Dr. Mario World Review

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It’s time to look at another mobile game that I’ve been going through. This is definitely more of a Fire Emblem than a Madoka in terms of how long I’ve been playing it. Dr. Mario World is a simple yet addictive mobile title which will keep you coming back for more. With over 200 levels available at launch Nintendo really did a good job of making sure there was a lot of content here.

The basic plot of the game is that viruses have launched an invasion on the mushroom kingdom and even on surrounding lands like Bowser’s kingdom. The only way to stop these viruses is to have them take some medicine. Dr. Mario and Dr. Bowser form a reluctant alliance to end the threat, but will they really be able to stop these guys?

So far we’ve only had the one cutscene after the opening which is where Bowser stepped in. I honestly think more cutscenes could have easily been added considering that they are basically just still images with the characters. It wouldn’t be too crazy to have added them after every world right? In the game’s defense, it did freeze after I beat world 3 so I had to restart and enter world 4 so there is a slight chance that there was a cutscene there I suppose. I haven’t looked on YouTube or anything but at least in my experience I’ve only seen the one cutscene.

The gameplay is basically an upside down Dr. Mario which is pretty interesting. I’m thinking they switched the gameplay style so it would be easier on the mobile but that is just speculation. Regardless you’ll quickly come to love the style. I dare say that I much prefer it to the classic gameplay. It’s a lot easier for me to dive into and I’ve been tearing through the levels. You have to match 3 of a color to eliminate the locks and viruses. Most levels are won by eliminating the viruses but some are about collecting coins or other such goals. The game is very clear about the goal from the start so there is no guess work. As you go through the levels the game continues to add new versions of enemies and obstacles. New things continue to be added after level 100 and I wouldn’t be surprised if the game isn’t done yet.

Graphically, Dr. Mario World doesn’t pull its punches. All of the screens are quite clear and the visual effects when eliminating the viruses are pretty satisfying. All of the visuals can hold themselves over as if they were from a big console game. The soundtrack is very small as is usually the case for mobile titles but the main theme just fits the game so well that you probably won’t notice.

As for replay value, the game definitely has a lot of that. As mentioned the main game has 200 levels plus speed levels in each world. These levels get progressively harder so even if you beat a lot of the early ones in one shot you definitely won’t be doing so in the later ones. You also do have an energy meter so if you lose a level 5 times straight then you will need to take a break for a few hours. That hasn’t been much of a problem because of all the maintenance though. They give you an extra 10 hearts for that each time. While going through the levels you will also be earning coins which you can use to buy more doctors and assistants from the shop. These guys have effects that are pretty subtle but they add up during a match. You can equip 2 assistants to help you. As for the doctor, you get to pick one at the beginning of the game and get a random one later on. I decided to go with Dr. Bowser and have not regretted that decision at all. His ability to destroy 2 rows is very handy and makes up for the fact that he is pretty slow.

Then we can’t forget about versus mode either. The gameplay is similar but more like the speed version. You get the matches as quickly as possible in order to launch an attack at your opponent and cause more lines to appear. The actual levels are a lot simpler than the story ones but that goes both ways. I really found my stride in this mode and got up to 1200+ points which brought me all the way up to tier 4. Now I’m starting to have a win ratio close to 50% so this seems to be the right area for me. It’s definitely a lot of fun going through the matches and after every 7 wins you get a box filled randomly with coins or other collectibles. I do think that throwing viruses in there was unnecessary though as getting nothing as a prize after 7 wins is pretty harsh. After your 7 wins in a day the rest does not help you get another box. Only 1 box per day.

There isn’t much negative to say about the game except that it’s maybe a little too stingy with how you get new doctors and collectibles. If you’re playing to get everyone that will probably never happen or at least not for a very long time. I do like how once you’ve maxed out a character they take him out f the pool so you won’t get duplicates. More gatcha games need to do this, but since even maxing out one character is incredibly difficult it won’t really come into play. The game also has a habit of freezing at times when you’ve won a level and then it only counts the win sometimes. That one is a bug that should be pretty easy to fix though. It’s definitely an annoying one but it hasn’t personally affected me much yet and I’ve played a lot of versus battles.

