English Localization

Introduction

Rockman EXE Phantom of Network (PoN) and Rockman EXE Legend of Network (LoN) were two Japan-exclusive Mega Man Battle Network games originally released in the mid-2000s. These MMBN spin-off titles were notable for not only fully replicating the battle system from the GBA games, but also containing full-length stories complete with new characters and settings.

PoN and LoN were only ever playable on specific models of Japanese mobile phones, and were considered lost media for a long time. Towards the end of 2023, preservation group SciLab Secrets managed to free the games' data from their pocket-size confinement; for the first time, this allowed fans outside of Japan a chance to play these hidden gems for themselves. Now, both games have been faithfully localized into English by MMBN fan community The Rockman EXE Zone.

• Mega Man: Phantom of the Network (2004)
  Set after the events of MMBN3. During what should be a routine virus removal, Lan and MegaMan come face-to-face with a resurrected version of a previously-deleted WWW Navi. The danger quickly escalates with more cloned Navis sparking incidents all over the world, seemingly orchestrated by some mysterious entity. It's up to our heroes to pull back the curtain on this phantom and save the Cyberworld from the looming threat...
• Mega Man: Legend of the Network (2006)
  Set before the events of MMBN6. Lan and MegaMan are recognized as ACDC Town's first official NetPatrollers, but their inaugural mission is suddenly cut short by a mysterious Navi with the power to control other Navis. With new partners at their side, our duo quickly find themselves at the center of an international crisis that threatens to destroy global Net society, as foretold by the legend of a highly advanced ancient empire...

The English localization patches are built for the NTT DOCOMO i-αppli versions of the games. These were the latest versions of these games that were made available, released in 2009.

Credits

This project was brought to you by the following wonderful people!

Special Thanks!

Eurasia M, GoodTofuFriday, Gray Nine, IjuinEnzan, killer336, knee, leonierx, luckytyphlosion, Metaruler, NettoHikari, NovaMan EG, RockmanCosmo, Sally, SciLab Secrets, Scoutmaster Demi, ShadowRockZX, snoruntpyro, Symes, Xer Shadow Tail, Yukki

Visit us at The Rockman EXE Zone!

Applying the patch

In order to play PoN & LoN in English, you will first need to patch the original game files with our English translation. This can be done on Windows or Steam Deck.

To start, fully extract the .zip file containing this Readme file. Then open the Patcher folder and launch the Patcher executable.

For Steam Deck users: Add the Patcher executable as a non-Steam game on Steam. Configure the Patcher to force the use of a Steam Play compatibility tool, and set it to use the latest version of Proton. Then launch the Patcher from Steam in Desktop Mode.

When you open the Patcher, you will be asked to select a patch file. Select one of the .rpz patch files included in this zip, and follow the instructions in the patcher.

You will need to obtain the original Japanese i-αppli game files for Rockman EXE Phantom of Network & Rockman EXE Legend of Network in order to apply the patch. These files are not included in this download. Please refer to SciLab Secrets on how to obtain these game files.

The following files are required:

• Rockman EXE Phantom of Network: PoN.jar, PoN.sp
• Rockman EXE Legend of Network: LoN.jar, LoN.sp

Troubleshooting

If you receive an error during patching, verify that:

• You are using the correct original Japanese game files for PoN / LoN. The English localization patch must be applied to the original Japanese game files (.jar and .sp); it cannot be applied to an already patched game.

Playing the game

At present, the game can only be played in the DoJa SDK emulator. This emulator is compatible with Windows, as well as Steam Deck using Proton.

A modified version of the emulator with removed borders is included in the zip file under the “Emulator” folder. Inside this folder, you will find a “PoN” and “LoN” folder. After you have successfully applied the English patch for PoN and/or LoN, copy the resulting “bin” and “sp” folders into the “PoN” / “LoN” folders.

Your folder structure should look like this:

• Emulator
• bin
• …
• lib
• …
• LoN
• bin
• LoN.jar
• LoN.jam
• sp
• LoN.sp
• PoN
• bin
• PoN.jar
• PoN.jam
• sp
• PoN.sp
• Mega Man Legend of the Network.exe
• Mega Man Phantom of the Network.exe

Once everything is set, launch “Mega Man Phantom of the Network.exe” or “Mega Man Legend of the Network.exe” to play the game.

