The Mega(man) Battle Network LP!

NPC 2: Within the WaterGod is an endless laby | rinth from which no one returns.
NPC 3: Oh boy…



Voice: We should send him.

Paulie walks into the scene.

NPC 3: The Champion? | Who is it this year, anyway?
Paulie: It’s that Electopian over there.
NPC 3: Huh?! | Really?
Lan: Yep. It’s me…

The NPCs plead Lan to fix the system. Lan asks if he even has a choice.



Hah.

Paulie: We’re history without the river.
NPC 3: Paulie’s right. | Our village depends on the river’s water for its livelihood. | Please!!



Unless these guys are farmers, I don’t see why they depend on water.

NPC 3: Then you’ll do it?
Lan: I’ll do it to save your village. | Should I jack into that big statue?
NPC 3: Hold on… | First you must go get the program for fixing the WaterGod.
Lan: Where would that be?
NPC 3: The NetFricaArea of the Internet.

Why would you put something as important as that on the Net?

NPC 3: To get the program “RecvrDrp”, you need a key, | wisdom, and strength. I already have the | key, so here it is.



NPC 3: You must provide the wisdom and strength. | Within the WaterGod is a labyrinth. | Remain calm and proceed slowly. | We’re counting on you, young Champion.





In other words, quiz time!

How may houses are there in NetFrica? 3 4 5
How many tusks does Nupopo have? 2 3 4
What’s the Attack of the BattleChip “Boomer1”? 40 50 60
The NetFrica youth club leader wears what color clothes? White Green Blue
How many big, round squares are there in the Netopia Area? 20 21 22



Guess what happens.





Alright, the Water God. It’s one gigantic warp point maze. We start in Water God Computer 1 and need to get to Water God Computer 16. Unfortunately, there’s no formula for the warps; where each of them lead to is arbitrarily decided.

One possible path is 1 - 5 - 3 - 2 - 13 - 10 - 8 - 16.



Unfortunately, Capcom decided that having a completely random warp maze wasn’t annoying enough. In rooms 4, 5, 7, 8, and 15 are the remains of fallen navis.



For no well explained reason, vengeful navi ghosts jump out of the remains to attack Megaman with viruses. These battles can not be skipped, and the number of rounds is equal to the number of navi bodies. Naturally, room 8 (the only room that leads to 16) has the most with five navi corpses.



Every single room has a BMD. Most hold 100 Z, but rooms 9, 12, and 16 have a Full Energy, Full Custom *, and 10,000 Z respectively. If you wanted to know, the path to room 9 is 1 - 5 - 3 - 11 - 9, and the path to room 12 is 1 - 5 - 3 - 2 - 13 - 10 - 8 - 12.



Megaman: The River Management System may be near.

This is the only hint the game gives you, and you get it when you’re literally one room away from the end.



I don’t know why Megaman is so surprised. He heard this before coming in and in the room before already knew about its existence. I‘m just going to assume bad translation.

Lan: It’s h-huge…! But now is no time for being impressed! | MegaMan, you must purify the system!
MegaMan: Roger!

Narration: Just as MegaMan touched the River Management System, | a virus broke out!



Cue five round battle.



Didn’t you already know this before you even started the fight?

Lan: Quick, MegaMan, use “RecovrDrp”!!
MegaMan: Roger!

I wasn’t kidding last game when I said that a lot of Lan and Megaman’s dialogue is “MegaMan, do X!” “Roger!”



By the way, why is the control system for a vitally important computer at the back of a giant maze filled with ghosts? Seems like it would make repair jobs a bit difficult.



Lan congratulates Megaman and notes that the water has come back.

I have no idea how the Water God works, but it seems to just make water magically appear.



The NPCs celebrate and thank Lan.



It was throwing zombies at us. How is that help?

NPC 3: Ha ha ha… I like you. | Hey, Paulie, why don’t you… | Where’d he get to now? He’s hopeless.
Lan: I bet he headed back to the Colosseum!
MegaMan: Lan, we’d better get back there quick!!
Lan: Oh man! We better hurry! | Sorry, we gotta run!
NPC 3: Thank you, young man. | May the WaterGod watch over you.

So I’d like to detail the list of things Lan has to do to get back to Netopia.



First he must ride this ostrich back to the airport. Then he has to go through all of airport security before waiting for his plane to take off.



Then he has to fly across the world. After landing, he has to go through airport security again before taking the Metro to whatever town the Colosseum is in.



He can still get to the match on time.



Looks who’s here. According to Yai, the ACDC trio flew over to Netopia on Yai‘s private jet to go cheer for Lan.

