Part 11: A Curse Called "Being Stupid", Apparently.

The bonus stream of the MMBN charity marathon, starting with my miserable attempt at MMBN4 Red Sun, will begin setup in half an hour and likely begin properly in another half hour.





I have nothing to say here. I simply misremembered the puzzle, and that mistaken memory bottlenecked me from thinking straight.

Oh my how embarrassing and hilarious! I sure did not do anything that silly im my LP


nooooo don't go back and check



Now with all 3 types of nuts, the virus, well, you know by this point.





Although the nut programs are consumed in the blaze.

Nooo Mr Prog....



The T stands for Time I guess, but regardless, here's a chip tucked away.





By the way, I forgot to mention this last update. The emulator can't quite handle objects that arc over the screen's boundary, so a Beetle's bomb shots for example just cease existing if they launch from the top row or are targeting you on the top row from the middle row.

Ohhh, so that's why. I always wondered why it seemed like randomly bombs wouldn't appear. Makes sense!

MegaMan is invisible due to the use of an Invis chip and the game's use of flicker-based SFX.



The virus trio here, the last of the dungeon, is listed as 3 pairs of viruses in a sequence. Your job is to select 3 programs from the available 6 to complete those sets.

I like how Mega is saying that like he just figured it out.



Simple as that, though "wool" is a bit of an out-liar virus since it's a product and not an animal itself. Given my co-commentator is Australian, would it be in poor taste to make a sheep joke?

..Oi! Whaddaya take me for, a bloody kiwi?!



Yeah yeah, explosion, yeah. This is the last of the dungeon's "puzzles".

Let's face it though, explosions are cool. And those "puzzles" did stump you



At the end of things, it's time to fight the boss. I'll skip the fight here and cover the gameplay up until the point where I orchestrated the double battle, so the video will be at the end of the update rather than here.

I just want you to know that while I was looking for a BeastMan.EXE reference pic, I found fanart of a BeastMan.EXE YuGiOh! card, Pokémon card, and a Triple Triad card. On the first page.

I also found this



Lan mistakes BeastMan.EXE for a virus at first.



I don't want to seem navi-racist, but he could be mistaken for a virus pretty easily.



MegaMan corrects him, but this does raise a good point. All the customization capabilities in the world, even with non-Euclidian geometry well within the possible reach for computer rendering, and people default to humanoid Navis almost exclusively.

So what you're saying is... operators are not entirely dissimilar to furries?



You'll also note that BeastMan here has a striking resemblance to SlashMan from the original series. What's (even more) weird about this is that an actual SlashMan appears in MMBN6 Gregar version, and he looks nothing like original series SlashMan!

They've both kind of got claws though... right?



Yeah, Lan and MegaMan never get tricked by anything ever!

You know the score



BeastMan is not impressed.



Evidently there's a discrimination subtheme here.

As far as "beast" characters though, BeatMan's still pretty dang human-shaped. Just putting it out there.



BeastMan makes it seem as though beastial Navis are second-class citizens of sort, but given he's the only one ever seen in the series...okay? Hard to be prejudiced against a demographic of only one individual.

No man, that's the whole thing. Where are they keeping all the beastial navis? Integration now!



Inukai's muttonchops are hideous. It looks like he just has mud/feces smeared on him. This is not to say that muttonchops are an ugly style, Inukai just disgraces the pantheon of MMBN Characters With Facial Hair. Or even MMBN Characters The Goons Have Given Facial Hair.

It's alright man, I can fix Inukai's hair



Wait I think that made it worse...



Lan is, as usual, indignant in the face of crime, but in his defense he doesn't know he's up against a collective group yet.

I could see him having the same reaction if he knew, though.



Let's fix that. Thanks, Inukai, for filling the role of Exposition Villain.

Inukai seen here also playing the role of calling it like it is. "It" being Lan, and "it" being an idiot.




Lan and MegaMan are shocked! Shocked! It's not like they met PlanetMan in MMBN2's postgame who outright told them WWW was returning! Actually, that said, postgames in the MMBN series are never recognized in the main game. They seem to exist in a separate sort of continuity, though even then I can't recall them ever referring to previous ones.

Oh no! The World Three! Quick! Everybody act surprised!



Annnd this is a fair point. Look at what Wily survives in the original series on a regular basis. He's even more obscenely durable in this continuity.

Everybody is insanely durable in this place. Remember when everybody got dosed with lethal amounts of radiation last game? Huh? Huh?



He did this presumably by putting out a Craigslist posting.

More like supervillains anonymous



"Now that I'm done explaining my affiliation to you, time to die!"

That Inukai is a proper villain.



When Animals Attack: Yoka?

We join this program alreeady in-progress



MegaMan died once already at the end of MMBN1, thank you very much, and technically Hub Hikari died over a decade previous!

