Mega Man Battle Network is a game series where players take turns and make choices, created by Masahiro Yasuma and made by Capcom. It is a different version of the Mega Man series. Released in 2001 for the Game Boy Advance, the games take place in a story where computers and networks are the main focus of scientific progress, instead of robots. There are six main games and several other games in the series.

The series was made during the popularity of Nintendo’s and Game Freak’s Pokémon games and the rise of collectible card games. In Mega Man Battle Network, players control MegaMan.EXE, a digital helper used by a character named Lan Hikari. The goal is to stop a group called WWW (also called "World Three"), led by a version of Dr. Wily. Players fight enemies on a 6×3 grid, choosing "Battle Chips" that help them attack more strongly.

Critics praised the series, though some later games, especially numbers 5 and 6, were said to lack new ideas. A follow-up series called Mega Man Star Force was made, set 200 years later and focused on radio waves. A collection of all six main games, called Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection, was released in April 2023 for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Plot

Mega Man Battle Network takes place in an uncertain year during the 21st century, labeled as "20XX AD," in a world different from the original Mega Man series. In this world, called the Net, people use computers for communication, business, and even illegal activities. Users can connect to the Net and other devices through a process called "jacking in," and explore them using digital helpers known as "NetNavis (Network Navigators)," which function like real places. The Net and computer systems are shown as a virtual world where computer programs, represented as human-like characters, can interact. Users often access their NetNavis through a device called a "PET (PErsonal information Terminal)."

The story follows Lan Hikari, an 11-year-old fifth grader in the town of ACDC, and his NetNavi, MegaMan.EXE. Lan’s father, Dr. Yuichiro Hikari, is one of the world’s leading scientists and researchers of NetNavis. The main series (except for some side stories) centers on Lan and MegaMan.EXE working to stop a group of villains from taking control of the world and the Net. In the first, third, and sixth games, the villains are called "WWW" (spoken as "World Three"). In the second game, the villain is named Gospel, and in the fourth and fifth games, the villain is called Nebula.

Characters

Lan Hikari (光 熱斗, Hikari Netto) is the main human character in the Battle Network series. He is a fifth-grade student who has a strong friendship with his NetNavi, MegaMan.EXE (ロックマン.EXE, Rokkuman.Eguze; Rockman.EXE in Japanese). Lan is the son of Yuichiro Hikari and Haruka Hikari. He is also the grandson of Tadashi Hikari.

Lan is a boy who enjoys adventure and fun. He sometimes acts without thinking, but he is good at noticing small details and staying calm in difficult situations. He often plays NetBattles and is not always aware of things that are not related to the Net. Even though he seems carefree, Lan always tries to do the right thing. He is skilled at inline skating and likes to decorate his room with soccer-themed items.

In the English version of the anime, Lan is voiced by Alex Doduk in earlier parts and by Brad Swaile in later parts. MegaMan.EXE is voiced by Andrew Francis in the English version.

Mayl Sakurai (桜井 メイル, Sakurai Meiru), known as Maylu Sakurai in the English anime and manga, is Lan's classmate and close friend. She is the operator of Roll.EXE (ロール, Rōru). They live near each other and are often seen together, though Lan does not realize that Mayl has feelings for him.

In Mega Man Battle Network 5, it is shown that Mayl's father is Netopian, meaning she is at least half Netopian. In Mega Man Battle Network 6, a post-credits scene reveals that Lan and Mayl eventually marry and have a child named "Patch" ("Raito"). Mayl is more mature and intelligent than Lan and often helps him when he makes mistakes.

Mayl is voiced by Kaori Mizuhashi in the original Japanese version and by Brittney Wilson in the English version. Roll.EXE is voiced by Masako Jō in Japanese and by Lenore Zann in the English version of MegaMan: NT Warrior.

Dex Oyama (大山 デカオ, Ōyama Dekao), known as Dex Ogreon in the English anime and manga, is Lan's classmate and friend. He is the operator of GutsMan.EXE (ガッツマン, Gattsuman). GutsMan.EXE is often shown as a bully but has a kind side. Dex has a younger brother named Chisao, who appears less often in the games but is a recurring character in the anime. In the anime, Dex stops NetBattling to become a curry chef.