Music: Player Entrance



Anyone know what that sign says? Because it wasn’t translated due to laziness.

Boss: Ladies and gentlemen!! | Let’s have them enter the arena!!! | Representing NetFrica, Paulie!! | And over here, representing Elecopia, Lan.

I love how Paulie gets two exclamation marks while Lan just gets a period.



Lan: Now you can focus on the battle.
Paulie: I don’t like you… | This battle’s mine!
Lan: What’s with you? Was it something I did?



Paulie: I’m gonna beat you and become no. 1!
Lan: Paulie…



Jammer: We’re the best in our village!

Music: Battle Pressure



Nothing new here.

Music: Journey of Determination



Boss: Lan wins!!
Paulie: Lost… again. | That’s the third time we lost to you.

Music: None

Lan: …Huh? > Third time? | But we’ve only competed against you | just now and in the WaterGod Quest.
Paulie: You also deleted the viruses I planted.

As surprised as I am to see “viruses” being used correctly, is now really the best time to talk about this?

Lan: What? You were the one who did that?!
Paulie: Yep. I planted the viruses.
Lan: But why?! | You almost wiped out your village.

And cut off a major source of water to a lot of NetFrica, don’t forget that.

Paulie: I wanted everyone to see how strong I am. | You see, I’m the best viruses buster in my | village, but nobody accepts me because I’m just a kid.

You do realize the person you’re talking to is far more justified to complain about that, right?

Paulie: If I’d have become Champion, they’d have finally accepted me.

Couldn’t you have just waited a few years instead of sabotaging a vital natural resource?



I don’t see how it’s Lan’s fault that Jammer was too brain dead to grab the mask he could clearly see.

Lan: And that’s why you planted the viruses.
Paulie: I didn’t think you’d beat those viruses. | I thought no one except Jammer and I | could. We were supposed to be the heroes.



NPC 3, who apparently followed Lan here, walks up. I don’t know how, considering there’s supposed to be security, but eh.



Paulie: …Uh-oh.
NPC 3: Exile for all who harm the WaterGod!!
Lan: W-w-wait a sec! | Isn’t that a bit drastic?! I mean, the | river’s back to normal and all…
NPC 3: Still, Paulie broke the village law!



What?



What?

Lan: I’ll return the title of Champion, | so please forgive him!

I think this scene is supposed to be heartwarming, with Lan giving up the honor of being the village champion to help a friend out, but the way it’s translated it makes it sound like Lan cheated during the Water God Quest or stole the title or something like that.

NPC 3: ……… | If the village savior feels so strongly, we cannot refuse.



BattleNetwork4.png

NPC 3: Paulie, you should be grateful to Lan.

Music: Journey of Determination

Paulie: …I am. | And I’m sorry for what I’ve done. There are others yet | stronger than me.
NPC 3: Right. The world’s vast, and you’re | still so young. Learn new things, meet new people. | But don’t rush it.
Lan: Oh, I almost forgot!



NPC 3: Try me.
Lan: Please redo the WaterGod Quest, this | time without me. After all, I resigned the Champion title.

Pretty sure that should be “returned”

NPC 3: We could do that.
Lan: Go get ‘em, Paulie!
Paulie: …Thanks, Lan. | I’ll try hard to become big and strong. | Will you battle me again once I do?
Lan: Sure, anytime!



NPC 3: We must get back for the WaterGod Quest.
Paulie: OK!! | Lan, thank you!



Paulie leaves, never to be seen again.



He already left.

Lan: I sure hope that happens, too!

Inside the Net Battle Machine is a Spin Pink.



Check out those blue flames. Seems a little dangerous to me.

*Insert end of round speech*



Oh God, I get the two stupidest scenarios right after each other.

Next time: A complete violation of previously established Battle Network canon.

Current Folder

Heat Shot C x4
Wide Shot 1 C x4
Twin Fang 1 C x3
Magnet Bolt 1 C x4
Variable Sword V x3
Air Hockey 1 F x3
Air Hockey 3 V
Blinder *
Invisible * x2 - REGULAR
Attack +10 * x3
Full Custom *
Gun Del Sol EX G

Total codes (not counting * code): 4

Alright, finished the new card.



Now to mark all the boxes applicable and...



Huh. You know, I think the goal with this Bingo card is to not get Bingo.

I believe the sign says "Ganbare," but it's sort of hard to tell. "Go For It" would be pretty much the same in English.

PROTOMAN!!!

Ahh 2x Hero how I enjoy that PA.

Hmm... Maybe multi-round virus battle should have been one of the Bingo spots.

It is.

What!? That wasn't there the last time I looked...

