Mega Man Battle Network: Operate Shooting Star is the last Battle Network game released. It is a port of the first GBA game and features minor improvements such as a Custom Screen update, playable Star Force MegaMan, and ClockMan as a boss. This game was only released in Japan and was poorly received.
This guide will require you to use the DeSmuME emulator and a backup of the game. I do not condone piracy, but if you somehow already have a copy, follow along.
Just like on the GBA version, this guide will let you modify the ProtoMan freefight in ACDC Town. You can use the save below which is already at this part.
Download Battle Network OSS saves.
Here is the freefight.
Because of the way the game is setup, a battle will have to be written from scratch. Using DeSmuME’s memory viewer window, the following steps will let you create your own custom battle. Because this goes through the ram, state saves are suggested. You cannot make the battle permanent in this game.
To begin, use the following Action Replay cheats. You should already be in ACDC Town before using these.
220BB658 00000000
02273A28 0202F500
What this cheat does is first set the current battle value to 00 and changes the battle setup table location to freespace.
Go to the following offset to find the freespace the cheat set.
0202F500
This is where the Battle Settings data will go. Enter the following bytes in order.
20 F5 02 02 00 00 00 00 07 07 00 07 00 00 1C 00
00 00 78 FF 00 00 00 00 01 FF FF FF
The format for the Battle Settings is the same as the GBA version and documented below.
0x00 Object Setup Pointer (4 bytes)
0x04 Optional Folder Pointer (4 bytes)
0x08 Background
0x09 Battle Mode
0x0A Folder Order
0x00 Object Setup Pointer
This is the pointer to the Object Setup data which contains data on where the enemies appear and which kind. With this, you can create a battle in free space, and load it through here.
Default is: 20 F5 02 02
0x04 Optional Folder Pointer
By default, this is all zeroes. You can enter a pointer to premade folder data in the game. This is used by the tutorial battles which require you to use a certain folder for the battle. Since this is optional, leaving at all zeroes will have it use your current folder.
Default is: 00 00 00 00
0x08 Background
In this game, the background you choose is also directly tied with the type of stage that is used. Purely decorative purpose. The full list is below.
Default is: 07
00 = NumberMan Stage BG
01 = FireMan Stage BG
02 = IceMan Stage BG
03 = ColorMan Stage BG
04 = ElecMan Stage BG
05 = *crashes*
06 = *crashes*
07 = Generic Area BG
08 = Lan's HP BG
09 = Mayl's HP BG
0A = Yai's HP BG
0B = Dex's HP BG
0C = Dr. Hikari's HP BG
0D = Sal's HP BG
0E = *crashes*
0F = *crashes*
10 = *crashes*
Download all stages.
Unfortunately, unlike in the GBA version, you can see certain background values on the list now crash the game. Because of how the game works, you can only use the listed backgrounds during battle.
0x09 Battle Mode
Finally, the Battle Mode. This lets you pick what kind of battle it is such as a tutorial. In this game, music is tied with the battle mode. Full value list below.
Default is: 07
00 = Normal Battle
01 = Tutorial 1
02 = Tutorial 2
03 = Normal Battle (no results)
04 = Tutorial 3
05 = Invincible ElecMan Battle
06 = Life Virus Battle
07 = Normal Boss Battle
08 = Save Game
Some notes:
For the Invincible ElecMan battle, you must have the Invincible ElecMan enemy from the enemy list. When those conditions are met, the battle will end after a while, it being a story event.
Because the battle music is tied with the battle mode, you can go to the following offset to change the music value for the battle.
0206D3EA XX
Music values are slightly different from the GBA version and are listed below.
00 = Title Screen
01 = No Music
02 = ACDC Theme
03 = Indoors Theme
04 = Mysterious Theme
05 = Event Occurance
06 = Transmission
07 = FireMan Stage
08 = NumberMan Stage
09 = Internet Theme
0A = Sad Theme
0B = IceMan Stage
0C = ColorMan Stage
0D = ElecMan Stage
0E = Dr. Wily Area
0F = Virus Battle Theme
10 = Boss Battle Theme
11 = Life Virus Theme
12 = Winner Theme
13 = Game Over
14 = Credits Theme
15 = School Theme
16 = Loser Theme
17 = Waterworks Room
18 = WAZA HQ Theme
19 = Star Force Hero Theme
1A = Star Force Enemy Encounter
1B = Star Force Outer Space Theme
1C = Star Force 1 Virus Battle Theme
1D = Star Force 2 Boss Battle Theme
0x0A Folder Order
The Folder Order byte changes how your folder appears in battle. This byte only works if you are using an optional folder. As 00, your folder appears in order. If the value is 01, the folder appears randomized.
Default is: 00
0x18 Allow Running
The Escape chip and pushing L on the custom screen allows you to run away from battles. If this value is 00, you can run away, otherwise you can’t.
Default is: 01
The rest of the bytes in the Battle Settings format can be left. Now, at 0202F520, which is the line just below the last line written to earlier, you can add enemies. This is called the Object Setup data since you can set things to appear in battles.
The Object Setup format is documented below.
0x00 Enemy Value
0x01 X-Position
0x02 Y-Position
0x03 Unknown
The format is repeated for every enemy you want to add. The game stops reading more enemies at FF so adding FF after an entry ends the battle at that many enemies. You can have a maximum of 7 enemies at once, which is the most allowed in any Battle Network game. There are some restrictions: after 4 enemies, HPs for the 5th, 6th, and 7th won’t show up and Navi chips won’t work at 7 enemies. Also, you cannot change where MegaMan starts in this game.
0x00 Enemy Value
This value determines which enemy you encounter. New enemies are at the bottom. The full list is below.
