MMBN2 Comments

Right away, I'd like to give thanks/shoutouts to the following people:

WindsSunrise1: He's the reason I picked up ANY Battle Network game.  Also, Piccolo's power level or something.
Tterra42: The original world record holder of the game, he really pushed me to beat his time originally.
Doicm: He found the original boss manipulations and provided my first draft of the route notes.  His ideas led me to creating my own manipulations.
Mountebank: He took my manipulations and pushed them to the extreme, and is responsible for the current route.

Mega Man Battle Network 2 is the second installment of the Mega Man Battle Network series on GBA.  RNG manipulation is the bread and butter of the Any% category, and it carries its weight throughout 95% of the run.  Everything from battles to chip drops becomes manipulated after the 6 or 7 minute mark of the run.  I won't bore you with the entire mechanic explanation, but throughout the run you'll see me editing the chip folder by adding, removing, and rearranging chips in specific orders, then restarting the game on certain frames, usually determined by audio cue.

This manipulation is very important, since the focus on quick battles lies within Program Advances (PAs); PAs combine chips to create powerful attacks that dispatch of bosses in seconds.  The PAs used are GutsShoot (Guard * + DashAtk G/* + GutsMan G) for 400 damage, and Gater (Wind * + Fan * + GateMan G) for 900+ damage.

Now, for the run, I'll generalize what's going on by each split, as named by their boss.

AirMan: This split is the biggest reset point in the game.  We have to not only grind out 3 Guard * chips, but we need at least 800 zenny from a green mystery data (GMD).  Guard * luck in this run was fantastic, but it took a few resets to get a good GMD.  Thankfully, the GMD yielded 1500 zenny, which allows us to pick up an HPMemory earlier than usual; HPMemory increases your level by 1 each, which allows us to run away from pesky encounters.  Not a strategy used very often, but Guard * drops were cooperative.  After completing the ZLicense storyline, we dip into our first bit of RNG manipulation by manipulating Fishy viruses to drop 2 DashAtk * chips in the doghouse.  First chip was easy, second chip took a couple extra resets since I suck at hearing.  Further in the split, we do one of the biggest folder edits in the game, shifting Sword S chips all over the place and throwing in our newly obtained Guard * and DashAtk * chips.  The chip manipulation for the AirMan fight is a paltry 50% chance to get right since our frames and folder aren't very good early game, but luckily we get it first try.  11:28 was the final split time.

QuickMan: By buying the early HPMemory, we were able to save some time and skip the first 15 seconds or so of the split on a normal route.  This was actually a very new strat that I came up with about an hour or so prior to this run, so I was pleased at how successful it was.  It gave some buffer room since this split is the second roughest split in the entire run.  We try for the same 50% manipulation we used on AirMan against GutsMan and it took more tries than I'd like to admit, but we eventually get it going.  Text-based manipulation is amongst the most annoying things in this run, and there's plenty of it.  Probably an easy 30 more seconds that can be saved.  The biggest problems in this split are the two virus gauntlets.  We need to continuously manipulate and advance the RNG by having specific fights.  Gauntlet #2 is one of the biggest run killers; it's a rough 50% window that feels more like 25%.  After four attempts, I never actually get the correct frame, so I improvise and fix the frame.  Easily the biggest amount of time lost in this entire run.  The rest of the split went smoothly.  27:45 was the final split time.

CutMan: This is the split where the manipulation really starts to shine.  Excessive use of GutsManv2 G, an AOE chip that does a respectable 70 damage, carries us throughout a lot of the battles.  This split also houses more pesky gauntlet manipulation, with gauntlet #4 being almost as much of a troublemaker as gauntlet #2, but thankfully we get it first try.  I dislike the silence towards the end of the split, but I guess it was the developers' attempt at creating tension.  47:01 was the final split time.