Dex is voiced by Numata Yuusuke in the original Japanese version and by Tony Sampson in the English version. GutsMan.EXE is voiced by Yoshimitsu Shimoyama in Japanese and by Scott McNeil in the English version.

Yai Ayanokoji (綾小路 やいと, Ayanokōji Yaito), known as Yai Ayano in the English anime and manga, is Lan's classmate and friend. She is the operator of Glide.EXE (グライド, Guraido). Yai is younger than other main characters because she skipped grades due to her intelligence. In the anime, she works at her father's company, AyanoTech (Gabcom). In the anime and sometimes in the games, Yai secretly admires Chaud after he helps her escape from a stuck elevator.

Yai is voiced by Kanamaru Hinako in the original Japanese version and by Jocelyne Loewen in the English version. Glide.EXE is voiced by Yasuhiko Kawazu in Japanese and by Ted Cole in the English version.

Eugene Chaud (伊集院 炎山, Ijūin Enzan), known as Chaud Blaze in the English anime and manga, is the son of IPC's (BlazeQuest in English) president. He is the operator and creator of ProtoMan.EXE. Chaud is mostly called by his last name, Chaud, in the games. His mother died when he was young, and he became the vice-president of his father's company, which made him seem cold at first. Over time, he grows to respect Lan and becomes more open to others, though he remains serious during battles. In the games, Chaud is an Official NetBattler who meets Lan while investigating a water shortage caused by the WWW. He is introduced as a strict operator who deletes Navis that get in his way but later becomes friends with Lan.

In Battle Network 6, Chaud pretends to be the bodyguard of Mayor Cain. During Lan's confrontation with Cain, Chaud reveals his true identity and helps arrest Cain and Blackbeard.

Eugene Chaud is voiced by Mitsuki Saiga in the original Japanese version. In the English version, he is voiced by Bill Switzer in season one and by Scott Perrie in AXESS. ProtoMan.EXE is voiced by Masaya Matsukaze in Japanese and by David Kaye in the English version.

An organization created by the main villain of the game, Lord Wily, was formed to take over the real world and cyberworld. This group, called WWW, was created because Wily was jealous of Tadashi Hikari's success in network technology. Initially, Wily tried to control the internet using the Life Virus (Dream Virus), but he was forced to hide after Lan and MegaMan.EXE stopped his plans. Throughout the series, Wily recruits humans to control NetNavis.

Lord Wily is the main villain of the Battle Network series. He was a scientist who became jealous after Tadashi Hikari's network technology replaced his robotics research. Wily became determined to destroy network society. He appears as the main villain in Mega Man Battle Network, Mega Man Battle Network 3, and Mega Man Battle Network 6. He tricks Sean Obihiro into leading the NetMafia Gospel in Mega Man Battle Network 2. His son, Dr. Regal, is the main villain in Mega Man Battle Network 4 and 5.

In Battle Network 6, Wily temporarily stops seeking revenge after the death of Baryl's father. However, he later helps Lan save the world and recreates Colonel.EXE and Iris.EXE.

Lord Wily is voiced by Katsumi Chō in the original Japanese version and by Paul Dobson in the English version.

Ken'ichi Hino (火野 ケンイチ, Hino Ken'ichi), known as Mr. Match in English, is the operator of FireMan.EXE, HeatMan.EXE, and FlameMan.EXE. He appears in every game except Battle Network 5.

In Battle Network, Match controls FireMan.EXE and infects the Hikari family's oven with viruses while pretending to be a repairman.

Gameplay

Mega Man Battle Network is a video game that combines strategy and action. To move forward in the game, players control two characters: Lan Hikari in the real world and MegaMan.EXE in the Net, a digital world. Each character has tasks to complete, and finishing tasks in one world helps progress in the other. When controlling Lan, players can explore maps, talk to other characters, check emails, buy items, start missions in the Net, or communicate with MegaMan.EXE through a device called a PET. Unlike earlier Mega Man games, where battles happen in the same area as movement, Battle Network battles only occur in the Net, where players fight computer viruses. This digital world is shown as paths and points, where MegaMan.EXE can visit new or old areas, find items, and fight viruses. Battles usually happen randomly and are not shown on the main map screen.

