June 19

[Zeke]

Testing, testing. 1, 2, 3. 3 again. 1 step forward, 2 steps back. 6.

Okay, I think we're good. Welcome back! I now have a reasonable facsimile of FTP access, so updates are once again possible. (You might want to check the news (http://www.fiveminute.net/news) page in case you've missed one of the last few newsposts -- they didn't all have threads.)

We'll start things off easy with one of my trademark "maybe two people will get it" updates. A few days ago I was finally able to get MegaMan Battle Network 6, the final game in the series. There's a sequel series in development, but I'll still miss this one. Battle Network rejuvenated Mega Man and got a whole new generation interested; its unique fusion of genres (somewhere between role-playing, action, and strategy games) made it interesting, and its charm made it fun. So to mark the occasion, here's The Top 10 Rejected Ideas For MegaMan Battle Network 6 (http://www.fiveminute.net/top10/94.html).

[Derek]

3. Roll and MegaMan make their acting debut in the off-broadband play "Beauty and the Cybeast"
Heh.

Oh, and Zeke, I just now noticed that I can't just quote my favorite line and say "heh" to it because the submit reply button will say "Must have 10 characters to reply."

Unless of course, you want me to be articulate with my praise. "I enjoyed the puns in this line like "off-broadband" and "cybeast."

[Zeke]

Actually, Cybeast is in the title of the game. There are two versions, Cybeast Gregar and Cybeast Falzar, each one featuring the titular beast. In Japanese it's just "Cyber Beast," but they contracted it for the English version (which was a good idea to avoid confusion, since Alpha, the villain of BN3, was referred to several times as "The Beast").

Another thing I should clarify is the "Cross" thing. The last two games have had a Soul system where MegaMan can sort of merge with another Navi, gaining some of its attributes; for example, merging with GutsMan produces GutsSoul. In BN6, you can do basically the same thing, but the mechanics are different enough that they changed the name -- now it's the Cross system. So fusing with ElecMan gives you ElecCross, and so on.

[MaverickZer0]

The only way I've seen the difference is in the fact you don't have to sacrifice a chip.

10. Zero.EXE dies

Zero doesn't die. Well, he does, but he just comes back. And again. And again.

And yes...'Dennoujuu' would've been rather confusing. Plus it probably couldn't exceed 8 characters or something. (Explains 'SerchMan', anyway.)

(You're lucky you've gotten it. I have to wait until tomorrow...)

[Zeke]

The only way I've seen the difference is in the fact you don't have to sacrifice a chip.

That's one of the major differences; the other is that Crosses don't have a limited duration. You only fall out of the Cross if you're hit with the element it's weak against. Being able to use a Cross even without the right chip turning up makes them tremendously useful, and they also seem to be more powerful than souls (HeatCross, for example, has an outrageously strong charged shot). In fact, between Crosses and Beast Out, the game is almost too easy.

There are exceptions, though. Be prepared for extreme frustration when you have to fight F-Beast or G-Beast MegaMan with one of your LinkNavis....

Zero doesn't die. Well, he does, but he just comes back. And again. And again.

My understanding is that if you don't pick up the mysterious data before fighting him in Network Transmission, he's deleted outright. So even the BN version has died before (potentially).

(You're lucky you've gotten it. I have to wait until tomorrow...)

You have no idea how annoying the process was. The game was scheduled to arrive on the 6th. Naturally I was pretty excited about that, since even the States weren't supposed to get it that early. But then it failed to show up... for a week and a half. By Friday I was as sick of calling to ask if it was in as they surely were of answering me.

So which version are you getting? I went with Gregar. I'm a sucker for continuity, so I couldn't pass up the one with both Mr. Match and ElecMan. Now if only they'd given us IceCross rather than reusing AquaMan so soon....

[mudshark]

4. Let's face it... correct grammar
Oh, nonono -- that won't do.

DISCLAIMER: Another rejected Navi was SouthernMan, who would have provided SouthernCross, but it was decided that they didn't need him around anyhow. Heheh, good. :D

[MaverickZer0]

I haven't met a single person who's getting Falzar, and frankly I don't blame them. I played it for a bit in the Japanese version and it was infuriating.
(I've never beaten Network Transmission. I found it difficult to get through several of the stages. I don't really consider any Navis 'dead' though, as data must go somewhere.)

...G-Beast MegaMan isn't that hard for me. Then again, I fought my Dark Soul 42 times in BN5. I was prepared. (Plus I used SlashMan. SWORD!)

(Oh yeah...I got it yesterday. Finally I can play the English version.)

[Zeke]

Falzar was the version of the Japanese ROM I poked around in, and it didn't seem so bad; on looking at the stats, though, it seems the Crosses are significantly less powerful. (+10 per Atk+1 rather than +20, for example.) That, plus the fact that the unexciting AquaMan and TomahawkMan were reused for Crosses when they've already had Souls, does make Falzar less desirable. But I still want to try it out -- the three new Navis are bound to be cool. I'm going to wait a few months, and if there's no DS version announced, I'll probably pick up Falzar used.

I think I'm about 2/3 of the way through now. Man, what a game. I love how much is brought back from earlier games, like the Request Board, StepSwrd chips, and, of course, Wily. Like Mandi Paugh says, it's just not the same without him.

[MaverickZer0]

Well, there's a DS version out in Japan soon from what I've heard, so...
It was actually the TenguCross scenario I was referring to. It brought back horrible 100-slice challenge memories. Unlike SlashMan's, which brought back less-horrible Cooking Machine memories.
Request Board! If I had to make a list of all the things I would've wanted in this game, it would be on there. They also put the extra ten in now, so we can fight ProtoMan FZ without cheats...
...if that's a good thing...
New Navis...TenguMan...GroundMan...DustMan. There's two Breaker-types, i believe. Tengu's Wind.
As for me, I'm glad my Elemental Sword chips are back...though they didn't bring the PA back, and cut out a whole scenario from the Japanese version, it's awfully neat. Single note...
'Mick'.
...
That really bothers me. Especially since his original name was 'Kojirou', which is fairly pronounceable, considering.
Also, PENGIN!