Part 18: OH LOOK AT ME I CAN FARM A TON OF ASTERISK CHIPS WOOOO.

And now, back to more content!

In case you skipped the goodie bag to prevent spoilers:



I'm pretty sure that should read: "Capcom is trolling you"



We cut to our favorite fan-girl magnet. Thinking over how to make that Hikari boy a non-idiot things.

Fan-girl magnet? Well that explains why Lan's always hanging around him.



When suddenly, this dude walks up. And no, his hair isn't familiar or anything. You don't know what you're talking about.

It is incredibly "Bride of Frankenstein", though.



Huh.





Someone's got a stick up his ass, for sure.

It's a hereditary disorder.



NO WONDER. So that's why Chaud is such an ass. Great job, Dad.

Well.... if he set out to raise his kid to be just like him, good job!





: ...don't tolerate failure!" You should be training for tomorrow, rather than wasting your time here!

Yeesh, Chaud's got some Daddy issues. Fan-girls that want to comfort him: +26




We cut away to re-join our hereos...


: N1 Grand Prix! It says, "The much-anticipated N1 Grand Prix will be held tomorrow at DNN on Beach Street. In preparation for the N1, we will be recording a special program in Beach Square on the Net today. Everyone is invited to come, so feel free to bring your friends!

So the N1 Grand Prix will be held tomorrow at Beach Street and there's some sort of promotional event going on right now? Fuck you guys for telling me this at the last minute.

I'm pretty sure that sending out open party invites over the internet is like the #1 way to get a wild, uncontrolled street party that the police then get called to.

This gon' be gooooood.



Lan and MegaMan decide to invite their friends...by talking to their NetNavis. Why? Can't you just send them all a quick e-mail or ask them via phone call? Why do we have to talk to their NetNavis by sending MegaMan through the Net. That means running into viruses! And maybe FlashMan Beta. Fuck this, I'll just go to their houses directly.

No you fool, nooooo! Internet solutions to real-world problems, foreverrrrr!



What. Since WHEN do Lan's friends lock their houses?



LAN! You do know how to KNOCK, don't you? Or maybe ring the doorbell?



Forget this, I'm going to Higsby's.

Haha man, I never knew that was a thing. That's amazing. I can only imagine everybody's parents came home and told them they can't have that hyper Hikari kid over, he'll just wreck stuff.





Higsby!!!!





ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY CHIP SELLER! If you are new or average, I'd say buy that wonderful Recov80 * or even the Mine R. Mine deals great damage and can hit enemies even when they're flashing. I bought neither of these things because they don't help me with S-ranking! We want to set ourselves up with multiple deletes. I bought RedWave J -- good damage and can hit multiple things. Plus, it's fire so if I hit something on a grass panel, that will double to 180 damage.

If you have an Elec style, then I fucking envy because Lightning is godly for S-ranks. Just put a RockCube in the enemy's area, use Lightning and boom, easy S-rank.

For the most part I am saving my money. I want that Anubis you see there. And I *need* it before a particular plot point. What could I need it for? Don't worry your pretty little head; it'll be cool, I promise.

calling it now. he needs it for netbattling :P


Taking care of a few more things...



I don't recall the thread ever jacking into here. You see, this comp was not open at the very beginning. There's usually some text that says "the jack-in port is dusty" or "the appliance is locked from jacking in." EVERY game does this. Your only hope is to examine everything, remember what the description said and jack into the computer at a later point in the story. Cryptic shit is also the name of the game.

thanks Capcom

But more than swag and new shit to loot, we need to find funny Mr.Progs for MissEchelon. For you see, if MissEchelon does not get her requisite amount of Mr.Prog dialogue, then the thread users' houses will be descended upon by a hailstorm of severed, flaming Prog heads. We don't want that now, hmm?



Looks like you can meet Eleballs in here. Another place to optionally grind for Plasma chips if you need it.

Look at how goddamn happy that Eleball is.



Shit reward, really. But we NEED this to complete Program Advances. So yeah, you better start getting into the habit of reading everything several times over. You never know when something like this is in there.








W-W-WHAT!? FEMALE!? How does that even...? EWWWWWWW!!!

