Megaman Battle Network VII

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Megaman Battle Network VI (7)

• Crashing Wave
• Raging Flame
• Shocking Volt

Developer(s)

Capcom Production Studio

Publisher(s)

Capcom

Platform(s)

Nintendo Switch

Genre(s)

Action RPG

Release Date(s)

Worldwide – June 31, 2021

Mode(s)

1-4 players

Media Included

Nintendo Switch Game Cartridge
Digital Download

Available Input

Nintendo Switch Joycons

Megaman Battle Network VII, also known as Megaman Battle Network 7, and Rockman EXE 7 (ロックマンEXE 7, Rokku man EXE 7) is the seventh and newest installment in the Megaman Battle Network series by Capcom. The game was released in three versions: Crashing Wave (), Raging Flame (), and Shocking Volt (). A Dark Void () version was released afterwards, having exclusive bosses and missions to play.

The game acts like a “remembrance” of the past Battle Network games, having things such as Soul Unison, Style Changes, and special Beast Outs in the game, as well as having a new “Tag Team” mechanic.

However, unlike it’s predecessors, Megaman Battle Network 7 plays differently due to the new hardware that it’s on, and more like a game from the Persona series.

Story

NOTE: All versions of the game have the same base plot, however, things such as NetNavi encounters, areas, and characters differ between versions.

A few years after the events of Megaman Battle Network 6, Lan Hikari is now in the 8th grade, soon closing in on his graduation. He is currently seen as a hero around the world, and along with Megaman.EXE, is sought out by NET Battlers all over the world. One day after school, Lan receives a mysterious e-mail from an anonymous sender, and despite his friend’s warnings, he jacks Megaman into the net to see what is going on. Along the way, he finds a new NetNavi, Quint.EXE and his Operator, Rock. They soon get attacked by a swarm of Met viruses, and afterward, they find out they both have been sent the same e-mail. Deciding to work together, for the time being, they go to ACDC 5 where they encounter a strange NetNavi named FlameHyenard.EXE. Megaman comments on his behavior as if he was infected by a strange virus, and soon after, FlameHyenard begins to go haywire and attack the two NetNavis. After a brief scramble and pleads from FlameHyenard’s Operator to stop the rampaging NetNavi, the two head over to Lan’s father, who discovers what FlameHyenard’s condition was caused by a virus named the Maverick Virus.

After a while, more and more cases of the virus begin coming up in the news, with Lan and his friends being the ones to stop them. The string in infections begins to make the public fear, and during a time of peace, all communications (TVs, Radios, Computers, etc.) cut to a message given by a NetNavi named Sigma.EXE. He explains how he was the one who spread the Maverick Virus, and how he plans to cause the NET to crumble, as doing so will wreak havoc onto the world itself. This leads to mass hysteria on the internet and the real world.

After making plans to find out what Sigma.EXE’s plans are, Lan and Megaman decide to jack into the internet to search for clues, when they discover a NetNavi named X.EXE, one of the next generation NetNavis. (In the other versions, this character can be Omega.EXE or Axl.EXE) The NetNavi the player befriends will accompany them throughout the whole game. The future events that occur, as well as several keyplot points differ between each version, however, they all end in very similar ways.

Characters

Playable

Main

Lan Hikari – A now 8th grader who lives in ACDC Town. He is considered a hero after saving the world multiple times.

Megaman.EXE – Lan’s NetNavi, a virutal person who can travel through the Internet.

Changes from Battle Network 6

Battle

• All panels, except for Geyser panels, appear in the vrsions of Battle Network VI.
• A new status effect, Stone, has been added. Similar to the Freeze status, a character afflicted with this status will turn gray and be unable to move. Any attack that hits said character will deal double the damage.
• A new ‘Dark” and “Light” element has been added to chips and viruses.
• The buster shot now charges faster at it’s base level, however, it still does low damage.
• The new “Tag” Mechanic, where you can have another character, or virus, on your side of the field. You can switch to play as them on the Chip Selection menu.
• Style Changes are now back and are more simple. Only 25 battles are needed to get the 1st level of a Style and it’s type can be influenced via special items. Your style has it’s own special level up web. Tag Navis can achieve Style Changes as well.
• Dark Chips are back, however, it can be used by normal Megaman (Although it will be weaker).
• Although the Boktai chips were removed, chips that simulate the Boktai chips were added.

Gameplay

Megaman Battle Network 7 plays similarly to it’s GBA counterparts, but now in a 3D environment. In the real world, the player controls Lan, who can talk to various NPCs, perform side quests, and buy Battle Chips, while in the NET, the player controls Megaman.EXE, in which the game has a battle system. However, the game isn’t as linear as the previous games, and takes notes from the Persona series.

Instead of scripted sequences of events, the player is given a select number of days to complete a specific Robot Master room. Unlike the older Robot Master rooms, these are much bigger and take 2-4 hours to complete, depending on the room. The player can have up to 6 NetNavis in their party at a time, however, only 2 can be on the field at one time, and Megaman has to always be in the party during boss fights. The game has a new Tag Battle system, where two characters battle at the same time, and to compensate, battles are done in a 5×5 space grid rather than the usual 3×3. Each party member has their own specific abilities, strengths and weaknesses, such as if they float over panels, or if they can reshuffle their Chip decks. They can also have their own completely different Battle Chip set, however, the player will have to deal with the higher number of randomization.

Each Robot Master room has several puzzles that prevent the player from moving forwards, and sometimes, the player has to jack out back to the real world to solve said issue. The Player has a limited number of Jack Outs they can perform before they get tired and have to wait until the next day. In order to get more Jack Outs, they must reach a Digital Room, where they can save their progress. (The player can only save at any time outside of Robot Master Rooms) Unlike the other games, Battle Network 7, dying in a match doesn’t give you a game over, and only resets you to the last Digital Room you encountered. A game over only counts if both NetNavis are defeated, and the player and switch control of any NetNavi at any time, with the other one being controlled by a CPU. CPU NetNavis can have their behavior changed as well, so they can be focused on attacking, support, or defending.

Depending on the version, the Battle Chips, enemies and bosses the player fights will differ greatly, to the extent that different versions may require different set ups to complete them.

Bosses

Each game has a total of 8 Maverick Rooms they must complete as the story progresses, similar to how they have worked in the previous Battle Network titles. Each version shares the same bosses, except for the 4th boss, which is exclusive for each game.