Which Megaman Battlenetwork game should newcomers play first

With the release of the long-awaited Megaman Battlenetwork Legacy collection, old fans of the series have been swarming the stores to get their copy of the game. The entire legacy collection has a whopping 10 games included.

As for newcomers to the franchise, perhaps players who never had the chance the play the series back in the day or younger players who have only just heard of Megaman Battlenetwork, they may be wondering ‘which Megaman Battlenetwork game should players play first?’

[Related: Is Megaman Battlenetwork Legacy Collection worth it?]

1st Trailer – Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection

The easiest answer to this would be to play the first game, Megaman Battlenetwork 1. But the issue with this approach is that it showcases easily the worst game of the franchise to newcomers, which may sour the experience and turn them away from the series thereafter. The level designs in the game are just awful, especially compared to the later entries. And the random encounter rates are absolutely dreadful.

For those who care tons about gaining context for the story to fully understand the later entries, sure. Go ahead and play the first one. But to be honest, much of the first game’s story is recapped throughout the other entries, and the quality of life improvements after the first game are massive — thereby increasing the experience as a whole.

Megaman Battlenetwork 6 and 3 are community favorites

But if not the first one, then which game should newcomers play first? The answer is really vastly dependent on what players want to experience. Megaman Battlenetwork 6 easily has the most polished gameplay and largest population of online players. So for gamers looking purely to compete online, BN6 is where they’ll want to look.

From then, players will have to choose between Falzor or Gregar. Honestly, both are fantastic, and each has their own unique pros and cons. For players unfamiliar with the exclusive forms and chips, studying them online without prior hands-on experience will do them no good. So just go with the tried and true method — choose whichever one looks cooler.

Meanwhile, Battlenetwork 3 has the best story of the franchise, as agreed upon by the vast majority of the community. So for gamers looking for an immersive narrative, start with BN3.

This isn’t to say starting with a Battlenetwork game that isn’t 3 or 6 is a “bad” decision. Each game still has their own merits, but for newcomers wanting a proper strong introduction to the franchise, they can’t go wrong with either of these two games.

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