00 = Megaman
01 = Mettaur 1
02 = Mettaur 2
03 = Mettaur 3
04 = Cannondumb 1
05 = Cannondumb 2
06 = Cannondumb 3
07 = Vulgear
08 = Vatgear
09 = Vulgear (unused)
0A = Spooky 1
0B = Spooky 2
0C = Spooky 3
0D = Beetank 1
0E = Beetank 2
0F = Beetank 3
10 = Handy 1
11 = Handy 2
12 = Handy 3
13 = Flappy 1
14 = Flappy 2
15 = Flappy 3
16 = Floshell 1
17 = Floshell 2
18 = Floshell 3
19 = HardHead 1
1A = HardHead 2
1B = HardHead 3
1C = Swordy 1
1D = Swordy 2
1E = Swordy 3
1F = Fishy 1
20 = Fishy 2
21 = Fishy 1
22 = Piranha 1
23 = Piranha 2
24 = Piranha 3
25 = Aqua Puffy
26 = Heat Puffy
27 = White Dot
28 = ColdBear
29 = ColdBear 2
2A = ColdBear 3
2B = Cloudy 1
2C = Cloudy 2
2D = Cloudy 3
2E = Ratty 1
2F = Ratty 2
30 = Ratty 3
31 = Miney 1
32 = Miney 2
33 = Miney 3
34 = Ammonicule 1
35 = Ammonicule 2
36 = Ammonicule 3
37 = Jelly
38 = HeatJelly
39 = EarthJelly
3A = Gaia 1
3B = Gaia 2
3C = Gaia 3
3D = Popper 1
3E = Popper 2
3F = Popper 3
40 = Satella 1
41 = Satella 2
42 = Satalla 3
43 = Fanner 1
44 = Fanner 2
45 = Fanner 3
46 = Remobit 1
47 = Remobit 2
48 = Remobit 3
49 = Billy
4A = Silly
4B = Killy
4C = Prog 1
4D = Prog 2
4E = Prog 3
4F = Megalian A
50 = Megalian H
51 = Megalian W
52 = CanDevil 1
53 = CanDevil 2
54 = CanDevil 3
55 = BigSnake 1
56 = BigSnake 2
57 = BigSnake 3
58 = Mosqurito 1
59 = Mosqurito 2
5A = Mosqurito 3
5B = Poitton 1
5C = Poitton 2
5D = Poitton 3
5E = Mole
5F = White Dot
60 = GutsMan V1
61 = GutsMan V2
62 = GutsMan V3
63 = ProtoMan V1
64 = ProtoMan V2
65 = ProtoMan V3
66 = WoodMan V1
67 = WoodMan V2
68 = WoodMan V3
69 = FireMan V1
6A = FireMan V2
6B = FireMan V3
6C = NumberMan V1
6D = NumberMan V2
6E = NumberMan V3
6F = StoneMan V1
70 = StoneMan V2
71 = StoneMan V3
72 = IceMan V1
73 = IceMan V2
74 = IceMan V3
75 = SkullMan V1
76 = SkullMan V2
77 = SkullMan V3
78 = ColorMan V1
79 = ColorMan V2
7A = ColorMan V3
7B = BombMan V1
7C = BombMan V2
7D = BombMan V3
7E = SharkMan V1
7F = SharkMan V2
80 = SharkMan V3
81 = ElecMan V1
82 = ElecMan V2
83 = ElecMan V3
84 = PharaohMan V1
85 = PharaohMan V2
86 = PharaohMan V3
87 = ShadowMan V1
88 = ShadowMan V2
89 = ShadowMan V3
8A = White Dot
8B = White Dot
8C = White Dot
8D = MagicMan V1
8E = MagicMan V2
8F = MagicMan V3
90 = Bass
91 = White Dot
92 = White Dot
93 = Life Virus
94 = Blue Color Dummy V1
95 = Red Color Dummy V1
96 = Blue Color Dummy V2
97 = Red Color Dummy V2
98 = Blue Color Dummy V3
99 = Red Color Dummy V3
9A = Invincible ElecMan
9B = SharkMan Fin V1
9C = SharkMan Fin V2
9D = SharkMan Fin V3
9E = SharkMan Fin V3
9F = SharkMan Fin V3
A0 = SharkMan Fin V3
A1 = ClockMan
A2 = ClockMan V2
A3 = ClockMan V3
A4 = StarForce MegaMan
Some notes:
A few things to note (starting from the top):
You can’t fight another MegaMan. The game assumes multiplayer battles and since there is no other player, the other MegaMan has 0 HP and is instantly deleted.
There are Volgear and Fishy clones. These are leftover or filler third versions.
For the Candevil virus, its candle will always appear on the farthest panel behind the virus. If the virus overlaps the candle, it can’t go over it again assuming you placed it on the back column.
For ColorMan to function, you must place the 2 color dummies somewhere on the battlefield.
The invincible ElecMan should be used with the appropriate battle mode which will make the battle quit as it is unwinnable.
StarForce MegaMan doesn’t get deleted. At 0 HP, he crouches and the battle ends.
0x01 X-Position
This second byte specifies the X-position of the enemy. Values represent whole panels on rows. Use the table below.
[01][02][03][04][05][06]
0x02 Y-Position
Combine this byte with the previous byte to place the enemy on any panel on the field. Values represent whole panels on columns. Use the table below.
[01]
[02]
[03]
0x03 Unknown
It is unknown what this values does. It is still part of the format, so it must remain.
Should be 00.
That concludes the Mega Man Battle Network: Operate Shooting Star Custom Battle Guide. This should explain the basics of what can be done with this game.
Here is a sample video demonstrating a custom battle in the game.