Would it be worse if they went "All the programs here are male. It's the best way?" why am I thinking about this I DOUBT PROGRAMS HAVE GENDERS.



...I think I'm getting out of here now.

oh japan



Sure, why not. Bubbler C can be gotten by getting a non-Custom Style S-rank on Shrimpy viruses. WideSword C is a code we don't yet have for that chip, and even more importantly, a trader NPC will give you the chip that another trader NPC has, thus allowing you to trade-chain your way to better rewards. We will see who wants WideSword C in a later update, though.

...what does that sign behind them say? Clea...nersl? OH! Cleaners 1. With Capcom's excellent text-spacing. That's great, just great.


That takes care of the cleanup.



Let's just ask our friends if they can come.



Damn.



Double Damn.





TRIPLE Damn! Why couldn't we just send out an e-mail again? Seriously. Off to Yoka!

Haha, everybody forever is doing their best to avoid Lan and Mega. What a coincidence!






Before getting there, I decided to show off why I bought RedWave J. See that range? Unfortunately, it doesn't travel fast enough to hit the two viruses to count as a double, which means it will only work as a multiple deletor if the enemies are in the same column. It's good for a few niche situations.

Being able to quickly and easily take own trash mobs is always a good thing.





THIS WILL BE AN IMPORTANT HINT LATER! This game expects you to pick up, decipher and remember small details like these to figure out some of the post-game secrets. And by that, I mean the heater. You'll really want to remember that this is here.

It also makes a good landmark, iirc




After talking to GutsMan, we get an e-mail from the lovely administration who forgot to send us the new train ticket! Um, I'm not sure why the writers had us talk to each NetNavi individually, only to have the administration send us a train pass afterwards. I don't get what they wanted to delay, or what they wanted the player to learn. You find out about the heater much earlier than this. Oh, well.

It's just how progression works in these games. Can't mess with the core gameplay mechanic they've been honing all series!







New area means new viruses and new chips. Also a new shop! Aren't you just excited?

I'm excited

for train Mr Progs in cute little hats



Complete with helpful signs.



Are you satisfied, my queen?



More Progs!! More!!!



New virus!

Yort: I like yoyos. They will line up with you and fire their yoyos up to 3 squares away -- hitting 3 times at the third square of their range, and only 2 times on the other two squares. The yoyos don't cause flashing so you can conceivably get combo'd to oblivion if you make a misstep (or can't move out of the way for some reason).

I don't like Yorts, they are jerks. Thier name is fantastic, though.

Sand Panels: These things are annoying. When you step on them, your movement speed is reduced by half moving on or off of them. Notably, attacks that shake the ground (like Quaker viruses in SciLab, for instance) won't actually do anything on these panels. Tornado will deal double damage on these panels, so there's a good combo if you like using that chip.

We can do funny things to the Yort's yoyo. Take a look:



By putting a RockCube when they are about to fire their yoyo...



...we can effectively destroy their only weapon. They will now move around unpredictably. It's fun to do, and it's a nice move if you want to save on your movement and damage points for S-ranking. But be warned that the obstacle still takes damage from the yoyos getting broken on it.

Huh... if I'd known you could do that, I probably would have liked Yorts better.

Now, let's see what the Custom Style S-rank for Yort is:



Booyah.



HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Yes, you can encounter Fanfare viruses here. The first place you can find them is in NumberMan Sign Comp at Higsby's. S-ranking them gives Fanfare G, while a Custom Style S-rank grants Fanfare *. Jesus, that's such a good chip.




Deetles are the upgraded form of the Beetles. You meet Beetles in BeastMan's dungeon. Now, instead of firing one bomb, they fire two. Their chip does the same. They will always stay 3 columns away from you and never in your row -- use that to your advantage to set them up for double or triple deletes.




SnowBlow: A funny virus. When he sucks in air, he pulls you to the front and after a bit of that, he will "sneeze." This will spawn 3 tornadoes one after the other. These tornadoes follow MegaMan to his row and travel to the left on it.

