Nintendo Direct Minis aren't often jam-packed with exciting new announcements, but today's did have some pretty intriguing reveals. Along with the somewhat surprising reveal that Persona 5 Royal is finally heading to the Switch after years of speculation and rumors, along with its predecessors Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden, Nintendo also announced some neat titles heading over to the hybrid console in the next 12 months. One of these announcements was a collection of some of the most beloved Game Boy Advance titles of all time, the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection.
Heading to the Nintendo Switch as well as PC and PS4 in 2023, the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection bundles together all 10 Battle Network games, originally released on the Game Boy Advance in the early 2000s. While the first and second Battle Network games were standalone releases, the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth entries all had two different versions, much like the Pokemon series. While the general narrative and gameplay mechanics are the same between versions, each version does have their own unique set of exclusive content, often affecting certain story sequences and the collectibles that can be found throughout the game. Mega Man Battle Network 4: Blue Moon and Red Sun have some of the most diverging content of the bunch.
Every Difference Between Mega Man Battle Network 4: Blue Moon and Red Sun
For those who have never played a Mega Man Battle Network game before, there are a few things to know before the versions' differences are explained. Mega Man Battle Network trades in its source material's run-and-gun side-scrolling for an action-RPG card-battler. While player do control the titular hero on the field, firing Mega Man's Buster at their opponents, they also control Lan, who has access to a range of Battle Chips.
Acting similarly to just about any other collectible item in a TCG, Mega Man Battle Network's Battle Chips are found throughout the game, and are used to aid Mega Man in battle. These Battle Chips are categorized into rarity, ranging from common, to Giga. As the series progressed, this Battle Chip system would evolve, and become more complex, adding new types of Chips that would affect the gameplay in different ways.
One of the biggest differences between Mega Man Battle Network 4: Blue Moon and Red Sun is that each version has five exclusive Gigachips that are wholly unique to that game. Red Sun allows the player to obtain Meteo Red Sun, HolyDream, Bug Chain, Forte, and Darkness Barrier, while Blue Moon has Blue Moon Ray, Signal Red, Curse of Bug, Forte Another, and Delta Ray Edge. Each of these Gigachips unleashes devastating attacks on the opponent, or can greatly heal the player, but only one Gigachip can be equipped per deck.
In Mega Man Battle Network 4, players can use a special type of item called a Soul to transform Mega Man, and grant him temporary special abilities. In previous Battle Network games, these items were called Styles. Both Blue Moon and Red Sun each have six exclusive Souls to collect, each of which can be obtained by beating the game's story and advancing through its tournaments. Red Sun gives players the GutsSoul, FireSoul, WindSoul, RollSoul, ThunderSoul, and SearchSoul, while Blue Moon has the AquaSoul, NumberSoul, MetalSoul, WoodSoul, JunkSoul, and BluesSoul. Each of these will change the type of ammo that Mega Man fires, or will grant him a powerful temporary ability to use in battle.
In the Mega Man Battle Network series, the player fights against sentient computer programs named NetNavi, usually shortened to Navi. In the game's Tournament mode, players will fight against multiple Navi in a consecutive series, with a storyline connecting each fight. Each version of Mega Man Battle Network 4 has their own set of six unique Navi opponents, with Blue Moon having Aquaman, Blues, Junkman, Metalman, Numberman, and Woodman, while Red Sun has Fireman, Gutsman, Roll, Searchman, Thunderman, and Windman, each of which give the player the corresponding exclusive Souls mentioned above.
Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection releases in 2023 on PC, PS4, and Switch.
