Okay, listen, I've been playing the Battle Network games for a little over a decade now, and I thought I'd basically experienced the peak version of Battle Network 5 with the Nintendo DS release, known as Double Team DS. I have my copies of BN3, 4, 5, and 6 on GBA as well, and even got the Bass icon on my BN5 save file so I could access Bass Cross on the DS version AND send over whatever the heck kind of folder I wanted to build from the GBA version of 5 to the DS one.

Let me tell you that all of that does not even compare to how shwacked the mod cards are for BN5 alone. Holy moly, I loaded up FireMan's card immediately because I love that guy and I get a Fire Arm Charge Shot AND a Heat Elemental affinity, complete with a new super rad color scheme to boot. I usually don't bother to get the Black Bomb R from the Purple Mystery Data in ACDC 2 until I've at least got the Hot Body chips at my disposal, but with the Fire Arm charge shot, I made that the first thing I beelined for in this new save file. It is BUSTED this early on AND there's a mod card section for items. Guess what's among them? BLACK BOMB Z. I have two, ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ TWO Black Bombs in my folder and I haven't even put ProtoMan in his place yet.

This is the most cathartic run of Battle Network 5 I've ever done and I have so many different ways I can now modify my play style. I loaded up a card with the Status Bug for a free 50/50 shot at either a temporary buff or debuff, which is normally something I have to bug my Navi Cust for with more than four colors, but now I just have that! I had experience with Mega Man Zero 3's mod cards before thanks to the Zero Collection on DS and the Zero/ZX Legacy Collection, but those pale in comparison to what's offered for the Battle Network games. Oh my god. I'm already making plans for my next Dark Soul playthrough of Team Colonel after I finish my current playthrough of Team ProtoMan.

Good lord, this is a whole new way to play some of my favorite RPGs of all time. I've already been juggling these games for roughly a year now on my DS, as the combat's so consistently satisfying to me that it never gets old or leads to burnout, but this pair of collections has reignited my passion for experimenting with loads of different folders and strategies. I haven't felt this close to combat nirvana since the first time I used the different Mod Codes in Battle Network 3's Navi Customizer all those years ago. KTEIUE2D, the Super Armor code, still remains embedded in my mind and I'm convinced it will remain there until the day I die.

So yeah, the collections ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ own. Play Battle Network 2 or 6 as a starting point and go from there. 1 and 4 are super rough and I'd recommend at least having a foothold in the series before attempting them. 5's probably the hardest one, so while I love it to death, I can see it being a bit much for newcomers at first. Still damn good though. Absolutely give 5 a shot. God, I love Battle Network so much. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

P.S. If anyone's interested in doing some netbattling and/or trading together, I'm down for that! I've been wanting to finally experience the PVP side of these games for years!