Overall, Dr Mario World is definitely an excellent game. It’s a very simple title with straight forward controls so you never have to worry about getting lost or being unsure what to do. It may look like there isn’t a lot to do here but the amount of content is definitely satisfactory. I recommend checking it out and since the game is free it’s not like you will be risking much in doing so. Just give it a whirl and if it’s not your thing then you can delete it just as quickly.

Overall 8/10

One Piece Strong World Review

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This has definitely been a movie that’s been on the backburner for quite a while. Strong World is known as one of the better One Piece films or at least when it came out it was known as such. After that we got some heavy hitters like Z and Gold which have also forged a name for themselves. Strong World is definitely a fun film but definitely a step under Gold and I get the feeling that Z will win. It’s a good all around adventure, but does have some issues.

The film starts off with the Strawhats scattered once again amidst a bunch of flying islands. We then see that Nami has been captured by the pirate known as Shiki, the strongest man in the world. Luffy and friends will have to hurry if they want to save her and after this we also learn how she was captured in the first place. Shiki has amassed a large pirate army and many other crews have also gathered to help him wipe out the East Blue. The stakes are high and continue to escalate as the terror approaches the home of the Strawhats.

Shiki is definitely established as a powerful villain here since he is untouchable for most of the heroes and even Luffy has to play defense for most of their encounters. The film makes it very clear that Shiki is stronger than Luffy. In a straight fight the hero just has no shot to win here. While not unheard of, it is still rare to see Luffy losing like this. He takes quite a lot of hits throughout the film. Shiki’s ability is to manipulate gravity and that helps him enhance his speed and power as well. Shiki is definitely a powerful enemy, but I can’t say that I cared for him.

He’s super quirky to the point where it is hard to keep thinking of him as a threat. He panics with his subordinates quite a bit after all and has a very short memory span. Nami manages to escape from him several times as well so you do have to doubt his security measures. Being good in a fight is not enough to make you a great enemy. His two lieutenants also aren’t all that good. One is basically King Kong and the other one is decent with a sword, but too busy trying to keep up charades to actually remain as a threat.

As expected the animation is quite good. Surprisingly the film doesn’t lead off with the big high budget scene. Typically the films love to show the environment and the animation in the first shots like in all of the Pokemon films. For the One Piece film it starts off with a Shiki scene first and then cuts away to Luffy which is where the animation goes way up. The visuals for the jungles are definitely quite solid and the whole thing is very smooth. This is one area where it can definitely hold its own against the newer titles.

I also really liked the soundtrack. The tunes are a lot more fun than what is in the actual show. It’s going for a very “nature-esque” array of themes which makes sense since Luffy is in the jungle the whole time. It’s all very fast paced and high energy. The film definitely went all in on a technical level.

So where does the film falter? Well, it does have a fanservice issue. To an extent we can always expect that with One Piece with Nami around, but Gold for example did a good job of restraining itself. Maybe a tiny moment here and there, but Strong World just keeps it coming for quite a bit. It’s enough where it is noticeable. As mentioned, the villains are also a little on the weak side. The ones in Gold had a lot more character. Brook also still exists and so naturally most of his dialogue is terrible.

It is also a bit iffy to see Luffy and the others get wrecked so badly, but that I can roll with since you can’t ask for the strongest villain to fight and then be upset when he clobbers the heroes. At least Luffy and the others put up a fight although Luffy should have gone into Gear 2 as soon as Shiki went after Nami. There’s no real reason to hold back when lives are at stake right? Zoro and Sanji are definitely shown to be out of their league this time, but they do get to contribute a little at least. The scene of the whole team trying to fight Shiki was cool because they almost never get to fight an enemy like that. The only time I can think of off the top of my head is when they all fought Aokji. I love group fights like that and for One Piece I feel like that may never happen again, but the series has a ways to go so hopefully they do get to do that. In the meanwhile the movies help with this since it’s a lot easier to have the whole group assemble here.

