Bass.EXE
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| Bass.EXE | |
|---|---|
| Game series | Mega Man Battle Network series |
| First game | Mega Man Battle Network |
| Created by | Keiji Inafune |
| Voiced by (English) | Matt Hill (anime) |
| Voiced by (Japanese) | Keiko Nemoto |
| Information | |
| Classification | Navi |
| Weapon(s) | Get Ability, Bass Buster, Dark energy weapons |
Bass.EXE, known in Japan as Forte.EXE (フォルテ.ＥＸＥ Forute.eguze?), is a video game character in the Mega Man Battle Network series of video games and the MegaMan NT Warrior anime and manga. His design is based on Bass of the original Mega Man series. In the anime, he is voiced by Matt Hill in the English version, and Keiko Nemoto in the Japanese version and Mega Man: Network Transmission.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Game
Bass is the first AutoNavi (independent NetNavi) ever created. He is a mysterious AI who roamed the deepest recesses of the internet, seeking to do battle with the strongest opponents. His past is intertwined with that of Tadashi Hikari. He was created by a scientist named Dr. Cossack, whom he saw as a father, as a part of the AutoNavi project: a project to create a NetNavi that was not reliant on an operator or PET to function. Due to the Alpha (Proto) incident, Bass was blamed for the malfunctioning of several devices and was believed to have been deleted by the SciLab Elite Corps. Since that day, he vowed to destroy humanity as he felt betrayed, the scar inflicted upon his chest a constant reminder of the horrors brought upon him. His identity as a SoloNavi allowed him to escape detection. As seen in Mega Man Battle Network 3, Bass' presence also creates communication interference, which only complemented his escape.
Immensely powerful due to an ability hard-wired into him, the Get Ability program (which allows him to absorb the power of any foe he defeats in battle), Bass has had enormous staying power throughout the series. After the attack by SciLab, Bass crawled through the net, feeding on the data remains of deleted viruses and Navis to recover his strength. By stealing data from the Life Virus (Dream Virus), Bass adopted a self-regenerating Life Aura, and at some point, engaged in combat with Serenade. Dr. Wily would later seek Bass to reawaken Alpha, but since tracking him would be difficult, Wily opted to create clones of him instead. Ultimately, the scientist would strike a deal with Bass in Battle Network 3, wherein he and Cossack would at least be reunited through the use of a "Pulse Transmission System." Bass was amused that a "puny human" would dare to come into his world. He revealed the glowing white scar across his chest, telling Cossack of the trials and perils he went through to gain his power. Cossack attempted to "self-destruct" his own mind to destroy Bass, but was unsuccessful, though he did survive the ordeal. Despite the fact that Bass believes he was betrayed by his creator (which he was not - Cossack defended Bass when SciLab announced the plan to delete him), he apparently could not bring himself to kill Cossack. After escaping absorption by Alpha, Bass loses memory of anything before that time and is sealed in stone deep in the Undernet, however when Megaman Fed a Bugfragmentor 300 pieces of Bugfragments he revived Bass (now known as BassGS surpassing even Serenade in skill) Who challenges Megaman in battle, BassGS narrowly loses and retreats back into the Undernet.
Later in Battle Network 4, Megaman accesses this area of the Undernet, awaking the sleeping Navi who challenges Megaman into battle. Fortunately, Megaman is victorious, and Bass retreats once more into the deeps of the Undernet to regain his power.
In Battle Network 5, his role seems to be significant, due to the fact that Megaman can mirror some of Bass's abilities thanks to Bass Cross Megaman. In the movie, Bass and Megaman were forced to work together to take down Regal's new monster, Nebula Gray. Neither of them wanted to do this but Megaman knew that if Bass can harness his power, it might be enough. Bass harnessed Megaman's power, due to Megaman's approval. Although he couldn't control Megaman fully, it gave Megaman the abilities of Bass along with a new look, creating Bass Cross Megaman. In the game, it seems that Bass wants to test Megaman based on the location of where Megaman is. If Megaman walks to a certain area and stops, the net would shake, summoning Bass. Although Megaman beats Bass every time, Bass retreats only to get stronger but still face the same fate.
