Soul Unison

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Soul Unison (ソウルユニゾン Sōru Unizon?), also known as Double Soul, is a fictional term used in the Mega Man Battle Network series of video games and MegaMan NT Warrior (Rockman EXE) anime and manga. It is an ability employed by MegaMan.EXE (Rockman) to gain added powers and techniques in combat using the powers of an allied NetNavi.

Soul Unison was first introduced in the two incarnations of Mega Man Battle Network 4. Out of twelve souls, six were exclusive to either game. It appears once more in Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team Colonel and Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team ProtoMan. It replaced MegaMan's Style Change capability of previous iterations.

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[edit] Description

[edit] Games

In the events of Mega Man Battle Network 3, MegaMan.EXE sacrificed himself to save his operator, Lan Hikari (Netto Hikari) from absorption by the horrific Alpha (Proto) program revived by Lord Wily near the climax of the game. Lan thought his ally and brother to be gone forever, only to be revived using data from his grandfather Tadashi Hikari. His revived state, however, rendered him unable to utilize the powerful Style Change programming option any longer. Hence "Soul Unison" was developed as a suitable replacement.

Unlike Style Change, which can be performed by a single NetNavi, Soul Unison occurs when a Navi's soul communes with MegaMan. This usually happens after battling against or completing a "Liberation Mission".

[edit] Chaos Unison

Introduced in Mega Man Battle Network 5, Chaos Unison occurs when sacrificing a Dark Chip. MegaMan gains the soul's attributes, but his charged attack, depending on the element of the sacrificed Dark Chip, changes and can be used repeatedly without any ill-effects. Should the charge shot go awry, however, MegaMan reverts to normal and his Dark Soul is unleashed, fighting alongside the enemy.

[edit] Cross System

Introduced in Mega Man Battle Network 6, the Cross System is an offshoot of the Soul Unison system. Like the latter, it involves aligning MegaMan's strength with that of a Link NetNavi. It does not require chips for its initiation and can last indefinitely unless MegaMan is hit with an opposing elemental attack. If MegaMan Beasts Out while a Cross is already active, he will gain further advantages through Cross Beast.

[edit] Anime

[edit] Soul Unison

In Axess, MegaMan is able to perform Soul Unison initially through a special bond between fellow Navis; he usually obtained new souls in dire situations, during which either he or the other Navi in question were subject to great peril. After initiating a given Soul Unison once, Lan received a corresponding chip, allowing MegaMan to freely access it when needed.

While it is Soul Unison that overides MegaMan's Style Change option in the games, it is a side effect of Cross Fusion that serves this purpose in the anime.[1]

All twelve Souls from Mega Man Battle Network 4 appear in Axess. Only one Soul from Mega Man Battle Network 5 (Gyro Soul) appears in the Stream.

[edit] Cross System

Cross Beast makes during Beast+. The process occurs whenever Lan links the data of another Navi with the Beast Out file housed in his PET. As a result of Cross Beast, MegaMan not only becomes more powerful through the incorporation of another Navi's data into himself, he also takes on that Navi's personality; in the original version of the series, Rockman acts more childish after a Cross with Aquaman, and acts more arrogantly after a Cross with Tomahawkman (dropping the honorific of "-kun" when addressing his operator).[2] MegaMan also displays the ability to perform regular Crosses as well through identical methods.[3]

[edit] Some examples of Soul Unisons

Soul Unison Description Image
Colonel Soul Soul Unison with Colonel.EXE. Fits MegaMan with a sword in place of his buster and allows him to command various forces against the enemy. This allows Megaman to use Colonel's Screen Divide and Colonel Army techniques, the latter of which summons soldiers from obstacles. Normal attack chips can be used in place of MegaMan's Charge Shot while this soul is in effect.
Fire Soul Soul Unison with Fireman.EXE. Fits MegaMan with Fire Arms, allowing him to attack with Fire Towers in the anime (Flamethrower in the game), and improving the effectiveness of fire-based Battle Chips. Has a weakness to water-based attacks, but promotes recovery on Lava Panels.
Guts Soul Soul Unison with GutsMan.EXE. MegaMan's strength increases considerably, with the ability to break barriers and obstacles. Guts Punch is used in place of MegaMan's Charge Shot, while his regular Buster is replaced by Guts Machinegun.
Gyro Soul Soul Unison with GyroMan.EXE. MegaMan is imbued with the ability of flight, able to overlook holes in the battlefield and use wind-based attacks.
Knight Soul Soul Unison with Knightman.EXE. Fits MegaMan with the Royal Wrecking Ball capable of inflicting heavy damage. Armor also provides a sturdy defense, able to withstand stun status. While in the front row and using a Battle Chip, MegaMan adopts a state of invincibility.
Proto Soul (Blues Soul) Soul Unison with ProtoMan.EXE (Blues). Fits MegaMan a Wide Sword (Blues Sword) in place of his buster, and a Proto/Blues Shield for deflecting attacks. Sword chips can be charged to perform StepSword (Fumikomizan).
Aqua Soul Soul Unison with AquaMan.EXE. (Later renamed SpoutMan.EXE) Fits MegaMan with a Bubble Shot in place of his normal buster, and improves the effectiveness of water-based Battle Chips. Has a weakness to electricity-based attacks, but an added grip on surfaces of ice.
Meddy Soul (Medi Soul) Soul Unison with Meddy.EXE (Medi). MegaMan is able to throw Medi Capsules, charged with status effects such as healing and confusion. MegaMan can also mix status effects with attack chips, including hitpoint recovery.
Roll Soul Soul Unison with Roll.EXE. MegaMan is able to attack with Roll Arrow, which has the ability to shatter Battle Chip data, and recovers hitpoints when using chips.
Number Soul Soul Unison with Numberman.EXE. MegaMan is able to attack with Dice Bomb. The effectiveness of neutral Battle Chips is improved and a greater amount of chips is made available in the selection screen.

[edit] References

  1. ^ MegaMan NT Warrior / Rockman EXE Axess Episode #2, 2003
  2. ^ Rockman EXE Beast+ Episode #11, 2006
  3. ^ Rockman EXE Beast+ Episode #14, 2006