What's in the collection
Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection Vol. 1 bundles four games: Mega Man Battle Network, Mega Man Battle Network 2, and both versions of Mega Man Battle Network 3 (Blue and White). The series is set in 200X, where people use portable devices called PETs and personality programs called NetNavi to navigate the network age. You play as Lan Hikari and his NetNavi MegaMan.EXE, taking on network crime as it spreads through the expanding net. The games mix action with RPG progression and deckbuilding: you hunt the net for rare and powerful BattleChips, then use them as special moves in grid-based battles against enemy programs. The collection also includes a gallery of illustrations and music. Text is available in English, Japanese, and Simplified/Traditional Chinese.
Playing together
Online play is supported, so you can take the grid battles against other players over the internet. Trading is part of the experience as well, which means BattleChips collected in your own run can be exchanged with friends to fill out decks. Since Vol. 1 contains both versions of Mega Man Battle Network 3, two people who each own a different version have the natural setup for trading and facing off. Each game also works as a singleplayer experience if you'd rather play through the story on your own first and meet up for matches later.
Before you start
A few practical notes. The toy link features from the original releases are not supported here, so anything that depended on connecting the old cartridges or hardware won't work. This volume covers Mega Man Battle Network 1-3 only; Vol. 2 holds Mega Man Battle Network 4-6, and the two are also sold together as a bundle, so check what you already own to avoid buying the same games twice. The battle system rewards planning: you build a deck of BattleChips before and during fights, and grid positioning matters as much as raw damage, so expect some strategy alongside the action.