A standout character was actually a thunder bird named Billy. At first you expect he’ll just be a fun animal mascot to aid Nami, but the guy can fight. He takes out a ton of giant monsters and without him Luffy wouldn’t have stood a chance against Shiki. Billy’s the kind of movie character you want to have. He doesn’t steal moments from the main cast, but does assist a lot so he doesn’t feel like a filler character either. The guy just wants to help his friends out and you can’t go wrong there.

One key part that the film does right is keeping the adventure very fast paced like all good fantasy films should. There’s rarely a time where the film really slows down so there is a lot of replay value. I may not call this film great, but I did have a fun time and there’s a lot to like here. It’s just a good popcorn fun adventure where you get to see all of the characters unleash their signature abilities and take down some villains. It’s a little contrived that both Sanji and Zoro’s opponents escaped only to have to fight them again though. I’m thinking they wanted to include their second intros, but you do have to wonder how the villains would have escaped in the first place.

Overall, Strong World is definitely a fun film that I’d recommend. Whether you’re a fan of the series or not you’ll definitely enjoy it. There are enough recap nods and such to ensure that even people unfamiliar with the series can get into it. I thought the opening showing off all the members of the crew was handled really well. They all get the name bumpers and a quick scene so you can see what they can do. Nami is the last to be shown, but I think you’ll still be able to tell that Luffy is the main character since his segment is the longest and he just feels like your classic Shonen lead. I’ve always loved character intros like this so One Piece really nailed it here. I look forward to seeing what the next film is like.

Overall 7/10

Space Godzilla vs Redips

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Suggested by Anonymous Space Godzilla is a very powerful Kaiju. It can’t be denied that this guy could literally step on a bunch of the fighters from this site and win matches that way. Still, it will not be enough to take down someone like Redips. Redips turned out to be one of the strongest Mega Man X villains and the guy is a tactical genius. He can just blast Space Godzilla to smithereens. While the Kaiju is huge, that size will be his downfall here. Redips wins.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story: Magia Record Stats and Records

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Stats time!

Sadly the mobile games never seem to keep track of play time. My phone can keep track for 10 days, but I never tend to finish these in that amount of time.

User Rank 7

Character levels
Iroha 23
Akira 8
Tsuruno 1
Hinano 1
Sasara 1
Shizuku 1
Yachiyo 1
Kaede 1
Natsuki 1
Emiri 1
Manaka 1
Asuka 2
Kako 2

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story: Magia Record Review

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It’s time to look at an app game I downloaded a while back. I remember seeing this one as a twitter ad and figured that I may as well check it out. The posters looked nice and the Madoka series has always been excellent so I was down with seeing what the side story would be like. It’s a fun game that I would probably stick with if there was less to do, but from what I played it is a very complete title.

The game’s story follows a girl named Iroha on her own magical girl adventure. There are a lot of parallels to the show as she meets up with a very aloof magical girl who’s like Homura, a happy one dressed in yellow like Mami, a tough red colored one like Kyoka, etc. So…the story isn’t very original I’ll admit. Iroha’s memories are all in disarray as she doesn’t remember her childhood friends and this seems to directly be related to whatever wish she made with Kyubey to become a magical girl. Iroha wants to find out the secrets of her past, but she doesn’t have any idea how to do that. It may be related to a mystical law of forsaken friendships. As Iroha tries to find out about her past she also helps other magical girls learn to get along and beats up witches in the process.

With these gatcha games you never want to get too invested in the plot because it’s just never going to finish. These games are made to basically never end or if they do end it won’t be for many years. America actually got this game real late so in Japan there are a bunch of sagas out but even there the story isn’t over yet. You just gotta roll with the premise and then get ready for a bunch of inevitable filler. Still, if the adventures are fun then that’s not a problem. I thought the story was pretty reasonable. By default it’s the weakest RPG plot I’ve experienced in the mobile, but the filler isn’t quite as tedious as in Integral Factor. At the very least you always feel like things are happening.