That's kind of odd, considering I edited that post eleven minutes before you made your's.

I don't remember seeing the unmarked version. Maybe I hadn't refreshed since then or was looking at the first unmarked version before today's update.

Of course, there's also the distinct possibility that I wasn't really paying attention.

Is it okay to have Mugshot Error in two spots? Anyhow my favorite spot is "Lan's skill is questioned".

I have Mugshot Error in two spots?

*checks*

...Fffffff-

Music: PET Screen



Er, no. I wanted Shadowman, not a mercenary ninja/hedgehog.



Music: Theme of ShadowMan.EXE



I forgot to mention it, but all of the navis jack themselves in. It’s really very silly.



Music: Life in the Network



For no real reason beyond “He’s a ninja!”, Shadowman holds a hand in front of his face while moving.

Music: Battlefield



Shadowman’s two exclusive overrides are Anti Damage and a temporary Invisible. Both are completely useless because Shadowman does not seem to understand the concept of dodging while charging, but the temporary Invisible is just stupidly terrible in that it also drains Custom.

But I must admit that Anti Damage is very good when it comes to enemies that don’t move around much. It’s totally pointless at its intended purpose though; unless you have precognition, there’s no way you can order Shadowman to start the charge so once he finishes he can dodge an attack.

Alright, that’s enough overview. Time to skip ahead.



With the Silver Ticket I got for winning a tournament, I can access Net 5 and beyond. For some intensely stupid reason though, until I get a S License I must win the tournament again and again every time I want to go deep into the Net.



The boss for this… um… mission? Whatever. The boss is hidden here in this corner.



We haven’t gotten to this boss in the BN4 LP yet so I purposefully took an image of him while he was flashing white, but you can probably tell who he is from the silhouette alone.



I will say this though: this boss is pretty ridiculous in BN4, but in this game he‘s just insanely hard in the stupidest way possible.



I never did get any e-mail for this mailbox, but I would assume its existence means Shadowman gets HP the same way Protoman does.

Current Folder

Cannon x3
Air Shot x3
Vulcan 1 x3
Heat Shot x3
Thunder 1 x3
Wide Sword x2
Crack Out x2
Recover 10 x3
Recover 50
Area Grab
Barrier x2
Attack +10
Roll
Gutsman
Numberman

Next time: Knightman I guess.

Hooray, I'm caught up!

Good grief, this game is ridiculous. Why are there so many tournaments, anyway?

Because they wrapped up the story in 3 basically and couldn't figure out where to go from there. Which is why I'm surprised they stopped the Star Force series at 3, since that was pretty much the same deal there too.

Actually, BN3 left the "Chosen One" thing, the fact that Bass revived but gained amnesia, Mamoru in general, and Serenade and the Undernet as sequel hooks. All of these but one were dropped, and the only one they kept was very badly executed.

Okay, real life business is just about done for the next seven months or so. Let's start.


(it is at this point that fans of the series should be either squealing with fanboy/girlish delight or squealing for the fact that I am about to get what is probably the best soul in both games)


Megaman answers that, and I quote, "I did some homework", and apparently all the navis he talked to told him to withdraw if he values his life.

Nevermind that this is the first round and we didn't have any way to know the pairings beforehand.


Lan says that Searchman can't be as vicious as the rumors say, and he doubts he'll do anything crazy. He and Megaman then decide to go outside for a bit before the match.


*facepalm*

Upon leaving the ruins area...

Spider sense tingling!





That's right; Lan can sense hostile intent now. Shame he forgot to do so back during BN1-3, and forgot all about the ability in the next games, as it could've helped him avoid some sticky situations!

Lan is surprised that greenhair knows his name.



Anybody who knows why being Lan's opponent would be of any assistance in recognizing who Lan is, speak up now! My personal theory is that the Sharo military noticed that there is a kid who single-handedly stopped two terrorist organizations thrice total, and did research on him.
(Oh, Raika's in the Sharo military. This will be stated in a few sentences so I don't feel the need to spoiler it)

Lan tells Raika that they should "make it a good all-out battle". He then offers a handshake to Raika:

Raika explains that a netbattle isn't a sport, it's war, and soldiers who fight each other do not shake hands.


Netbattling is SERIOUS BUSINESS. Also not war, but a sport, despite the amount of life-or-death situations that Lan has resolved by netbattling.

In other news, our usual Lan has been temporarily replaced with what appears to be the BN universe equivalent of Joey Wheeler. Who has a spider sense.

Raika then punches Lan.

No, I'm serious. He punches Lan straight in the stomach. This is a grown man assaulting a fifth grader.







