The Battle Network series has seen its ups and downs, but the final chapter is a fitting end to a long-lived series.
The story starts off right off the bat with twists, as we find out Lan is moving to another city; Cyber City. This slapped me in the face and surprised me to say the least, as now Lan would be spending the last of his adventures away from his longtime friends Mayl, Dex, and Yai. his opens up an entirely new environment, on the Net and off, for you to explore. It's a new beginning as well as a timely end all mashed into one. There isn't more to reveal about the story without spoiling it, but Capcom hit the nail on the head with this one, and delivers an ending that is not only fitting, but also sad at the same time, knowing the series has met its conclusion. The story opens up at a faster pace then previous iterations, which is good, as the story is an immediate selling point for the game.
Of course, this isn't a movie, so the story isn't everything. As far as the game mechanics go, there are a lot of similarities, some new features, and also some exclusions that disappoint. The battling is all the same. You build a deck of battlechips, which sort of function as cards, and you use them in battle to give MegaMan special attacks. They range from cannons, to gatling guns, swords, lightning bolts, fire, and more. There are over 200 in all, and some are able to summon other navi bosses and allies you encounter in the story. The battles still take place on a 6x3 grid, as you take up the left half and you enemies take the right. You can freely move in you area to dodge attacks, as well as line up yours, just like the other games. If you're tired of this same gameplay, don't bother playing this game. There's really nothing different about it. However, some new quirks add to the battles, which enhance MegaMan with new abilities. While not completely new, you are able to perform Crosses with other navis the you encounter in the game. While your encounter with Heatman is required, the rest are optional. Crosses allow you to use the abilities of your cross friends, like Heatman. When doing these, you gain new abilities, and certain cards have enhanced damage. While you may be stronger against other opponents, you also have one weakness, so selecting the right cross determines the outcome of the battle. This is similar to the Soul Unison of the 4th and 5th iterations of the series, except they have unlimited use, and no longer require a chip of the navi's element type. Another key element is the Beast Out. The Cybeasts are the main focus of the story, as well as Lan's ife in his new home. Several hours in, you acquire the abilities of the Cybeast in your version (Gregar or Falzar). This allows you to have MegaMan extremely powered up for 3 turns, and also allows for locked-on chip usage, so you automatically move in range. This is a double-edged sword however, as while it's nice to stand anywhere on the grid to use your chips, you can also move right into enemy fire, and this sort of makes me wish the lock-on didn't exist. However, the enhanced chip damage and machine gun megabuster make it worth using. Using it too much can cause you to lose control of MegaMan, so let MegaMan recharge after his 3 turns are up for a few battles so he can use it again. The Cross and Beast Out can also be combined, while limitations for both, as well as strengths, apply.
The exclusion of Liberation missions from Battle Network 5 are a real downer to me, as they added a nice, strategic departure from the rest of the game. A new sort of minigame where you use Soul weapons to kill net ghosts is sort of fun, but can't really compare with the Liberation missions. The game outside of battle is pretty much your standard fare for the series, with you typical hunting quests and item-finding missions. Less of these exist, but not by much, and can really bog down a great story. The battling is less frequent, however, which is a plus, and are still great every time, even if they do sort of get in the way of traveling from point A to point B at times. While the series really hasn't changed at all from its debut, you can't blame Capcom for not fixing what isn't broken. If you have a problem with this, do not even bother picking the game up. You will loathe how similar this game is to the rest, even if the gameplay does have some new polish added to it with the neat Beast Out and Cross systems. Not to mention the story that excellently holds it all together.
While the sound and look of MegaMan Battle Network games have never taken great leaps over each other, the 6th is no exception. However, the music is still great, as the ending theme and theme song for this game pump me up, as well as sadden me, as it does play at the end of the game. There are even a few good tracks strewn about that are catchy, and is another soundtrack that is well-delivered. The final boss music isn't great like in the last game, though, but it's just one track that you'll only hear a few times once you keep retrying against it. The sound doesn't deserve a reward, however, and hasn't changed AT ALL. Some change would have been nice for the final chapter, but none delivered. The visuals haven't changed either, but how can you push it any further with the limitations of the GBA anyway? I mean, there is a LOT to see in this game, and Capcom does not deserve to be blamed for what works. I mean, heck, the look is still so freakin' charming and colorful, it's hard to hate it for it.
I hate to see it go. I REALLY hate to see it go, but it really couldn't have ended better than this beyond better sound a little more variety. The gameplay holds up after all these years, and is still a joy to play even years later, even with a few monotonous fetch quests thrown in. The story is nearly perfect, and the ending is even more so, and while you'll leave the game feeling it had a good run, you'll also wish it never ended.