We also do get a true opening that is fully animated which was really cool. The visuals are definitely on point and the soundtrack is awesome even if a little limited. You’ll be hearing the witch theme endlessly but it’s just so catchy and epic that it’ll rope you in. It makes every fight feel epic even if you’re just fighting the same old guys over and over again. The chapters follow a classic formula of fighting 3-5 waves of minions before you get the next round of cutscenes. On a technical level this game definitely shines through.

The gameplay is also very easy to use. You pick one of 3 attack types for each of your 3 characters and then take down the opposing forces. Using the same kind of attack more than once can give you a bonus and naturally there are also elements to keep in mind. You won’t really have to worry about tactics in story mode as at least where I was up to it was very easy. I imagine in PVP or other online modes that it would be a lot more important. The gameplay is very intricate if you are trying to master it though. There are a ton of mechanics which I barely even scratched the surface on. I recommend a lot of studying when you’re first starting up the game.

That’s the only tough part about the mobile RPGs. There are so many things to remember and keep track of. I managed to learn it all for Dragon Ball Legends and Fire Emblem, but I’m sure if I went back I probably wouldn’t remember it as well. The main menu screens are downright confusing here as there are over a dozen different kinds of things to collect and they all have different purposes. You can get lost trying to find things here and since the game barely explains anything you’ll want to run to Reddit right away. Reddit’s always a great database for these mobile games if there is something that you need to know. My main advice is if you do plan on playing this for the long haul, don’t spend or buy anything for the first month or 2. That’ll give you time to really understand the game rather than spending collectibles on things you’ll never actually use. Make sense? It’s definitely something I do with all my mobile games now even though I don’t tend to keep any of them for the long haul except for Pokemon Go.

Overall, Magia Record is definitely a fun RPG for fans of Madoka or people who just like this style. As with most mobile games like this one there is almost endless replay value. New events happen every week and the story is extremely long as well. There’s a lot to like here and the game was developed with a lot of care so there are no areas that feel slapped together. It would take a lot to keep me in a mobile game for very long though and while I love the franchise, I am overall still a bigger fan of FE and Dragon Ball. If you’re a big fan of Madoka though this is really a solid one for you to stick with for a while. One big thing here is that it’s a free to play with an energy meter that is almost nonexistent. Unless you are playing this for many hours at a time you won’t have a problem with being told by the game to take a break for a while. This is the kind of Free to Play game that does the industry proud.

Overall 7/10

Mega Man 11 Review

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It’s time to take a look at the blue bomber’s last hurrah! After the first 8 Mega Man games there was such a long gap until the 9th game that I’m sure a lot of people had begun to lose hope in it ever coming out. Well, Mega Man 9 and 10 did eventually come to grace us with their presence, but they were digital only and really fell under the radar. That all changed once 11 came out. This time it got a lot of mainstream attention and a physical release. It’s not an amazing title or anything like that, but it does bring you right back into the nostalgic world of Mega Man and succeeds in what it was aiming to do.

The plot is pretty basic as Wily remembers a time where Light rejected his idea and decides to make it come true in the present. It’s a double gear system that makes a robot both stronger and faster. Light realizes that this invention actually is brilliant and quickly gives it to Mega Man as well. Mega must now take down these corrupted robots and stop Wily once and for all. Can he pull it off or has Wily finally surpassed all of them?

It’s a very bare bones plot and there aren’t any fully animated cutscenes. Mega Man 11 is definitely going for a basic approach so that you can just think of it as another installment, but with pretty graphics. The actual campaign is also very short as a result. It’s about 3 hours give or take which isn’t bad considering what kind of game it is. It’s just like the older ones in that regard as you fight all of the bosses once and then you head on to the final level. Each level can range from a few minutes to around an hour depending on how long it takes for you to beat it. So while 3 hours is reasonable if you’re a Mega Man veteran it may take you considerably longer if you are new to the series.