The battlefield has 18 tiles split into two groups of nine. One group is open space where MegaMan.EXE can move freely, and the other is space where enemies are located. Like other Mega Man games, MegaMan.EXE uses a weapon called the "Mega Buster." Players can move between tiles and shoot enemies from across the screen. The goal of each battle is to defeat all viruses by reducing their health points (HP) to zero. If MegaMan.EXE’s health runs out, the game ends. To attack without the Mega Buster, players use "Battle Chips," which are selected before battles and chosen randomly. Starting with the third game, Battle Chips are grouped into three types: Standard (up to 4 of the same type in a folder, with a total of 30 chips), Mega (only 1 of the same type in a folder, with 5 chips total), and Giga (only 1 chip per folder). Except for the "asterisk code" introduced in game 2, players can only use Battle Chips with the same name or that share a letter. Combining specific Battle Chips creates "Program Advances," which give players powerful attacks or allow repeated use of a chip for several seconds. Each Battle Chip also has an element, and using a chip that matches an enemy’s weakness causes double damage.

The series includes multiplayer features where two players can fight or trade chips using a "Game Link Cable." Trading certain chips from different versions of the game (in games 4–6) adds them as "Secret Chips" to the Chip Library. However, Giga Chips cannot be traded.

Development

The original Mega Man Battle Network was created by Capcom Production Studio 2 for the Game Boy Advance portable game device. This happened because a horror game was cancelled.

Battle Network 3 was planned to be the final game in the series. However, work on the fourth game began soon after Battle Network 3 was released. The developers focused mainly on improving the battle system for the last three mainline games, starting with Battle Network 3. Later games faced challenges with limited storage space, as they used the same memory sizes as earlier games. This led to overworld characters being redesigned to be smaller and more cartoon-like. The final game, Battle Network 6, redrew some of these characters again and changed the environments to make the game feel new.

Starting with Battle Network 4, the series included elements from Hideo Kojima’s Boktai series, developed and published by Konami. This included battle chips, bosses, and areas inspired by Boktai and vampires. However, elements from the third Boktai game were removed in international versions of Battle Network 5: Double Team DS and 6, as the third Boktai game was not released outside Japan. Similarly, content related to Lunar Knights was removed from the Star Force game.

The music for Mega Man Battle Network was composed by Akari Kaida, Yoshino Aoki, and Toshihiko Horiyama. Soundtracks for games 1 through 6, along with Battle Chip Challenge and the Japanese-only 4.5: Real Operation, were released on Spotify in 2021 to celebrate the series’ 20th anniversary.

Games

A terrorist group named WWW (World Three) tried to destroy the world using a powerful virus called the Life Virus. Even though Lan and MegaMan tried to stop them, the group stole four special programs needed to create the virus. They successfully made it, but MegaMan destroyed the virus, forcing WWW to retreat. This game received an average score of 80% on GameRankings and 79% on Metacritic.

Mega Man Battle Network was later released for the Nintendo DS as Rockman.EXE: Operate Shooting Star. This version improved the original game and combined it with another series called Star Force. A new character, ClockMan.EXE, was created for this game through a contest in CoroCoro Comics. Although the game sold well at first, it only sold 60,000 copies by the end of 2009. This low sales number led to the cancellation of Star Force 4. Capcom’s Vice President at the time said the company had no plans to release the game in Western countries, but an English fan translation was made available in 2018.

After WWW was defeated, a new group called Gospel appeared. Unlike WWW, Gospel had no clear goal and caused random destruction using their Navis. Lan and MegaMan stopped them from causing major harm, but Gospel’s secret plan was to recreate a powerful Navi named Bass. They used broken pieces of Bass to make many copies, but their method was flawed, and the copies were weaker than expected. When they tried to create an army of Bass Navis, their experiment went wrong, turning into a giant wolf-like creature. Lan and MegaMan defeated the creature. This game received an average score of 82% on GameRankings and 81% on Metacritic.

Mega Man Battle Network 3 was released in late 2002 in Japan and mid-2003 internationally. The game follows a revived WWW trying to release Alpha, the first version of the internet. Players can now customize MegaMan by placing blocks in a grid, but mistakes can cause errors. This game was the first to have two versions, though Japan did not get the Blue version until months after the White version was released.

Reception for Battle Network 3 was mostly positive, though some critics said it did not change much from earlier games. It sold 768,000 copies in Japan by the end of 2003.