Raika then gets a phone call from the Sharo president, which probably means that he holds an extremely high rank in the Sharo military. How he has time to go to tournaments with that kind of reponsibility is anyone's guess.

Anyway, the president informs him that the hideout of a crime syndicate has been located. Take note: A crime syndicate. This will be important later. The president informs Raika that the hideout is in under6.


If your job is to patrol under6, how come you're here? That place is seething with deadly viruses!

*ahem* Regardless, Raika says he'll finish them off immediately.

Lan asks where Raika's going. Raika tells him to mind his own business.



Megaman tells Lan that he mustn't move. Lan answers that he can't let Raika get away with this, and that he'll make him pay. Since Lan is up and ready to move right after the cutscene, I have to assume that he has iron hard abs, and only pretended to be really hurt after Raika punched him in the stomach by staying down.

Next stop:

RussiaSharo

This is Sharo. The sled is the way back to the airport.


This grammar is presented without commentary.

Anyway, I missed the first two screenshots, but upon entering the Sharo Space Center and talking to a man we are infromed that Raika is away on a mission. Which is strange, considering that only Searchman is away, and Raika the operator should be jacked in somewhere.


The man informs us that the mission is not easy: Raika is taking down a secret base of Nebula. Not the hideout, as Raika said earlier, just a secret base.

Regardless, the man says he'll let us go if we pass his test.

*cue 3 round virus battle*


That's right; Lan and Megaman are at or above the level of the Sharo military.

The man then informs Raika that they're sending reinforcements. Raika asks who, and upon being informed that it is Lan...

Ominous!

The man gives us a copy of the hideout key. Though I thought it was a secret base now.

...CopyKey? Really?

Anyway, the man tells us that it's in under6. Lan says Ok, and the man says:

I have no idea either.

Before going on to the undernet, let's explore the Space Center.



I assume this means that there are sattelites in position to constantly have a complete 3D picture of the Earth and the Moon, transmitting those pictures to the Space Center. Anyway, you can jack into the Sharo HP here,

but we can't do anything in there.

So instead, I jack into the computer at the entrance. It is very creatively named, even more than the CopyKey:

It had a BMD with a Speed+1, which is useless to me since I'm using SpeedMAX (and ChargeMAX) already.

Going into the net from computer computer, we get to this place in the Sharo area, which was blocked by a security cube before the green navi pictured gave me the P-Code.


Anyway, if you don't have the Slider by this point, go get it. You cannot get past this scenario without it, as it requires entering the Undernet. Speaking of the undernet, early in under1 megaman exclaims that they made it. Lan answers that they should look for Searchman.



You can't see it in the still pictures, but this scope wandered around the screen for a moment before locking on to Megaman.

And now it's time to introduce you to the main mechanic of Searchman's scenario: Quick-Time Events.

Every few seconds, the scope from before will appear and attempt to lock on to Megaman (it can miss, but it's unlikely). If it does, you'll have around a second to press left or right, depending on the picture shown. Also if you, say, happened to be pressing another button already, it counts as a failure and you take around 100 damage.

As you can expect, this is really annoying. Anyway, back to the cutscene.


Lan says that he doesn't know who it is, but proceeding won't be easy. Megaman answers that the only way to go is forward, and the duo say that they will need to be careful.

*inser trip to Under6 here, with many annoying QTEs and Alpha forgetting to get the thing he needs to finish the Boktai crossover before going to the "hideout"*
I should aslo mention that whenever Megaman, say, goes on a warp pad, the scope stays on the location it was on the screen, following you through the warp. I have to conclude, then, that this sniper is going easy on us, because he clearly has some impressive powers to follow a teleporting navi so accurately.


This heelnavi asks who we are and how we got there. When Megaman says he's here to defeat "you all", the heelnavi answers that he must be Searchman's crony.


Paradoxically, this is a battle cry, not an anguished scream of defeat. The 5-round battle starts now.

Upon winning, the heelnavi says that Megaman's pretty good, but "they" (Nebula?) would be out of business if word got out that a kid outsmarted them, so they can't let Megaman leave alive (you know, apart for the fact that he can jack out at will).


The heelnavi summons four more heelnavis, and Megaman says that they can't beat this many undernet denizens. Lan adds that Megaman is already tired from the virus battles - which is wrong, considering that he has more HP after them than before them...


I don't even know.

The heelnavi says that this is the ultimate move and nobody can survive it.

The all-too-familiar scope just sweeped along the four heelnavis.



The leader heelnavi is shocked. The scope then locks on to him as well.


He explodes.


If you, dear reader, cannot guess this already, then you haven't been paying attention to this LP at all.