Would you say they... RISE FWOM YOUR GWAVE



what that grammar doesn't really work. and I made this joke last LP, anyway.



There's an actual soundbyte here for BeastMan's roars, but you can just imagine the Robot Dinosaurs That Shoot Beams When They Roar sound instead.

This being a Let's Play, everybody pull out your toy robots/robot dinosaurs and make them make noises!

...what do you mean that's stupid and you don't have any? Gosh, you people.



BeastMan isn't tough. Two of them? You'll see.



Surprisingly, BeastMan doesn't get the usual "Oh no, I'm exploding, time for a last line!" courtesy every other villain in the series gets.

What is it with this dungeon and explosions?

(explosions are cool)



Inukai commits himself firmly to the "I'm a one-dimensional villain character because I blame my Navi" stereotype.

Say... who's going to be showing off in the BeastMan battle, again?



Which Lan, as usual, never fails to comment on.



MegaMan disables the medical chips, at any rate, so crisis averted.





You have to wonder what these things are FOR. One was in an elementary school's principal's computer, the other was in a ZOO. There's presumably four of them, so...Maybe this is some sort of MMBN DRM-equivalent and Wily is just trying to play the latest Putt-Putt game.

Security by obscurity? Look at this proof it doesn't work!



Lan, villains in these games are too dumb to fib just to psyche you out.

Everybody in these games is too dumb to pysche people out. Which is probably just as well, that would make things way too complicated.



Inukai disconnects, either way, but MegaMan reminds Lan that they have more immediate concerns.

Bros before ... man I had something for this...



Fade to black, then back in to Chisao and the condor.





The condor QUACKS for some reason and flies off.

I'm learning an awful lot about condors from this game



Even Chisao is a little baffled by that one. Chisao does indeed plummet. Lan chases after...



Dex to the rescue and all, good for him, but, um. I'll just quote the Puma Man episode of MST3K: "Help, I'm falling at a 45 degree angle in defiance of all the laws of physics!"

It's MegaMan Battle Network, so I blame... computers.



The heroic theme of the game plays, but this fits more. Actually, 90% of the time, now that I think about it, that does fit more for these games.

It's beautiful



Dex genuinely appreciates Lan by this point, and I don't think he ever pulls a "I'm the best in ACDC" thing again for the rest of the series. I forget if I've mentioned before, but Dex is actually likable in this game and, on top of that, useful on occasion.

Every MMBN character is likable, if you look at them the right way. Would anybody like to buy a pair of extremely rose-coloured glasses??



Chisao doesn't get it, and actually returns as an ANTAGONIST in the Red Sun version of MMBN4.

Chisao's cool, the kid's got moxie.



Lan shrugs it off, either way.



Dex isn't one to forget this, however.

Maybe he can make it up to us by going into a highly irradiated area later. Oh. Wait nevermind.



Fade out and back in, and the gang is meeting in ACDC park a day or two later. Chisao came to bring Dex to his father in Netopia.

whoa whoa whoa

Dex has PARENTS?!



Mayl asks if she'll be rid of Dex, but this isn't the case.





Dex will be sticking around to, in his own words, be the boss of ACDC elementary.

Lofty goals, Dex.



Yai is more blunt, even when compared to Mayl. It figures that the only game I like Dex in has everyone making him the butt of jokes.



Dex is invigorated by all this, after apologizing for the trouble caused by Chisao, and apparently Lan actually did wind up spreading the word of WWW being active again.

Still lofty goals, Dex.



Yai snarks even further. Who knows, I actually might hate her less in this game too. Mayl never does anything useful or entertaining, though, so that standard remains.

Hey. She gave us a wireless connection last game, which was apparently lost between then and now.



Cue Dex chasing Yai around, fade out with laughter. It IS like an old TV show!



Meanwhile, villain cutscene! Wily appreciates that he's got two TetraCodes, but is more than a little miffed that two of the Navis he's programmed personally have been deleted.

He's really got to be expecting that though, it happens every time.



MissEchelon, I'm requesting a Wicked Wily of the West picture here.

...you really want to start another crossdressing derail?



OK



Wily's halfway to his goal, and we're 2 scenarios into the game. Does that mean he'll maintain this pace? NOPE. He won't get the 3rd and 4th codes until near the end of the game.



I guess he's moving on up in the world of naming plans. Of course, "Cybergeddon" could be interpreted to just be a plain old Geddon1 chip.

Haha oh my god, "Cybergeddon" is the best



Cue more Wily laughter.



Although this time he seems to be having problems with his old man lungs.

Aw, he just got a little overexcited is all.



Foreshadowing! Wily has an ally this time around! I won't say who, as we're not finding out for I think 4-5 more scenarios in the game, but I can assure you that Wily's accomplice is an eyebrow-raiser.

HE? Or Him...?





