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Part 8: Tourist Trap II: Beach Boogaloo
The next scene opens with Chaud at an unfamiliar location, albeit one that features a familiar van.
After a moment, a man with Phoenix Wright hair walks in from offscreen.
Well, that conversation could have gone better.
...A lot better, it would seem.
Meet Shuuseki Ijuin! Granted, Ijuin is Chaud's Japanese surname (Enzan Ijuin), so I suppose the English version of his name would be Shuuseki Chaud? Chaud's full English name, as I mentioned before, is Eugene Chaud (except in the anime dub where it's Chaud Blaze).
It's a bit strange to see Chaud so vulnerable and desperate for someone's approval.
His father doesn't seem to care much about his pleading, though, and says that Chaud should be off training if he has time to bother him with sentimentality.
It's amazing how one short scene explained so much.
Meanwhile, with a happier family, MegaMan tells Lan that the N1 Grand Prix will be taking place at Beach Street's DNN building tomorrow. Unsurprisingly, that's where Chaud was in the last scene.
There will also be an event at the Beach Square where the participants of the N1 will be interviewed.
Lan decides to send everyone an email to see if they want to come.
Naturally, this means MegaMan has to hand-deliver them personally. Which is totally how email has worked in the series up to this point, right?
Style Changes!
Unfortunately, this game only lets you have one at a time for some reason. Likely because of the Navi Customizer.
Before we talk about Styles again, though, let's talk about a few new types of panels. Magnet panels are gone now, seeing as MagnetMan isn't in this game. In their stead, though, are a few new types.
- Metal: A panel made from solid steel. Cannot be cracked or broken.
- Sand: A panel covered in sand. Whenever a Navi or Virus steps on a sand panel, they are rendered unable to move for a very short time. Tornado attacks that hit sand panels deal double damage and Wind/Fan chips can affect sand panels to deal damage to the enemy's side of the field.
- Dark Hole: A portal to a Dark World. Appears for a short amount of time, allowing the usage of Evil chips. (Not pictured.)
What Evil Chips are will be gone into later.
Elements are mostly unchanged aside from Aqua getting a buff. At max Style level, it does 80 damage charged as opposed to its original 50. Additionally, Aqua element Styles no longer slip on Ice panels.
Specializations are a bit different, though! In addition to granting NaviCust programs upon leveling up, they now have a few tweaks.
- Guts: No longer decreases Rapid stat. Buster spam results in machine-gun fire. Uses Red NaviCust programs.
- Custom: Custom Screen starts with 6 chips. S-Ranks give rarer chips than usual. Uses Blue NaviCust programs.
- Team: Folders can contain 6 Mega Chips. S-Ranking Beta Navis under 20 seconds gives a V4 chip. Uses Green NaviCust programs.
- Shield: Shields can potentially restore MegaMan's HP. Uses Blue NaviCust programs.
While Hub Style does not return for reasons that will be addressed much later, three new Styles were added in its stead. With the exception of the last, which appeared without an element, none of these Styles appeared in the anime.
- Shadow: Gained by using chips such as Invis or Pop-Up that hide MegaMan. The Charged Shot makes MegaMan invisible without Charged Shot boosting programs. Uses Red NaviCust programs.
- Ground: Gained by using stage chips that affect the field. Charged Shots crack panels that they hit. Uses Green NaviCust programs.
- Bug: Gained by fighting while MegaMan has a bug in the NaviCust. MegaMan starts battles with bugs that can be advantageous (100 HP Barrier at the start of battle, invincible for a set period of time, ten chips on Custom Screen, maxed Buster stats) or disadvantageous (Movement glitch, lowered Buster stats, HP drain). Uses Grey NaviCust programs.
As a fun fact, MegaMan turning into Bug Style was the end of the original season of the anime, a result that happened due to him running into Bass. He then destroyed Gospel (the dog) and almost did the same to the Net before Lan calmed him down.
Also, I don't have a "force a Style Change" code for this game, so I can't promise any in-game pictures of these. I'll try my best, though.
For whatever reason, all of Lan's friends have locked their doors today, making this whole thing harder than it needs to be.
Additionally, Lan never thinks to just knock on their doors and ask them.
