Mega Man Battle Network 5

Mega Man Battle Network 5 is the fifth game in the Battle Network series; other playable Navis are finally introduced (and no, we're not counting Operation Battle or Battle Chip Challenge), as well as new overworld, battle, and sound engines, and the unique/divisive Liberation Missions.

The two versions would later be combined for the Nintendo DS as Mega Man Battle Network 5: Double Team DS, although the Legacy Collection release (as per tradition) uses the original GBA versions for the collection.

Sub-Pages#

Prerelease Info Regional DifferencesOperation Battle, Navi Change, and more! (less)

Build Date#

Even though the build times are only 2 minutes apart, the initial release of Team of Colonel in Japan was more than 2 months after the initial Japanese release of Team of Blues. Also, the English versions seemingly have two different dates for some reason.

REXE5TOB 20041104 JP

Nov 14 2004 21:37:23

REXE5TOK 20041104 JP

Nov 14 2004 21:39:33

REXE5TOB 20041006 US

Apr  7 2005 10:29:59

REXE5TOK 20041006 US

Apr  7 2005 10:40:02

REXE5TOB 20041006 PL

Apr  7 2005 10:48:18

REXE5TOK 20041006 PL

Apr  7 2005 10:53:59

Unused Sprites#

Unused Playable Character Sprites#

The strength Team Navis you play as have unused sprites. TomahawkMan and NapalmMan both have crouching "defeated" frames presumably used when you defeat them in their respective levels. However, the game just has them stand there when you do defeat them and the frames go unused. This was not fixed in the NDS version. There is also an unused sprite of SearchMan blocking. This sprite is also out of place since normally an unused sprite from one version's Navi shows up in the opposite version's. Since the Team ProtoMan version was made first, this sprite could be from a removed scenario no longer present in any of the releases. The revision theory doesn't match up with keeping both strength Navis' unused sprites.

Unused Battle Sprites#

New to the game was this charging animation used in Chaos Unisons. Back up; for some odd reason, the regular charge animation managed to still keep the palettes for the three stages of charging last used in the first game. This unused sprite shows the charge animation for Chaos Unisons in a mid-charge. The ball is actually larger than the first level and smaller than the third level charge. It also has an orange color similar to the regular charge's mid-charge. This sprite either exists for some unknown program setup or because having a three-level charge for Chaos Unison was considered at one point, but was later scrapped.

Normally in the game, when Gyro Soul is enabled, Wind-elemental chips cause your propeller to spin, doubling the power of the next chip. This sprite shows that GyroMan would have utilized this effect normally exclusive to Gyro Soul. This stationary propeller animation shows that perhaps Team Navis would have had abilities similar to their Soul counterpart. There is no known way to enable this behavior on GyroMan.

MagnetMan has a couple of unused palettes. Keep in mind that MagnetMan has the most palettes out of all the characters. During battle, MagnetMan can create a blue-colored duplicate for his special attack. The first color is his blue duplicate colored to match his DS (Dark Soul) version. The second is the regular blue duplicate lightened up to be used as a movement color (since MagnetMan lightens up during his moving animation). However, probably due to programming reasons, all versions of MagnetMan use the regular blue color duplicate in his one attack. The sprite simply appears and disappears, leaving the light-blue one unused.

The Cactus enemy normally only shoots its head forward after a short while. This simple animation shows an unused animation where the enemy shakes for an unknown amount of time and then shoots its head. It's possible this behavior would have been meant to trick the player about its attack timing.

Toad Soul's charge attack uses a special trumpet arm. There is a palette for the Chaos Unison-version of Toad Soul. Because Chaos Toad Soul uses Dark Wide Shot as the charge attack this trumpet color goes unused.

Unused Overworld Sprites#

LarkMan is an optional boss in the game. His sprite only appears in one map and uses no alternate colors. However, his overworld sprite did have alternate colors. The first color is a strange color swap of his original color. The second color is his DS version's color. However, his sprite's palette is identical both in and out of battle, so this is probably a color-pasting glitch made on the developer's side.

The car sprite now has a new black palette. This would most likely have been used in the cutscene where Nebula first appears, until the new sprite seen in the final version was made. Some details have been redrawn since the previous game but since none of the maps have any cars present, this sprite isn't used at all.

Chaos Unison Tutorial#

Watch on YouTubeChanging the battle type through a hack, there exists a Chaos Unison tutorial in the game. The text (and probably the icon too) of this tutorial is just a placeholder and does not make any sense. It looks largely incomplete and has Colonel explaining the tutorial regardless of the game version. The tutorial is also in Japanese in all versions of the game. In the retail versions of the game, Chaos Unison is explained through an anonymous email in SciLab.

