Hey all, I’m back with a game I played years ago when it was first released for this week’s Retro Game Friday. It’s Mega Man Battle Network 3.

Plot: The plot is pretty standard Battle Network in that Lan Hikari and Megaman have to fight against the forces of Dr. Wily and the regrouped evil organization WWW. Honestly, the plot is okay for a kid’s title, but nowadays it is sort of quaint for me. But that’s probably because I’ve grown incredibly cynical and jaded.

Gameplay: This entry in the series helped refine the battle system for the remaining entries. It introduced some rules to the chip system that limited the ability of the player to include too many powerful chips in their battle folder. Frankly, it was a good thing, and it wasn’t like there weren’t restrictions already. It had Style changes and also had a couple new ones. There was one style each for the various versions of Mega Man Battle Network 3 which included Shadow Style with the Blue version and the Ground Style with the White. I enjoyed the gameplay of this entry quite a bit.

Art: The art is pretty much the same as prior versions with just a bit more updated graphics. It has still aged incredibly well even today. That’s probably why there’s a re-release of the entire Battle Network series happening in just a couple weeks for the Nintendo Switch.

Music: Classic Battle Network. Nothing more need be said, I think.

Overall: A solid entry in a very good sub series of a beloved franchise.