Note: I played this on PC, this review will primarily be based on that platform experience. Also, be aware that with 7-Zip, the owner of the collection can legally extract the Japanese and English ROMs of the original GBA games for use on the emulator of a player's choice. Out of respect for Capcom, I only encourage the private dumping of these ROMs by the legal owner of this collection for private, non-commercial use, not to be redistributed.

Game compilations were all the rage at the time of this writing, and Capcom decided to bundle the Battle Network games into collections so they were no longer confined to the GBA and Nintendo DS platforms. And given how it was done, I give them high marks for the effort.

Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection Vol.1 is a collection of the first 3 Megaman Battle Network games released for the Gameboy Advance. It consists of the first two games and the third, including the Blue and White Editions of MMBN3. It doesn't require the second half of the series trilogy. The first volume has an entirely self-contained story. However, it does provide a firm base for the second half.

The basic story of Megaman Battle Network 1-3 is an alternate universe to the original Mega Man games. Instead of robotics, humanity pursued networking technology, to the rage of Dr. Albert Wily, who unlike the original series had his robotics work snubbed. Opposing him is the grandson of his scientific rival, Lan Hikari.  Via Megaman.EXE, Lan's Net Navigator, or Navi, the Battle Network series explores an alternate universe take on the original Mega Man game conflicts, except as an RPG via the digital world of the Internet.

The basic premise of the games is a semi-turn-based RPG divided between a "real world, explored by Lan, and the internet world explored by MegaMan.EXE. The player must operate in both to solve issues that affect both sides and resolve the conflicts of the games that will spell doom to both.  Combat, unlike the action side-scroller platformers this series is based on, takes place in turn-based random encounters in the internet world, where Lan must provide MegaMan.EXE battle chips to destroy viral invaders harming the internet world. In between the story, Lan, who is a fifth-grader, must also navigate more mundane things like his school days and time with friends when he and Megaman.EXE aren't trying to save the world.

The gameplay is a mix of top-down semi-turned-based grid RPG combat and a mix of internet and real-world exploration in isometric 2D/3D. In combat, each turn requires selecting collectible battle chips by Lan to provide to MegaMan.EXE for use after this pause to prepare to stop viruses and rogue Net Navis.

Before any technical details are described, it must be noted the games are using the assets of the original GBA games, but are running via recompiled code so they perform without any issues and limitations of that platform on much better hardware. The original game ROMs (both the English and Japanese originals) are used for their assets while the only new content is cut or otherwise non-translated content not available for one reason or another in the original official releases. 

Graphically, despite some mild filtering and a few other enhancements for the better aspect ratio and resolution of superior hardware, they retain the early GBA anime-style graphics they originally had. Given this style is colorful if a bit crudely animated at times, it's more than suitable given it was aimed at a young audience, but the graphics still show how dated they look, given the first half of the Battle Network Trilogy had a rougher look than the second half.

The sound and music, while otherwise of slightly higher quality due to being recompiled to use superior audio hardware, is still a faithful representation of the chiptune and synth style music and sound effects of the original GBA games. They still sound good given they were going for a digital world/anime sci-fi aesthetic, but still pretty retro-sounding. The main menu for selecting the games has a fully voiced avatar of MegaMan.EXE (voiced by Andrew Francis in the English version, same as the MegaMan.EXE anime), and he sounds really good. Sadly, no voiced Megaman in the games themselves, just the main menu for the collection.

The game controls originally required the control scheme of the Game Boy Advance. This port can support both keyboard and mouse and any supported gamepad if playing on PC. While the keys are remappable to a degree, a gamepad of any sort is preferred and recommended for optimal enjoyment and fidelity to the original games. Given the menu-based RPG mechanics and simple isometric 3D, the controls are not that hard to adjust to. Helpful tutorials on the basics are provided at the beginning of each title as well.

The original multiplayer aspects of the original games were completely ripped out and replaced with a fully modernized interface that uses its own native code, not merely an emulation of the original mechanics. Having tested it for all the games, I can confirm it works fine. That said, I recommend having a known friend or friends you can trade or battle with, as finding a random person on Steam to do so with is like finding a needle in a haystack.

A few bonus features were added as well. All games have special bonus addons that provide battle chips dummied out of the international English GBA releases and inject them into the save game at player discretion. There is a gallery for viewing high-quality concept art and other bonus assets as well.

Stability is rock solid. It runs on rather modest computers on Windows, and I can confirm that this is fully functional and officially verified to work out of the box on the Steam Deck and on Linux via Steam Proton. The only comment on the latter is that the animated intro may cut straight to the title screen, but this is a very brief and minor thing that most players will not notice. The actual games and all their content as well as the collection's main menus are otherwise flawless.

Some final notes on the games themselves. While the second and third are easily completed without help, the first game is still a clunky mess, as it was more a proof of concept as a game than something more logically structured and balanced like the later games. It's beatable and enjoyable, but you will definitely need a walkthrough for it.

Morally, there are minorly concerning elements despite this series being aimed at kids.

Violence is nigh entirely contained to the digital world in turn-based RPG "give orders and watch it happen" style. That said, one scene of physical violence that looks rather slapstick occurs where a guy gets beaned in the head pretty hard with a case. While we generally don't see anyone murdered or severely hurt, we get a lot of implications it has happened, as many of the villains commit terrorist-level actions that have global consequences.

Language is generally kid-friendly except for the second game, which had a few uses of d*mn and "h*ll". One character has some veiled albeit mild sexual innuendos in the second game as well. There is a depiction of a zoo in the third game with animal droppings on the ground, with one NPC commenting disgustedly on the animal's refuse at one point.

Sexual content is pretty nonexistent in the art style, thankfully. There is a minor supernatural presence, with some implied real-world ghosts and an offhand mention of a horoscope once. Aside from this, a few enemies have a minor ghost-like appearance in the digital world, but that's about all.

Morally and ethically, this is a pretty clean game. Lan is generally a law-abiding kid, even fully taking responsibility for inadvertently helping out a villain due to having an overscrupulous sense of guilt in the third game. He is quite deferential to his parents and other lawful authority as well.

One nice redeeming theme the game has going for it is the importance of family bonds. Lan is very close to his family and not only do they become key players in helping him save the world from threats against both the digital and real worlds, but both Lan and MegaMan.EXE are revealed to be literal brothers (more on that is revealed in the first game) and as such their willingness to lay it all on the line for one another is pretty heartwarming.

Worth noting there is a reference to whiskey in the second game, albeit used as bait for a bug trap, and a few references to ashtrays and duty-free alcohol for purchase in a government building and an airport, mostly for background flavor given how they are modeled after real-world locations of similar purpose.

Overall, the first three games, often considered the finest in the Megaman Battle Network series by fans, come very highly recommended. It's easy to learn and difficult to master, and any fans of Mega Man or RPGs will surely enjoy this. It's not very expensive to purchase and you get some great value if you purchase both collections together as well.