The camera pans to the upper-right corner of the screen.


Raika tells Lan that this is Searchman, and congratulates him on getting this far despite Searchman's attacks.


Raika simply states that he had a good look at Lan's ability, and asks Searchman to estimate the probability of winning against Megaman; Searchman says that it is 99%. Raika says that they'll crush Lan and Megaman, then Searchman jacks out.
Lan and Megaman pep-talk each other before Megaman jacks out too.

It's as though the scenario writer forgot how old Lan was. Or his entire personality.



See? Joey Wheeler. Brooklyn accent 'yer' and all that.


Oh wait, just the translators being lazy. My bad!

Anyway, Raika tells Searchman to neutralize Megaman so that he'll never defy them again (not that he ever did, it was all Lan). Searchman confirms, and the announcer says that it'll be a fierce battle.

I'd like to point out that in BN4, Searchman's sprite is freaking huge. Yet by BN5, he's shrunken down to Megaman's height.

Versus Searchman


Deadly?


Raika says he can't believe it; Lan only had a 1% chance of winning! Searchman says that during the battle, an unexpected variable showed up, and it grew stronger as the battle continued.



(It's roughly at this point that Lan repossesses his body from Joey Wheeler's soul)

Raika is shocked.


Funny that you mention that, Lan, since DarkSoul Megaman can't go full synchro.

Lan lectures Raika on the merits of the power of friendship. I'll summarize:

Lan: "blah blah bond with your navi!"
Raika: "bond with my navi?"
Lan: "blah blah friends!"

Raika then tells Lan to shut up; His whole purpose in life is to be an elite soldier. The president then calls him, and Raika says he'll accept his punishment.

Lan tell Raika to wait, and Raika tells him that he is in this tournament under orders from the president to show the world the power of MOTHER RUSSIA!Sharo, but he failed.

Lan is worried about the punishment Raika mentioned, and Raika laughs and calls Lan a hypocrite.

At this point we gain SearchSoul.

You may now put on the victory music of your choice; If I wasn't playing low-karma, I would now have a completely trivial jaunt to the end of the game. SearchSoul is the best soul in both games, period. What does it do? Well, not much. You need to sacrifice a stealth chip, like Invisible or PopUp, to activate it - but if you weren't already running a bunch of these in * code then something's wrong with your luck.
The chargeshot is similar to SearchMan's lock-on attack, shooting multiple times - again, I think it's five, but it could be three - straight at the opponent. It's practically impossible for this attack to not hit, from anywhere on the field. But that's not why this is the best soul.
You see, while in SearchSoul, you can shuffle your chips in the custom screen. First, let's go over the mechanics of chip shuffling; You press the shuffle button (situated where DarkChips would be) and your hand in re-randomized. Also, if you already chose chips, they are NOT re-randomized. But that's not all; SearchSoul can use this THRICE PER CUSTOM.

You can now pretty much always get whatever crazy combo you want. Full-synchro SuperVulcan with boosting chips? You got it, even if it takes a few turns to shuffle it in. Whatever you want, you got it.

And that is why low karma is a sad thing.

Also, this was in Netopia's market.


Next up: I have no idea, but it probably won't contain hot SearchSoul action.

A couple of things to close this off. First, Incident never plays during this scenario. I know, shocking.

Finally, I have to go now, but anybody who wants to fill the bingo chart, you're welcome to do so; There may also be bingo squares I didn't spot (I posted all the screenshots where I did), but you can check the full screenshots of the scenario in the album where the screenshots come from.

That post ending with Mega Man facing the Moon of Hades was quite the cliffhanger.

That's just the generic "Healnavi" mugshot.

Music: Journey of Determination

Lan: Hmm, ProtoMan… Is that THE ProtoMan?!
MegaMan: That’s right. We’re up against Chaud!
Lan: Never thought we’d battle Chaud in the world championship!

YOU DID THAT LAST GAME.

Lan: We can’t afford to lose this one!!

Two NPCs enter the room through the big door. They then proceed to walk out while loudly chattering about state secrets.



Auto-scrolling text is still annoying.

NPC 2: Still, the Electopian Officials contacted | us. They said risk is unavoidable.
NPC 1: It can’t be helped. His navis possessed by a DarkSoul.

At this point, the two NPCs have left the Colosseum.

Lan: Electopia’s ace? | Risk is unavoidable? | His Navis possessed by a Dark Soul?

Sometimes I wonder if Lan is just a parrot. Actually, I think I‘ll add that to the Bingo Card.

Lan: That couldn’t be…?!