Text:

Wireless Multiplayer#

The Rockman.EXE 5: Team of Blues instruction booklet claims that it is possible to play locally using the GBA Wireless Adapter. It even shows a selection screen not found during normal gameplay. The game does have support for the Wireless Adapter since it is used to play Crossover Battle with Boktai 2. The client and host screens exist in all versions and can be accessed using a menu hack. All menus are in Japanese regardless of region.

It is unknown whether a wireless battle or any game mode can be executed at all since the menus don't function properly. The name select screen must also appear in the menu after the wireless screen but no evidence has been found to support this. Once a name is registered, it can't be edited. The selection screen is also not referenced in the US version, though it exists, and the client and host screens load properly. There is no known way to trigger the selection screen in the Japanese version or any version of the game.

It is possible that this feature was removed due to complications with the external hardware the game accepted or the fact that the NDS port was already on its way which would support wireless play natively; Mega Man Battle Network 6 would eventually have wireless support.

Debug Text#

Like the previous game, this game has a list of debug commands that when read by the game's script system, causes the described effect. No known way to activate properly but likely used by developers at some point.

Can enter FurnacComp
Can enter ElevtrComp
Can enter CraneComp
Can enter SciLab HP
You got MaylBanr 
You got DexBannr
You got YaiBannr
You got SciLabBnr
You got GargCstlBnr
CyberCloud game
A BBS messages
Player Change
Defeated 100!
All NaviChng OK
ChaosUnison OK
You got 1 HP memory
You got RegUp 1
You got RegUp 2
You got RegUp 3
    0 Zennys cleared
    0 BugFrags
You got Extra Deck
You got Folder2
Add items to Higsby's and cart
You got Extra Deck
Ship Game begins "ProtoMan~
Ship Game begins "Colonel~
Ship Game begins "MegaMan~
Defeated Bass
You got a chip
LibMission 1 begins
LibMission 2 begins
LibMission 3 begins
LibMission 4 begins
LibMission 5 begins
LibMission 6 begins
LibMission 7 begins
LibMission 8 begins
LibMission 9 begins
You got Bass chip
You got a chip
New Record
Show Record
You got a chip
You got PA
Boktai trading set
You got key item
World Trip
You got all souls
You got NaviCust
New Mail
Very Wealthy
You got SubChip
You got all chips

Unused Accessories#

Navi Customizer Programs#

There're three dummied out Navi Customizer Programs, which are HubBatc, MegaVirs and GigaVirs.

Chips#

There are some other chip code of normal chips which can't be acquired normally:

1. NumberBall * (given a Lotto Code in Double Team DS)
2. DarkRecover * (given a Lotto Code in Double Team DS)
3. DarkSonic *

Revisional Differences#

Virtual Console#

• Accessing the Communication menu now gives the player one of every Secret Chip (excluding LeadersRaid and ChaosLord), as well as BassCross MegaMan regardless of the region.
• The Japanese-only Liberation Mission exit glitch is fixed in its regional version.
• For unknown reasons, a random blur effect was added when moving in ACDC Town.
• The check for the Battle Chip Gate has been removed, meaning that it is no longer possible to access its menu without further cheats, and the title screen no longer has a pause before start can be pressed.

Legacy Collection#

• The Battle Chip Gate check removal has also been applied here.
• The Chip Order now functions like previous games, being stocked depending on which Chips the player put into the Chip Trader; the same change was applied to Battle Network 6.
• The helicopter sound effect at the end of the cutscene where Chaud/Baryl tells Lan that the Nebula base is on Mt. Belenus now fades out at a different time. On the Legacy Collection, it fades out as the screen turns black. On the GBA version, it fades out after the screen has turned black.
• Battle transitions now smoothly fade from white like all other games and the DS version.
• A non-functioning Unite button on the Custom Screen is now present from the very start of the game, even when MegaMan doesn't access to Double Soul yet. The non-functioning Unite button also appears for Team Navi Custom Screens.
• All map changes and removals have been reverted.
• The DeltaRay BattleChip’s behavior has been changed. ProtoMan’s travel points can only be blocked by ally Navis (such as MegaMan) and viruses, and holes. It was different in the GBA version, where ProtoMan can only be blocked by enemies, obstacles owned by either player, panel reservations for movement, and holes.
• The Dark Soul AI has been updated to curb the use of overpowered Chips, which is explained in detail here.

Script Changes#

The scene where NumberMan confronts MegaMan in Gargoyle Comp has mistakenly changed Higsby’s dialogue and has an out of place question mark.

• The Ghost e-Reader card is localized as "Spooky".
• The Vacuum Fan 3 virus is now properly named so in Japanese, previously it was named Wind Box 3.
• The Z-Saver Chip is correctly localized as "Z-Saber", however the Repliroid text remains unlocalized.

In the English version, the description for the SpinRed KeyItem caused a text overflow error; Legacy Collection alters the formatting of the text to fix the issue.