This set of battles is when I decided I needed to start using a spreadsheet to keep track of what was going on. It's also where I remember knowing exactly where Sandy was going for a while, but I think I'd been planning what I did in 42 for a bit before it happened - and planning to do it as Battle 42 - So I may have already had the end of this arc more or less planned out in advanced.
Overall I like this run of battles a lot.
Battle 41
Davis and Veemon having returned to Sandy following their arc in Ghost is... Awkward in that it happens entirely outside of Sandy, but while I'm not sold on the implementation, the idea of a battle that keeps restarting with a different title each time is a fun one.
Battle 42
I really like the title of this one. I remembered doing a Hitchhiker's reference for making it to Battle 42, I forgot what the reference was and it made me smile when I read it again now.
Starting with a plotline where Detcher is being held in a holding cell by Haunter_UK and Detcher is a strong start, I think, as is having that holding cell move to a reality where Narratra is still in charge. Slight typo where SVWebmaster disappears twice.
...Before entering into the main plotline, in a scene where the main SVWebmaster was already present which just makes for a fun scene.
Back to the first plotline, and having the Narrator disappear leaving haunter_uk trapped with Detcher is refreshingly brief, and fun, though for consistency, I should have labelled that with Plot A.
Back to Plot B, for a brief scene in Story Mode - censoring cusses in such an 'obvious what is actually being said' way isn't something I think I'd do today. It feels... Utterly pointless. Censoring them entirely can have comedic value, but censoring a single letter doesn't feel like it does anything.
Narrator vs Narrtra is mostly spent with the characters trying to work out what happened in the various realities (and informing the audience of how they differed from the reality they followed), which is probably a bit of a missed opportunity before the Narrator blinks into the main plotline.
The two SVWebmasters conferencing with each other after the Narrator from Plot A came through into Plot C is something I find amusing, though I couldn't really say why.
The 'inside the plot hole' scene here feels like filler - I think most of what Anti-Storymode says is gettable from earlier in the battle. But I do like the Tis/Tissent thing between Narrator and Anti-Storymode, so I don't hate that we cut to this scene.
Haunter_UK remembering it's got narrator powers before being whisked away was very cutely done as well.
The idea of Veemon stalling a god from killing him and his friends via running a game with godawful questions is funnier than it has any right to be, and I think the execution of the scene works really well.
The fact that he stalled it long enough for Narratra to disappear honestly probably makes it funnier.
Haunter_UK and Narratra falling into the Plot Flow and merging into a single entity to merge the versions to save both of their own is a little contrived, but it's a cute scene all the same. And... God the html for Hauntra was horrific to do. To the point that I actually remember finding it annoying.
The Narrator and Anti-Story mode betting on if Hauntra would be able to de DNA digivolve is also cute. As is the way the battle ends.
All in all I really like this one. It's not without its flaws, but overall it's a good idea executed in a way that works well.
Battle 43
No clue why I decided doing a Christmas special would be a good idea, but here we go.
Some cute moments discussing (and the confusion of having multiple characters with the same font colour - three different Veemons, three different Daves who are all the player in this battle, etc - creates some easy gags.
The Sandy Clause gag is cute, and I don't hate the stock JR's ego gag. Fighting a wall to escape a doompuff ripoff is also a cute concept, and I think it was handled swiftly enough to not drag things down. All in all, I don't hate this.
Battle 44
The first battle with the groups separated being with Dan and one of the Veemon is cute. As is the self-referential humour about convoluted plotlines coming from someone who read Sandy.
The Narrator's directions leading them to a computer right in front of them is a touch I really like. Cute battle, and the plotline being delivered to them via an email kind of in the way Dan speculated it would be, his timing just being off, is also pretty cute.
All in all, I'd say this battle was cute.
Battle 45
The recap explaining exactly who is in the battle is really helpful.
The opening of the battle is a little protracted for my tastes, but Hauntra being really happy to be home is a cute bit of characterization of the gestalt entity. Also find the storm reference cute.
Definitely does things I wouldn't do today, but I do like the 'character survived a definitely fatal attack by the Narrator getting interrupted mid narration' gag.
SVWebmaster talking Detcher into touching something that would probably kill him painfully by making it a super boring rant, while trying to convince him to join them, is funny to me.
Narratra switching to Storymode because of not wanting to narrate the effects is also amusing. As is the 'you probably should narrate that he's died' part.