Rockman EXE 4.5 Real Operation

Rockman EXE 4.5 Real Operation (ロックマンエグゼ4.5 リアルオペレーション) is a spin-off game in the Rockman.EXE series that was released only in Japan for the Game Boy Advance. Despite its name, 4.5 is unrelated to the mainline games story-wise and has a different gameplay and style than other games in the series. Instead, players can control one of 21 different NetNavis from previous EXE games to compete in NetBattle tournaments. The game is thought to be a “test game” to try out various NetNavis to be playable in later EXE games.

Gameplay
In Real Operation, the Game Boy Advance itself, in a sense, acts as a PET, allowing the player to control various NetNavis from previous games in the series. Players will engage in various tournaments, with a large variety of chips at their disposal that cause different effects on the enemy and battlefield. During tournaments, players can use Souls to assist them in battle.

Real Operation is compatible with the Battle Chip Gate, a Game Boy Advance accessory that allowed players to slot in real-life toy Battle Chips for use in the game, a feature that would be carried over to later games in the series. Users of Real Operation can also play multiplayer games against Mega Man Battle Network 4 users and other Real Operation users.

Playable NetNavis
Playable characters include Rockman, all of the "Soul Unison" NetNavis from the fourth game, several Navis who would go on to become playable characters in the fifth and sixth game, and other characters who make their sole playable appearance in the series. StarMan from Rockman.EXE Network Transmission is also playable.

Standard
These NetNavis are available at the start of the game:

Unlockable
After completing the Shademan mission, go to the NetNavi who unlocked the door on a weekday. Talking to him will allow entrance into the official tournament which is one of two ways to obtain the following NetNavis. The other way is to insert the appropriate Navi Data Battle Chip into the Battle Chip Gate:

Unlockable with Battle Chip Gate
The following Navis are only available by inserting the appropriate Navi Data Battle Chip into the Battle Chip Gate (or by defeating Forte).

Battle Chip Gate Pack
Rockman.EXE 4.5 Real Operation was also released in a pack containing a Battle Chip Gate (Blues Version) and five Battle Chips: StarMan (Navi Data), Marking, Roll Arrow 1, Guts Punch 1, and Z-Saber.

Trivia

 * The Navis that made it into Rockman.EXE 5 were SearchMan, NumberMan, ProtoMan, NapalmMan, KnightMan, and ShadowMan.
 * The Navis that made it into Rockman.EXE 6 were ElecMan and AquaMan.