Note: The emulator has a small chance to lock up during battle, so be sure to save regularly.

For Steam Deck users: Add “Mega Man Phantom of the Network.exe” and/or “Mega Man Legend of the Network.exe” as a non-Steam game on Steam. Configure them to force the use of a Steam Play compatibility tool, and set it to use the latest version of Proton. Then launch the game from Steam in Gaming Mode.

Display options (Windows)

On Windows, the emulator will display the game in a non-resizable window. In order to play at a larger size, you can use the Magnifier feature built into Windows.

When using the Magnifier, the game may appear blurry. To fix this, do that following:

1. Within the “Emulator” folder, open the “bin” folder.
2. Right-click “doja.exe” and click “Properties”.
3. Go to the “Compatibility” tab and click “Change high DPI settings“.
4. Enable “Override high DPI scaling behavior” and set it to “Application”.
5. Go to Windows Settings → Accessibility → Magnifier and disable “Smooth edges of images and text” for a pixelated look, or leave it on for a smoothened look.

An alternative, more involved option for Windows users is to use OBS Studio to capture the emulator window and upscale it with Point filtering. Then open a Windowed Projector and size it to your liking. Note that the emulator does not support background input, so it must be the focused window in order to play.

Display options (Steam Deck)

For Steam Deck users, open the Quick Access menu and go to the “Performance” tab. Enable Advanced View and scroll to the bottom; set “Scaling Mode” to “Integer” (sharper image) or “Fit” (uses the full screen height) and “Scaling Filter” to “Pixel”.

Controls

The game uses the following controls. The controls cannot be changed in the emulator, so use Steam Input or an external tool like Joy2Key or AutoHotkey if you wish to remap them.

The current functions of the Left SoftKey and Right SoftKey are shown at the bottom of the emulator window.

For Steam Deck users: Before you can play the game using the built-in controller, the above controls must be configured in Steam Input.

To set # as a button in Steam Input, configure a button as the Shift key on the keyboard. Then add an extra command to the button and set it to the 3 key on the keyboard. Finally, change the settings for the 3 command and set the Fire Start Delay to 1.

New features and changes

The English localization patch adds some new features and makes some changes to the base game:

Buster MAX Mode

Buster MAX Mode can be toggled on/off from the Options Screen at any time when you're not in a battle. It works the same as in Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection: when enabled, the attack power of normal MegaBuster shots is multiplied by 100, while ChargeShots and BattleChips are unaffected.

• In PoN, Buster MAX Mode will be automatically turned OFF during online ranked battles.
• In LoN, deletion times for SP Navi bosses will not be saved if Buster MAX Mode is ON.

Additional BattleChip and Folder rewards

In PoN and LoN, some BattleChips required to finish the P.A. Memo could only be obtained from the Chip Trader. In the English localization, we have added in-game methods to obtain these chips so that players will not need to rely on the Chip Trader to achieve 100% completion.

In addition, Folder3 has been made available in LoN. Even though PoN does have 3 Folders, and there was clearly a blank space in the menu meant for a 3rd Folder, it was unobtainable in the original game. In the English localization, it can now be obtained.

• (PoN) BambBlde D: Can now be purchased from a NetDealer, replacing a Recov200 W chip. Recov200 W can still be purchased from Higsby's Chip Order.
• (LoN) TimeBom1 H: Is now obtained from one of the Request BBS jobs, along with that job's original reward.
• (LoN) Folder3: Is now obtained from one of the Request BBS jobs, along with that job's original reward.

TransArm explanations

In LoN, a character in the game explains TransArms whenever you unlock a new one in the story. In the original game, she would only tell you about the most recent TransArm you obtained, and would point you to the game's official website for details on previous TransArms. In the English localization, we have added a selection menu that you can use to get details on any TransArm you've already obtained.

Animated backgrounds

In the original au / EZweb version of LoN, the Cyberworld had animated backgrounds on the Field and Battle screens, just like the GBA games. When the game was later rereleased as an i-αppli game on NTT DOCOMO's i-mode service, these animated backgrounds were removed in favor of static, flat color backgrounds, just like PoN.