Unsurprisingly, most NPCs are talking about the N1 or Beach Street.
This is a rather curious line. I remember EPM getting upset about something related to this in Battle Network 4, but finding out that the series takes place over two years makes me wonder if all of this interest in Net Battling is a recent development.
I made a mistake in my OSS Let's Play when I said that you need a license to Net Battle; rather, that was a license to be recognized as City Net Battlers who operated on behalf of the Officials in exchange for greater privileges. With that in mind, it can be presumed that Navis were used largely for virus busting up to this point until people started wondering "Hey, why don't we have friendly competitions around this?"
Hence the N1.
Gee, I wonder who that might be.
Here's some more deetz about how SciLab is run.
It's not all talk about corporations at SciLab, though. This guy seems to be pretty happy to see Lan.
Yoko Station has started selling chocolates with lotto numbers for Higsby's, which is how you're expected to get them.
This old man continues to eat the food from this fair.
The little girl he tries to offer some corn to doesn't accept, though, since her parents told her not to accept food from strangers.
Tamako seems to be gone for the day. Maybe she's out to lunch.
Seems like Kimie might be entertaining some people from abroad who came for the N1.
Hey, I recognize that name! Not often you hear about a BBS person outside of the Net.
As a fun fact, I recently found out that the BBS poster Kiddo in the last game was actually Koetsu!
Meanwhile, these guys are still playing mahjong.
Unsurprisingly, most NPCs on the Net are talking about IPC, the N1, or Beach Street.
Mayl is off making a purchase, and Yai's dad is having her study, so neither of them are available.
The BBSes have updated, so let's check on those in-between getting to GutsMan.
quote:
ACDC: Chat BBS
+-------+------------------------------------------------------------------
| Hassy | Beach Street
+-------+------------------------------------------------------------------
| N1 is finally starting today!
| I couldn't wait, so I went to Beach St. yesterday to check
| out where it's being held. It looked beautiful!
| The coffee at that cafe that overlooks the sea was great!
| Everyone's going to watch the N1 today, right?
| There was a fancy boutique as well, for those interested.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+------+-------------------------------------------------------------------
| Maki | Who will win?
+------+-------------------------------------------------------------------
| 32 NetBattlers from around the world have arrived for N1.
| Who's everyone rooting for?
| Personally, I think Chaud will win, but Tora from Swapopolis
| is a contender, too. Word has it he's the #1 NetBattler in the
| West.
| I'm rooting for Glide, myself. I'm a big fan of Yai.
| There aren't many female NetBattlers left, so I
| really hope she wins.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+--------+-----------------------------------------------------------------
| HigHig | RE:Who will win?
+--------+-----------------------------------------------------------------
| It's MegaMan all the way! Why can't everyone see that?!
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+---------+----------------------------------------------------------------
| Takayan | RE:Who will win?
+---------+----------------------------------------------------------------
| I'm not cheering for him, but that Q guy seems intriguing.
| What country is that NetBattler from?
| He sure is freaky.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-----+--------------------------------------------------------------------
| Yai | I will win!
+-----+--------------------------------------------------------------------
| You may be the only intelligent person here, Maki.
| The N1's going to be a peice of cake! I'm going to win it
| and make you the head of my personal fan club!
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
HigHig sure is genre savvy, huh. At least he's got good taste in competitors. Huh!
quote:
ACDC: Battle BBS
+-------+------------------------------------------------------------------
| Beltz | Bought it!
+-------+------------------------------------------------------------------
| After school today, I ran straight to the program shop in
| Yoka Square and got a Navi Customizer! The other programs
| on sale were HP+100, Atk+1, Charge+1...
| and a couple more I can't remember.
| The programs I bought with it were HP+100 and
| Charge+1! HP+100 was a hot seller. I got the last one.
| I wanted a Atk+1 too but ran out of cash.
| I'll just have to wait for my next birthday to get one!
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-----+--------------------------------------------------------------------
| Dex | Me too!
+-----+--------------------------------------------------------------------
| Hey Y'all! Dex here! I got a Navi Customizer, too!
| I already customized GutsMan. Now he's even stronger!
| Hey, I'm taking part in the N1!
| There's some tough competition, but I'm not gonna lose!