Still, this is kind of bad. Somehow the Officials got off their rear ends and checked the Hawk Tournament footage. They know that MegaMan has a Dark Soul, and considering how helpful they are they‘ll probably try and capture him.

MegaMan: I hate to believe it, but I think…
Lan: No way! | I won’t believe it till I see it with my own eyes!

Music: Nothing

MegaMan: Lan, phone call!
Lan: Hello?!



Or at least that’s how the plot would go if this game had anything resembling sense. Of course the Officials aren’t talking about Lan, they’re talking about Chaud.

Lan: Hm? Chaud?! Where the heck ARE you!

I love how the first two parts of that sentence had question marks while the actual question didn’t.

Chaud: We need to talk. Come to the hotel.
Lan: Whadaya mean, talk?! | …He hung up. | Well, let’s go ask him if what we just heard is true. | Let’s go, MegaMan!
MegaMan: Roger!

So we’re going to the hotel? Guess that means everyone in the Blue Moon tournament got a free room. Should be interesting to see Chaud’s room.



Orrrrr maybe they’ll just be lazy and have Chaud break into Lan’s room.



Not like he had a choice. You’re in his room. Either that or this hotel took the idea of identical rooms a little too far.

Lan: …...Chaud! ProtoMan’s not really possessed by a Dark Soul?!
Chaud: ……So you heard?
Lan: You mean ProtoMan really is…
Chaud: Yes…

This is starting to remind me of Shiny Gold.

Lan: How could this happen to an Official?



Apparently Protoman’s a total lightweight who can only take one Dark Chip before going crazy. Compare Megaman, who needs like ten before he goes slightly under.

Lan: Why?! Why would you do that?! | You should at least know what happens when you do that!!
Chaud: I had no other choice at the time! | The only way to survive an attack by 500 Syndicate Navis | was to use the power of a DarkChip!!

Bull. Shit. In BN2, Protoman took on an infinitely respawning army of customized navis and won. Not only that, but Protoman has regularly shown the ability to take down standard navi models in a single swing. And he couldn’t have gotten exhausted; in BN3 it was revealed Protoman regularly spends ten hours a day battling. Finally, where the hell were the rest of the Officials if 500 navis attacked? And when did this happen, anyways? Protoman’s icon on the tournament board is after Megaman’s, so presumably he battled Kendoman after Lan finished his battle with Paulie. Did 500 Syndicate navis just magically pop up out of nowhere when that happened?

Lan: F-five hundred…
Chaud: I misjudged their capabilities… My bad…

If you know you made a misjudgment, what was stopping you from just jacking Protoman out when you were given the choice of using a Dark Chip?

MegaMan: And Protoman?!
Chaud: He went haywire and totally ignored my commands. | I had to use a special program to make him go to sleep.

Meanwhile, Megaman literally has to die before he disobeys Lan.

Lan: Chaud, let’s try to get ProtoMan back! | We gotta rid him of DarkSoul!

I’m not sure if that’s an error or if Lan honestly believes a Dark Soul is something unnatural.

Chaud: You can’t help. | I must bring back ProtoMan myself.
Lan: Then why did you tell me all of this?!
Chaud: I just wanted you to know what happened, | so you didn’t think I chickened out.
Lan: But that’ll endanger the tournament!

No it won’t. If Chaud doesn’t show up, he’ll have forfeited and Lan will just continue to the next round. It’ll look suspicious, and it might give the Syndicate a bigger reputation, but it definitely won’t hurt the tournament.

Chaud: I hate to do it, but fixing ProtoMan comes first.
Lan: Yeah, but…



I’m starting to wonder if the dialog box programmer was paid based on how many dialog boxes there were.

Chaud: Who’s that?!

Music: Incident Occurrence (Count: 15)

Lan: Chaud!!
Chaud: ProtoMan!!

Protoman’s PET starts shaking. Then, in one of the biggest WTF moments in the game…



Protoman makes his PET jump three feet into the air then jacks himself in.

Lan and Chaud run over to Chaud’s PET.

Chaud: ProtoMan’s jacking in himself?! | Is this another symptom of a DarkSoul?!

No, it’s a clear sign that the writers successfully convinced their editor that sense was an optional part of Megaman.

Lan: Chaud, let’s go after ProtoMan. | Don’t get me wrong. This isn’t for you. | It’s just we wanna beat you guys in the tournament.

Apparently sometime between BN3 and BN4 Lan decided to be a douche to Chaud. Either that, or he’s trying to help Chaud without insulting his wish to do things on his own. I prefer the second interpretation.

Chaud: …… | I’ll try to find out where he’s headed. | Don’t start thinking I owe ya anything. | I won’t go easy on ya at our match!