ShadowMan: We get arguably the most important chip in the game here: Atk+30 *.  This chip is what helps us one-shot bosses that shouldn't be one-shot, and two-shot the final boss.  More on that later.  GutsManv2 G puts in WORK.  We abuse him alongside every possible chip enhancer to breeze through the Change.bat fights.  Getting ZapRing2 B from these fights is crucial, since it's required to advance the story later on.  There's a tiki mask, and a bunch of spelling because why not?  We get ElecCust style, which is both good and bad.  Good because it increases our chip draws from 5 chips to 7, bad because it is the worst style in a speedrun.  AquaCust is generally considered the best, followed by WoodCust or HeatCust, due to their superior charge busters.  It is minor, though, and the rest of the run sans a couple fights completely ignore the importance of element anyway.  1:02:08 was the final split time.

KnightMan: Oh, boy.  While the frame windows for the GateMan manipulations are somewhat wide, a mistake costs you dearly.  The reset times for these two manipulations are the largest amounts of time of all resets.  We get GateManv1 manipulation easily enough, but GateManv2 was a little uncooperative.  Finishing these fights becomes very important, since this is where we get the first piece of the most broken PA, Gater.  The second fight yields GateManv1 G.  A little bit later, we buy 2 Wind * chips and 3 Fan * chips, giving us access to Gater.  Quite literally, the rest of the game, sans one fight, is some combination of Gater and Atk+10/30 *.  The only things that can go wrong from here on out are purely execution based, whether it's an incorrect frame or a missed folder edit.  Speaking of folder edits, the folder edit after buying Wind * and Fan * is another huge edit in comparison to the others from earlier that have been mostly chip shifting.  Guard * is removed since we need to give one up for storyline purposes.  Raoul crotch manipulation is pretty strong.  1:20:41 was the final split time.

MagnetMan: This is the shortest split in the game.  Lasts barely 9 minutes.  Not much to say about this other than a child should not be responsible for fixing a faulty airplane.  Also, the prog we use as a manipulation corner is a baller.  This split shows why Gater's 900 total damage can be deceptive; Gater shoots out 9 projectiles for 100 damage each, so any Atk+ chips add damage onto EACH PROJECTILE.  Gater +10 is 990, Gater +20 is 1080, so on.  1000 HP MagnetMan stood no chance.  1:29:43 was the final split time.

FreezeMan: While MagnetMan is the shortest split, FreezeMan is the longest split, no contest.  30 minutes of running back and forth between three to four locations to advance the story.  Not really much we can do about that, though.  We get a second GateMan chip so we can have two chances at the Gater PA at the start of the split.  While manipulations in reality are 50% at best, we continuously offset that with multiples of chips, and this is no different.  After the final GateMan fight, we do our last battle (and first since Gater) without using a PA, but of course we manipulate it into our starting draw.  SilverFist E has piercing qualities and destroys the Dominerds.  Gater all the things after that.  We take advantage of FreezeMan's tiny window of vulnerability before being coated in his ice shield by, you guessed it, Gatering.  2:00:13 was the final split time.

Gospel: The final split.  There's always a great sense of urgency and focus whenever I start this split.  The apartment comps are among the most complicated in the entire game, though they're pretty simple in comparison to the other games' final comps in the series.  Lots of teleporting all over the place and figuring out where to go.  It can be pretty daunting, and flawless execution here is a must.  We get past the puzzle part of the comp easily enough and make it to the first boss rush.  Like the gauntlets from earlier, I do specific things to advance the RNG and draw the chips I want, making sure to draw Gater for every boss.  The second boss rush goes by flawlessly as well.  The final manipulation for Bass and Gospel is always nerve-racking, since it requires very specific movement to get perfectly, and if messed up, wastes a lot of time.  In each Battle Network game, you cannot save in the last and final comp, so this is especially stressful in a run where we manipulate chips.  Fortunately, the manipulation was performed to perfection.  Timing ends upon the "ding!" right before the credits.  Final run time was 2:14:43.

Final thoughts: This run can still be brought down a decent amount of time.  My sum of best is a 2:13:07, and there was definitely time loss in the QuickMan and KnightMan splits.  Overall, though, this run is a great example of the route, and a time that carries great longevity as a top-tier time.

Thanks for watching this run!