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+---------+----------------------------------------------------------------
| GutsMan | Strange...
+---------+----------------------------------------------------------------
| Howdy, all! I'm Dex's Navi, GutsMan! Yee-haw!
| Actually, ever since Dex customized me, I haven't been
| feeling well. I feel drained even though I'm not doing
| anything. What's happening to me?! Yee-haw... ...
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+--------+-----------------------------------------------------------------
| Koetsu | Don't worry!
+--------+-----------------------------------------------------------------
| Yo, all! Master of Disaster and programmer
| extraordinaire Koetsu at your call! I got a NaviCust
| too! As for your problem, GutsMan, you're gonna be
| all right. You've probably got a tiny glitch in your
| system. Ask Dex to check out your Memory Map. Maybe
| a HP+100 or somethingis above your Command Line.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-----+--------------------------------------------------------------------
| Dex | Fixed!!!
+-----+--------------------------------------------------------------------
| Dex here! GutsMan asked me to double-check his
| Memory Map. It was just as Koetsu suspected!
| Sorry for pressing Run without chekcing for mistakes, Guts!
| I swear it'll never happen again! Some day I'm gonna be a
| master programmer who doesn't make mistakes, I promise!
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm assuming the Navi Customizer was supposed to be the reason GutsMan's HP spiked to 700, but Dex didn't get his until just now! Maybe the script writers hadn't determined when this was supposed to happen and never adjusted incidental dialogue to account for it. GutsMan Alpha isn't going to be changed, so this line about Dex having the Navi Customizer is just flavor text.
Speaking of GutsMan, he's off training in an endurance contest in Yoka Area.
Seems like Dex is taking this all very seriously.
Geez, Chaud has to beg his father to come to an event that he's funding.
What a tool.
You're reminding me of Zero Time Dilemma, and that's not good.
I better not hear one word about complex motives, or I'm washing my hands of this Let's Play!
quote:
SciLab: Battle BBS
+----------+---------------------------------------------------------------
| DrHikari | Customization
+----------+---------------------------------------------------------------
| Hello, everyone. My name is Dr. Hikari. I'm the chief
| developer of the Navi Customizer.
| The NaviCust is a revolutionary new system developed to
| allow operators and Navis even closer relationships.
| Anyone can use it by following just a few simple rule.
| However, if you break the rules, you may create a bug
| in your Navi. Show your affection by using it with care.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+--------+-----------------------------------------------------------------
| Harrun | Wonderful!
+--------+-----------------------------------------------------------------
| So the creator of that blue Navi developed the Navi
| Customizer! This is as big an event as his father's
| invention of the PET! I can't wait to start programming!
| I'm a pacifist, so I'll give my Navi a SneakRun!
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's kind of funny how MegaMan seems to be both well-known online, but also not well-known enough that people (villains excluded) don't recognize him on sight.
Wow, rude.
Yeah, that was pretty uncalled for!
At least this guy has our back.
quote:
Yoka: Chat BBS
+------+-------------------------------------------------------------------
| Miki | RE: I got it!
+------+-------------------------------------------------------------------
| Ooooh, I'm so mad I could just scream! My house is full of
| bubbles! I almost drowned! WWW just made an enemy of
| every lady who purchased a BubbleWash!
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+------+-------------------------------------------------------------------
| Axel | I agree!
+------+-------------------------------------------------------------------
| I can empathize with you, Miki. What a terrible prank!
| Say, that e-mail that came when the washer went berserk was
| signed by the "WWW". Weren't they destroyed?
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+--------+-----------------------------------------------------------------
| Harrun | Can't be...
+--------+-----------------------------------------------------------------
| The prankster must have used that name to scare everybody.
| Besides, the WWW was eradicated by that super-Navi, right?
| There's nothing to be afraid of. Ha ha ha!
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+--------+-----------------------------------------------------------------
| Koetsu | RE:*(asterisk)
+--------+-----------------------------------------------------------------
| I just took a look at this BBS, and noticed Crosser made
| a good point! You shouldn't just make a strong chip your
| Regular. You should make sure it matches the chip codes in
| your folder. Since asterisk chips match any folder, they come
| in handy! Regular Chips also come into play when making
| Program Advances. What's that, you say? Heh, maybe next time!
| I gotta get over to the N1! Later, gator!
