Prerelease:Mega Man Battle Network
This page details prerelease information and/or media for Mega Man Battle Network.
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 | To do: http://themechanicalmaniacs.com/articles/mmbnmysteries.php WoodMan originally was MegaMan's classmate, among other changes. Early versions of the Spreader Battle Chip (both the chip's art and icon) and Yuichiro's mugshot. |
Development on Mega Man Battle Network initially started as, strangely enough, a horror game, before transitioning to an RPG.
January 31, 2000 Document
The initial pitch sent to publisher and Capcom executives. The first 12 pages were revealed as part of Mega Man Battle Network Official Complete Works, however the rest remains unreleased. The design document reveals the initial storyline:
| Version | Main Character | Mega Man |
|---|---|---|
| A (For Anime) | Lan Hikari | MegaMan.EXE |
| B | Seimai Kazumi | Mega Man Buster |
| C | Roudou Kazumi | Mega Man Blade |
Versions B and C would release first, while Version A would be released alongside the anime; B and C would also play off of each other, focusing on the stories of both twins. The document also mentions a "Battle Colosseum", which presumably would have allowed the player to find a random Navi to raise their Battler Rank, which itself would allow the player to access further internet areas; both concepts were eventually revisited for Mega Man Battle Network 2 and 4.
There would have been an unlicesned NetBattler named Mike Kenen who would've initially operated Roll, before switching to Bass.
"Test Build"
The earliest known build of Mega Man Battle Network has been dubbed a "test build" by the developers; according to Masahiro Yasuma, the player would've started at school and talked to every person before they fought WoodMan, after which the game would end. Screenshots from this build can be found in various magazines, including the November 2000 issue of Dengeki Nintendo 64 magazine.
A virus battle; the HUD was completely different, battle chips at the edge of the screen instead of on-top of the player/enemies. The bar at the top of the screen was part of this build's "tug of war" system, where the player or enemy would lose if their bar was depleted, only to be scrapped due to being too cumbersome to work with.
The panels and the background with Congo text are not present in the final build.
Apparently Chaud was going to be Lan's classmate at this point; his portrait here is slightly different, as is the PET icon, which closer resembles the early laptop-styled concept art. The text here, translated, reads "Someone is going to have to enter the network. They sent a virus in."
Tokyo Toy Show
A build significantly closer to the final game was presented on Tokyo Toy Show, and screenshots can be found in various magazines, such as CFC Style Fan-Book CAP! #14 and the January 2001 issue of CoroCoro Comic. It still has plenty of differences:
- The PET icon is still that of the earlier build, as is the school's Cyber World background.
- There is a lamppost in the central area of ACDC Town.
- The third mail received has a different title, having a new "Part" (like the Mega Man X series) instead of a "Program".
- Mr. Progs are completely static.
- Health depletion is slightly different, with it generally descending even after the enemy is deleted.
- Several sound effects, such as the PET notification, are missing.
- The Spreader Battle Chip uses a different icon.
- The main Internet has a different background, and all HPs have a warp portal on the outside.
- The LongSword icon is used for WideSword.
E3 2001
Early footage of the game from E3 2001 (22:42 in the video) appears to show an early mini graphic for the Spreader chip as well as a very much placeholder logo for the game.
