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Part 3: CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED
The next day begins with this little gremlin running around ACDC, trying to catch someone's attention.
He manages to catch the attention of the bearded man from the FlashMan scenario.
However, he has no idea who that is and leaves for a meeting shortly afterwards, prompting the child to wonder where his older brother is.
Meanwhile, Lan wonders where he can goof off today.
MegaMan isn't going to let him get away without doing his homework, though it seems that he's still having some issues ever since his encounter with FlashMan.
Fortunately, the problem seems to correct itself and everything is fine.
Lan and MegaMan aren't happy about needing to bother him, but they decide to send an email to Yuichiro asking him to fix the PET.
MegaMan also drops this little gem regarding the kid looking for the #1 Netbattler in ACDC.
Oh Hub, you cheeky scamp.
Everyone always seems so conscientious about not bothering Yuichiro needlessly.
Now, naturally, we're meant to go to the Metroline and sort out this little situation.
But what if we didn't do that?
Well, we find out that Mayl and Yai went to take the Metroline, so we're undoubtedly going to have to resolve this problem in order to help them.
Of course.
It also turns out that Dex got detention somehow. Sounds about right.
Normally I'd save a screenshot like this until later or just withhold it, but we're about to resolve this matter very soon anyway.
Finding this out now doesn't change any upcoming events, of course.
A few kids in 5-B are talking about how to help Dex with his studies, which apparently led to his detention.
Was it the homework assignment from the last scenario?
Well, it's never really expanded upon so I guess it doesn't matter too much.
Mayl and Yai mistake this kid for Lan's younger brother because of the #1 Netbattler comment, but of course neither of them recognize the other.
MegaMan suggests the rational option,
but children don't operate on rational.
I'm going to lay it out right now: I don't really care for this character in the slightest, and he doesn't really add a lot to the series as I recall. He's just Dex's bratty younger brother.
So the quicker we get through this, the less time I have to spend reading his textboxes.
Lan goes to speak to Dex about the kid blocking the Metroline.
snrk
So as it turns out, this kid is Dex's younger brother, Chisao.
He and Dex are rather happy to see one another.
As it turns out, Dex's father has custody of his younger brother and lives with him in Netopia while he's on business.
I guess that means Dex lives in ACDC with his mom? Doesn't explain why we never see her, though.
Well, let's get to the heart of this matter.
As it turns out, Dex may have lied like a dog about his reputation in ACDC, as well as his win count against Lan.
Dex is in no hurry to correct him either.
And Chisao, being a child, decides to engage in a game of "My brother's Navi can beat up YOUR Navi."
Initially he singles out Yai, but he thinks she looks too weak, leading to her calling him a brat. So he picks out Lan instead.
From here, the story diverges in two ways, interestingly enough.
Neither of these have an impact on the plot, but it's curious that this divergence is here.
To continue the story, you have to battle GutsMan Alpha. In this game, rather than V2 and V3, Navi's later forms are referred to as Alpha and Beta. But essentially, this is GutsMan V2.
700 HP is a BIG leap from the last boss, but to give you some slack, GutsMan does not have Rocket Guts Punch like he did in his V2 form in the last game.
If you decide to be kind (or just lose outright like I did as a kid)...
oh no, i am beaten
Yes, truly nothing brings siblings together like beating up their friend's siblings.
Yai grumbles about Lan holding back, but Mayl says it's fine since he was just thinking about Chisao's feelings.
Also, in case you were worried, MegaMan isn't actually deleted. It just says that whenever you lose a battle.
I take it as MegaMan being incapacitated before the point he'd reach deletion whenever he loses a friendly battle, but actually being deleted if you lose a virus or genuine boss battle. Note that MegaMan fought ProtoMan in the first game without deleting him afterwards.
Afterwards, the PET starts acting up again and that's our cue to go see Yuichiro.
Dex stays behind to boast. And also because his house is literally right here.
But what if we decided to win?
Getting a good rank at this point isn't really possible given he's got 700 HP. The chips at this stage of the game are simply too weak to remove that in a timely fashion.
But it's still easy to beat him without getting hit. Because GutsMan.
Chisao digests this turn of events silently for a moment.
And then runs off to the northeast. Dex follows afterwards, trying to apologize.
Mayl is a bit disappointed, but Yai doesn't care because now they can go shopping.
At this point, the PET begins to bug up like on the other route and things converge here. Dex and Chisao can't be found around town if you do things this way.
At least we got another Mega Chip, though! And yes, this is the sequence of events I chose to stick with.
Take that, Chisao.
Haruka gets a bit of updated dialogue now that we've met him, incidentally.