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-------+------------------------------------------------------------------
| Ogata | Key, Koetsu!
+-------+------------------------------------------------------------------
| You're entering the N1 Grand Prix, too, Koetsu?
| I'm your biggest fan! I hope you win!
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
No, Harrun, the Super Navi is someone else entirely.
Didn't you pay attention to a word I said during Battle Network 2?!
It seems like GutsMan is nearby. And so are some fans of his.
Cute!
For whatever reason, it seems that an endurance competition has started that involves Yoka's heater program.
It seems like GutsMan's putting the competition to shame.
GutsMan will actually be coming with us, though he has MegaMan go on ahead since he's still in the contest at present.
With all of our friends spoken to, DNN remembers that they forgot to send a Cyber Metroline pass to all of the competitors and make up for that immediately.
And so we reach our last Metroline destination: Beach Area!
On the lower level is this guy, who demands a Tally.
The fact that he's a Heel Navi probably gives it away, so I'm just going to go ahead and mention that he's blocking the route to the Undernet.
It also seems that Beach Area decided to make a bunch of tiny pathways that lead to the Square.
How do most people get past this? Press was something rare that we almost didn't even have the ability to use. Is everyone except MegaMan as light as BubbleMan?
Beach Square!
Turns out there may be a bunch of rowdy Superbowl N1 fans nearby.
Hey, I recognize the name of that minor NPC! I hope she says hi if she sees us.
There's a TV show being filmed up top where a yellow Normal Navi is interviewing N1 participants.
This guy in particular was waiting to see someone who'd be taking part in the competition and nearly faints upon seeing MegaMan.
It also seems like the rivalry between generic model female Normal Navis and the more humanoid female Normal Navis is continuing.
Oh look, another BBS I have to keep up with.
yaaaay
quote:
Beach: Chat BBS
+---------+----------------------------------------------------------------
| MetroHQ | Roads closed
+---------+----------------------------------------------------------------
| This notice is from the Beach St. Dept. of Transportation.
| Due to the heavy congestion expected to accompany the N1,
| the road to Seaside Hospital has been temporarily closed.
| We apologize for any inconvenience.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-----+--------------------------------------------------------------------
| DNN | N1 starts!
+-----+--------------------------------------------------------------------
| It's finally time for the N1 Grand Prix!
| 32 of the world's best NetBattlers are gathering at
| the DNN Studio! Is everyone ready to rumble?
| Couldn't get a ticket? No fear! We at DNN will
| bring the excitement straight to your home!
| Get ready for a battle of truly epic proportions!
| This post was brought to your by DNN reporter Yasu!
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-----+--------------------------------------------------------------------
| Goh | RE: N1 starts!
+-----+--------------------------------------------------------------------
| The N1 has finally begun!
| At first, I thought I'd never be able to get ahold of a
| ticket, but I managed to get one through the Undernet!
| And, ya know, it was worth all the money and danger!
| Whoops! Talk like this will only make people want to go
| there. Heh heh. The Undernet's no place for amateurs.
| Actually, I asked an Undernetter to go get me a ticket.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+--------+-----------------------------------------------------------------
| Tessan | RE:RE:N1 starts!
+--------+-----------------------------------------------------------------
| You could get ahold of a ticket that way? Shoot! I wish
| I knew that earlier! I would have done anything to get a
| ticket. By the way, Goh, should you even talk about that
| here? What if the Undernet guy read your post?
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Geez, Goh, don't you know the first (and second) rule of Fight Club?
This next part is kinda boring, honestly, so I'll be a little bit brief here.
MegaMan (and the recently arrived GutsMan) get roped into an interview.
MegaMan is able to give a pretty straightforward reply,
though GutsMan is having a bit of stage fright!
But it's okay, because some Superbowl N1 fans from Netopia (where else?) have gone out of control in Beach Area and are causing havoc.
GutsMan's not happy to have his interview interrupted, so he goes along as well.
For whatever reason, MegaMan sits here until GutsMan and the group leaves and then remarks that he should go too.