Finally in Battle Network 6, Bass returns having absorbed part of the incredible power of the Cyber Beasts and using that power to confront Megaman. Of course, Megaman surged in victory once again, and Bass retreated once more. His current actions and whereabouts are unknown.
[edit] Anime
Bass was born of the remnants of PharaohMan's data, which were extracted from the Navi by Wily, who wanted his Ultimate Program. Bass had no memories of his previous life as PharaohMan until he abducted MegaMan and read his memories, learning his origins and awakening his "true self".
Bass attempted to consume the data of Gospel (Grave in the English anime), for the two shared the same origin, to become whole, only to be consumed himself. When MegaMan destroyed Gospel and restored all the NetNavis devoured by the beast, Bass took residence in Shuryou Gospel's (Kid Grave in the English anime) android body. He left, vowing revenge against the world. He reappeared as the creator of the robot Allegro in Axess, and tried to absorb MegaMan and ProtoMan's Ultimate Programs at the beginning of Stream. He was easily defeated by Slur and imprisoned in the UnderNet, losing his means of travel through the human world in the process.
In RockMan.EXE: Program of Light and Dark, a film exclusive to Japan, Bass is captured by Dr. Regal and is brainwashed to obtain the Tadashi Hikari Program, and fights MegaMan and Colonel. Bass, upon returning to normal, wanted to make Regal pay for the "disgusting act" of a human using him as a pawn, even if meant siding with MegaMan. The duo were no match for Nebula Grey, so MegaMan opted to have Bass absorb his Ultimate Program. The resulting BassCross eliminated Nebula Grey, but Regal summoned a black hole in a last ditch effort to destroy the Navis along with himself. Bass flung MegaMan out of harm's way as he himself got sucked in, ultimately absorbing Nebula Grey's power, which proved vital in his rematch with Slur. The tables had turned, and he deleted her, impaling her through the chest on his arm. He vanished, and his current whereabouts are unknown.
[edit] Manga
In the manga, Bass made his first appearance in Volume 3, when MegaMan and Protoman were investigating the UnderNet. Similar to his game counterpart, he faced Serenade in the past, and was determined to wield the same power one day. Constantly coming into conflict with MegaMan, ProtoMan and their operators, Bass would eventually be taken away by Dark MegaMan (Dark Rockman) and LaserMan, who had intentions to change the world into the Dark Kingdom. Dark MegaMan subsequently tried to absorb all of Bass' power to become the ultimate being, but, failing to consume his entire consciousness, was disconnected from the Navi's soul. Bass was then seen rescuing Colonel from Nebula Grey. Bass proceeded to attack Nebula Gray, but to no avail, leading him to fuse with MegaMan to create BassCross MegaMan, though he ultimately broke away from the Navi to destroy Dr. Regal's submarine. He disappeared, reappearing years later to rescue MegaMan from a super-virus. He reappeared in the underground during the fight to see who could control Cyberbeast Gregar. He once again saved MegaMan, this time from Cyberbeast Falzar. Bass had stopped the attack on MegaMan, and then absorbed Falzar to once again be MegaMan's equal in terms of power. After the cybeast merged and slowly deleting the real world, Bass eventually assisted MegaMan, after encouraged by Serenade, who kept telling if MegaMan is his first and only friend. Compared to the anime and the game, Bass is portrayed having deeper rivalry and friendship with MegaMan.
[edit] Trivia
- Bass presumably wears his cloak to hide the scar on his chest inflicted by the SciLab Elite Corps. In the anime, he is seen without it during various moments of the series. The same goes for his appearances in the special manga chapter, Bass: The Ultimate Proof (Forte's Back Story), a moment in Mega Man Network Transmission and 4.5: Real Operation. However, in Bass: The Ultimate Proof, Bass's Navi mark is the musical symbol ƒ, even after receiving the scar; in other media, Bass' Navi mark is simply a white slash mark atop a black circle.
- With the introduction of Battle Network 5 Double Team for the Nintendo DS, it is possible, by completing one of the Battle Network 5 GBA games with the Bass Icon on the title screen, to unlock a style featuring Bass. See Cross System.
