![]() At the end of each completed battle, demo goers were prompted to choose a new ability to add to their deck before selecting a new enemy encounter from several diverging paths. The demo on display at PAX presented itself as a roguelite, tasking players with surviving a gauntlet of battles that scale in difficulty. ![]() Just take a look at the game’s Kickstarter trailer if you need any proof.Īs enjoyable as I found One Step From Eden’s pulse-pounding combat, the game’s overarching structure is still a bit of a mystery. This is a battle system that has been fine-tuned to celebrate what worked so well with Battle Network, while also providing a fresher, more mature gameplay experience for those who, like me, grew up with the Blue Bomber on our handheld screens. Battles play out on a larger, 4-by-4 grid, with significantly more in the way of menacing enemies to combat and dastardly attacks to evade. One Step From Eden is faster, smoother, and more challenging than any Battle Network game my teenage self can remember. Yet while One Step From Eden mimics the style and feel of the old Battle Network titles, it’s clear that there’s far more going on under the hood now than there ever was back then. The grid-based battleground, the deck-building elements, the wildly inventive enemies… it’s all here, and with a gorgeous pixel art style to boot. It may not have the same nostalgic story beats of the Battle Network games, but One Step From Eden looks poised to scratch that same gameplay itch. A Fresh Coat of Paint to the Battle Network Experience Pokémon be damned Battle Network had it all. It was fast, it was challenging, and it was perhaps one of the greatest battle systems of its time. Equipped with a standard buster attack and a deck of suped-up abilities, players would slowly whittle down their opponents’ HP while simultaneously avoiding the onslaught of enemy attacks. Players were free to move around their grid in real time however, enemies could move freely as well. However, where Battle Network really stood out was with its battle system.īattles took place on two adjacent, 3-by-3 grids, with MegaMan.EXE situated on one grid and his enemies on the other. Suffice it to say, the premise and stories of these games were excellent the constant hopping between high school settings and the virtual world was a unique idea at the time, predating the cultural zeitgeist around games like Persona 5. ![]() Together, Lan and MegaMan.EXE (the former’s name isn’t lost on me, I assure you) work to keep the real and virtual worlds safe. Whereas Pokémon tells the recurring story of “catching ’em all,” Battle Network tasked players with navigating the world wide web in order to prevent real-life catastrophes.īattle Network’s perspective-switching gameplay put players in the role of protagonist Lan Hikari, a high schooler who attends classes and spends most of his free time on his PC, as well as his virtual partner, MegaMan.EXE, who patrols the web, fighting viruses and other potential dangers. While it’s true that the Battle Network games share more than just a couple similarities with Game Freak’s cultural phenomenon, most are only surface level. Sounds like Pokémon, I’m sure you’re thinking. White and Blue, Blue Moon and Red Sun, Team Protoman and Team Colonel… the naming conventions got weirder and weirder as the series went on. The series saw six core releases across GBA and DS, with the third entry onwards offering a choice between two dual entries. What is Mega Man: Battle Network?įor those unfamiliar with the series, Battle Network is a long-dormant line of action RPGs for Nintendo handheld platforms. Despite being hidden away on the show floor, One Step From Eden caught my eye immediately, and for a simple reason: It looked like Mega Man: Battle Network. A one-man project developed by Thomas Moon Kang, One Step From Eden was tucked within the boundaries of PAX’s inconspicuous Indie Megabooth. One of the most interesting games I played at PAX East 2019 was One Step From Eden. Paying Homage to the Blue Bomber’s Most Underrated Series
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