Illegal Operation: My (Pipe) Dream EXE Game

"I've been an EXE fan for years and all I got was this lousy t-shirt. I mean remake."

Carda here.

With the recent announcement of Rockman Zero Collection for the DS, it’s occurred to me that soon EXE will be the only Rockman sub-franchise that hasn’t had all its games gathered into a compilation (yes, there’s Legends and ZX, but with only two games each, they’re not even trilogies yet).  So as I thought about this, I started wondering what I would do if I were in charge of an EXE Collection for the DS.

Probably the very first thing I would do is borrow the best features of EXE5DS.  The ability to unlock new game features based on which cartridge you had in the GBA slot was pure genius, as was allowing your save slots to interact with each other to some extent.  Using the bottom screen as a map and/or PET screen was also brilliant.

Beyond that, I would incorporate a save system that allows each game to be forwards and backwards compatible; you’d select a save slot, then you’d select which game in the series you want to play.  There would be some sort of “Anthology Device” that would allow you to copy a folder from one game and use it in another.

Next, I would try to make the chip libraries from each game as compatible as possible.  For example, if you pick up a HiCannon chip, it should count towards every game’s library; after all, the GBA games didn’t start updating the PET models until EXE4, so why the heck should the player have to start a new collection from scratch in each game?

Borrowing from our Operate Shooting Star speculation episode, I’d have a Navi Team Battle System that would allow you to fight alongside an AI-run Navi.  You would be able to assign battle chips to your teammate Navi, who would then use them as effectively as possible.  Another idea we came up with during that conversation was a customization system that provides a visual upgrade to your Navi on-screen when you install certain functions.

Style Changes, Soul Unisons, and Crosses could be unlocked for use in every game once you’ve beaten a game that used them.

Clearing the initial story mode in all 6 games would unlock Battle Chip Challenge and 4.5 Real Operation (in English, no less).  And here’s where my idea really starts getting good: the Battle Chip Gate Neo, which comes packaged with the game.  Battle Chip collectors can dust off their piles of plastic-encased silicon, because this GBA slot attachment would allow the use of any of the three families of chips in any of the six games.  (And I have not yet begun to be excessive!)

While we’re at it, let’s give the collectors a nod.  How about using a physical chip in the Neo Gate counting towards your library?  Or maybe even having a separate set of library lists just for your physical chips?  Heck, maybe even have a special order system that’s based on which physical chips you’ve used?

I’d be interested to get your opinions on my ideas, and feel free to provide your own.  We may never see this game happen in reality, but I’d love to see what sort of awesome game we can create in our own minds.