I really wonder about this game’s absolute obsession with slang.

Lan: Huh?! Why would you!

But the game’s stunning hatred of question marks in the right place occupies enough of my time.

Chaud: Hmph…

Chaud runs out of the room. Lan walks over to the statue.

Lan: MegaMan, let’s go!
MegaMan: Roger!!

After Lan jacks Megaman in, the scene shifts to Under 5.

Music: The Quiet Darkness



What do you know, there was a point to that area after all. More importantly, how the hell did Protoman get to Under 5 in the maybe thirty seconds between his jack in and Megaman‘s?

NPC: ProtoMan. That Navi who deleted 500 of my Nebula comrades.
ProtoMan: Oooooohhh…
NPC: Don’t worry. We don’t hold a grudge against you. | Those Navi you deleted were idiots. | I should really be thanking you.
ProtoMan: Raaawrrr!!
NPC: Hee hee… You wanna release the dark power within, do ya?! | Hee hee hee!! | Your DarkSoul will dominate you completely soon enough.
ProtoMan: Grrrrrr…
NPC: Once it completely dominates you…



Somebody’s not very original with names.

NPC: Muwahahahahaha!!

Another Heel Navi enters the scene.

NPC 2: I have a report, sir! | Chaud’s set out to rescue ProtoMan. | That must mean MegaMan is on the move in the Cyberworld.

I love how this implies that Chaud can’t do anything without Lan and Megaman.

NPC: That was quick… | Keep them away until DarkProtoMan is complete.
NPC 2: Yes, sir. I’m prepar | ing something that will stop them!!

The Heel Navi walks away.



Anyways, as that cutscene implied, to beat this scenario you need access to the Undernet. Don’t have a C-Slider? Go get one! Don’t know how? Screw you, buy a guide!

Once you make it to Sharo Area, Chaud sends an e-mail explaining that ProtoMan was seen entering the Undernet and that Nebula is involved with this. In other words, it’s what the player already knew but what Lan didn’t know.

Music: Heel’s Paradise



Lan: Careful, MegaMan!
MegaMan: Roger! | I wonder where I should go from here?

There’s only one path forward, so take a wild guess.

Lan’s phone rings.

Chaud: Lan, do you read me?
Lan: Yeah, loud and clear.
Chaud: I discovered Nebula is involved in this latest incident.

No really? What gave it away, the Dark Chip? The fact that you just deleted 500 Nebula navis something like two hours ago? Or was it you remembering that you just told this to Lan in the e-mail you sent him?

Chaud: They’ll be prepared for MegaMan. | You guys won’t make it alone from this point!

Crap, are there going to be stupid puzzles?

Lan: So whada we do now?
Chaud: Connect this line directly to MegaMan.
Lan: Directly to MegaMan? Whaddya mean?
Chaud: I’ll command MegaMan directly from here. | I know the Undernet and Nebula’s tricks inside out. | You concentrate on operating MegaMan!
Lan: Gotcha!
Chaud: Listen up, MegaMan. There’s bound to be a trap ahead. | Tell me as soon as you find anything.
MegaMan: Roger!!
Chaud: This is gonna be a tough mission, but do the best you can.
MegaMan: Having you along doubles our chances!

Chaud is totally talking out of his ass. This “mission” is only different from a normal trip through the Undernet in one way.



Chaud is outside of the Ne- gah, whatever. Anyways, the only difference is that the exits of Under 1, 2, and 3 are blocked with doors.

Chaud: MegaMan, examine the door. Isn’t anything written on it?
MegaMan: Hold on a minute! | ..A-ha! It says, “Get hold of RedKey”!
Chaud: “RedKey”…? Right! That reminds me of something. | It’s a trick they often use. I’ve cracked it before. | If it’s the same, | “RedKey” should be hidden in the area somewhere. | But they’ll have hidden it under a floor panel.

To open the doors, we need to exploit the fact that Nebula has the worst security ever. There’s a gimmick to this though.

Chaud: Normal searching won’t turn it up.
MegaMan: W-well, how can I find it then…?!
Chaud: I’ll tell you the place. Check it out! | If I remember correctly, the key should be there.
MegaMan: Got it. Chaud, back me up!
Chaud: There’s not much time! Hurry!

That entire conversation was completely unnecessary. Anyways, the gimmick.

The panel the key is hidden under will have a landmark of sorts near it. Nine times out of ten, there will be more than one place that fulfills the description. The key is always in the one farthest away because BN4 does not understand the concept of fun. Finally, Under 2’s door requires two keys and Under 3’s needs three.