Now that ACDC Area isn't hosting the N1, things are a bit more laid back. Most of the Navis and programs are talking about how peaceful things are and how this is one of the safer areas of the net due to the low amounts of virus typings around.
Naturally, I (intentionally) run into FlashMan Alpha shortly afterwards. As you can see, he actually has lower HP than GutsMan did, but he's also faster than GutsMan.
Frickin' Neon Light.
Usually I don't show off V2's like this, but Battle Network 3 does something interesting with them.
For starters, you'll notice that MegaMan is also healed to max after a battle with an Alpha Navi in addition to before. Not only that, though, the Navi's data "drifted away".
After beating FlashMan Alpha, this Navi shows up in the Square to talk about how his friend, the security Navi for the school gate, occasionally sees a bright light while he's sleeping. This is an indication that FlashMan Beta can now be found not in ACDC Area 3 where I just fought the previous version, but ACDC Area 2.
Yes, Beta Navis will appear somewhere other than where you fight their weaker counterparts. FlashMan is at least kind enough to stay nearby, though. There's a little more to this as well, though I'll talk about that when it comes up.
Shhh, no spoilers now.
The strange thing here is that this guy talks about having posted a message on the BBS. Which he has.
But he's still waiting for a response even though someone has actually responded to his message already. Later he even mentions that no one has responded to his message before being happy that the person who answered gave him advice. So I'll wait until that point to share the BBS posts.
This guy mentions that minor viruses and small crimes have been going up.
Mayl's PC, whose code we won't have until the next scenario, is again piano themed.
The Mr. Prog in Yai's phone is also still woefully underused. Poor guy.
Yai's house, again reduced to just her room, has a number of curious little details around it, including Mario's outfit.
She also has a Servbot carpet, much like Mayl has a Servbot toy and Dex had a Servbot mat in the first game.
She also seems to no longer care about her fans.
Calm down, Ms. Mari.
This other teacher seems a bit less playful about giving detention, at least.
The principal's office is full of Yumland folding screens, a small mini-golf course, and a treadmill.
NPCs sure are getting ahead of the plot a lot more in this game.
Even this guy, to an extent.
Much like the last game, Lan has to go to the Metroline to get around. And so he buys a ticket to SciLab.
Unlike in the previous game, SciLab is directly connected to the Metroline. We never see the exterior of the building, either, though presumably it has emergency exits that lead outside.
Hi!
Despite the fact neither he nor his operator appear for the rest of the main series, IceMan has a poster here.
The Virus Lab isn't able to be entered at this time, but you can jack into the doorway.
There's also a Job BBS nearby to stand-in for the one from the Official Center. According to the kid standing next to it, this is a more casualized version for amateur Netbattlers to handle rather than law enforcement.
There are also a bunch of Mr. Progs in this doorway that are shirking their responsibilities.
Apparently they take advantage of the fact that they all look the same to exchange shifts and slack off.
This coffee machine is important.
Inside is a Navi who has you stand on one of two platforms and gamble on which platform is genuine while the other is a pitfall. You start out betting 100 zenny, then it becomes a game of double or nothing. He increases to 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, and finally 6400 and a Prism H. After that last one, he is bankrupted and never gambles with you again.
There are a number of these Navis throughout the game. I'll have to remember to get a screenshot of the minigame the next time I see one. Incidentally, were you so inclined, you could farm these guys for money by deciding not to raise before you hit their max value. For example, I can continually get 3200 zenny from this guy if I call things off before his final bet.
I also found one of the new viruses here. These spit snowflakes at MegaMan and become invulnerable to any damage that isn't breaking while on ice panels.
There's nothing I really wanted to say about them. They're just kinda cute.
Heading upstairs, Lan finds his dad's office. It's a bit bigger than in the last game.
It also seems like Yuichiro's got some kind of new project he's working on.
Goodness gracious, is every NPC in this scenario going to talk about things before I can get to them?
As the NPC back in ACDC Town pointed out, Lan has a special PET. Seeing as Yuichiro is in a meeting at present, there's no one who can fix it at the moment. So Lan and MegaMan will have to endure this situation a while longer.
This scientist gives Lan a SubPET, though, which I assume is like the MiniPET from the airport in the last game.
The PET seems to be functioning properly again, so Lan decides to let the matter drop for now.
Dex, whether we won or lost against him, sends an email at this point to inform that he's set up a shortcut between his homepage and the Square.
It's not too long of a walk from his homepage to the Square, but it's also not right next door like it was in BN2, so it does save a little walking time.
The cowboy from the other day, who I'm just going to refer to by his actual name of Sunayama from now on, shows up to inform Lan that the preliminaries are ongoing again and Lan needs to hustle to SciLab Square to continue them.