Also he has an awesome 'stache

I would have gotten his chip with a Custom Style S-rank, but noooooo, the game wants to give me Dash Attack * instead.




Once again, praise the CopyDmg.

I wouldn't have thought we were far enough in the game for such good chips, but here we are.



Shakers! We are already fighting the upgraded forms of these viruses. If we can get its chip, we'll be packing some serious power.

DOUBLE PIRATES?



I see great things from this draw. All I need to do is get hit and let AntiDmg do the work.





Woah. A 150 damage, row-occupying, asterisk chip!? You can bet your ass this is going in the folder! MORE S-RANKS!

_{i think somebody's showing off! If I was the main LPer you'd never see any of this. Because I am not good at this game.}



I don't know what to say, guys. This game wants me to fuck it in the ass. I love you, too, Battle Network 3.





MOTHERFUCKING SHIT. I wanted Doublebomb!



Same encounter...and wow.



What can I say, I'm a beast.



I always love that the better you are at this game the more tools it gives you to further destroy everything.


Now, it's time we do mystery datas and explorations. I'm thinking I'll do new areas like this: Viruses and chips--->Exploration and Mystery datas ---> Shops ----> Plot




How cute.

Recovery chips? Pshhhh



MORE PRESS PATHS! Of course, who doesn't want more Press paths?

Not shown: having to enter the menu EVERY TIME to install the press program :shakefist:



I know I definitely want more of those.





Maxing out my inventory on these. Why? These are actually very good SubChips. Underrated if you ask me. By using Untrap, we can clear green mystery datas out of infected viruses. We will then get a prize of chip data that is randomly selected from the area. Now, I HAD to use this in Battle Network 6 to complete a Program Advance. There was an Untrap-specific code of a chip in a specific area I needed. Now, just about every Battle Network game has Untrap-exclusive rewards. When I say this, I don't count Chip Trader because damn near everything in every code can be found in Chip Trader. Untrap lasts until you jack out, so it is very much worth the few hundred Zenny you shell out for it.

Huh, I had no idea there was something like that in MMBN6. That's so very Capcom.



MegaMan does not agree with my purchase. He doesn't know what he's talking about.

Subchips are intrinsically more boring than chips, since you an't slam viruses with them in battle. Therefore, boring to Mega





And now everyone is laughing at me. It's a worthwhile investment, I swear!





See? I TOLD YOU. And that's why I said the Recov50 G was cute, because Recov50 * is a Green Mystery Data reward in Beach Area. I highly suggest you carry a plentiful supply of Untraps and at least 2 Unlockers at all times. You'll be much more efficient at "cleaning house" and you can find chips in differing codes. You never know what you may find.

Recovery chips? Pshhhh.

True about the Unlockers though. There's not a lot less fun than traipsing back and forth through the 'net because you forgot an unlocker and what if that PMD has something really really cool in it??



I'm sure as hell be taking this.

And that's it, now we'll head over to the square and do this program thing or whatever. It's in Beach Area 2 past the Press paths.





How could I forget Jennifer? She was only a one-time NPC back in KnightMan's scenario in Battle Network 2!

Ah, Jessica. She certainly appeared in upwards of 2 scenes in a very short scenario in the previous game.



This is the harder version of the minigame from Yoka Square. Press 90 buttons correctly in 60 seconds to receive...





...a reward that's not fucking worth it. You can easily get more than this by busting Mettaurs in ACDC. Don't play these games.



b-but my completionism!!



There is a shop NPC right next to the minigame guy. He sells NaviCust Programs. We will only be buying Fish right now -- I need to save my money. What Fish does is attract Aqua-elemental viruses. You will need these to fill out your Chip Library. Many, many viruses are found only in specific computers and are normally "rare". Remember that Hothead and Moshy in the first update I made? Those are considered to be rare in their respective areas. To make them appear commonly, use Oilbody or Jungle. I guess I should consider myself lucky I found them so I could show you guys.

Reg+5 is decent, granting +5 Regular Memory upon equipping, but Battle Network 3 does not use it to its fullest potential. You'll see what I mean by that later.

The game does actually explain about attracting viruses with this things, but not very clearly or well iirc. And it's really a crapshoot where you need to use them. A+ gameplay innovation, is what I'm saying.



