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…
Unrelated but After looking at your pfp now I cannot unseen the similarities between bombman and charlie now I'm reading the comments with Charlie voice on my head
DeleteI’m glad more people are understanding my vision. :)
DeleteTHAT 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.
ReplyDeleteIf they *really* cared about recognizability, they wouldn’t have even used Bomb Man! The only times he’s showed up without every other MM1 RM were Soccer and BN1/OSS, and only with one robot shy of the full roster. I would say, with moderate certainty, that he’s the most obscure MM1 RM.
DeleteThat's a different way of looking at it, I suppose.
DeleteI do like the episode, but this would've been cooler. Thanks for sharing the concept art, it's really cool.
ReplyDeleteThey should do mega man x or mega man battle network or even star force.
ReplyDeleteI cannot tell a lie: I love that they also drew these designs in a style mimicking the official game art for comparison. (Or maybe just got giggles?) These original-alikes are very Mega Man 7 / 8, and it gives me all kinds of good vibes. I'd love to see more characters drawn in this style!
ReplyDeleteThat aside, it seems absurd that they would make a Giant Bombman. Wouldn't a Giant Gutsman make more sense? Or, heck, if they wanted to really tickle the nerds out there, a Giant Roll!
Ultimately, I dunno how to feel about the Secret Level episode. I'm sure it's fine — it's reportedly the best episode of the series — but it feels too much like the story of "The Megas", to me. Or worse still, the comic adaptation of Mega Man: Fully Charged. Too "grimdark" and "edgy" for the original boy in blue.
Those foot holder enemy designs seem to represent exactly how evil the actual enemy they are counterparts of.
ReplyDeleteWe want the Sonic the Hedgehog audience.
ReplyDeleteYou know this would have been a lot better and makes total sense for a mecha size robot that attack Mega Man.
ReplyDelete60 more seconds of pointless flavorless garbage? Space marine is all I'm need lol.
ReplyDelete