4 Things I Want from A Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection

Honestly, with the 20th anniversary of Mega Man Battle Network coming up, I thought that I’d written all that I could about this beloved franchise. I did so much research about it that I managed to write two articles about it in 2018, back when it hadn’t quite been 10 years since Mega Man Star Force 2 came out.

But here we are, 20 years on and 15 years since Mega Man Battle Network 6: Cybeast Gregar / Cybeast Falzar came out. But you know what came out recently? The Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection - okay, it was over a year ago, but more recently than 2001! So, with the 20th anniversary mere days away at time of writing, I figured I’d say what I want from the inevitable Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection.

All Three Versions of Mega Man Battle Network 5

From the third game onwards, all of the titles were released with two versions. Except for 5, which had three! One was on the DS, and was the only Battle Network game released on the handheld. Once the series concluded on the Game Boy Advance, the follow-up series was released on the DS, but that’s another thing entirely. I just think it would be neat to have Double Team DS as well as Team ProtoMan and Team Colonel in the same place, is all. Of course, certain features such as shouting into the microphone would have to be changed…

Mega Man Network Transmission

It’s not like I’m asking for all of the Battle Network games; you’ll notice that the mobile and WonderSwan games aren’t on this list, for instance! This one was released exclusively on the GameCube, rather than the Game Boy Advance, and was a platformer instead of an RPG. It kept the Battle Chips, making it more than “just” a Mega Man platformer, but it would be familiar to those who bought previous collections.

A Collector’s Edition With a PET

The PErsonal Terminal (PET) is how Lan communicates with MegaMan in the games (and anime), and putting one in a collector’s edition is a must. It doesn’t have to be functional, although there were several released which were basically Digimon-style digital pets. Bonus points if the steelbook game case is designed to resemble a PET!

Operate Shooting Star

I know that I said I didn’t want all of the games, and while that’s true, I do want the DS re-release of the original game. It’s a bit of an ask, as it wasn’t translated and released in the West, and bits of it cross over with the Mega Man Star Force games which wouldn’t be part of this collection… But that’s why this is a wishlist, not a “these are things definitely in this collection, yes sir”.

Don’t leave this franchise in the dust, Capcom! You don’t have to give us what I want, but you can’t ignore this 20 year old franchise forever. Just let me jack in to things one more time…