This game... This game, man. I'm buying another TimeBomb because we clearly don't have enough ways to S-rank viruses right now. VarSword is utterly broken. You can output 640-800 damage with just one of those things. Not buying it because that's just fucking unfair. And Barr200? I guess enemies will never be hurting you.

VarSword is the fucking bomb.com! I used one to humiliate a boss in MMBN2. With a VarSword you can have a one-chip LifeSword, or even more hilarity...


PLOT TIME!





Nice outfit. And we cut ahead to when GutsMan arrives.

Like a bright orange Mouseketeer. Very stylish.





: ...focus on the N1 Grand Prix! We will be showing you what's going on behind the scenes, beginning with interviews with actual N1 contestants!

It would be a good idea to rehearse a bit before going live. You know, in case someone gets nervous? This way they can fall back on something they know what to say.

NO WE'RE DOING IT LIVE!







Well, this could be worse, at least.

Let's face it, if GutsMan prepared that's pretty much what he'd say anyway. G-G-Guts!!







They went out of control because the conducted interview was utter shit? I agree with them.

Oh. I thought it was because they invited everyone to bring whoever they wanted to the party on Beach Street. Because that seems like the inevitable result.



GUTS!!!



Well, okay, then.



And MegaMan just sorta...lets them go ahead. And now they elect to go after them. I say forget them, personally. But we have to be nice. So let's track down those 3.

That's how they handle every situation, so it follows.





Fucking great.

I told you about her being awfully mousey! HERE'S THE PROOF!







This is supposed to be a problem? You're a custom-built Navi. You're the Aryan race, here! Just blow them away! Of course, if there are like a dozen of them, then yeah, I can see you needing help.

Party with them, it's the only way!

...if only GutsMan had some sort of wide-area attack that he could use. Alas.





And Lan closes his eyes for some reason.





This guy is blocking our way! We can't have him stop our progression! Good to see Netopian is being hated on again in Battle Network.

I'm not saying Netopia is full of criminals, but...



His viruses are absolute shit. Tuby just confuses, which screws up your controls, but you can knock out the Mettaurs so fast that his confusion will mean NOTHING.



ONLY 3 OF THEM!? FUCKING BEAUTIFUL! GOOD HUSTLE! YOU DID YOUR BEST! ROUND OF APPLAUSE!





Honestly, your only competition is absolute shit aside from MegaMan, ProtoMan, and maybe a select few others. It's not that hard to be noticed in the World Rankings.

Yeah, it's hard to say Netopia is great at NetBattling when they're consistently beaten by 11-year old Electopians.



Nuke the Canodumb first, then take your time as needed. Still shit.





Pitiful. Would be interesting if they were Swordy2s, but the low HP of Swordy1 makes this a cakewalk.

NETOPIA RULES AT NETBATTLING





You wanna kill him for his incompetence?

Ain't no sense being evil if you're not also incredibly condescending.







Hey, don't fuck with me. I could probably beat the final boss right now. No joke.





Bring about 47 more guys and then it'll be an even fight. Sound good?

Now I'm not racist, but can we get some dudes who aren't Netopian in here to help you out? Give you a more even shot?





ProtoMan, y u steal mah spotlight. y u do dis.

He just does it so well!





And he decides it would be best to just book it.

And yet none of them recognise MegaMan, the guy who saved the world PROBABLY A MILLION TIMES and took down the netmafia and all that.

scrub Netopians, man







HEY! Protagonist over here! Saved the world twice by now! C'mon!? Where's a little "Team Hikari spirit?"

Can't be the underdog story of Mega beating Proto if anybody gave you any recognition for pretty much anything.





GutsMan, I wouldn't even be talking if I were you.



Does she mean me?

I can only presume she means GUTS GUTS GUTS





+1 to the ProtoMan and Chaud fangirl count.



Poor GutsMan, he's almost as ignored as Mega





And that's done!

And if we hadn't showed up, then.... pretty much everybody would have been saved by Proto, anyway. A job well done!


Literally the very next cutscene...