In the English localization, we have ported the animated backgrounds to the i-αppli version. If you would rather have flat backgrounds, you can turn this feature on/off from the Options Screen.

Online ranked battles

In PoN, there is an online Ranking mode where you can fight a gauntlet of 10 virus battles and receive a score based on your performance. This score can then be uploaded to a monthly leaderboard, and you can view the names and Folders of the top 10 players that month.

In the English localization, this feature has been revived and uses The Rockman EXE Zone's server to download virus battles and leaderboard information. To use this feature, the Patcher will let you set up a Player ID when applying the English localization patch for PoN.

Update History

Phantom of the Network Localization Patch

• Version 1.0 - 25 May 2024
• Initial release.

Legend of the Network Localization Patch

• Version 1.0 - 25 May 2024
• Initial release.

PoN & LoN Patcher

• Version 1.0 - 25 May 2024
• Initial release.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Which game should I play first?
  You should play PoN first. LoN takes place after PoN and makes several references to that game's story.

• What determines the random Skill elements in PoN?
  In PoN, the elements of SkillPrograms you find in Mystery Data and obtain from quests are random. They are determined by a seed number that is set based on the real-world time when the game data is downloaded from the server. This seed is not re-rolled when starting a new game from the Options Screen.

  To mimic the original experience, the Skill element seed is set by the Patcher when you choose to “Start a new game.”

• Why do I get connection error 255 when I try to connect in PoN?
  We've seen that for some players, the emulator is unable to properly setup a connection to The Rockman EXE Zone's Ranking server or download Ranking data. Please check that the DoJa emulator is not being blocked by your firewall or antivirus. Steam Deck also seems to have trouble with the online Ranking mode.

  Unfortunately, since we don't have access to the DoJa emulator's source code, there isn't too much we can do to debug this issue at this time. Hopefully, once a more modern emulator like SquirrelJME becomes able to run this game, the issue will resolve itself.

• Do the options “Save data on server” and “Load data from server” work?
  No, the online save backup/restore features are not supported.

• Can I play these games on an actual phone?
  No, this is not possible at this time.

• Why does the music sometimes start glitching/skipping during battles?
  The DoJa SDK emulator was originally created for i-αppli development and is not really optimized for games. During battles, the audio may sometimes get glitchy when certain sound effects are played. This will fix itself after battle.

  On Steam Deck, this problem appears to be less prominent, so if you have access to one, consider playing on that instead.

• Can I hide the SoftKeys at the bottom of the emulator?
  Yes, but be aware that this may cut off part of the game on Windows, due to rounded window corners.

  To hide the SoftKeys, go to Emulator → lib → skin → device1 and open the file “skin.conf” in a text editor. Change the “screen_height” property from 258 to 240 to hide the SoftKey labels.

• Where is my save file stored?
  The game's save file is stored in the .sp file, which also contains the game's data cache as well as your Player ID.

  Be aware that, since this file contains your Player ID, sharing it with other players may allow those players to overwrite your Ranking scores.

• How do I import my existing save file?
  Your save file is stored in the game's .sp file, which also contains the game's data cache as well as your Player ID. You cannot directly copy over this file to a new version of the localization patch, but you can use your old .sp file as an input for save migration in the PoN & LoN Patcher.

• Can we translate your English patch into another language?
  Yes, feel free to! See the License section below.

• How do I get in touch with you guys?
  To get in contact with a specific team member, check out the links in the Credits section. Alternatively, visit us at The Rockman EXE Zone!

License

This localization patch is licensed under the terms of the Modified BSD License, also known as the BSD 3-Clause License. The license applies to the .rpz patch files in binary form as well as the source code for said patch files, to the extent permitted by law. This includes the following files:

• MegaMan-PoN-English.rpz
• MegaMan-LoN-English.rpz

The license does not apply to other included materials.

BSD 3-Clause License

Copyright © 2024, MegaRockEXE, MidniteW, Midori Woodley, Prof. 9
All rights reserved.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.

2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.

3. Neither the name of the copyright holder nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.