As mentioned earlier the graphics are definitely very nice though. The character designs are very bold and colorful. The stages really pop out at you and the soundtrack is also pretty solid. I wouldn’t say that it is particularly memorable, but there’s definitely nothing to complain about in that respect. You’ll be too engrossed in the levels to worry about it. The levels do have some really tricky sections though. I dare say that the levels are a little less forgiving than in previous games. It’ll take everything you’ve got to complete these with the 3 lives that you are given. Torchman’s level took me many lives and game overs before I finally beat it. However, the game was a cake walk from there.

The reason for that is Dr. Light’s Lab. After losing the first stage so much I had enough screws to buy all of the upgrades in the store. That includes double speed, longer lasting power ups, and much more. I also bought a bunch of beets which save you from falls and maxed out on energy tanks and lives. Hey, if it’s in the game then using it is fair game right? No boss can beat you when you essentially have 10 life meters. It’s also not like I actually needed it for a bunch of the bosses. Some of them you can still just beat up without those extras anyway. They all have patterns although they are admittedly harder to react to than in previous games because of the double gear system. These guys are playing for keeps.

I also think it’s a good thing that the lab was here because the levels definitely could have gotten frustrating otherwise. The actual levels are a little too long so when you get a game over and have to start from scratch it feels a bit tedious. I’d actually say that it would be more tedious than in Mighty No 9 which never got to that level. That said, I would still take this game over Mighty No 9. That one may have had the more expansive story but this one still has the better gameplay. Capcom did a good job of designing the game and making sure that the lab covered any of the suspect parts during gameplay. Once you’re fully powered up then you can really jump into the action.

There isn’t a whole lot of replay value in the levels except for gathering trophies. In fairness, that should take you a reasonable amount of time because there are over 50 trophies to obtain in this game. I’m sure that some of them will be very difficult as well because the Mega Man games are perfect for that kind of challenge. It’s always nice to have an incentive to keep on playing and Mega Man 11 definitely delivers on that front. There’s not much more to say about the game except that it’s a peaceful/nostalgic trip down memory lane. I definitely hope we do get more Mega Man games in the future although I definitely admit that I’d like to see more of a plot or at least a longer game in general for 12. This was like the test run so next time we need the AAA experience.

Overall, Mega Man 11 is definitely a game that I recommend checking out. If you start to lose a lot of lives in the beginning don’t worry about it. You keep all of the screws that you obtain even when you die so that means you’ll eventually have enough to buy whatever you need. The game is quite generous with the screws so you could potentially buy everything (Not counting items which aren’t unlocked yet) by the end of the first level. I recommend buying the upgrade that gives extra screws first. It’s a rule of thumb for me that I always buy the upgrade that gives extra coins/exp first since it’ll help you for the remainder of the game. Mega Man 11 may not be very ambitious but it does remind you that just having solid gameplay can always take you far.

Overall 7/10

Shiki vs Luffy

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This is a tribute to One Piece Strong World. While Luffy definitely took a lot of losses here, I would still make the case that he looked good as a character. He went all in to try and save Nami from Shiki and just kept getting up until it happened. While Shiki was definitely stronger than Luffy here, if they were to have a rematch right now there would be no contest. He just wouldn’t be able to keep up with Luffy’s speed or haki abilities. It would be game over for him. Luffy wins.

Mega Man Fully Charged Review

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It’s time to look at the recent Mega Man show. This one was definitely a different take on the legendary character, but one that worked pretty well nonetheless. It’s nice to have the blue bomber back in any form. Season 2 has not been announced yet and as the days stretch by it looks less and less likely. Still, hopefully the show will be back because the show definitely had some potential. In the meanwhile at least it did last for a full season.

