Mega Man Battle Network

Battle Network emerged as one of several Mega Man spinoffs, but who differs from their platformer cousins in two unexpected ways: A premise that brings to mind the modern-futuristic tech speculation of Digimon, and a battle system that blends grid-based tactical RPG and sidescrolling shooter. Elements of ATB provide both flow and breathing room to the mix, but the strength of combat owes more to its tactical influence. By assimilating much of the subgenre, from the variety of attack ranges to traversal, to map manipulation and even their 'mission design' (that often relies on outnumbering the player), they transform encounters into short, puzzle-like challenges, with lots of room to optimize and master their solution. Granting that is a large roster of limited-use battle chips; special abilities that boast an impressive range of types, effects and combinations, yielding a malleable moveset whose construction mimics TCG-style deckbuilding. Both the customization and the skill ceiling are unusual for JRPGs. With the exception of secret areas (cleverly hidden in environmental objects) and the overworld/net interactivity of certain puzzles, everything else is either weak (characters, dungeons, story) or annoying (backtracking), and pales in comparison to the harmony of a select few systems.

While immature, this work heralded a new, card game-tinged form of JRPG by integrating their collectible nature as a skill system rather than a crafting resource (i.e. Kartia: The Word of Fate) or a vehicle for items (e.g. FFVIII's Triple Triad). Their lessons would later be endorsed by followers as distant as Lost Kingdoms, Baten Kaitos and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories.

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