GutsMan and the news crew then wind up in danger, because of course they do.
Just once I'd like a scenario where Lan's friends get themselves out of danger.
MegaMan then goes around and beats up a bunch of Heel Navis (by which I actually mean "beats up their viruses") before reaching the end where GutsMan is.
MegaMan tries to tell the Netopians to get the heck out of here.
They're not impressed.
Then ProtoMan shows up and deletes everyone except the leader in a cutscene, prompting him to run away.
ProtoMan then leaves, presumably to track that guy.
The interviewer then gushes over how cool ProtoMan is.
GutsMan has basically the same reaction that I do. Lan and MegaMan leave shortly afterwards as well, specifically citing that they don't want to stick around long enough for something else to happen.
See?
Now I don't mind this scenario too much, but ask yourself "What did it really add?"
We got to Beach Area, sure, but then we fell back on familiar tropes: "Lan's friends are in danger, but then ProtoMan shows up and does something cool! Also Netopians are still dicks."
It's especially disappointing this is happening to GutsMan, for reasons I'll get into later in the LP, though you can likely guess what I'm going to say if you've been paying attention.
I suppose you could argue that he's possibly tired out from the endurance training, but it's still a scenario that didn't really need to happen. Mainly because
this whole situation happened so that Wily could get irritated by Chaud's continued interference.
The thing is, I'm pretty sure those were random Netopians. Did Wily want them to riot? Or is he reacting to the BubbleMan incident? Because if it's the latter, then that just makes what came prior even more pointless.
At any rate, here's the conversation that occurs here.
quote:
That Official ace NetBattler Chaud and his Navi ProtoMan are starting to get in the way of WWW's plans.
I believe we'll have to eliminate them earlier rather than later. How is our little plan coming along?
It is proceeding smoothly, sir! Soon the entire world will fear the WWW.
Take precautions not to end up like BubbleMan did.
Mwahahaha! Please do not compare me to such an inferior Navi.
I will deliver you footage that will delight your eyes, Lord Wily!
Chaud's public execution!
I am counting on you. Delete it!
Deleeeete it!
Normally, I'd end the scenario here, but this scenario isn't over yet.
Lan has to take a DataDisk to his father at this point.
Mayl has also made a shortcut to Yoka Area on her homepage, making three easy access Squares.
Shame about Beach Area, unless I'm forgetting something and Tamako makes a teleporter there. I feel like she probably does.
Around this time, I also did some more jobs on the BBS.
Much like in Battle Network 2, someone uses a job ad as a front to rob the taker. This time it looks like a rogue Official Navi, though.
He's also got an annoying new virus called Twinner. These guys continually spawn... things on MegaMan's side of the field to hit him. They work kind of like mini-Protectos in that if you don't delete them both at the same time, they'll respawn with full HP.
Afterwards, there's no words of thanks from the client like other quests, but a notice from the Officials. Same as last game, really.
Here's the quest list so far, by the way!
Yuichiro isn't in his office, so Lan leaves the disk with the assistant.
And then he runs into Yuichiro and Chaud downstairs. Welp!
Turns out Chaud was brought here for a discussion between the Officials and SciLab on how to better handle the "influx of evil viruses". Curious word choice there.
Lan then informs Yuichiro that he'll be in the N1, much to his surprise.
Of course, he has a meeting tomorrow so he can't attend.
Lan doesn't seem too torn up about it, though. Probably because Haruka won't be going either.
Yuichiro at least gives Lan a new PET case for the event, saying that it's powerful enough to protect the PET from even an elephant stepping on it.
We won't actually be dealing with any of those again anytime soon, but I guess it's the thought that counts. Maybe it'll be plot relevant handy later.
Meanwhile, Chaud's family situation kinda continues to mirror Lan's, albeit for sadder reasons than "My dad works all of the time and my mom... presumably also will be working on the day of the N1?" Especially given that Chaud's mother is dead.
Yuichiro at least wishes them both good luck.
Chaud then gives a snippy response to Lan when Lan says he's going to win.
And then Lan goes home!
Alright, that sure was... kind of a filler update!
Next time, the N1 begins! Yaaaay!