The show starts by introducing us to the world of Mega Man. It takes place in the future where humans and robots co-exist in peace. A big war between the humans and robots happened a while back with the humans winning which is likely why they have the upper hand. Robots now live to serve them and can’t hurt humans. Lord Obsidian does not like that though and starts convincing various robots to turn evil. The Good Guild exists to quell such rebellions, but their skills may not be enough to stop these guys.

Fortunately, there exists a kid named Aki. He’s Dr. Light’s robot and while everyone just thinks that he is an ordinary kid, he actually has the ability to turn into Mega Man thanks to some help from a little robot who lives in his head called Mega Mini. The only person who knows about his secret identity is his sister Suna. Keeping the balance between his human and robot self is tough, but it is definitely something that Aki believes he can handle. No matter how many robots go against him Mega Man will be ready to save the day.

The whole thing about Mega Man having to keep his secret identity is definitely an interesting choice. It’s not something that Mega Man typically has to deal with, but within the setting it does make sense. The main problem though is that you never feel like the show thought this one through. There are various aspects here that the show never delves into, but you can’t help but feel are super relevant. Here’s your first question. Aki is a robot that Dr Light built to be an ordinary kid. So, how did Mega Mini come into existence? If Dr Light invented him then surely he already knows Aki is Mega Man right? If Light didn’t build him, who did? Mega Mini clearly has a whole terminal set up in Mega Man so someone designed such an area.

The second issue is that AKi’s ability to turn into Mega Man is something that had to be programmed. There’s also no way that Light wouldn’t have noticed this whenever he did Mega Man’s diagnostics to make sure he was okay. I think the avoid tripping itself up like this the show should have just had Light and Suna know from the start. It really wouldn’t change a whole lot in the show anyway and it would have simply made more sense.

Ah well, the school scenes are still reasonable. The best part of the show is naturally the action, but for the most part the classmates aren’t bad. The only one who is terrible would be Peter. While the show is mostly tame with the crude humor, there is one episode where Peter has a runny nose the whole time which was definitely gross to look at. He doesn’t really have a purpose in the story either so if you cut him out then nothing would really change. He definitely wasn’t needed here. Meanwhile Ashley is good although the small romance that the show tries to throw with her and Mega Man is unnecessary. You really don’t need any romance like that in a Mega Man show. It’s the classic story-line where Ashley likes Mega Man but not Aki so he is effectively competing with himself.

Then you’ve got Wily, but he’s very different from how he is in the games. Here Wily is a kid so they may be going for more of a Harry Osborn and Peter Parker type dynamic than Wily vs Light. I definitely expect Wily would have turned evil in the next season if we ever get that far. Wily’s not bad, but I can’t say that he is all that interesting either. Meanwhile Suna is a dependable ally. She always does her best to support Megaman and does cheer him on whenever the blue bomber falls under another spell or isn’t acting very rationally. Suna also has her drones so she can contribute a little during the fight scenes. I’m not sure why they switched out Roll for Suna, but it doesn’t really make much of a difference in the story. I also would say that Suna is a more likable character than Roll.

We can’t forget Mega Mini, he’s Mega Man’s main sidekick during the series. He is one of the comic relief characters of the series and most of his dialogue is about making the quick one liners to help boost Mega Man’s confidence. I definitely don’t think he was needed in the story and his sort of romance with Hypno Woman was definitely not a keeper. Then you’ve got Rush who doesn’t have a huge role in the story, but is still pretty fun. Dr. Light comes across as a little shady here. He wants to make the world a better place for humans, but I wouldn’t totally trust him if I were a robot. He has the Mega Key which is dangerous for everyone and tends to keep a lot of secrets. The fact that Light can actually fight it out with the robots physically is definitely very cool though.

