll is apparently incapable of taking down a Normal navi. She also forgot that she could jack out.

3. Roll did not use her new super speed to run away.

4. Roll's ability to control viruses both comes out of nowhere and implies that viruses have a sex drive.

5. Roll somehow moves from Park 3 to an offline teddy bear computer. She does this without giving Mayl a heads up.

6. Roll's special ability is supposed to be that she moves fast. There's another navi (Sparkman) who moves much, much faster. We can technically fight him before Roll.

So I reread your BN6 LP and noticed you said the Stream season of the anime never existed. I never watched anything beyond what came out here in the US. So why does that season suck?

The Stream season focused heavily on Axess' Cross Fusion gimmick, moving the series away from the Net and towards something like Super Sentai.

More than that though, the episodes were very formulaic. Let me just summarize about 75% of the Steam episodes: Duo and Slur see some random person making a wish they obviously don't intend to fulfill, Duo and Slur grant said random person a powerful (and usually evil) Asteroid Navi to allow them to fulfill their wish, the heroes must stop them. Rinse, wash, and repeat.



Suddenly, a voice calls out Lan’s name. Suitably freaked out, Lan asks who said that.



The voice shouts Lan’s name again.







I love how this guy’s falling animation makes it look like he’s posing next to Lan. Way to go with that shadow guys.






FYI, that’s a guy.



“That” is a little rude, don’t you think?



The man chuckles that he’ll tell Lan.

Viddy angrily demands to know why Lan reacted like he did.





Viddy reveals he wanted to ask Lan for a favor.




Viddy notes that what he’s asking is crazy, but he’s got a reason.



A really stupid reason that shouldn’t convince anyone. What, is Videoman, a program, sick? If by some miracle he is, why the hell is he even in this tournament?

By the way, Sad Rain is playing. Because clearly a stupid scene like this deserves that.



Lan doesn’t react.




Um… okay?



Lan’s response is appropriate.



Or it would be if the translators hadn’t suddenly dozed off.



Do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound?

Viddy decides to bury Videoman at a “bright and cheerful place in the Net”.



[supersecretspoiler] He’s talking about Park 1[/supersecretspoiler]

Viddy asks his navi to get going.



Sad Rain stops as Viddy leaves.



Nothing? I mean, if (and that’s a pretty big if) Videoman kills himself it’s a free win.



Unfortunately, Lan’s back to his usual character.

Megaman agrees with Lan and recommends they follow Viddy.





The writers apparently assumed players had a three second attention span.



So they repeat Viddy’s hint.



By that logic, ACDC 3 should be ACDC 1.

You look healthy.



*sigh*

Viddy cheers that he knew Lan and Megaman would come.



You know, how did Viddy learn about Lan anyways?




Lan warns Megaman to be careful.










Oh great, another guy who can’t accept critics.

Viddy commands Videoman to knock Megaman out.



Er, Megaman? Maybe you should jack out.



See, even Lan says so!

The screen flashes.



So if Videoman can do this, why did Viddy even bother trying to cheat?



I though Viddy was the writer.





The screen flashes again. Lan asks if Megaman is feeling okay.






I think Videoman meant to say “play”, not “pause”.



Yup.

The screen flashes one more time. Videoman taunts Megaman.



Megaman agrees, but when he tries to run at Videoman he ends up running backwards.



Again, if Videoman can do this, why did Viddy try to cheat? I mean, he made it to the final round and couldn’t have done this with his other two matches or else those guys would have accused him of cheating.

This is one of those scenarios that makes more sense if it happens in the first round.





Thanks for telling us this.

Again, thanks for telling us this.




Videoman jacks out. Megaman tries to stop him, but he just ends up going backwards.






There’s one major flaw in Viddy’s plan, and I admit it’s possibly a programming error. See, while Megaman’s controls on the overworld are flipped, his controls in battle are the same. So really, Megaman can just go battle Videoman anyways and he’ll win. There’s another scenario that does something like this as well, and it falls into the same problem: the “limitation” placed on Megaman isn’t really a limitation.

Alright, time to talk about the main part of this scenario‘s minigame.



These things. If you step on one…




You get sent back to the beginning of the area.

These nuisances are set all over the areas with the Volumes. All of said areas are public property. So while what Videoman and Viddy did to Megaman might technically be legal, the obstacles they set certainly aren’t. But of course, like always, the Officials never show up to do their job.



Wow, doesn’t that look fun?

The screen flashes one last time. Lan asks if it worked.





Man, what’s up with the time in these scenarios? Seriously, I finished this minigame in about half the time it took to finish Flave’s, yet Lan’s running low on time?

The screen cuts to the castle.




Seems five minutes is the standard.

Mami wonders what happened to Lan.




Viddy turns to his PET.





Okay, this conversation only makes sense if it was the final round. Yet Viddy’s whole plan only makes sense if this was the first round. This scenario makes no freaking sense.

Either Videoman has multiple personalities, or Viddy was supposed to say the second line.





I don’t think it was your video quality that was degrading.






Well at least these two get along.



So while Lan should probably hustle over to the castle, there’s something I need to do first.






Woodman’s chip has him do a super jump. This will cause wood pillars to shoot out of random panels on the enemy field, with at least one enemy always being hit.

