Mega Man Battle Network 5

Mega Man Battle Network 5, known in Japan as Rockman EXE 5 (ロックマン エグゼ５) is a game from the Mega Man Battle Network series released for the Nintendo GBA in two versions: Team Colonel (チーム オブ カーネル Team of Colonel) and Team ProtoMan (チーム オブ ブルース Team of Blues). A few months later, Mega Man Battle Network 5: Double Team DS, known in Japan as Rockman EXE 5 DS: Twin Leaders (ロックマン エグゼ５ＤＳ ツインリーダーズ), was released for the Nintendo DS which included content from both GBA versions together with extras.

Story

Lan Hikari and his friends, Dex, Mayl and Yai, are called to Sci-Lab headquarters for the revelation of the latest research project Yuichiro, Lan's father, has been working on. Before he can reveal it to them, however, mysterious agents take over Sci-Lab, subduing everyone with sleeping gas, kidnapping Yuichiro, and stealing the PETs (and thus the Navis contained within) of Lan's friends. However, Lan's PET is not stolen, because he was retrieving his father's ID, and is not seen by the agents. These agents turn out to be working for Dr.Regal and his crime syndicate Nebula, which has returned after being defeated in Mega Man Battle Network 4.

While Lan is unconscious, Nebula takes over the internet. To counteract Nebula's efforts, Chaud (in Team ProtoMan) or Baryl (in Team Colonel) form a secret, elite team of Navis, and Lan is wanted as the team's Navi operator, with Mega Man a member of the team. This team, which attracts new members as it progresses, liberates each section of the internet, revealing new secrets about both Nebula's plans and Yuichiro's research project. The membership of the team and how they join differs between the different versions of the game, but their roles are largely similar.

Nebula's latest plan, at first, seems to be the creation of Dark Chips, battle chips that corrupt the user. At one point, they even kidnap Mega Man, corrupting him and recruiting him by implanting a Dark Chip in him. This plan escalates, however, when Nebula corrupts the End City transmitter, corrupting NetNavis everywhere, causing them to act erratically and aggressively. Shortly afterwards, they corrupt the team's leader (either Protoman or Colonel, depending on the version of the game). In Team Colonel, Protoman helps Colonel break free of the corruption, and in Team Protoman, Colonel is introduced, and helps Protoman. It escalates further, when they spread micro servers all over the net that cause people in the real world to act similarly. To complete this plan, however, they need Yuichiro's research project.

Starting with a clue from an encrypted message on Yuichiro's lab computer, Lan and Mega Man discover VisionBursts hidden in the net. These VisionBursts, virtual snapshots of ACDC Town,Oran isle,and Scilab from the year of Lan's birth, turn out to have further clues to Yuichiro's research project. This project turns out to be the unfinished work of Tadashi Hikari, Lan's grandfather, and his research partner, Dr. Wily.

Their project is SoulNet, a network connecting the minds and souls of people and Navis everywhere. While Tadashi Hikari and Dr. Wily hoped to bring people together with this invention, Dr. Regal, who turns out to be Dr. Wily's son, plans to upload NebulaGray, a Program composed of pure hatred, to SoulNet, to shroud the world in darkness. Lan's team infiltrates the Nebula base and reaches Regal just in time to see him upload NebulaGray. While Lan's teammates are all affected, Lan himself is immune to Soulnet and NebulaGrey, because he is wearing his grandfather's amulet of Magnometal, which protects the user from Soulnet's effects. Lan retrieves his friends' PETs, his teammates rescue Yuichiro, Mega Man defeats NebulaGray in a final confrontation, and Baryl rescues an amnesiac Dr. Regal from the self-destructing base, regardless of version. It turns out that his father Dr. Wily, who survived the events from Battle Network 3, re-activates and overloads SoulNet, causing Dr. Regal to lose the last 10 years of memory in his life. He thens moves on to working for Sci-Lab, having forgotten ever being evil in the first place.

Changes From Previous Games

Liberation Mission

Chaos Proto Soul

The largest change in Battle Network 5 would be the introduction of Liberation Missions, which blends the traditional tactics of the game with turn-based strategy games. Players have a set number of turns where they must attempt to complete the Liberation Mission if they wish to get one of its better rewards. This is also the opportunity where players can take control of different Navis other than MegaMan, and do battle using these Navis.

Dark Chips

Dark Chips now have a library of their own - and can be inserted into the folder, complete with their own element and code. They are restricted to three per folder, and can be used to activate the new transformation – Chaos Unisons. They allow for characters to use the sacrificed Dark Chip as their charged shot without its side effects, at the risk of having to time it properly, lest they face its harmful (and occasionally deadly) side effects when it backfires.

Proto Soul

Soul Unison

Soul Unisons also have undergone some changes too. Their charged attacks are now Buster-dependent, and NaviCust parts have been introduced so as to allow their duration to be extended. They can also be obtained another way, such as complete a Liberation Mission involving that NetNavi.

DS Chips

DS chips are now obtained by defeating boss Navis, and can be obtained if the player S-ranks the bosses Beta version, or score a rank of 8-10 for its Omega version. 

Double Team DS Extras

Mega Man Battle Network 5 Double Team DS is, essentially, both Team Colonel and Team ProtoMan versions of Mega Man Battle Network 5 packaged into one Nintendo DS game (though the games are still separate, so all elements from one game are separated from the other), with a few new features, including the new "fuan" Emotional State. In this state, the Emotion Window would turn pink and the player would yell something into the microphone. If they succeeded, MegaMan would gain some randomly selected combination of two bonuses from instant Full Synchro, HP recovery or a barrier. This game features also:

Bass Cross



• Bass Cross: Gained by putting the Game Boy Advance games Team ProtoMan or Team Colonel with the Bass icon obtained inside the DS's GBA slot.

• Sol Cross: Gained by putting Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django (or Boktai 3 in the Japanese version) in the GBA slot.

• Party Battle System: In the non-critical parts of the plot, one can select two Navis on Lan's HP and one can use it in battles.

Sol Cross

• Transport Chip: A "Transport Chip", or TP Chip for short, can be used in Liberation battles. Basically it switches a Navi with a corresponding one in the other version (e.g. ProtoMan → Colonel). Up to three Navis can be switched with their counterparts at any one time during a Liberation Mission.

• Remixed Battle Music: If one has a Battle Network 1, 2, 3, 4 or 4.5 game in the GBA slot, the game plays remixed battle music of that title. In fact, even with no Game Boy game in, all the music is remixed.

• Additional Bonuses: Depending on what is inserted into the GBA slot, the player also gains other bonuses ranging from merchant discounts to information on P.A to a bonus sidequest that yields a large amount of Zenny.

• Voice acting for several lines and for different characters.

Small Plot Changes Between Team ProtoMan and Colonel

After MegaMan is captured by Nebula, Chaud/Baryl will call Lan to SciLab's harbor where Lan is asked to take a new Navi to continue on the next mission. Lan refuses and cannot believe that his leader is suggesting replacing MegaMan. In Team Colonel, Baryl slaps Lan telling him to get to his senses to realize that taking this Navi is the only way to save MegaMan. However, in Team ProtoMan, Lan's rage at Chaud causes him to slap/punch Chaud across the face and realizes on his own that saving MegaMan means taking the new Navi from Chaud.