Missed Opportunities: Why Did We Never Get a Mega Man Battle Network Kart Racer?

In my limited viewing of the Rockman.EXE anime (and by extension, MegaMan NT Warrior, which by its very nature is a more limited viewing of Rockman.EXE on the whole), one episode really stood out to me among all the others. It stood out to me by introducing an idea I felt had tremendous potential, yet Capcom would never capitalize on it.

“The NetMobile Grand Prix.”

Yes, it says it’s a different episode; Capcom mislabelled them.

In a time when it seemed as though everyone either had or was getting their own kart racer (the original Mega Man even had one that never made it to North American shelves on its platform of origin, apparently no thanks to Sony), it felt like all the stars were aligning. And yet… nothing.

Making it more surprising is that they continued using the vehicles afterwards. Well, at least ProtoMan did (and who can blame him?). Though that does make it curious that we never at least saw a NetBike for him in Mattel’s MegaMan NT Warrior toy line. I mean, speaking of missed opportunities…

Ever since I first saw the episode all those years ago, I was initially sure an announcement was coming any day now… any day. It wasn’t very long before it became abundantly clear that Capcom wasn’t making one, and from then on, it felt like a missed opportunity.

So let’s rewatch this classic episode, now available on YouTube (embedded above, in case you missed it, and if you prefer, the unsubbed Japanese version can be found here), and see why it felt like nearly all the pieces were in place for this to become a reality.

Premise

Let’s face it, most kart racers don’t have or really need much of a story, and there really isn’t much here. AyanoTech has developed a new line of vehicles for NetNavis, the eponymous NetMobiles, and this race is to promote them — save for ProtoMan’s, which comes from the rival BlazeQuest. The winner of the race gets a Level 3 rare chip and a kiss from the internet idol, Aki.

Characters

If there’s one thing a kart racing game needs, it’s racers! And vehicles, too, I suppose. Fortunately, the NetMobile Grand Prix has both in spades!

The NetMobile Grand Prix features eight contestants — some racing solo, some acting as a team, and each with their own unique vehicle. There’s MegaMan with his Mega-GTZ, GutsMan with the Guts Tank, Roll and Rush in the Power Roll, Glyde and IceMan in the Battle Bus, and NumberMan has Obsession Mania. MagicMan, HeatMan, ElecMan, and ColorMan each have a car in the World Three’s Super Speedy Bullet Train, NetAgents SharkMan, WoodMan, and SkullMan share the submarine-like Incognito, and as mentioned, ProtoMan rounds out the eight with his NetBike.

Now, while this provides a solid foundation, there’s nothing that says it has to be strictly adhered to. For instance, teaming some characters up made sense for the purposes of a 22-minute cartoon, but I think rosters only big enough to fill in the eight slots on the track might have died out in the ’90s. There’s no reason IceMan couldn’t have his own wheels apart from Glyde, or that WoodMan and SkullMan couldn’t have their own unique, more suitably-themed wheels. On the other hand, part of the charm of the World Three’s train is that it fits the entire lot of them together, so there is room for exceptions.

Nor would a roster need to be limited to just these characters, as the Mega Man Battle Network series is chock-full of great potential candidates. QuickMan’s Classic series counterpart took part in Mega Man Battle & Chase, after all, and TurboMan deserves better than being relegated solely to Mega Man Battle Chip Challenge (to say nothing of how perfectly suited he is to this!).

Items — or rather, Battle Chips

What sets a good kart racer apart from your ordinary run-of-the-mill racing games is the use of items. Of course, in Battle Network, we don’t just have items, we have Battle Chips (or “Accessory Chips”, as the anime calls them in this instance)!

In the episode, Ability Chips allow NetOps to enhance their NetNavis’ NetMobiles in different NetWays — I mean, ways. The above Spike Tire chip, for instance, changes the regular tires into Spike Tires, which have improved traction for better control, such as when a NetMobile is spinning out. Other Ability Chips can enhance the engines in various ways, and then there’s my personal favorite:

In the final stretch, the last three racers standing use special Ability Chips that reshape their NetMobiles, giving them a more aerodynamic form for one last burst of speed towards the finish. Kind of like a “Final Smash” or finishing move, in fighting game terms. The Aero Form gives the Mega-GTX a more Formula-1 styled design, while the Rocket Form makes the Power Roll more plane-like. Of course, the coolest of all has to go to ProtoMan’s NetBike, whose Grand Prix Form turns it into an enclosed cycle like the ones seen in Tron — or the Red Capsular Cycle from Power Rangers Lost Galaxy.

“But what about attacks?” I hear you ask. Great question! Those are featured as well, but through the use of less-specialized means. GutsMan’s Guts Tank, for example, has full use of its top-mounted cannon, as NumberMan soon found out. Meanwhile, as GutsMan would find out, IceMan retained full use of his normal Ice Breath attack in order to freeze the road.

Suffice to say, the Mega Man Battle Network series has ample enough Battle Chips that can be used by any NetNavi to fill in any gaps.

So, we’ve covered the premise, we’ve got racers and karts, and we’ve looked at special abilities and attacks. That leaves just one thing… and it’s possibly the hardest thing to figure out with this concept. Perhaps even difficult enough that it could be the entire reason we never got a Mega Man Battle Network kart racer in the first place!

Tracks

When it comes to locales, the Mega Man Battle Network series is, to be quite frank, kind of lacking in variety. At least, on the Net side of things, which, of course, is where the bulk of this entire concept takes place. The anime does a little bit of heavy lifting here by introducing NetCity, a cityscape for NetNavis to do things in the Cyberworld when they aren’t hanging out in that weird void they spent the first season in.

The games don’t provide a whole lot more, unfortunately. When you’re not engaging in battle on a 6×3 grid, you’re usually running around on some sort of colorful geometric pathway as a screensaver fills the background. So if we take the NetCity course they use in the anime, the void, and heck, let’s go ahead and be generous by including the pathways and the battlegrounds from the games, and we have… four tracks.

For comparison, just one Wave Pack of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe downloadable content — not even talking about the base game — has twice as many courses.

Now, this is by no means an impossible challenge to overcome. However, it would mean that whoever was to design such a thing would have to get creative. Very, very creative, and not allow themselves to be bound by what’s in the games or anime or manga or any other part of the franchise.

On the other hand, the aforementioned Mario Kart, progenitor of the genre and pretty much reigning king of it to this day, pulls stuff out of their exhaust ports all the time. So it can be done.

Plus, the CutMan Brothers could be on hand to provide their own brand of mischief with their crazy cut-out contraptions as additional stage hazards!

Crossing the Finish Line

So while there might be some challenges to bringing the NetMobile Grand Prix to life as a Mega Man Battle Network kart racer, I don’t think it’s anything that can’t be overcome with a bit of time, effort, and a bit of imagination. We’re not likely looking at a potential Mario Kart killer here, but on its own? I think it could have been a solid entry into the genre.

Now, here’s a challenge for fan game creators: Capcom dropped the ball on this one, but maybe you can make something? I know I’d love to see it!

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Ability Chip and NetMobile GP Course map images via MMKB.