This comes from a game that I actually like.
So, Mega Man Network Transmission is a take on the idea of putting the EXE/Battle Network games, which are based upon the rise of the internet and advanced computer sciences and are action RPGs, together with the Classic series; yes, there is a distinction between them and every other installment.
How does it do this?
Like a mixed bag.
So first, there's the Battle Chip system in this game. Battle Chips in NT try to combine the Special Weapons feature from Classic and the Battle Chip functions from EXE. The problem with this however is that this translates over..... very rough. I'll explain in detail:
1. Battle Chips are given many "drawback" or "weakness" or caveats; like from EXE, they are completely randomized by selection, have a limited number of uses, and once they are used up, they are gone, and like from Classic, they consume MP or Memory Points, which acts like practically MP and a stamina system to help prevent spamming, and you can get a higher limit of uses if you collect more chips. In this case, if you are online as Mega Man and you run out of one chip, you cannot just up and reboot your folder from the menu; you are out until you miraculously get more of another chip from what gave you it in the first place or log out.
2. MP kind of sucks in this game as you can't up and get weapon energy like from Classic, and if you are out of it, you need to retreat and recharge. You can get more MP Ups, but the highest you can ever get is like 200-250 or so.
3. Chip attacks are extremely hit or miss in this game. Bomb attacks are laughably near useless as they are practically the rock from Friday the XIIIth on NES, and you will need to be reliant on some varieties because your buster gun is miserably weak until you upgrade it. I'll get to this later, but overall, you need to have your folder open for utility chips like Dash and Double Jump which allows you to reach places you can't normally get to. Also, unlike other games in the series where you get a massive folder of up to 30 chips, you get a folder of 20, which is sort of reasonable, but the same rules from BN2 apply (only 5 Navi Chips, you get three varieties of enemy chips/rare chips if you want to PA, etc.)
4. Because of the random nature of chips, you get a feature called Custom Set.... which allows you to only set one chip of your choice upon selection, and is limited by its size limit dependent on the megabytes of the Battle Chip you're using. EXE fans know what I'm talking about. You'd think that because you're playing an action game, you'd be able to set, well, more chips, but no. You also get this feature after both the beginning stage and the first stage, the first stage being where FireMan.EXE causes a literal flame war online and causes much of the net to be a lava pool and is a real pain in the fucking ass to beat the first time around.
5. You do get Program Advances, which are special attacks that are gained through specific chip combinations, but you only get better ones as you progress and because Lan is a miserable flesh pile, he gives you chips at random until the Custom screen is filled, and even then, he'll probably switch out some chips if you are in desperate need of a PA.
These features kind of make NT a pain in the ass to play because these apply to all Battle Chips, and someone honest to heaven was being a lazy fuck at the studio. They even got the rights to show the fucking anime opening, which in that iteration, you can use Sword chips indefinitely as long as they still have durability, for one example. I can give the pass that this was a kind of experiment to know how BN and Classic would work, but come on, make some better gameplay beyond just BN in Classic Form in Textbook Pedant Definition.
Then, there's the fact you start off incredibly weak. Your buster cannot charge and only does only like what, 10 damage due to scaling (honestly if your buster did 1 damage like in BN, lol the game would suck), your folder has a bunch of chips that will be replaced once you find better ones, and you have basic as fuck health at 100 HP that will get you killed from spikes and tough as nails enemies that scale high once you get into the later beginning parts. This game is also like a Metroidvania and encourages exploration, but you will need to be a master at navigating online and platforming like no one's business because fuck your life if Mega Man runs into a security spike at this part of the game. There's parts where you need to navigate a small maze of spikes, where Quick Man and his lasers come back, and even Guts Man's monorails return later in the game, and if you want the best ending, you better know how to play Castlevania, and I mean Pre-Symphony of the Night, that much I'll say.
And still, I like this game.
