Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection (PC) Reviewed

Mega Man’s certainly has evolved into multiple forms over the years. From his X incarnation, to his Legends version to his MegaMan.exe form, Capcom’s Blue Bomber has certainly kept up appearances over the years. With multiple entries in the Battle Network series, the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection is the first time they’ve all been collected in one handy format.

So, does that make this collection the best by default?

Technically, yes. It’s also the worst collection by default too!

Putting that semantic aside, is it worth replaying these portable games today?

What is the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection?

The Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection is the complete compilation of all the mainline ARPG Battle Network games.

It is however, missing the spin-offs (Network Transmission, Battle Chip Challenge and the Japan-only Rockman EXE 4.5 Real Operation) games. The collection’s developed and published by Capcom and is available right now on the PC, Playstation consoles and the Nintendo Switch as two separate volumes, or in one big pack.

Capcom graciously gave us the complete set, which is why this is a review of the collection as a whole and not the individual volumes.

Unlike regular Mega Man (even the X or Legends series) games, the Battle Network series takes on a different premise.

In these games, Mega Man’s not even a physical person.

He’s the NetNavi (think of it as an AI/ avatar) of Lan, a boy whose father paired him with MegaMan. MegaMan exists as a digital construct, so he’s not bound by physical rules…and in the technologically advanced setting of the games, that’s a godsend.

Many times, MegaMan is literally the last line of defense, despite Lan just being a kid. Seriously, over the course of the series, Lan goes up against terrorists, the mafia and other evil organizations!

While technically there are 10 games in the collection, in reality 4 of those games have two different versions. Like how Pokemon has Blue and Red and whatnot, it’s the same for the later games in the Battle Network collection.

New to the collection are the art galleries, online battle modes (for the titles that support them) and best of all, the ability to max out MegaMan’s buster shot to make the battles easier. Weirdly, there’s no way to speed up the game, toggle battles on or off or even boost the Zenny (money) gained.

There’s also a new filter to smoothen out the pixel art of the games but it just makes everything look blurry so my advice is to just stick to the original looks.

The pixel art style might be a bit limited due to them being on portables originally, but they’re still leagues better looking without the filter than with.

I mean, if you’re a fan of the games, why would you want any other style, right?

As with the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Collection, these games vary in quality.

The original one is lovable, but it’s arguably the worse of the lot. Its random encounter rate is nuts, making you fight every few steps. You’ll waste hours over the course of the game engaging in fights that serve very little purpose other than to pad out the game’s length. Here’s where the Max Buster upgrade is a godsend. If you’re good enough, you can end early battles in under 2 seconds. It doesn’t make the encounters bore you any less though!

Thankfully, the quality rapidly increases as the games progress. The second and third games are arguably the apex of the series, though the latter games aren’t really too bad. They’re quite good actually, just not as good as the second or third instalments.

The leap to the new platforms not done any harm to the games as well. They’re still technically solid, and I didn’t notice any bugs or issues with any of the games when I played them. As always, Capcom’s porting skills are top notch.

Capcom’s added in a host of extras too.

Art Galleries and the like that you’ll appreciate if you’re a fan. Unfortunately, the extras don’t offer any developer interviews or design documents, which is a shame since they’d provide awesome insight into the games.

The best extra though is the main screen’s MegaMan.

Simulating the NetNavi that assists Lan, the main screen MegaMan doles out quips with every action you take. He even comments when you take a screenshot! It’s so damn cool…so it’s a real shame that there’s no real purpose to him.

I ‘m actually a tad sad he’s so one and done. I’d love for him to be integrated more into the games (maybe as a live hint system?) but that’s not on the cards. He just appears on the menu and talks with you while you select your game and then he’s gone again.

Maybe Capcom’s gauging reaction to a new Battle Network game?

The Bottom Line.

There’s always room to grow but as the first complete compilation of the Mega Man Battle Network series, Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection is very good.

It packs a decent number of extras, adds online multiplayer and makes some quality of life improvements that are very appreciated. That makes some of the omissions (such as a no random battles toggle and the ability to speed up the game) all the more glaring.

Clearly somebody put some thought into what to include, so why didn’t they think adding those?

Apart from those issues, the collection is solidly compiled, with the games just as you remember them. Will we see a better compilation? No doubt, but as the only one in town right now (and for years in the foreseeable future), Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection is a great deal.

TLDR:

Great compilation though the omission of some quality of life features is a damn shame.