Unfortunately, the Virus Lab, which connects directly to said Square, is currently occupied and we can't use it.
Fortunately, Sunayama was insightful enough to give Lan a ticket for the internet's SciLab Metroline. Back to ACDC!
Dex has finally settled down back at his place, and Ms. Mari isn't thrilled to see that he's escaped.
I recommend using Dex's computer to get onto the Net for this next bit. It'll save you some travel time and also a little bit of stress.
As per usual, Dex's background is food in this game.
Here's the shortcut Dex set up, incidentally.
The Square now has a matching one.
Most NPCs are now pointing you in the direction of SciLab area, so it's best to head there.
And so we're off.
A few Navis around here give you an idea of what kind of quest MegaMan will have to take part in momentarily.
There's also this guy in the bottom of Area 1 of SciLab. This is the newly redesigned Heel Navi, and the design that will stick for most of the series.
I rather like this one the most, though I feel the previous one fit for BN2.
The bottom of SciLab 1 also offers a curious view of this... thing behind four gates.
Hmm...
MegaMan's friends are scattered about the areas. Glyde is at the bottom of SciLab Area 1, GutsMan at the top of SciLab Area 2 near the Square entrance, and Roll is at the top of SciLab Area 1.
Alright alright.
Throughout the SciLab area are these television monitors. A number of Navis are watching them and commenting on the action.
Navis including
this guy...
To my own surprise, I think I might actually have something to say about him later.
Each of these Navis here is gushing over one of MegaMan's friends.
This Navi says something interesting about Glyde having access to rare chips. It's a typical belief that this is only true in the anime continuity, where Glyde had things like Life Aura and Hero Sword, but that seems to hold true for the games as well based on this comment. I wonder if that has something to do with Yai's stories about the Undernet in the first game.
SciLab Square looks somewhat like a smaller version of Den Square from the last game.
quote:
Battle BBS (SciLab)
+---------+----------------------------------------------------------------
| Sakasso | Battle BBS
+---------+----------------------------------------------------------------
| This is the SciLab Square Battle BBS.
| I'm Sakasso. I work for SciLab, and I manage the BBS.
| I look forward to reading everyone's posts.
| Feel free to post technical questions as well!
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-------+------------------------------------------------------------------
| Pachy | Hello
+-------+------------------------------------------------------------------
| So this is SciLab Square? I bet we can hear lots of hi-tech
| info here! Uh, may I post a question?
| I recently ran into a Pengi.
| But when I attacked it, it froze up and I couldn't hurt it.
| What should I do?
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Neat.
This time around, there's a five round virus battle to start things off.
Nothing fancy.
The second mission involves finding a Heel Navi actor hiding in SciLab.
And no, he's not still hiding in the spot I showed earlier.
Yeah yeah. I could have rare chips now, too, if Lan didn't throw his pack away every game...
Mr. Prog isn't allowed to give us hints, so we have to search the old fashioned way.
I tried finding this guy after I found the Bad Navi, but he seems to have disappeared. Poor guy.
This guy was defeated by the Bad Navi.
*sips Monster* Yep... Boomer. Now THAT was a virus.
They shoot their boomerangs around the outside of MegaMan's arena for wood damage. Later versions eventually pick up PanelGrab in order to eat up the middle section of your field so MegaMan can't hide in the center.
Fishies were in 2, though, and just dash directly at you if they are on the same row.
In SciLab Area 1's topside, the purported toughest Navi in all of the Undernet, the Virus King, awaits the heroes.
Three games in and Hub is already done with everyone.
Lan points out that he's just an actor and MegaMan realizes this is all just for TV.
Of course they realized this ON live television, so the "Virus King" cuts to another camera and goes to head somewhere else.
You might say that.
Here's a closer look at those doors.
This time around, MegaMan has a better showing in SciLab Area 2.
The Virus King releases three Ratties, but their HP is so low that one use of FlashMan's chip instantly got rid of them all.
The "Virus King" uses some pyrotechnics after the fight to simulate blowing up and then disappears.
The PET begins to hiccup a little, but then corrects itself again. On to the last phase of the prelims.
You can find the "Virus King" still around the area if you look a bit.
I'm not sure if this is meant to be the same guy as before, given that first dialogue box. Maybe he just gave up and decided to root for him?
Seems like there was a bit more of a test than just beating the bad Navi. Poor guy was rejected for having no TV personality.
Also, it seems like we might be running into Chaud soon. But not in this scenario.
There's also this Mr. Prog who is trying to learn how to properly use television buzzwords.
That's not going to stop me from using this picture out of context, though.
Finishing the "Virus King" battle allowed us to get this ACDC pass for the Cyber Metroline. No, you can't take it back to ACDC before this point.