Like what? Killing BubbleMan? How do you know ProtoMan did that? For all you know, BubbleMan committed suicide. Are Chaud and ProtoMan doing things behind the scenes to counter WWW? Hmm...

Dangit, Wily of all people should know that Lan's the one he's really gotta watch out for. Senile old dingbat.





So it looks like this scenario is Chaud-focused. In case you couldn't already tell.

So rally the fangirls!







"Footage?" If you've been paying realllly close attention, you should be able to guess who the person who said that is.

Um. All I know is it's definitely not BubbleMan.


Next cutscene...






Oh, great, we're running errands.

If only we had some sort of network of connected computers to transfer data to others without the need for disks...

Lan should mention that to his dad when he visits! It's a good idea!



Disk? I guess whatever is in here is too big to be e-mailed. Gotta obey that attachment size limit, after all.

Either that or his mum can't work out email and Lan doesn't know any better.



Mayl mails us (THE PUNS) to say that her HP shortcut leads to Yoka Area. Handy.



I don't think the thread saw this jack-in point, either.

Just chilling out in Yai's room, no biggie.

I think this is possibly why all Lan's friends locked their houses earlier.



Shitty.





Poor Mr. Prog will fade away into irrelevancy.

It's OK Mr Prog, soon you'll be retro and cool again.





Team Hikari! About damn time!



This aside, there is a good reason I am going to Yoka Area. It's also why the update hasn't ended yet, despite a very good drop-off point.



Ooooh, dead-ends. I wonder what could be lying here. This is in Yoka Area 1, by the way. You need to use Press in Yoka Area 2 to get over here.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aTZm1PAwYM

DAMMIT!



Too fucking easy!



Remember when I bough Fish? Yeah, I'm putting it in. What I am about to do is something so tactically suicide that you should not follow me. This is the solo part of this Let's Play. You do NOT want to copy what I'm about to do.

So... you're pulling a Lan?



No fucking Undershirt, either. I must be insane.

Heading over to Beach Area 1...


You can actually meet Swordy2's in here! The fire equivalent of Fish is OilBody, so once you get that, you can grind FireSwrd chips here.

Swordys are still jerks, btw.



Oh no, guys! One more hit and I'm dead! Why did I do this? Remember when EpeeEm mentioned the whole Beta Navi thing? Yeah, as I mentioned, this game expects you to analyze, recognize, decipher, and piece together strings of information that you will not recognize on your journey GameFAQs or otherwise use the Internet to solve the mysteries on the Internet! Now that we just killed BubbleMan Alpha, by jacking out and jacking back in, BubbleMan Beta is now available to fight in Beach Area 1. How were you supposed to know this? The game mentions this, but later. It's a hint about how there's some scuba-suit Navi running around in Beach Area 1 and that they were low HP when they found him.

Facts we know about BubbleMan:
1) He's a pussy
2) He's a pussy
3) He's a pussy
4) He has a perfectly squishable face

Therefore, having low HP is key to making him appear. I put Fish, otherwise I will get non-Aqua type viruses instead of him. And SneakRun is there to hopefully kill some of the low level trash.

Well, at least being at low HP is more incentive to not get hit in the fight, and get a better busting level.




Oh, you can encounter Shrimpy2's and Rattys in here, good to know. My folder changed quite a bit. I made it worse than what I had. I need to give this game a chance, you know.

As an Australian, I must advise that you barbecue that shrimp.





And there goes the Custom Style S-rank reward.


Oh, hello there BubbleMan!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOe9NJFcrx0

And that's why they call me Killer.



And that's the end of the update! Wow, this was long. Lemme know if that's the kind of length you'd guys would want. I also want you to tell me what the next style you want to get! I might get Custom pretty soon. As you can see, I'm pretty thorough with cleaning up the areas, so I end up fighting a lot.

Votes so far:
1-Shadow
1-Bug
1-Shield
N/A-Custom (can't vote)
0-Guts
0-Team
N/A-Ground (I'll probably show this off at some point)

For you newcomers and archive readers, don't worry about the above. Whatever style I get, I'll explain what they do. I plan to cover every style at some point.