**While the Mega Man series may be well established for its platforming escapades, one of the more popular spin-offs in the blue bomber’s outings is with the Battle Network games. Aimed towards RPG fans with its tactical battle engine and chip collecting elements, the Mega Man: Battle Network series became hugely popular during the Game Boy Advance era. Having garnered plenty of fans during this time, one has decided to gift the series a much needed 3D reboot.
With what’s happened to other Mega Man spin-offs (and even the main series to a degree) as of late at Capcom, it’s no wonder fans are beginning to take matters into their own hands. Take for example the fact that retro gamers have begun sculpting new takes on the Nintendo NES classics through ROM hacking. Instead of using familiar code and visuals this time, this fan-made effort to bring the Battle Network franchise up to date is built from the ground up for PC gamers as a standalone release.
Dubbed Mega Man Battle Network 3D, the recently released demo features a three dimensional take on the iconic chip-based battles found throughout the series. With all of the familiar grid based attacks present, and the frustrating enemy tactics prevalent too, fans of the series will no doubt be left wanting more from this early proof of concept. Unfortunately it does lack any of the exploratory sections and any story currently, but this unfinished reboot holds plenty of promise - especially given that it’s nailed the most complicated aspect of the game already.**
