The soundtracks from the cult-classicMega Man Battle Networkseries of Game Boy Advance games are now available to officially stream online, to celebratethe series’ 20th anniversary this year.
Mega Man Battle Networkis a reimagining ofMega Manthat trades a world of robots for a world of internet companions known as Net Navis who dwell inside the iPhone-like devices of their human owners. The gameplay was a unique mix of world exploration and a grid-based action battling system thatutilized a deck of cards for attacks.
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The series was a massive success in its home country of Japan, spawning six mainline games withPokemon-style dual versions, multiple spin-off games, manga, toys, a long-running anime series and a theatrical movie.Battle Networkwas met with more moderate success in the United States, with only the six mainline games and some of the aforementioned content being released, but the series still has cult following in the states.
One particular element that stood out to many fans was the series’ memorable electronica-style music. The series had numerous talented composers whose credits range fromOkamitoFinal Fantasy 15. The music of theBattle Networkgames was previously released as a CD collection exclusive to Japan, but the collection is now available to stream internationally on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Music. Most of the titles are still in Japanese aside from the main themes, but they are listed in chronological order.
Hopefully this is a sign of more things to come forBattle Network’s20th Anniversary. Following the critical and commercial success of theMega ManandZero/ZX Legacy Collections, many fans arehopeful that Capcom will release a collection of theBattle Networkgames.
The official 20th anniversary forBattle Networkwould have been in March, but a post was made on Capcom’s officialMega Mansite last month asking fans for “patience,” suggesting that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in delays of potential announcements for the anniversary. So perhaps there is more in store forBattle Networkfans.
Mega Man Battle Network 1-6are available digitally on the Nintendo Switch.