MegaMan's friends are awaiting him at the tracks to cheer him on. That's nice of them.
There are a few NPCs on the way here who mention that there have been a lot of people coming past and asking them about where the mission giver is, but he's right at the exit of ACDC Area 2.
He challenges MegaMan to a three round virus battle. It's nothing special and MegaMan advances to the next round.
But then...
MegaMan is initially confused as to what's going on, as is the test proctor.
After a moment, though, MegaMan realizes that this is the effect of FlashMan's Shining Browser Crasher.
The proctor proceeds to leave while talking about how DNN is not responsible for any harm that might befall him in the process of whatever is happening.
Classy.
After a few moments, everything stabilizes, but MegaMan has no ability to speak to Lan. As a result, he has no Battle Chips to use in battle and has to leave the Net wherever he jacked in.
Still, that should be no proble
AAAAAHHHHHH
So if you happened to kill FlashMan Alpha by this point, you'll notice something neat: new viruses appear in this area!
EleBalls show up in pairs and there's also an EleBall and Boomer group as well. On the off chance that you're using Sneak Run at this stage of the game to avoid any viruses, these will still show up because they're a higher "level" than the usual viruses found here.
MegaMan has some changed dialogue for this section of the game, as you can see.
But they didn't change the SubChip or failed escape dialogue. Woops!
And no, I wasn't blindsided by FlashMan Beta there. I actually had to run around looking for him for almost 15 minutes. Running into him at this point is a death sentence, though. Even with chips, he'd still be a touch annoying to deal with.
Mr. Prog is the only one in ACDC or SciLab Area to notice something is wrong with MegaMan. Everyone else just gushes about seeing him on television or talks about wanting to be on television themselves.
I also took this time to visit the Squares and see what kinds of update dialogue people had.
It was there for a while, nerd.
quote:
Battle BBS (ACDC)
+-------+------------------------------------------------------------------
| Beltz | NO SUBJECT
+-------+------------------------------------------------------------------
| How to beat Eleball?
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+--------+-----------------------------------------------------------------
| Cartan | Be careful!
+--------+-----------------------------------------------------------------
| Hi, Beltz! About your message, for common courtesy
| please try to write a little more when posting. It also
| helps to include a title, so others know what your post is
| about. Your question was a little crude as well.
| Using polite language is proper etiquette on the Net
| since you don't know the other users. We call it Netiquette!
| Let me guess, you're an elementary school student, right?
| Please be careful! Now, about Eleballs, sorry! I don't know
| how to beat them either! I wish I could help you out.
| Can anyone offer some advice?!
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+--------+-----------------------------------------------------------------
| Koetsu | Elaball
+--------+-----------------------------------------------------------------
| Whaddup all? Koetsu in da house!
| Elaballs are tricky li'l devils.
| What you gotta do is, get right up in their faces!
| Then, when they stop to fire off a shot at you, back up a
| square and Bam! Right in the kisser! If they shoot while
| you're in the center just go around with the electricity!
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+--------+-----------------------------------------------------------------
| Cartan | RE:Eleball
+--------+-----------------------------------------------------------------
| Bravo, Koetsu! Bravo!!
| How about it, Beltz? Did that answer your question?
| I'm going to try this out myself!
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
In SciLab Square is a NormalNavi who expresses mild envy towards MegaMan being customized and thereby a shoo-in for the N1.
Otherwise, the only other dialogue around are a few Official Navis and Mr. Progs mentioning how quiet things are.
Back with the plot, MegaMan manages to jack out, but the damage to the PET has rendered it unusable, causing MegaMan to be stored in the SubPET for now.
I have to say that this is a ridiculously powerful ability that FlashMan has used on MegaMan here. So it's too bad Wily didn't capitalize on it!
Notably, the icon at the top right is orange now instead of blue.
Haruka reminds Lan about the field trip that we already learned about from an NPC earlier. It'll be to Yoka, where there's a zoo and a hot spring.
MegaMan is rather excited to see the zoo.
Hub seems really sassy in this game.
Part of that might just be all of these mid-blink screenshots, though.
And to the surprise of everyone, Yuichiro is home!
He admits that it's been a while, but due to circumstances at his job, he was able to head home early.
It takes a while, but Haruka realizes she's been holding Yuichiro in the doorway for a while, so she lets him in.
Afterwards, Lan asks his dad to fix his PET.
Since it's a custom PET, it'll take Lan's dad a day to fix since he needs tools from SciLab.
Haruka can't remember Yuichiro's favorite dinner and he doesn't recognize any late night television programs.
In case you needed a reminder that he almost never gets time off.