It’s time to look at the main character of this adventure. Mega Man is your classic hero who is just trying to live life as a normal robot. For the most part he has already adjusted to living alongside humans but occasionally at school his robot self will show its inexperience to an extent as he can be a bit oblivious about things. The show showed a lot of restraint in not making him exaggerated. He can be a bit cocky at times, but at the end of the day Mega Man’s character is pretty much what you’d expect. He’s a hero that you can count on.

One thing that does hurt a bit is how much the show loves to mess with his personality by having him absorb other robot master powers. It’s a huge weakness to be honest. In the old games he could just absorb them but in the show they changed it so that he gets part of their personality inserted into himself. This naturally leads him into a lot of wacky situations where he becomes super nervous, super grouchy, hungry, etc. These scenarios are never quite as funny as the show seems to think it is. The humor in the series really isn’t that bad, but it’s at its best when it isn’t about Mega Man being corrupted. Alas, it happens to him in almost every episode yet he never seems to learn. Every episode he seems to be surprised that it worked. There’s also the fact that it rarely seems to be necessary to save the day.

Then you’ve got Obsidian who is the main villain of this show. He has a secret identity but the show lets you know who he is almost immediately. It’s the kind of secret that the characters in the show don’t know but the audience does right away. He’s definitely a fun villain although his motives are really all over the place. He thinks that humans and robots shouldn’t get along so in his human form he tries to get them to rise up while as a robot he leads all of the robots to destroy the humans. Ultimately by getting the secret weapon in Light’s house he would be able to start the war, but it would be so much easier to just show up and start blasting everyone. His power level is quite high so there is almost nobody who could stop him in a straight fight.

His design is really cool so the show did a good job with that. He’s actually a better version of the usual Wily that you would expect. Then you’ve got his right hand man Namagem. I admit that I thought he would end up being Wily the whole time so the show did dodge my expectations this time. I do think there’s a bit of a missed opportunity with his real identity or maybe I should say that it’s more that I didn’t care for the design so much. I’m sure he will be changing a lot if the show ever comes back though. He’s a fun villain to have around although his power level definitely fluctuated quite drastically. Sometimes he would be almost as strong as Obsidian and other times he would have a hard time with normal robot masters. I don’t think even the show knew exactly how strong he would be.

His fights with Mega Man are some of the best in the show though. I’m not sure exactly which fight I’d put as the best in the series but it would either be between these two or a fight with Obsidian. I definitely look forward to him showing up more. Then you’ve got one of the iconic villains, Fire Man. He’s the classic not very smart but fairly tough character. Fire Man may have been one of the first villains to lose, but he is still treated as a fairly big threat once in a while which is definitely nice for his fans. Of course you can also just argue that Namagem simply couldn’t be taken seriously by the end so Fire Man went up by default.

Then you’ve got one of the show’s original characters, Chaotique. Now she is a scene-stealer. Her ability is super speed to the extent that she is even faster than Elec Man which is impressive. She seems to be able to keep the speed up for longer while Elec Man is more about quick splashes of speed. The only problem with this naturally is that she is way too powerful to actually be stopped by anyone. The show surprisingly writes pretty well around this so it never gets to be an issue. Her character development also goes in a different way than what I expected so that was pretty neat. We don’t really know what’s going on right now since we only have the villain’s word to take on her status. She would definitely be the person to watch out for in season 2.

The rest of the robot masters are a little less remarkable. Drill Man has a pretty emotional origin story about how he had to give up his dreams when his robot design was changed for drilling. It’s played for laughs to an extent, but if you really think about it his story is really tragic. Hypno Woman and Blasto Woman are some of those villains who may be evil, but seems redeemable right away. Hypno Woman’s not particularly ruthless and in a way her illusions allow everyone to lead a peaceful life. Then you’ve got Blasto Woman whose character is hurt by her plot with Mega Mini and in general I don’t think she was one of the better show exclusive characters. I actually mixed both of these characters up while writing this review and had to go back to fix the names.

