Mega Man: Start

It bugs me this one rates so low, mainly for being short but yes, if you like mega man this is super good. The bad is since its getting critiqued so badly due to the length the suits will just see the score and dismiss it without going into why. Most of these episodes are at least 10 mins long yet this is half that. That's the problem, if amazon were to make a series or movie based on this short I'd be on board for it. I guess this is my plea for them to move forward with something like this and who knows, maybe this was a trailer that someone pitched Amazon and they already passed on it and put the pitch here since someone in the company thought it might be good to fill out the episode count. If so, thanks for letting us see it.

I have reviewed each episode of "Love, Death + Robots" and am a big video games guy, so thought I'd do the same process for Amazon's "Secret Level".

I was particularly looking forward to this one, as I'm an old school NES gamer and "Megaman" was a big part of my gaming at that time. It's a reimagining, somewhat and whilst fun, a bit short - even for this series.

The evil Dr Wily has hijacked the robots created by Dr Light (Rick Overton) and instead of protecting the city, they are attacking it. Light prepares his biggest robot, Bomb Man, to head out and defeat the others but before he can, that too is taken over. Rock (Alkaio Thiele) a small humanoid robot made to help Light around the lab has been eager to join the fight and, though the Doctor has been resistant, Rock now has the chance to prove himself.

I can understand not sticking to the animated style that the games have established and instead switching to a quasi-realistic one. The robots are reinvented as giant mechs, perhaps designed to help sell Rock as an unlikely opponent for them. It's not the hyper realistic animation though, that we've seen in other episodes.

The problem is perhaps that it's over almost before it's begun. It's comfortably the shortest episode of the series so far. What it does have though, which I loved, was a version of the games music utilised over the end credits. That was great stuff.

Not really much to judge this one, either good or bad.

This episode drops us right into the middle of a high-stakes situation, with visuals that stand out for being less photorealistic and more Pixar/Disney-like-a refreshing change. However, it's frustratingly short, feeling more like a teaser for a potential Mega Man animated movie than a complete story. I know that it's the concept of the anthology series, but we could at least get a complete story, not a trailer. While the scenario is compelling, the action is minimal, and the overall experience feels lightweight and underwhelming. That said, seeing Mega Man brought to life with this design is a true pleasure, even if the episode leaves you wanting much more.

Mega Man fans should be excited. The biggest criticism people have about this episode is that it's short, but that's not a valid criticism when literally everyone knew it would be a short, proof of concept. Ignoring that says far more about the competency of the viewer than the quality of the episode.

This ep was clearly made with love from a dedicated fan. They managed to create a believably compelling story when the source material was little more than "jump and shoot".

Let's get the obvious out of the way... Mega Man himself looks great. He sounds great. His armor, buster, and helmet fit perfectly. The way he attached an environmental item to his buster to create an elemental weapon opens up so many possibilities for this to be implemented into a game. He's everything he's supposed to be.

Bomb Man's design is fantastic, too. It really makes me excited to see how the other robot masters could look. And I have a hard time believing we won't be seeing them at some point soon, hopefully...

So this episode left you wanting more? That's exactly the point. Get excited Mega Man fans. Get loud. Let's show Capcom there isn't just a market for a revamped Mega Man game... But that there's a rabid fanbase ready to ROCK!

The reviews mentioning it's brevity are missing the point of a series like this. They're basically a petri dish to see how the test works out. In a case like this, it shouldn't get a low rating for the length if its content was good. This was definitely the shorter of, I think all the episodes, but proved that this NEEDS to be expanded upon in its own series or movie. Would be great for all ages to enjoy. The style was a unique blend of stylized animation with realistic textures/lighting that's enjoyable to watch. It was a great proof of concept of what a good Megaman movie could be in this day and age to bring him back to the current generation of kids and adults alike. A nostalgia kick for adults and something new for the kids. A full Megaman project should be given a chance after this.