Part 99: Cybeast Showdown.

You know the drill by this point, MegaMan mentions how we won't be able to save past here.



Upon entering, we're greeted by the sight of two enormous CopyBots. So this is what Wily's been working on the entire game.



Wily had a feeling we'd be coming. Baryl, on the other hand, he wasn't expecting.



As with all endgames, time for massive amounts of exposition and plot revelations.



Starting with! I like to imagine Baryl got all the attention while Regal was off being an idiot and neglected. Wily did say he didn't raise Regal well at the end of the last game, so that might not be too far off.



It's kind of interesting how things occasionally work backwards in MMBN versus the original and X series events. Wily didn't create Bass, but he did make Colonel.




This would lead to the formation of WWW and the events of the first game. This is knowledge we've had since the end of the first game, though. Wily's robotics research was spurned in favor of Dr. Tadashi Hikari's network research, leading the setting to be what it is.



In an obvious retcon, there was an event that occurred between that point and the start of the series, however. Roughly 20 years before the first game.



No, they never give him a name. Wily proceeds to refer to him as 'that man' for the rest of this exposition.




So, following his being booted out of the scientific community, an American/European military commander took an interest in Wily's expertise in robotics. Fancy that, remember the tanks Wily made at the end of MMBN3? You could consider those his resume.



Wily put his own plans on hold for the time being, since let's face it, he probably found the idea of designing military weaponry enjoyable. I like how either the writers didn't want to be specific, or that Wily flat out doesn't care which country the war was in.



And who wouldn't like Baryl?



Wily received a certain letter from the military...



Baryl's a JRPG character, we have to keep in mind, so of course someone cool like him is going to be an orphan.




Another difference MMBN Wily has from original series Wily. MMBN Wily seems to have senses of compassion and empathy to some degree.



Or, at least, he used to. At this point, you kind of have to feel a bit sorry for Wily. He wasn't evil for the sake of evil lie original series Wily, he's had a series of events that made him snap.



Wily used the data he'd gathered working with the military to compile an archive of "soldier data" and used it to rigorously train Baryl to be an even better soldier than his father.



Wily's a bit proud of his results, and I think we can all agree that Baryl came out of the regimen quite well.



He urges Baryl to return to his side and not to let Net society do any of the above.



Baryl's always been simple in his word usage, but in dialogue-heavy cutscenes like this, I really appreciate his direct way of speaking.



Rejecting Baryl's call to remember his old self, Wily angrily sticks to his goals.



The two enormous CopyBots finish charging with a loud clunk in the background.



Iris arrives and silently stands next to Wily, awaiting orders.



Lan shouts and tries to get her attention uselessly.



Time for the next expositional buildup, this time to the "big reveal" of the game.





Baryl goes so far as to state Colonel was the perfect Navi. It's interesting to note how Wily is apparently extremely skilled at Navi creation, considering he made Colonel, but completely despises Net society and everything Navis stand for.



This occurred on the very day Wily and Baryl got the news of Baryl's father's death.



One thing that's always been silly yet consistent in the games is that each Navi is a compilation of ridiculously specific programs that each handle a specific aspect or ability of that Navi. Like the WalkProg being stolen in MMBN2, or ShadowMan stealing 4 of KnightMan's programs in MMBN5.



So, his kindness and ability to control electronic devices had been removed by Wily in order to change Colonel into the perfect combat Navi.



You've probably figured it out by now, but remember that Lan's far from being the sharpest knife in the drawer.



I like to think that Wily is a little insulted by Lan's stupidity, in the "why do I keep being defeated by such an idiot" sense.



Specifically including that kindness program seems like a silly idea, but okay Wily, it was your call...



I mean, what good what kindness be in a weapons control Navi?



There you go, one of the most important screenshots in the game. The big reveal.



Ah, the irony. People in the thread speculated Iris was related to Baryl in some way, naturally, but I don't think anybody guessed that Colonel and Iris were siblings like this. I love it when expectations get twisted around like this!



Lan protests that to be impossible because Iris is in the real world, but immediately realizes the obvious answer: CopyBot.



Hint: they're gigantic and there's two of them.




Yup. Wily's master plan isn't to have a CopyBot army. It's to stick the Cybeasts inside two enormous CopyBots and let the ensuing destruction ravage the world. It all comes full circle, the series ends with a pair of Wily machines.



Iris is the 'control system' Wily needed earlier to control the Cybeasts, while the Force Program provides the giant CopyBots with the energy they need to move.



Lan notes that that's the CopyBot from the school's lobby as well.



"Yeah, I'll handle the giant legendary beast of destruction, don't worry." Oh Baryl.




Now how's that for a climax? 'Complete Colonel' is about as powerful as HubStyle MegaMan, I'll put that out as my estimation.





So much for that idea. Damn you and your foresight, Wily!



A competent villain making sure that his own creations can't turn against him? Ouch.



Baryl can at least stop Iris from controlling Gregar to Wily's whims.



