Battle Network takes place during the 21st century in a world where society and everyday life is driven by the internet. Users are able to interact with and virtually explore nearly any electronic device using highly advanced, online avatars called "NetNavis". The game follows a young boy named Lan Hikari and his NetNavi MegaMan.EXE as they solve a series of crimes instigated by the "WWW (World Three)" organization. Rather than share the platform gameplay of its predecessors, Battle Network is a tactical role-playing game (RPG) in which the player respectively controls Lan in the game's outside world and MegaMan.EXE in its virtual world. Battles take place in real-time; special abilities called "Battle Chips" can be accessed to fight off the numerous computer viruses present in the game's cyberspace environments.