Mega Man Battle Network 4 was released in December 2003 in Japan and June 2004 in North America. The game features a meteor heading toward Earth and a crime group called Nebula corrupting Navis with Dark Chips. A feature called Style Changes was removed, replaced by Double Souls, which require sacrificing a chip to activate. Players face different scenarios depending on the game version.

Reception for Battle Network 4 was mixed, with some criticism for its weak story and lack of innovation. The Blue Moon version had a bug that slowed the game on the Nintendo DS, which Nintendo fixed before the DS Lite was released. Despite this, Battle Network 4 sold 1.35 million copies worldwide by 2009.

Nebula attacks again, kidnapping Lan’s father and using SciLab’s computers to take over the internet. Lan and MegaMan join a team of elite Navis and operators to stop them. As the story progresses, the team grows, and more areas of the internet are freed. The GBA versions of the game received an average score of 68% on GameRankings and 67% on Metacritic, while the NDS version scored 70% on GameRankings and 68% on Metacritic.

Mega Man Battle Network 6 is the final game in the series. Lan’s family moves to Cyber City, leaving behind friends from ACDC Town. WWW returns, aiming to revive two ancient creatures called Cybeasts. The Double Soul system is replaced with the Cross System, which can be used anytime but is disabled if hit by a weakness. Players can also briefly transform MegaMan into a Cybeast. The Crosses and Beast Out abilities vary by version.

The developers said they decided to end the series after the sixth game to create a new Mega Man series for the Nintendo DS. The English version removed some content, like a crossover with Boktai. Critics generally disliked Battle Network 6 for not changing much from earlier games, though some praised its story.

Mega Man Network Transmission was released for the GameCube in mid-2003 as part of Mega Man’s 15th anniversary. The game was announced in September 2002 and takes place between the first and second games. It introduces a new virus called the Zero Virus that makes Navis go berserk. The game mixes 2D platforming from the classic series with tactical RPG elements from Battle Network.

Reception for Network Transmission was divided. Many criticized its difficulty, and reviews were mixed about its overall presentation. It received an average score of 65/100 on Metacritic.

Lan Hikari and MegaMan.EXE face off against WWW in a story that combines elements from the first Mega Man Battle Network game and the anime MegaMan NT Warrior. The gameplay is similar to Network Transmission.

Mega Man Battle Chip Challenge uses a different battle system where players place 12 Battle Chips on a grid called a "Program Deck," with three randomly selected for each battle. The game was released on the Game Boy Advance and WonderSwan Color. It was developed with help from Inti Creates, who also made Mega Man Zero and ZX.

Critics generally disliked Battle Chip Challenge for its lack of player interaction and outdated visuals, though the audio was praised. It has a score of 54/100 on Metacritic.

Rockman.EXE 4.5: Real Operation was released in Japan on August 6, 2004. The "Real Operation" part of the title refers to the Game Boy Advance acting as a PET, where players give instructions to the Navi instead of controlling it directly. The game was reportedly difficult to develop, as it was completed in less than a year between other projects.

Other media

The games were turned into an anime series called MegaMan NT Warrior, which began in Japan on March 4, 2002, and ended on September 30, 2006, with 209 episodes. The English version of the series was made by Viz Media, who hired another company called the Ocean Group to do the voice acting. The series had five parts with titles EXE, Axess, Stream, Beast, and Beast+. Only EXE and Axess were translated into English. A different English version, made by Voiceovers Unlimited, was shown in Southeast Asian countries. This version followed the Japanese script more closely and did not include the censorship found in NT Warrior.

A movie based on the Stream series, titled Rockman.EXE the Movie: Program of Light and Darkness, was shown in Japanese theaters on March 12, 2005. It was shown together with another movie, Duel Masters: Curse of the Deathphoenix. The movie earned $6,178,840 in three weeks.

Two manga series were created by Shogakukan and published in their monthly magazine, CoroCoro Comics. The first, MegaMan NT Warrior by Ryo Takamisaki, had 13 volumes. The second, Battle Story MegaMan NT Warrior by Keijima Jun and Miho Asada, had 4 volumes. Viz Media released MegaMan NT Warrior in North America from 2004 to 2008. Battle Story was only released in Japan, Indonesia, and some European countries.

In 2004, Capcom released a game called Rockman.EXE: Catan, which was a version of The Settlers of Catan with Battle Network themes. The game had standard and portable versions, with the portable version using magnetic technology.