Wave Man is decent, but pretty generic and never really came into his own. I dare you to even say what his character personality was by the end. Then you’ve got Ice Man who is supposed to be fairly misunderstood and as a result is not very impressive as a villain. He’s simply too gullible. Cut Man at least has his perfection thing going. He’s also super easy to manipulate but at least the guy had a more tangible goal and did a better job of actually getting in there and getting the job done. I would not trust him to cut my hair for a second though so I don’t really get how he got his own store. I mean, people are more used to the robots in this world but still……I dunno.

Air Man got some of the lowest amounts of screen time among all of the characters. He does have a really cool scene showing how high he can fly though. I’d say that he’s low key one of the tougher robots here. Then you’ve got Chemistry Man whose whole character becomes a lot better thanks to his voice. His voice is amazing and right away gets across that he is a jaded professor who is upset at the world. It’s all the city’s fault and not his. You have to respect the guy’s one track mind. Guts Man is a little disappointing here because all he can do is eat a lot. It’s an interesting gimmick I guess, but it means that he spends most of his time eating instead of fighting. Even with that it’s not like he’s easily the worst version of the character. I’m not a big fan in general, but he could have still been improved here.

Then you’ve got Elec Man who definitely makes his presence felt with his incredible speed. He’s another fairly broken character who would absolutely dominate the main cast if not for plot convenience and the like. You just can’t hope to beat overwhelming speed like that without some really cool abilities of your own. He was one of the better villains.

Wood Man’s interpretation was also pretty interesting. He’s basically a paranoid ninja from the war who never quite returned home in one peace. It’s further foreshadowing at a war that we’ll probably never get to actually see, but had a really cool premise otherwise. It’d be nice to see some more stories of how the war was back in the day. Then we’ve got Man Man who is a big fan of the blue bomber. He’s a nice tribute to the original box art for the games. You know what kind of character he will be from the start, but he’s handled well. He’s a very genuine character who does his best to help save the day.

Fully Charged definitely has a soundtrack that does the series proud. It gives us several remixes of the classic Mega Man theme and we get other 8 bit tunes during the little cartoons that pop up during the episodes. I also liked the “Meganize Me” theme that played during the transformation. These songs aren’t fancy or anything, but they’re catchy which I think is the point in this context. They’re tunes that just help the overall atmosphere and considering that you’ll be hearing the Meganize theme over and over you definitely want a nice jingle.

The animation is less impressive although I wouldn’t say that it’s too bad. There are really 2 kinds of CGI style, blocky and realistic. Typically blocky is more colorful and makes for nostalgic viewing like the Transformers machinima style while the more realistic style would be something like Beware the Batman or Final Fantasy Advent Children. Those are able to hit higher heights with the action scenes and can give you smoother action scenes. They both have their uses even if neither is very likely to be able to handle hand drawn animation. (Final Fantasy pulled it off though)

I like the character designs and we do get some real action scenes here. Fully Charged definitely delivers more than most similar shows like Pac Man and the Ghostly Adventures. Still, you can tell that the CGI isn’t quite there yet as the background doesn’t actually change. There is rarely any collateral damage even when attacks hit buildings. This may be a budget thing but it does mean that you can’t take most of the characters seriously as real fighters. They also can’t be that strong if someone like Dr. Light can take them down. Still, the show looks good overall and while hand drawn would have been nice to see, the graphics won’t make you avert your eyes or anything like that.

Overall, Mega Man Fully Charged is a very standard show. It makes for a fun watch, but there isn’t much to it beyond that. I don’t really think this is a show people will be talking about once a few years have passed. Honestly the show just ended and people are already barely talking about it. It was a fun take on the series though so I’m still glad that we got it. The 15 minute size definitely hurt it though. There’s only so much that you can do in 15 minutes and I’ll always stick to that. 30 minutes is just a much better way to present a good story and you can build up to the climax much more efficiently as well. Considering this, the show did a good job of making the final 2 episodes pretty climactic. I’d recommend checking out Fully Charged. It’ll take you for a fun ride and hopefully it does eventually return for a season 2.

Overall 7/10