Got squeezed on both ends by consumers and critics growing tired of Mega Man (Battle Network) in the late 2000's and fans just wanting more Battle Network. A mediocre second game killed whatever momentum it had. It lives in the shadow of its bigger brother, I die a little inside whenever it gets mistaken for BN...
Maybe a Legacy Collection makes people give it a fair shot as its own thing. When Super Mario 3D World got re-released it was received more positively, before it was "3D Mario at home" when rumors about Odyssey were running. Wind Waker is another famous example.
I don't know either, I don't follow that. Before Star Force I had only played the classic series and the first X game, so I can't answer what the Battle Network community is up to. I was a toddler when those games came out.
Yeah, 3 is the acclaimed favorite. I think five had the most balanced chip spread though. If you were doing competitive pvp in three I think it would be too imbalanced. People of course differed in opinion