Alright, let’s skip ahead.




NPC 2: You’re with that ProtoMan character, huh? | Then there’s no way you’re going past here!



ProtoMan: Oooooohhh!!
NPC: What’s wrong?!
MegaMan: ProtoMan!!

Megaman runs over.

MegaMan: Release ProtoMan!!
NPC: Ya made it this far, | but ya won’t get him back that easy! I’m gonna delete ya!

Music: Versus

Lan: MegaMan, look out!!



Lan: Chaud!!



I have no idea what that line means.

Lan: Chaud…
Chaud: Lan, I wanna free Protoman myself. | …Please understand.
Lan: ……



Chaud: Lan!!
Lan: I hate to let anyone else operate him, but you’re an exception. | And if I were in your shoes, I’d do the same thing!

Remember that last line.

MegaMan: Chaud, I’m counting on your operation!!
Chaud: You got it!!
NPC: Shut up and fight!

I like how the NPC has only just now gotten impatient.

NPC: I’ll show ya what happens to fools who mess with me… | VirusMob!! Take that!!



Chaud: Battle routine, set!!
MegaMan: Execute!!
NPC: Hey, you viruses! Go eat him alive!!

Cue five round battle. What, did you think that the game would make Chaud’s operation of Megaman a cutscene? You’re severely overestimating BN4’s ability to make sense.

So I’d like to note something. You know how BN 1-3 played up Full Synchro as this amazing thing only an operator and a navi with an incredibly deep bond can do?



BN4 does not give a fuck. It’s really ridiculous that they didn’t bother to disable Full Synchro for this fight, especially since they already had a way to make the game not reward Counter Hits with Full Synchro. But still, that’s just gameplay. They wouldn’t ignore that in the story… right?



Jesus, look at that HP. Chaud, you suck at operating Megaman. I always do that in this scenario as my attempt to inject logic into this scene.

NPC: ProtoMan!! | You’re free now!! It’s time to fully unleash your power! | Terminate that Navi behind me!!
ProtoMan: ……Raaahhh!



NPC: Aaaaarrrh!!

I love how the NPC feels he must comment on Protoman’s speed before he dies.

MegaMan: I didn’t even see him! What amazing | power and speed. Must be the Dark Soul | power… I’m no match for that.

Protoman moves that fast normally. Also, missing exclamation mark! How new!

ProtoMan: Gaaahhh…
Chaud: You gotta focus!! | Listen to me. You must follow my instructions!
MegaMan: Ok…



Protoman’s flashing crimson. Or at least he does while he‘s standing still. Programmers couldn‘t be bothered to have him do that in all of his poses.

Chaud: Don’t look at ProtoMan. Just focus on my instructions.
MegaMan: ………
ProtoMan: Uh-ooohhh!!



Chaud: We worked together on his sword skills for quite some time. | He’s so good that he can even fight with his eye closed. | ProtoMan! You can’t cut me with such a clouded soul!!

First off, I think having the reaction time of a computer is why Megaman was able to stop Protoman’s slash. Second, what was the point of that speech? So Chaud and Protoman worked together on his swordsmanship. Great. How does that explain why Megaman, a third party, is capable of catching a faster-than-the-eye-can-see slash?

ProtoMan: !!
Chaud: ProtoMan, wake up!! Can you hear me?!
ProtoMan: Grrr…
MegaMan: Yikes!!
Chaud: MegaMan will be history at this rate.

I’m pretty sure Megaman could take Protoman down any day of the week, even at 1 HP. But with Chaud operating him, yeah, Megaman’s totally screwed.

Chaud: Lan, destroy ProtoMan if something should happen to me.

…What? Are there Nebula agents outside or something? I don’t think anything’s going to be happening to you.

Lan: Whatdaya doing?!
Chaud: I wanna sync with him via MegaMan.

Oh, so that’s what you meant. Probably should have said that first. Wait, you want to do what?

Chaud: It won’t be like your Full Synchro, | but I’ll be able to sense his suffering.

That’s right, Chaud can totally use Megaman as a soul antenna. There is nothing odd or completely unexplained about this, and it certainly doesn’t contradict the entire concept of synchronization or cheapen the bond between Lan and Hub into something that can he hacked into by spending ten seconds operating Megaman.

Lan: You might be able to touch his soul by syncing with him… | But you’ll greatly endanger yourself.

It’s kind of interesting how Lan is an expert in the field of synchronization though.

Chaud: I wouldn’t be an ace NetBattler without taking such risks! | Lan, do as I asked…

This would have been the appropriate time to say the “If something happens to me” line.



I also don’t get this line.