Wily continues laughing himself sick, and we cut ahead to a month later.



We're in the middle of Ms. Mari discussing data compression! Fascinating. 7Zip extends well into the future or something.

Don't use your sarcasm. Data compression is fascinating.



Blah blah blah, and Lan asks if he could compress MegaMan. Veterans of this game are probably all wincing in unison right now.

...I meant data compression is fascinating except for this one particular instance.



Ms. Mari responds that it would be hypothetically possible, but keeping a Navi in a functional-yet-compressed state would be very difficult.

She neglects to mention that it would also be a really dumb idea. Why, Ms. Mari?!



Lan laments not being able to miniaturize MegaMan when he nags about homework.



Blink animation! You could make a drinking game out of this, I swear. MegaMan is not amused.

Blink animation is the co-commentator I wish I could be.



MegaMan continues to be unamused, and roasts Lan in front of everybody!



No alarm function for you, Lan! Although tomorrow's Saturday anyway.

...Aw. That's all he can do to Lan? Poor Mega.



Lan backpedals as fast as he can, naturally.

Oh. Apparently that's a real threat? Man I don't even know.



MegaMan milks this for all its worth.

The world's #1 netbattlers, folks.



Anyway, the game prompts you to talk to Dex, Mayl, and Yai as usual to see what everyone's up to.

I'm sure I've already said it, but you should tak every chance to talk to your three best friends anyway.



None of them are available on Saturday, however, but after you talk to all three Mr. Higsby emails Lan!

Omg Higsby. The best of friends!



And this means...Higsby's is open.



This. This marks the threshold. Once I enter this door, I could snap anything in this game, romhack or not, into itty bitty screaming pieces.



Mostly courtesy of this thing. Chip Traders return as usual, but they are nothing in the face of the almighty Number Trader. You see, from this point on, the game will have 8-digit codes tucked away in secret locations. These can be punched into the Number Trader, and it will give you an item that corresponds to that code.

1: There is absolutely nothing stopping you from, in a fitting moment, just looking the codes up online.

2: Some of the items include the pieces to a 1000-damage P.A., multiple 200+ damage chips, a gazillion items that break the NaviCust even MORE, SubChip bonanzas, and holy fuck could I go on.

If I had to cite what the most broken thing in the whole MMBN series was, it'd be the Number Trader, not things like FolderBack or Gater. From here to the rest of the series, the Number Trader will stick around to allow you to make a complete mockery out of the whole game.

I will avoid using it, except for legitimate codes I find in-game, until after the final boss goes down and we enter the postgame. If the double-boss challenges get impossible, however, I will relent and use a few of the LESS overpowered things the Number Trader can offer.

That said, I do intend to use one particular Number Trader chip on the next boss as a gag demonstration, though that will be in addition to the normal fight.

God damn do we love Higsby



A Mr. Prog in the NumberMan-themed display board mimics Higsby, though MegaMan isn't impressed. There's an HPMmeory in there too.

Mega can't complain, he does really terrible impersonations too
_{You'd better be showing that off later!}



Anyway, time to get to business which I will immediately abort in favor of getting the double-BeastMan fight taken care of.

Hooray!



Higsby was on a sales trip, but he caught a cold while out and about.

That's worrying, but not nearly as worrying as that poster behind him.



Lan brings up the main subject matter.

Is it the poster?? Check out that shark, god damn.



Three!? Well, they're all very easy and short, rest assured.

Do any of them include that shark though?! (no)



And Higsby even promises to pay us for the effort!



Lan questions whether this is a good idea, but Higsby retorts that he trusts Lan more than anybody.

Lan is trustworthy when it comes to things that aren't schoolwork or being places on time or not being an idiot.



MegaMan even chimes in that it'll be educational.

I guess Higsby did used to briefly be a schoolteacher. And a WWW agent. This will be all kinds of educational!



Lan decides that studying == errand running, so we're all set!



Amusingly, Higsby's "huh" tic works its way into his sneezes.



First job is to just pick up some equipment from the ACDC Metroline station.

IWhat kind of equipment? I guess it doesn't matter.



After Lan jokingly imitates Higsby, we're sent off!

Higsby impersonations all round, huh!



Yai interjects afterwards that she made a shortcut to SciLab Square on her computer, just to one-up Dex.



Anyway! The moment you've been waiting for! Double BeastMan.EXE (and CanoDumb)battle! This is chaotic for this point in the game, because BeastMan's attacks all involve him warping all over the place while slashing at you. Having two of them around creates a lot for the eyes to track.



Meh. Double Delete. I didn't even have to abuse the Chip Trader! Though, I did tweak my folder a bit to include the Prism chip along with a CopyDamage chip. Getting them both in range of attacks is unreliable.

But abusing the chip trader is tradition, dangit! That was impressive though.