Viddy asks exactly how much time is left.





Way to doom yourself.








I think Megaman was supposed to say that.

Lan skates to his place and shouts Viddy’s name.





Pfft.





I don’t know why Videoman’s outline is green.

What the he-




Mami apologizes.






God, are you a cameraman, an editor, or a director?





Videoman is an interesting, yet easy battle. As you can see, both front columns have videotape over them. If Megaman touches a piece of the tape, he’ll be sent back a panel. The videotape has low enough HP to be taken down by the buster, but it’ll eventually regenerate. Really, the main purpose of these things is to block chip attacks.



Videoman’s main attack is forming a 2 by 2 roll of tape in Megaman’s area. This thing can hit up to three times.



Videoman can also use footage of Megaman to hit you with either a Wide Sword or a Tornado.




Videoman has two “chip” moves: Fast Forward and Rewind. While Fast Forward speeds up Videoman’s movement, Rewind (Videoman’s desperation move) slowly regenerates Videoman’s HP. Incidentally, Videoman’s color will change depending on which one he used; if he used Rewind he’ll turn blue, if he used Fast Forward he’ll turn orange.

There are two important things to note about these two moves: Videoman has to use Fast Forward before he can use Rewind, and while Fast Forward eventually fades, Rewind won‘t.



As a final note, Gun Del Sol chips decimate Videoman.



Fittingly, I delete Videoman with the very move he filmed Megaman using.

What happened to that friendship from earlier?

Viddy admonishes Mami for yelling before agreeing to leave. But before he can, Lan calls out to him.



“Acting out”? What part of this was scripted?



Another missing question mark.



This line is the best part of this scenario.




So where do Dark Chips fall in all of this? Because in another universe, you’re totally abusing them.




Viddy runs out. And by run, I mean he briskly walks away.





…What?





What about pyrrhic victories?

The crowd cheers.





A familiar NPC walks over.





Congratulations.




Already was.









The crowd cheers again. Meanwhile, Lan walks to the elevator.

He didn’t let it get to him last awards ceremony.






This is the narrator.



This is an unnamed character. Don’t mistake the two.






Er, Megaman destroyed that.








Having seen Castillo’s security in action, I’m not really surprised by this.

Incident pops up (Count: 9).





Lan warns Megaman to stay alert. He then apparently notices that something’s wrong with Megaman.






Megaman warns Lan someone is coming.




Wait, was Laserman the one who was talking to Lan just now? How’d he do that if he wasn’t here?





For a “Mighty Leader Navi from the dark world”, you don’t seem to be very well acquainted with Megaman, the four time hero of the Net.




Are gigantic egos a necessary requirement for Battle Network villains?

What.





Having finished this game and BN5, I can honestly say that Nebula is the worst attempt at moral relativity ever.







I present to you one of the major villains of the game.





Are you seriously defending viruses? Also, yet another mistake involving the word “virus”.



His role as a navi?



*sigh*

So, who’s up for something completely random?




Seriously, wasn’t the elevator broken?



What.

Aquaman declares he’ll fight alongside Megaman.





Alright, time for more randomness.





Hey Aquaman, maybe you should shoot Laserman or something.



A shadow erupts out of Megaman.

The Dark Soul rushes into Aquaman.




Yet another missing question mark.



Aquaman, I kicked your Omega form’s ass just a few updates ago.








So, DS Navis. They’re pretty much the same as the Alpha (maybe Beta) form of the Navi, with one key difference.



Like Megaman’s Berserker mode, DS Navis use the chips you’ve used, preferring the ones you’ve used the most.



This can be a problem.



Also, DS Navis share Megaman’s Navi Customizer.

No, seriously, what the heck are you saying?

Aquaman cries out in pain.



The Dark Soul returns to Megaman.




You say that like it’s some kind of life changing fact.



No, I’m pretty sure you’re in the wrong here. I mean, you did just threaten to kill a stadium of innocents.



Oh God, don’t tell me you’re taking him seriously.



I thought you already could.

Laserman decides to leave.




Whatever, just go.



Laserman finally leaves.






Aquaman jacks out. Lan recommends Megaman to do the same.

You mean when Laserman forcefully ripped out your Dark Soul and implanted it inside Aquaman.




Unless Laserman stalks you, I doubt that.










Did you just repeat yourself?

Next time: Since we’ve already had the transitional Nebula segment, let’s move on to the next tournament.

Current Folder

Cannon * x2
Heat Shot C x4
Wide Shot 1 C x4
Sword S
Wide Sword S x2
Long Sword S
Air Hockey 1 F x4
Air Hockey 3 V
Area Grab S
Blinder *
Invisible * x4 - REGULAR
Attack +10 * x4
Gun Del Sol EX G

Total codes (not counting * code): 5

"Oh, this guy is called Laserman, he must be a pretty neat Robot Master!"

forty seconds later

"Lasers are now lame, and it's ALL YOUR FAULT LASERMAN"

Yeah, that would be my guess.




Mr. Match comes inside.



Lan asks if Match meant his face. When Match says no, he asks whose:

A custom sprite walks inside.





Here's another terribly obvious error for those keeping count.



I hate this guy already.