The Mega Man episode of Secret Level showcased a larger-than-life Bomb Man who, after being corrupted by Dr. Wily, turned rogue against Rock and Dr. Light. However, early in the episode's production, it's been revealed that Bomb Man was initially conceived as Gamma—the gentle giant created by Dr. Light and Dr. Wily in Mega Man 3.
Mauro Belfiore, who contributed to the episode’s pre-production phase at Nexus Studios, shared concept art for Gamma and a few classic series enemies that ultimately went unused. Drawing inspiration from the original designs, Belfiore reimagined the bots to align with the episode’s more mechanized, grounded aesthetic.
The exact reason for Gamma's replacement with Bomb Man remains unclear, but it may have been influenced by a preference for using a Robot Master, as they're more recognizable to a general audience. Early development may have explored Batton or Footholder as potential sources of Gamma/Bomb Man's corruption, but the final design shifted toward a Crabbot-like robot—mirroring the spider-like bot seen in the completed episode.
Dang, I liked the episode as is, but Gamma would’ve made waaaay more sense and be generally more appropriate. You would get away better with redesigning too, since Gamma’s lower body never even had a consistent design!
ReplyDeleteIn hindsight, I’m surprised I never saw anyone say the role was more suited to Gamma…
THAT WOULDVE BEEN SO COOL I'm actually a little salty about that now
ReplyDeleteIf they're going to talk about recognizability, they should stick closer to the pre-existing designs.
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