Baryl jacks in...



Only to pass out from the massive injuries he's been sustaining this whole time. Yeah, Team Rocket beat him rather savagely when they had Iris hostage. Baryl's been dealing with it without batting an eyelash up until this point.



Considering how strong the Cybeasts are, Wily has a bit of a point here.



Especially because the Cybeasts react to each other. Falzar isn't taking MegaMan over, Falzar is wrenching free and escaping due to Gregar's presence.



Hooo boy.



And that's exactly what they do, actually:



The Cybeasts' combined powers, now that they're fully revived, are enough to cause computers all over Cyber City to explode. Not just go haywire, they blow up like dynamite.



As if a dirtied water supply was the worst outcome of this situation!



On the other hand, I think Cyber City is better off without the JudgeTree.



Mr. Weather, on the other hand, will be sorely missed. He did try to stop Vic from taking the Force Program and all.



At least Wily finally makes a mistake here.



Ordering someone brainwashed or in "operating mode" as this situation is to do something like attack a friend is always how they break free.



This scene is much funnier when you realize that Iris' girly voice is coming out of the giant Gregar machine.



Wily wasn't expecting this, particularly because Iris followed his orders while she was a weapons control Navi.



Colonel and Iris can work together even if they can't fuse, and that ought to be more than enough to deal with a Cybeast. This is Colonel we're talking about here.



Although, hey, might as well ask questions during this tense moment, get them out of the way sooner rather than later.



This is a rather sad line when you stop to think about it.



Wily points it out mockingly, proving once again how he's the best villain, but Iris goes into more detail.



The writers can't say it explicitly, but as a weapons control Navi, Iris has obviously been responsible for a high number of deaths.



However, when she escaped Wily's lab and went to Central Town, she was surprised to find a completely different world.



"My apparent age" more like it, Iris is about 15 based on Wily and Baryl's stories. It must have been hilariously awkward if anyone ever flirted with Iris, although that likely wouldn't happen because Cyber Academy doesn't have any upperclassmen. Although now I'm picturing a sitcom where Colonel's the protective older brother figure who terrifies the hell out of everyone else.



Wow, I'm totally ruining this dramatic moment. "My life was spent killing people as a weapon controller, then I found out that humans were actually kind and peaceful." Let's talk about funny stuff! Such is the way of the LP.



And of course, it's implied that Iris has a crush on Lan. He's the protagonist, she's the mysterious girl with a troubled past. This is a JRPG. 1 and 1 make 2.



Something that's become a bad habit for Lan.



Cliche as this is, this all builds up to one simple point:



Iris takes after her brother in the end.



Wily's probably laughing legitimately at this situation. You have to realize that by this point, every single other character Wily had working with him has betrayed him.



Time for the final battle. In terms of series timeline anyway.



Lan and MegaMan vs. Falzar!

Colonel and Iris vs. Gregar!

FIGHT!



Wily's confident we don't stand a chance. That mentality hasn't served him well in the past.



Yes! YES! I got it when it mattered most!



Falzar escaped, but this doesn't prevent you from using BeastOut powers even when you fight it.



The camera pans over to another, identical platform that Colonel and Iris are on.



Colonel greets us, at long last, as an ally once again.



Hell yes.



We'll see about that, Wily.



Final boss battle time!



Due to my love of theatrics, I fought Falzar in a very specific way.



Breath of Falzar: This is one of Falzar's most easily avoided attacks so long as you aren't standing in the back row. Do note that Breath of Falzar will hit you mutliple times if you move around inside of it to try and get out of it, so if it does catch you, it can rack up damage quickly.



Fire Birds: Falzar creates three plumes of fire in front of the field. Birds then fly out of the fire in a seemingly random pattern. However, if you look closely, you'll notice that they instead fly out based on where MegaMan is standing, so just keeping track of your own movements will let you dodge this.



Feather Storm: This is the easiest attack Falzar has to dodge. It flaps its wings, creating a wind effect that constantly pushes MegaMan to the back row, while feathers rain from the sky and try to land on him. All you have to do is move around in a circle, and this attack can't hit you at all.



Meteor Talons: Falzar will screech and fly upwards, which is a bit difficult to discern from its normal movements. It will then target the back two columns of the field and pummel them with talon strikes that move so fast you can't keep track of them. Get to the front column as fast as you can.



Falzar Tornado: Falzar's desperation attack only used at low HP, which I almost missed entirely. It was very lucky that it used it when it did on my recorded run of the fight, it didn't use this attack when I was taking screenshots. The attack involves very little warning. Falzar will disappear, and two adjacent rows will flash yellow. Get out of those rows to the other one! Falzar will fly down them surrounded in energy, then fly back down the other pair of rows on the way back.



*Record screech* I won't show the ending and epilogue yet. We're skipping to the postgame first, and once I've done everything in the game possible, we'll end on the end of the series.



The patch adds a lot of stuff to the postgame, so we're not anywhere near done with MMBN6 yet!